The Reserve Bank of India, on Tuesday, released its Financial Inclusion Index for FY24, which stands at 64.2, up from 60.1 in March 2023.
“Improvement in the FI-Index is mainly contributed by the Usage dimension, reflecting deepening of financial inclusion,” said RBI in its statement.
The banking regulator constructed a composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country, first published in August 2021 for the fiscal year ending March 2021.
Financial Inclusion Index Progress:
The FI-Index is a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal, and the pension sector in consultation with the government and respective sectoral regulators.
The index captures information on various aspects of financial inclusion in a single value ranging between 0 and 100, where 0 represents complete financial exclusion and 100 indicates full financial inclusion.
The FI-Index comprises three broad parameters with their respective weights: Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%). Each parameter consists of various dimensions computed based on numerous indicators.
The Index is responsive to the ease of access, availability, usage of services, and quality of services, comprising a total of 97 indicators.
A unique feature of the Index is the Quality parameter, which captures the quality aspect of financial inclusion, as reflected by financial literacy, consumer protection, and inequalities and deficiencies in services.
