Financial inclusion a key driver of economic growth: Das

TIL Desk/Business/Mumbai/ RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said financial inclusion will continue to be a “policy priority” for the central bank to make the post-pandemic recovery more equitable and sustainable. The Reserve Bank of India will very soon be coming out with the first financial inclusion index, which will assess progress in terms of access, usage and quality, Das said, while speaking at the Economic Times Financial Inclusion Summit.

It is the responsibility of all stakeholders to ensure that the financial ecosystem (including the digital medium) is inclusive and capable of effectively addressing risks like mis-selling, cybersecurity, data privacy and promoting trust in the financial system through appropriate financial education and awareness, he added.

Since the start of the last decade, financial inclusion has been a key focus area for the RBI to help formalise the economy by ensuring that banks reach the people. Technological advances made it easier and the government also gave it a greater thrust with the launch of the PM Jan Dhan Yojana scheme. “In order to make the post-pandemic recovery more inclusive and sustainable, FI would continue to be our policy priority,” Das said.