Faced with a liquidity crunch, microfinance companies have asked RBI to direct banks to set up an emergency fund of Rs 1,000 crore to help them tide over slowdown in their business. Sources said the Microfinance Institution Network (MFIN) is trying to convince the central bank in this regard. The micro finance sector has been reeling under a liquidity crisis after the Andhra Pradesh government issued an ordinance to control interest...

The recent crisis in the micro-finance industry, brought about by some incidents in Andhra Pradesh, has led to the development of a new concept in the Indian thinking on development — that of “responsible finance”. Responsible finance is supposed to mean financial activities by companies that make just about enough returns to stay in business and charge rates of interest on loans to the poor that are only marginally higher than what...

Reiterating her stand on the Rajarhat land issue, Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday asked the Left Front government to put on hold all land acquisition in the new township till the Land Acquisition Act 1894 is amended. She said, she has communicated her view to the government about the changes in the current Act. “The state government should stop all its efforts of acquiring land. Their days...

The Adivasi Sahitya Sabha is gearing up to start a unique school where Adivasi students will get the opportunity to study in the popular Adivasi language — Sadri. The school, to be set up in Sonitpur district, will start functioning from December this year. Adivasis were brought to the state by British tea planters from different parts of the country before Independence, to work in the nascent tea industry. As they were...

Given the mind-boggling figures thrown up by the CAG report on the 2G scam, the gains seem rather modest. But in the year gone by, former telecom minister A Raja's finances have shown a healthy growth with regard to both income and investments. His political career may be headed south, but Raja's finances are in the pink of health. Not only has his personal income increased from Rs 11.47 lakh to...