Report of the Internal Group to Examine Issues Relating to Rural Credit and Microfinance

This is an official document of the Reserve Bank of India, outlining the policies and recommendations for developing the microfinance sector in India.

The document discusses the following:

• Various government schemes to assist poor individuals in India;
• The gap in banking services available to the rural population and the various reasons for it;
• The budget announcement by the Government to help this sector;
• Effective models used internationally to improve this sector;
• Different models from the Indian microfinance industry;
• Strategies to deepen and widen financial services available to rural populations;
• Various risks associated with the business and recommendations to overcome them;
• Recommendations to promote and develop microfinance institutes (MFIs) and models that can be adopted in the process;
• The possible role of the private sector for developing microfinancing activities;
• Rating MFIs;
• Regulatory issues and concerns associated with the MFIs;
• Issues related to and recommendations for Section 25 companies and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to promote their development.