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<keyword id="113683" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SKS-Microfinance">SKS Microfinance</keyword> Limited will soon apply for a small finance bank license. The company board has approved the proposal for filing the license application to Reserve Bank of India (<keyword id="30067" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI">RBI</keyword>). 
	 
	The company in its third quarter results for FY 15 announced that it recorded 35% increase year-on-year. The company earned Rs 3,195 crore in Q3 FY15 from RS 2, 364 crore in FY 14. 
	 
	“In Q3-FY15, loan disbursements stood at Rs 1,544 crore as against Rs 1,693 crore in Q2-FY15 (Rs 1,399 crore in Q3 FY14) while net interest income was at Rs 96 crore as against Rs 68 crore in Q3 FY14. The company announced a PAT of Rs 41.1 crore in Q3-FY15 while it was Rs 21.4 crore in Q3-FY14,” said the company in a statement. 
	 
	The company’s net worth at the end of the year stood at Rs 998 crore while the capital adequacy is at 34.6%. “The un-availed deferred tax benefit of Rs 506 crore will be available to offset tax on future taxable income. Given the carried forward tax loss, no tax provision was required for Q3-FY15,” added the company. 
	 
	It should be noted that RBI had revised the regulations for issuing licenses for Small finance banks. The bank has now made it mandatory for any company applying for a license to have a minimum paid-up equity capital of Rs 100 crore as well as the promoter group’s share in the paid-up capital should be at least 40%.

SKS
Microfinance Eyes Small Finance Bank License

India's largest <keyword id="134585" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Micro-Finance">micro finance</keyword> lender bore the brunt of large scale selling after it failed to be on the Reserve Bank of India's list of 10 companies given the license to set up small banks. <keyword id="330549" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SKS-Micro">SKS Micro</keyword> plunged 17.4 percent to 372.45 rupees, making it the top loser in the derivatives space. 
 <keyword id="493723" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Power-Fin-Corp">POWER FIN CORP</keyword>, RURAL ELECTRIFICATION CORP: Power sector financiers were in heavy demand after the government said it would take steps to relieve pain in the indebted State Electricity Boards which are unable to make payments to power producers, who in turn seek loans from PFC and REC. As a consequence, PFC rose 2.8 percent to 233 rupees and REC added 3.4 percent at 261.85 rupees. 
 BANK STOCKS: Private sector lender Axis Bank and PSU powerhouse Bank of Baroda led the sector higher after the <keyword id="6356435" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="US-Federal-reserve">US Federal Reserve</keyword> delayed its much feared interest rate rise as it felt the timing was not right as of now. Axis Bank gained 4.5 percent to 516.35 rupees and Bank of Baroda added 7.45 rupees at 190 rupees. 
 
TATA MOTORS: India's largest vehicle maker fell 2.5 percent to 329.50 rupees after group company Tata Steel sold 3.85 crore Tata Motors' shares to institutions at a price of 324.67 rupees each, raising more than 1,260 crore rupees. The sale price was at a slight discount to the current market price. 
 
ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INDIA Ltd.: The nation's top FM radio company rose 5.6 percent to 691.70 rupees after it won licenses to launch operations in 7 cities, which are Chandigarh, Kochi, Kozhikode, Jammu, Srinagar, Guwahati and Shillong. The auction was the phase III of auctions for radio waves. 
 <keyword id="3061651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ARSS-INFRASTRUCTURE-Ltd-">ARSS INFRASTRUCTURE Ltd.</keyword>: Roads construction company ARSS Infra gained 0.5 percent to 32.30 rupees after it announced it had bagged a 148 crore rupee order to execute a roads project in Odisha. 
 
GMR INFRASTRUCTURE Ltd.: Rose 3.7 percent to 12.70 rupees after its group company GMR Energy won gas allocations for 2 of its units in Andhra Pradesh. 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes)

Micro-finance not doing well at the markets today. Know why

<keyword id="113683" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SKS-Microfinance">SKS Microfinance</keyword> Ltd., India's largest distributor of small loans, rose more than 3.2 percent as global brokerage UBS upgraded its price target on the stock to `650 from `600 following a stellar first quarter performance. 
	 
	SKS Micro said its first quarter Net Profit surged 24 percent to 61.2 crore rupees from 49.3 crore rupees in the same quarter a year ago. Its Net Interest Income leapt 50 percent to 143 crore rupees during the April-June quarter versus 96 crore rupees in the year ago quarter. Several other financial parameters showed strong traction. 
	 
