Financial Inclusion for Viksit Bharat

“This timely and meticulously curated volume is a landmark contribution to the discourse on inclusive growth in India… A must-read for anyone committed to ensuring that no citizen is left behind in the financial journey of our nation.”

— Harun R. Khan, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India

As India advances toward the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047, financial inclusion has emerged as a cornerstone of equitable and sustainable development. While initiatives such as Aadhaar, UPI, PMJDY, and Direct Benefit Transfers have significantly expanded access, critical gaps persist in terms of usage, quality, and inclusiveness across regions and vulnerable populations. This volume offers a timely and comprehensive exploration of how financial inclusion can evolve into meaningful and empowering participation.

Bringing together eleven rigorously peer-reviewed chapters authored by leading academics, policymakers, and practitioners, the book presents a multidimensional analysis of financial inclusion in India and the Global South. It spans global frameworks and India’s leadership in Digital Public Infrastructure, national strategies focused on financial literacy, trust, and institutional coordination, and sectoral challenges such as informal credit, crop insurance, and microfinance in backward regions. It places marginalised groups—persons with disabilities, women, smallholder farmers, and informal workers—at the centre of the discourse, advancing a more inclusive development paradigm. A distinctive contribution of the volume lies in its integration of conceptual, empirical, and policy perspectives. It employs diverse methodological approaches—ranging from cross-country comparative analyses and advanced econometric techniques to structural macroeconomic modelling and field-based evidence—to uncover both the opportunities and limitations of inclusive finance in a rapidly digitising economy.

Vikas Dixit is Associate Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University, with over 17 years of experience in public finance, development economics, and financial inclusion.

Rilina Basu is Associate Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University, specialising in macroeconomics, financial systems, and development.

Nisar Ahmad Khan is Professor of Economics at Aligarh Muslim University, a distinguished scholar in monetary and development economics with extensive academic and policy experience.