Microfinance intervention is considered an important component of development strategy to mainstream the poor rural households with the formal financial system in India. However, there is some evidence for the reverse, that microfinance may, in fact, increase informal money lending, if clients need to ‘top up’ micro-loans, or borrow to repay according to the installment schedule. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between the level of indebtedness to moneylenders and the type of microfinance model through a case study in Varanasi, U.P. Comparing two microfinance models prevalent in the research area, the authors conclude that the level of indebtedness to moneylenders is higher in the case of clients of Microfinance Institutions (MFI) model and without complete information on the credit-worthiness of borrowers, MFIs may contribute to the over-indebtedness of their clients as well as damage in their performance.

A national education policy (NEP) is a comprehensive framework to guide education development in any country. In light of this, the present contribution is structured on an analysis of recent changes in the education policy of an emerging economy. The study is an original contribution to the qualitative study literature, applying the system model of inquiry and Twitter mining methodology using NVIVO 12 software. The sketch of the article begins by analysing the limitations and gaps of the extant education policy in an emerging country, and its implications through the SAP-LAP framework, and then analysing the reaction of various stakeholders on Twitter. The sentiment index (SI) scored +3.59, denoting a broad approval of the policy amongst the people. Further, the gap analysis develops the pathway to learning issues that guide the recommendations. The article concludes by offering a capacity development framework for better implementation and monitoring of new education policies for lower-middle income countries.

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