ROLE OF REGIONAL RURAL BANKS (RRBs) IN FINANCIAL INCLUSION: – A CRITICAL APPRAISAL IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

ROLE OF REGIONAL RURAL BANKS (RRBs) IN FINANCIAL INCLUSION: - A CRITICAL APPRAISAL IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

Mr. Amitbrata Nag

State Aided College Teacher, Department Of Commerce, Asansol Girls’ College, Asansol, West Bengal, India.

and

Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol, West Bengal,India.

ABSTRACT

Financial Inclusion is emerging as a crucial aspect of inclusive growth and sustainable development of an economy. Access to financial services is the basic objective of financial inclusion. One of the primary aims of financial inclusion is to get unbanked and under-banked to have better access to financial services. In other words, the availability of financial services that meet the specific needs of users without discrimination is the key objective of financial inclusion. Studies show that around 70 percent of the Indian population still lives in villages where only 31 percent of the population has access to banking services, the rest 69 percent are still deprived of bare minimum banking services. This proves to be a hindrance to the development of the population and the nation as a whole. To help them to overcome such barriers and include them in inclusive growth, the concept of Financial Inclusion has evolved. RRBs or Regional Rural Banks have played a major role in this regard. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has developed a financial inclusion strategy to make banking services accessible to the great majority of the underprivileged and low-income segments of society at a reasonable cost. RRBs were established in India following the guideline of an ordinance on September 26, 1975, to promote financial inclusion and the development of rural areas of the country.

The present study focuses on how Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) operate and how they contribute to India's ultimate objective of financial inclusion for inclusive growth.

Keywords:  Financial inclusion, RRBs, Inclusive growth, Sustainable development.