by Melissa Duscha -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: CARE International and Allianz Pioneering Microinsurance Against Disaster for India’s Poor

 Aid agency CARE international and global insurance company, Allianz are offering community health insurance in the southern Indian region south of the city of Chinnai, an area badly hit by the December 26, 2004 tsunami. Packages covering natural catastrophes and accidents will be available for 16 cents a month. A family of four can be insured for an average annual cost of ten dollars US.

by Melissa Duscha -

PAPER WRAP-UP: India Microfinance Review 2007

 This review of the Indian microfinance sector is based on an analysis of M-CRIL’s sample of 58 rated microfinance institutions and the MIX’s 37 reporting institutions in 2006.  The publication was released in 2007 by Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Micro-Credit Ratings International Limited (M-CRIL) as a 74-page document and is currently available at: http://www.microfinancegateway.org/content/article/detail/45957/

by Anthony Busch -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Reliance Capital Enters First Phase of Microfinance Initiative in India

As posted by MicroCapital on Thursday, Reliance Capital of India, a publicly-traded financial institution offering a wide range of services and reporting March 2007 total assets of USD 1.5 billion, announced a new microfinance initiative on March 3rd beginning with the financing of two microfinance institutions (MFIs) based in Gujarat state. As stated in the press release, MAS Financial Services Limited (MFSL) and Vardan Trust received the first checks and Reliance Capital plans to continue the first phase of the initiative in Maharashtra state before expanding nation-wide at an undetermined date. Mr. K. V. Srinivasan, the Deputy CEO of Reliance Consumer Finance—a division of Reliance Capital offering loans for a variety of products—expressed that the methodology of the initiative will be to lend to MFIs which will then on-lend to individuals, self help groups (SHGs), and other joint liability microfinance structures. SHGs are unions of individuals, usually connected by geographical location, which organize to take advantage of the financial services that can be utilized from their collective assets.

by Priya Rajdev -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: SKS Teams with ICICI Lombard General to Provide Health Insurance for Rural Poor in Indian States of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa

Following an announcement earlier this month, SKS Microfinance (previously reported (1), (2), (3)), an Indian microlending organization, has worked with ICICI Lombard General, an Indian insurance company, to roll out a health care product for the rural poor in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Orissa by March 8 of this year. This is a continuation of a pilot program introduced in Karnataka in February 2007. The problem of health insurance, while of growing concern in Western nations, is just another symptom of the severe poverty afflicting millions in developing nations. According to United Nations Development Programme, of the one billion people in India, 950 million — 95 percent — are living without health insurance.

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Engineers for Social Impact (E4SI) Launches New Fellowship Program in India for Engineers in Microfinance, Social Enterprises

Engineers for Social Impact (E4SI), a new fellowship program in India, has begun its recruitment process to match the top five undergraduate candidates from Indian engineering schools with five partner social enterprises that are focusing on development by means of sustainable for-profit entrepreneurship.

by Jake Keller -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: India-Based Compulink Sees 1.8 Percent Uptick in Share Price After Announcing Contract to Provide SKS Microfinance of India With Software and Networking Systems

Compulink and SKS Microfinance, both from India, recently entered into a contract wherein Compulink will provide SKS with its entire suite of business applications. The new system will utilize Compulink’s proprietary “Whizible” framework on top of Microsoft’s Net Platform to link all 650 SKS branches using a set of web-based applications. The contract covers all of SKS’s core businesses including microcredit, microinsurance and health insurance as well as providing new accounting systems and a centralized IT infrastructure.

by Melissa Duscha -

PAPER WRAP-UP: Accelerating Rural Financing Process by Banks in India, Need for Creating Enabling Environment

Written by Dr. Amrit Patel, consultant to the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Dr. Gopal Kalkoti, economic consultant for the All India Association of Educational Research (AIAER),  this nine-page study of the Indian rural microfinance sector was released in November 2007. Based on government surveys conducted over the past two decades, the publication evaluates the current state of rural finance in India and suggests improvement measures. Available at: http://microfinancegateway.org/content/article/detail/39605/

The two major factors affecting the success of Rural Finance Institutions (RFIs) are the lack of efficient, low-cost operational solutions and India’s overall weak agricultural infrastructure.

by Mary Fu -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram to Inaugurate Microfinance Self-Help Initiative: Janasree Sustainable Development Mission

The Janasree Sustainable Development Mission, a non-governmental self-help initiative promoting small and micro-enterprises (SMEs) in India, will be officially inaugurated by Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram on February 2, 2008 at the Janasree Microfinance Summit.

by the MicroCapital Team -

NEWS WIRE: India: Boston Globe Reports on Mobile Payment Technology Flowing from Microfinance Institutions to Traditional Financial Institutions

The rise of cellphone banking in India highlights a new trend: technology developed in the Third World is flowing back to the First.

by the MicroCapital Team -

MICROCAPITAL STORY: CGAP Releases Notes on Regulation of Branchless Banking in India

CGAP has partnered with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the GSM Association, a global trade association representing over 700 mobile phone operators from 218 countries, to conduct diagnostic reviews of the regulatory environment for branchless banking approaches in Pakistan, Kenya, South Africa, the Philippines, India, Russia and Brazil. The report on India, summarized here, was released this month. MicroCapital covered the release of the Kenya report in a story dated November 26. 2007, and the Pakistan report can be downloaded from CGAP.