India ranks low in financial inclusion: ICRIER

India has been placed at the 50th spot, much above Russia but below China, in the index of financial inclusion (IFI) prepared by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).     

The financial inclusion index, which gives the extent of availability and usage of banking services in key nations of the world, is based on indicators like number of bank accounts per thousand adults, number of ATMs and bank branched per million people and amount of bank credit and deposit.     

The index assumes significance as one of the major goals of the 11th Five-Year Plan is to work for financial inclusion and extend the reach of microfinance to meet credit needs of approximately 80 per cent of the population not directly covered by banks.    

Spain has occupied the top position in the IFI, which is based on 2004 data, followed by Canada and Portugal, while countries including Nepal, Zimbabwe and Bostwana are at the bottom of the list.     

 Among the important countries, Germany has been placed at 4th position, the UK 17th, USA 21st and Japan 22nd.     

Referring to India, the ICRIER study said inspite of low density of bank branches, the usage of banking system in terms of volume of credit and deposit seems to be moderately high.