Financializing Poverty


Book Description

Introduction : enfolding the poor -- Entrepreneurship and work at the "bottom of the pyramid"--Social banking to financial inclusion -- The reluctant moneylender -- The domestication of microfinance -- Financial risk and the moral economy of credit -- Insured death, precarious life




Changing Contours of Microfinance in India


Book Description

This book brings together empirical evidences and theoretical perspectives to provide a comprehensive overview of the microfinance sector in India. The essays in the volume: focus on the application of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in microfinance institutions to strengthen the savings movement and widen credit access to the poor and marginalized sections of society; present case studies on self-help group (SHG) movements, federations and SHG-Bank Linkage programmes; propose measures for strengthening regulatory and governance structures of the microfinance sector; and identify linkages between overall financial inclusion and the contribution of microfinance institutions (MFIs). The volume will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of microeconomics, South Asian economics and development economics as well as professionals and aspirants in the microfinance, rural banking and financial inclusion sectors.




Women, Microfinance and the State in Neo-liberal India


Book Description

This book discusses women-oriented microfinance initiatives in India and their articulation vis-à-vis state developmentalism and contemporary neo-liberal capitalism. It examines how these initiatives encourage economically disadvantaged rural women to make claims upon state-provided microcredit and connect with multiple state institutions and agencies, thereby reshaping their gendered identities. The author shows how Self-Help Group (SHG)-based microfinance institutions mobilise agency and create channels of empowerment for women as well as make them responsible for alleviating poverty for themselves and their families. The book also brings out the importance of factoring in women’s dissenting voices when they negotiate developmental projects at the grassroots level. Rich in empirical data, this volume will be useful to scholars and researchers of development studies, gender studies, economics, especially microeconomics, politics, public policy and governance.




Microfinance in India


Book Description

Microfinance in India provides an informative and holistic status of microfinance in the country and suggests a road map for the future. A valuable source of information for policy makers, Finance and Management students, and professionals alike, it is a collection of essays by experts from diverse backgrounds on topical themes that capture the complexities of the continuously evolving microfinance sector in India. It covers major microfinance delivery models in an unbiased manner through well-researched articles.The book provides an overview on microfinance institutions and measures that help promote the same. Among other things, it reflects upon the challenges faced by the dominant credit delivery model, i.e., SHG-Bank Linkage Programme and issues related to the emerging microfinance institutions (MFIs). It also dwells upon innovations in the microfinance sector and the efforts being made to evolve new models such as SHG Federations.




Making Women Pay


Book Description

In Making Women Pay, Smitha Radhakrishnan explores India's microfinance industry, which in the past two decades has come to saturate the everyday lives of women in the name of state-led efforts to promote financial inclusion and women's empowerment. Despite this favorable language, Radhakrishnan argues, microfinance in India does not provide a market-oriented development intervention, even though it may appear to help women borrowers. Rather, this commercial industry seeks to extract the maximum value from its customers through exploitative relationships that benefit especially class-privileged men. Through ethnography, interviews, and historical analysis, Radhakrishnan demonstrates how the unpaid and underpaid labor of marginalized women borrowers ensures both profitability and symbolic legitimacy for microfinance institutions, their employees, and their leaders. In doing so, she centralizes gender in the study of microfinance, reveals why most microfinance programs target women, and explores the exploitative implications of this targeting.




Microfinance in India


Book Description

This volume presents a comprehensive analysis of microfinance initiatives in India. Through substantive field research and case studies ranging across the country, it examines Indian microfinance within its distinct socio-economic realities — the role of women, financial inclusion, rural entrepreneurship, and innovation — its interactions with multiple institutions, the challenges, as well as future directions.




Microfinance and Its Impact on Entrepreneurial Development, Sustainability, and Inclusive Growth


Book Description

Microfinance is a broad variety of services, such as microcredit, for entrepreneurs and small businesses lacking access to banking and other financial services. As many smaller businesses and entrepreneurs may not be able to secure credit services, many microfinance promoters believe that it encourages entrepreneurial activities and inclusive growth. Microfinance and Its Impact on Entrepreneurial Development, Sustainability, and Inclusive Growth is an essential resource that empirically explores the role of microfinance in entrepreneurship development and the operational sustainability of microfinance institutions. It also highlights the impact of microfinance on entrepreneurship development in different countries and regions. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as risk management, women entrepreneurship, and strategic management, this book provides essential research for entrepreneurs, business managers, policy makers, researchers in the field of finance, and business professionals seeking relevant research on microfinance systems.




Microfinance Self Help Groups in India


Book Description

Discusses the role of the groups in encouraging rural women to become active in village affairs and benefits for the poorest. Examines the groups' financial management and financial performance. Considers implications for Indian microfinance and the global growth of the sector.




Inclusive Finance India Report 2016


Book Description

Inclusive Finance India Report 2016 provides in-depth, well-researched, and well-analyzed evidence on how the financial inclusion agenda has progressed at various levels. The report covers a review of the performance of diverse institutional initiatives working in inclusive finance—banks, specialized banks, self-help groups, and microfinance institutions. It also covers the initiatives in technology that address last-mile delivery as well as provides an overview of new initiatives. The report focuses on a larger landscape of financial inclusion while continuing to report progress on microfinance in mainstream financial inclusion activity. It tracks the growth of financial inclusion across institutional structures and delivery models, provides a better understanding of the complexities of the sector, and contributes and informs the policy development process on inclusive finance. It also informs banks and investors, both national and international; highlights key issues that require the attention of the financial sector and policymakers; highlights the positive impact of the sector; and identifies policy and practice gaps on an annual basis. The report involves participation by the RBI, Ministry of Finance, banks, apex financial institutions, technology service providers, business correspondents, and diverse delivery models. This is the best reference book on the annual trends and progress of the financial inclusion and microfinance sector. It includes data-based analysis of all streams of financial inclusion with the most current information in terms of numbers and developments and is a must read for every practitioner in the financial inclusion value chain.




Microfinance India


Book Description

Microfinance India is a part of a series of annual reports on the microfinance sector in India which seeks to document developments, clarify issues, publicize studies, stimulate research, identify policy choices, generate understanding and enhance support for the sector. It is a comprehensive one-stop document that provides the latest data and a holistic view of the sector, combines analysis and description and integrates a variety of topics previously treated separately. The book highlights recent developments in Self Help Groups (SHGs) and SHG Bank Linkage Programs (SBLPs), and focuses on microfinance with regard to the investment scenario in India. It also deals with the burgeoning field of urban microfinance, developments in micro-insurance, and the impact of new technologies on the microfinance sector. Additionally, it recognizes the high demands which the state makes on microfinance institutions and discusses the need and relevance of new policy regulations. Complementing these analyses, statistical annexes provide essential data on the sector, strengthening its utility as a reference document. It contains extensive original material, and yet draws widely on the findings of other recent studies and reports, thereby emerging as a complete, detailed analysis of the status and the future of the microfinance sector in India.