GUNTUR: Vadde Nagalakshmi, a widow in Piduguralla, was at a loss on how to repay the money she had borrowed from a micro finance institution. A daily labourer, she earned only Rs 100 a day, and with three children to feed, the money was but a pittance, hardly enough to buy them two square meals a day.“I had borrowed Rs 15,000 from an MFI and with the added interest, I have to now repay them Rs 30,000,” a worried Nagalakshmi said.It was in this situation when some people approached her to appear for some clinical trials in Axis Labs in Hyderabad and promised to pay her Rs 600. For a financially cornered Nagalakshmi, promise of some extra money for something that seemed as simple as sitting for some tests felt like a good deal.After the tests in Hyderabad, she was again approached for another set of tests in RR Lab, Chennai.She accepted but never got a call back from them after the tests.“I had thought I would be able to repay the loan taken from the MFI but that was just a vain dream,” said Nagalakhsmi.There are many more women like Nagalakskmi in the area who are already in the debt trap and become easy victims of clinical trials.The companies employed mainly women who were in a financial crunch. They had taken loans from micro finance institutions and were being harassed by them for repayment. Ninety per cent of the women were illiterate.The companies also targeted widows, divorcees and those whose husbands were chronically ill. And these were not hard to find. Many men in these areas work in limestone quarries and develop illnesses over time, leaving the wives to become the sole breadwinners for the family.The firms employed brokers to scout for such women and bring them to the test centres. One such broker in the Palnadu area, on conditions of anonymity, told Express, “There are hundreds of such women in Piduguralla and surrounding villages.”Meanwhile, authorities are attempting to cope with the fallout of the trials. Joint collector A Sarath said that house-to-house surveys would be conducted to get the number and details of the women who underwent trials conducted by the pharma companies. But at the same time, minister for rural development Dokka Manikyavaraprasad felt that effective implementation of welfare schemes at the ground level was the only way through which the government can check these malign practices.Summit on alternative MFIs todayHYDERABAD: An international summit on ‘Micro Finance Institutions and Inclusive Development - Alternatives’ organised at the Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resource Development Institute (MCRHRDI) will be inaugurated by the chief minister N Kiran KUmar Reddy on Tuesday.Union minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh will be the chief guest for the three-day summit.Speaking to reporters here on Monday, minister for Indira Kranthi Patham and Self Help Groups V Sunitha Lakshma Reddy said that the three-day event aims at discussing the functioning of MFIs in India and abroad apart from making an effort to find an alternative model for MFIs.“Initially, the MFIs registered themselves with the government as non-profit organisations. But later, they started exploiting the poor and needy to make huge profits. Despite the state government coming up with an act to prevent MFIs from exploiting the poor, it was not as effective as it was planned,” said the minister.The international summit is being held in Hyderabad for the fourth time after 1998, 2003 and 2007.Delegates from about 75 countries along with members of 130 self help groups, economists and other experts will participate.Apart from India, the summit will also deliberate on the functioning of MFIs in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Philippines and African countries. On the final day, the summit will come up with resolutions for effective functioning of MFIs to make repayment of loans affordable for the people.
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