India, Jan. 25 -- Micro-lending is in the news again for the wrong reasons. First, the Assam government passed a bill which barred micro-finance institutions (MFIs) from lending to vulnerable sections of society. It was a response to a backlash against MFIs. A large number of borrowers working in tea plantations had taken loans from MFIs. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) noted that the economic slowdown in tea plantations and anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act disruptions led to rise in the delinquencies. MFIs started sending collectors for recoveries to the borrowers, leading first to the backlash and then the political response in terms of the bill....