(a) whether the Government has constituted any high powered committee to prepare a
strategy for expanding financial services to vulnerable groups, including marginal
farmers;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Committee has submitted its report; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PAWAN KUMAR BANSAL)
(a) & (b): The Crovernment has constituted a `Committee on Financial Inclusion`, under the
Chairmanship of Dr C Rangarajari, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister.
The Terms of Reference of the Committee are as follows :-
(i) Studying the pattern of exclusion from access to financial services disaggregated by
region, gender and occupational structure;
(ii) Identification of barriers confronted by vulnerable groups in accessing credit
and financial services, including supply, demand and institutional constraints;
(iii) Reviewing of the international experience in implementing policies for financial
inclusion and examine their relevance/applicability to India;
(iv) To suggest strategy to extend financial services to small and marginal farmers
and other vulnerable groups, including measures to streamline and simplify
procedures, reduce transaction costs and make the operations transparent;
(v) To look into the measures including institutional changes to be undertaken by
the financial sector to implement the proposed strategy of financial inclusion;
(vi)To suggest a monitoring mechanism to assess the quality and quantum of
financial inclusion including indicators for assessing progress.
(c) & (d): The Committee has submitted its Interim Report. Based on its recommendations,
two funds, viis., a `Financial. Inclusion Fund`, with NABARD for meeting the cost of
developmental and promotional interventions and a `Financial Inclusion Technology Fund`,
to meet the costs of technology adoption, are to be constituted. Ee.ch Fund envisages an
overall corpus of Rs. 500 crore, with initial funding to be contributed by the Central
Government, RBI and NABARD.