Author Archives: admin

Behind the slightly catastrophic title of one of this morning’s break-up sessions stood a very interesting problematic. Indeed, the panel conducted by Vineet Rai, an equity investor specialized in microfinance investments, was set to address three questions that are fundamental … Read More

In a series to understand the ground realities of livelihood opportunities for the poor, CMF is currently interviewing a set of recognized practitioners. In our first episode, we feature Saroj Mahapatra, Programme Director, PRADAN – Chhattisgarh. PRADAN is a non-government, … Read More

Helping the poor save more towards a specific goal, could be as simple as providing them a safe, secure device for savings – something as simple as a Piggy Bank or a Safe Box.  Sounds too simple?  Based on a … Read More

[Terminology: Banking Facilitators (BFs) disseminate education on bank products and collect documents from clients on the bank’s behalf, along with offering a host of other products.]   Our first post in the series discussed the significant advantages of using information … Read More

In my previous blogs, I have spoken in great length about the need for public expenditure in higher education. In this section, I would like to highlight one of the most preferred options for financing higher education in India, namely … Read More

The debate surrounding around the issues with financing higher education is primarily because ‘education’ is considered to be a quasi- public good. It is a public good because the benefits out of it largely affect society through human capital formation … Read More

Within the economics literature, education is considered to be one of the classic public goods (Grace, 1989). Public good is a good where benefits of engaging in the activity are accrued not just to the individual, but to society at … Read More

I recently attended a self-help group (SHG) training session organised by Hand in Hand (HiH). Before getting into the specifics, let me give you a little more insight into the training sessions provided by HiH. HiH is an NGO which … Read More

Here is an interesting tale of savings from a fish-seller I have known for quite some time. His reliance on informal savings is interesting as it has helped him supplement not only his livelihood but also enhance it further. Earlier, … Read More