Misha Sharma

The study was conducted in two contrasting geographic contexts of rural Punjab and urban Tamil Nadu, using qualitative research methods involving 30 WNEs.

Access to suitable credit could enable growth-oriented nano-enterprises to invest in productive assets, adopt new technologies, smooth working capital cycles, and expand their scale of operations.

In this blog, the author has attempted to summarise the vast literature on the determinants of financial inclusion using a framework developed by Moscona et al (2026).

This blog critically examines the concept of the “gender gap” in financial inclusion by distinguishing between unconditional differences and those that persist after controlling for socio-economic factors, using evidence from the Global Findex 2025 dataset

The objective of this paper is to draw attention to those aspects of the lives of Low-Income Households (LIHs) that aren’t related to their income. In doing so, the paper characterises LIHs from a social capital perspective, highlighting the maintenance and strengthening of social capital as a deep-rooted cultural trait that is central to meaning-making in the lives of LIHs.

The objective of this blog is to articulate the scope and relevance of various blended finance instruments in advancing access to suitable credit for nano entrepreneurs.

Almost 65% of India’s population lives in its rural areas.1 India’s financial sector has seen unprecedented expansion, driven by policy initiatives, digital infrastructure and regulatory reforms. Initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Aadhaar-linked banking, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and digital lending have significantly improved access to financial services, particularly for underserved segments.

Mobile Instant Credit (MIC) is rapidly growing as a financial inclusion tool, attracting policy and research interest. However, its impact remains understudied, with a weak Theory of Change. The blog highlights three overlooked impact areas and calls for insights from microfinance research.

According to a report by Crif High Mark, microfinance loans overdue for up to 31-180 days increased from 2.1% in March 2024 to 2.7% in June 2024. While there could be several supply-side factors at play for the rise in defaults, in this blog we direct our attention to reviewing the household side of the story by assessing the changes in household balance sheets post the COVID-19 pandemic.

The objective of this policy brief is to summarise learnings from fieldwork conducted in Rajasthan and Gujarat towards (i) building evidence on the customer protection issues in the sale and servicing of the two insurance schemes and (ii) bringing to the forefront the structural issues on the supply-side that are holding back Financial Service Providers (FSPs) from offering high-quality service in the context of these two schemes.