International Journal of Sustainable Economies Management, 4(4), 1-17, October-December 2015 1 Copyright © 2015, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Keywords: Financial Performance, Microfnance, Performance, Social Performance ABSTRACT With the massive growth in microfnance sector, the importance of performance measurement in microfnance institutions (MFIs) has prominent during the last decade. With an objective of commitment to dual mission, the Indian MFIs witnessed a series of rise and fall and subjected to mission drift. Thus redefning the per- formance is the prime objective of this study. Data gathered from 252 MFIs irrespective of their legal status. Factors for performance were identifed through literature and were validated empirically. This research considered both the fnancial and social dimensions of performance unlike the earlier studies. Financial performance is described by proft margin, return on assets and portfolio at risk whereas social performance consists four factors namely Information disclosure (INFDIS), Mission adequacy (MISADEQ) and Community participation (COMPART). This study can be a useful bench-marking tool for practitioners to monitor and improve the MFI performance. The study has unique value to microfnance literature, both from theoretical and managerial perspectives. A New Perspective on Performance in Indian Microfnance Institutions: An Empirical Study Saswat Barpanda, Amrita University, Amritapuri, Kerala, India Susmita Mukhopadhyay, IITKharagpur, Kharagpur, India 1. INTRODUCTION The dual mission of being financially profitable and socially sustainable has put the Microfi- nance institutions (MFIs) into mission drift. While chasing competition to broadens their client base, many MFIs hired unsuited staff who can deliver expected financial outcomes, however the social issues is being neglected or unseen (Aadhaar Report, 2011). Mission drift happens when MFIs diverge from their original mission of alleviating poverty and serving poor, to more profit centric vision by serving wealthier clients or by charging high-interest rates for their custom- ers. So to cope up with the challenge of mission drift, they need to prioritize both financial and DOI: 10.4018/IJSEM.2015100101