We produce blogs to discuss new research findings, ongoing projects, and even personal reflections on the research process. Our blogs are written for a variety of audiences, including other researchers, policymakers, practitioners, financial service providers, grassroots organizations, impact investors and the public. The format is simple and easy to grasp. The language is straightforward, and the tone is non-academic. Our blogs can be of varying lengths. We choose to write a blog when we don’t want to do a full- fledged study or follow a rigorous research process. Blogs may contain opinions and they can also be based on experiences. Some of our blogs may just share some observations, learnings, or challenges.
There has been a strong national imperative to move towards a “cashless” economy in India[1]. Despite a substantive impetus from public and private sector forces, the adoption and use of digital modes of payment in the country remains paltry[
I met today with the promoter and CEO of one of our newer Small Business Loan Originators and visited some of their end borrowers in Bombay.
In this blog post we feature a conversation between Bama Balakrishnan, CRO, IFMR Capital and Kalpana Pandey, CEO & Managing Director, CRIF High Mark. CRIF High Mark is one of the four credit bureaus that operates in the country.
In this post we have put together an infograph below that highlights some of the aspects pertaining to credit bureau regulatory landscape in India, USA and Australia.
For an institution focussed on delivering high-quality and customised financial services to low-income households, the Wealth Management approach has been the one of the key underlying layers that is core to the KGFS Model.
Insurance contracts to lower income households (micro-insurance) are typically for one year.
Payments banks are different from regular banks. They can only accept deposits up to Rs. 1 lakh per person, roughly $1500, and cannot grant loans. Furthermore, payments banks can only invest their money in safe government securities and other highly liquid assets. Their primary objective is to further financial inclusion by providing access to small savings, payments and remittance services to low-income customers without compromising financial stability.
In this post, we attempt to compare the regulatory landscape for NBFC-MFIs and Housing Finance Companies (HFC) within the broader context of the regulatory landscape for niche credit intermediaries.
Natural catastrophes, whether in the form of the severe drought that regions like Bundelkhand are currently witnessing or floods, like the one which deluged Chennai in 2015, leave behind them a tale of destruction that is both unparalleled and deeply disturbing
I had an opportunity to participate in the excellent conference organised by the Stanford Centre for International Development (SCID) on Indian Economic Policy as a discussant for a presentation by Dr. Rakesh Mohan.
In all our research efforts, we strive to maintain an independent voice that speaks for the low-income household and household enterprises. Our ability to perform this function is significantly enhanced by our commitment to disseminate as a pure public good, all the intellectual capital that we create.
