across crops and centres. the average share of farmers in retail prices of major primary food items varies between 28 – 78 per cent. it is lower for perishables and higher for non - perishable items. higher share of retail prices going to farmers augurs well for the rural economy, which in turn, could help sustain domestic 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches demand. initiatives towards wider rural roads network, better communication facilities for faster exchange of information and easier access to micro credit will contribute to better price realisation for the farmers. this ongoing process needs to be sustained alongside further agricultural market reforms. prioritizing food processing industries in the policy agenda, encouraging direct sale of farm produce by farmers to consumers, strengthening e - nam for better price discovery and promoting storage facilities near producing centres will boost farm income and rural employment opportunities. 13. the reserve bank of india has also taken various measures to increase the level of penetration of banking services to unserved and underserved areas. recently, the national strategy for financial inclusion ( 2019 – 24 ) prepared by the rbi has been approved by the financial stability and development council ( fsdc ). it sets forth the vision and key objectives of financial inclusion policies in india and aims to provide access to formal and affordable financial services ; broaden and deepen financial inclusion ; and promote financial literacy and consumer protection. 14. other initiatives taken by the rbi include setting up of an expert committee and a working group to examine the issues relating to credit flow to msmes and agriculture sectors, respectively. through priority sector lending norms for commercial banks, we aim to support farm and non - farm sector activities which are sources of livelihood for a large cross section of population. we are now reviewing the priority sector lending norms, keeping in view the changing needs of the economy and with a view to make them more inclusive. other initiatives like lead bank scheme, no frill accounts, banking correspondent and banking facilitator models, technology products like mobile banking, financial literacy programmes, etc. have also contributed to these efforts. 15. leveraging latest technology for benefit of the people is also on the policy agenda of the reserve bank. to fulfil the vision empowering every indian with access to a bouquet of epayment options that is safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable, a focused effort has been made to develop a state of the art national payments infrastructure and technology platforms. recently on december 16, 2019, we rolled out the 24x

are more uncertain and involve elements of errors. hence, statistics and probabilities find greater application in these areas. you, as students, have to decide on the area which is of greater interest to you and pursue knowledge and excellence in that area. bis central bankers ’ speeches maths in indian context 16. what is india ’ s contribution to the subject of mathematics? let me refer to an old song from the movie “ purab aur paschim ” ( lyrics : indeevar and others ) picturised on the celebrated actor manoj kumar, “ … … bharat ka rahne waala hoon, bharat ki baat sunaata hoon.... ” – how many of you have heard? i am sure all of the speakers here and even the teachers. the song has some excellent lines depicting india ’ s contribution to the subject of mathematics. the lines are as under : “ जब जीरो दया मर भारत न, भारत न मर भारत न, द नया को तब गनती [UNK], तार क भाषा द नया को, भारत न पहल [UNK] | द ता ना दशमलव भारत तो, य चाद प जाना मि शकल था, धरती [UNK] चाद क दर का, अदाजा लगाना मि शकल था | ” loosely translated, extolling the contribution of india to the field of mathematics and astronomy, the protagonist conveys that “ it was only with the invention of zero by indian mathematicians that the world could get its number system. also, without india ’ s contribution to the decimal system, it would not have been possible to fathom the distance between earth and the moon or to manage a voyage to the moon ”. 17. it is necessary to reminisce about the past heady days of indian mathematics, beginning from the vedic period. the ancient vedas ( synthesized about 5000 years ago ) contained vedanga jyotisha comprising three parts, one of which pertains to basic math about arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry and equations ( sameekaran ). india ’ s primacy in establishing the foundations of math is widely accepted among the scholars