By IANS
New Delhi : Given the potential microfinance holds to lift the lives of the rural poor, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday said two funds would be set up to extend loans to the needy and provide them access to technology.
“We have decided to set up two funds, Financial Inclusion Fund and Financial Inclusion Technology Fund of Rs.5 billion each,” Chidambaram said at a conference on microfinance.
The decision has been taken based on suggestions of the Financial Inclusion Committee headed by C. Rangarajan, chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, he said.
“I welcome a multi-pronged, diversified and multi-sourced approach to achieving financial inclusion.”
The finance minister said the exposure of microfinance sector in India has grown from Rs.480 million to Rs.6 billion in a span of five years and that the challenge was to give it more depth and make its reach broader.
“In our quest to grapple with growth pangs in the sector, the government is keen on developing a vision for microfinance,” said Chidambarm.