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August 24, 2012
India: Banks bullish on microfinance due to RBI guidelines
Banks have restarted giving out funds to the microfinance institutions encouraged by the more facilitating guidelines provided by the Reserve Bank of India – the Central Bank of India. Post the Andhra Pradesh crisis in 2010, the funds towards MFIs had all but dried up with banks being hesitant and […]
August 24, 2012
As the fate of MFIs hang in balance, an introduction to the graduation model
In India and Bangladesh, microfinance has had quite a past – it ranges from the success of microfinance experiments in Bangladesh to mass suicides in Andhra Pradesh in 2010. This post provides a basic insight into a smaller part of microfinance – the graduation model which has achieved success in […]
August 24, 2012
The top 10 microfinance institutions in the world
This post lists the top microfinance institutions in the world by way of number of staff members. See the list here. Read another list of microfinance organizations providing financial access to the poor here.
August 24, 2012
Dhaka foreclosing the Grameen Bank
This post by a former US Ambassador to Bangladesh alleges that the reason why the government of Bangladesh is on its path to forcefully usurp power is to eliminate completely the political threat that is Mohd Yunus, collect a large votebank by promising to write off loans, and loot the […]
August 24, 2012
Candid unheard voice of microfinance
While Hugh Sinclair’s book – ‘Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic’ is widely controversial and limited in the number of its readers, this post talks about how Hugh Sinclair may have been right in implicating Deutsche Bank in his book. Read more here.
August 24, 2012
The sweet stories of microfinance
Conceding that not all stories related to microfinance related to the ‘proverbial impoverished woman’ are good ones, this post relates some stories of success in Puebla, Mexico. The success, as the author points out must be attributed more to the entrepreneurial drive and spirit of the borrower and less on […]
August 24, 2012
State of the Integrated Field of Health and Microfinance in India
This report titled “State of the Integrated Field of Health and Microfinance in India: Harnessing the Strengths of Two Sectors to Improve Health and Alleviate Poverty” tries to explain the concept of integrated health and microfinance units in India. Read the report here.
August 24, 2012
Establishment and Expansion of Islamic Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) in Africa by Farz Foundation
This report by the Oxford Microfinance Initiative examines the potential of expanding Farz Foundation’s model of Islamic Microfinance in select African countries like Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, and Sudan, and the challenges the Foundation has faced so far in its efforts to scale. Read more here.
August 24, 2012
India: Bengal to build 33,000 houses for the poor
According to West Bengal Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim, the State Government is planning to construct 33,000 houses for the EWS (economically weaker sections) of the society. Read more here.
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06 Key Lessons for informing policy decisions: Mainstreaming tribal-specific climate adaptive capacities in vulnerable coastal regions within National Action Plan on Climate Change
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Four Key Lessons for Policy Consideration: Scaling Climate Adaptive Capacities among Small and Marginal Farming Communities in the Sundarbans
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Five Key Lessons for Policy Consideration: Scaling Climate Action Programs for Landless Rural Communities in Semi-Arid Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin in South Asia
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View Blog Posts
GST 2.0 and Tax Cuts: Can They Make Growth Fairer and Greener?
India's latest GST reform, being termed as GST 2.0, is more than just slashing rates. By simplifying the tax structure, cutting levies on essentials, and supporting renewable infrastructure, it's open..
Reimagining Sports in CSR: From Tokenism to a Vehicle for Multiplying Impact
In 2023–24, Indian companies spent about ₹1,396 crore of their CSR budgets on sports — just 4% of the total ₹34,909 crore Indian corporates spent on CSR that year. Most of the rest went to edu..
Interactive SHG Map of India: 7.5 million Women Self Help Groups are spread across 27 States and 6 UTs in India
Under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), India has 7.5 million Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) spread across 27 states and 6 Union Territories. Each of these small, self-governed, and peer-co..