Bank Alone Not a Safe Deposit for Women

After lauding P Chidambaram’s move to set up a state-run women’s bank, there is a growing concern in Congress that this may not be enough to fulfill the party’s promise to empower rural women with better access to credit. Senior Congress leaders and sections of the government, feel that a specialised financial institution similar to Nabard or Sidbi would be more effective in meeting the party’s objective. In a letter to Chidambaram, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has suggested an alternative strategy and proposed setting up a “specialised developmental financial institution” on the lines of Sidbi through an act of Parliament............

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