k c chakrabarty : financial literacy – challenges, strategies and instruments welcome address by dr k c chakrabarty, deputy governor of the reserve bank of india, at the reserve bank of india - organisation for economic co - operation and development ( rbi - oecd ) international workshop on financial literacy, bengaluru, 22 march 2010. * * * 1. mr. pranab mukherjee, hon ’ ble finance minister, government of india, dr. d subbarao, governor, reserve bank of india, mr. richard a. boucher, oecd deputy secretary general, mr. andre laboul, head, oecd financial affairs division and chair, international network on financial education ( infe ), ms. flore - anne messy, principal administrator, oecd, distinguished guests and workshop participants from all over the globe, ladies and gentlemen 2. a very warm welcome to you all to the first ever rbi - oecd initiative on financial literacy workshop in india at this garden city of bengaluru, lovingly referred by the global community as the silicon valley of india. in fact, there could have been no better place than this city as it can not only boast of locating some of the world ’ s best known financial and knowledge - based services technology providers, but the state of karnataka has taken pioneering initiatives in promoting financial literacy through school curriculums. 3. it is a matter of profound pleasure and privilege to welcome mr pranab mukherjee, the hon ’ ble minister of finance, govt. of india who, despite his hectic schedule and multiple responsibilities, has kindly agreed to deliver the keynote address and spare some thoughts for the attendees to work further on. hon ’ ble finance minister, sir, while welcoming, we express our sincere gratitude to you. 4. i also extend a very warm welcome to dr subbarao, governor, reserve bank of india, who has successfully steered the policy course of the rbi through one of the difficult phases in recent times. i welcome you sir. it was your idea that rbi ’ s platinum jubilee celebration should be marked with an event of international impact and long - lasting importance in the financial services sector. this workshop is a fructification of your idea, sir. 5. my special welcome for mr. richard a. boucher, deputy secretary general, oecd for making this workshop possible, along with other oecd officials, who are partners in conducting this workshop

to seamlessly integrate whatever technology they choose, with their cbs architecture. 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. considering that financial literacy is an important adjunct for promoting financial inclusion, consumer protection and ultimately financial stability, rbi has adopted an integrated approach wherein efforts towards financial inclusion and financial literacy would go hand in hand. besides the various initiatives taken by rbi individually to encourage financial literacy, a national strategy for financial education ( nsfe ) has also been finalized under the aegis of the financial stability and development council ( fsdc ) to co - ordinate efforts of various stakeholders involved in this process. the reserve bank has been playing 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 own strategies for rolling out fi and have encouraged them to identify their own goals and targets through their respective financial inclusion plans. robust institutional mechanism 11. 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. bis central bankers ’ speeches india is one country where the fsdc has a specific mandate for financial inclusion and financial literacy. there is a separate technical group on financial inclusion and financial literacy under the aegis of fsdc with representation from all the financial sector regulators. in order to spearhead efforts towards greater financial inclusion, rbi has constituted a financial inclusion advisory committee ( fiac ) under the chairmanship of a deputy governor from rbi. the fiac has few directors from the central board of rbi and experts drawn from ngo sector / other civil society representatives, etc. as members. the collective expertise and experience of the members is expected to be leveraged to explore issues such as developing viable and sustainable banking services delivery models focusing on accessible and affordable financial services, developing products and processes for rural as well as urban unbanked consumers. at the state level, we have state level bankers committees ( slbc ) in all the states. going further down, we have lead district managers in all the 659 districts, with recent inclusion of