Role of NGOs in human development: An empirical analysis

The main objective of the present paper is to analyse the contribution of NonGovernment Organisations (NGOs) to human development in Dakshina Kannada (D.K) district of Karnataka state based on micro level data. Inorder to analyse the impact of NGO interventions on human development, Amartya Sen's capability approach has been employed. Human development being multi-dimensional in approach, special care has been taken to ensure that important elements which influence development are not excluded from measurement. That is why, in this study, due consideration has been given to five functionings of development such as economic, social, political, organisational and environmental. Data pertaining to these functionings are collected separately in NGO villages (where NGOs are actively involved in development process) and Non-NGO villages (where NGO activities are absent). Inorder to incorporate all these functionings in the assessment, UNDP's HDI methodology has been applied with modification. Results of the study show that people of NGO villages have higher rate of achievement of functionings but the people of Non-NGO villages have higher rate of deprivation of functionings. Thus, human development is more in NGO villages. This is the clear reflection of the positive impact of the NGO interventions on the overall well-being of the community.