Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad   

Mahila Samakhya for changes to Bill

Special Correspondent

`Bill in its present form will not help poor women dependent on micro finance'

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samakhya has demanded that the Central Government make amendments to the proposed Micro Financial Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2007, as the Bill in its present form will not help the poor women dependent on micro finance.

No clarity

The Bill introduced in Parliament following the pressure mounted by women's organisations does not have clarity on several issues.

There is no mention about the ceiling on interest rates that will be charged while there are no steps outlined to check proliferation of micro finance institutions (MFIs).

Regulatory council

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Samakhya president Pasya Padma said the proposed Bill envisaged the representatives of MFIs to be on the board of the national level regulatory council that would be created to monitor their activities.

The designation of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development that was funding these firms as a nodal bank was a controversy.

In addition, the bill lacked clarity about the role of the Government and its agencies in checking the exploitation of poor women by MFIs that had already given a go by to the 1.25 per cent ceiling fixed on the interest rate by the State Government.

Seminar tomorrow

The Mahila Samakhya would organise a seminar to discuss the "harmful" impact the proposed Bill would have on the poor women in the city on June 9.

AITUC general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta would be chief guest at the seminar that would be attended by CPI MP Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, State Human Rights Commission chairman B. Subhashan Reddy and others.

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