About the Book: Financial Inclusion through Micro Finance
Despite the rapid spread of financial and banking system in India after
Independence in 1947, a large segment of the society—particularly low-income
households in rural areas—has very little access to financial services, both
formal and semi-formal. As a consequence, many of them have to depend either on
their own or high cost informal sources of finance, such as moneylenders. This
is particularly true of the sporadic financial requirements of poor households
for emergency purposes such as medical treatment. It is well-known that poor
people, small entrepreneurs and other disadvantaged groups are presently
excluded from the financial sector, which leads to