abhishreshthaa
Abhijeet S
Indian rural credit structure is regarded all over the world as quite unique and innovative. It required a careful feasibility study to understand rural structure. Evolved over a period of last eight decades, it can perhaps claim the honour of being a very important constituent of the most complex rural economy in the third world countries. In India there is different caste, religion of people living together, the language of every state, caste is different than each other.
The land, weather, water availability is different in different area, which give lots of problem in applying various policies. One of the distinguishing features has been its ability to adapt itself, without much turmoil and stress, to the socio-economic dynamics of the rural scenario. Over the years it has developed into a multi faceted structure to service almost the entire cross-section of rural population spread thoughtout the length and breadth of our country.
In rural areas the indigenous moneylenders continued to be the banker in need. Since these money-lenders had virtual monopoly in supplying credit in rural areas, the poor were often subjected to exploitation. With the overriding monopoly the money-lenders often resorted to usurious practices--- levying the exobirant rate of interest, demanding gift/contribution to the temple funds out of the amount of credit, demanding advance interest, etc.
Besides, often the money-lenders resorted to unethical practices like taking thumb impression on a blank paper for inserting some arbitrary amount, manipulation of account to inflate the balance due. The poor villager could not escape the clutches of these indigenous bankers as they had to keep on borrowing from them under distress since they were the only source of credit for all type of requirements--- production and consumption.
The conditions of the poor peasantry were perpetually so pathetic that an adage—“they are born in debt, they live in debt & die in debt” was the usual description of their plight. To mitigate the sufferings of the poor farmers the infrastructure of co-operative credit was brought into being in the matter of agricultural finance.
The Co-operatives Societies Act of 1904 provided the formation of primary agricultural co-operatives credit societies. Later in 1912, the co-operative movement was extended to formation of non-agricultural co-operative credit societies also.
The land, weather, water availability is different in different area, which give lots of problem in applying various policies. One of the distinguishing features has been its ability to adapt itself, without much turmoil and stress, to the socio-economic dynamics of the rural scenario. Over the years it has developed into a multi faceted structure to service almost the entire cross-section of rural population spread thoughtout the length and breadth of our country.
In rural areas the indigenous moneylenders continued to be the banker in need. Since these money-lenders had virtual monopoly in supplying credit in rural areas, the poor were often subjected to exploitation. With the overriding monopoly the money-lenders often resorted to usurious practices--- levying the exobirant rate of interest, demanding gift/contribution to the temple funds out of the amount of credit, demanding advance interest, etc.
Besides, often the money-lenders resorted to unethical practices like taking thumb impression on a blank paper for inserting some arbitrary amount, manipulation of account to inflate the balance due. The poor villager could not escape the clutches of these indigenous bankers as they had to keep on borrowing from them under distress since they were the only source of credit for all type of requirements--- production and consumption.
The conditions of the poor peasantry were perpetually so pathetic that an adage—“they are born in debt, they live in debt & die in debt” was the usual description of their plight. To mitigate the sufferings of the poor farmers the infrastructure of co-operative credit was brought into being in the matter of agricultural finance.
The Co-operatives Societies Act of 1904 provided the formation of primary agricultural co-operatives credit societies. Later in 1912, the co-operative movement was extended to formation of non-agricultural co-operative credit societies also.