Financial access counts, but transactions matter most
6 years, 1 month ago

Financial access counts, but transactions matter most

Deccan Chronicle  

India’s flagship financial inclusion programme — Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana — launched in 2015 with a mission to provide a basic account to every adult— has significantly changed the demographics. According to the World Bank’s Global Financial Inclusion Database, or Global Findex report 80 per cent Indian adults now have a bank account — 27 points higher than the 53 per cent estimated in Findex 2014 round. The essence of financial inclusion is to ensure delivery of financial services which include bank accounts for savings and transactional purposes, low cost credit for productive, personal and other purposes, financial advisory services, and insurance facilities to those who do not otherwise have access to high street banks. Without greater and consistent usage of bank accounts, the promises of financial inclusion — equitable economic growth growing and successful businesses, and improving financial security and prosperity — will remain elusive.

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History of this topic

Regulations should not create unintended barriers for financial inclusion: RBI Guv
5 days, 21 hours ago

Regulations should not create unintended barriers for financial inclusion: RBI Guv

Live Mint  

Mumbai, Mar 26 Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday said regulations should not create "unintended barriers" for deepening financial inclusion. Speaking at the Financial Action Task Force event here, Malhotra said policymakers should also be mindful and not be "overzealous" with their measures, adding that legitimate activities should not be stifled. Pitching for "balanced regulations", Malhotra said adopting a …

Financial inclusion not just opening accounts; engagement key: RBI Deputy Governor Rao
1 month, 1 week ago

Financial inclusion not just opening accounts; engagement key: RBI Deputy Governor Rao

New Indian Express  

MUMBAI: Of late there has been some concerns of excessive borrowing in unsecured segment and from derivative euphoria in the capital markets, Rao said Though as much as 80% of the adult population have bank accounts now, thanks to the Jan Dhan Yojana or no-frills accounts, meaningful use of these accounts remains a challenge, rues Reserve Bank deputy governor M …

Fin inclusion not just opening accounts, engagement is key: RBI Dy. Gov. Rao
1 month, 1 week ago

Fin inclusion not just opening accounts, engagement is key: RBI Dy. Gov. Rao

New Indian Express  

MUMBAI: There have been some concerns about excessive borrowing in unsecured segment and from derivative euphoria in the capital markets of late, says M Rajeshwar Rao, deputy governor, Reserve Bank of India. “However, true financial inclusion goes beyond merely having a bank account—it requires meaningful engagement with financial services,” he said, adding a bank account should serve as an entry …

Payments banks are pioneering digital financial inclusion: Airtel Payments Bank’s Biswas
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Payments banks are pioneering digital financial inclusion: Airtel Payments Bank’s Biswas

Live Mint  

Payments banks in India have encouraged digital financial inclusion and helped small finance banks to grow, Anubrata Biswas, managing director and chief executive of Airtel Payments Bank, said. Payments banks today touch 250 million users every month, while the small finance bank industry touches 20 million consumers who wouldn't have got credit from the traditional banks. “This $10 billion cannot …

Credit Score: How is increased awareness driving financial inclusion beyond metros
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Credit Score: How is increased awareness driving financial inclusion beyond metros

Live Mint  

Imagine this – Over 119 million Indians are actively monitoring their credit scores, with a majority emerging from rural and semi-urban areas. Technology is dismantling traditional barriers to financial inclusion, and the importance of maintaining a good credit score is becoming an integral part of financial planning for individuals in non-metro regions. A new financial awakening in non-metros The awareness …

Financial inclusion can reduce gender gaps in India
11 months, 3 weeks ago

Financial inclusion can reduce gender gaps in India

Hindustan Times  

Surpassing the United Kingdom and France, India has become the world’s fifth largest economy. PREMIUM Gender Equality {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} Financial inclusion plays a crucial role in advancing the economic empowerment of women, which is a key objective outlined in the fifth Sustainable Development Goal concerning gender equality. Despite the country’s initiatives aimed at enhancing financial inclusion, significant disparities …

Boosting Jan Dhan account activity: Strategy for enhanced financial inclusion
1 year, 1 month ago

Boosting Jan Dhan account activity: Strategy for enhanced financial inclusion

Live Mint  

Financial inclusion in India has traditionally been equated with the expansion of banking networks and the proliferation of bank accounts among the underserved. The Global Findex data from 2021 provides an insightful snapshot into India's evolving financial inclusion landscape, marked by significant digital adoption and changing saving and borrowing behaviors. According to Findex, India experienced a slight percentage decline in …

