Financial Inclusion in India - A Path Towards Inclusive Economic Growth

Abstract

India had experienced a rapid economic growth in the last decade. But the growth was not inclusive. One of the main reasons for poverty in India is that low income and disadvantaged groups are financially excluded. All kinds of financial services are enjoyed by few peoples in the country but still majority of the people lacks access to the basic financial services such as savings, credit and insurance. Government has taken many steps such as nationalization of banks, credit to priority sector, opening of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Cooperative society, direct benefit transfers etc., during last six decades but still majority of rural households do not have credit from formal source. This article gives the depth knowledge of financial inclusion, product initiatives, policy initiatives, recent initiatives take by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the future initiatives. It brings out whether the financial inclusion paves a way towards inclusive economic growth of the country.