Financial Inclusion Programmes Should Be Implemented Across Country: RBI

The Deputy Governor of RBI said that financial inclusion is not satisfactory and there is a need to make basic amenities available to the poor. The financial situation is still lacking in some parts of the country and there is a need to broad base the achievements.

He says that while some progress has been achieved by the excellent work (financial inclusion) but a lot of work is still needed to make it better. He observed that in the period between March 2010 and March 2012, there were more than 50 million people who opened their bank accounts. He said that, these figures or numbers seem very impressive, yet, if one considers the task of providing access to 1.2 billion people in the country, it is miniscule. Also, the financial inclusion programmes must reach six lakh villages across the country.

He said that these programmes must be implemented on commercial lines but not on a charity basis. Banking with the poor is to be pursued and perceived as a sustainable business model.