	UBS said in a note to clients SKS has a rising share of long term loans to support future growth and that augurs well for earnings. UBS raised estimates by 9.3 percent and expects EPS growth of 46 percent CAGR. 
	 
	SKS Micro jumped 17.4 rupees to 554 on the National Stock Exchange where 29.7 lakh shares were traded in the first 3 hours of trade compared with a 5-day average of 12.7 lakh shares. Its futures were the top gainers in the NBFC segment. 
	 
	SKS' market capitalisation has doubled to 7,000 crores over one year as investors latched on to a growing loans' portfolio. 
	 
	(Image credit: Indiatimes)

SKS Micro-finance is taking baby steps to the green line. Know why

<keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword>, as it planning to provide customized communication services, is in talks with a state election commission. The services will be including a monitoring system that would allow the election commissioner to see as many as 22,000 polling booths at one shot, as India's second largest telco bets on its enterprise business to drive growth. 
 The talks include way to facilitate payments to all volunteers directly via Vodafone's mobile wallet, Nick Gliddon, director for business services at <keyword id="6354923" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-India">Vodafone India</keyword>, told ET. 
 
This move comes along as Vodafone is looking to beef up its enterprise services at a time when its retail mobile business is under intense competitive pressure after the entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm. 
 Vodafone has worked with the election commission during recent polls in certain placesand now is also tying up with <keyword id="113684" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="microfinance">microfinance</keyword> firms and startups. 
 
Vodafone Business Services contributed 16.4% of Vodafone India revenues in the first half of the current fiscal year. Its enterprise vertical is growing at twice the rate of the industry. 
 
Experts said this vertical would be a key growth driver for the industry. "Mobility business is reshaping itself in the midst of slower customer additions, dipping data margins, challenges from OTT (over-the-top) players among others. 
 “Enterprise business is expected to be a significant growth contributor in the future,” Jaideep Ghosh, chief operating officer for management consulting at <keyword id="50041" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="KPMG">KPMG</keyword> in India, told ET. 
 Gliddon said the company has tied up with Bharat Financial Inclusion (erstwhile SKS Microfinance) and Muthoot <keyword id="6422614" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="MFI">MFI</keyword> for disbursement, collection and digitisation of loans. 
 
"The digital disbursement and collection through M-Pesa has enabled speedy micro-loan disbursement by MFIs (microfinance institutions) and weekly/monthly collection of micro-EMI payments by borrowers. Digitisation has also eliminated cash carrying and cashtransit risk for the MFIs. Vodafone launched its MFI pilot in June 2014,” he told ET. 
 Since then, it has expanded operations to eight states. Jaipur Rugs, the country's largest rug manufacturer, now pays artisans via MPesa mobile wallets. Vodafone also works with <keyword id="4009760" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="water-health-india">Water-Health India</keyword> to collect cash from across 450 locations in <keyword id="37102" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andhra-Pradesh">Andhra Pradesh</keyword>, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka and <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword>.

Vodafone is depending on its enterprise business to drive growth

Do you have a little extra cash that you want to spend for a good <keyword id="22752" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="cause">cause</keyword>? Have you always wanted to help a cause but didn’t know where to put your money? Or do you own a company that focuses on corporate social responsibility and wants to make sustainable <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword>? One way of doing it is to donate the money, but there’s a small snag. The money you spend is gone for good – it can’t be used multiple times to help more people. But how about helping people as many times as you want, using the same capital you have spent in the beginning? And getting the entire amount back in monthly repayments? Call it sustainable giving or crowd lending, this kind of financial model enables you to do all these and one <keyword id="6404679" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="start-up">start-up</keyword> is leveraging it to enhance life at the <keyword id="140518" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="bottom-of-the-pyramid">bottom of the pyramid</keyword>. 
 Welcome to <keyword id="2108864" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Milaap-Social-Ventures">Milaap Social Ventures</keyword>, a social enterprise operating from Bangalore and <keyword id="6356662" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Singapore">Singapore</keyword>, which has developed an online crowd-funding platform to help the unbanked and the <keyword id="2108896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Underprivileged-masses">underprivileged masses</keyword> in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>. Simply put, <keyword id="6734688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Milaap">Milaap</keyword> (it means ‘connecting together’ in Hindi) offers an RBI-approved micro-lending platform that allows the organisation to receive ‘loans’ from all over the world. Although <keyword id="2108903" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Individual-lenders">individual lenders</keyword> don’t get ‘financial returns’ on their investments (after all, you are putting in your money for a ‘good cause’), they get the principal back after the stipulated period. They can then re-deploy the money to help another person/project or cash out their principal. This helps create a <keyword id="2108904" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Continuous-funding-cycle">continuous funding cycle</keyword>, more effective and sustainable than one-time donations. Want to know more about how Milaap is connecting the haves and the have-nots in a bid to help implement life-enhancing projects? Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s vision and viability. 
 
