Financial Inclusion Viable Opportunities In India

Financial inclusion has been one of the most propagated ideologies in countries, and as a result, significant efforts have been taken to nurture institutions and systems to include an array of socio-economic classes. Various financial institutions and societies have taken steps toward financial inclusion, but to be successful, they need to understand how to accurately target and market their potential customers as well as the new avenues for development. Marketing Techniques for Financial Inclusion and Development is a critical scholarly resource on the marketing techniques adopted by various financial institutions and societies for promoting financial inclusion initiatives for the development of the society at large. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as consumer awareness, financial literacy, and micro-enterprises, this book is geared towards managers, investors, brokers, researchers, and all others within the banking industry.

In India, while one segment of the population has access to an assortment of banking services and financial counseling, the other segment of underprivileged and lower income group is totally deprived of even basic financial services. Exclusion of large segments of the society from financial services adversely affects the overall economic growth of a country. In order to ensure financial inclusion of the poor, particularly in rural areas, various initiatives have been taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These include the nationalization of commercial banks, the establishment and expansion of rural credit co-operatives, regional rural banks, urban co-operative banks, micro finance and self-help groups, mutual funds, and pension funds. There are several challenges that require concerted efforts from banks, the RBI, and India's government to ensure a convenient and cost-effective delivery of financial services to the public at large. In particular, the challenge is to introduce innovations in risk assessment, reduce transaction costs, devise new credit delivery channels, and use information technology to make financial inclusion a viable model. This book examines the various policies and programs that were implemented in order to make financial services more accessible to the country's underprivileged income groups, resulting in millions of bank accounts being opened. [Subject: India Studies, Economics, Poverty Studies, Development Studies]

We examine how the development of the digital infrastructure known as the “India Stack”—including an interoperable payments system, a universal digital ID, and other features—is delivering on the government’s objective to expand the provision of financial services. While each individual component of the India Stack is important, we argue that its key overarching feature is a foundational approach of providing extensive public infrastructures and standards that generates important synergies across the layers of the Stack. Until recently, a large share of India’s population lacked access to formal banking services and was largely reliant on cash for financial transactions. The expansion of mobile-based financial services that enable simple and convenient ways to save and conduct financial transactions has provided a novel alternative for expanding the financial net. The Stack’s improved digital infrastructures have already allowed for a rapid increase in the use of digital payments and the entry of a range of competitors including fintech and bigtech firms.

Using information from 193 banks in 58 countries, the authors develop and analyze indicators of physical access, affordability, and eligibility barriers to deposit, loan, and payment services. They find substantial cross-country variation in barriers to banking and show that in many countries these barriers can potentially exclude a significant share of the population from using banking services. Correlations with bank- and country-level variables show that bank size and the availability of physical infrastructure are the most robust predictors of barriers. Further, the authors find evidence that in more competitive, open, and transparent economies, and in countries with better contractual and informational frameworks, banks impose lower barriers. Finally, though foreign banks seem to charge higher fees than other banks, in foreign dominated banking systems fees are lower and it is easier to open bank accounts and to apply for loans. On the other hand, in systems that are predominantly government-owned, customers pay lower fees but also face greater restrictions in terms of where to apply for loans and how long it takes to have applications processed. These findings have important implications for policy reforms to broaden access.

India's financial inclusion agenda has witnessed a paradigm shift over the last decade, away from an emphasis on credit to a more comprehensive approach toward financial services (e.g., opening bank accounts and offering basic financial products, such as insurance). This paper describes the structure of banking and microfinance institutions in India relevant to the developing model of financial inclusion, as well as relevant regulatory structure and modes of delivery. It explains the current state of financial inclusion, as well as regulatory changes necessary to make the new architecture for inclusion viable, including a critique of some of the recommendations of the Mor Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households. The paper then reviews modes of delivery and the regulatory structure being contemplated or recently introduced. It assesses the suitability objective envisaged as critical for inclusion, associated challenge of revamping consumer protection laws, and imperative of improving financial literacy. The paper also discusses the case of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the given context.

The official emphasis on financial inclusion keeps re-emerging in policy discourses and among bankers, who are critical of its architecture, despite the earnestness and enthusiasm in pursuing it. In the face of initial bursts of euphoria, the movement develops fatigue for commercial reasons. The agenda regularly falls by the side –first from discussion tables and then from policy engagement. Banks face many constraints; the high cost of driving financial inclusion in remote geographies is not sustainable. The main reason for the earlier failures was that the goals were more idealistic than realistic However, in the last few years, that agenda appears to have gained significant traction even as it is still going through the honeymoon period in the Jan-Dhan avatar. People have wholeheartedly embraced it and see great promise in it. But they are still not entirely convinced of it achieving its touted potential. Access to suitable finances is critical in overcoming the complex everyday realities for those living in penny economies. It can allow them to move out of poverty or build resilience to absorb a financial shock without sinking deeper into debt. Financial services increase savings, remove barriers to credit, ease the burden of debt, and help people weather unexpected tragedies.

This book focuses on the issue of financial exclusion with particular reference to the urban informal sector in India. Continuing the work of its predecessor, the current Government of India is also placing considerable importance on driving policy initiatives for financial inclusion. However, financial exclusion in urban areas, especially of the lower strata of the society has not received the attention it deserves from researchers and policymakers, even though urban poverty and deprivations are of considerable importance in the present Indian context. The challenges of financial inclusion and accessibility in the urban areas differ substantially from those found in the rural regions given the fact that the possibility of physical access to financial services is much higher in urban areas. In order to provide a macro perspective, the book begins with an analysis of the unit record data on nature and extent of financial inclusion and access to credit in urban India, based on Debt and Investment survey data (59th and 70th rounds) provided by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO). In subsequent steps, the book discusses findings from a primary survey carried out in the state of Karnataka of self-employed persons engaged in informal services sector. This exercise has helped to comprehend the ways in which they currently meet their financial needs for different income generating purposes, the terms and conditions under which they do so, and the challenges that remained for possible interventions. Experiences of other developing nations in their attempts to ensure financial inclusion and the lesson learnt thereby are the other highlights of the book.