Lok Sabha Question No. 3546 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-11
Subject: Digital Financial Literacy Programmes
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE

## DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3546

ANSWERED ON MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 2025/20 SRAVANA, 1947 (SAKA)

## DIGITAL FINANCIAL LITERACY PROGRAMMES

## 3546. SMT. SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has undertaken any evaluation of financial inclusion outcomes in remote tribal districts under the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) framework, particularly in relation  to  last-mile  banking  access  and  grievance  redressal  in  regions  with  low  digital infrastructure;
- (b) whether Odisha has been targeted under any nationwide digital financial awareness drives and if  so,  the  steps  taken  to  ensure  that  tribal-dominated  and  migration-prone  districts  like Balangir  receive  focused  interventions  through  Financial  Literacy  Centres,  school-based awareness modules, or SHG-level campaigns;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  reviewed  the  effectiveness  of  digital  financial  literacy programmes in digitally inept regions, especially in terms of women's access; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)

(a) to (d). The Government initiated the National Mission for Financial Inclusion (NMFI), namely, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in August, 2014 to provide universal banking services for  every  unbanked  household.  In  order  to  give  impetus  to  financial  inclusion  initiatives  of  the Government,  PMJDY  was  extended  beyond  14.08.2018  with  the  focus  on  opening  of  accounts shifting from 'every household' to 'every unbanked adult'.

PMJDY has been successful in increasing banking penetration to promote financial inclusion across the country. A total of 55.98 crore Jan-Dhan accounts with a deposit balance of Rs. 2,61,982 crores have been opened as on 25.07.2025 under PMJDY. Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) framework is providing the necessary backbone for measures like easing DBT flows, adoption of social security/ pension Schemes, facilitating credit flows, promoting digital payments, etc. No such specific study on JAM framework has been conducted in remote tribal districts of the country.

Financial Literacy Centers (FLCs) are actively imparting financial literacy through campaigns such as  "Going  Digital"  and  'Target  Group  Specific'  campaign,  in  Odisha.  Further,  financial  literacy camps are also being conducted by rural bank branches with focus on topics such as digital payments, responsible borrowing, cyber safety  etc. The focus group for these campaigns are farmers, small entrepreneurs,  school  students,  SHGs,  senior  citizens  etc.  Detail  of  camps  conducted  during  the quarter ending June 2025, in the state of Odisha is as under:

|          | Rural camps conducted by rural branches   |   "Going Digital" camps by FLCs |   'Target Specific Camps'' by FLCs | Financial Literacy Awareness Programm (FLAP) by CFLs   |
|----------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| Balangir | 330                                       |                              10 |                                 30 | 951                                                    |
| Odisha   | 9,150                                     |                             464 |                                861 | 18,518                                                 |

Source: SLBC, Odisha

In order to enhance financial literacy, including digital financial literacy, various awareness measures and initiatives are being undertaken which, inter-alia, are as under:

- i. The Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) Project has been initiated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)  since  2017  with  an  objective  to  adopt  community-led  innovative  and  participatory approaches to financial literacy. A total of 2,421 CFLs have been set up across the country, as on March 31, 2025, with one CFL covering three blocks on an average.
- ii. Banks have been advised to conduct camps through their FLCs on "Going Digital" through UPI and *99# (USSD) for general public and tailored camps for different target groups.
- iii. Rural branches of banks are required to conduct one camp per month covering all the messages that are part of the Financial Awareness Messages (FAME) booklet, which, inter alia, contains messages on various facets of financial literacy including basic banking, digital financial literacy, consumer protection etc.
- iv. Financial  Literacy  Week  (FLW)  has  been  conducted  every  year  since  2016  to  propagate  the message  of  financial  education  on  various  themes  among  members  of  the  public  across  the country.
- v. RBI's multi-media, multilingual public awareness campaign, titled "RBI Kehta Hai" uses various mediums to promote financial literacy and to educate the public on safe banking practices.

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