Who runs Milaap (milaap.org): A team of three co-founders – <keyword id="1270675" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sourabh-Sharma">Sourabh Sharma</keyword> (<keyword id="5645" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="CEO">CEO</keyword>), <keyword id="2108870" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anoj-Viswanathan">Anoj Viswanathan</keyword> and <keyword id="2108865" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mayukh-Choudary">Mayukh Choudary</keyword>. Sourabh, a graduate from the <keyword id="87108" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="National-University-of-Singapore">National University of Singapore</keyword>, started his first company, a mobile app start-up, straight out of college and ran it for more than two years. Next, he had a stint with corporate houses but soon joined hands with the other two co-founders to start Milaap. 
 Anoj holds a degree in Engineering from the National University of Singapore and he is also a StartingBloc Fellow (2010). Prior to co-founding Milaap, he had worked with SKS <keyword id="113684" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="microfinance">Microfinance</keyword> and focused on the energy and water services space. Earlier, he had been at <keyword id="2108863" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="ReEx-Capital-Asia">ReEx Capital Asia</keyword>, a cleantech investment boutique in Singapore, and served as a fellow at D.light Design. He is also a founder member of the <keyword id="2108877" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Microfinance-Society-in-Singapore">Microfinance Society in Singapore</keyword> and leads the Milaap team in India. 
 Mayukh is an <keyword id="198748" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="electrical-engineer">electrical engineer</keyword> from IIT Madras and holds a PGDM from IIM Lucknow. He specialises in building technology-enabled financing models and worked as a <keyword id="2108874" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="financial-risk-consultant-in-Dubai">financial risk consultant in Dubai</keyword> before starting up Milaap. 
 
What inspired the venture: A sabbatical that changed life. In 2008, Anoj took some time off to be with SKS Microfinance and worked on a project to provide solar lanterns on credit in a few tribal villages in <keyword id="6357961" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Odisha">Odisha</keyword>. There he met Mayukh who was then working with the solar lantern-maker D.lightdesign. While on this project, Anoj noticed how <keyword id="6621346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-loans">small loans</keyword> impacted life in a big way, especially at the bottom of the pyramid, and the idea of Milaap came to his mind. Developing a crowd-funding platform to connect India’s underprivileged with prosperous individuals and <keyword id="2108906" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Institutional-lenders">institutional lenders</keyword> across the globe seemed the right way to go about it. Anoj, who knew Sourabh from 2006 when he interned at his previous start-up Microappli, got him and Mayukh together to give shape to the idea of Milaap, which finally went live in June 2010. 
 
What’s the pitch: <keyword id="2108919" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lend-a-little">Lend a little</keyword>, <keyword id="2108920" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="change-a-lot">change a lot</keyword> – that’s Milaap’s motto and it has started happening. “India has a large pool of people who don’t have access to traditional banking, but they do require <keyword id="2108923" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funds-for-self-employment">funds for self-employment</keyword> and developmental initiatives. So we are leveraging the global reach of the <keyword id="6357247" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Internet">Internet</keyword> and trying to ensure that people – either individually or through their <keyword id="23045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="social-networks">social networks</keyword> – can raise and lend capital to the millions who are unbanked and underprivileged,” says Sourabh. 
 Milaap is currently targeting over 700 million Indians who are mostly living in the rural &amp; semi-urban areas and unable to access formal sources of <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword>. According to the social enterprise, less than 5% of them are able to procure reasonably priced, life-improving loans for their small businesses, vocational training or other essential household assets, and that’s where the ‘loans’ raised by Milaap come in . 
 
