In India, the financial landscape is not only undergoing a significant transformation in reach, but also in quality of engagement. The dialogue has moved from a discussion of account ownership to one on substantial financial involvement, powered by a synergy of policy reforms, digital infrastructure, behavioural shifts and institutional collaboration.
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was a turning point in India’s financial inclusion, resulting in the opening of over 500 million bank accounts. While the initial wave focussed on access, it has significantly evolved since. Today, financial inclusion is measured by customer usage, credit penetration, the habit of savings and digital empowerment.
The transformation of the country’s financial inclusion reflects in India's attempts to close historic participation gaps. As per the 2023-24 Economic Survey, 78% of men and women, aged above 15 years had a bank account in 2021 – up from 44% of men and women in 2011. But, the account usage disparities continue: 42% of women have inactive accounts compared to 30% of men. This highlights the necessity for deeper context-specific engagement strategies.
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), including the Aadhaar card, UPI, DigiLocker and the Account Aggregator framework has transformed financial access. In contrast to other countries, India’s DPI offers inclusive services on a large scale.
UPI has been one of the biggest transformations in India. As of early 2025, UPI handles over 16 billion transactions monthly, which accounts for 83% of all digital payments in India. In FY 23-24, UPI transactions grew to 13,116 crore from 92 crore in FY 17-18. This, itself shows a 129% CAGR, translating to a dramatic shift in how people transact, save and interact with financial services.
In addition, the Economic Survey of 2025 shows a reversal in the inclusion-literate sequencing where UPI is the main factor in enabling millions to partake in the informal economy, to open bank accounts, making financial inclusion a possibility.
Despite digital progress, penetrating tribal, hilly and rural areas remains a pressing issue. While these areas may have micro-ATMs, the success of the financial sector is also built on local trust networks, vernacular interfaces and economic stability.
Scaling capabilities through integration with UPI and Aadhaar-enabled payment systems can help build trust in these regions and exponentially increase transactions, where smartphones have recently penetrated the areas and digital literacy is gaining traction.
Although women form 55% of PMJDY account holders, their usage of the scheme is imbalanced. Societal barriers, along with curtailed mobility, digital literacy and lack of product fit, limit the potential for inclusive banking. If you consider recent reports/ surveys, dormant accounts by women are 12% points higher than men. Taking this into account, women-centric initiatives such as simplified KYC for SHGs, easy-to-use audio-visual banking facilities and localised dialects are important to consider.
Financial inclusion in India has gone beyond only the bank. It depends on how, where and why people are interacting with financial services. While the future looks bright, the next phase will be characterised by –
Digital payment platforms have increased from 2,071 crore in FY17-18 to 18,737 crore in FY23-24. This shows that India is revolutionising how financial empowerment is provided.