New fund for Women's SHG's and MFIs

Considering Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) as an important means of financial inclusion, the Finance Minister has proposed to create in the course of the year, "India Microfinance Equity Fund" of Rs. 100 crore with Small Industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

Shri Mukherjee emphasized that the creation of a dedicated fund for providing equity to smaller MFIs would help them maintain growth and achieve scale and efficiency in operations. The Committee set up by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to look into issues relating to micro finance sector in India has submitted its report. The Government is now considering putting in place a framework to protect the interests of small borrowers.

Union Budget 2011-12 also proposes to set up a "Women's SHG's Development Fund" with a corpus of Rs. 500 crore to empower women and promote their Self Help Groups (SHGs).

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords