Case Studies: Transforming Lives through AISECT's Financial Inclusion Programs
What is Financial Inclusion?
Financial inclusion is a way to provide financial and banking services to the individual. Financial inclusion aims at offering financial services and facilities to everyone. It seeks to bring everyone in society by providing them basic financial services, regardless of their financial status or income. Its focus is on offering financial solutions to the most economically marginalized sections.?
The term refers to offering loan and savings services for the less fortunate in a low-cost and simple format. Its goal is to ensure that the marginalized and poor make the most of their money and receive financial literacy. It also aims to spread financial awareness among the members of the society. Thanks to advances in financial technology and electronic transactions, a number of companies and organisations are helping financial inclusion attain its objective.
Financial inclusion definition
Financial inclusion is the process of providing access to financial services and products required by those in need at an affordable price transparently by institutions.
What year was the date that financial inclusion was first implemented within India?
Financial inclusion is a concept that was initially presented in 2005 by the Reserve Bank of India.
Goals of financial inclusion
The main goals of financial inclusion are to offer these:
Financial Inclusion in India -
PMJDY:?Around 192.1 million accounts have been created under the PradhanMantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The zero-balance bank accounts come with 165.1 million debit cards, a life insurance coverage of Rs 30,000, and an accidental insurance coverage of 1 lakh rupees.
Apart from PMJDY, there are several other financial inclusion schemes available in India, including Jeevan Suraksha Bandhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Stand Up India scheme, Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes, under the social-sector programs, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) and credit enhancement guarantee scheme (CEGS) for castes in scheduled categories as well as Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.
What is the reason financial inclusion is crucial?
Financial inclusion increases the accessibility of resources for economic development. Financial inclusion is an important step towards a more inclusive economy. It aids in the growth of the population that is disadvantaged. In India, effective financial inclusion is required to help lift the most disadvantaged and poor by offering customised financial products and services.
AISECT's commitment to Financial Inclusion –
With this vision and the understanding of the need for financial inclusion across the country, and the fact that AISECT is a partner offering progressively synergistic services via the AISECT Multi-purpose ICT centers located in rural areas - Financial Inclusion was added to the range of services provided by AISECT in 2009, in collaboration with SBI, with the following goals:?
AISECT Financial Inclusion program includes–
Let’s go through two small case studies to learn how AISECT is transforming lives –
Case Study -1 –
AISECT has partnered with the State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of India (BoI) to provide financial and banking services to seven districts in Gujarat, specifically Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Bahod, Panchmahal, Patan, Rajkot and Mehsana. Further, 100 branches are expected to be added in the coming months.
AISECT, the e-governance services provider, has been involved in developing financial inclusion programs across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab. In Gujarat, the scheme for financial inclusion was introduced in April. In the past, the scheme for financial inclusion was in its beginning stages in which the centers were being constructed, and the training for village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) for running kiosks for banking was underway.?
This AISECT program was designed to provide a wide range of financial and banking services to those who need financial assistance from areas not banked in Gujarat at a reasonable cost. In this program, AISECT offered services including opening accounts, deposit withdrawal and the establishment of recurring deposit accounts, Flexi FDRs, issuing ATM cards and opening accounts to minors. AISECT's state office in Gujarat administered all these services.
Abhishek Pandit, director of Business Services, AISECT, said, "In India, the situation regarding financial inclusion isn't any worse than in other regions of the world. India has around 6,50,000 villages, where approximately 70% of the inhabitants live. But only 36,000 villages benefit from banking services."
?AISECT launched these services within the State of Gujarat, and people in Gujarat can now access financial and banking services. "In the coming months, we will establish more than 100 centers within Gujarat." Mr. Pandit stated in an interview.
In addition to Gujarat, AISECT has also introduced Financial inclusion programs for Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In 2009 AISECT offered easy banking services to all states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab, in which the company is a major Service Centre Agency (SCA) for the Common Service Centre (CSC) Project.
Case Study -2 (AISECT FI’s overall approach)–
Financial inclusion in India is a crucial step taken to encourage inclusive growth, particularly in emerging economies. An inclusive financial system must offer better banking services for every segment of society, including those with lower incomes and weaker segments. The uniqueness of having a bank account is that it provides basic banking facilities and finance for investment/production purposes, which opens opportunities for enhanced employment.
Since 2005 there have been concerted efforts initiated through both the Reserve Bank India (RBI) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to expand financial inclusion throughout India, particularly to the weaker segments of the society since they were not able to access the services provided from financial institutions. In 2003, a study showed that only 27 percent of all households had access to credit through institutions such as cooperatives and banks. In 2012, only about 40% of the adults owned bank accounts.
To ease the availability of financial features, AISECT moved towards expanding FI in the country and hence started setting up self-service FI kiosks in rural and semi-urban areas to broaden the reach.?
Since 1985, till now with our efforts and walking towards our vision, AISECT FI has touched millions of lives with –
Services –
Services provided to the business correspondents and customer service points are entitled to the following services –
1. Enrollment of customers, which includes the gathering of biometrics as well as other information.
2. Offer card(ID card, Credit card, Debit Card or Credit Card) PIN card to customers.
3. Money is deposited into an account/Withdrawal from an account
4. Transfers from an account of the bank to accounts at the same bank or to any other bank
5. Balance Enquiry and issuing Receipts/Statements of Account
6. The disbursement of credit facilities to borrowers with very small amounts, by the directions from the institution.
7. The collection and the initial review of loan applications which includes verification of primary information
8. Facilitating the payment of dues due to the institution by customers or guarantors
Kiosk banking facility:
Technology is essential for an enterprise correspondent to carry out its duties efficiently. A few of the most popular technological models used for banking are:
Equipment Requirement
1. Computer
2. Printer
3. Web Camera
4. Biometric Fingerprint Scanner(as accepted by the Bank)
5. Biometric Fingerprint Scanner(as accepted by the Bank)
6. Pin Pad Device
7. Commission Paid by Bank
Benefits of Kiosk Banking
Technology-enabled FI –
Technology is essential to enable a CSP to carry out its duties effectively. A few of the most popular technologies used in banking are:
A business correspondent/customer service point is primarily responsible for
Conclusion –
AISECT encourages entrepreneurs to carry on the initiative and open up kiosks in their regional areas to promote financial inclusion in the country. Being a sustainable and future-oriented approach, entrepreneurs can earn an average of between Rs 10,000 and 15,000 could be expected initially. Successful entrepreneurs can earn anywhere from Rs 50,000 to 60,000 each month.