by Amira Berrada - South Asia, East Asia and Pacific -

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: First Phase of India’s 2011 Census: 40% of Households Do Not Have Access to Banking Services, 5% of Villages Have Banks

According to data released from the first phase of India’s 2011 census, 54 percent of rural households have access to banking services, whereas 67 percent of urban households have such access. Bank access is defined living within 2 kilometers of a bank agent [1] [2].

The Indian government has encouraged banks to establish bank agents in villages with populations greater than 1,000 and bank branches in villages with populations of greater than 5,000 by September 2012 [1]. Five percent of 600,000 villages identified have bank branches [1] [3].

By Natalie Baer and Amira Berrada, Research Associates

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Financial inclusion is still a long way off: Census http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/banking/article…

[2] India 2011 Census: Houses, Household Amenities and Assets-2011 http://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/hlo/hlo_highlights.html

[3] India Census Metadata http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Metadata/Metada.htm

MicroCapital story, March 19, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Task Force Recommends Micro-ATMs to Improve Financial Inclusion” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-unique-identification-aut…

MicroCapital story, February 14, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Reserve Bank of India to Issue Guidelines For Interoperability Among Business Correspondents ‘Shortly’” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-reserve-bank-of-india-to-…

MicroCapital story, February 8, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Indian Finance Ministry Clears Draft Microfinance Bill, Considers Engaging Post Office Banks to Promote Financial Inclusion” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-indian-finance-ministry-c…

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

Similar Posts:

Amira joined MicroCapital while working at Export Development Canada (EDC) as a Credit Insurance Underwriter. Amira holds a Bachelor degree in International Business and Finance from Concordia University in Montreal. While completing her bachelor degree, Amira spent a semester in France and upon graduation, three months in India working with non-governmental agencies, political and spiritual groups for various socioeconomic initiatives such as the advancement of women. While travelling to different cities and rural areas in India, Amira was touched by the poverty she witnessed and was dedicated to finding a way to intertwine her business interests with her passion for development. She hopes this internship in microfinance will provide the framework to integrate an element of development into her professional career as well as positively contribute to the field of microfinance. Amira speaks English, French, and Spanish fluently and has conversational knowledge in Portuguese and Arabic. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, trying new restaurants such as molecular gastronomy, restaurants made out of ice and Nicaraguan meals wrapped in banana leaves. Most of all, she loves to travel with loved ones.