I. INTRODUCTION:

The public financial services by various approaches for financial inclusion of people have been evolved over the years in India. Dr. C. Rangarajan, who was the Chairman of ‘The Committee on Financial Inclusion’ has defined the financial inclusion as the process of ensuring access to financial services and timely and adequate credit where needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost. Where as Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, who was the Chairman of ‘The Committee on Financial Sector Reforms’ has broadly defined the financial inclusion.

According to him, it refers to ‘universal access to a wide range of financial services at a reasonable cost. These include not only banking products but also other financial services such as insurance and equity products’(https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Speeches/PDFs/MFI101213FS.pdf,p.2,accessed on May 20,2022).

An essence of financial inclusion is to ensure delivery of financial services which include bank accounts for savings and transactional purposes, low cost credit for productive, personal and other purposes, financial advisory services, insurance facilities (life and non-life) etc(https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Speeches/PDFs/MFI101213FS.pdf,p.2,accessed on May 20,2022).Why there is the need of financial inclusion means it broadens the resource base of the financial system by developing a culture of savings among large segment of rural population and plays its own role in the process of economic development. Further, by bringing low income groups within the perimeter of formal banking sector; financial inclusion protects their financial wealth and other resources in exigent circumstances. Financial inclusion also mitigates the exploitation of vulnerable sections by the usurious money lenders by facilitating easy access to formal credit (https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Speeches/PDFs/MFI101213FS.pdf,p.3,accessed on May 20,2022)

The financial services are defined as a bundle of intangible utilities aimed at satisfying the needs of users. Financial services bridges the gap between savers (those who have got surplus amount) and those who need funds (the fund barrowers). A financial service performs 1) identification of resources for efficient allocation 2) Providing constant evaluation of allotted of resources and 3) providing liquidity to investors (Rajesh Kothari (2010), p.43). Whereas, the financial inclusion is a key enabler to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion, accessed on March 18, 2022).

As per the World Bank, financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs such as transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance have delivered in a responsible and sustainable way. Being able to have access to a transaction account is a first step toward broader financial inclusion since a transaction account allows people to store money, and send as well as receive payments. A transaction account serves as a gateway to other financial services, which is why ensuring that people worldwide can have access to a transaction account is the focus of the World Bank Group’s Universal Financial Access 2020 initiative (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022).

The financial access facilitates day-to-day living, and helps families as well as businesses plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies. As account holders, people are more likely to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance to start and expand businesses, invest in education or health, manage risk, and weather financial shocks, which can improve the overall quality of their lives. The great strides have been made toward financial inclusion and 1.2 billion adults worldwide have gotten access to an account since 2011. Today, 69% of adults have an account. Moving from access to account to account usage is the next step for countries where 80% or more of the population have accounts (China, Kenya, India and Thailand). These countries relied on reforms, private sector innovation, and a push to open low-cost accounts, including mobile and digitally-enabled payments (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022).

However, close to one-third of adults, which means 1.7 billion are still unbanked, according to the latest Findex data. But, this information was based on up to Oct 02, 2018 only. About half of unbanked people include women poor households in rural areas or out of the workforce. The gender gap in account ownership remains stuck at 9 percentage points in developing countries, hindering women from being able to effectively control their financial lives. The countries with high mobile money account ownership have less gender inequality. The financial inclusion has been identified as an enabler for 7 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The G20 has committed to advance financial inclusion worldwide and reaffirmed its commitment to implement the G20 High-Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022).

The World Bank Group considers financial inclusion a key enabler to reduce extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity and has put forward an ambitious global goal to reach Universal Financial Access (UFA) by 2020. Since 2010, more than 55 countries have made commitments to financial inclusion, and more than 60 have either launched or are developing a national strategy. When countries take a strategic approach and develop national financial inclusion strategies which bring together financial regulators, telecommunications, competition and education ministries, the World Bank research indicated that when countries institute a national financial inclusion strategy, they increase the pace and impact of reforms (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022).

The Countries that have achieved the most progress toward financial inclusion have 1) Policies delivered at scale, such as universal digital ID - India and Aadhaar/ JDY accounts more than 1.2 billion residents covered, 2) Leveraged government payments. For example, 35% of adults in low income countries receiving a government payment opened their first financial account for this purpose, 3) Allowed mobile financial services to thrive. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money account ownership rose from 12% to 21% (https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022), 4)Welcomed new business models such as leveraging e-commerce data for financial inclusion, 5) Taking a strategic approach by developing a national financial inclusion strategy (NFIS) which bring together diverse stakeholders including financial regulators, telecommunications, competition and education ministries and 6) Paying attention to consumer protection and financial capability to promote responsible, sustainable financial services(https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022).

According to Ananda S and Dharmendra Singh(2021),“the financial inclusion ensures ease of access, availability, and usage of the formal financial system, product, and services for all members, especially of an emerging economy”(https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-2652-4, accessed on March 27,2022).India is an emerging economy country and as far as its financial inclusion is concerned, the mandate of the Department of Financial Services under the union ministry of Finance, Government of India covers the functioning of Banks, Financial Institutions, Insurance Companies and the National Pension System. The Department is headed by the Secretary (Financial Services (FS)), who is assisted by three Additional Secretary (AS), seven Joint Secretaries (JS), one Economic Advisers (EA) and a Deputy Director General (DDG) (https://financialservices.gov.in/about-us/about-the-department,accessed on March 15,2022).

