For two decades, India has doubled down on the policy prescription of providing financial ‘last-mile access’ to its rural and poor citizens. Has the effort succeeded? It depends on who you ask. Financial institutions expanded manifold their credit volumes to poor households in the last decade, and still the business remains so profitable that the sector continues to attract new entrants. However, in the noncredit domains, such as health insurance, investment products, or retirement products, the inclusion record has been far less cheerful- indeed, it has barely even started.
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