It is hard to imagine that a $50 loan could change a life, but this tiny amount has made a huge difference to the lives of local women.
Through the scheme they have become empowered, learning how to handle money and build a stable foundation with security for their families.
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One success story is 35-year-old Zarina, who has fulfilled a dream of owning her own business selling fabric.
When her husband died three years ago, she says she couldn't provide for her three children and was forced onto the street.
But a small loan from Hindusthan microfinance, turned her life around
Now Zarina's business is thriving and she is well on the way to repaying the loan.
Once she's paid off the fifty dollars she borrowed, she plans on taking out another loan to expand her business further.
Without the microfinance sector, India's poor would be at the mercy of unregulated, high interest, commercial banks.
The capital employed at the microfinance firms comes at a fraction of what the banks charge.
Anil Jadhav, director of Hindusthan microfinance, is considered a saviour.
Ten years ago he set up his microfinance institute offering small amounts of money with little interest to people who had no chance of getting loans from major banks.
Mr Jadhav says: “My customers say we don't need money to make a bungalow, to purchase a car, we just need money for food and we are working for that.”
Today he has several successful firms financing the businesses of hundreds of once deprived families.
Mr Jadhav says his firm, which has a repayment success rate of 98 per cent, only provides loans to women.
There also a one per cent rebate to women who repay their loans.
He goes from home to home offering advice about education and family planning.
Mr Jadhay says: “The smaller your families the better if you have more you won't be able to educate them.”
This programme, like hundreds of others across India, has transformed the lives of up to 18,000 families.
Mr Jadhav says he's now focusing on educating the new breed of businesswomen on their fundamental rights in society.
That includes a woman's name on property papers and incentives for them to become homeowners.