The Department of Financial Services (DFS) oversees several key programs/initiatives and reforms of the Government of India concerning the Banking Sector, the Insurance Sector and the Pension Sector in India. Initiatives and reforms relating to Financial Inclusion, Social Security, and Insurance as a Risk Transfer mechanism; Credit flow to the key sectors of the economy/ farmers/ common man are some of the key focus areas being dealt by the DFS. The key flagship schemes being currently run/managed by the DFS under the BJP led NDA central government of India include the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Atal Pension Yojana (APY), Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) and the Stand Up India Scheme(https://financialservices.gov.in/about-us/about-the-department,accessed on March 15,2022).

The DFS provides policy support to the Public Sector banks (PSBs), Public Sector Insurance Companies (PSICs) and Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) like National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd. (IIFCL), National Housing Bank (NHB), Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank), Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI). It also monitors the performance of these PSBs, PSICs as well as DFIs and undertakes policy formulation in respect of the Banking and Insurance Sector in India(https://financialservices.gov.in/about-us/about-the-department,accessed on March 15,2022).

This Department deals with legislative and policy issues pertaining to the concerned regulatory bodies i.e. the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The DFS also deals with the legislative framework relating to debt recovery.The matters relating to International Banking relations are also dealt by this Department(https://financialservices.gov.in/about-us/about-the-department,accessed on March 15,2022).

The major achievement of the DFS under the Prime Ministership of Mr. Narendra Modi is the “National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NABFID)Act, 2021” was enacted on March 28, 2021 to enable setting up of a Development Financial Institution (DFI) to support the development of long-term non-recourse infrastructure financing in India. The Chairperson and two Government Nominee Directors on the Board of Director of NABFID have been appointed. In the month of January, 2022, the rules have been notified and capital infusion of ₹20,000 crore has been made. The DFI is expected to be operational by the end of 2021-22 (https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Website%20January%202022_compressed.pdf, accessed on March 15, 2022).

The DFS deals work relating to financial inclusion, coordination with other sections, offices, institutions etc on financial inclusion, Branch expansion of banks, Lead Bank Scheme and Service Area Approach, District and State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC), Regional imbalances of banking network, matters related to Business Correspondents/Business Facilitators, Mobile Banking etc, matters relating to e-Governance in all FIs and e-Payments in banking system and computerisation of PSBs (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)). It also deals matters relating to Payment Regulatory Board (PRB) constitution and matters related to PRB, matters relating to Minimum deposit balance, cash handling and digital payment charges; on-boarding of merchants on digital payment platforms other than cards; banking matters relating to digital payment platforms; Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Mission Office and all matters related to Stand Up India (SUI) (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

II. Public Financial Services schemes for Financial Inclusion in India:

The Financial Services (FSs) in India have prevailed since time immemorial. Kautily’s ‘Arthashatra’ can said to be the first organised literature on financial services, where he has amply described the rules and regulations of money and mint management (Rajesh Kothari(2010),p.44). Banking is said to be an age old financial service in India, which started in early 17^th century with the incorporation of the East India company. Banks are considered as the face of financial services. They assume a significant place in socio –economic area. At times, banks were considered socio-economic change agents. The Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG) have further strengthened the FSs in India. The FSs in India can boast of multiple institutions, instruments and intermediaries with cutting- edge technology (Rajesh Kothari (2010), p.44).

In the literature on finance, a number of factors have been mentioned which affect the access to FSs. Some important determinants factors among these are such as level of income, type of occupation, legal identity, attractiveness of the product, terms and conditions, socio-cultural barriers, living conditions and age factor (Niti Bhasin (2014), p.7). As far as emerging issues in FSs are concerned, the FSs market in India is experiencing innovation, integration and customer oriented focus so much that e-delivery channel as alternate is becoming popular with Indian customers and financial sector is bracing to meet life cycle and life style needs of great Indian middle class by offering them customized and structured products (Rajesh Kothari (2010), p.47). From Indian government perspective, the financial services are the services used for implementation by the government of India for financial inclusion of people, who have excluded from it.

Financial Inclusion (FI) means financial access provides an environment where the common people have access to the formal financial institutional system and thereby are able to access various financial products such as deposits, credit, micro-insurance/pensions, financial counselling and safe funds transfer at affordable prices and with ease of access. The access could be to all or any of the formal financial institutions, markets and payment systems with all or any financial instrument. Thus, financial inclusion is the process of facilitating the access of those sectors/segments of the population, which are denied these facilities to become a part of the formal financial system, either as individuals or as groups (K.G. Karmakar, G.D. Banerjee and N.P. Mohapatra (2011), p.3).

