Page 12 - Banking Finance December 2023

ROUNDUP

Industry

News

In FY23, the microfinance The Department of Telecommunica- inely use the SIM card at the time of
tions is finalizing the move, which will SIM card acquisition in order to ad-
industry lent Rs. 3.48 tril- shield users from cyberfrauds and give dress the issue of user identity. Accord-
lion targeted customers government-spon- ing to officials, the same is being con-

In the Financial Year 2022-2023 (FY23), sored financial benefits. sidered as a way to significantly assist
the microfinance industry gave loans The 14-digit Ayushman Bharat Digital telcos in complying with the data pro-
totalling Rs 3.48 trillion to 660 million Health Account (ABHA) health ID, tection law's verifiable parental con-
customers, according to a report. which is linked to the Aadhaar card and sent clause in cases involving children's
According to a report published by the makes it easy to access medical data.
Microfinance Industry Network records as well as provide instant ac-
(MFIN), regulated entities (REs) re- cess to medical information for medi- In Maharashtra, Mother
ceived the majority of credit from non- cal professionals like insurers and doc- Dairy plans to open a new
banking finance companies- tors, is conceptually very similar to this
microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFI). one. plant.

As of March 31, 2023, the NBFC-MFI Among other things, the mobile cus- Mother Dairy plans to invest roughly
sector had disbursed Rs 138,310 crore tomer ID can be used to easily identify Rs. 500 crore to establish a new plant
in loans. Banks, with a loan portfolio who owns the SIM cards, track SIM in Maharashtra that will produce milk
worth Rs 119,133 crore, came next. cards on a single ID, and locate loca- and value-added dairy products. Ac-
When combined, the two industries tions from where users purchased SIM cording to the company, this is a com-
accounted for 73.90 percent of all cards. ponent of a larger investment plan
loans made by microfinance organiza- The action will also verify that no more that will total roughly Rs. 700 crore in
tions. With loans of Rs 57,828 crore, SIM cards are issued to a single cus- the coming years.
Small Finance Banks (SFBs) made up tomer than the nine that are allowed. One of the biggest dairy companies in
the third-largest sector. At the moment, only when the the nation, Mother Dairy is a fully
telecom department at different li- owned subsidiary of the National Dairy
Soon, mobile subscribers censed service areas (LSAs) conducts Development Board. In addition to milk
will have their own ID audits using artificial intelligence (AI)- and products derived from milk, it is
based facial recognition technology is well-known for its edible oil brand,
The government will soon provide each Dhara. Under the Safal brand, it offers
mobile subscriber with a unique cus- information about connections beyond
tomer ID that will serve as their single permissible limits evaluated. a variety of products such as frozen
point of identification for all things Furthermore, the government is antici- vegetables and snacks, fresh fruits and
pertaining to both their primary and pated to request that subscribers iden- vegetables, pulses, and concentrates.
supplementary phone connections. tify the family members who will genu- "We have recently got a nod from our

BANKING FINANCE | DECEMBER | 2023 | 11