Financial Inclusion Harnessing Poor Families' Potential for Development

Abstract

ndia accounts for 21% of the World’s and 67% of South Asia’s unbanked population.  Since independence, efforts have been to make financial services available to rural India through expanding cooperatives, nationalising private banks, establishing regional rural banks, inducting private banks, among others. Acknowledging the fact that financial inclusion has been a key component of India’s development strategy to promote inclusive, balanced and sustainable growth the process of taking banking to villages still continues. However, according to the RBI, almost 75% of savings accounts lie dormant. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana launched on 15th August 2014 is a comprehensive financial inclusion scheme for unbanked households which has shown significant performance as on 26th December 2015.It is in this context, this article highlights the significance of the financial inclusion and its relevance to India, RBI’s directives, current status, need for initiating enabling measures and aspects of strategic action plan to achieve the objectives of the financial inclusion.