Why the need of financial inclusion means that increased levels of financial inclusion support both economic efficiency and some equity. Maintaining more growth momentum, especially in developing countries calls for some equitable distribution of economic growth due to redistribution effect, leading to shared prosperity. This also leads to financial deepening, especially during the global economic meltdown, when the export markets have shrunk and there is a real need to expand the domestic markets for enhanced consumption (K.G.Karmakar, G.D.Banerjee and N.P. Mohapatra (2011), p.3).

As far as origin of the current approach to FI is concerned, the present concern for FI can be traced to the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) initiatives, which broadly underlined the main goals as also the broad frame works and parameters of inclusive finance, as access to a range of FSs including savings, credit, insurance, remittance and other banking/payment services to all bankable households and enterprises at a reasonable cost (Niti Bhasin (2014), p.48).

The problem of financial exclusion is not exclusive to the developing world. In fact, the developed countries too have been affected by it and many poor and disadvantaged people in the world still lack access to FSs. However, the type, degree and magnitude differ between the two(developing and developed) worlds. Therefore, emphasis also has been on empowerment of the disadvantaged groups for access to public goods and services, including banking services in the developed countries (Niti Bhasin (2014), p.49).

The foundation for promoting greater financial access in India can be traced to the findings of the All India Rural Credit Survey in the early 1950s.The nationalization of banks, Lead Bank Scheme, establishment of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Service area approach and formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs). All these were the earlier initiatives taken by the government of India that aimed at taking banking services to the masses. The nexus between economic growth, financial deepening and financial inclusion has been well recognised in India’s development strategy, particularly after the financial and economic reforms process was initiated in early 1990s. A focused and structured approach towards FI has been in effect followed since the year 2005, when the RBI has decided to implement policies to promote financial inclusion and urged the banking system to focus on this goal (Niti Bhasin (2014), p.49).

The 11^th five year plan (2007-12) of the government of India further emphasized the initiatives on financial inclusion with its focus on inclusive growth. The later policy initiatives to drive FI, including formulation of a board approved Financial Inclusion Policy (FIP) by the banks also attempt to strike a balance between the requirements of FI and that of soundness of financial institutions and stability of the financial system (Niti Bhasin (2014), p.49). This is clearly reveals that there was not much happened, especially during the congress regimes regarding the public FSs for the FI of people in India. The public FSs schemes for FI have got more significance and have been started happening more only during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) central government of India under the Prime Ministership of Mr.Narendra Modi.

However, financial inclusion is an important priority of the BJP led NDA central Government under the Prime Ministership of mr. Narendra Modi. The objective of financial inclusion is to extend financial services to the large hitherto un-served population of the country to unlock its growth potential. The Modi’s central Government of India has initiated the National Mission for Financial Inclusion (NMFI), namely, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in August, 2014 to provide universal banking services for every unbanked household, based on the guiding principles of banking the unbanked, securing the unsecured, funding the unfunded and serving un-served and under-served areas. A digital pipeline has been laid for the implementation of PMJDY through linking of Jan-Dhan account with mobile and Aadhaar [Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM)](https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion,accessed on March18, 2022).With a view to further deepening the financial inclusion interventions in the country, PMJDY has been extended beyond 14.8.2018 with the focus on opening of accounts shifting from “every household” to “every unbanked adult”. The moto of financial inclusion is from Jandhan to Jansuraksha (https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes, accessed on March 16, 2022). The details of the schemes of financial inclusion of the BJP led NDA central government under Prime Minister mr. Narendra Modi in India are analysed below.

1. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY):

The honourable Prime Minister announced Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana as the National Mission on financial inclusion in his Independence Day address on 15th August 2014, to ensure comprehensive financial inclusion of all the households in the country by providing universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic bank account to every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension facility(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022). Under this, a person not having a savings account can open an account without the requirement of any minimum balance and, in case they self-certify that they do not have any of the officially valid documents required for opening a savings account, they may open a small account. Further, to expand the reach of banking services, all of over 6 lakh villages in the country were mapped into 1.59 lakh Sub Service Areas (SSAs), with each SSA typically comprising of 1,000 to 1,500 households, and in the 1.26 lakh SSAs that did not have a bank branch, Bank Mitras were deployed for branchless banking (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).Through the PMJDY, the foundation of financial inclusion laid in India.

Thus, PMJDY offers unbanked persons easy access to banking services and awareness about financial products through financial literacy programmes. In addition, they receive a RuPay debit card with inbuilt accident insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh, and access to overdraft facility upon satisfactory operation of account or credit history of six months. Further, through Prime Minister’s Social Security Schemes, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 9th May 2015, all eligible account holders can access through their bank accounts personal accident insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, life insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and guaranteed minimum pension to subscribers under Atal Pension Yojana(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

With a view to further deepening the financial inclusion interventions in the country, PMJDY has been extended beyond 14.8.2018 with the focus on opening of accounts shifting from “every household” to “every unbanked adult” and making the scheme more attractive with following modifications such as 1) Existing Over Draft (OD) limit of Rs. 5,000 revised to Rs. 10,000; 2) There will not be any conditions attached for OD upto Rs. 2,000; 3) Age limit for availing OD facility revised from 18-60 years to 18-65 years; and 4) The accidental insurance cover for new RuPay card holders raised from existing Rs.1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh to new PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018(https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Financial%20Inclusion_annual%20report_material31.3.2021.pdf, accessed on March 18, 2022).

