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15 lakh MFI clients waiting for loans in Andhra Pradesh ………G. Naga Sridhar
About 15 lakh people are now waiting for loans from microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Andhra Pradesh withstringent regulations put in place for the sector.
撤rior to promulgation of the MFI Ordinance in October, the monthly disbursals in the State exceeded Rs 260 crore. Now, 15 lakh applicants are waiting for loans from different MFIs,” Mr Alok Prasad, Chief Executive Officer, Micro Finance Institutions Network (MFIN), an industry body, told Business Line.
Mr M.R. Rao, Chief Executive Officer of SKS Microfinance Ltd, said about 5 lakh customers are waiting for loans from his company.
According to the new regulations, the MFIs can only extend loans to those who have no amounts outstanding with banks or MFIs unless they obtain written approval from the Government. As most of the poor in the State, which accounts for over 30 per cent of the MFI portfolio in the country, have some loans, MFIs virtually cannot sanctions new credit. 的t’s good for poor as we want the MFIs to play a role where there is no financial inclusion but creating a trouble by multiple loans,” Mr Reddy Subrahmanyam, Principal Secretary, Department of Rural Development, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said.
DATA FEED
At present, the process of capturing data from over 490 registered MFIs in the State is in the process. A central server has been fed with data of 18 lakh clientele of different MFIs.
The data show vital parameters including white ration card status (which is issued to low income groups), below poverty line (BPL) categorisation, SHG affiliation, existing bank-linkages and loans taken from MFIs.
According to the new regulation for MFIs put in place by the State Government, it is mandatory for the 490 registered MFIs in the State to submit complete details and profiles of their customers to the Government. 鄭ctually, this should have been completed by December 15, but got delayed as large data has to be digitised and uploaded,” Mr Subrahmanyam said.
While L&T Finance has uploaded data, other major players, including Spandana, Basix and Share Microfin, are yet to submit the same, Mr Subrahmanyam said.
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