the crisis. 7. the increase in savings itself has been a consequence of the changing demographics and the welcome trend of rise in household savings. however, nearly half our population still lacks access to banking and other financial services. if we can redress that and provide this “ left behind ” population access to the entire gamut of banking services, we could raise household and overall domestic savings even further, and that will fulfill one of the necessary conditions to achieve the double - digit growth that we aspire to. 8. to make that happen, we need to deepen the penetration and expand the coverage of financial services to all sections of society and to all regions of the country in a meaningful way, particularly to those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. lack of financial awareness and literacy is one of the main reasons behind lack of access to financial products or failure to use them even when they are available. an ncaer and max new york life study shows that in india, around 60 percent of laborers surveyed indicated that they store cash at home, while borrowing from moneylenders at high interest rates – a pattern which increases their financial vulnerability. 9. financial literacy and awareness are thus integral to ensuring financial inclusion. this is not just about imparting financial knowledge and information ; it is also about changing behaviour. for the ultimate goal is to empower people to take actions that are in their own self - interest. when consumers know of the financial products available, when they are able to evaluate the merits and demerits of each product, are able to negotiate what they want, they will feel empowered in a very meaningful way. they will know enough to demand accountability and seek redressal of grievances. this, in turn, will enhance the integrity and quality of financial markets. one big lesson we have learnt in our outreach programmes is that financial literacy is not just a public good ; it is a merit good. what this means is that by deepening financial literacy, not just individuals and households, even the society at large stands to benefit. reserve bank ’ s initiatives 10. in the reserve bank, we treat financial inclusion and financial literacy as twin pillars. financial literacy stimulates the demand side – making people aware of what they can and should demand. financial inclusion acts from the supply side – providing in the financial market what people demand. while we have traditionally focused more on addressing financial exclusion through many supply - side measures so as to help “ connect people ” with the banking system, we have

##ity seems to have improved in several markets, including – as noted earlier – the market for agency mortgage - backed securities. to the extent that these measures improve market functioning, they will have favorable effects on the ability and willingness to make credit available to the broader economy. more - liquid markets also increase the efficacy of monetary policy, which in turn improves our ability to meet the goals set for us by the congress – namely, to promote maximum employment and price stability. as you know, in response to the further weakening of economic conditions, the federal reserve has continued to ease the stance of monetary policy. the fomc reduced its target for the federal funds rate by a total of 125 basis points in january and by an additional 75 basis points at its march meeting, leaving the current target at 2 - 1 / 4 percent – 3 percentage points below its level last summer. as the committee noted in its most recent post - meeting statement, we anticipate that these actions, together with the steps we have taken to foster market liquidity, will help to promote growth over time and to mitigate the risks to economic activity. clearly, the u. s. economy is going through a very difficult period. but among the great strengths of our economy is its ability to adapt and to respond to diverse challenges. much necessary economic and financial adjustment has already taken place, and monetary and fiscal policies are in train that should support a return to growth in the second half of this year and next year. i remain confident in our economy ’ s long - term prospects. thank you. i would be pleased to take your questions.