The ‘Jan Dhan Darshak’, a geographic information system (GIS) mobile application has also been launched to provide a citizen centric platform for locating financial service touch points across all providers such as banks, post office, ATMs, CSC, etc. These services could be availed as per the needs and convenience of the common people. The web version of this application is Findmybank (findmybank.gov.in). This application can be used for various administrative purposes like business strategies for banks. Over 8.42 lakh FI touch points have been mapped on GIS which includes 1.68 lakh bank branches, 2.11 lakh ATMs, 1.36 lakh Post Offices and 3.25 lakh BCs(https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Financial%20Inclusion_annual%20report_material31.3.2021.pdf, accessed on March 18, 2022).

The PMJDY was conceived as a bold, innovative and ambitious mission. The Census 2011 estimated that out of 24.67 crore households in the country, 14.48 crore (58.7%) had access to banking services. In the first phase of the scheme, these households were targeted for inclusion through opening of a bank account within a year of launch of the scheme. The actual achievement, by 26th January 2015, was 12.55 crore. As on 27.3.2019, the number of accounts has grown to 35.27 crorehttps://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

Further, in 2011, only 0.33 lakh SSAs had banking facility and through provision of Bank Mitras in 1.26 lakh branchless SSAs, banking services were extended throughout rural India. The inclusive aspect of this is evident from the fact that 20.90 crore (60%) of PMJDY accounts are in rural areas and 18.74 crore (over 53%) PMJDY account holders are women. The deposit base of PMJDY accounts has expanded over time(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

As on 27.3.2019, the deposit balance in PMJDY accounts was Rs. 96,107 crore. The average deposit per account has more than doubled from Rs. 1,064 in March 2015 to Rs. 2,725 in March 2019.The Bank Mitra network has also gained in strength and usage. The average number of transactions per Bank Mitra, on the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System operated by Bank Mitras, has risen by over eightyfold, from 52 transactions in 2014-15 to 4,291 transactions in 2016-17(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).

The performance of PMJDY in terms of accounts opened, deposit balance and average deposit balance over the time was a successful. In fact, under this scheme, there had been a rapid financial inclusion of women happened. Moreover, out of total savings accounts, there were overall 27% female accounts in March 2014(https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Financial%20Inclusion_annual%20report_material31.3.2021.pdf, accessed on March 18, 2022).

However, under PMJDY, women accounts constitute 55.40% of the total Jan Dhan accounts as on 31.3.2021. There was also a rapid growth in deposits in the PMJDY accounts. Moreover, as against an average balance of Rs. 1,065 in accounts opened under PMJDY in March 2015, the average balance has grown to Rs. 3,449 as on 31.3.2021 with an overall balance in PMJDY accounts of Rs 1,45,551 crore. As far as the RuPay Debit cards are concerned, a total of 30.90 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued till 31.03.2021 to PMJDY account-holders (https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Financial%20Inclusion_annual%20report_material31.3.2021.pdf, accessed on March 18, 2022).

2. Social Security Schemes:

In keeping the mind of from Jan Dhan to Jan Suraksha background, in order to move towards creating an universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor and the under-privileged, three ambitious Jan Suraksha Schemes or Social Security Schemes pertaining to Insurance and Pension Sector were announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA Prime Minister mr. Narendra Modi’s central Government in the Budget for 2015-16. The three schemes were launched on 9^th May, 2015 for providing life and accident risk insurance and social security at a very affordable cost namely Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)). These are analysed as follows.

a. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY):

The PMJJBY is a life insurance scheme and it is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years having a bank account who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit. Aadhar is the primary KYC for the bank account. The life cover of Rs. 2 lakh is for the one year period stretching from 1st June to 31st May and is renewable. Risk coverage under this scheme is for Rs. 2 lakh in case of death of the insured due to any reason (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

The premium is Rs. 330 per annum which is to be auto-debited in one installment from the subscriber’s bank account as per the option given by him on or before 31st May of each annual coverage period under the scheme. The scheme is being offered by the Life Insurance Corporation and all other life insurers who are willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with banks and post offices for this purpose(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

To facilitate all those getting enrolled under PMJJBY for the first time during the middle of the policy period, payment of pro-rata premium has been allowed at a considerable low premium as below, based on enrolment month such as (i) June/July/August –Annual premium of Rs.330 payable, (ii) September/October/November–3 quarters of premium@Rs.86.00,i.e. Rs.258 payable, (iii) December/January/February– 2 quarters of premium @Rs.86.00 i.e. Rs.172 payable and (iv) March, April and May – 1 quarterly premium @ Rs.86.00 payable. As far as the success of this scheme is concerned, it reveals that as on 6^th January, 2021 the gross enrolment by banks, subject to verification of eligibility criteria was about 9.74 crore people under PMJJBY and 2,06,262 claims of Rs.4125.24 crore have been disbursed (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

As on 28.02.2022, cumulative gross enrolment reported by banks subject to verification of eligibility, etc was over 12.38 crore under PMJJBY. A total of 5,83,347 claims were registered under PMJJBY of which 5,54,915 have been disbursed (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

b. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY):

The PMSBY scheme is an accidental insurance scheme, which means insurance scheme for death or disability by accident. It is available to people in the age group of 18 to 70 years with a bank/post office account who give their consent to join / enable auto-debit on or before 31st May for the coverage period 1st June to 31st May on an annual renewal basis (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).

