International micro-finance expert suggests Tripura to promote NGOs

Agartala, June 5 (UNI) Internationally acclaimed poverty alleviation experts have suggested the Tripura government to encourage NGOs for economic uplift of the rural masses in the state while advising to fix up accountability of government officials.

Talking to UNI here today, Poverty Advisor of the UK government's Department of Funds for International Development's (DFID) project on economic empowerment for the poorest in Bangladesh, Prof M A Momin said the rural development programmes in India as a whole and Tripura in particular were not yielding the expected results due to lack of responsibility of the government officials.

Prof Momin said banks in India had traditionally offered mass banking products and the financial market had turned into a buyer's market, as a result of which, the market focus was shifting from mass banking products to class banking with introduction of value added and customised products.

For the rural poor in India, formal financial services would enable them to maximise returns on their surplus, increase their consumption and reduce their vulnerability to risk.

However, their financial service needs, including consumption credit and cash savings, were seldom met due to systemic problems in the financial sector and monsoon risk, he pointed out.

Lauding the success of micro-credit schemes in Bangladesh, Prof Momin underlined that rural entrepreneurship development programme in his country had been handed over to the NGOs with certain accountability and management procedures, which provided huge employment opportunity and percolated the message of community development to the grassroots level.

Prof Momin was here to impart training to the bank officials, NGO leaders and rural development practitioners on the scope of micro-finance, prospects and problems in Tripura, organised by a leading Non-Government Research body ARPAN.

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