Finiancial inclusion: a viable option for inclusive growth

Indian economy is recognised as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. To accelerate economic growth and to make it sustainable, there should be an active participation from all sections in the growth process. A plausible approach to make the growth process more sustainable and inclusive is adding the marginalized and disadvantaged sections of the society via greater financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is a process of ensuring access to suitable financial products and services to the weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost by mainstream financial institutional players. In our country, RBI has been taking various initiatives to provide banking services at an affordable cost to the disadvantaged and low-income groups. In this background, this paper attempts to examine the role played by the banking and financial institutions of India towards financial inclusion. The paper also tries to enumerate the various initiatives taken by the Government and RBI for promoting financial inclusion in the country. The study is based on secondary data collected from various sources like annual reports of reserve bank, RBI bulletin, books, journals and various websites. The study found an increasing trend in the number of bank branches over the last five year period. The study also found a tremendous growth in KCCs and GCCs during the year 2013–14.But, still majority of the rural population have not come under the purview of financial inclusion. Therefore, there is a need for coordinated action between the banks, the Government T.O and other related institutions to facilitate access to bank accounts amongst the financially excluded.