Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) Programme will be operational in 120 districts across Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Uttar Pradesh .
Rationale for State Selection
Poorest states of India.
High concentration of excluded groups.
To strengthen on going DFID intervention in different states.
Rationale for District Selection
PACS intervention districts have been selected based on the NSSO, Consumption Expenditure Survey, 2004/2005. Primarily two criteria have been adopted for the selection of districts
District poverty levels
Concentration of socially excluded groups (SC, ST & Muslims).
