Financial Inclusion in India

It is quite appalling that in the current era of sophisticated innovations in the field of finance, there are billions of people who have no access to even most rudimentary form of financial services, leading to their exclusion from the financial system. There is no doubt that large scale of financial exclusion or the lack of financial inclusion is hampering the growth of the global economy as it brings with it real and rising costs, often to be borne by those who can least afford them. The importance of financial inclusion has gained growing attention in development circles and the puzzle of how to build more financially inclusive economic systems has come to take centre-stage in many debates and deliberations across the globe. The book offers valuable insight into the concept of financial inclusion and its related terms: financial exclusion and micro finance. It is written with the aim to explore the extent of financial exclusion in India and to suggest extensive measures to increase the depth as well as the width of financial outreach to hitherto unreached and geographically dispersed masses. It should be useful to bankers, financial intermediaries, researchers and students.