No money to govern rural India
In India, gram panchayats (GPs) were given constitutional legitimacy following the passage of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which was meant to decentralise power and responsibility to them to improve local public service delivery and governance.
Regulatory Architecture of India’s Financial System
It is happening again – regulators debating openly to clarify their turfs. This time it is PFRDA Vs. IRDA for regulation of pension products offered by insurance companies,
Response to RBI’s discussion paper on Deregulation of Savings Bank Deposit Rate
We think that the Indian economy is ripe for deregulation of savings rate. The recent monetary
policy released by the RBI highlights that the Indian economy may experience a slow growth over
this year, given an inflation focused tightening of the monetary policy.
How markets can serve farmers
Agriculture incomes in India are volatile because of a number of unforeseen factors, such as weather, disease/pest infestations and/or market conditions.
Matching Types of Accounts to Types of Needs: Lessons from India
My colleague and I were once asked at a conference, “So, how exactly does a bank account reduce poverty?” Great question.
Making money transfers work for migrants
Gopal G., a native of West Bengal, moved to Delhi 14 years ago to find a job to support his 11-member family. In Delhi, he works with a goldsmith, earning Rs 3,600 a month, much of which he sends back home.
UIDAI and Financial Inclusion – Unlimited Possibilities
Suyash Rai of IFMR Finance Foundation, Raghav Narayana of IFMR Rural Finance in an informal conversation with Mr. Praveen Chakravarty, who is a volunteer in the Financial Inclusion team of UIDAI.
Scarcity & Bounty: Psychology of the Harvest
Self-control problems can be consequential for the well-off; examples include failures to eat or live healthy, or save enough for retirement.
Historical data, vital to design
Households slip into “bad states of the world” due to several reasons, including accident or death of the earning member, medical emergency of a family member, poor or excess rainfall that ruin crop production, theft or fire.
Banks can do more on the Business Correspondent front
G E Balajee, IFMR Blog Team in conversation with Abhishek Sinha, CEO, Eko India Financial Services Private Limited on the Business Correspondent model, its challenges and prospect.
