Towards a Sustainable Microfinance Outreach in India – Experiences and Perspectives

This book is a compilation of presentations by professionals from the microfinance sector on their experiences with best practices in microfinance.

• Dr. C.Rangarajan presents potential directions for the growth of various microfinance models;
• Dr. Y.S.P. Thorat examines the gap between the concerns of policy makers and the actual efforts to decrease poverty;
• Robert Peck Christen draws lessons for India from international experiences with sustainable microfinance;
• B. Pramod projects a future scenario for the self-help-group (SHG) - Bank Linkage Program;
• Aloysius Prakash Fernandez explains the "Mysore Resettlement and development Agency's (MYRADA) understanding of the sustainability of self-help affinity groups;
• M.S. Sriram and Radha Kumar look at the conditions in which microfinance emerged in various regions and the consequent policy implications;
• D.Narendranath suggests ways forward for mature SHGs;
• Vijayalaksmi Das explores the way ahead for the Indian microfinance sector;
• J. Howard M. Jones examines issues in informal finance and offers perspectives from a village in Rajasthan, India;
• Dirk Steinwand looks at the working of the "Indonesian People's Credit Banks";
• H. S. Shylendra argues for the need for a proactive policy and regulatory framework to bring microfinance into the mainstream for poverty alleviation;
• Marie Luise Harberger explores the role of governments in creating an enabling environment for microfinance;
• Bindu Ananth looks at the ICICI Bank Partnership model of financing microfinance;
• Mathew Titus examines how innovations in microfinance help in expanding secular growth.

The book ends with concluding remarks by Dr. Thorat.