SKS Microfinance, India's largest microfinance player, arrived with a bang with its hugely successful IPO in August. However, the recent sacking of its MD and CEO Suresh Gurumani  has opened up a pandora's box that is now threatening to expose the ugly underbelly of the sector which, many allege, is teeming with players who are no better than moneylenders but have so far been able to operate under the pious...

The Bharatiya Janata Party Nagaland expressed unhappiness over the Pubic Distribution System (PDS) of essential commodities in the state. It stated that the present PDS is in the hand of a few contractors, appointed by the government as state Stockiest and District Nominee, for mobilization/handling and transportation of essential commodities meant for districts on contractual basis by signing of an agreement for one year period. “These temporary deeds are purely for...

Two people committed suicide Monday in Andhra Pradesh after microfinance companies allegedly harassed them for non-repayment of loans. Opposition parties have urged the government to take action against the firms while a rights panel has asked police to submit the reports on suicides. While an auto driver committed suicide in Warangal district, a woman ended her life in East Godavari district. Another woman attempted suicide by consuming pesticides in Karimnagar district...

Taking a serious note on the suicides due to the purported harassment or embarrassment caused by the collection agents of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), Minister for Rural Development, IKP, Pensions, NREGP and Self-Help Groups, Vatti Vasanth Kumar stated that the government was contemplating making an Act to streamline the operations of MFIs in AP. Talking to media persons in the New Delhi, the minister said that the government would frame rules and...

Delhi is an anxious city this monsoon season, struggling to meet an onerous deadline. Preparations continue at a feverish pace for the 19th Commonwealth Games (CWG), which will bear down on the Indian metropolis October 3-14, along with some 8,500 athletes from the 71 states and territories that were once part of the British Empire. Around-the-clock construction and spells of heavy monsoon rain have turned Delhi into a swirl of mud...