FINANCIAL INCLUSION- NEWS AND VIEWS - JUNE 2016

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June 2016

As the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme moves to expand over more schemes, there are numerous operational challenges to be met. When it comes to the Public Distribution System (PDS), there have been two distinct approaches adopted so far – unconditional cash transfers or DBT and e-PDS or end to end automation of PDS. In the report Feeding India’s Poor: Plugging Leakages, Without Doing Any Harm, Isvary Sivalingam and Lokesh Singh evaluate the two models as undertaken by different states, and list specific conditions for their success. Each state should take its own decisions to adopt and adapt the most suited model, “considering the local social context and presence of important pre-requisites, such as better targeted communication campaign, streamlined enrolment process, robust banking network, sufficient DBT amount, and an overarching beneficiary-centric grievance redressal mechanism”.

India’s Payments Banks were in the news last month, with three of the eleven licensees withdrawing. However, as Sumita Kale and SV Divvaakar of Indicus note, there is no cause for doom in the industry, the churn is good as it will leave the strong long haulers in the fray (Don't write off payments banks, Mint, 1st June).

India Post received Cabinet nod for its Payments Bank, and 50 companies have already sent partnership proposals - Why everyone wants a piece of India Post's payments bank (Mint, 4th June).

Research

Building the Agent Network for Financial Inclusion
Policy Brief April, 2016

Aadhaar: Understanding Content, Intent and Portent
Policy Brief March, 2016

Digital Financial Inclusion: Agenda For India
Policy Brief December, 2015

In the Media

The Aadhaar Act's a done deal. What next?
THE HINDU BusinessLine, 25 May 2016

Sumita Kale: Jan-Dhan not perfect, but its progress is laudable
Business Standard, 04 May 2016

Sumita Kale: Don't undermine the strides made by Jan-Dhan
Business Standard, 03 May 2016

Blogs

Whither Payments Banks!
Strengthening BC network - RBI's timeline
Budget 2016-17 and Aadhaar
JAM or BAPU - which works best for DBT?

Section I: Policy – the latest from India’s policymakers

Customer Service in Banks: Caveat Venditor
Shri S. S. Mundra, Deputy Governor, RBI, May 23, 2016

Regulating Financial Innovation: P2P Lending Platforms Design Challenges
Shri R. Gandhi, Deputy Governor, RBI, May 17, 2016

Money and Education
Dr. Raghuram Rajan, Governor, RBI, May 7, 2016

 

Notifications:

Pradhan Mantri Jan - Dhan Yojana Accounts Opened 
Trend of Zero Balance Accounts Under PMJDY
Position of Overdraft
Position of Bank Mitra Infrastructure

 

Section II: News and Views Digest – the latest from India and abroad

India

UPI: The new way of transferring money
India Post to boost financial inclusion
India Post payments bank to be operational from March 2017
Cashless in India: 50 days' journey of a fintech professional
The Aadhaar of inclusion
Making payments banks work
Why Tech Mahindra, others dropped out of payments bank race
Does financial inclusion really include?
How technology is disrupting financial inclusion in India
India to have 8-10 competitive public sector banks: Jayant Sinha
Ujjivan Financial Services makes strong stock-market debut
E-transactions encouraged to curb flow of black money
'Data analytics to improve insurance products'
Financial schemes turn out to be major achievements of Modi government
Revitalizing the Self-Help Group Movement in India
Can Smartphones Help the Poorest Escape Extreme Poverty?
JAM – Using (Jan Dhan) Bank Accounts, Aadhaar and Mobiles to create new products and services, and new ways of doing things
Low Preference for Cash Transfer in TPDS – What Affects Beneficiary Behaviour?
India Post – Initiatives to Facilitate G2P Payments

International

Rural banks: Making a difference in financial inclusion:Malaysia
Financial inclusion matters: Zimbabwe
Blockchain For Financial Inclusion
"Modelo perú": an innovative project for financial inclusion
Uruguay epayments surge thanks to financial inclusion law
Burgeoning ‘Typhoons’ in Digital Financial Services
Gender & Geography: Women-Owned SMEs in the Middle East
How Can Indirect Deposit Insurance Work in Digital Finance?
Mobile financial services and MSMEs: How can financial regulators foster the use of mobile financial services among MSMEs?
Mobile Financial Services and MSMEs: What are the benefits of encouraging the use of mobile financial services among MSMEs?

Section III: Research – surveys and studies on expanding access to financial services

2015 Mobile Insurance, Savings & Credit Report
GSMA, May 2016
National Survey and Segmentation of Smallholder Households in Tanzania
Jamie Anderson, David Musiime and Collins Marita, CGAP, May 24 2016

The monthly newsletter from the Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion documents the latest news and views in the financial inclusion space. Editor: Sumita Kale can be contacted at sumita@indicus.org. The Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion was launched in 2011 to distil and disseminate information on accelerating the poor’s access to high-quality financial services. The Centre is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. http://www.indicus.net/icfi

© Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion. All rights reserved. 5th June 2016

Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion, 2nd Floor, Nehru House, 4, Bahadur Shah ZafarMarg, New Delhi 110002

Newsletters from July 2020 are available at https://icfi.substack.com/

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