than half a century since its inception, the scheme has evolved in line with the development agenda for the country. the lead bank scheme relies on a coordinated approach at all levels amongst banks, financial institutions and the government machinery for effective delivery of banking services to all sections of the economy. this co - ordinated approach has yielded significant results in terms of expanding banking access and improvement in the flow of priority sector credit. 1 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches more recently it has also led to the expansion of digital payments with slbcs taking the lead role in the objective of making every district in the country digitally enabled. i am happy to note that 354 districts are now digitally enabled. ten states including karnataka and six union territories have achieved 100 per cent coverage of districts under this initiative. indeed, the lead bank scheme can be a powerful tool to bring about transformative change. as ldms, ddms and ldos, you are the very pillars on which this scheme rests, playing a crucial role in driving financial inclusion at grassroots level. your efforts in extending banking services and credit access to underserved regions would undoubtedly bring immense satisfaction to all involved. having served as the convenor for the slbc in telangana, i can personally attest to the deep fulfilment that comes from making a tangible difference in people's lives through the lbs fora. a common question we face is, are we doing enough? how much more remains to be done? in 2021, the reserve bank introduced the financial inclusion index ( fi - index ), which tracks progress across 97 indicators in three key dimensions : ( i ) access ( ii ) usage ( iii ) quality. the index which was at 53. 9 in march 2021 now stands at 64. 2 for march 2024 as a testimony to the efforts that has been put in by all of you. india has made significant strides in enhancing'access'to banking and financial services, reaching even the most remote areas. however, there is still considerable ground to cover in deepening financial inclusion. this requires greater focus on promoting'usage'and improving the'quality'of services. in both these critical areas, the role of lead district managers from the banks and district development managers from nabard is indispensable. in this context, i would like to outline a few key expectations. know your district well firstly, it is imperative that you cultivate a deep understanding of your respective districts - so, you should truly'know your

set exemplary standards, and become pioneers in developmental activities, ensuring continued progress of your districts and the state of karnataka. as you may be aware, the reserve bank of india is celebrating 90 years of its foundation this year. looking ahead to the next decade, our journey towards rbi @ 100, we have formulated strategies aimed at positioning the reserve bank as a model central bank of the global south. one of our key objectives is to deepen financial inclusion by enhancing the accessibility, availability, and quality of financial services for all segments of society. i urge each of you to actively support us in realizing this vision by contributing to inclusive growth, ensuring that no one is left behind in accessing essential financial services, and fostering economic empowerment at the grassroots level. i would like to leave you with a quote from rashtrakavi kuvempu ( an extract from his epic work " malegaalli madumagau " ) : illi yaaroo mukhyaralla no one is precious here yaroo amukhyaralla no one is unimportant here illi ellakkoo ide artha everything has significance here yavudoo alla vyartha nothing is useless 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches! neerellevoo theertha! all the water is holy! in the context of today's gathering, it would mean : all groups of people are equally important and should be financially included ; every effort taken for financial inclusion is meaningful and nothing goes wasted. with this i would like to end with my best wishes to each one of you. thank you! 1 jaitly, s., thangallapally, l. s., & microsave. ( 2022 ). decoding government support to women entrepreneurs in india. in niti aayog, www. microsave. net [ report ]. https : / / www. niti. gov. in / sites / default / files / 2023 - 03 / decoding - government - support - towomen - entrepreneurs - in - india. pdf ( last accessed on september 16, 2024 ) 5 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches