Developing a Financial Inclusion Index for India

Finance has always been considered as one of the important parameter of the growth for any economic activity. The economic growth of a country can be enlarged by using financial inclusion as a bridge that would facilitate fuller participation by weaker sections of the country. Financial inclusion is a system through which a developing country like India can attain inclusive growth by connecting the contribution of weaker or rural population of the country with the main stream. If there is an easy access of weaker section to the financial system of the country, country can move towards higher economic growth. In the available literature, it has been found that one or the other indicator is absent for different reasons. However, since each of the indicator is important for calculating the more comprehensive financial inclusion index. The main objective of this paper is to introduce an index that allows for a general overview of India in terms of financial inclusion. The index is calculated using three dimensions related to the measurement of the levels of access and usage of financial services. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.