IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jbkreg/v25y2024i2d10.1057_s41261-023-00224-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Banking services and financial inclusion in India’s poorest regions

Author

Listed:
  • Indrajeet Kumar

    (Centre for Development Studies)

Abstract

Financial inclusion involves providing suitable products and services to meet transactional, payment, savings, credit, and insurance needs. While India has progressed in financial inclusion, challenges persist in low-income regions and among marginalised groups. This study assesses the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) 2019–2024 and its potential to address such challenges in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states. Field inquiries and interviews with households and bank managers were conducted. The findings reveal that despite NSFI’s potential, unawareness, insufficient income, documentation requirements, and lack of trust in the system is persisting and factors such as- region, social groups, gender, age, education, and occupation continue to influence banking participation. So, the study recommends increased awareness, financial literacy, and reduced financial service costs tailored to Bihar’s needs and other low-income regions. In addition, strengthening the regulatory framework for informal financial services is suggested.

Suggested Citation

  • Indrajeet Kumar, 2024. "Banking services and financial inclusion in India’s poorest regions," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(2), pages 145-159, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jbkreg:v:25:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1057_s41261-023-00224-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41261-023-00224-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41261-023-00224-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41261-023-00224-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Allen, Franklin & Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Klapper, Leora & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad, 2016. "The foundations of financial inclusion: Understanding ownership and use of formal accounts," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 1-30.
    2. Development Services, ACCESS & Nair, Tara S, 2014. "Inclusive Finance India Report 2014," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199458295, Decembrie.
    3. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Esther Duflo, 2007. "The Economic Lives of the Poor," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(1), pages 141-168, Winter.
    4. Tunvir Ahamed Shohel & Sara Niner & Samanthi Gunawardana, 2021. "How the persistence of patriarchy undermines the financial empowerment of women microfinance borrowers? Evidence from a southern sub-district of Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(4), pages 1-21, April.
    5. Morshadul Hasan & Thi Le & Ariful Hoque, 2021. "How does financial literacy impact on inclusive finance?," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 7(1), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Klapper, Leora, 2012. "Measuring financial inclusion : the Global Findex Database," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6025, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nanda, Kajole, 2019. "Dynamics between Bank-led Financial Inclusion and Economic Growth in Emerging Economies: The Case of India," International Journal of Development and Conflict, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 95-121.
    2. Grohmann, Antonia & Klühs, Theres & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2018. "Does financial literacy improve financial inclusion? Cross country evidence," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 111, pages 84-96.
    3. Raksmey, Uch & Lin, Ching-Yang & Kakinaka, Makoto, 2022. "Macroprudential regulation and financial inclusion: Any difference between developed and developing countries?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Ojah, Kalu & Kodongo, Odongo, 2024. "Effective financial inclusion and the need to put the horse before the cart: Saving!," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    5. Han, Rui & Melecky, Martin, 2017. "Broader use of saving products among people can make deposit funding of the banking system more resilient," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 89-102.
    6. Ximena Pena & Carmen Hoyo & David Tuesta, 2014. "Determinantes de la inclusion financiera en Mexico a partir de la ENIF 2012," Working Papers 1414, BBVA Bank, Economic Research Department.
    7. Tram, Thi Xuan Huong & Lai, Tien Dinh & Nguyen, Thi Truc Huong, 2023. "Constructing a composite financial inclusion index for developing economies," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 257-265.
    8. Kebede, Jeleta & Naranpanawa, Athula & Selvanathan, Saroja, 2023. "Financial inclusion and income inequality nexus: A case of Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 539-557.
    9. Banna, Hasanul & Kabir Hassan, M. & Rashid, Mamunur, 2021. "Fintech-based financial inclusion and bank risk-taking: Evidence from OIC countries," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Neaime, Simon & Gaysset, Isabelle, 2024. "Financial inclusion, integration, and stability asymmetries in the Mediterranean region," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 30(C).
    11. Li, Linyang, 2018. "Financial inclusion and poverty: The role of relative income," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 165-191.
    12. Dean Karlan & Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan & Jonathan Zinman, 2014. "Savings by and for the Poor: A Research Review and Agenda," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(1), pages 36-78, March.
    13. Julia K. Brown & Tetyana V. Zelenska & Mushfiq A. Mobarak, 2013. "Barriers to Adoption of Products and Technologies that Aid Risk Management in Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Reports 16365, The World Bank Group.
    14. Sami Ben Naceur & Adolfo Barajas & Alexander Massara, 2017. "Can Islamic banking increase financial inclusion?," Chapters, in: M. Kabir Hassan (ed.), Handbook of Empirical Research on Islam and Economic Life, chapter 9, pages 213-252, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Claire Greene & Fumiko Hayashi & Alicia Lloro & Oz Shy & Joanna Stavins & Ying Lei Toh, 2024. "Defining Households That Are Underserved in Digital Payment Services," Working Papers 24-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    16. Song, Yunxing & Gong, Yuanyuan & Song, Yan & Chen, Xiaohui, 2024. "Exploring the impact of digital inclusive finance on consumption volatility: Insights from household entrepreneurship and income volatility," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    17. Fungáčová, Zuzana & Weill, Laurent, 2015. "Understanding financial inclusion in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 196-206.
    18. Ky, Serge Stéphane & Rugemintwari, Clovis & Sauviat, Alain, 2021. "Friends or Foes? Mobile money interaction with formal and informal finance," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1).
    19. Inmaculada Peña-Sanchez, 2019. "Applying the Tweedie model for improved microinsurance pricing," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 44(3), pages 365-381, July.
    20. Shahriar, Abu Zafar M. & Alam, Quamrul, 2024. "Violence against women, innate preferences and financial inclusion," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:jbkreg:v:25:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1057_s41261-023-00224-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.