Reportage on a planet without equitable or sustainable development.
the transitions of indian microfinance
india’s beleaguered mfis are making a set of fundamental changes to their business models. in a bid to survive, one bunch is diversifying beyond microfinance into lending for cycles, vehicles, homes, tractors and whatnot. another lot is sticking to microfinance but making some significant changes within that — like who they lend to and how they lend.
(Usha) Thorat fears that if the NBFC arms lend the way MFIs did during the boom years of microfinance, there might be a surge in secured loans, but without enough due diligence into the end use of that loan, the borrower’s repayment capacity or the worth of the asset. For example, if a poor woman uses a loan to buy a house in a slum or an informal tenement, she won’t have a title. How can that serve as collateral then? There’s also the risk of priority-sector funds being used for other purposes. R Bupathy, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), says this risk is greater in a holding-company structure with many subsidiaries.
I am an Indian journalist with interests in energy, environment, climate and India’s ongoing slide into right-wing authoritarianism. My book, Despite the State, an examination of pervasive state failure and democratic decay in India, was published by Westland Publications, India, in January 2021. My work has won the Bala Kailasam Memorial Award; the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award; five Shriram Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism; and, more recently, been a finalist at the True Story Award and GIJN’s Global Shining Light Awards. Write to me at despitethestate@protonmail.com.
“Westland closure: Titles that are selling fast and a few personal recommendations,” by Chetana Divya Vasudev, Moneycontrol. (Because this happened too. In February, a year after DtS was released, Amazon decided to shutter Westland, which published the book. The announcement saw folks rushing to buy copies of Westland books before stocks run out.)
Fractured/Earth 
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