Author Description

In India, micro finance has emerged as a visible credit channel to the poor, whose access to conventional credit sources is constrained by the requirement of collateral and high transaction costs. Micro finance is routed through self-help groups (SHGs). Over the years, the SHG-bank linkage program has emerged as the major micro finance program. The focus of the SHG-bank linkage program is largely on those rural poor who have no sustainable access to the formal banking system. The target groups, therefore, broadly comprise small and marginal farmers, agricultural and non-agricultural laborers, artisans and craftsmen, and other poor engaged in small businesses-like vending and hawking. For India's rural poor, the program has been providing access to the formal banking system and has achieved several milestones in terms of gender sensitization, empowerment, and poverty alleviation. This book contains research papers which provide deep insights into the role and functioning of micro finance institutions as strategic partners in the empowerment of rural poor in India.