Impact of Financial Inclusion on Income Generation and Savings in Mountain Regions: A Case Study of Rural Households of Uttarakhand

Abstract

The major drive for financial inclusion started in the country mainly from year 2014 after the launch of Jan Dhan Yojana which focused mainly towards empowering dwellers of resource deprived and underdeveloped regions. Economic empowerment of such deprived sections is possible only when they are provided with ample opportunities for income generation in various economic activities. The prominent aim of financial inclusion is to facilitate residents of such deprived regions by reaching out to them and delivering them facilities so that they could identify and work on their capabilities to generate employment and income earning opportunities. The economically deprived and vulnerable population, through it, could be secured, from falling in the trap of poor informal level activities. These low-level informal activities are not suitable for them and for their overall development in the long run. Financial inclusion thus helps them in getting out of the poverty trap and hence acts as one of the important facility or an instrument which could help in a larger achievement of the goal of the development of residents of such deprived regions. Keeping these aspects in consideration the present study aims to understand the impact of financial inclusion on two important variables i.e. income generation and enhancement of savings among the residents of Mountain regions of the state which also represents the deprived and underdeveloped regions. The study was conducted in three mountain districts of the state and the results of the study shows that financial inclusion has helped in income generation in these regions but the impact of it has been different among different caste categories. Further the study shows that financial inclusion worked to enhance the income generation with larger benefits to households having higher levels of income. The study also depicts the positive impact of financial inclusion on savings but with noticeable variations in its impact on different caste groups.