Letters: Financial inclusion pangs

This refers to the edited excerpts from Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan's address at the 20th Lalit Doshi Memorial Lecture "The five P's of financial inclusion" (Opinion, August 17). Mark Tully once wrote that rural India votes are guided by "ye mera aadmi hai (this is my person) and ye mera kaam karega (he will do my work)", which describes why "good people" lose their deposits in Indian election because they often lack "jugaad". Venal politicians (and their aides - the babus) are just a crutch for the underprivileged and offer little help to the poor.

There is no dearth of products launched by the government for financial inclusion. If there is any dearth, then that is in the implementation of such schemes. Often, inclusion measures give new tools in the hands of comparatively well-off people to earn more dishonest money. A burning example is the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or MGNREGA scheme, which has created a new middleman in every village. Besides, good education and good health care have become so costly that the majority of funds offered by the government under such schemes to help the poor look like peanuts. Some state governments are offering Rs 200 to 400 per month as old-age pension. What can an old man do with such a paltry sum?

Ravi Kant, Gurgaon

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