indeed, disheartening to note that india, despite being the software service provider to the world, is unable to develop reliable software solutions and back office services for supporting our own fi activities. the process of seeding the bank accounts with aadhaar numbers is faced with various constraints which could impact the roll out of the government ’ s dbt initiatives. at last, i would say that the collective will power of the society and of all the concerned stakeholders is lacking and, consequently, the mission of complete financial inclusion is yet to become a national ambition. conclusion 7. the task of financial inclusion in a country like ours with large population and geographical spread is, indeed, challenging. the data released from the recent census of india indicates that only 58. 7 % of households in india avail of banking services with the figure being 54. 4 % for rural areas and 67. 8 % for urban areas. while there is greater awareness among policy makers and financial sector participants about the importance of prioritising the goal of universal financial access, there is a need to ensure that progress on the ground is in line with these expectations. the opening of bank accounts is only the first stage and the focus now is not just on improving access but also on better use of the financial infrastructure. in this regard, the collaborative approach combining financial inclusion with financial literacy, along with closer monitoring of progress in transactions, is expected to boost operations in fi accounts. 8. considering the enormity of the task, the combined will power of the society is required to ensure success in this challenging objective. all stakeholders, including policy makers, regulators, state and district administration, it solution providers, software and hardware vendors, civic society, media and public at large have to come together and pool their collective might if we have to ensure that the goal of meaningful financial inclusion and leveraging financial access as a means for economic empowerment of the excluded masses, is successfully achieved. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches annex : progress in financial inclusion sr particulars year ended mar 10 year ended mar 11 year ended mar 12 year ended march 13 progress april 10 – march 13 banking outlets – rural branches banking outlets – bcs banking outlets – other modes banking outlets – total urban locations covered through bcs bsbd accounts ( no. in lakh ) 734. 53 1047. 59 1385. 04 1833. 30 1098. 77 od facility availed in bsbd accounts ( no. in lakh ) 1.

to the minimum. while we remain technology neutral, we require banks to seamlessly integrate whatever technology they choose, with their cbs architecture. as a philosophy, we have always encouraged banks to pursue fi as a commercial activity and to not view it as social service or charity. the self - sustainability and commercial viability of the fi initiatives are important if banks have to scale up their operations to cover more unbanked areas. we have advised banks to adopt innovative business models and delivery channels to expand their fi efforts. there is a need for banks to develop new products and design new delivery models that are customized to the unique needs of the financially excluded population, both in the rural and urban areas. the reserve bank has sought to play a supportive role in fi by creating a conducive regulatory environment and providing institutional support to banks in their fi efforts. importantly, we have provided banks the freedom and the space to determine their bis central bankers ’ speeches own strategies for rolling out fi and have encouraged them to identify their own goals and targets through their respective financial inclusion plans. institutional mechanism 4. our strength lies in the fact that we have created a robust institutional mechanism to support the roll out of banking services across the country. this was essential considering the enormity of the task in terms of the number of excluded people and the geographical size of the country. our institutional architecture includes : the financial stability and development council ( fsdc ) chaired by the union finance minister and involving heads of all financial sector regulators, which has financial inclusion and financial literacy as one of its important mandates. a technical group on financial inclusion and financial literacy under the fsdc involving not just the financial sector regulators, but also the education boards and curriculum developers. a high level financial inclusion advisory committee ( fiac ) set up by rbi to focus on providing strategic direction to fi initiatives across various stakeholders. a strong institutional mechanism at the level of banks through 35 state level bankers ’ committees, 644 lead district managers and more than 100 thousand bank branches. more than 700 financial literacy centres and rsetis imparting financial literacy to complement the financial inclusion measures. recent financial inclusion initiatives 5. learning from the experience gained from the outcomes of our fi initiatives over the years, the reserve bank has taken certain additional steps to provide greater impetus to the process of financial inclusion. we have encouraged banks to adopt a structured and planned approach to financial inclusion with commitment at the highest levels, through preparation of board approved financial inclusion plans ( fips )