How it works: At Milaap, the work is done in two stages. One part is <keyword id="2108932" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shortlisting-borrowers">shortlisting borrowers</keyword> and publishing their profiles/projects on Milaap.org for crowd funding. Second part is deployment of the loans, monitoring their usage and ensuring timely repayments. Understandably, the second part is more cumbersome and requires a lot of offline work. Milaap has already tied up with 20-plus carefully selected ‘field partners’ (chosen from a wide range of <keyword id="164768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Microfinance-institutions">microfinance institutions</keyword> or <keyword id="113682" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="MFIs">MFIs</keyword>, <keyword id="1417942" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Social-Businesses">social businesses</keyword>, <keyword id="2108940" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vocational-training-institutions">vocational training institutions</keyword>, etc.,) to identify the most deserving candidates/projects for loans. Once they are selected, each <keyword id="2108943" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Borrowers-profile">borrower’s profile</keyword> is uploaded on the site, along with the fund raised till date and the amount still required for completing the loan. 
 Lending online is quite simple, though. Browse through the profiles to choose a borrower or select one from an impact area that you feel strongly about. You can also use various parameters such as cause, <keyword id="6379164" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="LOCATION">location</keyword>, <keyword id="2108946" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Project-urgency">project urgency</keyword>, <keyword id="2108948" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Repayment-period">repayment period</keyword>, women-centric projects to fine-tune your <keyword id="2108951" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Borrower-search">borrower search</keyword>. After the loan payment is made online, Milaap disburses the amount to the concerned <keyword id="2108956" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Field-partner">field partner</keyword> and the end-borrower gets it from the field partner. When repayment is done (end-borrower – field partner – Milaap), ‘credits’ are accumulated in your Milaap account. When the loan is fully repaid, you can either withdraw the money or roll it into another project. As for diehard do-gooders, there are even more options to <keyword id="2108961" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Start-fundraising">start fundraising</keyword> for the projects you prefer. 
 
Claim to fame: The concept and the build-up. According to the co-founders, crowd-funding is still a niche concept in the country but it is gaining traction gradually. Till date, Milaap has raised and disbursed over Rs 8.4 crore in 8,633 loans, impacting more than 46,393 people across 11 states in India. These loans are essentially raised to fulfil a wide range of <keyword id="2108963" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Developmental-requirements">developmental requirements</keyword> including <keyword id="566897" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="basic-education">basic education</keyword> &amp; vocational training, <keyword id="572926" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="seed-capital">seed capital</keyword> for small businesses, <keyword id="2109008" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Access-to-clean-water">access to clean water</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="49770" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sanitation">sanitation</keyword>, and <keyword id="2109012" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Safe-lighting">safe lighting</keyword>. Moreover, Milaap boasts 100% repayment of loans till now, indeed a rare feat when banks and big <keyword id="34503" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="financial-institutions">financial institutions</keyword> (<keyword id="4776620" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="FIs">FIs</keyword>) are suffering from the rise in bad loans. 
 The organisation is also focusing on <keyword id="2109025" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pan-India-expansion">pan-India expansion</keyword>. “Earlier, we were mostly operating in states like <keyword id="20154" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="tamil-nadu">Tamil Nadu</keyword> and <keyword id="13126" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Maharashtra">Maharashtra</keyword>. But now we are scaling up our operations and growing in states like Odisha, <keyword id="65591" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mizoram">Mizoram</keyword> and even Gujarat,” notes Sourabh. 
 
Show me the money: While a borrower gets the entire sum offered by the lender, Milaap charges its field partners a 5% fee on the loans disbursed through them, to cover its operating costs. Its field partners, in turn, charge affordable interest from the end-borrower to meet their operating costs. Milaap also makes sure that all fees are disclosed upfront. 
 
