As India moves to include most of it population under the purview of formal banking systems, it is important to ensure that most of its population have financial literacy. This is essential to build trust among people towards the banking systems and to enable them manage their finances efficiently.
India is home to almost one-fifth of the world population and has a literacy rate of nearly 80 per cent. Unfortunately, only 24 per cent of people in the country are financially literate. Three-fourths of the Population in India does not know or understand the pressing need of managing finances is scary for a country that depends on the economy for its development.
In order to provide financial literacy to the lacking, various entities take up financial literacy programs across the country. Participating in this endeavour are several corporates who are spending their CSR funds to provide financial education to the underprivileged sections of the society. Let us look at some of these companies.
CNH Industrial Capital
CNH Industrial Capital, the financial services division of CNH Industrial has launched a Financial Literacy Program, to educate farmers in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. As part of its CSR initiative, company experts will train 600 farmers on topics such as Financial Literacy, Farm Mechanization, Biomass Management and State Agricultural Subsidies. The sessions will be conducted in significant farming regions like Bhiwani, Mahendragarh and Charkhi Dadri villages in Haryana; and Sonbhadra and Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh.
Launched on June 15 in the Charkhi Dadri district, this specialized program will initially help farmers familiarize themselves with the basic concepts of banking, digital payments, insurance, investments, fraud protection and financial planning. A following session will focus on various Government initiatives such as Agricultural/Horticultural subsidies, farm mechanization plans and other value-added approaches. The program’s final session will focus on crop residue management, financing schemes for agricultural equipment, and regional subsidies offered by the state government.
“Educating Indian farmers on emerging technologies, policies and other government schemes will help them ease their financial burden and grow faster. This initiative will raise awareness amongst the farming community about the resources that are available to further elevate their productivity,” said Vishal Chaudhury, Managing Director-CNH Industrial Capital India. “We are confident that by the end of the program, the farmers will be capable of better managing their finances and producing in a more sustainable manner,” he added.
Vodafone Idea
Vodafone Idea through its Vodafone India Foundation recognizes the need of financial inclusion and initiated its flagship program Jaadu Ginni Ka in partnership with NIIT Foundation to provide for a sustained Financial Literacy Training Program in semi urban and rural parts of India. The pilot study revealed that most people were either semi financially literate or not financially aware at all.
The Vodafone Foundation Financial Literacy Program is designed to enable participants to learn the “basics” of financial management that allows them to use technology in ways that are relevant to their daily lives. The participants will through this training will learn the basics of banking and savings, mobile accounts and e- wallets, wise borrowing, investments, risk management with insurance and financial planning.
Through Jaadu Ginni Ka the company has envisioned an ambitious goal of empowering 15 Million Indians with tools of financial literacy in 2017.
Jaadu Ginni ka content is developed in consultation with leading financial experts and was extensively tested before launch. It is based on simple storytelling format and features many games activities and quizzes. The entire content is in 10 Indian languages and is available as a free download for Android devices.
