DEED OF AGREEMENT

This Agreement made on the ........................... one thousand nine hundred and ninety nine between the TAMIL NADU CORPORATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN LIMITED, a Government Undertaking incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and having its registered office at 100, Anna Salai, Guindy, Chennai - 600 032 hereinafter refered to as DeW, the party of the first part which expression unless it is repugnant to the context shall include its Managing Director / Executive Director, successors-in-office etc., and ................. (a Non-Governmental Organisation / Voluntary Organisation) registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 / Registration of Trusts Act on ................, currently valid and having its registered office at .................................................................................herein after referred to as ..............................., the party of the second part which expression unless it is repugnant to the context shall include its office bearers viz., Director, Secretary, President or any other competent officer and their successors-in-office;

AND WHEREAS the party of the first part is a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 and fully owned by Government, engaged in implementation of the Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project in Tamil Nadu aiming at empowerment of women through social and economic upliftment of women below the poverty line, with highest priority on the poorest of poor and disadvantaged sections, by forming them into Self Help Groups (SHGs), encouraging thrift & credit, a variety of training programmes for capacity building, providing access to institutional finance for income-generating activities based on willingness and eligibility of groups, and ensuring sustainability over time;

AND WHEREAS with this objective in view, the party of the first part desires to utilise the field level experience of reputed Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) in the process of identification of eligible women members as per project eligibility criteria for formation of women's Self Help Groups, imparting suitable training, motivating internal group savings and internal lending, for consumption as well as productive purposes, assisting in the selection of Animators and Representatives, training of Animators, Representatives, Supervisors, Trainers and others and providing other inputs in the socio-economic spectrum, which will help achieve the mission objectives of social and economic empowerment of women, which in effect the services of the party of the second part viz............. (NGO) would be rendering as per the Project with the overall guidance and direction of the DeW;

AND WHEREAS the party of the second part have agreed to provide all the services required to implement the above said project, the parties of both the parts following written correspondence and discussions mutually agreed to include the following functions;

AND WHEREAS in consideration of remuneration agreed to be paid as per the guidelines indicated in this agreement and as modified by the Government from time to time, the party of the second part viz.................. (NGO) shall perform and discharge the following functions enumerated below:

1. Formation of Self Help Groups of eligible women, preferably in the age group of 21-60, belonging to families with a total annual income as stipulated in IRDP norms or as redefined by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women in subsequent periods with reference to such other criteria as may be laid down by Government from time to time and the advice of DeW.
2. Assisting in selection of Animator, who is a suitably qualified woman resident of the same village and a member of the group, and in the selection of representatives as per the design of the Project and the advice of DeW from time to time.
3. Providing adequate supervisory services for the Self-Help groups for their effective functioning.
4. Arranging regular cluster- level women's group meetings and getting the views and opinions of the participating women in the implementation of the project and furnishing such other relevant information as required by DeW from time to time.
5. Motivating and assisting SHGs in organising cluster-level and higher-level federating structures of groups and suitable federating structures required for economic activities and providing them continuing support until they are self-sustaining.
6. Designing of skill-oriented and attitude-oriented training programmes with emphasis on aspects like communications, gender issues, self reliance, group dynamics, importance of savings, banking procedures, simple accounting programmes of the Government, reporting requirements, functional literacy and other issues in accordance with the training manuals prepared by DeW Ltd., in consultation with experts.
7. Conducting training programes for Animators, Represen- tatives and participating SHG members and other categories of participants and functionaries after getting the prior approval of the PIU. The training programmes will be in accordance with the training manuals/and curriculum already developed by DeW.
8. Conducting refresher training courses on an annual basis based on the needs felt by the field staff, and as approved by DeW from time to time. Conducting cluster level and local level workshops as per plans drawn up in consultation with DeW which provide an opportunity for the field level staff to bring forth their field problems for discussions and to find solutions.
9. Evaluating Animators with relation to their existing attitudes and qualities and motivating them to perform the functions expected of them in the best interest of SHGs and their members and reporting the same to the PIU, and taking necessary corrective steps.
10. Providing continuous support to Animators and groups, particularly in the management of the savings and the internal loans, through a quarterly review-cum-training workshop at the cluster level and in other areas as required by the PIU.
11. Coordinating conduct of district level workshops and planning workshops in the district which would provide a forum for assimilating past experience and working towards improvements in the implementation process.
12. Participating in D.P.C.C. meetings with necessary reports.
13. Participating in C.P.C.C. meetings with necessary reports.
14. Co-operating with and assisting the agencies appointed / authorised by DeW to conduct benchmark surveys, evaluation, other studies, special training programmes/assisgnments.
15. Providing necessary guidance and support for income generating activities of the SHG members.
16. The ..............................................(NGO) shall cause the books of accounts of the groups to be audited on an annual basis by a certified chartered accountant, and evolve a system of such auditing on a regular basis which is sustainable even without the NGOs intervention after the project period.
17. To assist SHG members to access credit from different sources based on eligibility.
18. To assist in the full repayment of loans and to motivate SHGs to avoid non-performing accounts.
19. Any other functions including advisory functions, that would be suggested by DeW from time to time for successful implementation of the project.
20. To follow guidelines as issued by DeW Ltd for the successful implementation of the project from time to time.

