The lessons for Bihar’s government appear evident: money, cash transfers, can help – but nothing can replace the hunger for real, paying jobs that provide dignity and savings.
Gopalganj, Bihar: Rambha and Aarti, from Dighwa village in the Vijaypur block of Gopalganj district in Bihar, have no money – not to buy a quality goat, nor to feed the one they have – nor, being impoverished and Dalit, do they own land on which a goat could graze.
But this election season, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has been talking up women exactly like them, reminding them of the Rs 10,000 his government has, not long ago, promised to give those with an entrepreneurial bent of mind. If they avail of this benefit, they become “Jeevika Didis,” as…