Comments
The Centre must come up with a fresh Micro Finance Bill before Parliament, the Standing Committee on Finance headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has said.
The current Bill –Micro Finance Institutions (Development & Regulation) Bill --is “rather sketchy with inadequate groundwork and lacking in consensus”, the committee said in a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday.
Stating that the current Bill was “unacceptable” in the present form, the Standing Committee suggested that Centre must have wider consultations with the State Governments and stakeholders and arrive at a consensus on vital issues.
This Parliamentary Panel has also recommended the setting up of a unified and independent regulator -- micro finance and development regulatory council (MFDRC)—for the entire micro finance sector.
This suggestion is in variance with the current Bill which was introduced in May 2012 and sought to empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as regulator of micro finance institutions (MFI).
With just few days to go before the end of the Winter Session, there is now little hope of the UPA Government taking steps to get the micro finance Bill passed this session.
UNIFIED REGULATOR
The MFDRC could have representatives from all agencies and institutions concerned like the Reserve Bank of India, NABARD and SIDBI and the nominees from central government and MFIs, the committee has said.
The proposed body may also have both State and District tiers which may include the local elected representatives and the MFIs apart from nominees of the State Government, the report suggested.
Such a unified body with an integral mechanism will be in a position to address the concerns of State Governments by involving them in the processes and procedures, the panel said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.