AND WHEREAS in consideration of the services to be rendered, by party of the second part for the entire duration of the project and whereas the party of the first part after consideration of relevant aspects, agreed to provide part financial assistance (not intended as full-cost coverage), termed as NGO support cost, as per the Annexe-I. The NGO support cost would be released annually as per orders of the Government of Tamil Nadu and as revised from time to time based on performance of the NGO in the project in relation to the parameters as indicated in Annexure I, and the terms of G.O.'s issued by the Government from time to time. Apart from the above, the party of the second part will also be paid the training cost as per the Annexe- II. The exact amount of training cost to be released to............ by DeW will depend on the actual training conducted by..................

AND WHEREAS the.......... ,party of the second part agreed to receive the above said financial assistance and to abide also by the following terms and conditions:

1. ............shall undertake the responsibility of implementation of the project as per guidelines issued by DeW, in the following blocks and villages.
2. Work shall be done, based on the Annual Action Plans that would be jointly worked out by ………………….. (NGO) and PIU and approved by the PMU of DeW .
3. ........shall encourage and ensure that all the women in the groups make internal savings and generate group funds from which consumption loans could be availed by the individuals as contemplated in the Project.
4. ...........shall engage cluster coordinators in their organisation at the rate of one cluster coordinator for every 5 village panchayats (approx.15 groups).
5. NGO shall provide all other services indicated above and discharge their functions in letter and spirit as contemplated in the project.
6. Any over - run of costs in respect of training and/or its administrative costs or other costs for fulfiling this Agreement shall be met by NGO.
7. The annual financial requirements on account of training shall be provided by DeW as indicated in Annexure-III.
8. ........................................... (NGO) shall prepare and submit to DeW item-wise quarterly and annual action plan for training alongwith estimates of expenditure at the beginning of every quarter and year respectively to facilitate release of funds in instalments, and successful feedback on utilisation of funds during the previous quarters.
9. The ..........................................(NGO) support cost shall be paid only based on performance as laid down in Annexure I, and would be as per G.Os issued from time to time.
10. Under normal conditions accounts for the year concluded shall be rendered within a period of three months from the end of the financial year by ..........................................(NGO). ...................................... ..........................(NGO) shall furnish a certificate of utilisation of funds duly certified by its auditors to DeW within three calender months of the utilisation of the amount in the following format:
11. "Certified that the sum of Rs......./- (Rupees ................................... ) has been utilised out of the support costs of Rs.........................../-(Rupees..................................) provided by DeW,Chennai. It has also been duly certified that the said support costs has been utilised for the purpose for which it was paid vide their reference No........" dated ........, for the period from ......... to ............"
12. On receipt of the above said financial assistance from DeW, .……(NGO) shall open a separate Bank Account, inform DeW about such opening and shall deposit all funds received from DeW only in the said Bank Account.
13. Proper books of account shall be maintained and updated on a daily basis regarding utilisation of the said funds and ................................................(NGO) shall cause the same to be audited by a reputed Chartered Accountant once a year,and submit an audit report every year.
14. The ……………………… (NGO)’s said bank account shall be open to special audit and inspections by DeW or their authorised representative, at any point of time during the currency and existence of this agreement.
15. The DeW hereby reserves the right to levy and recover interest at the rate of 12% per annum by way of penalty on the amounts sanctioned and released in addition to the amounts so released to .................................................(NGO) in the event of violations of the terms and conditions of the agreement by .............................................(NGO) who is to pay the same on demand.
16. A progress report indicating the progress in the project relating to key issues, shall be furnished to the PIU and PMU, DeW as required, on a monthly/quarterly/half yearly/annual basis within 15 days of the close of each month/ quarter/half year/year as required by DeW in the format and manner prescribed.