Unlike many other ventures in this space, this social enterprise is a for-profit concern, but has not reached break-even yet. However, it has found some solid backers and already raised $1.1 million in Series A venture funding in May 2013. The money raised is being utilised for developing the online platform further and scaling up operations. “We want the number of lenders to go up to 100,000 in the next 18 months. That is the tipping point from where we can gather momentum and look at break-even,” adds Sourabh. 
 The <keyword id="2026013" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Series-A-round">Series A round</keyword> was led by Singapore-based <keyword id="969909" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jungle-Ventures">Jungle Ventures</keyword>, an early-stage investment firm and an approved <keyword id="2109042" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Technology-incubator">technology incubator</keyword> under the <keyword id="2109044" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Singapore-National-Research-Foundation">Singapore National Research Foundation</keyword>’s Technology Incubation Scheme. Other investors included <keyword id="2109045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Toivo-Annus">Toivo Annus</keyword> (<keyword id="170488" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="co-founder">co-founder</keyword> of <keyword id="6377887" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Skype">Skype</keyword>), <keyword id="2072941" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="LionRock-Capital">Lionrock Capital</keyword> (a Singapore-based <keyword id="2109046" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Family-investment-office">family investment office</keyword>), <keyword id="2108869" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jayesh-Parekh">Jayesh Parekh</keyword> (Co-Founder, Sony Entertainment Television) as well as existing investor, <keyword id="1509738" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Unitus-Seed-Fund">Unitus Seed Fund</keyword>. The company is looking to raise a Series B round worth $3-5 million in the second half of CY2014. 
 Earlier, between August 2010 and January 2012, Milaap raised $250,000 in seed investment from Unitus Seed Fund, <keyword id="211897" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="First-Light-Ventures">First Light Ventures</keyword>, <keyword id="198636" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Vijay-Shekhar-Sharma">Vijay Shekhar Sharma</keyword> (Founder, <keyword id="338385" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="One97">One97</keyword>) and <keyword id="2108867" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajiv-Madhok">Rajiv Madhok</keyword> (Founder, <keyword id="312199" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oorja">Oorja</keyword>). 
 Interestingly, only 40% of the total lending amount comes from individual lenders (mostly from India, Singapore, the US and <keyword id="6356687" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="canada">Canada</keyword>) while 60% funding comes from institutional lenders, social funding and even family offices. But unlike <keyword id="2109229" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-lenders">small lenders</keyword>, large institutional and <keyword id="2109230" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="HNI-lenders">HNI lenders</keyword> get 3-4% return on their loans. 
 
Biggest challenge: There is competition from a few sites like <keyword id="1658892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kiva">Kiva</keyword> or Wishberry, but it is still a niche space and <keyword id="2109065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Discoverability">discoverability</keyword> is the main challenge now, feels Sourabh. “We need to do more marketing and promotion to let people know such a platform exists. That will help us get more lenders on board, more field partners and subsequently, help more and more people get life-changing access to capital,” he says. 
 
A word for wannapreneurs: Take the plunge and do it. ‘Now’ is always a good time to do it – so don’t hesitate. I always feel that the risk part is overrated in entrepreneurship. You actually need the experience before you can succeed. So start early and make sure that you get the kind of experience you need for long-term success. Your first initiative may not be all that great but at least, you would have learnt from all your mistakes. Try fast and fail fast before you can succeed.

This Social
Enterprise Runs A Global Crowd-funding Platform; Eyes $3-5
Million In Series B Funding

In April this year, Kolkata-based <keyword id="145807" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bandhan-Financial-Services">Bandhan Financial Services</keyword> emerged one among the only two entities (the other being IDFC) that were granted in-principle banking licences by the Reserve <keyword id="6355303" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bank-of-India">Bank of India</keyword> after a hiatus of more than 10 years (Yes, no new Indian bank has been formed since 2004 when <keyword id="45660" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yes-Bank">Yes Bank</keyword> launched operations). The fact that Bandhan pipped around two dozen other applicants—including high-profile names such as Reliance Capital, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani and <keyword id="6398463" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Aditya-Birla-Nuvo">Aditya Birla Nuvo</keyword>, part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate—highlighted the government’s focus on providing banking licen1e to players that will ensure financial inclusion, by offering banking services to the bottom-of-the-pyramid group in rural areas who have little or no access to traditional banking services. 
 Granting of banking licence to Bandhan has in fact proved to be a boost to the <keyword id="113684" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="microfinance">microfinance</keyword> industry in the country which has been trying to gain momentum after the crisis in Andhra Pradesh in 2010 when the state government took tough regulatory measures, leading to the closure of many <keyword id="113682" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="MFIs">MFIs</keyword>, after indebtedness to these firms prompted several farmers to commit suicide. 
 
Microfinance, which was non-existent till early seventies, came into being in 1974 when Dr Muhammad Yunus, an economics professor born in Chittagong in Bangladesh (who went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006), loaned $27 to 42 poor women to pay off loan they had taken from local loan sharks who charged exorbitant interest. That marked the birth of microfinance with the key idea of providing the poor small loans for their micro-enterprises to help them come out of poverty. The growth of Grameen Bank, set up by Yunus to help the poor fight poverty by becoming entrepreneurs, to an institution lending more than $1 billion a year to the have-nots, especially women, has proven that microfinance has a universal social applicability. 
 
