Financial inclusion: An overview in rural economy of Assam

Financial sector in India has made a commendable progress over the years and more specifically in the post independence period and after nationalisation of the banking structure. The progress can be acknowledged in areas of financial viability, profitability and competitiveness. It is however a matter of great concern that the financial development process has failed to reach the underprivileged sections of the society. The rural people are the worst sufferers of the phenomenon of financially exclusion. More specifically, the financial exclusion has increased in rural areas over the last 10–15 years; the period during which the Indian banking system witnessed substantial growth. By leaving out this vast section of the society outside its ambit, the financial development process has added to high incidence of poverty; poverty an ever growing problem of the nation. It is however increasingly been recognised that in India every citizen has a right to have access to banking and financial services. With this recognition there have been serious efforts of the country's financial sector to make available the banking services to the entire population without any discrimination. This paper tries to present an overview of the financial inclusion in India with a picture of the magnitude of financial exclusion in rural areas. Besides, it discusses the strategies for achieving financial inclusion with respect of Assam.