Aadhar would be the primary KYC for the bank account. The risk coverage under the scheme is Rs. 2 lakh for accidental death as well as full disability and Rs. 1 lakh for partial disability. The premium of Rs.12 per annum is to be deducted from the account holder’s bank account through ‘auto-debit’ facility in one instalment (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).

The scheme is being offered by Public Sector General Insurance Companies or any other General Insurance Company who are offering the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with Banks and Post Offices for this purpose. As far as the success of this scheme is concerned, as on 6^th January, 2021, the cumulative enrolment by banks, subject to verification of eligibility criteria was about 21.96 crore under PMSBY and 43,728 claims of Rs.874.56 crore have been disbursed (Government of India, Annual Report(2020-2021)). As on 28.02.2022, cumulative gross enrolment reported by Banks subject to verification of eligibility, etc was over 27.70 crore under PMSBY. A total of 1,19,107 Claims were registered under PMSBY of which 94,431 have been disbursed (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

C)Atal Pension Yojana (APY):

The APY is a social security scheme for an unorganised sector workers and it was launched on 9th May, 2015 by the honourable Prime Minister mr. Narendra Modi. The APY is open to all saving bank/post office saving bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years and the contributions differ based on pension amount chosen. Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs. 1,000 or Rs. 2,000 or Rs. 3,000 or Rs. 4,000 or Rs. 5,000 at the age of 60 years (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).

Under APY, the monthly pension would be available to the subscriber and after him to his spouse and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber would be returned to the nominee of the subscriber. The minimum pension would be guaranteed by the Government, i.e., if the accumulated corpus based on contributions earns a lower than estimated return on investment and is inadequate to provide the minimum guaranteed pension, the Central Government would fund such inadequacy. Alternatively, if the returns on investment are higher, the subscribers would get enhanced pensionary benefits (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).

In the event of pre-mature death of the subscriber, Government has decided to give an option to the spouse of the subscriber to continue contributing to APY account of the subscriber, for the remaining vesting period, till the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 years (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes, accessed on March 15, 2022).

The spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the spouse. After the death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age 60 of the subscriber (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

The key features of APY are as under such as (1) APY is primarily focused on workers in the unorganised sector, however, all citizens of the country in the eligible category may join the scheme, (2) Any Indian citizen between 18-40 years of age can join through their savings bank account or post office savings bank account, (3) Minimum pension of Rs.1000 or Rs.2000 or Rs.3000 or Rs.4000 or Rs.5000 is guaranteed by the Government of India to the subscriber at the age of 60 years with a minimum monthly contribution (for those joining at age 18) of Rs.42 or Rs. 84 or Rs.126 or Rs.168 and Rs.210, respectively (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)), (4) After the subscriber’s demise, the spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the same pension amount as that of the subscriber until the death of the spouse. After the demise of both the subscriber and the spouse, the nominee of the subscriber shall be entitled to receive the pension wealth, as accumulated till age 60 of the subscriber, (5) The subscribers in the eligible age, who are not income-tax payers and who are not covered under any statutory social security scheme are entitled to receive the co-contribution by Central Government of 50% of the total prescribed contribution up to Rs.1000 per annum, and this will be available for those eligible subscribers, who join APY before 31st March, 2016. The Central Government co-contribution shall be available for a period of 5 years, i.e., from Financial Year 2015-16 to 2019-20(Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

6 If the actual returns during the accumulation phase are higher than the assumed returns for minimum guaranteed pension, such excess will be passed on to the subscriber, (7) The contributions can be made at monthly/quarterly / half yearly intervals through auto debit facility from savings bank account/ post office savings bank account of the subscriber. The monthly/quarterly/half yearly contribution depends upon the intended/ desired monthly pension and the age of subscriber at entry and (8) Major measures/steps undertaken under the APY schemes include outreach, financial literacy, improved digital features, including the APY app on the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) platform. The exercise of mapping of APY subscriber’s enrolment data as per Local Government Directory (LGD) data has been completed and reporting of the same on PRAYAS platform started (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

However, as far as success of this scheme is concerned, as on 31st March, 2019, a total of 149.53 lakh subscribers have been enrolled under APY with a total pension wealth of Rs.6,860.30 crore (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022). Moreover, as on 8^th January, 2021, the number of subscribers under APY is more than 2.74 crore. It is expected that more than 70 lacs subscribers shall register under APY during the FY 2020-21; reaching an overall subscriber base of 3.00 crores by March, 2021(Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

3. Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana(PMMY):

An important aspect of financial inclusion is enabling the flow of credit to small businesses. In pursuance of the announcement in the BJP led NDA Union Budget 2015-16, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) was launched on 8^th April, 2015 and the Micro Units Development Finance Agency (MUDRA) Ltd was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). For achieving sustained expansion in the flow of credit to the non-corporate small business sector, loans up to Rs.10 lakh without collateral are extended to borrowers under PMMY (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

