gri guidelines, a few indian banks are beginning to consider reporting on their non - financial parameters. in other international initiatives for sustainable development, corporate social responsibility and non - financial reporting also, the involvement of our banks, financial institutions, etc. is peripheral or at a very nascent stage. 16. for institutions in india ’ s financial and banking sector, one of the primary drivers of their involvement in activities in social and environmental spheres is their reputation and branding. this is fuelled by the fact that these institutions have high visibility in every business sector and industry. moreover, in emerging markets such as india, financing projects that focus on clean production, good corporate governance and sustainable energy are being increasingly identified as potential business opportunities for financial institutions. furthermore, many financial institutions are also actively publicising their philanthropic activities under the corporate social responsibility banner. all these initiatives point to the sector ’ s move toward financial institutions banking on their brand and reputation, to make a difference in the community in which they operate as well as, in their new risk management strategies that reflect the socio - environmental aspects of their investments. 17. there are many reasons for this change in mindset. foremost is the increasing globalization of business. as more indian companies expand internationally and acquire interests overseas, whilst at the same time, there is a rapid increase in foreign investment in bis central bankers ’ speeches indian corporates, demands on transparency from a more “ global audience ” have put pressure on indian companies to start reporting on sustainability issues. within india, there has also been a change in the mindset and attitudes of stakeholders on issues relating to environmental and social responsibility. recently, government faced public protests and pressure to refuse entry to foreign ships that were brought to india for decommissioning, as they contained large amounts of asbestos and other harmful substances. while the general public opinion on sustainability issues is still evolving, companies taking the first steps can expect intense public scrutiny, which again highlights the need for transparent reporting on operations. another significant push factor has been the role of government as a stakeholder. india has historically had stringent laws on labour, environment, health and safety. over the past few years the government has become increasingly proactive in addressing enforcement. intense media attention and scrutiny on corporate social responsibility has also led to companies taking more cognisance of their activities and engagement with stakeholders. reporting standards 18. while currently there are no officially recognized guidelines or reporting standards on sustainability reporting ( by accounting or regulatory bodies ), there has

##for - profit entities such as the bill gates foundation have extended full support to the global initiatives in this regard. fourth, the coverage of financial inclusion has been expanded from households to include small enterprises, small businesses and some organisational forms. at the same time, limits are set in terms of transaction size to define what constitutes financial inclusion. fifth, some of the regulatory and procedural prescriptions that had inhibited financial inclusion, such as know - your - customer, are being revisited. sixth, above all, technological developments are throwing up vast opportunities for financial inclusion. bis central bankers ’ speeches finally, for very valid reasons, financial inclusion recognises a variety of policies packaged as appropriate for different countries. they may reflect differing degrees of emphasis on deposit - taking, extending credit, easing transactions and remittances, or popularising or innovating financial instruments. data have been collated and are being analysed on many aspects of financial inclusion for purposes of cross - country comparisons, and difficulties in interpreting the data are recognised. the indian case financial inclusion as currently understood in india is, in some ways, different from what i had envisaged when it was adopted in india. the rbi ’ s policy objective for financial inclusion at that time was related to activities within its jurisdiction, namely, the payments system, banking system, and to a limited extent, non - banks that were under its jurisdiction. rbi put a high priority on the spread of financial literacy and financial counselling. to the extent that financial inclusion has a broader import, government then took the initiative, as recommended by dr rangarajan ’ s committee, and the major instrument was the national bank for agriculture and rural development ( nabard ). currently, india ’ s financial inclusion policy encompasses several objectives, several institutions and several financial products, and the central bank is the major instrument of national policy. the intellectual origins of the current policy may be traced to the nachiket mor committee, while a massive policy thrust was given by the prime minister in 2014. the national government has galvanised the rbi, the regulator, the public sector banking system, and disbursements by governments. so the rbi now appears to be the lead agency in the implementation of financial inclusion policy. the game changers in indian policy in the recent past have taken advantage of the opportunities provided by technology for implementing financial inclusion. this needed significant changes in institutional and regulatory systems. avenues other than public sector banks, on whom the main burden of