As our Hon’ble Finance Minister emphasized in his Budget speech, our approach to banking and financial sector has been to ensure robust oversight and regulation while expanding financial access and deepening markets. The merit of this balanced approach has been borne out in the recent experience as the turbulence in the world financial markets has left the Indian banking and financial sector relatively unaffected.
The recent turmoil which engulfed the western world and its financial sector brought to even sharper focus the pressing need to protect the vulnerable from Ponzi schemes through safety nets of financial education, counselling and timely advice. The establishment of FLCCs is an important milestone in furthering financial inclusion.