Microfinance institutions (MFIs) essentially act as financial intermediaries, bridging the gap between mainstream financial institutions and low-income households for a specific type of credit need that is short-term and unsecured.

The Malegam Committee’s (referred to hereinafter as the “Committee”) recommendations to increase the supervisory capacity of the RBI, to make MFI regulation consistent at the national level, to promote good corporate governance and to increase bank lending to MFIs are welcome.

The KGFS model is structured around the concept of financial well-being and aims to maximize the financial well-being of every individual and every enterprise.

[Artoo Slate is a software solution designed for microfinance field staff that takes the entire process of data collection and loan disbursement online.

Does the RBI's claim to regulate NBFC (MFIs) have more merit than Federal state governments' claims? An analysis of constitutional provisions by Vishnu Peri, IFMR Mezzanine Finance.

We have recently read comments on various blogs which suggest that MFIs are comparable to Ponzi schemes. These bloggers suggest that once new MFI loan disbursements slow down, borrowers will not be able to make the payments on their old loans.

The goal of an investment professional is to maximise the risk-adjusted return on the overall portfolio through diversification within and across asset classes.

[The author is an independent columnist. This article is a reproduction of his column from The Telegraph]

Efforts to promote financial inclusion achieved momentum in the country with the RBI guidelines in January 2006, allowing appointment of non-bank Business Correspondents (BC) as agents for the delivery of financial services outside bank branches.