Financial inclusion not satisfactory: RBI

 Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor KC Chakrabarty has said the work on financial inclusion to make available basic amenities for the poor is still lacking in some parts of the country and efforts should be made to broad base the achievements.

“While excellent work (on financial inclusion) is being done in some pockets, in many other areas the progress is not satisfactory and there is a need to broad base the achievements,” Chakrabarty said in a panel discussion in Washington.

“While each jurisdiction will perhaps evolve their own different delivery models, we need to learn from each other and implement what is suitable in our context. Some progress has been achieved but a lot needs to be done.” he said.

He observed that between March 2010 to March 2012, more than 50 million basic banking accounts have been opened to take the total number of such accounts to more than 100million. “Financial Inclusion programmes should be implemented on commercial lines and not on a charity basis. It is important that banking with the poor is perceived and pursued as a sustainable and viable business model,” he said.

He said though these figures in isolation seem very impressive, yet, if one considers the task ahead, to provide access to 1.2 billion people in the country and to reach 6 lakh villages, it is a long way forward.