Financial inclusion in India may remain an unsolved puzzle for now

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Financial inclusion is back in the limelight after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana — an initiative to bank the poor — in his Independence Day speech. The new scheme promises a bank account, a debit card and an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh for poor families.

But many believe that including the financially excluded will continue to remain an unsolved puzzle, at least for now, as problems are plenty, with very few credible solutions in sight.

Indian banks have been struggling for decades to make financial inclusion commercially viable. The nationalisation of banks in 1969 and the thrust on branch building that followed were attempted at promoting financial inclusion.

Source: Business Standard (link opens in a new window)

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