MONTHLY ARCHIVES: JULY, 2015
Posted on July 28, 2015 by Sumita Kale
The aim of universal financial inclusion is to ensure that every adult Indian has easy, reliable and affordable access to all financial servicesWithout reliable and granular data, the true extent of exclusion and effectiveness of policy initiatives cannot be ascertainedA slew of reports recently released give a good idea of the progress of financial inclusion over the past few years in IndiaHowever, given the time lag, reports such as the Crisil Findex (March 2013 data) and Intermedia Financial Inclusion Tracker Survey (conducted over the period September-December 2014) can give a good picture of the trend, not the current statusIt is important to keep this caveat in mind while using results from reports.
For the current status, the best source right now is the PMJDY website that keeps a regular update of the number of banking accounts, as well as the share of zero-balance accounts, showing that the government is cued into these trendsRBI data on banking indicators comes out with a lag, and the most regular current status would be for indicators such as Payment Systems, ATM transactions, etcthat are reported on a monthly basis.
Pradhan Mantri Jan - Dhan Yojana (Accounts Opened As on 15.07.2015)
S.No | No Of Accounts | No Of Rupay Debit Cards | Balance In Accounts | % of Zero Balance Accounts | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rural | Urban | Total | |||||
1 | Public Sector Bank | 7.24 | 5.98 | 13.22 | 12.25 | 15698.68 | 50.83 |
2 | Rural Regional Bank | 2.57 | 0.44 | 3.02 | 2.19 | 3493.76 | 50 |
3 | Private Banks | 0.41 | 0.28 | 0.69 | 0.61 | 1095.93 | 47.83 |
Total | 10.21 | 6.71 | 16.92 | 15.05 | 20288.37 | 50.59 |
Disclaimer: Information is based upon the data as submitted by different banks/SLBCs(All Figures in Crores)
Even while we look at the trend under the PMJDY, other reports give us a sense of how India has been changing from before the PMJDY came onto the scene From the Third Report of Crisil Findex we get the trend that as of March 2013 progress in bank branch, deposit, and credit penetration has continued at a brisk pace, regional disparities were reducing though Southern States were still far ahead in inclusion parameters, and the success stories that stood out were West Bengal for Micro Finance, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and the North-EastThe report also notes that the success of the PMJDY and the forthcoming payments banks are set to change the landscape of financial inclusion significantly.
The Intermedia India Financial Inclusion Tracker Survey: 2015 (Wave 2) was conducted over the period September- December 2014, and while this is more recent, it fails to capture the full extent of the PMJDY successApart from the time period of the survey, another caveat to keep in mind is the fact that the survey focuses on individuals, while the PMJDY targets household penetrationThe report shows a rise in the penetration of banking accounts in India, and also points to increasing account usageA significant result that has come through is the high increase in penetration of banking amongst women, especially those below poverty level - and this appears to be a direct outcome of the successful PMJDY campaign. The survey also points to large inter-state disparities, and here it is crucial for the government and the RBI to pay more attention.
ICFI reports Financial Inclusion Metrics-Part I (Policy Brief October, 2014) and Financial Inclusion Metrics-Part II (Policy Brief October, 2014) had delved into the issue of financial inclusion metrics, summarized the findings from various data sources and had made the following recommendations:
To conclude, there has been a significant improvement in the financial inclusion metrics over the past few years, more data has been collected and published than earlierHowever, significant regional heterogeneity in the country calls for more granular data and deeper analysis of behavioural differences.
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