This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1970.

Credit cooperatives in India make up one of the largest rural financial systems in the world. Playing a vital role in dispensing credit in largely agricultural areas, they are also the weakest link in the formal credit delivery system. This book provides a valuable case study of the traditional banking system in this developing economy, exploring the reasons for the poor performance of credit cooperatives in India and suggesting measures to revitalise them. Although this sector has grown along with the micro-credit sector to provide finance for the poor and the less creditworthy borrowers, financing development still remains a major problem in the developing world. However, the financial health of credit cooperatives in India has been a matter of perennial concern. The author argues that cooperatives hold great promise for financial inclusion if the financial position of the cooperatives can be consolidated. Providing a detailed analysis of the historical evolution of cooperatives in India, the book establishes the link between different segments of this institutional system and their performance in a commercial sense to show that cooperatives occupy an important place in India’s financial edifice as they play a key role in the multi-agency framework for rural credit delivery. As such, the analysis provides a valuable reference for scholars of economics, Asian economics and finance.

Over Nearly Four Decades Of Their Chequered History, Co-Operative Agriculture And Rural Development (Card) Banks Have Been Able To Emerge As An Outstanding Co-Operative Institution, Catering Exclusively To The Investment Credit Needs Of The Rural Areas. The Kerala Card Bank Is Considered To Be The Best Among The Developing Banks Based On Its Outstanding Performance In Terms Of Many Indicators Like The Quantum Of Advances Made, Reserves, Profit, Small Farmer Coverage Etc. It Has Diversified Its Activities So As To Cover And Assist Rural Artisans, Small Scale Industrialists And Has Also Launched The Financing Of Rural Housing.The Study Examines The Role Of The Bank In Meeting The Long Term Credit Requirements Of The Rural Masses In The State. It Has Also Examined The Impact Of Lending, And The Utilisation And Recovery Pattern Of Loan Advanced.The Study Makes A Brilliant Exposition Of All These Issues And Highlights The Real Problem Prevailing At The Beneficiary Level. The Author Has Used Various Statistical Tools To Make The Study Scientific And Accurate. This Book Should Be Of Vital Importance To Policy Makers And Researchers.

Annotation This book examines the current level and pattern of access to finance for India's rural households, evaluates various approaches for delivering financial services, analyzes what lies behind the lack of adequate financial access, and identifies what it would take to improve access to finance.