The Links

This week has been a bit sparse on content here at the IDB, but stay tuned as over the next week we will be live blogging the Microfinance India conference, organized by ACCESS Development Services. The conference is taking place in Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

And now for some links:

· The article was written more than 3 years ago, but I could not agree more with S. Venkitaramanan of the Hindu that it is time for “the RBI to make peace with NBFCs.”

· A fascinating piece from New York Times Magazine on what the mainstream financial industry in the US can learn from check cashers, with some important points on transparency.

· A column from the Times of India that may exaggerate the likelihood for success of RSBY, India’s grand scheme to give every below poverty line (BPL) household insurance against catastrophic health shocks. It is starry eyed, yet it is still a nice introduction to the program.

· This study conducted by Innovation for Poverty Action (IPA) on a program which promoted the growth of cash crops for export by farmers in Kenya details an upsetting example of how heightened quality control regulations (which may or not be protectionist) in rich countries can have painful effects on workers on small farms in economically poor nations.