India should set up banks for the poor
Nobel laureate Yunus joins bicentenary celebrations of Presidency University in Kolkata
The banking system in India serves the rich only and there is nothing for the poor, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said on Tuesday.
He also called for changes in India's legislation to pave the way for setting up banks for the poor. He made the call while taking part in the bicentenary celebrations of Presidency University in Kolkata.
The founder of Grameen Bank is the second person after Amartya Sen to give speech in Bangla at the university's Derozio Hall.
"I have been asking the Indian government to bring new laws for setting up new banks," The Hindu quoted Yunus as saying at the event.
"The existing laws are for making banks for the rich. In order to bring financial services to the poor, a new legislation is required so that the country gets banks for the poor."
Yunus spoke highly of the university and said it will be difficult to find any young people in the two Bangla-speaking regions who have never heard of the institution.
He also talked about the Liberation War of Bangladesh, the famine of 1974 and its impact on the country's economy and the establishment of Grameen Bank.
He highlighted how Grameen Bank has expanded its reach across the United States and the world.
Yunus said many NGOs in India, who are dependent on financial assistance, have been running large microcredit programmes.
"They require limited banking licence so that they can function as banks. The government has started giving new banking licence which is good."
The banks now are like huge ships that can sail across oceans, but these are not enough to ensure access to banks for the poor, he said.
Speaking about poverty and unemployment, Yunus said, "Poverty is not due to the poor people. It is created by the system."
He said the poor are the victims of the system, adding that, "unemployment is being thrust upon them by the present societal system."
"Why should today's youth seek jobs? Instead they should look for creating jobs for others. This wrong thinking has put all of us in the wrong direction."