State of Financial Services, Access & Inclusion in North East India

The North East India (NER) region has been historically underbanked, yet the cumulative advancements in digital technology have for the first time made it plausible to bridge over the challenges posed by lack of brick and mortar banking infrastructure with the digital equivalent. In the previous decades, nationalization of banks, priority sector lending stipulations, the lead bank scheme, establishment of Regional Rural Banks, launch of Self-Help Groups-banks linkage programmes were all part of the Reserve Bank of India’s initiative to provide financial access to the unbanked and under-banked masses. For the purpose of extending digital financial inclusion, the cumulative advancements in what has now come to be referred to as the India Stack provides the foundation of including the under-banked and un-banked population into the fold of formal financial economy. The gains in financial inclusion made possible by India Stack has found recognition worldwide, including from the International Monetary Fund.

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