The Status of Financial Inclusion, Regulation, and Education in India

This paper describes the structure of banking and microfinance institutions in India relevant to the developing model of financial inclusion, as well as relevant regulatory structure and modes of delivery. It explains the current state of financial inclusion, as well as regulatory changes necessary to make the new architecture for inclusion viable, including a critique of some of the recommendations of the Mor Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households. 

The paper then reviews modes of delivery and the regulatory structure being contemplated or recently introduced. It assesses the suitability objective envisaged as critical for inclusion, associated challenge of revamping consumer protection laws, and imperative of improving financial literacy. The paper also discusses the case of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the given context. The report is structured into the following chapters:

• The Paradigm Shift in the Concept of Financial Inclusion;
• Structure of the Banking and Microfinance Institution Sector in India;
• State of Financial Inclusion;
• Delivery Models, Regulations, and Other Issues;
• Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises.