2020, Vol. 3, Issue 2

The World economic order witnessed dramatic changes Post World War II and India being a newly Independent Country was faced with more complex issues of illiteracy, poverty, malnutrition, sustainability and underdevelopment; and the prime focus of Government remained Development for Sustainability and Inclusive Growth. In order to combat poverty and to achieve uniform growth all over, various measures have been taken from time to time which include building and strengthening rural cooperative sector, nationalisation and privatization and expansion of financial sector. Easy Access to sources of finance is believed to be an important tool to poverty alleviation and inclusive growth.

India as a country presents great diversity in its geography, history, and culture and population demography. This diversity makes it extremely difficult to suitably categorize the country on economic, political, religious or demographical grounds. Post-independence growth has led to overall development of the country as a whole but it has also divided it into two distinct segments thus providing a suitable basis of categorization in the form of Rural India and Urban India. As per the census of 2001 only 27.78% population of the country lives in the urban segment while the rest are still residing in the inherently characteristic Rural India. The things however have changed significantly since independence when around 82% of the population lived in the rural segment. The rural segment is distinct in respect of various features such as purchasing power, development, social system etc. These distinctions relate directly to the kind of distinct demand patterns that the rural sector has in various product segments especially when it comes to financial services. The sector presents a real challenge given its technological backwardness and mass illiteracy as people are still caught in ancient financial systems that were both exploitative and futile.