Microfinance Bubble Traps Poor in Debt

'This is unrestrained consumer lending gone wild'

(NEWSER) - Out of India's booming microlending industry, a dark reality. Bloomberg Markets magazine travels to the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, which has taken on a third of the country's $5.3 billion in microfinance loans—and has seen more than 70 people commit suicide between March 1 and Nov. 19 as a way to escape payments or debt-triggered struggles. What began as a charitable movement—loaning very small sums to people too poor to qualify for bank loans—now attracts public, for-profit lenders eager for high returns. One microcredit ratings company found that more than half the 66 Indian microlenders it tracked were for-profit. More»

(NEWSER) - Children broke into Bollywood dance numbers in the narrow lanes of a teeming Mumbai slum today, as they gathered to watch Slumdog Millionaire's domination of the Oscars. Two of Slumdog's child actors, Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, hail from this desperately poor neighborhood, and their every appearance elicited squeals of joy from the crowd. "My eyes couldn't believe that I was seeing Rubina in America," said one friend. More»

Filmmakers deny they underpaid children

(NEWSER) - The creators of Slumdog Millionaire are taking the offensive to rebut accusations that the young Indian actors in their film were exploited, People reports. Claims surfaced earlier this week that two of the child actors, still living in the slums of Mumbai, got a raw deal. But director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson say “painstaking attention” was paid to ensure that the actors would get a good education through age 18. More»

Fairy-tale film's take on 'real India' has 'conveniently fluid notion of reality'

(NEWSER) - Slumdog Millionaire wants to be a portrait of the “real India” and a fairy tale at the same time, but director Danny Boyle’s combination is “dissonant to the point of incoherence,” writes Dennis Lim in Slate. It portrays life in the slums in brilliant color, and “some would argue that Boyle is guilty of aestheticizing poverty.” More»

Mag touts barrier-breaking 'power of fashion;' 'downright distasteful,' others say

(NEWSER) - Vogue India is taking heat for a haute couture fashion spread that uses poverty-ridden locals for models, the New York Times reports. A toothless, barefoot man holding a $200 Burberry umbrella and a rumpled baby in a $100 Fendi bib are just two examples that have irked some critics in a country where 456 million live on less than $1.25 a day. More»