Women as financial ambassadors: Key to expanding inclusion
1 year, 2 months ago

Women as financial ambassadors: Key to expanding inclusion

Hindustan Times  

By harnessing the potential of women as banking agents, we bridge financial inclusion gaps while fostering women's economic empowerment and reshaping societal norms. Another advantage lies in women agents' adeptness at building connections with customers, translating into higher transactions, especially considering research in India revealing women customers' preference for female agents during doorstep banking services. The Jan Dhan Plus work …

Technology has placed women’s financial inclusion within reach
1 year, 9 months ago

Technology has placed women’s financial inclusion within reach

Live Mint  

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, with technology reshaping industries and societies, digital public infrastructure has emerged as a catalyst for financial inclusion. While digital financial inclusion is vital, gender disparities still exist in women’s access to digital financial services and their comprehensive utilization. The G20 High-Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion and the report on Advancing Women’s Digital Financial …

Financial Literacy Among Women: How To Close The Gender Gap And Raise General Awareness
2 years ago

Financial Literacy Among Women: How To Close The Gender Gap And Raise General Awareness

ABP News  

Today, financial independence has become a vital element for the well-being of an individual. Even though the women's literacy rate in India is 70.3 per cent, financial literacy is still inadequate. But according to an Asian Development Bank study, only 27 per cent of Indian adults, including 24 per cent of women, have the bare minimum of financial literacy. When …

Reserve Bank of India devises new plan for fin inclusion
5 years, 1 month ago

Reserve Bank of India devises new plan for fin inclusion

Deccan Chronicle  

Chennai: The Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with other financial services regulatory bodies, has launched a National Strategy for Financial Inclusion that will help provide access to formal financial services in an affordable manner by 2024. Financial service providers have to strengthen outreach through virtual modes including mobile apps and move towards an increasingly digital and consent-based architecture for …

Women-centric reforms needed for financial inclusion; gender-neutral schemes don't work amid societal bars
6 years, 3 months ago

Women-centric reforms needed for financial inclusion; gender-neutral schemes don't work amid societal bars

Firstpost  

Financial inclusion is important because women specifically score disproportionately low on ordinary functions like savings and borrowings due to reasons such as gender violence, limited mobility, not being allowed to work, etc. The lack of adequate gender-specific data, in terms of usage of accounts by women, duplication of accounts and dormancy, has also been an impediment to crafting more efficient …

Better payouts to banking correspondents, facilitating paperless banking will spur financial inclusion: NITI Aayog
6 years, 3 months ago

Better payouts to banking correspondents, facilitating paperless banking will spur financial inclusion: NITI Aayog

Firstpost  

Niti said there are constraints due to lack of financial literacy amongst low-income households and small informal businesses and high cost of operations of traditional banking model New Delhi: Better compensation to banking correspondents, facilitating paperless banking and introducing financial literacy chapters in school curricula will spur financial inclusion, NITI Aayog said Wednesday. Lack of financial literacy, high cost of …

Aadhaar has emerged as key document for new bank accounts: Survey
6 years, 10 months ago

Aadhaar has emerged as key document for new bank accounts: Survey

Live Mint  

New Delhi: Aadhaar has emerged as an enabler for financial inclusion with 76% to 95% of new accounts opened in different states relying on biometric identification but steps are needed to improve continued usage of these bank accounts, says a survey that analysed three-year data from rural Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and West Bengal. The survey sought to find out whether …

Why India’s financial inclusion drive may be running out of steam
6 years, 11 months ago

Why India’s financial inclusion drive may be running out of steam

Live Mint  

Bengaluru: Among the 10 largest emerging markets in the world, belonging to the G20 group, India today has the highest share of people with an account in a financial institution. India’s share of inactive accounts, at 48%, is the highest in the world, the World Bank notes in its report based on the survey. As the first chart shows, India …

India contributing to global growth in financial inclusion: World Bank report
6 years, 11 months ago

India contributing to global growth in financial inclusion: World Bank report

ABP News  

20 : The Global Findex Report, 2017 released by the World Bank on Friday gives India more than one reason to cheer, as it notes the rapid increase in financial inclusion that has taken place in the country. In what can be seen as an answer to apprehensions raised earlier by some critics on usage of digital payments in India, …

Digital inclusion is leading to financial inclusion: iSpirt’s Sharad Sharma
7 years ago