These loans are extended through partner Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) such as Scheduled Commercial Banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs). In turn, MUDRA Ltd. offers refinance to MLIs for PMMY loans extended by them. Activities allied to agriculture and services supporting these (excluding crop loans, land improvement such as canals, irrigation, wells) have also been included under PMMY from April, 2016(Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

This scheme aim is financing of small business enterprises in manufacturing, trading and service sectors; including activities allied to agriculture such as poultry, dairy, beekeeping etc by way of providing Term Loan and/or Working Capital with a corpus of Rs. 3,000 crore. This scheme is divided into three Categories of loans such as (i) Shishu – up to Rs. 50,000/- (ii) Kishore – above Rs. 50,000/- and up to Rs. 5,00,000 and (iii) Tarun – above Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh. Loans taken do not require collaterals(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022. These measures are aimed at increasing the confidence of young, educated or skilled workers who would now be able to aspire to become first generation entrepreneurs; existing small businesses, too, will be able to expand their activates(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

The other salient features of this scheme are 1)Borrowers can avail loan facility from any Member Lending Institution (MLIs) - Public Sector/Private Sector/Foreign/ Regional Rural/Small Finance Banks, NBFC-MFIs, NBFCs and MFIs. 2) No processing fee for loans up to Rs. 50,000/- (Shishu category). 3) Banks have been mandated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) not to insist for collateral security in the case of loans up to Rs. 10 lakh extended to units in the Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) sector. 4) Rate of interest is decided by the MLIs and interest is charged only on the money held overnight by the borrower and 4) MUDRA Card is provided to borrowers for drawing working capital. It is a RuPay Debit Card and can be used for drawing cash from any ATM or make purchase using Point of Sale machine (POS) (https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/St and%20Up%20India%20and%20MUDRA%20%281%29.pdf,accessed on March 18,2022).

The target and achievement of this scheme revealed that Government assigns the annual targets to MLIs based on previous years’ achievements. Subsequently, MLIs fix their own respective State-wise target according to their area of potential. The national level targets under the PMMY scheme have been consistently met since inception of the scheme, except for FY 2020-21 due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The percentage achievement in different categories under PMMY are as under such as 1) Shishu - up to Rs. 50,000/- (87% of loan accounts), 2) Kishore - above Rs.50,000/- and up to Rs. 5,00,000/- (11% of loan accounts) and 3) Tarun - above Rs. 5 lakh and up to Rs. 10 lakh (2% of loan accounts) (https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Stand%20Up%20India%20and%20MUDRA%20%281%29.pdf,accessed on March 18,2022). Moreover, as on 31.03.2019, Rs. 3,21,722 crores sanctioned (Rs. 142,345 cr. - Shishu, Rs. 104,386 cr. Kishore and Rs. 74,991 cr. - Tarun category) in 5.99 crores accounts(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

However, the PMMY credit rose from Rs.1,37,449 crore in 2015-16 to Rs.3,37,465 crore in 2019-20. More than 27 crore loans were extended of which 88% loans were under SHISHU Category, 68% loans to Women and 51% loans to SC/ST/OBC. During 2020-21 to till 15.01.2021, 2.80 crore loans were sanctioned amounting to Rs.1,71,594 crore. Since the inception of the scheme, 27.28 crore loans have been sanctioned amounting to Rs.14,02,436 crore. 68% beneficiaries under MUDRA are women. The PMMY is for empowering enterprising women, which leads to strengthening the nation (Government of India, Annual Report(2020-2021)).So, this is a very successful implementation of financial inclusion scheme by the BJP led NDA central government of India.

4. Stand Up India Scheme:

The BJP led NDA central Government of India has launched the Stand Up India scheme on 5th April, 2016. This scheme aims to promote entrepreneurship amongst women, SC and ST category i.e those sections of the population understood to be facing significant hurdles due to lack of advice/ mentorship as well as inadequate and delayed credit. The Scheme intends to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these underserved sectors of the population in starting Greenfield enterprise (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

The Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs.10 lakh and Rs.1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one Woman borrower per bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprises. This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector. The scheme which is being implemented through all Scheduled Commercial Banks is to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers (https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

The scheme is operational and the loan is being extended through Scheduled Commercial Banks across the country. Stand Up India scheme caters to promoting entrepreneurship amongst women, SC and ST category i.e those sections of the population facing significant hurdles due to lack of advice/mentorship as well as inadequate and delayed credit. The scheme intends to leverage the institutional credit structure to reach out to these underserved sectors of the population in starting greenfield enterprises. It caters to both ready and trainee borrowers. To extend collateral free coverage, Government of India has set up the Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand Up India (CGFSI)(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

The scheme is built on the concept of providing handholding support to those borrowers who might have a project in mind but lack the confidence and capability to start a new enterprises. The Stand Up India scheme also envisages extending handholding support to potential borrowers. It also provides for convergence with Central/State Government schemes. Applications under the scheme can also be made online on the Stand Up India portal (www.standupmitra.in)(Government of India, Annual Report(2020-2021)).

