The Centre for Research on Financial Inclusion and Microfinance (CRFIM) was set up in BIRD on 1st January 2008 with a view to emerge as a centre of reference, information, knowledge ,valued opinion related to micro-finance sector. It has the mission to strengthen the MF sector through supply of research inputs that facilitates policy initiatives and improvement in design & delivery systems that provide poor with sustainable access to quality financial services. Financial Inclusion being one of the top priorities of Government of India (GOI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as well as NABARD and also it being so closely entwined with microfinance, the centre included it as another focus area of its activities in 2016. Thus the Centre for Microfinance Research (CMR), has been rechristened as Centre for Research on Financial Inclusion and Microfinance (CRFIM) on 03 October 2016
SEMINAR
The Centre organizes annual national seminar on relevant issues under financial inclusion and microfinance sector since 2009. The seminar had been chaired, among others, by eminent personalities such as Dr. C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council; Dr. B.B. Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Shri H.R. Khan, Deputy Governor of RBI and Shri Y.C. Nanda, Chairman of NABARD. Last seminar, fourth in series, organized on 16 – 17 October 2015, was chaired by the then Hon’ble Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Chaudhary Birender Singh.
VISION
To emerge as a centre of reference / information / knowledge / valued opinion related to micro-finance and Financial Inclusion sectors.
MISION
- Strengthen the MF and FI sectors through supply of research inputs that facilitates policy initiatives
- Improvement in design & delivery systems that provide poor with sustainable access to quality financial services
ACTIVITIES
The Centre had conducted 32 studies and organized 3 National Level Seminars on various issues on Microfinance sector in the country. It also published four volumes (7 issues) of its bi-annual journal “THE MICROFINANCE REVIEW”. Research on micro-Finance and other important issues Taking macro perspective into account, the centre plans to take up issues / research studies that confront the micro-finance having policy ramifications and requiring interventions by policy makers.
Publishing Bi-annual Journal : ‘THE MICROFINANCE REVIEW’ The centre brings out a half yearly journal named “The micro-FINANCE REVIEW”. The basic objective of the journal is to promote studies on issues related to the microfinance sectors in India and abroad in order to sensitise the policy makers, donors, researchers and others who are associated with the sector. The journal proposes to identify key problems and encourage debate in the microfinance sector on issues such as socio-economic empowerment, institutional arrangements and innovations in microfinance products with special focus on rural clients. Eight volumes of the Journal have been published so far .
CONTACTS
Anukampa Jha Email: cmr.bird@nabard.org Phone No. 0522-2421136