Bhatriya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. Summary Of Project Information (SPI)       Project Name:    India - Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (Samruddhi)        Region:    South and Southeast Asia        Sector:       Project No:009311   Projected Board Date:May 30, 1999   Company Name:Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Limited (Samruddhi)   Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders    	Bhartiya Samruddhi Investments and Consulting Services Ltd. (BASICS Ltd. or the Company)is promoted by Mr. Vijay Mahajan as the main sponsor. Mr. Mahajan is a well-known micro finance practitioner and his initial pilot program funded by the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, The Ford Foundation and the Swiss Development Cooperation has been highly successful.    Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment    	The micro finance company promoted by BASICS Ltd. is called Bhartiya Samruddhi Finance Ltd. (Samruddhi, or the project).  Samruddhi will be capitalized at Rs. 176 million (approximately US$4 million). IFC is expected to invest US$0.5 million for approximately 12.5% stake.    Location of project and Description of site    	Rural Areas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in Southern India, with possible expansion to other states in later years.    Description of Company and Purpose of Project    IFC has been invited to invest up to a 12.5% equity stake in Samruddhi. In addition to IFC and the main sponsor BASICS Ltd., Samruddhi will have the equity support of key international financial institutions namely Shorebank of Chicago, Hivos-Triodos Fund managed by the Triodos Bank of the Netherlands, as well as Indian financial institutions: The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), The Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) and the Global Trust Bank (GTB).     Samruddhi has also raised debt from Indian financial institutions including the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD, through the Global Trust Bank), and BILANCE, Netherlands.  The sponsors have raised long-term soft loans from the Ford Foundation, Swiss Development Cooperation and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA through Desjardins, a Canadian Financial Institution).  These funds will be down-streamed as equity and subordinated debt into Samruddhi.    Through this project, IFC will assist in the establishment of a strong private sector micro finance institution in India, a country with potentially the world''s largest micro finance market.  The country''s financial system does not adequately cater to the micro finance market and it is estimated that close to 300 million people are inadequately served by the formal financial system.  The presence of an efficient specialized micro finance operator like Samruddhi is expected to increase the flow of funds to the weaker sections of India''s rural economy; and thus the project has a direct poverty alleviation impact.    Environmental Category and Issues    This is an FI Type 1 micro finance project.  Samruddhi will be required to ensure that its operations are consistent with GOI requirements and IFC''s Micro Finance Exclusion List.  IFC will assess Samruddhi''s capability to carry out environmental reviews.    The  is  from the InfoShop.       Host country location of environmental documents    India      Date SPI sent to InfoShop: April 26, 1999   This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of consideration of the proposed transaction by the Corporations Board of Directors.  It is provided for the purpose of enhancing the transparency of IFCs activities and should not be construed as presuming the outcome of IFC Board consideration.    For Additional Information contact:  Corporate Relations Unit -   telephone: (202) 473-7711   facsimile: (202) 974-4384