RBI introduces FI-Index, aims to capture financial inclusion across country – check details here

The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday introduced the annual 'Financial Inclusion Index', which aims to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country. This FI-Index will mainly comprise of three broad parameters viz access, usage and quality with 35 per cent, 45 per cent and 20 per cent weightage, respectively. 

The central bank in its statement says that this FI-Index will be published every year in July. 

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“The FI-Index has been conceptualised as a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in consultation with Government and respective sectoral regulators,” the RBI says.

The index captures information on various aspects of financial inclusion in a single value ranging between 0 and 100, where 0 represents complete financial exclusion and 100 indicates full financial inclusion, the central bank further added.

The FI-Index has been constructed without any ‘base year’ and reflects cumulative efforts of all stakeholders over the years towards financial inclusion, RBI further said in the statement. The annual FI-Index for the period ending March 2021 is 53.9 as against 43.4 for the period ending March 2017, it pointed out.

The Index is responsive to ease of access, availability and usage of services, and quality of services, comprising in all 97 indicators, says the central bank. “A unique feature of the Index is the Quality parameter which captures the quality aspect of financial inclusion as reflected by financial literacy, consumer protection, and inequalities and deficiencies in services.”

The central bank during its bi-monthly April monetary policy had announced in the statement on developmental and regulatory policies that it aims to launch 'Financial Inclusion Index'. 

The RBI in its monetary policy last week has kept the repo rate and reverse repo rate unchanged to 4 and 3.35 per cent respectively and maintains an accommodative stance. The bank had raised the CPI inflation outlook to 5.7 per cent and retained GDP growth projection of 9.5 per cent for FY22.r production capacity in India. Over the last three years we have invested roughly Rs 600 crore to set