Assessing the role of POSB to cater financial inclusion and delivering rural credit in India

Abstract

Since the opening up of the economy and reforms in the banking sector in India, rural finance is in back foot. To keep the momentum of the growth at the desired level, India needs to serve the financial need of the excluded masses to bring them into the main stream of developmental process.

This paper examines the problems of formal banking to include the excluded people and providing (micro) credit to the poor of rural areas in the present era and advocates why the POSB (Post Office Savings Bank) can effectively be used to cater the financial need of rural India where formal banks/MFIs have very little presence in total demand of finance and failed to meet the aspirations of common people.