The Reserve Bank of India today placed on its website, the Report of an Internal Working Group set up to examine and to suggest a way forward to implement the recommendations of the Report on "Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised Sector" of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector. The National Commission was constituted by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of Dr. Arjun K. Sengupta. The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector submitted its Report to the Prime Minister on August 8, 2007.

The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector highlighted the conditions of work and issues in livelihood promotion and proposed a set of recommendations for the unorganised sector. It also suggested a package of measures for addressing some of the critical issues relating to farm and non-farm sectors. It made some observations and recommendations relevant to the Indian financial sector largely drawing from the analysis made by a separate task force, constituted by the Commission under the Chairmanship of Prof. V. S. Vyas, which dealt with credit related issues of the non-agricultural unorganised sector.

The Reserve Bank in its Mid-Term Review of the Annual Policy 2007-08 (October 2007) proposed to constitute an internal working group to study various recommendations of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector relevant to the financial system and to suggest an appropriate action plan for implementation of the acceptable recommendations pertaining to banking sector and the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank constituted the Internal Working Group (IWG) in November 2007.

The Internal Working Group, in its Report, has made recommendations, among other things, to address the issues of credit allocation, expanding the outreach of banking services and improving the access of credit to various segments of population in the unorganised sector.

Alpana Killawala
Chief General Manager

Press Release : 2007-2008/1526