A noted rural banking expert has expressed concern over the increase in debt burden in rural India.
Delivering the keynote address at a workshop on ‘Social business in India: Opportunities and challenges,’ organised by Nitte University and Social Business Academic Network, NK Thingalaya, former Chairman of Syndicate Bank, said the debt burden in rural India is increasing fast.
Thingalaya said health-related issues contribute a major share to the increase in the debt burden among the rural population.
Social business can play a major role in tackling the issue. He said all the banks in the country have around 14 crore credit accounts. Of them, nearly 4.9 crore are in rural areas.
He said the ‘Grameen Bank’ model in Bangladesh has helped in the development of social business in that nation. The profit earned from ‘Grameen Bank’ in that country is put into use for promoting social business sector.
Yashwant Dongre, Honorary Chairman of Social Business Academic Network, said that social business is started with a social goal. The social business enterprises generally flow back the surplus generated from the sector for a social cause.
While general business units focus on enhancing the shareholder value, social business enterprises focus on enhancing the social value, he said.