India's Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has said that the poor in the country repay their loans and are not bad borrowers and they need access to more financial services.

He urged banks and financial institutions in India to take additional steps to lend more to those on the bottom of the economic ladder. He pointed out that large corporate houses cann easily securire even large loans of Rs 1,000 crore or more without much trouble while the poor face enormous amount of hassles in securing even small loans. He was speaking at released a social audit report of Shriram City Union Finance Ltd.

He added that large firms can take huge loans and even not reply them. "But that is not so for the poor borrower. There is no margin of error for him. The small borrower has to borrow small amounts, pay what may appear to be a higher rate of interest, make money, repay the loan in time, as otherwise he will not get the second loan," he said.

Chidambaram said the Government is working to ensure financial inclusion and is looking to utilize various models like business correspondents, one-man branches and ultra small branches for this purpose in the country.