Challenges for Indian Banking in Financial Inclusion : A View from the All India Debt & Investment Survey, 2013

The recent initiative by the government of India towards financial inclusion of the marginalsections and the lower income group in the country has received considerable attention. The Pradhan Mantri Jandhan Yojna which aims at opening accounts for the poor in all parts of the country has been seen as a step towards including the unbankable in the formal financial system. This research paper aims at studying the challenges for the banking sector of our country in providing financial inclusion of the bottom asset percentile of both the rural and urban areas. The data from the All India Debt and investment survey is being used to understand the access to credit, share of agencies in credit, usage of credit, level of indebtedness in bottom three asset holding deciles classes in rural and urban areas of India. Very interesting conclusions can be drawn with respect to this report and the challenges and opportunities which can arise for the banking sector in the process of financial inclusion of the marginal and lower income group of the country