Andhra Pradesh Government has promulgated an ordinance to rein in unscrupulous Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) in the state. The ordinance came into force immediately after Governor E S L Narsimhan signed the draft on Friday.State Rural Development Minister V Vasantha Kumar told reporters the ordinance would restrict the MFIs not to collect interest, which exceeds the principle amount of the loan. It also restricts members of Self-Help Groups from availing of loans from multiple sources. The State Government has asked the banks for debt-swapping and also to increase the credit flow to the borrowers. Several suicides had occurred in the state in the past one month reportedly due to harassments by the agents of MFIs for repayments. In the wake of increasing suicides, mainly by small farmers and the members of the Self-Help Groups due to harassments by the agents of Micro-Finance Institutions in the state, the State Government has brought-in the ordinance with in a short time.