The Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) are playing a major role in directly taking the banking sector's priority sector lending to people. So they are popularising the Jan Dhan programme and identifying and supporting the MUDRA beneficiaries.
Besides these, the key elements of MFI operations are bringing the people to banking fold. Financial literacy is another are where MFIs have contributed significantly.
These were discussed during interaction with Press which organised by Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN) in Bhubaneswar.
The MFIN held its National Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) here in Bhubaneswar on Thursday to elect its new office bearers.
Nationally, the MFIs have reached a cliental base of 40 millions with the loan outstanding of Rs 48,500 crorer by March 31. This figure is of 47 leading MFIs out of at least 80 operating across the country, the speakers said.
In Odisha, 20 leading MFIs have transacted a sum of Rs 5,280 crore (loan disbursed) to more than 29 lakh clients and 98 per cent of them are women.
The MFIs operate through Joint liability Group (JlG).
“We have already moved out of the stigma of demonetisation , where we had suffered a severe loss. Presently, we have both opportunities and challenges because a large number of leading players have got small scale banking license,”said newly elected national ssvice-president of MFIN Dibyajyoti Patnaik.
The MFIs have registered a steady growth of 50 per cent during last few quarters, he maintained.
“The basic concern is to bring down Non Performing Assets (NPA) figures which are high in States like Maharastra, Uttar Pradesh to some extent in Madhya Pradesh because of agriculture loan waiver,” stated State Intervention, Head of MFIN Achala Sabyasachi. She further stressed on current priority of bringing the NPAs down to one per cent.
"The MFIs largely are lending for livelihood development, apart from providing loans on education, health and housing but the priority always has been on developing entrepreneurship among women," emphasised MFIN CEO Harsh Srivastav.
When asked about loan cap, Srivastav said, “Though the RBI has allowed us the disbursement of the tune of Rs 1 lakh per client, the MFIN has fixed a cap of Rs 80,000 and maximum two MFIs can lend to a single client. And all is done through Credit Bureau so that there would not be overlapping or multiple lending.”