Improving Access To Finance For India's Rural Poor (directions In Development)

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Finance is an extraordinarily effective tool in spreading economic opportunity and fighting poverty. India has a relatively deep financial system and wide network of rural banks. But India's financial markets and institutions have not served poor people well. Despite improvements in the delivery of financial services over the past three decades, the vast majority of India's poor households, who are concentrated in rural areas, do not have access to formal finance. 'Improving Access to Finance for India's Rural Poor' examines the current level and pattern of access to finance for India's rural households, evaluates various approaches for delivering financial services to the rural poor, analyzes what lies behind the lack of adequate financial access for the rural poor, and identifies what it would take to improve access to finance for India's rural poor. Based on the analysis of a large-scale rural household survey, in combination with an evaluation of the role of financial markets and institutions, this title also examines different forms of financial service provision, including formal, informal and microfinance, raises questions about approaches used so far to address financial exclusion, and makes recommendations for policy advisors and financial service providers on how to scale-up access to finance for India's rural poor, to meet their diverse financial needs (savings, credit, insurance against unexpected events, etc.), in a commercially sustainable manner. Its conclusions will be of interest to anyone involved in economic policy, finance or microfinance, poverty analysis, and poverty reduction.

E-Book Content

D II R RE EC C TT II O ON NS S II N N D DE EV VE EL LO OP PM ME EN N TT D Improving Access to Finance for India’s Rural Poor PRIYA BASU Improving Access to Finance for India’s Rural Poor DIRECTIONS IN DEVELOPMENT Improving Access to Finance for India’s Rural Poor Priya Basu THE WORLD BANK Washington, D.C. ©2006 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org E-mail: [email protected] All rights reserved 1 2 3 4 09 08 07 06 This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. Rights and Permissions The material in this publication is copyrighted. Copying and/or transmitting portions or all of this work without permission may be a violation of applicable law. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank encourages dissemination of its work and will normally grant permission to reproduce portions of the work promptly. For permission to photocopy or reprint any part of this work, please send a request with complete information to the Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; telephone: 978-750-8400; fax: 978-750-4470; Internet: www.copyright.com. All other queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422; e-mail:
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