Micro-Finance & Micro-Credit for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Poverty is one of the biggest challenges to the development of a developing country like India where a major population is living in rural and semi-urban areas. Institutional credit is considered as a powerful tool for alleviating poverty. Microfinance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor. As the financial services of microfinance usually involve small amounts of money – small loans, small savings etc. the term "Microfinance" helps to differentiate these services from those of commercial banks. Microfinance in India has been through two channels of credit delivery to poor and low-income households–Self Help Group Bank Linkage Programme (SBLP) and the Microfinance institutions lending through groups as well as directly to individuals. This study was with the overall objective of conducting a detailed analysis of interest rates, costs and margins of microfinance institutions.

This study highlights the reach and the impact on the customers and the channels used by these firms for the effectiveness of Micro Finance and Microcredit schemes. For the purpose of analysis the statistical tools like Mean, Standard deviation, coefficient of co-relation and regression have been used.

Microfinance is playing a very important role in decrease poverty. Microfinance to the rural SHGs is a way to raise the income level and improve the living standards of the rural peoples. Thus, it can be concluded that the self-help groups contribute substantially in pushing the conditions of the rural population up.