Digital inclusion is leading to financial inclusion: iSpirt’s Sharad Sharma

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The goods and services tax, when further simplified, is set to become a registry of all the matched invoices that a business is involved in, according to Sharad Sharma, co-founder of the Indian Software Product Industry Round Table, which helps software products businesses scale. Another platform called the BBPS will create the same digital trail for businesses that …

Financial inclusion in India must focus on informal sector, says Grameen Foundation chief Prabhat Labh
7 years, 5 months ago

Financial inclusion in India must focus on informal sector, says Grameen Foundation chief Prabhat Labh

Firstpost  

Financial inclusion needs to focus on the entire informal sector rather than individual customers, according to Prabhat Labh, chief executive of Grameen Foundation India, the country arm of Washington-DC-based microfinance non-profit Grameen Foundation. Vivek Vipul Financial inclusion needs to focus on the entire informal sector rather than individual customers, according to Prabhat Labh, chief executive of Grameen Foundation India, the …

The admirable success of the Jan Dhan Yojana
7 years, 7 months ago

The admirable success of the Jan Dhan Yojana

Live Mint  

In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four Independence Day speeches since assuming office, achievements under one government programme have found consistent mention: the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Researchers have only recently acquired data of sufficient vintage—from administrative records on the transactions in PMJDY accounts to individual and household-level survey data—that yields preliminary findings on India’s progress towards genuine financial inclusion. …

India in 10 years: The beginning of a digital era of inclusive finance
8 years, 1 month ago

India in 10 years: The beginning of a digital era of inclusive finance

Live Mint  

A revolution is brewing in the financial ecosystem that will extend the benefits of formal financial services to the masses. Global trends suggest that the banking and financial services sector are undergoing the change that the telecom sector witnessed a few years ago. Similar innovation is happening in payments and other financial services. The first category consists of frequently used …

The role of POS expansion in the vision of financial inclusion
8 years, 7 months ago

The role of POS expansion in the vision of financial inclusion

Firstpost  

By Deepak Chandnani The vision of financial inclusion in India is a much-hailed one. Today POS machines accept different financial instruments, primarily debit and credit cards and now wallets. Considering debit cards, POS and wallets, the financial inclusion angle is well-rounded with terminals acting as a robust channel for cards and wallets. POS terminals are an essential part of the …

'Only 48% of Indian adults have access to bank account'
10 years, 3 months ago

'Only 48% of Indian adults have access to bank account'

India TV News  

New Delhi: Only 48 percent of Indian adults have bank accounts and nearly half of them lie dormant, says a report. "While 48 percent of Indian adults have access to a bank account, the highest rate of the seven countries, 47 percent of Indian accounts lie dormant," the survey said, adding that fewer than a quarter of account users use …

RBI in 'mission mode' to push financial inclusion schemes, says official
10 years, 6 months ago

RBI in 'mission mode' to push financial inclusion schemes, says official

Firstpost  

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank is pushing the financial inclusion drive in a “mission mode” and has taken several steps including allowing banks to offer more products and have easier KYC norms, a top official said today. “We are furthering financial inclusion in a mission mode through a combination of strategies ranging from relaxation of KYC regulatory guidelines, provision of …

The challenge of financial inclusion
10 years, 7 months ago

The challenge of financial inclusion

The Hindu  

Financial inclusion and financial literacy have been important policy goals for quite some time. At various fora, the Reserve Bank of India and senior government officials had been hinting at a “big-bang” action plan for financial inclusion to be announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address to the nation. Nowadays, however, financial inclusion is seen to …

An ambitious plan for inclusion
10 years, 7 months ago

An ambitious plan for inclusion

The Hindu  

The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, a major socio-economic initiative of the National Democratic Alliance government, was announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech. It is an ambitious attempt at extending formal financial services in a country where only 58.7 per cent of an estimated 24.67 crore households avail themselves of banking services. A Comprehensive Financial Inclusion Plan …

Banking for all
13 years, 2 months ago

Banking for all

The Hindu  

The banking sector in Kerala becomes the first in the country to achieve 100 per cent financial inclusion. IN 2011 Kerala made a landmark achievement: its banking sector became the first in India to achieve 100 per cent financial inclusion, guaranteeing at least one bank account in each household and banking facilities within reach of all the people in the …

Bats for financial inclusion
13 years, 10 months ago

Bats for financial inclusion

The Hindu  

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday that one of the challenges in the financial sector that India faces today is the limited reach of financial services among the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. “Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable and inclusive growth, which in turn is essential for building an equitable society. Financial inclusion …

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