covered by self - help groups sponsored by banks, such as those in andhra pradesh. a measure that had great impact on financial inclusion was making all atm transactions across all branches, irrespective of where accounts are held, free of charge. this initiative actually became a means of transferring money to migrants and students at no cost. it reduced the need to hold bis central bankers ’ speeches cash in advance of needs. unlike a branch, it was a place where everyone, rich or poor, was in the same queue. as we were undertaking all these different measures, i wanted to communicate this policy commitment to meeting the needs of ordinary people for essential financial services in the monetary policy statement of 2005. mrs usha thorat, the deputy governor, and i worked together on a draft. it required several painstaking interactions. a literature review indicated that most policy measures in this regard related to the development of financial markets, financial sector deepening, regulation of financial institutions and payment, clearing and settlement systems and, to some extent, the provision of microcredit. there were some examples of policy actions that addressed the issue of exclusion from facilities available through banking system. examples were found mainly in the united states. in france we found that access to a bank account was a right. i initially considered the title of “ financial exclusion ” and a description of measures to overcome it. as i was finalising the draft of the annual policy statement for the year 2006 – 07, issued on 18 april 2006, it struck me that what had been attempted particularly in the past year was actually reaching out, and hence the title should be “ financial inclusion ”. this articulation by the reserve bank is the origin of the concept of financial inclusion. it also paves the way for the central bank ’ s involvement, in india at least. the concept of financial inclusion as articulated by the rbi caught the imagination of many people, particularly in state governments. it also attracted the attention of the central government, and a committee on financial inclusion under the chairmanship of dr c rangarajan was appointed. financial inclusion was formally defined by the committee, as “ the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed to vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at affordable cost ”. mrs usha thorat was also a member. the committee ’ s report ( january 2008 ) presented what i may call the “ government ’ s view ” of financial inclusion, and continued to give a central place

of spanish banks. in the current scenario of very low interest rates, the loan - deposit gap is at historically very narrow levels ( around 1 % ). where the interest rate spread is so tight, the sustainability of net interest income over time needs an adequate level of activity to offset, by volume, the scant contribution of price to the income statement. but this is not the case at present, as banking activity levels are still low, and precisely this is the second source of pressure on the income statement. the third one is the significant volume of non - productive assets ( npls and foreclosures ) remaining on banks ’ balance sheets although, as i mentioned earlier, the data shows a positive trend with a significant decline over the last two years. in a period of far - reaching changes in the banking sector, it is important for banks to improve their efficiency, so as to remain viable competitors. banks could do this through various means, for example redesigning their networks, redefining their capacity and efficiency, enhancing their geographical diversification, and increasing specialization in certain market segments. from this perspective, a number of analysts and market participants expect a greater degree of consolidation in the spanish banking sector. the start - up of the single supervisory mechanism and the gradual disappearance of barriers against banking integration at the european level facilitate a new operational framework for banks, when defining their strategies through the eurozone and the area covered by the single supervisory mechanism. bis central bankers ’ speeches conclusions : growth perspectives now, to conclude : according to most analysts, public and private alike, the spanish economy is expected to continue growing at sustained rates in the medium term. in particular, gdp might increase at a rate around 2. 8 % in 2016 according to the consensus. this figure is well above the estimated rate for the euro area average. however, this central scenario is not free from risks. the international environment has not only deteriorated recently, but it has also become more vulnerable due to the extent of the slowdown of the global economy - in particular, of some emerging economies, as far as they may affect world growth and international tradeand the evolution of commodity prices, in a context where there are doubts about the reaction of markets to the normalization of us monetary policy. on the spanish domestic political front, it is obvious that the uncertainty regarding the formation of a new government may affect investment and consumption decisions. so far, the impact on the spanish financial markets has been limited. in any case, i take it