The microfinance industry in India witnessed significant growth in the years preceding the global financial crisis in 2008. SKS, which then was the country’s biggest microfinance firm with a $1.2 billion loan book, went public in July 2010. The $350 million offering was oversubscribed more than 13 times. But just a few months after SKS’ public offering, the AP microfinance crisis followed and things took an ugly turn. As farmers’ suicides abounded, AP government stiffened rules and all loans distributed in the state were written off, bringing the industry to a grinding halt as AP accounted for the bulk of microfinance lending disbursed in the country till then. 
 After years of muted growth, the industry has started showing signs of renewal, albeit under stricter norms issued by RBI. The investors have started responding to the sector’s renewed vigor. Last year, Indian microlenders raised a combined $470 million from investors such as Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and <keyword id="166412" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="International-finance-corporation">International Finance Corporation</keyword>. Pune-based Suryoday Microfinance which raised Rs 27 crore led IFC; Bhubaneshwar-based Annapurna Microfinance which raised Rs 30 crore from Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries and others and Bangalore-based Grameen Koota which raised Rs 80 crore from MicroVentures Investments are specific examples. Deals worth another $100 million are said to be in the pipeline, initiated by investors who are seeing MFIs as potential banks—the investment today may help them own part of a bank tomorrow—as illustrated by Bandhan. 
 
While investors are bullish, there are those who say that the industry is headed in the wrong director from a social perspective. For decades, microfinance was mainly promoted by activists working for charities and NGOs, driven by a sense of social mission to improve the lot of the poor. But over the last decade, it has transformed into a global enterprise (the global commercial microfinance industry is expected to grow 20 per cent a year in the near future), with a portfolio worth $81 billion driven by profit more than social responsibility. 
 
Also, the increasing interest rates charged by MFIs from impoverished borrowers—though global average interest rate is estimated at 37%, rates are as high as 70% in some markets while in India rates hover around 24-28%--seem to betray one of the key objectives of microfinance—providing small loans to the poor at an affordable cost. 
 
However, going by the constructive and socially responsible role played by Grameen Bank in alleviating poverty in Bangladesh by helping transforming millions of poor into small entrepreneurs, one hopes the bank’s peers in India will follow suit, playing the dual role of agents of social change in fighting poverty while creating wealth through transparent business practices, thus contributing to overall economic growth. 
 
Image credit: indiatimes.com

Are MFIs Striking A Balance
Between Profit And Social Responsibility?

SKS MICROFINANCE LTD: Top microfinance lender rose 1.3 percent to 396.80 rupees after it slashed its borrowing rates for customers to 20.75 percent from 22 percent earlier. This is the third cut since October 2014. 
 MOTHERSON SUMI SYSTEM LTD.: Top auto ancillary maker jumped 3 percent to 248.65 rupees after the company management assuaged investors fears on the possible fallout of <keyword id="6361865" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Volkswagen">Volkswagen</keyword>'s problems with US transport regulators on its emission-related issues. Volkswagen is among Motherson Sumi's major customers in Europe. 
 DISHMAN PHARMACEUTICALS LTD.: Gained 16.5 percent to 307.80 rupees after the drugs major got a license to manufacture a drug aimed at curing Tuberculosis from a unit of <keyword id="92247" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Johnson-Johnson">Johnson &amp; Johnson</keyword>. 
 <keyword id="384128" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sterlite-Technologies-Ltd-">STERLITE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.</keyword>: Rose 3 percent to 83 rupees after the company said it acquired an overseas firm for 180 crore rupees, an amount that would be funded through internal accruals. 
 <keyword id="252427" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amtek-Auto-Ltd-">AMTEK AUTO LTD.</keyword>: The debt-laden company rose 1.2 percent to 46.55 rupees on news reports that banks were in the process of restructuring some of its enormous debt pile in a bid to kickstart interest payments from the auto ancillary major 
 
IDBI LTD.: Mid-sized Public sector lender jumped 11 percent to 74.35 rupees, its fourth day of gains, on persistent market expectations that the government will take steps to re-organize its majority control in the bank's equity capital in a manner that will make the lender more flexible in terms of conducting business. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Get to know which five stocks are doing well in markets today!

Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business, has announced its list of Best Employers – India 2016. 
 
 
The purpose of Aon Best Employers study, which was first conducted in Asia in 2001, is to gain insights into companies that are creating real competitive advantage through their people, to explore the factors that make a workplace of choice and to identify the Best Employers. 
The most comprehensive study of its kind in Asia Pacific, it is now run in 12 markets: Australia &amp; New Zealand China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand as well as in the Middle East. 
 
