Given the important role pensions play in the financial well-being of households, NPS-Lite, a pension plan geared towards economically disadvantaged populations, is crucial to achieving complete financial inclusion.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review on new approaches to funding social enterprises cites IFMR Capital’s work in securitisation and structured finance of microfinance loan portfolios.

The Centre for Micro Finance, IFMR Research, published its latest report "Five Years of Researching Financial Services for the Poor" at its recently concluded annual conference held in association with RBI's College of Agricultural Banking.

IFMR Capital raised INR 360 Million through its first issuance of senior non-convertible debentures (NCDs) listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

RBI's College of Agricultural Banking together with the Centre for Micro Finance, IFMR Research will host their fifth annual conference, “Microfinance: Translating Research into Practice” on January 9th and 10th 2012 in Pune.

Governments have proven to be too inefficient, the non-profits too small and the corporates too greedy to provide basic services. What about for-profit social enterprises?

Here are our picks: 1. De-regulation of savings account interest rates

India is rapidly urbanizing and the rate of urbanization is expected to climb steeply over the next few decades. The urban population of India will be close to 600 million by 2030, as compared to 340 million in 2008.

In the second blog in the Consumer Financial Protection series, we explore insights from behavioral economics that could fundamentally impact the design of legislation and regulation for consumer protection in finance.

A recent article in the Economist notes approvingly about the growing phenomenon of Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) as a means for low-income clients to save securely and earn high returns.