US-based CGAP elects Indian as chairman of executive committee

A global micro-finance body set up by the World Bank has elected India’s Vijay Mahajan as the chairman of its executive committee.

US-based Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) - set up by the World Bank, 33 donor countries and seven foundations - is a micro-finance body and an independent policy and research centre dedicated to advancing financial access to the world’s poor, according to a statement.

Mr. Mahajan is the founder and chairman of BASIX Group, a micro-finance company that helps support the livelihood of over 1.5 million poor households in the agriculture, allied and non-farm sectors through the extension of micro-credit worth over Rs. 2,250 crore, it said.