NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, January 2, 2014

The Crisil Inclusix index, which measures India’s progress on financial inclusion, does not tell us that. Women and the poor remain invisible in this index, and in a deeply divided society such as ours, figures often hide the truth. Yes, the number of loans have increased, but they have gone to corporations, sometimes to small businesses and almost none to poor, self-employed women. Yes, branches have increased and so have the number of low-frill accounts, but a poor woman rarely saves her money in that account. She is still keeping her meagre savings at home, hidden in the roof, to be taken away from her when others need it, or even to be eaten by rats.