The Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme against poverty in India

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Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme is the flagship initiative of the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), partnering with civil society in India to improve the uptake of rights and entitlements by women and socially excluded communities. The PACS Programme aims in correcting exclusion by advocating for a more socially inclusive environment. The programme will cover 120 poorest districts across seven states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal and focus on Women and Girls, Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Muslims, Persons with Disability (PwD) and Urban Poor.

PACS is designed to strengthen demand for improved delivery of services, support service providers to be more responsive and accountable; and address the different forms of barriers and discrimination women and socially excluded communities face in claiming services and benefits. PACS shall seek to fund a range of civil society organisations and networks in the selected districts.

PACS is managed by Management Consultants, the Indian Forum for Inclusive Response and Social Transformation- IFIRST Consortium on behalf of DFID. The IFIRST Consortium is led by Christian Aid with Caritas India, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS), ACCESS Development Services and Financial Management Service Foundation (FMSF)

PACS in 2001 to 2008 reached over 6 million people in more than 19,564 villages in 94 districts of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. It enabled access of government programme estimating Rs.106 crore, addressed women representation and strengthened and improved Panchayati Raj (Local Self Governance) institutions.

Programme in Action - PACS 2001- 08

•PACS Plus

PACS Impact

Click here to view in PDF format a publication produced by InfoChange on the PACS Programme’s approach and visible outcomes in key thematic areas.

Civil society in poorest India

Click here to view the final PACS Programme publication of selected stories of innovation and change.

NREGS Campaign 2008 increases CSO-government linkage in UP
A state-level NREGS advocacy workshop organised by the PACS Programme in Lucknow, in November 2008, reinforced interaction between CSOs, beneficiaries and the state government to collectively address issues relating to the scheme.

Low level of participation, key concern in Chhattisgarh
A state-level advocacy workshop held by the PACS Programme in Raipur, in November 2008, discussed major areas of concern in implementation of the NREGS in Chhattisgarh, and ways forward for CSOs.

Wide-ranging discussions with stakeholders at Bihar NREGS workshop
A wide range of issues relating to NREGS were discussed at a state-level advocacy workshop organised by the PACS Programme in Patna in November 2008.

Need for effective social audit highlighted at state-level MP NREGS workshop
Lack of credible social auditing, with people's participation, is a major gap in implementation of the NREGS in Madhya Pradesh. This was highlighted at a state-level workshop held in Bhopal, in November 2008.

NREGS in Jharkhand: Some positive outcomes, but a long struggle ahead
Although the NREGS has made a significant difference to the lives of many poor households in Jharkhand, there is still a long way to go before it can be called an accountable rights-based development programme.

Problems with job cards and payments major failings of NREGS in Jharkhand
Major issues raised at NREGS advocacy workshops in Jharkhand, in October 2008, included discrepancies in job cards and payments to workers.

Bihar NREGS issues shared with district-level officials, PRIs and the media
Cluster-level NREGS workshops held in Bihar in October 2008 were well attended by senior government functionaries, elected representatives of panchayati raj institutions and members of the press.

NREGS implementation: CSOs urged to use legal remedies
At an NREGS Bundelkhand cluster-level workshop, held in October 2008, participants felt that the time has come to think of using legal remedies to ensure proper implementation of the scheme in Uttar Pradesh.