The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are actively working to enhance financial awareness among the rural population, including microfinance borrowers, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
NABARD has been supporting rural bank branches and Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) to conduct financial and digital literacy camps in areas with low awareness levels. These programmes focus on educating people about banking services, government social security schemes, digital and mobile banking, and cyber security.
The RBI launched the Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) Project in 2017 to promote a community-driven and participatory approach to financial education. As of March 31, 2025, a total of 2,421 CFLs have been established nationwide, with each centre covering around three administrative blocks.
In addition, NABARD sponsors village-level initiatives in collaboration with banks and State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs) to strengthen engagement between bankers and Self-Help Groups (SHGs). These efforts aim to improve SHG account openings, ensure credit linkage, and promote regular loan repayments—key steps toward achieving financial inclusion at the grassroots level.
