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CRISIL's Inclusix isn't All-Inclusive

Published: Jul 15, 2013 07:32:17 AM IST
Updated: Jul 11, 2013 05:38:11 PM IST
CRISIL's Inclusix isn't All-Inclusive
Image: Vikas Khot

Crisil has done most things right with Inclusix, India’s first index for financial inclusion. But it is also true that it has failed to capture the full picture.

Inclusix is based on the banking data provided by the Reserve Bank of India. Data from a large network of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and micro-finance institutions (MFIs), with over 10,000 branches largely in the rural areas, is missing. They cannot be ignored as their client base almost entirely comprises people unserved or under-served by the formal banking network. Also, inclusion should ideally involve products like micro-insurance (prominently by insurance companies) and micro-pensions (prominently by NBFC and MFIs). “It does not treat financial inclusion holistically,” says Alok Prasad, CEO, Micro Finance Institution Network.

(This story appears in the 26 July, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)

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  • Nithya

    You have right, data from a large network of NBFCs and MFIs is missing. Moreover, Inclusix is not the India\'s first index of financial inclusion. See this work conducted by young researcher at the French Institute of Puduchery for many years now: http://www.rume-rural-microfinance.org/spip.php?rubrique28 http://www.rume-rural-microfinance.org/IMG/pdf_Poster_Cyril_Fouillet_Bergamo_Boulder.pdf

    on Oct 30, 2013