• Vadluri Srinivas

Financial inclusion is delivery of banking services at an affordable cost to the vast sections of underprivileged and low income groups. In a country like India where financial services are a distant dream to millions of people, there has been a considerable lead from the government and other financial institutions towards financial inclusion. Implementing this in India is a gargantuan task. Strong determination from the government is necessary to make sure that the financially excluded segment of the society is ensured access to financial services and timely and adequate credit when needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost. It is to be noted that stress is given to accessibility of credit at an affordable cost to the disadvantaged sections of the society. Financial inclusion is a great step from the government’s end to alleviate poverty in India. But to achieve this, the government should provide a conductive environment in which banks are free to pursue the innovations necessary to reach the bottom of the pyramid. Financial service providers should learn more about the consumers and new business models to reach them. Information Technology is a supply side factor which banks can use to their leverage in furthering financial inclusion. Technology is the key to providing low cost financial services in rural areas. Disbursement of loans, Application processing and maintaining accounts can be made easy as technology will help reduce transaction costs and time taken by banks. Outreach to the distant customer is a tough challenge to the banks and this challenge can be overcome with the help of IT. It has the potential to address the issues of outreach and credit delivery in rural areas, in a cost effective manner. Banks will have to find cost-efficient ways to reach the rural customers. They can achieve this through a variety of technology devices like weekly banking, mobile banking, satellite offices, rural ATMs and use of Post offices. Mobile phone penetration in rural areas can be leveraged by banks to facilitate banking transactions. Mobile phones can be used to transfer funds real time from and to bank accounts and could make remittances and payments at very low cost. An array of financial services such as savings, remittance, transaction banking such as receipt of salaries, pensions and payments for utilities, loan including home loans, insurance and MF products can be provided once the technology infrastructure is in place. This allows the bank to provide more services to existing customers. Besides that it also aids the bank in increasing the customer base. Financial inclusion offers a huge potential for business in terms of resources and assets and banks therefore need to take aggressive steps to use technology, business processes and personnel to be able to exploit this potential in innovative and creative ways. In fact use of technology is critical in building up a reliable credit information system, build up data base on customers for a variety of purposes, thereby reducing the transaction cost involved in checking encumbrances and collaterals and also facilitating better pricing of risk. From the standpoint of ‘inclusive banking’, it needs to be realized that technology per se is not an end in itself. It is to be made sure that technology aids the reform process and acts as a ladder to achieve the ultimate goal of providing financial services to the financially excluded. In summary, technology and its increased use can be critical in building up a reliable credit information system and database on customers, reducing transaction costs and facilitating better pricing of risk, improving the efficiency of the financial system, and thereby increasing the access of un-banked rural people in an efficient manner.

Role of Technology in Financial Inclusion: A Study of Indian Experience

"Role of Technology in Financial Inclusion: A Study of Indian Experience", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 12, page no.844-850, December-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1812F39.pdf

"Role of Technology in Financial Inclusion: A Study of Indian Experience", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 12, page no. pp844-850, December-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1812F39.pdf