World Bank report cites India’s efforts in fiscal inclusion: Rajiv Kumar, Financial services secretary

The finance ministry said its efforts towards financial inclusion has yielded results with the World Bank acknowledging the progress. Financial services secretary Rajiv Kumar said in a tweet on Friday said that that the Global Findex Report released by World Bank has recognised India’s financial inclusion efforts. The World Bank released the report on Thursday.

“@WorldBank #GlobalFindexReport recognises India’s Financial Inclusion efforts. Of the 51.4 Crore bank accounts opened from 2014-17 globally, a whopping 55% from #India. Banking the unbanked…” he tweeted. The World Bank report has cited the success of the Jan Dhan Yojana, Modi’s government initiative aimed at bringing the masses within the formal banking system.

The total number of Jan Dhan account holders has risen to 31.44 crore in March, 2018, up from 28.17 crore a year earlier, according to government data. Kumar also said the report acknowledges impact of government policy in reducing gaps in bank account ownership between rich and poor to 5% in 2017, down from 15% in 2014. The report also highlights sharp fall in gender gap from 20% in 2014 to 6% in 2017 in bank accounts due to government efforts.