Financial Inclusion: A Roadmap Towards Future Growth

Abstract

India has since long recognized the social and economic imperatives for greater financial inclusion, and it has made a significant contribution to economic development by developing novel methods to empower the lower-income group. The Govt. & banking industry have taken the lead in promoting financial inclusion. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken numerous steps over the years to increase access to the poorer segments of society, beginning with bank nationalization, priority sector lending requirements for banks, the lead bank scheme, the establishment of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), the service area approach, the self-help group-bank linkage programme, and so on. RBI also launched NCFE (National Centre for Financial Education) which is not for profit organization aims to promote financial education across India through trainings programs, workshops, seminars for all sections of the population.  As per National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI, 2019-2024) report minute data is required to depict a proper image of how financial services are used and covered. Some countries have begun to implement legislative measures. This research aims to better understand the concept of financial inclusion in the Indian banking sector. Furthermore, this paper discusses various initiatives undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India and also tries to analyse progress of schemes as well as the future prospects of financial inclusion in Indian banking.