RBI Governor D Subbarao announced that commercial banks would come out with a plan for financial inclusion by the end of the financial year. Mr Subbarao was speaking on the sidelines of a bankers’ meet on financial inclusion and promotion of financial literacy.
The governor added that all villages with a population of over 2,000 will have access to financial services by the end of 2009-10.
“Commercial banks usually take financial inclusion as a compulsion, but we should realise there is a tremendous opportunity at the bottom of the pyramid. We need to penetrate deep into the rural market, which is a challenge as well as an opportunity,” Subbarao said. He mentioned that an added advantage of this scheme for financial inclusion would be a manifold increase in the demand for financial services.
While addressing the media, Mr. Subbarao pointed out that non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) could also play a significant role in deepening the process of financial inclusion. He also stressed on inclusion of financial literacy in the curriculum of schools and colleges to ensure the coming generation was not financially handicapped.
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