Financial Inclusion : An Assessment of Indian Achievements in Contrast to Emerging Powers

This paper attempts to analyze the extent of financial inclusion achieved by India in comparison to that of the emerging powers and developed countries. In this backdrop this paper examines the level and access to financial services amongst the mass. For the purpose of the paper various measures of financial inclusion such as ratio of deposits to GDP, ratio of credit to GDP, population per bank branch, agency wise number of savings accounts, sources and purposes of loans taken, among others are extensively used. This paper also evaluates the different initiatives taken by the leading agencies for helping the situation to improve in the country. It unearth that while growth of financial inclusion in India is quite impressive, it is yet to match the standards of emerging powers and developed countries