MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sthreenidhi of India to Disburse $82m in Education, Livelihood Promotion Loans

Sthreenidhi, an apex cooperative credit society set up in 2011 by the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, reportedly will disburse INR 450 crore (USD 81.6 million) for livelihood promotion and education and skill development loans.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Swarna Pragati Housing Microfinance, Accion Invest $4.5m in Saija Finance of India

Swarna Pragati Housing Microfinance Limited, an Indian housing finance company, and Accion, a US-based nonprofit, reportedly have invested USD 4.5 million in Saija Finance, an Indian microfinance institution (MFI).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Grameen Koota Raises $5m from responsAbility through Nonconvertible Debentures

Grameen Financial Services Private Limited (Grameen Koota), an Indian microfinance institution (MFI), recently raised INR 25 crore (USD 5 million) in debt funding through the issue of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Microfinance Institution Basix Sees Assets Fall from $326m to $22m

Indian microfinance institution (MFI) Basix, also known as Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited, now reportedly has INR 124 crore (USD 22.37 million) in assets compared to the INR 1,808 crore (USD 326 million) it in September 2010. The number of borrowers from Basix has fallen to 200,000 from 1.74 million during same time period.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Finds “Massive Problems” with Practices of SKS Microfinance

In conducting a set of field inspections, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), an Indian supervisory body, reportedly has detected “massive problems” in the handling of insurance by SKS Microfinance, a microfinance institution (MFI) in India.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Union Cabinet of India to Present Microfinance Bill to Parliament

The Union Cabinet of India, a decision-making body of the executive branch of the government of India, reportedly has approved a bill proposing that all microfinance institutions (MFIs) register with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and maintain a minimum of funds equal to INR 5 lakh (USD 9,270).

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India Extends Deadline for New Provisioning, Asset Classification Norms for Non-Banking Finance Company Microfinance Institutions

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central banking authority, has extended the deadline for non-banking finance company (NBFC) microfinance institutions (MFIs) in India to implement new provisioning and asset classification norms.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to Commit $5.8m in Equity, Loans to Small Microfinance Institutions

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), a state-owned bank, has committed INR 300 million (USD 5.8 million), 30 percent of its microfinance development fund, to small Indian microfinance institutions (MFIs) that have not received commercial funding since the liquidity crisis began in the microfinance sector in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh late in 2010.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Draft Microfinance Institutions Bill in India to Moot Local Regulations, Allow RBI to Set Rate Cap, Establish Advisory Councils, Microfinance Development Fund

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has reportedly announced that he will propose a Microfinance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill in the current parliamentary session.

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: MIX Snapshot of Microfinance in Asia, How Social Entrepreneurs Spread Innovation, Impact of Thai Million Baht Village Fund

“2011 Asia Regional Snapshot;” published by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX); March 2012; 19 pages; available at:
http://www.themix.org/publications/mix-microfinance-world/2012/03/2011-asia-regional-snapshot

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Business Standard Reports on “New Breed” of Small Indian Microfinance Institutions

A recent article in the Business Standard, an Indian financial newspaper, recaps a few highlights of the Indian microfinance industry in the year following the enactment of the Regulation of Moneylending Act in late 2010 in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: India’s SKS Microfinance Completes Securitization Deal Totaling $63m

SKS Microfinance Limited (SKS), a non-banking finance company (NBFC) regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), reportedly has raised INR 321 crore (USD 63 million) from four undisclosed banks “by selling securities backed by pools of loans to woman borrowers outside its home state of Andhra Pradesh.”

MICROFINANCE PUBLICATION ROUND-UP: Indian Microfinance, Treating Colombian Clients with Respect, and Expanding Microinsurance

“Indian Microfinance: Looking Beyond the AP Act and its Devastating Impact on the Poor;” published by Legatum Ventures; March 2012; 17 pages; available at: http://www.legatumventures.com/