An Overview of Current Financial Literacy Efforts in India

The term financial literacy has evolved over the years and has become a focus area for researchers and policymakers across the world. Financial Literacy has gained importance with the development of a variety of financial products, drastic changes in other economic factors, amplified complications of the markets, information overload, etc. The dream of making India a cashless and digital economy cannot be fulfilled without making the people financially educated. As per Standard & Poor‟s global financial literacy survey, 76% of Indian adults are financially illiterate. Given this fact it is very important for the authorities to make sufficient interventions to educate people in the matters related to finance. The fear and hesitation towards online transaction must be washed away from the minds of people. This paper makes an attempt to study present level of financial education in India, various financial literacy programmers initiated by government and other responsible authorities and to what extent these programmes have been successful in spreading financial awareness. Various policy measures have been suggested for proper implementation of schemes.