top of page

By:

Bhaskar Nath Biswal

13 May 2026 at 3:00:30 pm

India’s Quiet Financial Revolution

India stands at a remarkable crossroads in its journey toward economic democratization. Over the past decade, the country has witnessed a profound transformation in how millions of its citizens interact with formal financial systems. The latest data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) reveals an impressive surge in financial inclusion metrics. What was once a landscape marked by systemic exclusion, especially for rural populations and women, now shows near-universal...

India’s Quiet Financial Revolution

India stands at a remarkable crossroads in its journey toward economic democratization. Over the past decade, the country has witnessed a profound transformation in how millions of its citizens interact with formal financial systems. The latest data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) reveals an impressive surge in financial inclusion metrics. What was once a landscape marked by systemic exclusion, especially for rural populations and women, now shows near-universal access to basic banking services. This represents a fundamental shift in opportunity, dignity and resilience for ordinary Indians. The foundation for an inclusive economy has been laid and the narrative is shifting from survival to empowerment. Rural-Urban Divide The numbers tell a compelling story of acceleration and structural realignment. According to NFHS-6, a striking 98.2 percent of households across India now have at least one usual member with a bank or post office account. This marks a significant jump from 95.7 percent recorded in NFHS-5 (2019-21). Even more telling is the rural-urban breakdown, where rural households have reached 98.6 percent coverage, slightly outpacing urban areas at 97.3 percent. This reversal of traditional patterns is noteworthy. For generations, financial services were heavily concentrated in cities, leaving vast rural stretches underserved and dependent on exploitative informal networks. Today, the data suggests that targeted government initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, combined with expanded digital infrastructure and biometric-enabled direct benefit transfers, have successfully bridged much of that historic divide. Equally transformative is the progress in women’s financial autonomy. In NFHS-6, 89 percent of women report having a bank or savings account that they themselves actively use, which reflects an increase of over 10 percentage points from 78.6 percent in the previous survey cycle. Rural women, at 89.3 percent, are marginally ahead of their urban counterparts at 88.3 percent. This statistic carries profound social implications. When women control financial resources, they invest more heavily in health, education, and nutrition for their families. It weakens traditional power imbalances and fosters greater decision-making agency within households. The near-parity between rural and urban women underscores how digital schemes promoting zero-balance accounts and financial literacy programs have penetrated deep into villages, often successfully leveraging self-help groups and grassroots community networks. Social Resilience Health insurance coverage, while still lagging behind banking access, has also shown robust growth. NFHS-6 reports that 60.2 percent of households have at least one member covered under some health insurance or financing scheme, a dramatic rise from just 41 percent in NFHS-5. Here too, rural areas lead with 62 percent compared to 56.4 percent in urban settings. This improvement likely reflects the aggressive expansion of state-sponsored schemes like Ayushman Bharat, which aims to provide secondary and tertiary healthcare coverage to vulnerable populations. Yet, the fact that nearly 40 percent of households still lack such protection highlights persistent vulnerabilities. These gains in financial inclusion are part of a larger narrative of digital and economic democratization. What makes this progress particularly noteworthy is its timing. It has occurred amid global economic challenges, including the aftermath of the pandemic, which exposed the fragility of informal financial arrangements. By bringing more citizens into the formal fold, India has enhanced the macroeconomic resilience of its population. Direct benefit transfers have radically reduced leakages, enabled quicker crisis response and given millions a tangible stake in the formal system. However, celebrating these achievements should not blind us to the long road ahead. Near-universal bank account ownership is a strong foundation, but true financial inclusion demands more than mere access. It requires active usage, deep financial literacy, and robust protection against consumer risks. The gender gap, though narrowing rapidly, persists in meaningful usage; women may hold accounts but face systemic barriers in accessing formal credit, insurance products, or sophisticated investment opportunities. Rural dominance in some metrics is encouraging, yet the quality of services, such as proximity to physical branches, reliable internet connectivity and effective grievance redressal, remains highly uneven across states. Enhancing financial literacy campaigns tailored specifically to women and rural youth can translate account ownership into empowered financial planning. Expanding affordable, customized credit products for micro-enterprises and smallholder farmers will unlock massive productive potential at the grassroots level. Leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI-driven alternative credit scoring and vernacular digital interfaces, can address the remaining last-mile challenges. Finally, strengthening public-private partnerships to achieve near-universal health coverage should be an urgent priority, ensuring that financial inclusion translates into comprehensive health security. India’s financial inclusion story is one of quiet but powerful disruption. (The writer is a former college Principal and Founder of Supporting Shoulders, an Odisha-based non-profit Trust. Views personal.)

Clever seat selection helped BJP to secure historic win

The party won 65 seats against Congress, 37 against NCP (SP) and 29 against Shiv Sena (UBT)

Clever seat selection

Mumbai: The BJP’s strategic seat sharing with the allies has proved beneficial for the party. An analysis of the Assembly election results show that the BJP has scored over its main rival, the Congress, in a big way because of the direct fights.


The analysis shows that BJP defeated all three constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) – in the direct fights. This is attributed as one of the reasons for the BJP’s historic poll success.


The BJP contested 147 out of 288 seats. In 76 constituencies, it faced Congress. BJP secured victory in 65 seats and lost only 11 seats, making it a whopping 86 per cent of the total direct fights. This was followed by an even stronger performance against NCP (SP). Of the total 39 fights with Sharad Pawar’s party, BJP captured 37 seats making it 95 per cent of the total fights with NCP (SP). BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) were head-to-head in 32 constituencies, of which BJP emerged victorious in 29 seats, making this 91 per cent of the total direct contests.


According to a BJP strategist the party had bargained hard with its allies, Shiv Sena and NCP to get the desired constituencies in the seat sharing formula. “We had studied to potential candidates of the MVA. That helped us in choosing the seats where we can register comfortable victories,” the strategist said.


BJP spokesperson Niranjan Shetty attributed the success to all the party workers who worked hard to boost development, infrastructure in the state. He gave credit to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his contribution to the party’s success.


Shetty pointed out that in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had stalled all the “novel” and “legendary” projects that Fadnavis had started when he had taken over as CM, making it very easy for the people of Maharashtra to strike a comparison between both the leaders and the potential they had for serving the people. “Devendra Fadnavis gave up his post very easily for the larger good. There are many such examples like Venkaiah Naidu who was BJP National President and later worked as the Vice President of India because that was the need of the hour. We seldom care about our posts,” Shetty told The Perfect Voice.


Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe refused to call the election results as the people’s mandate. “This is not at all a Janata mandate. Despite Maharashtra struggling with so many basic social issues, how can BJP acquire such a huge mandate is the question. If a student copies and fails with just passing marks, it can go unnoticed, but if a student copies and bags the number one position, something is fishy. Why is the BJP scared of ballot papers?” he said.

Comments

bottom of page