New Delhi, October 29, 2026: DJT Microfinance has appointed Sunil Sharma as National Head – Risk Control Unit (RCU), Vigilance and Audit, bringing an experienced banking risk professional into its leadership structure as the company looks to strengthen governance, internal controls and operational resilience.
The appointment, announced through a company-issued statement on October 28, places Sharma in charge of risk control, vigilance and audit initiatives across the organisation's operations.
For the Noida-headquartered non-banking financial company–microfinance institution (NBFC-MFI), the leadership move comes at a significant time for India's microfinance industry. Lenders are balancing the need to reach underserved borrowers with stricter expectations around credit discipline, fraud detection, customer protection and transparent financial operations.
The appointment also adds to the latest BFSI appointments in India, where risk management, internal audit and compliance expertise are playing increasingly important roles in the governance of financial institutions.
Who Is Sunil Sharma? A Look at His Banking Career
Sunil Sharma brings more than 22 years of experience in banking and financial services, including over 19 years with Kotak Mahindra Bank.
During his long association with Kotak Mahindra Bank, he handled national-level responsibilities in risk control and fraud risk management, building expertise in identifying vulnerabilities across lending and operational processes.
His professional experience includes pre-disbursement verification, post-disbursement controls, fraud identification and prevention, process improvement and technology-enabled risk management.
These capabilities are particularly relevant for microfinance institutions, where loans are often delivered through geographically dispersed branches and field-level customer interactions.
Unlike conventional corporate lending, microfinance frequently involves smaller loan amounts, borrowers with limited formal financial documentation and repayment assessments that depend heavily on household income and cash flows.
This makes the accuracy of borrower verification, credit appraisal and continuous monitoring essential to maintaining the quality of the loan portfolio.
Sharma's experience across these functions is expected to support DJT Microfinance's efforts to strengthen its risk management and audit practices.
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What Will Sunil Sharma Oversee at DJT Microfinance?
Sharma's appointment covers three closely connected but distinct functions: risk control, vigilance and audit.
Risk control involves identifying weaknesses in lending processes, verifying operational compliance and strengthening checks before and after loan disbursement.
Vigilance focuses on identifying suspicious activities, investigating potential misconduct and ensuring that irregularities receive appropriate attention.
Audit provides a structured assessment of whether an organisation's processes, internal controls and risk management systems are operating effectively.
Together, these functions can help financial institutions identify operational vulnerabilities before they become larger financial, reputational or regulatory issues.
For a microfinance lender, important areas of oversight may include borrower identity verification, credit documentation, loan disbursement controls, branch-level processes, collections monitoring and investigation of reported irregularities.
DJT Microfinance Leadership Sees Risk Management as a Growth Priority
Avinash Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of DJT Microfinance, described stronger governance and risk management as important elements of the company's expansion strategy.
In the appointment announcement, Kumar said:
"Robust risk management and effective governance remain central to our growth strategy."
He indicated that Sharma's experience would support stronger internal controls, accountability and operational resilience.
Sharma, meanwhile, outlined a focus on proactive risk identification, process discipline and improving the effectiveness of the organisation's audit framework.
His stated priorities also include building a culture of vigilance and accountability while supporting the company's long-term growth.
DJT Microfinance: Business Model, Presence and Lending Operations
DJT Microfinance Private Limited is an RBI-registered NBFC-MFI focused on providing financial services to low-income households, rural entrepreneurs and underserved communities.
According to the company's official website, its lending operations began in August 2021.
Its business includes joint liability group (JLG) loans, individual loans, micro loans against property and gold loans.
The company's published geographic presence covers seven states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam and Madhya Pradesh.
Its institutional investor information reports a presence across 72 districts and more than 77,395 active borrowers. These are company-reported figures, and the webpage does not specify an exact reporting date.
DJT Microfinance also describes its loan disbursement process as entirely cashless, with funds transferred directly to borrowers' bank accounts.
This operating model places importance on digital transaction controls as well as on the reliability of field-level verification, credit decisions and customer servicing.
The combination of group-based lending, individual financing and secured loan products also creates different types of operational and credit risk that require appropriate monitoring.
Why This NBFC Appointment Matters Under RBI's 2026 Risk and Audit Framework
One of the most important aspects of Sharma's appointment is its timing.
On July 31, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India issued updated directions covering fraud risk management and internal audit functions for applicable non-banking financial companies.
The RBI's NBFC Fraud Risk Management Directions, 2026 establish a framework covering governance, fraud prevention, early detection, investigation and regulatory reporting.
The directions apply to NBFCs in the Upper and Middle Layers, as well as Base Layer NBFCs meeting the prescribed ₹500-crore asset-size threshold.
Separately, the RBI's Internal Audit Function Directions, 2026 address the independence and effectiveness of internal audit, including risk-based assurance and governance arrangements.
The precise applicability of individual provisions to DJT Microfinance depends on its regulatory classification and relevant financial thresholds. The appointment announcement does not establish those details.
Nevertheless, the regulatory direction is clear: control functions are important components of responsible financial operations, particularly where lenders manage large customer networks and multiple loan products.
India's Microfinance Sector: What the Latest Industry Data Reveals
The appointment also comes against an evolving industry backdrop.
According to the Micro Finance Industry Network's September 2026 Micrometer release, the outstanding portfolio of India's microfinance industry stood at ₹3,28,708 crore as of June 30, 2026.
Although the overall portfolio was 6.9% lower year-on-year, it grew 1.1% from the previous quarter, suggesting a gradual recovery in lending momentum.
The industry also reported an improvement in portfolio quality. Portfolio at Risk for loans overdue by 31–180 days declined from 5.6% a year earlier to 1.6% at the end of June 2026.
NBFC-MFIs accounted for 44.3% of the industry's outstanding portfolio.
These figures illustrate why risk management continues to matter even when industry-wide repayment indicators are improving.
Lenders must maintain the quality of new loans, monitor existing borrowers' repayment capacity and strengthen controls across customer acquisition, underwriting and recovery.
Importantly, these are industry-level figures. They should not be interpreted as DJT Microfinance's individual financial or asset-quality performance.
Also Read | RBI Warns NBFCs: Don't Sacrifice Asset Quality for Rapid Growth
What Sunil Sharma's Appointment Signals for India's BFSI Sector
The significance of this latest NBFC appointment lies in the increasing importance of specialised risk and governance leadership within India's financial services sector.
As microfinance lenders adopt digital processes and expand into underserved markets, operational controls must develop alongside lending capacity.
For DJT Microfinance, bringing in an executive with over two decades of banking experience provides an opportunity to strengthen the coordination of risk-control, vigilance and audit activities.
But the true impact of the appointment will become clearer through the quality of the systems, oversight arrangements and organisational practices that follow.
For readers tracking latest BFSI news, BFSI appointments, NBFC news, finance news and leadership changes across India's financial sector, Sharma's appointment is a development to watch—not merely because of his experience, but because of the growing emphasis on governance and sustainable lending in the microfinance industry.
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