Micro-credit, or the making available of small amounts of credit to the poor, is seen as a vital tool for poverty alleviation and women's empowerment in developing societies. This volume examines micro-credit interventions made in India and provides valuable insights into: the role of social mobilization in reducing poverty: the working of community banking programmes at the village level: the efforts to create space for women to carry out credit and savings transactions: the process of empowerment through the formation of women's groups: and the improvement of women's lives through savings and credit activity.