Independent Research and Policy Advocacy

Investing in financial inclusion

An investment banker has to develop sector-specific guidelines and methodologies to help him deal with small and disaggregated clients, and scale up low-ticket transactions.

India needs a better debt market

A well-functioning capital market is an important prerequisite not only for financial inclusion, but also for economic development and growth.

Voice-based authentication for financial inclusion

Suyash Rai of IFMR Finance Foundation interviews Umesh Sachdev, CEO, Uniphore Software Systems about the company and its role in providing voice as a medium of authentication when it comes to enabling financial inclusion.

Missing links in financial inclusion

Infrastructure facilities such as clearing houses, depositories, stock exchanges, and commodity exchanges are the backbone of any financial system.

Systems Design Choices for Financial Inclusion

The AP microfinance crisis has raised significant questions on the design of the financial system that best ensures inclusion. The crisis has revealed deep discomfort with the regulation of Non-Deposit taking Institutions (NDI). Some observers have equated NDIs to moneylenders.

Universalizing Complete Access to Finance: Key Conceptual Issues

In this paper, we present two stylized models of the financial system. We make the case that in order to realize the potential of a well-functioning complete financial market, financial system designers and financial service providers will need to think about ways to deliver financial propositions that are customized to individual households by responding to their unique circumstances.

Government Policies and Financial Inclusion

Markets typically exist within the boundaries set by the state. The financial markets are no exception to this. Mobilisation and allocation of capital – the key roles of the financial system – are done within the framework defined by the government.

Ground zero observations in Andhra Pradesh

What does it mean to be a farmer in Kurnool (a district in Andhra Pradesh)? One part of the district grows commercial crops such as sunflower and tobacco while another supports nothing but paddy (the Telugu-Ganga Canal influences the soil in way that only paddy can be grown here).

Barriers in delivering finance

Though India has deep financial infrastructure comprising a large number of bank and post-office branches; agricultural cooperative societies; and, now, micro finance institutions; there still remain gaps that have prevented us from leveraging the full potential of this financial infrastructure.