Financial inclusion has been a buzzword for the policymakers and governments for a long time. Attempts have been made by the policymakers and financial institutions to bring large sections of the rural population within the banking system having realized that financial inclusion is the essence of sustainable economic growth and development in a country like India. Inclusive growth becomes impossible without financial inclusion. Financial inclusion is also must for the economic development of the country. Without Financial Inclusion we cannot think of economic development because a large chunk of total population remains outside the growth process. Though our country's economy is growing at a one digit, still the growth is not inclusive with the economic condition of the people in rural areas worsening further. One of the typical reasons for poverty is being financially excluded. Though there are few people who are enjoying all kinds of services from savings to net banking, but still in our country around 40% of people lack access to even basic financial services like savings, credit and insurance facilities. India is the second only to China in the number of people excluded from financial facilities. Even after 68 years of independence, around ten crore households are not connected with banking.
Bringing every household within the grasp of the banking system there has been an ongoing process started a decade ago. However, the present Indian government has packaged it in a mission mode and made it an achievable target. In order to reduce the degree of “financial untouchability” the new government has come up with a big bang action plan which is popularly known as “Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana”. It's a mega financial inclusion plan with the objective of covering all households in the country with banking facilities along with inbuilt insurance coverage. The purpose is to accelerate growth, fight poverty effectively and to empower the last man in the last row in Indian economy.
Amid this background, the present paper endeavours to study the recent trends in financial inclusions in India with special reference to PMJDY, analysis of its different key areas, the barriers in the process and suggests strategies to ensure maximum financial inclusion for the underprivileged and unbanked areas.