Given the increasing vulnerability of the external sector reflected in increasing short term debt to total debt ratio, debt service ratio, fall in the import cover of our reserves and reserves to external debt ratio, the need is to encourage non-debt creating flows and discourage excessive debt creating flows. Finding funding sources other than the US and European banks is also a major challenge.
While we have heard a number of definitions of financial literacy, I would use the one given by OECD, which defines it as “a combination of financial awareness, knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial wellbeing.” Financial literacy is expected to impart the wherewithal to make ordinary individuals into informed and questioning users of financial services.