Microfinance institutions are hoping for the speedy enactment of the Microfinance Bill.
The Union Cabinet had approved the Bill, which will be tabled in the ongoing Parliament session. While welcoming the Cabinet clearance, the institutions said it was a step in the “right direction”.
“But unless the Bill is passed by Parliament, we won't be able to lend in Andhra Pradesh. The Cabinet clearance paves the way for it,” Mr M.R. Rao, Chief Executive Officer, SKS Microfinance Ltd, told
Regulator's role
According to Mr Suresh K. Krishna, Managing Director of Bangalore-based Grameen Koota, the Cabinet nod to the Bill was ‘one of the stages' to make the Bill a reality.
As the Bill proposed to give the full-fledged regulator's role over MFIs to the Reserve Bank of India at the national level, it would “augur well” for the industry, he said.
Mr P. Kishore Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Trident Microfin, said the enactment of the Bill was needed to bring in ‘much-needed clarity' to the sector.
The microfinance industry found itself in a crisis after the Andhra Pradesh Government had brought in the AP Microfinance (Regulation of Moneylending) Act after a row over alleged harassment of clients by recovery agents.