Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Publications

Blogs

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.

Our Work

February 27, 2014 | Dvara Research

In a three-part interview series Vishnu Prasad of IFMR Finance Foundation speaks with Dr. Shlomo (Solly) Angel, adjunct professor at NYU and senior research scholar at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project, about India’s urban housing crisis, urban governance challenges in India, the enduring legacy of the Oregon experiment, Making Room Paradigm and his personal experiences with participatory planning in Bangkok.

By Dvara Research
February 20, 2014 | Dvara Research

The CCFS recommendations pertaining to national full-service banks and regional banks have been covered in our previous post. Unlike these deposit-taking institutions, the third category of institutions, namely, RBI-regulated Non-Banking Financial Companies are not involved in taking public retail deposits and are primarily focussed on credit delivery and therefore supplement the bank-led channels for credit delivery. 

February 15, 2014 | Dvara Research

The RBI Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households (CCFS) lays out several recommendations to strengthen the supply side with respect to credit outreach through the banking and non-banking infrastructure that is already in place.

February 11, 2014 | Dvara Research

The CCFS Report has laid out a vision for Sufficient Access to Affordable Formal Credit that places a goal of achieving a Credit to GDP ratio for each district of atleast 10% by January 1, 2016, and to cross 50% by January 1, 2020.

February 6, 2014 | Dvara Research

Financial inclusion is a priority area in the minds of policy makers in India. The larger focus of this debate has been on access to credit and insurance.

By Renuka Sane
February 3, 2014 | Dvara Research

One of the more debated aspects of the Mor Committee’s report on “Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low Income Households” is the proposal for the new class of banks, in particular the “Payments Banks”.

By Graham A.N. Wright
January 29, 2014 | Dvara Research

India faces a major financial exclusion challenge. According to the 2011 World Bank Global Findex Survey, only 35% of Indian adults have access to a formal bank account and 8% borrowed formally in the last 12 months.

By Dan Radcliffe, Rodger Voorhies
January 27, 2014 | Dvara Research

In view of the rigid sectoral targets and the absence of an active trading market for PSL assets, current PSL requirements force identical strategies from all banks, with little scope for specialisation.

By Anand Sahasranaman
January 21, 2014 | Dvara Research

The Mor Committee Report offers a radical take on client protection, built around the concept of a legal right to suitability.

By Elisabeth Rhyne, Managing Director, Center for Financial Inclusion
January 16, 2014 | Dvara Research

On January 7th, 2014 the RBI published the Report of the Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services (CCFS) for Small Businesses and Low Income Households chaired by Dr. Nachiket Mor, which was set-up to articulate a framework for financial inclusion in India.

By Dvara Research