-
(From Davos) Challenges Remain for Booming India
By Richard Carter (AFP) - 11 hours ago DAVOS, Switzerland - India has a huge presence at this year’s Davos meeting, with bullish bosses hailing a booming economy but warning that creaking infrastructure and wealth gaps could yet stifle its stellar rise. A massive poster trumpeting investment in "Inclusive India" greeted the 2,500 members of the global business, political and media elite at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum at this Swiss ski resort. Indi...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Yunus Signs Clothing Deal with French Company
Yunus Centre and ID Group, a French company, yesterday signed a deal to produce functional clothing for children of 0-5 years under social business in Bangladesh. The business will also provide technical training to the rural poor and generate employment. It plans to start production by the year-end. They will also set up a day-care centre for children under another social business, Yunus Centre said in a statement. ID Group Chief Executive Officer Jean-Luc Soufflet and Nobe...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Indian Scavengers Doing What Officials Can’t
In cities and in the countryside, in forests and on beaches, along roads and riverbeds, India is choking on garbage. India generates more than 100 million tons of municipal waste a year. On a per capita basis, this is far lower than most developed countries, but the amount of garbage generated is growing fast. More problematically, very little of India’s waste is properly treated. The ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
India proposes regulating microfinanciers
MUMBAI (AFP) - An Indian central bank panel has put forward proposals for nationwide regulation of the microfinance sector after the industry was buffeted by accusations of lending abuses. The panel urged that interest rates on microloans be capped at 24 percent a year and that loans to the poor total no more than 25,000 ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
Muhammad Yunus: Sacrificing Microcredit for Megaprofits
In the 1970s, when I began working here on what would eventually be called "microcredit," one of my goals was to eliminate the presence of loan sharks who grow rich by preying on the poor. In 1983, I founded Grameen Bank to provide small loans that people, especially poor women, could use to bring themselves out of poverty. At that time, I never imagined that one day microcredit would give rise to its own breed of loan sharks. But it has. And as a result, ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
ICICI Bank, Vodafone Join Hands to Offer Mobile Banking
NEW DELHI: In order to take advantage of the mobile teledensity in India, private sector lender ICICI Bank today entered into an agreement with mobile service provider Vodafone Essar to offer financial products such as savings accounts and pre-paid instruments. This partnership is expected to bring the unbanked and under-banked population into the organised financial services ...
- Region
- South Asia
-
A Light in India
In vast stretches of the developing world, after the sun sets, everything goes dark. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 70 percent of the population lack electricity. However, no country has more citizens living without power than India, where more than 400 million people , the vast majority of them villagers, have no electricity. The place that remains most in darkness is Bihar, India’s poor...
- Region
- South Asia
-
SKS Cuts Interest Rate to 24.55%
SKS Microfinance, the only listed microfinance institution (MFI) in the country, has reduced interest rates from 26.69 per cent to 24.55 per cent. The change would apply uniformly across the country, with effect from January 11. "The company will not collect any credit shield charge, loan processing fee or card fee. With this, all effective interest rates will remain at 24.55 per cent (depreciating), or a flat 12.55 per cent a year, for all future disbursements," the company said in a f...
- Region
- South Asia
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter, "NextBillion Notes"
Published each Wednesday, our e-newsletter features NextBillion's latest original articles, along with a selection of news, jobs, bizdev opportunities and events from our recent coverage — and regular conference ticket giveaways.
We respect your privacy. Your information is safe and will never be shared.
Don't miss out. Subscribe today.