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Microfinance: the greatest employment generator

It is said that give a man fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. The quote seems absolutely bang on as I look around.

India, as everyone knows, has the potential to be the nucleus of global economics but for it to be truly realised and effective, the grassroots levels have to be brought into this opportunity. Only then can there be inclusive growth and social stability. Otherwise we will see the disparity between the rich and the poor growing which can destabilise the social fabric and create economic instability. For the goodness of the world, the world needs to ensure and support India in every way to make this happen.

As technology takes over, we are seeing a trend of jobless economic growth and it seems the trend will only get more pronounced. So what is the way out? Help people become job creators rather than job seekers. The Modi government realises this and is working towards skilling people through the Skill India program but it is not enough. As skills without funds is like owning a BMW with no fuel...it's as good as not being there.

Government is already saddled with so many problems of its own and it may not be able to fund smaller enterprises entirely on it's own. The solution : PPP mode but using some of the resources collected through CSR.

I also see companies like Paytm and others in a similar line of business helping in a big way provided they are encouraged in a way to do so.

Companies like Airtel and Vodafone which are struggling with falling ARPUs could benefit through these kinds of low risk assured returns kind of investments. Assured returns because the learnings from Gramin Bank tells us that this community is extremely reliable when it comes to repayment.

Funds are available. It's just that most people are not seeing a connection between the people who have the money and the people who need the money. And the government could play a big role here. I am very eagerly looking at this space hoping for some tremendous momentum. 

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