Microfinance in the North Eastern Region of India - Opportunities and Challenges (Special Focus on Arunachal Pradesh)

Introduction of economic reforms during 1991 is seem as the turning point in India's economic history, providing a break from the low growth trap in which the country's economy had been caught for four decades. This had its far reaching impact not only on the economic front but had made major contributions in the social sector. Due to the rigid nature of banking services and constraints on banking entities in India, microfinance is a powerful instrument not only for financial inclusion but for poverty alleviation, enabling the poor to accumulate the assets, boost their incomes, and reduce their economic vulnerability also. Providing employment opportunity to the rural people and developing the status by providing credit with less interest is the major concern of microfinance. The present paper highlights the current status and prospects of microfinance in North eastern region of India with special reference to Arunachal Pradesh. Paper is divided into six sections, the first is an introductory one followed by objectives in the second and data based and methodology in the third section. Fourth section provides the status of Micro Finance in North Eastern Region as a whole. Fifth section deals with the Arunachal Pradesh followed by conclusion in the last section.