Financial inclusion index inches up, all sub-indices rise: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday said that India’s financial inclusion index (FI-Index) for the year ended March 31, 2022 improved to 56.4 from 53.9 in the previous year, with growth seen across all its sub-indices, the central bank said in a press release. The index is published annually in July.

The central bank had in April 2021 announced that it will form the index for measuring financial inclusion, which is the focus area for the government, central bank and other regulators.

The RBI developed the composite financial inclusion index to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country by including details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector.

The index comprises of three parameters including access, usage and quality. The FI-Index is responsive to ease of access, availability and usage of services and quality of services, consisting of 97 indicators.

The quality parameter includes aspects such as financial literacy, consumer protection, and inequalities and deficiencies in services.

The index has been constructed without any base year and reflects cumulative efforts of all stakeholders over the years towards financial inclusion.

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