Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts
On 21 April 2013 12:29, Surabhi Tomar surabhi.to...@gmail.com wrote: As an aside, isn't most of India's working class 'migrant'? As is evident from the different answers (in different scenarios) that a person gives for Where are you from?. For example, to people referring to my roots, I'd have to answer U.P (where my grand-parents lived), to people referring to my schooling, I'd have to say Delhi (where my parents live) and to people asking for my current residence, I'd say Bangalore (where I currently live). Also makes Facebook's hometown question an interesting one as you find people living in Guwahati for the past 20 years, answering it with Bangalore! Immigrant vs. expat: differentiated by race, nationality, class: http://www.antropologi.info/blog/anthropology/2011/expats-and-migrants In a sense we're all either refugees or explorers. Ingrid Srinath @ingridsrinath
Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts
Do they have bank accounts? Between the extensions in my family, I've had two maids from Punjab (not the same pair all along) working in Bangalore for a few years now. My experience from this small sample set is that their parents, or an uncle, or a neighbour, has a bank account. Typically someone with a seemingly bonafide job, such as a security guard at a school, has a bank account. Problems faced by them in opening bank accounts esp on KYC front Without a permanent address or a 'Sanaaksh' (something like that - I think it means 'identification') card, banks make it to open accounts. The bigger issue I think is the distance to a bank, or source of income. A new source of income in Punjab villages is textile industries, but this involves long hours of work from including travel from the village, 6 days a week, and many are barely able to keep up. If they have no steady source, the need for a personal bank account diminishes. How do they send money home? In our case, we would 'drop' a cheque at the local SBI bank branch in Bangalore, with a teller, with written instructions. And then wait close to 20days to confirm with the maids' contacts, AND our local bank branch, that the money has been transferred. Do they have banks in their villages? typically have a bigger village or district HQ where a bank exists. Do they get any loans there? I have never asked my maids but I doubt it. They depend on more informal, and possibly more dangerous, ways of getting loans Do they need micro insurance? Yes. I don't think they know insurance of any form exists. Their biggest concerns are when a family member needs an operation or such medical assistance. Do they need any micro saving products? Not sure I understand what a micro-saving product is, but teaching them how to manage and save their money is a challenge. Are you aware of this organisation http://www.alittleworld.com/ ? Off-list, I can connect you to one of the founders. It could be difficult to get a response from him, but I can't think of anyone else with more experience in this area. :: Vinay Rao
Re: [silk] Migrant workers and bank accounts
I do believe that kiva tied up with a local micro lender some months or maybe a year back ,, --srs (iPad) On 23-Apr-2013, at 5:28, Vinay Rao v...@bangid.com wrote: Do they have bank accounts? Between the extensions in my family, I've had two maids from Punjab (not the same pair all along) working in Bangalore for a few years now. My experience from this small sample set is that their parents, or an uncle, or a neighbour, has a bank account. Typically someone with a seemingly bonafide job, such as a security guard at a school, has a bank account. Problems faced by them in opening bank accounts esp on KYC front Without a permanent address or a 'Sanaaksh' (something like that - I think it means 'identification') card, banks make it to open accounts. The bigger issue I think is the distance to a bank, or source of income. A new source of income in Punjab villages is textile industries, but this involves long hours of work from including travel from the village, 6 days a week, and many are barely able to keep up. If they have no steady source, the need for a personal bank account diminishes. How do they send money home? In our case, we would 'drop' a cheque at the local SBI bank branch in Bangalore, with a teller, with written instructions. And then wait close to 20days to confirm with the maids' contacts, AND our local bank branch, that the money has been transferred. Do they have banks in their villages? typically have a bigger village or district HQ where a bank exists. Do they get any loans there? I have never asked my maids but I doubt it. They depend on more informal, and possibly more dangerous, ways of getting loans Do they need micro insurance? Yes. I don't think they know insurance of any form exists. Their biggest concerns are when a family member needs an operation or such medical assistance. Do they need any micro saving products? Not sure I understand what a micro-saving product is, but teaching them how to manage and save their money is a challenge. Are you aware of this organisation http://www.alittleworld.com/ ? Off-list, I can connect you to one of the founders. It could be difficult to get a response from him, but I can't think of anyone else with more experience in this area. :: Vinay Rao
