Outreach of Formal Banking Services and Financial Inclusion- Evidence from Indian States

This paper attempts to examine financial inclusiveness in major states of India. Using banking outreach services data from 1981 to 2018, we construct an index of financial inclusion. Although the outreach of formal banking services is well-dispersed across the states, there is a large variation among the states in terms of its access and usage. The evidence suggest that there exists a need to focus more on spreading financial literacy and create awareness about banking services in the poorer states to achieve a higher degree of financial inclusion.