The Reserve Bank of India had constructed a composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country, in consultation with the concerned stakeholders including the Government and published it in August 2021 for the FY ending March 2021. Index for the year ending March 2022 has since been prepared. The value of FI Index for March 2022 stands at 56.4 vis-à-vis 53.9 in March 2021, with growth witnessed across all the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been conducting Financial Literacy Week (FLW) every year since 2016 to propagate financial education messages on various themes among members of public across the country. 2. The theme selected for current year FLW is “Go Digital, Go Secure” which will be observed between February 14-18, 2022. This theme is one of the strategic objectives of the National Strategy for Financial Education 2020-2025. Focus will be on creating awareness abo

As announced in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies in the first Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2021-2022 dated April 07, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India has constructed a composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country. The FI-Index has been conceptualised as a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in

As the financial year 2020-21 – the year of the pandemic – was drawing to a close, the Indian economy was advantageously poised, relative to peers. India was at the foothills of a strong recovery, having regained positive growth, but more importantly, having flattened the infections curve. In a few weeks since then, the situation has altered drastically. Today, India is fighting a ferocious rise in infections and mortalities. New mutant strains have emerged, causing s

Reserve Bank of India has comprehensively reviewed the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Guidelines to align it with emerging national priorities and bring sharper focus on inclusive development, after having wide ranging discussions with all stakeholders. Revised PSL guidelines will enable better credit penetration to credit deficient areas; increase the lending to small and marginal farmers and weaker sections; boost credit to renewable energy, and health infrastructure

Financial inclusion is increasingly being recognised as a key driver of economic growth and poverty alleviation world over. Access to formal finance can boost job creation, reduce vulnerability to economic shocks and increase investments in human capital. Seven of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 2030 view financial inclusion as a key enabler for achieving sustainable development worldwide. To achieve the above objectives in a coordinated and

The Reserve Bank of India had announced the constitution of the Internal Working Group (IWG) to Review Agricultural Credit in its Statement on Development and Regulatory Policies dated February 07, 2019 during the Sixth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Review, 2018-19. The scope of the review inter alia, included the following: Credit reach: institutional credit, measures and factors/drivers that influence reach Cost effective and inclusive system: ease of credit and inclus

The Financial Literacy Week is an initiative of RBI to promote awareness on key topics every year through a focused campaign. Financial Literacy Week 2019 will be observed from June 3-7 on the theme of “Farmers” and how they benefit by being a part of the formal banking system. Growth in agriculture is necessary for the overall economic growth & finance is an essential enabler for the same. RBI is actively involved in formulating policies that enhance the flow of

The Reserve Bank of India hosted the Seventeenth C.D. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture on April 25, 2019 in Mumbai. The lecture was delivered by Mr. Agustín Carstens, General Manager, Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das in his opening remarks, welcomed the guests and highlighted the significance of the Lecture series, instituted by the Reserve Bank in the memory of Shri C.D. Deshmukh, the first Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India,

As you are aware the Reserve Bank has constituted an ‘Expert Committee on Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)’ to understand the structural bottlenecks and factors affecting the performance of the sector. The details regarding the constitution and terms of reference of the Committee is available at /en/web/rbi/-/press-releases/rbi-constitutes-expert-committee-on-micro-small-amp-medium-enterprises-msmes-45898. The Committee is undertaking a comprehensive revi