Sponsored by the Ford Foundation/Action Aid.

Utsahi Mahila Abhydaya (UMA) is a resource centre for women in Panchayati Raj. The centre is located at Bangalore (Karnataka)

The aim of the project is to empower elected women representatives in Panchayati Raj Institutions through intensive interactions and training, using resource material provided by the UMA team.

UMA functions as a listening post for information on Panchayati Raj. Project activities involve documentation, dissemination of information and developing resource materials along with continuous field programmes and networking.

UMA Prachar', the ISST newsletter on Panchayati Raj is published in English, Hindi and Kannada. A Tamil version is being introduced on an experimental basis.