It is imperative to bring the poor and under-privileged section of population under the banking fold for inclusive growth and development. In this regard, the Reserve Bank has adopted a structured approach towards financial inclusion predominantly through a bank-led model by leveraging appropriate technology, changing the mode of delivery and increasing financial literacy. In this context, I may highlight four key elements.
First, ensuring branch expansion in the rural areas by giving full freedom to the banks to open branches in villages. In fact, recently the branch authorisation policy has been fully liberalised subject to banks opening at least 25 per cent of their branches in the rural areas.