Financial Inclusion is the critical enabler for holistic growth of the people: Shri Dinesh Khara, B20 Taskforce on Financial Inclusion for Economic Empowerment and Chairman, State Bank of India at the Financial Inclusion & FinTech Summit

Financial inclusion has emerged as a key foundation for socio-economic empowerment and a critical enabler for inclusive and holistic growth of the people. This was stated by Shri Dinesh Khara, Chair, B20 Taskforce on Financial Inclusion for Economic Empowerment and Chairman, State Bank of India at the Financial Inclusion & FinTech Summit organized by CII at New Delhi today.

Speaking further on the subject, Shri Khara stated that the government has rightly recognized the potential of financial inclusion and spearheaded several notable initiatives and policies to include the unbanked in the financial ecosystem. The introduction of the game changing Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana in 2014, as also social security schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, and Atal Pension Yojana, UPI, CBDC among others, have contributed immensely towards financial inclusion, he stated.

Another significant development in the financial services industry, according to Shri Khara is the rise of the new-age fintechs which are re-defining the way in which financial transactions are carried out across the broad range of financial services – lending, payments, insurance, investments etc. This is done by leveraging innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Data and Analytics, among others, he said.

Mr Khara also underscored the importance of innovation, creating financial awareness through public-private partnerships, integrating financial inclusion with social protection, addressing concerns around data security and privacy, and building partnerships to leverage on the changing demographics in India and the rest of the world.

Mr Sanjiv Bajaj, Immediate Past President, CII and Co-Chair B-20 Task Force for Financial Inclusion for Economic Empowerment and Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv averred that technology has played a significant role in the success of Financial Inclusion and this transformation has led to an improved efficiency and effectiveness of all things available to us today. It has not only helped individuals carry out tasks easily but also helped in Ease of Doing Business for business houses and providing last mile connectivity at affordable cost.

Mr Hitendra Dave, Chief Executive Officer-India, HSBC Bank while speaking at the meeting, maintained that people should be weaned away from unorganized financial intermediaries such as the middlemen and brought into the formal financial ecosystem which would be facilitated through digitization. He also spoke about women empowerment through financial inclusion, the importance of financial literacy among people, especially women and the use of safeguards against misuse of digitization.

19 July 2023

New Delhi