14th Inclusive Finance India Summit begins in New Delhi

The 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit began in New Delhi today to build consensus on strategies and a unified vision for achieving universal financial inclusion in India.

"The summit offers a platform for a plethora of information to all the thought leaders and industry veterans to debate and discuss the issues and challenges involving the Financial Inclusion in the country, " said Vipin Sharma, CEO Access Development Services.

The summit witnessed the release and presentation of the Inclusive Finance India Report, which provides an insightful analysis and an honest critique of the financial inclusion progress during the course of the year.

"Financial inclusion is not an option but a compulsion" Dr. C. Rangarajan, Former Governor, RBI said in his inaugural address highlighting the importance and need for financial inclusion in the country.

Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog also suggested in a discussion that Direct Benefit Transfer and UPI will create a vast trail of data and will allow data analysis leading to an extension of credit to the unbanked sector.

Credit is only one element of creating a viable scheme for India's vulnerable. Therefore, a multi-dimensional approach is required to pull them out of the vicious circle of poverty, he said.

A book- 'Talking financial inclusion in liberalized India: Conversations with Governors of the RBI', edited by Prof. MS Sriram was released during the inaugural session.

HR Khan, Former Governor, RBI who was also attending the summit emphasized on the huge gap in the inclusion of the agriculture sector. Adding to the same, he said "Credit dimension for Agriculture and MSMEs is crucial and technology must focus on addressing this concern."

The two day summit divided into 17 sessions will see the participation of 90 leaders from across the world who would discuss, deliberate and debate on the evolution of financial inclusion in the country highlighting the various trends and challenges.