Financial

With a view to upholding the principle of egalitarianism and affordability in housing development for the disadvantaged groups in big cities, the RBI has called upon the urban cooperative banks to increase the limit for home loans under priority sector lending. According to the apex bank, poor people and slum dwellers can now avail themselves of a home loan to the tune of Rs 10 lakh. The RBI has also asked commercial and other banks to help the poor with loans upto 10 lakh. As per the RBI ...

According to knowledgeable sources, the RBI has slapped a huge fine on a Delhi based National Urban Cooperative Bank for sanctioning loans  in an irregular manner. The Bank flouted the guidelines laid down by the apex bank by favouring its own directors and their relatives and favourite firms with loans. When the apex bank came to know of it, sought explanation from the bank and immediately dismissed from consideration the bank’s explanation as irrelevant.

Courtesy of Fast Company, the world's leading progressive business media brand, with a unique editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethonomics (ethical economics), leadership, and design. Hippie Capitalism: How An Impoverished U.S. City Is Building An Economy On Co-ops With sky-high unemployment, Richmond, California, is not a place where traditional business models alone can dent poverty. The city has turned to co-ops in hopes that people who might be unemployable in the traditional ...

The UPA government has introduced a proposal for a new law in the Lower House of Parliament aimed at enabling the National Cooperative Development Corporation to give loans to  companies and such units managed by farmers selling agricultural produce on the market. Sources say companies managed by farmers can greatly improve the living conditions of primary producers and thus contribute to a rapid transformation of the rural economy. Analysts are of the view that the companies run by farmers ...

The cooperative movement brings a new dynamic to the world stage, says Quebec sociologist Louis Favreau. “Multinationals will have a new political force to reckon with,” he believes. Mr. Favreau* (in photo) holds the Canada Research Chair in Community Development at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), and is a member of the International Summit of Cooperatives' program validation committee. In an interview he granted us, he gave us some context for this new ...

A discussion workshop focusing on forestry and cooperative issues will be held October 7–8 as part of the schedule of complementary events leading up to the 2012 Summit. Objective The workshop's main objective is to assemble leaders and representatives of forestry cooperatives from around the world in order to build a solid network and promote a better understanding of the industry, which is a nerve centre of the economy. Discussion topics The workshop will be participatory: everyone in ...

It has never been easy for co-operatives to find their way into the pages of the Globe and Mail, the daily newspaper of choice for Canada's business elite.  But the International Year of Co-operatives has changed all that. On May 15, the Globe published an eight-page special report entitled "The Power of Co-operatives", sponsored by the Canadian Co-operative Association and the International Summit of Cooperatives and funded by advertising from several major Canadian ...