INVC,,
Delhi,,
The National Microfinance Conference, 2011 organized by Sa-Dhan and FICCI, opened in the backdrop of the crisis that the microfinance sector is currently facing. The theme of this
year’s microfinance conference is “Re-engineering Microfinance: Need for New Products
and Policies”. There has been increased realization that the sector needs to introspect and
refurbish the future path of financial inclusion movement in India. The microfinance sector came
into being to address the financial needs of the poor and according to many critics the movement
needs re-thinking. Therefore, it is felt that re-casting of microfinance is pertinent now.
Speaking at the introduction of the conference Mr Shashi Kant Sharma, Secretary Financial
Sector, Ministry of Finance emphasized the commitment of Government of India to enhance
the cause of financial inclusion in the country. He mentioned that in the Union budget of 2011-
12, the government has proposed the creation of Women SHG Development Fund with a
corpus of Rs500crore and Microfinance Equity Fund of Rs100 crore for giving further boost to
microfinance.
Ms Jayshree Vyas Chairperson, Sa-Dhan said that events of the past few months have
presented new opportunities of learning for the microfinance sector. These include learning
more about the livelihoods of the clients, improving product and services and being ethical in
operations.
In the opening session Mr R Subrahmanyam, Principal Secretary Rural Development
Government of Andhra Pradesh, said that it is time for the microfinance sector to rediscover
itself and highlighted that organizations should prioritize prosperity of people over their own
prosperity. He also underscored the need for effective credit and the need for regulation for long-
term sustainability of microfinance institutions.
During the morning session Sa-Dhan also released the “Empirical Report on Client
