69% Indian households struggle with financial insecurity, says survey

Despite robust growth in financial inclusion and the burgeoning financial services industry, almost 69 per cent of Indian households struggle with financial insecurity and vulnerability, according to a personal finance survey conducted by Money9.

India's Personal Finance Pulse maps Indian households' income, savings, investment and spending, said a statement issued by Money9, promoted by TV9 Network.

Providing insights into how India earns, spends and saves, the survey has also unveiled the country's first-ever state ranking of citizen financial security -- the Money9 Financial Security Index.

"The survey finds that the average income of an Indian family of 4.2 persons is Rs 23,000 per month. Over 46 per cent of Indian families have an income of less than Rs 15,000 per month i.e.belong to the aspiring or lowest-income cohort," it said. "Only 3 per cent of Indian households have a luxury standard of living and most of them belong to higher income cohorts (High- Middle and Rich)."

Also, the survey found that 70 per cent of Indian households do some financial savings in the form of bank deposits, insurance, post office savings, and gold. The highest penetration is for bank and post office savings, followed by life insurance and gold.

Over 64 per cent of savings are parked in bank accounts, while only 19 per cent households have insurance.

"The incidence of saving is less prevalent among the aspiring class. Also, two-fifths of the Indian households in the same class are unable to do any financial savings. There is a clear need to address this segment by the policy makers/market players," it said.

The survey found that 22 per cent of Indian households invested in stocks, mutual funds, ULIP and physical assets. However, investment in property/land is high (18 per cent), followed by mutual funds (6 per cent), stock market (3 per cent), and Unit Linked Insurance Plans or ULIPs (3 per cent).

Only 11 per cent of Indian households have active loans with banks or NBFCs. Among all retail loans, the consumption of personal loans is highest, followed by home loans.

"India's Money9 Financial Security Index which ranks states in security across several parameters. This index finds 42 per cent... of the Indian households are 'insecured' (this includes households having monthly earnings of Rs 15,000 or more). The level of financial insecurity further increases to 69 per cent after including the lowest income cohort i.e. households having monthly earnings up to Rs 15,000," the statement said.

The Money9 Personal Finance Survey, done in collaboration with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) Global India, is a nationally representative household survey with a sample size of 31,510 households across 1,154 urban wards and villages in 100 districts and 20 states or state groups.

The survey was conducted between May and September 2022.

Commenting on the importance of the survey, Barun Das, MD and CEO, TV9 Network, said, "The Survey is poised to fill a critical gap in quality financial data as it exclusively focuses on the demand side of the personal financial needs of Indian households. It is all about creating the demand side so that 130 crore citizens of this country can leverage the existing well-established financial services ecosystem."

Anshuman Tiwari, Editor, Money9, said, "This survey is expected to throw up unique and highly valuable data regarding financial security that can be used by policymakers to frame future policies for citizens. It holds immense importance as it offers unrivalled access to all India data that would help bridge the demand deficit to enable all-important financial security.