Veteran CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Friday (December 19, 2025) lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party Government, alleging that rural indebtedness particularly among women was on the rise due to the lack of effective control over the high interest rates charged by microfinance institutions (MFIs).
Leading a demonstration in front of Regional Office of the Reserve Bank of India here, Ms. Karat said, “public sector banks are giving loans to MFIs at low interest rate. They are jacking up the interest without any cap on interest rate. The SHGs and individual women are taking loan at very high rate of interest.”
“Moreover, MFIs are encouraging disbandment of SHGs as individual women are more vulnerable. They prefer to extend loan to individual woman at exorbitant interest rate. The RBI has not put any cap on interest rate. These are new Mahajans of Vikshit Bharat,” said the CPI (M) leader.
“It is not microfinance, but a micro-loot. We had done a survey of about 700 women of different districts of Odisha. And we have seen, it (rural indebtedness) is just tip of the iceberg what is happening on Ground. All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has done survey of 10,000 women across India,” she pointed out