The salient features of this scheme are 1) The borrower to contribute at least 10% of the project cost as own contribution. 2)In budget 2021 -22, the margin money from the borrower has been reduced from “up to 25%” to “up to 15%”. 3)Composite loan including Term loan and Working capital, 4) Guarantee coverage under Credit Guarantee Fund for Stand - Up India (CGFSI) operated by NCGTC, and 5) in 2019 -20, the Stand Up India scheme was extended for the entire period coinciding with the 15th Finance Commission period of 2020 -25. Activities covered under the scheme are as follows such as 1) Scheme was originally for setting up Greenfield Enterprises in trading, manufacturing and services sector(https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Stand%20Up%20India%20and%20MUDRA%20%281%29.pdf,accessed on March 18,2022), 2) Loans for enterprises in ‘Activities allied to agriculture’ e.g. pisciculture, beekeeping, poultry, livestock, rearing, grading, sorting, aggregation agro industries, dairy, fishery, agriclinic and agribusiness centers, food and agro-processing etc. 3) Includes services supporting the above activities 4)Does not include crop loans, land improvement such as canals, irrigation, wells and 5) A hand holding ecosystem of different agencies has been evolved for supporting prospective beneficiaries through financial training, skilling, entrepreneurship development, work shed requirement, mentoring, application filling/ DPR preparation etc (https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Stand%20Up%20India%20and%20MUDRA%20%281%29.pdf,accessed on March 18,2022).

As far as the success of this scheme is concerned, as on 31.03.2019, Rs. 16,085 crore has been sanctioned in 72,983 accounts (59,429 – women, 3,103-ST and 10,451 – SC)(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022). Moreover, as on 08.01.2021, Rs.23578.84 crore has been sanctioned in 105232 accounts(Rs. 3049.70 crore for 14880 accounts(SC), Rs.934.87 crore for 4397 accounts(ST) and Rs.19594.27 crore for 85955 accounts(women)).

5. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana:

The BJP led NDA central Government had launched the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) in 2017 to provide social security during old age and to protect elderly persons aged 60 and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions. The scheme is being implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) (Government of India, Annual Report(2020-2021)).

This scheme was first extended up to 2020 and has further been extended for another three years i.e. up to 31^st March 2023. Its motive is helping elderly gain financial security and live with dignity. The scheme enables old age income security for senior citizens through provision of assured pension/ return linked to the subscription amount based on government guarantee to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) (Government of India, Annual Report (2020-2021)).

The PMVVY offers an assured rate of return 7.40% per annum for the financial year 2020-21 for policy duration of 10 years. In subsequent years, while the scheme is in operation, there will be annual reset of assured rate of return with effect from April 1st of the financial year in line with applicable rate of return of Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (SCSS) up to a ceiling of 7.75% with fresh appraisal of the scheme on breach of this threshold at any point. Mode of pension payment under the Yojna is on a monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual basis depending on the option exercised by the subscriber(https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022).

The differential return, i.e. the difference between return generated by LIC and the assured return would be borne by Government of India as subsidy on an annual basis. Pension is payable at the end of each period during the policy tenure of 10 years as per the frequency of monthly/quarterly/ half-yearly/yearly as chosen by the subscriber at the time of purchase. Minimum purchase price under the scheme is Rs.1,62,162/- for a minimum pension of Rs.1,000/- per month and the maximum purchase price is Rs.15 lakh per senior citizen for getting a pension amount of Rs.9,250/- per month. As far as the success of this scheme is concerned, a total number of 5,83,208 subscribers are benefited under the scheme as on 31st December, 2020 (Government of India, Annual Report(2020-2021)). This is a very successful scheme of the BJP led NDA central government.

6. Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS):

The PCGS was launched by Government of India on 11th December 2019 for providing guarantee to Public Sector Banks (PSBs) limited to first loss of up to 10% of fair value of assets being purchased by the banks or Rs. 10,000 crore, whichever is lower for purchasing high-rated pooled assets from financially sound Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)/Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) fulfilling the eligibility criteria prescribed under the Scheme(https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the existing Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme was extended on 20th May 2020 to cover portfolio guarantee of up to 20% of first loss for purchase by PSBs of Bonds or Commercial Papers (CPs) with a rating of AA and below (including unrated paper with original/ initial maturity of up to one year) issued by NBFCs/ HFCs/Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs)(https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

The Scheme was further modified on 31st July, 2020 and in effect the NBFCs/HFCs which were reported under SMA-1/SMA-2/NPA category due to erroneous reporting/ technical reasons alone by any bank for their borrowings during the last one year prior to 1.8.2018 would be eligible under the Scheme provided that the lending entity which had reported the concerned NBFC/HFC to CRILC or Credit Bureaus certifies that such reporting was erroneous or due to purely technical reasons. The Scheme guidelines were further modified on 17.08.2020 to allow additional 3 months till 19.11.2020 for building portfolio and to increase ceiling for AA/AA- rated bonds from 25% to 50% of total portfoliohttps://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

