The family has survived hundreds of years but has not remained untouched by social change. There has been gradual transformation in the forms of the family, even in India. From the joint family system it has become nuclear family and now there are single- parent family, commuting family, extended family, female-headed family- each having its own merits, demerits & unique problems. The homemakers face several kinds of problems in each type of family. Excessive problems cause stress on the home maker, which in turn, lead to their poor health, which aggravate the problems. The book presents multidimensional research analysis of various forms of family focusing on the attitude the homemakers have towards the family to which they belong, the problems they face and the coping strategies adopted by them .The coping strategies suggested in the study can be adopted by others. The book will be a rich resource material for not only the academicians but also for all those who are concerned with the welfare of the family, as, the healthy family-not only in physical terms but also in social and psychological context- leads to healthy community and to a healthy nation.

The book is compilation of articles and research papers on social economy, cooperatives and micro finance experiences issues and opportunities in India. Most of the papers are presented at international conference and receipent of international fellowships. India is affluent of cooperatives of several kinds, size and type on one hand; on other hand several micro financing mechanism like Self Help Group is pioneered and successful. Book contains successful and failed cases of governance from different cooperatives to take lesson there from. Data rich cases are analyzed critically. The book may be useful to government executives,legislators, judges, business executives, professors, students, researchers and consultants working in social economy, cooperatives and micro finance. AMUL, NDDB, NABARD, Warananagar are bright stars in pre and post liberalized era, hence there is great potential to learn from their experience.

As per World Bank estimate, 7000 Micro-Finance Institutes serving 16 million poor people with approximate total turnover for MFI's estimated $2.5- $7 billion (2007). Repayment rates of micro finance are almost 97%, substantially higher than the normal commercial finance. US$ 21.6 Billion still needed to provide microfinance to 100 million of the world's poorest families. Micro Finance is about financing services to the poor & micro entrepreneurs. There are several definitions of micro finance and plenty of models world wide through which micro financing industry works. Depending upon socio-economic conditions, political and cultural environment, technical advancement of the country and institutionalizations, numerous methods and mechanisms have been developed across the globe. The book describes various Micro Finance models and institutes working in global MF Industry.