Non availability of timely credit has been a major drawback for the agricultural sector of India. In a country which relies mostly on agriculture, constant endeavors are needed to see that rural and agricultural credit facilities are enhanced with time. As a part of these efforts, agricultural credit cards got introduced in the agricultural lending system. Similarly cash credit facility was also being offered by many banks. However, a major shortfall...

Amidst hue and cry over micro-finance institutions (MFIs) charging the rural poor exorbitant interest rates, Reserve Bank of India norms continue to allow these entities a free hand in determining their charges. The banks lending to MFIs too continue to have full discretion in fixing their rate of interest. RBI has issued a latest master circular reiterating its earlier stand on micro-credit on February 14. Master circulars are like ready-reckoners on...

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...

Global wheat harvests may trail demand for a second year, spurring hoarding and further price gains, said the United Nations. “Whenever you get the market as tight as we are now, hoarding becomes widespread,” Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, said in an interview by phone from Rome. Wheat, corn and soybeans soared to the highest levels since 2008 yesterday as a U.S. government report showed...

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...