Financial Inclusion in India through Banking Activities over the Time Period 1990-2018

Financial exclusion is treated as an obstacle to sustainable development. In India, over the last few decades, various steps have been taken by the government through several financial institutions, to promote and provide different financial services to the people residing across the country. Our study attempts to measure financial inclusion (FI) year-wise through some banking service indicators (branch penetration, deposit penetration, credit penetration) developed by CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited), which are used in its Inclusix index to measure FI and calculate the scores with the use of the method, 'Max-Min procedure to convert indicators into indices'. Additionally, credit-deposit ratio is considered to assess whether citizens are reaping the benefits from government initiatives towards FI. The analysis is done over the time period 1990-2018, across diverse regions, so as to capture the inclusiveness in financial strategy. The findings show that FI has taken place in terms of availability and access to banking services during the period under study, particularly after FI was formally introduced. However, proper usage of financial services is a long way to go to achieve inclusive growth in remote areas.