The government of India’s Maharashtra state is seeking help of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit, to introduce a microfinancing system for small and medium scale industries in the state, reports The Indian Express.
State finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, rural development and women and child development minister Pankaja Munde and minister of state for finance and rural development, Deepak Kesarkar, will hold a preliminary meeting with Yunus on 6 September, according to the report published on Wednesday.
“He is an expert in the field and can help us chalk out a roadmap for introducing microfinancing in Maharashtra. We will meet him over lunch to discuss the experience in Bangladesh, the problems they faced there and the challenges,” Mungantiwar was quoted to have said.
Social entrepreneur and founder of Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus “will guide Maharashtra on microfinance and how to revive dying Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the State,” wrote Teh Hindu on the same day.
Apart from sharing his experience , he is also expected to discuss the government’s thrust on a road-map for future development of the MSME sector in the state.
The Maharashtra government has set aside Rupees 200 crore for small industries in the state budget for 2015-16.
Source: Prothom Alo
