People's Democracy

NATIONAL CONVENTION DEMANDS

‘Reconsider Provisions Of Micro Finance Sector Bill 2007’

A NATIONAL Convention on Micro Finance Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill 2007 was held in Vithal Bhai Patel House lawns, New Delhi, on May 15, 2007. More than two thousand women delegates representing self help group federations from 13 states attended the convention and expressed their reservations regarding the Bill and called upon the members of parliament to enact a Bill that takes the real concerns of women’s groups into account.

Inaugurating the convention, Rajya Sabha MP and vice president of AIDWA, Brinda Karat focused on the problems of women’s groups and underlined that the voices of women’s groups and their problems went unheard by the government. Instead the government had formulated a “black bill” that would negatively impinge on the rights and empowerment of women, especially the dalit and adivasi women who broke their backs and made many sacrifices to do savings in self help groups. She highlighted the important areas where the Bill was lacking and assured the women that the members of parliament of the Left parties would push for a better regulating law that helped to solve the problems of the women’s savings groups.

D Thomas Franco of Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti gave an introduction to the Bill and placed the memorandum for discussion. Thereafter several representatives of women’s federations like MALAR (Tamil Nadu), AVARD (Bihar), Procheshta (Assam) also expressed their support for the memorandum and opposition to the Bill.

The convention was also addressed by some members of parliament like Ms Sati Devi (Member, Women and Child Development Consultative Committee, Lok Sabha) and Santosh Bargodia (Chairman Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry and Member, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance). Representatives of women’s organisations: Subhulakshmi (Nirantar), Shalu (CWDS), Shalini (JWP) and Kalpana David (YWCA) also expressed their solidarity with the women’s opposition to the Bill.

W R Vardarajan (CITU) also addressed the gathering and expressed support on behalf of the trade unions. The discussions were summed up by Sudha Sundaraman (general secretary of AIDWA) and Asha Mishra (Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti) with a call to renew struggle against the current proposed Bill and fight for a more socially relevant law.

The convention ended with a march to parliament and a resolve to continue the struggle for the amendment and redrafting of the present Bill. The detailed memorandum passed by the convention sought serious reconsideration of the Micro Finance Sector (Development and Regulation) Bill 2007, which is pending before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. Accepting the need for regulating the micro finance sector, the memorandum however pointed out that the current draft is an instrument to weaken the autonomy and rights of Self Help Groups.

It felt that the Bill is fundamentally flawed because of the following reasons:

1. It leaves non-banking financial companies and section 25 companies out of the purview of its regulatory framework.

2. It does not regulate or put a ceiling on the interest rate charged to the clients in SHGs.

3. It gives license to Micro Finance Organisations to make profit out of the thrift of the poor women.

4. It weakens financial and social responsibility of banks, which will have a bad impact on the poorest of the poor.

5. It leaves non-banking financial companies and section 25 companies out of the purview of its regulatory framework.

6. It does not regulate or put a ceiling on the interest rate charged to the clients in SHGs.

7. It gives license to Micro Finance Organisations to make profit out of the thrift of the poor women.

8. It weakens financial and social responsibility of banks, which will have a bad impact on the poorest of the poor.

9. It ignores the empowerment aspect of micro finance which should be an integral part of all women’s self help groups.

MEETING WITH THE FM

A delegation under the leadership of CPI(M) MPs Brinda Karat and P Sati Devi, and including Sudha Sundararaman and Anjana from AIDWA, Asha Mishra, and Komal Srivastava Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti and Subbalakshmi from Nirantar met P Chidambaram, finance minister on May 16 and submitted a memorandum on the Micro Finance Sector ( Development and Regulation Bill) 2007.

This meeting was in continuation of the National Convention on the above mentioned Bill held at Vithal Bhai Patel House lawns the previous day, in which more than two thousand women delegates representing self help group federations from 13 states participated, and expressed their reservations regarding the Bill. Many presentations from different sections, women belonging to self help groups, members of parliament, representatives of women’s organisations, trade unions, etc brought out the implications of the Bill for ordinary women. Subsequently, the convention passed a resolution which highlighted the issues placed by the discussants.

The memorandum submitted by the delegation to the finance minister incorporated the objections raised by the poor women facing problems on the ground, and demanded that the Bill should be re-examined in the light of these issues.

The finance minister gave a patient hearing to the delegation, and assured that he would carefully examine the issues that have been raised. He also promised to forward the memorandum to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, and said that there would be extensive consultations with all affected sections before the Bill is finalised. (INN)