17. DeW at its sole discretion reserves the right to recall the funds already released or stop/suspend release of further funds if it finds that services are not rendered properly/satisfactorily or funds are not being utilised by ......... (NGO) as envisaged in the original or subsequently modified project with the interest earned on it.
18. DeW at its sole discretion reserves the right to engage another Non-Governmental Organisation/Non-Governmental Organisations in the place of ........................................... (NGO) if in the opinion of the DeW the latter fails to discharge its duties satisfactorily or abandons the work in any part of a particular year so as to complete the unfinished work relating to that particular year and all the costs in such an eventuality shall be recoverable from the ...........................................................(NGO).
19. DeW also reserves the right to engage one or more Non-Governmental Organisations besides................. for implementing the project for any particular year or years if in its considered opinion such action would bring in better results.
20. Wherever needed........ (NGO) may engage other local NGOs who are alrady familiar with the area for assisting in effective implementation of the project. However the responsibility for implementation of this project will be with the party to this agreement.
21. DeW and ......................................(NGO) agree that all disputes relating to the scope, extent of interpretation and meaning of the agreement and any dispute arising thereof shall be decided by the Managing Director, DeW. All unsettled issues shall be referred to Board of Directors of DeW, and the decision of the Board shall be final and binding on the ..........................................................(NGO).
22. The duration of the project shall be for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of the project. This is extendable by mutual consent based upon further orders of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
23. .............................................(NGO) shall refund the unutilised portion of the amount released on expiry of project period or even earlier when funds are no longer required for the purpose for which they were released alongwith the interest earned out of these unutilised funds.
24. DeW and .....................................(NGO) further agree to add, alter or amend any part of the terms and conditions setforth herein from time to time if such additions, alterations or amendments are felt necessary, after mutual consultations.
25. DeW and ......................................(NGO) agree that both reserve the right to withdraw from the agreement after two month's notice/intimation in which case the agreement will come to an end subject to completing the obligations of the respective parties till the end of that particular year or upon full recovery of monies due to any of the parties or both. Upon receipt of such notice of termination, both parties shall take immediate steps to terminate their activities under the agreement. No further disbursement of funds from DeW to NGO will take place. The NGO shall undertake no forward commitment and shall return to DeW, within 30 days, all unspent funds provided by DeW.
26. Recoveries of monies due can be enforced in Court of law.
27. The ............................................(NGO) shall not collect or cause to collect any money towards any celebrations or in the name of service charges, donations, insurance etc. from the members of the groups under Mahalir Thittam without prior permission from DeW.
28. During participation in the Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project (Mahalir Thittam), the .......................................(NGO) should ensure that neither they would participate in any political or fundamentalist activities nor the group members are to be involved in the above activities.
29. The ..............................................(NGO) shall motivate each group to maintain the following registers/books as required under the project as per direction of DeW
30. The NGO shall be fully responsible for all work and services performed by its personnel, agents, employees and resource persons.
31. The .............................................(NGO) shall inform DeW regarding any major change in their constitution or Board and shall comply with all statutory obligations and DeW reserves the right to severe the contract with the NGO for violation of any of these conditions.
32. For any criminal misconduct either party can approach the courts.
33. Notwithstanding any of the clauses/conditions listed above, the Corporation reserves the right to alter/modify/add/delete certain clauses in accordance with Government orders issued from time to time.
34. In witness thereof the aforesaid parties hereinto put their seals and signature on the day, month and year first written above.

