Microfinance institutions (MFIs) provide small loans and other financial services to the poor. These institutions are established for helping the poor to raise income levels and to reduce poverty. Recently, MFIs are required to reduce their dependence on grants and subsidies. Consequently, they face conflicting objectives of improving reach and profitability. These can be achieved by improving productivity. This paper aims to investigate productivity change in 21 major MFIs in India which are rated by Credit Rating and Information Services of India Limited in 2014.,This paper attempts to examine total factor productivity change in 21 major Indian MFIs during the period from 2014 to 2016 using Malmquist productivity index. The inputs and outputs are selected considering objectives of outreach and financial sustainability. The authors have categorized MFIs in three categories, namely, large, medium and small, depending on asset size.,It is revealed that large MFIs are able to catch up with industry best practices by improving their systems and processes, but they need to improve scale efficiency. The Reserve Bank of India has recently initiated a policy of granting banking licenses to those financial institutions which have good outreach and are financially strong. It can be used for shortlisting MFIs before granting permission to operate as banks. The method can also be used for benchmarking them for productivity. It can also be replicated in other countries.,In India, MFIs are playing important role in economic development by providing microcredit to the poor. However, very few studies have been undertaken regarding productivity of MFIs in India. The present study intends to fill this gap. It will facilitate benchmarking of MFIs as competitive and sustainable financial institutions catering to the requirements of small borrowers.

中文翻译：

---

使用 Malmquist 生产率指数衡量印度小额信贷机构的全要素生产率变化

小额信贷机构（MFI）向穷人提供小额贷款和其他金融服务。这些机构的建立是为了帮助穷人提高收入水平和减少贫困​​。最近，要求小额信贷机构减少对赠款和补贴的依赖。因此，他们面临着提高覆盖面和盈利能力的相互矛盾的目标。这些可以通过提高生产率来实现。本文旨在调查印度信用评级和信息服务有限公司在 2014 年进行评级的印度 21 家主要小额信贷机构的生产率变化。本文试图考察 2014 年至 2016 年期间印度 21 家主要小额信贷机构的全要素生产率变化。使用 Malmquist 生产力指数。考虑外展目标和财务可持续性来选择投入和产出。作者根据资产规模将小额信贷机构分为大、中、小三类。,据透露，大型小额信贷机构能够通过改进其制度和流程来赶上行业最佳实践，但它们需要改进规模效率。印度储备银行最近启动了一项政策，向具有良好影响力且财务实力雄厚的金融机构颁发银行牌照。它可用于在授予银行经营许可之前将小额信贷机构列入候选名单。该方法还可用于对它们的生产力进行基准测试。它也可以在其他国家复制。在印度，小额信贷机构通过向穷人提供小额信贷在经济发展中发挥着重要作用。然而，关于印度小额信贷机构生产力的研究很少。本研究旨在填补这一空白。它将促进小额信贷机构作为满足小额借款人要求的具有竞争力和可持续性的金融机构的基准。