C. V. Aravind
Financial inclusion is the mantra driving banks, especially public sector banks today. As a firm votary of the concept, that envisages bringing into the banking fold everyone irrespective of financial status, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has been exhorting bankers to ensure that banking services no longer remain the privilege of urban dwellers. They should be made accessible to Indians in the remotest corners of the country.
The Finance Minister whose impassioned plea to bankers to popularise educational loans so that no deserving student would have to discontinue his or her studies for want of funds has brought higher education within the reach of the poorest of the poor and he deserves kudos for this.
BCG study
A recent study by the Boston Consultancy Group has revealed that only one out of three Indians has a bank account which means that banks have a lot of catching up to do.
But real financial inclusion would involve not just opening accounts but following up with the new clientele about their requirements for finance to set up small self-employment units which would go a long way in enabling them to find their feet. Self-Help Groups, which promote savings and enable members to eke out a livelihood, has caught on in a big way thanks largely to banks which have endeavoured to credit-link them.
Self-help groups
The Finance Minister, who feels the common man never reneges on his commitments, has played his part and it is up to banks to help those below the poverty line.
Banks certainly should consider this as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. Apart from government owned banks, private and foreign banks too should chip in in this effort at financial inclusion.
(The author is a Bangalore-based freelance writer.)