The survey done in India this year covered 113 organizations representing 12 key industries, cumulatively employing approximately 950,000 employees. 
 
Below are the names of the jury for the 2016 edition: 
 
· Prof Rajan Gupta, Professor at MDI. 
· Mr. Raman Roy, BPO industry pioneer and Chairman and Chief, Quattro 
· Ms. Renu Sud Karnad Managing Director, HDFC Limited 
· Dr. Santrupt Misra , CEO, Carbon Black Business and Director, Group HR, Aditya Birla Group 
· Mr. Shiv Shivakumar, CEO, Pepscio India 
 
And finally, here is the list of organisations that were recognised as the 2016 Aon Best Employers in India: 
 
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="661">
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							<td>
								Accor Hotels India</td>
							<td>
								Reliance Capital Asset Management Limited</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								AGS Health</td>
							<td>
								Saint-Gobain India Private Limited – Gyproc Business</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited</td>
							<td>
								SKS Microfinance Limited</td>
						</tr>
						<tr>
							<td>
								Bajaj Finance Limited</td>
							<td>
								Starwood Hotels &amp; Resorts India Private Limited</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								Becton Dickinson India Private Limited</td>
							<td>
								Tata AutoComp Systems Limited</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								Bharti Infratel</td>
							<td>
								TATA AIA Life Insurance Company Limited</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								Blue Dart Express Limited</td>
							<td>
								Tata Chemicals Ltd.</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								DHL Express (India) Pvt. Ltd</td>
							<td>
								Tata Communications</td>
						</tr>
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							<td>
								Godrej Consumer Products Ltd</td>
							<td>
								The Oberoi Group</td>
						</tr>
						<tr>
							<td>
								Hewlett Packard Enterprise, India</td>
							<td>
								Whirlpool India Limited</td>
						</tr>
						<tr>
							<td>
								IndiGo</td>
							<td>
								WNS Global Services Private Limited</td>
						</tr>
						<tr>
							<td>
								Lupin Ltd</td>
							<td>
								YASH Technologies Pvt Ltd</td>
						</tr>
						<tr>
							<td>
								METRO Cash and Carry India</td>
							<td>
								 </td>
						</tr>
					</tbody>
				</table>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
<a href="http://www.insidehr.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Best-employers.jpg">Image source</a>

These are the best employers in India, as per Aon Hewitt

The <keyword id="6354813" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="nifty">Nifty</keyword> snapped a two-day rally on Monday as weak overseas cues and profit booking after a decent uptick resulted in shares quoting lower. Trading is likely to be cautious this week due to the monthly expiry of derivatives and a public holiday on Friday. 
 
The Nifty fell 52 points to 7,930 points in the first 30 minutes of trade even as the index recovered from an intra-day low of 7,918 points. Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, Cipla, Tata Motors and ITC were the top five losers even as banks continued to see value-based buying across the spectrum. As a consequence, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and Bank of Baroda were among the top five gainers on the Nifty that included NMDC and ONGC as well. The Advance-Decline Ratio was a weak 9/41. 
 Axis Bank continued to hog the limelight, helming the top traded list as well. Reliance Industries and Infosys also enjoyed traders' attention on the <keyword id="53581" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="NATIONAL-STOCK-EXCHANGE">National Stock Exchange</keyword>. 
 
Broader markets remained under pressure as well. The CNX 100, CNX 200 and CNX 500 Indices lost as much as 0.6 percent. The only bright spark was the 0.4 percent gain on the CNX Small Cap Index. The sector-specific indexes space was bathed in red too. Losses were seen on CNX Metals, CNX Realty, PSU Banking and the CNX FMCG space. 
 Sentiment was flat on the <keyword id="43628" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bombay-stock-exchange">Bombay Stock Exchange</keyword> where the <keyword id="6484188" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Sensex">Sensex</keyword> shed 170 points at 26,048 with 27 <keyword id="6354298" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="stocks">stocks</keyword> losing ground versus just three that gained. Hindalco, Tata Steel, ITC, NTPC and Coal India were the major losers whereas a shade of green was seen on Maruti, Tata Motors and ONGC. 
 
Larsen &amp; Toubro, State Bank of India and Axis Bank were the top three traded stocks on the Sensex. 
 
The breadth was fairly week on the derivatives space with just 55 futures gaining ground versus 106 that fell. Notable gainers included SKS Microfinance which was beaten badly on Thursday. The Media and Automobile sectors were the only two sectors in the green among 18 that trade in the futures space. The biggest losses were seen on the metals and cement space. 
 
