The Malegam Committee was constituted by the Reserve Bank of India’ as a Sub-Committee of its Board of Directors (referred to in this paper as “the Malegam Committee” or simply “the Committee”), to review the definition and practice of microfinance in India, delineate a regulatory framework, and make related recommendations.

The Committee’s recommendations” were released on 19 January 2011. This paper represents Intellecap’s effort to examine the Malegam Committee’s recommendations for the private-sector commercial microfinance industry (referred to in this paper as “the industry”), some questions that its recommendations raise, and the impact of its recommendations on the industry.