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According to 2011 Census, rural population of India was 68.8 percent of total population. Rural development implies both the economic betterment of people as well as greater social transformation. Increased participation of people in the rural development process, decentralisation of planning, better enforcement of land reforms and greater access to credit and inputs go a long way in providing the rural people with better prospects for improved quality of life. Since Independence in 1947, the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India have made concerted efforts to provide the poor with access to credit. Despite the phenomenal increase in the physical outreach of formal credit institutions in the past several decades, the rural poor continue to depend on informal sources of credit. It is in this context that micro credit has emerged as the most suitable and practical alternative to the conventional banking in reaching the hitherto unreached poor population. Micro credit enables the poor people to be thrifty and helps them in availing the credit and other financial services for improving their income and living standards. This book is an attempt to understand the working of institutions engaged in providing rural finance and the policies of the Government for financial inclusion of the poor. About the Author:- Dr. Surajit Kumar Bhagowati is presently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce, Newgong College under Gauhati University, Assam. He has published more than 30 research articles in national level journals and 6 research articles in international journals. He is currently associated with a major research project funded by University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi. He is a senior member of International Economic Development and Research Centre, Singapore and a reviewer of International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance (IJTEF). Dr. Bhagowati has academic linkages with Grameen Bank, Bangladesh, Sonali Bank, Bangladesh, Slovakia University of Agriculture and Malaysian University of Teknologi, Mara, Malaysia. With 18 years of teaching and research experience at his command, he specialises in banking and finance.