Large block deals were seen on L&amp;T Finance Holdings with 9.3 crore shares changing hands in the first 20 minutes of trade. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Here's how the markets opened today!

<keyword id="153607" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="social-entrepreneurship">Social entrepreneurship</keyword> is the application of business acumen, strategies and entrepreneur skills not for profit but to improve the conditions of human beings and the environment, and India does need it for effective social change, growth and reforms. 
 
Despite the best efforts of the government and other organisations, about 400 million Indians live on less than $1 per day. The 2012 HDI (human development index) report for countries indicates a poor ranking of 136 out of 187 for India. 
 
India has been concentrating on a growth index through manufacturing and IT sectors but the resulting benefits have not gone to the bottom of the pyramid. Income inequality has doubled in the last 20 years. 
 
India is unique in the diversity of its regions and people. Often local problems need local solutions. It is here that social entrepreneurship or social entrepreneurs or SOCENTS come into the picture and build bridges to social improvement. 
 
Combine this with the Indian spirit of Jugaad and there have been innumerable instances of simple inventions and adaptations that have changed life for the better not just economically, but on the comfort level also. 
 
A growing change in the perception of life goals has led to a large number of educated, highly trained professionals turning into SOCENTS. This is desirable as they bring their professional and business acumen and can create and put into place working, sustainable and profitable solutions to local problems. 
 Harish Hande, co-founder of <keyword id="1535069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Selco-Solar">Selco Solar</keyword>, has over the past 18 years through his company installed over 1.35-lakh solar systems. He went a step further and created an entire ecosystem, including finance and farmer co-operatives to create income generating activities. The Selco Incubation Centre mentors social entrepreneurs. Selco Foundation, the philanthropic segment of Selco, provides the rural poor with renewable energy services that they can use for income generating activities. 
 <keyword id="168701" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Verghese-Kurien">Verghese Kurien</keyword>, father of the Milk Revolution, turned India form a milk importer to the world’s largest milk producer and today AMUL is a byword in milk and dairy products. 
 
Interestingly, many of the projects have not been single product innovations but have led to all-round related growth and development. They have transformed not just individuals but communities and in the case of Kurien the whole country. 
 
Eye care was one of the most neglected health sectors in India. Doctor G Venkataswamy founded the Aravind Eye Hospital, which is today one of the world’s largest facilities for affordable, top-quality eye care. 
 
Vaatsalya Healthcare brought healthcare to the rural poor. 
 
Doctor Sugata Mishra’s Hole in the Wall experiment with computer accessibility to untrained poor children was a success in making computer knowledge available and was a starting point for other social enterprises for furthering computer education amongst the poor. 
 
The list is endless. India is the global centre for social entrepreneurship. 
 
However, the biggest boon has been the rise of ‘Microfinance’. Vikram Akula established SKS Microfinance in 1988 paving the way for several social microfinance set ups such as Milaap at the grass root level. 
 
The tremendous contribution made by SOCENTS should be encouraged. The government should make it easier for Indian and foreign investments in Socents via easy taxation policies, regulatory frameworks and guidelines. The government could also create social impact bonds like in the United Kingdom to encourage social innovation. Another project that can be emulated is the Singapore Impact Investment Fund that provides private and public platforms for raising capital efficiently for social enterprises. 
 
The corporate sector has also contributed and the Tata group has been in the forefront through their various trusts and the Tata School of Social Sciences in fostering social entrepreneurship. The Shell Foundation-funded Husk Power Systems in its enterprise to obtain power from rice husk. 
 
The government has now made it mandatory through the CSR Bill (corporate social responsibility in the new Companies Act) for big corporations to set aside 2% of their profits for social programmes that include investments in social business ventures. This will open up funding of more than a billion dollars for Socents and further growth of social entrepreneurship in India. 
 
India should take into account depleting natural resources and focus on environment-friendly and sustaining social innovations to balance growth with environment concerns. The China example of economic growth at the cost of rising pollution should serve as a deterrent. Pollution has become one of the major causes of social unrest in China. 
 
The changes in economic models from capitalism to a more socially responsible capitalism have thrown the focus on social entrepreneurship. 
 
Social entrepreneurship is here to stay and could well be the major economic growth factor for India and to achieve the ‘Indian dream - sarvajana sukhonobhava’, ie, let everyone be happy.

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