Financial sector expert Y.H. Malegam will head a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel to look into the functioning of microfinance institutions or MFIs and their regulations. The MFIs are in the business of giving tiny loans. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shashi Rajagopalan and U.R. Rao – all on the boards of the Indian central bank – and RBI deputy governor K.C. Chakrabarty are the members of the panel. The committee, which will...
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Posco paid for study on Posco by Priscilla Jebaraj
Claims about the benefits of Posco's $12 billion integrated steel project to Orissa's economy and job market come from a study by an “independent” research organisation — but was paid for by Posco itself. In January 2007, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) published a report on ‘Social Cost Benefit Analysis of the POSCO Steel Project in Orissa,' which claimed that the project would directly and indirectly generate 8.7...
More »Suicide leash on lenders
Public uproar over 20 suicides in two months has forced the Andhra Pradesh government to act to regulate micro-finance institutions. On October 14, the state government brought an ordinance making it compulsory for MFIs to register themselves, declare the effective Rate of interest they charge, ensure that no security is sought for loans and no coercion is used for recovery. Non-compliance will be punished with a three-year prison term and a...
More »Arvind Kejriwal, 2006 Ramon Magsaysay award winner and founder of Parivartan interviewed by Pallavi Singh
How would you rate the functioning of the RTI Act five years into its enactment? It has been a mixed experience. It is encouraging that we have one of the best laws in the world but its shoddy implementation is taking the sheen away. The two nerve centers of RTI are simplifying the process of filing an application and making the functioning of the Commission effective. The posts of Information Commissioner...
More »The ugly underbelly of Microfinance by Roli Srivastava, Swati Bharadwaj-Chand & Partha Sinha
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...
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