Pilot program started from 2008 in a southern block leveraged Financial Inclusion to enhance

livelihood security of the rural poor. The pilot project was multi stakeholder and is now on a

sustainable mode, up-scaled to many blocks across Karnataka state as a holistic approach with

financial inclusion, skilling of farming community in sustainable agriculture and building peoples

institutions-Farmer Producers Companies (FPC).

IDF has initiated up scaling of financial inclusion of small and marginal farmers through JLG

approach by introducing technology and Rupay cards with Public Sector Banks. In this

approach, farmers are opened individual KCC accounts with group guarantee and issued Rupay

card. Farmers operate the account individually with OD facility enabling better cash flow to the

account holders through business correspondence agents (BCA) points and micro ATMs.

GramServ Pvt. Ltd., a company floated by IDF undertakes Financial Inclusion Projects and

activities with various clients-PSBs, Regional Rural Banks, Private Banks and other organizations

that hitherto looked after by IDF. The FI activities undertaken are (i) BC/BF services; (ii) Business

Plan and execution; (iii) Linking client needs and Bank products; (iv) Processing for bank

products; (v) Appointing and managing BCAs; (vi) Follow-up – repayment (vii) Supporting and

collaborating with FPC for supervised Credit portfolio

The program has covered over 60,000 farm families across Karnataka state under KCC and SHG

credit through public sector banks with credit absorption of over Rs. 800 crore.