RBI's Financial Inclusion Index Sees Significant Rise in March 2024

The Reserve Bank's Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) has increased to 64.2 in March 2024 from 60.1 in March 2023. This growth across all parameters highlights improvement in financial inclusion, especially in usage. The index assesses aspects like access, usage, and quality of financial services in India.

The Reserve Bank's Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index), which measures the scope of financial inclusion nationwide, has climbed to 64.2 as of March 2024, an increase from 60.1 in March 2023, indicating growth in all measured parameters.

The FI-Index quantifies financial inclusion levels in a single figure between 0 and 100, where 0 signifies total exclusion and 100 represents complete inclusion. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced these findings on Tuesday, attributing the growth mainly to increased usage of financial services.

The index assesses three main parameters: access (35%), usage (45%), and quality (20%), with each parameter comprising various dimensions calculated from multiple indicators. Launched in August 2021, the index was designed to be comprehensive, covering banking, investments, insurance, postal, and pension services, with inputs from the government and sectoral regulators.

(With inputs from agencies.)