‘46L benefited from small loans by micro financing bodies’

Bhubaneswar: As many as 46 lakh individuals in the state have benefited from availing small loans from different micro financing institutions, according to data by Micro Finance Industry Network (MFIN). In a press conference on Thursday, MFIN, which represents 44 micro financing institutions across the country, stated that borrowing has increased from Rs 16,946 crore during 2019-20 financial year to Rs 20,535 crore in the last financial year in Odisha.Ganjam topped the list of districts with Rs 1,959 crore borrowing which benefited 4.7 lakh individuals, Kalahandi came second with Rs 1,238 crore which benefitted 2.9 lakh borrowers. The concentration of borrowers mostly remained in the interior districts, the MFIN data revealed.“We are probably second after the postal department to reach out to the unreachable. When major banks refuse to give micro finances, it is us who comes to the scene and helps people realise their dream,” Rama Kamaraju, deputy head (state initiative) of MFIN, said.He added that all the micro financing institutions under their network are regulated by the rules of the Reserve Bank of India and function just like any other bank. “We have the ombudsman and other systems in place because of which people have faith in us,” Kamaraju said.Dibyajyoti Pattanaik, the director of a state-based micro finance institution, said average borrowing in the state is around Rs 38,000, with the maximum being Rs 60,000.