The Financial Inclusion Index of India has risen from 53.9 in 2018 to 67 in 2026, reflecting deeper access to credit, insurance, savings and digital payments, the government said on Monday.
The global narrative around India’s inclusion story has changed. Financial inclusion in the country is no longer about opening bank accounts alone.
This growth has been primarily propelled by the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and government initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which have successfully brought millions of unbanked citizens into the formal financial sector.
As the Modi government completed 12 years of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), it said international headlines once focused on low banking penetration in the country, but today India’s digital public infrastructure is cited globally as a model for inclusive development.
“Under the world’s biggest financial inclusion scheme, ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana’, the total number of accounts has crossed 58.15 crore and the total amount deposited in these accounts has crossed the figure of Rs 3 lakh crore, while 55 percent of these accounts are owned by women. Besides, 78 percent of these accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas of the country," the government said.
According to experts, the country has undergone a “silent revolution” in banking in the last decade. Through the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity, the country has achieved what was once thought impossible: near-universal access to bank accounts for women.
However, recent studies have shown that while the “doors” of the financial system are open, women are still standing in the hallway rather than owning the building.
“For India to reach its goal of a trillion-dollar economy and eventually Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047, the focus must shift from merely ‘having an account’ to ‘building wealth’," they said.
Financial expert Arun Menon said India has “banked” its women; now it must “empower” them. Moving from basic account access to active investment and asset ownership is essential for transforming financial inclusion into sustainable prosperity, he said.
