Emerging Role of IT enabled Systems in Financial Inclusion of India

Abstract

Indian economy is occupying a key position and recognition around the globe. It is evident from its current position and growth rate that it has emerged as one of the strongest contender thriving to become a developed nation. But out of 130 crore population, 41 percent is still remains unbanked. Even empirical evidences support that financial inclusion and literacy are essential for inclusive growth of the country. The prime focus of the Government of India as revealed through the union budget from 2011 to 2015 has been the financial inclusion of the major population.The basicaim of financial inclusion is to provide banking and financial products and services that meet the following requirements- transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance and delivered in a responsible and sustainable way at affordable cost to the unbanked population. Therefore, the present study examine the role of IT enabled systems in achieving financial inclusion objectives during the period from 2011-12 to 2016-17. The present study is descriptive in nature and is based on secondary data. The data has been collected from annual reports of RBI, reports of committees, research papers and articles. The present study concludes that due to the continuous efforts of the government and the banks, Indian economy is moving toward increased financial inclusion. IT enabled systems and banks have been playing a key role in financial inclusion in India.Financial Inclusion is an ongoing process which requires continuous and coordinated efforts from the Government, financial institutions, the regulators and the community at large to achieve 100 percent financial inclusion in the country. The study suggests that the banks should provide improved services to its customers and make it easily accessible by opening new branches as well as by upgrading their technology.