NEWS

• RBI released the Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) for March 2025.
• The FI-Index rose to 67.0 (from 64.2 in March 2024), showing improved financial inclusion.

HIGHLIGHTS

Key Features of FI-Index:

• Developed by RBI in consultation with government and regulators.
• Measures access to and usage of banking, insurance, investments, postal, and pension services.
• Unique quality parameter tracks literacy, consumer protection, and service equity.
• Scale: 0 (exclusion) to 100 (full inclusion).
• Three Dimensions:
  • Access (35%) – Availability of services
  • Usage (45%) – Frequency and volume of usage
  • Quality (20%) – Literacy, equity, consumer empowerment

Government Initiatives Supporting Financial Inclusion:

• PMJDY – Zero-balance accounts, RuPay cards, DBT linkage.
• Digital India – Promotes e-governance & digital banking (BHIM, PMGDISHA, ONDC).
• Aadhaar-JAN-DHAN-Mobile (JAM) – Expands DBT, account access.
• PMJJBY / PMSBY / APY – Low-cost insurance and pension coverage.

Survey Insights (2025):

• Online banking access surged among rural women (30% in 2025 vs 17.1% in 2022-23).
• 51.4% of rural females (15–24 years) now do online banking.
• Urban penetration rose to 62.4% (from 50.6%).