Witness:

Signature of the first party.

1. ...............

2. ...............

Signature of the second party.

ANNEXE – I

NGO support costs

NGO support cost per group for 5 year intervention: (as per Government orders which may be modified from time to time):

The release of the above mentioned support costs will be governed by the following conditions:

I. Group formation:

The group will be deemed to have been formed and functioning provided the following conditions are satisfied.

1. Meetings are held at regular intervals (weekly, once in ten days or fortnightly) and the Minutes of the meetings are being recorded.
2. Regular (weekly, once in ten days, fortnightly) savings is being done by the members.
3. An account has been opened in the name of the group in any Scheduled Commercial Bank/Central Co-operative Bank/Regional Rural Bank.
4. An animator has been identified for and by the group.

These aspects would be checked by the PIU, not earlier than three months after the date of formation of the group. Date of formation of the group will be taken to be the date on which the bank account was opened.

II. Monitoring:

The support cost towards monitoring will be released every year for 4 years subject to the following conditions:

1. Release and amount paid will be based on grade of the group and as per guidelines given in (2) to (4) below.
2. Repayment percentage is not less than 95% (for both external loan and sanga loan).
3. Cluster level federation is functioning regularly and effectively.
4. The group account has been audited every year.

Item (2) & (3) above would be applicable for groups of more than 2 years. The exercise of grading will be done internally or through an external agency by DeW.

Determination of eligible NGO support cost (Monitoring) will be based on the following norms:

If there is an improvement in the grade in the next year, the differential amount from the support cost paid in the previous year would be paid additionally. The amount as per the current year grading and other parameters achieved will also be paid.

III. Establishing People's Organisation for ensuring sustainability:

The payment for establishing people's organisation for ensuring sustainability would be released subject to the following conditions:

A. Indicators:

1. Sustainability - applicable for all groups of 4 years and above. Group graded "A" would be deemed to be sustainable. This will be assessed based on group-grading and covers factors like percentage of repayment, multiplication factor of internal loans given out of the group common fund, payment of animators honoraria by the group itself, group income generation programme, etc. During the project period, parameters may be changed based on experience and consultation. Then the revised parameters would apply.
2. Existence of Group Reserve Fund in the group
3. Membership and active functioning in cluster level federation.
4. Repayment percentage of both internal loans and institutional credit not less than 95%

B. Payment pattern ( as per indicators in A above):

IV. Support cost towards establishing credit linkages:

Support cost towards establishing credit linkages with banks and other sources arranged by the NGO/PIU will be released subject to the following conditions:

1. The loans have been sanctioned and documentation completed.
2. The assets have been created.
3. Training before and after asset creation have been completed.
4. The quantum of credit eligible for support cost shall be a minimum of Rs.5,000/- per SHG member linked by loans.

ANNEXE - II

TRAINING PROGRAMMES

(Maximum scale of finance)

# - Detailed guidelines for the training schedule and content as prescribed by DeW.

* - TA should be paid and Lunch and refreshment should be actually provided to the trainees who attend, irrespective of where the training is conducted.

ANNEXE – III

TRAINING SUPPPORT COSTS

1. First instalment of 30% advance of three month’s schedule may be given on receipt of three month’s schedule
2. Second instalment of 30% advance of three month’s schedule on receipt of successful feed back on the first month programme during the second month;
3. Third instalment of 30% advance of three month’s schedule on receipt of successful feed back on the second month’s programme during the third moth;
4. Final 10% on submission of final reports on the three month’s schedule during the fourth month of completion of scheduled programmes.

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