Pioneer In Short

Prakash Raj claims vote deletion

Actor Prakash Raj on Tuesday claimed that his name had been deleted from Bengaluru’s electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying he was among the 65 lakh voters whose voting rights had been removed. In a video posted on X, the National Award-winning actor said he was born, educated and had worked in theatre in the constituency, and vowed to find out what documents would be required to restore his voter ID. He also took a swipe at the Centre, saying authorities could deny some citizens the right to vote but could not stop voters from “bringing you down”.

However, the Bengaluru Central City Corporation said Raj’s name remained active in the electoral roll as of June 16, when the data was frozen for SIR activities. It said a house-to-house verification by the Booth Level Officer found that Raj had permanently shifted from his registered address at Garden Apartment, where neighbours, the property manager and the flat owner confirmed he had not lived for four years. His status was accordingly marked “Shifted”, following due process, the civic body said. It added that Raj had confirmed by phone on Tuesday that he now lives at another address in Shanthinagar constituency and could apply through Form-6. The development comes amid a pending criminal case alleging possession of four voter IDs.

Big-ticket micro loans surge: report

Microfinance loans of over Rs 1 lakh saw an 89.8 per cent jump in disbursements during the June quarter, signalling a growing preference among lenders for larger-ticket loans to manage asset quality, a Crif High Mark report said on Tuesday. Disbursements in the Rs 80,000-Rs 1 lakh category rose 79 per cent, while loans below Rs 30,000 fell 35 per cent and those in the Rs 30,000-Rs 50,000 range declined by a fifth. The shift follows a challenging period for the microfinance industry around two years ago, when excessive lending to the same borrowers hurt asset quality. More than 77 per cent of loans above Rs 1 lakh went to existing borrowers of the same lender, indicating a focus on established borrowers. The average exposure per loan rose nearly 20 per cent to Rs 32,400, reflecting higher-ticket disbursals and stronger borrower profiles.

Overall microfinance disbursements rose 18.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 61,100 crore, though they fell nearly 20 per cent sequentially due to seasonal factors. Portfolio outstanding declined 7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3.33 lakh crore. Asset quality also improved, with loans overdue 1-180 days falling to 2.3 per cent in June from 2.6 per cent in March and 7.1 per cent a year earlier.