The timeline for purchase of bonds or CPs has been further extended till 31.12.2020, however the timeline for purchase of pooled assets is 31.3.2021. The amount of overall guarantee provided under the extended Scheme shall be limited to 10% of fair value of assets or 20% of the face value at crystalized Portfolio Level of the Bonds/CPs being purchased by the Purchasing Banks under this Scheme, or an overall amount of Rs. 10,000 crore taking into account all the guarantees provided under the Scheme to all Purchasing Banks, whichever is lower(https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

The existing Scheme was launched following the Budget announcement of 2019-20 with the objective that the purchase of pooled assets enabled by Government guarantee support under the Scheme will help addressing temporary liquidity/cash flow mismatch issues of otherwise solvent NBFCs/HFCs without them having to resort to distress sale of their assets for meeting their commitments (https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

The extension of the existing Scheme to cover purchase by PSBs of Bonds or Commercial Papers (CPs) with a rating of AA and below (including unrated paper with original/ initial maturity of up to one year) issued by NBFCs/ HFCs/ MFIs (in case of MFIs, Bonds/ CPs with MFR rating equivalent) will address their liability side and also enable availability of additional liquidity for on lending. Since NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs play an extremely significant role in sustaining consumption demand as well as capital formation in small and medium segment, it is required that they continue to get funding without disruption (https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

7. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS):

As part of the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan and as a specific response to the COVID pandemic, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme was launched on 23.05.2020 to support eligible Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and business enterprises in meeting their operational liabilities and restarting their business in the context of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A. ECLGS 1.0:

Under ECLGS 1.0, fully guaranteed and collateral free Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) from Scheduled Commercial Banks, Financial Institutions, NBFCs is provided to eligible MSME units, business enterprises and individual loans for business purposes to the extent of 20 per cent of their entire outstanding credit as on 29.2.2020(https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

The amount of GECL funding under ECLGS 1.0 to the eligible MSME borrowers is up to 20 per cent of their outstanding credit up to Rs. 50 crore as on 29.2.2020, subject to the account being less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date. The loans provided under ECLGS 1.0 will have a 4-year tenor, with a 12-month moratorium on repayment of principal. Interest rates under the Scheme are capped at 9.25% for banks and FIs and at 14% for NBFCs (https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

B. ECLGS 2.0:

The Scheme has been extended through ECLGS 2.0 for the 26 sectors identified by the Kamath Committee and the health care sector. Entities with outstanding credit between Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 500 crore as on 29.2.2020 are eligible subject to the account being less than or equal to 30 days past due as on 29.2.2020 are eligible under ECLGS 2.0(https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

The eligible entities/borrower accounts shall be eligible for additional funding up to 20 per cent (which could be fund based or non-fund based or both) of their entire outstanding credit (fund based only) as a collateral free Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL), which would be fully guaranteed by NCGTC. The loans provided under ECLGS 2.0 will have a 5-year tenor, with a 12-month moratorium on repayment of principal (https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022).

III. CONCLUSION:

The public financial services schemes for the financial inclusion of people, those who have excluded from those financial services were a very good initiatives of the BJP led NDA central government of India under the Prime Minister ship of Mr. Narendra Modi. These schemes are very popular and became tremendous successful in India. In fact, the data analysis revealed that since independence of India, the BJP led NDA central government under mr. Narendra Modi government had started these new schemes on a large scale with the real motive of financial inclusion of people and development of India. The date analysis also revealed that the success of these schemes are very high percentage.

IV. REFERENCES:

1. https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Speeches/PDFs/MFI101213FS.pdf,p.2,accessed on May 20,2022

2. Rajesh Kothari.(2010): Financial Services in India: Concepts and Application, New Delhi: Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd.

3. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion, accessed on March 18, 2022

4. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialinclusion/overview#1,accessed on March 18, 2022

5. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-2652-4, accessed on March 27,2022

6. https://financialservices.gov.in/about-us/about-the-department,accessed on March 15,2022.

7. https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Website%20January%202022_compressed.pdf, accessed on March 15, 2022.

8. Government of India, Annual Report(2020-2021), Retrieved from https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/DFS%20Annual%20Report%202020-21.pdf, accessed on March 18, 2022.

9. Niti Bhasin. (2014): Indian Financial System: Evolution and Present Structure, New Delhi: New Century Publications.

10. K.G.Karmakar,G.D.Banerjee and N.P. Mohapatra.(2011): Towards Financial Inclusion in India, New Delhi: Sage Publications India Pvt Ltd.

11. https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion,accessed on March18, 2022

12. https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022

13. https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022

14. https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Financial%20Inclusion_annual%20report_material31.3.2021.pdf, accessed on March 18, 2022.

15. https://financialservices.gov.in/new-initiatives/schemes,accessed on March 15, 2022.

16. https://financialservices.gov.in/sites/default/files/Stand%20Up%20India%20and%20MUDRA%20%281%29.pdf,accessed on March 18,2022.

17. https://financialservices.gov.in/financial-inclusion-schemes,accessed on March 16, 2022

Received on 20.05.2022 Modified on 19.06.2022

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2022;13(3):147-158.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5828.2022.00025