the jury on "Women and the World Bank" will examine the impact of the World Bank on development discourse and practice in India from the perspective of women's rights. Using the example of microcredit, presentations and testimonies will demonstrate how the discourse of gender has been depoliticised and distorted to create an ideological justification for the 'mainstreaming' of an instrumentalist and market-oriented view of women's empowerment into the development discourse. This has led to a conflation of "economic empowerment" with women's rights and has provided the justification for the wholesale conversion of poverty programmes into microcredit schemes. Presentations by panelists and deponents will describe the implications of microcredit at the macro and micro levels.

Dr. Heloise Weber, Political Scientist, University of Queensland, will unpack the global politics of poverty reduction and the political implications of the strategy of "banking on the poor" and expose the way in which the recent changes in the global development architecture are facilitating the use of microcredit as an entry-point for the entry of private capital into financial markets. Apart from speaking on this panel, Dr.Weber will also be a jury member at the sessions on Macroeconomics and Poverty.

Dr.Kalpana Kannabiran, Sociologist, National Law School, India, will describe the way in which 'Velugu', the World Bank supported poverty programme in Andhra Pradesh is subverting grassroots women's organisations and undermining women's political mobilisation.

Depositions from members of 'Velugu' women's SHGs will desribe the impact of this programme on their lives and livelihoods.

the jury will be moderated by Kalyani Menon Sen, who will also present an overview of the impact of the World Bank on national poverty policy in India.