As of early 2011, the microfinance industry in India, one of the largest in the world, is facing a moment of reckoning. The recent developments in Andhra Pradesh, the cradle of microfinance in India, have stamped the future of the sector with a huge question mark. This paper sketches the...

The microfinance industry in India, one of the largest in the world, has played a critical role in India's financial inclusion. Though its roots can be traced back at least to the 1970s, it has exploded in size and reach since the 1990s, been largely South India based in its distribution and has...