The availability and norms of equality for the available opportunities to receive and have accessible financial services are known as financial inclusion. It’s a method for individuals and organisations to obtain relevant, accessible, and timely goods and services. Banking, equity,  loan, and insurance products are among them. Financial inclusion effectively improves the country’s economic, social, and behavioural conditions. Financial inclusion programmes’ effectiveness in improving economic, social, behavioural, and gender-related results in low s- and middle-income countries has been mixed, with programmes to improve access to finance often having negligible effects on income and health and other social consequences. Savings-oriented initiatives have had smaller but more consistent beneficial impacts and pose fewer hazards than credit-oriented ones.

All about Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited 

The Reserve Bank of India has licensed Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (previously known as SKS Microfinance Limited) as India’s banking and finance bank (NBFC). SKS Microfinance became Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd in 2016. Vikram Akula created it in 1997 and represented it as its executive chair until November 2011. The company aims to offer financial services to the needy based on helping impoverished borrowers reduce and eliminate poverty.  The firm operates in 17 Indian states across 2013. 

Benefits of Financial Inclusion 

Some benefits of financial inclusion are:

  • It reduces the cash economy as it brings more money into the banking ecosystem.
  • It will make cash transfers directly to bank accounts possible, rather than doing cash payments. It will also make sure that the funds are reaching their actual recipients and are not being siphoned off in the way.
  • Banking access of cash payments, cash receipts, account statements, and balance enquiry will be given to rural masses and these can be done with the help of fingerprint authentication. 
  • There will be transparent and adequate credit via standard banking channels. Because of this, the entrepreneurial spirit will be fostered and there will be an increase in prosperity and output in the countryside.

Because of these benefits, it is also expected that financial inclusion is capable of initiating the upcoming revolution of prosperity and growth. In the current 21st century, India has started to enter in the right direction of advancing financial inclusion.

Initiative by India for financial inclusion

There are several measures initiated by the RBI to have a better financial inclusion in the country. A few of the measures are:

  • NFAs that stand for No Frills Accounts, also termed as BSBDAs (basic savings bank deposit accounts) can now be opened with minimal or even zero balances.
  • In August 2005, the KYC (Know-your-customer) requirements to open a bank account were also relaxed a bit.
  • The BC (business correspondents) model got launched in the beginning of 2006 as RBI allowed banks to integrate the banking processes with intermediaries. 
  • The advancement and expansion in fintech, also known as financial technology, has also been effective in achieving financial inclusion.

Government Policies Strategies

The MGNREGA, which stands for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, provided supplementary employment to empower rural labourers and women. There was a minimum wage and financial inclusion was facilitated. 

On the Independence Day Speed in August 2014, Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India announced a scheme named Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. It was an effort to give access to banking even by opening just bank accounts that also provided other financial services. 

The demonetisation policy in 2016 that was instituted by the Indian government was an attempt to stop the flow of black money and corruption. This policy made people transfer all the cash they had in their bank accounts if they wanted to keep their money. This policy also had a goal to start integrating the citizens to enter into the world of cashless banking systems.

Conclusion

For financial inclusion, the Indian government has introduced several unique initiatives. These programmes are designed to give social security to those less fortunate in society. After much preparation and study by numerous financial professionals and officials, the government created programmes with financial inclusion in mind. These programmes have been in place for several years. The minimum wage programme, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana are a few examples.