Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented Budget 2011-12 in Parliament on Monday promising to stimulate growth and bring down inflation. Admitting that food inflation remains a matter of concern, Pranab said that the economy could have performed better. He said that the development needs to be more inclusive while announcing increased outlay on social sector schemes. "Total food inflation is down from 20.2 per cent last year to 9.3 per cent...
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Isaac hints at law to curb microfinancing
Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said the State government may push a legislation to regulate lending by microfinance institutions. Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, he pointed out the relevance of the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Bill, 2010. “The entry of the Janasree Sustainable Development Mission into the microfinance sector poses a risk. Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy should clarify his stand on the risk...
More »ADB plans to set up $250 mn guarantee fund for microfinance by Aveek Datta and Anup Roy
India’s microfinance institutions (MFIs), under pressure because of stricter rules in their largest market Andhra Pradesh and the consequent slump in repayments there, may get a boost from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). ADB is constituting a $250 million (around Rs1,135 crore) facility to offer guarantees against loans to MFIs extended by banks in the Asia-Pacific region where it operates, including India. The move is aimed at encouraging banks to lend...
More »Identifying a billion Indians
IN A small village north-west of Bangalore, peasants queue for identities. Each man fills in a form with his name and rough date of birth, or gets someone who can read to do it for him. He places his fingertips on one scanner and stares at another. A photograph of his face is snapped. These images are uploaded to a computer. Within a few weeks he will have an identity...
More »Who is responsible for India's poor – the state or the private sector?
Regulation in India's microfinance sector aims to address feckless borrowing and reckless lending – but will the new restrictions entrench poverty, rather than end it? One of the many crushing burdens for India's poor bear is debt; unable to make ends meet, they turn to traditional moneylenders. They are willing to extend credit, but at unconscionably high rates – sometimes exceeding 80%, and keeping borrowers in lifelong penury. Popular cinema and...
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