RBI’s financial inclusion index, which captures the extent of financial inclusion across the country, with four iterations published till date, has increased from 60.1 in March 2023 to 64.2 in March 2024, showing a Y-o-Y increase of 6.82 per cent.
While this progress is appreciable, credit gaps still exist in the system, which may be attributed, amongst others, to a lack of documentation available with the individuals/ entities in the informal system and of awareness regarding the various government schemes. Hence, there is a need to make concerted efforts to fill them, stated M Rajeshwar Rao, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, at HSBC’s event for Financial Inclusion in Mumbai.
The RBI has been sensitive to the need to bring about improvement in financial inclusion in the country. Some of the measures taken recently in this regard include raising the limit for collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs 2 lakh per borrower, enhancing various loan limits under PSL, expansion of the list of eligible borrowers under the category of ‘Weaker Sections’ along with removal of existing cap on loans by UCBs to women beneficiaries. The scope of co-lending is proposed to be broadened by expanding the list of permitted regulated entities (REs) that can enter a co-lending arrangement and extending the same beyond PSL loans. A comprehensive review of the Lead Bank Scheme is also underway with an objective to enhance the effectiveness and impact of the scheme, he said.
Concerning digital payments, permissible transaction limit on UPI Lite has been revised in FY 2025 from ₹500 to ₹1000 and on UPI 123PAY from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 to encourage their wider adoption. Further, with a view to promoting digital payments among individuals without bank accounts, UPI Circle has been introduced, which allows a secondary user to make UPI transactions up to a limit from the primary user’s bank account in a secure manner.
“The Jan Dhan Yojana – Aadhar – Mobile i.e., JAM trinity, provided a quantum leap in our endeavour to ensure access to banking services for all adults, making it the world’s largest financial inclusion program. As of May 21, 2025, 55.44 crore Jan Dhan accounts, 56% of which belong to women, have over Rs 2.5 lakh crore worth of deposits, which speaks volumes about the impact of the scheme,” he added.
