SME Times News Bureau | 10 Jan, 2020
In order to include all, particularly the poor and
underprivileged class, under formal access to finance, the RBI on Friday
unveiled the five year (2019-24) National Strategy for Financial Inclusion - a
key goal of the government.
Currently, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is the government's
financial inclusion programme, applicable to the 10 to 65 years age group, and
aiming to expand and make affordable access to financial services such as bank
accounts, remittances, credit, insurance and pensions.
Financial inclusion is increasingly being recognised as a key driver of
economic growth and poverty alleviation world over. Access to formal finance
can boost job creation, reduce vulnerability to economic shocks and increase
investments in human capital. Seven of the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) of 2030 view financial inclusion as a key enabler for
achieving sustainable development worldwide.
To achieve the above objectives in a coordinated and time-bound manner,
preparation of a National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) is essential,
the RBI said.
Globally, the adoption of National Financial Inclusion Strategies (NFIS) have
accelerated significantly in the past decade, it noted.A
"Keeping in view the global trend, the Reserve Bank of India under the
aegis of Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC) initiated the process of
formulation of National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) for the period
2019-2024. Wide ranging discussions were held with all stakeholders. Based on
the inputs/feedback received, NSFI has been finalised and approved by the
Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC)," it said.
The document was formally released by RBI Deputy Governor M.K. Jain at the High
Level Meeting on Financial Inclusion for the North East region convened at
Agartala on Friday. The NSFI sets forth the vision and key objectives of the
Financial Inclusion policies in India to expand the reach and sustain the
efforts through a broad convergence of action involving all the stakeholders in
the financial sector, the RBI said.