The Centre has initiated preparations for Financial Inclusion 2.0, with Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) M Nagaraju chairing a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday to outline the roadmap for the next phase of financial inclusion.
Senior officials from multiple ministries, departments and institutions participated in the meeting, including representatives from the Reserve Bank of India, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Employment, IRDAI, PFRDA, SEBI, Indian Banks Association, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre and the National Payments Corporation of India, among others.
Discussions focused on expanding access to banking services for all citizens, strengthening banking infrastructure in villages and improving the availability of formal credit, particularly for women and vulnerable sections. The roadmap also aims to achieve universal insurance and pension coverage by 2047, develop innovative digital and financial products, and increase the use of digital transactions, especially in rural and semi-urban areas.
The meeting also deliberated on enhancing awareness about financial and digital frauds and improving financial and digital literacy among adults as well as students at the secondary and senior secondary levels.
During the discussions, Nagaraju stressed the need to strengthen existing measures, including ensuring the presence of at least one bank branch in every subdivision in the Northeastern region. He also emphasised expanding insurance and pension coverage and developing strategies to bring individuals currently outside the formal credit system into the mainstream financial framework.
Based on the deliberations, a final report outlining measures to advance financial inclusion across the country will be issued in due course.
