From Access to Empowerment – A Data-Driven Roadmap for Everyday Financial Capability

About the Report

“Reimagining Financial Literacy for a New India (Post-2025 Strategy)” is a comprehensive national-level study that bridges data, policy, and practice to chart the future of financial literacy in India.

Developed through rigorous analysis of multiple nationally representative datasets—including the NCFE Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey (FLIS) 2019, All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) 2019, National Family Health Surveys (NFHS-4 & 5), and IMF Financial Access Survey (2018–2023)—this report highlights the stark contrast between financial access and actual financial capability.

It addresses key challenges like:

• Widespread indebtedness with low debt literacy
• Digital financial inclusion without cyber or fraud awareness
• Women’s increasing participation in finance without matching decision-making power
• Limited financial behaviour change despite account penetration through schemes like Jan Dhan Yojana

The report doesn’t stop at problem diagnosis—it lays down a renewed national strategy post-2025, aligning with India’s demographic, technological, and economic transitions. Through international case studies (Japan, Singapore, South Africa, Russia, USA, etc.), cross-sector comparisons, and institutional review, it benchmarks India globally and identifies what can be locally adapted.

Key Findings

• Only 27% of Indian adults are financially literate, despite over 85% having a bank account—proving access isn’t enough.
• Women lag in financial decision-making, even as their account ownership grows rapidly.
• Digital transactions have exploded (up by 42x in value from 2018 to 2023), but scams and misuse are rising due to lack of cyber-financial awareness.
• Rural indebtedness is growing, with high debt-to-asset ratios in states like Andhra Pradesh and Kerala—underscoring the need for financial planning education.
• Young adults and informal sector workers (including gig workers) remain underserved in current literacy models.
• Over 140 crore beneficiaries enrolled in schemes like Jan Dhan, PMJJBY, and APY—but many don’t fully understand what they’ve signed up for.

Why You Should Read This Report

• If you are a policymaker, this report offers actionable legislative, institutional, and tech-driven policy recommendations.
• If you are a business, startup, NGO, or educator, it provides strategic frameworks to design effective financial literacy programs.
• If you are an individual, it shows how everyday choices—savings, loans, insurance, fraud prevention—depend on your financial awareness.

Empower yourself. Empower others. Because financial literacy isn’t optional—it’s essential.