Title: Financial inclusion and human development: an empirical investigation in India

Authors: Razdan Alam; Debolina Saha

Addresses: Department of Economics, Rabindra Bharati University, 56 A, B.T. Road, Kolkata-700 050, West Bengal, India ' Department of Economics, Rabindra Bharati University, 56 A, B.T. Road, Kolkata-700 050, West Bengal, India

Abstract: The study analyses India's performance in achieving financial inclusion and examines the relationship between financial inclusion and human development in India, over the period 2001-2019, constructing a financial inclusion index and with the help of the data of human development index values from secondary sources. The study considers banking activities under the dimensions of availability, access and usage, and employs the method of 'Max-Min procedure to convert indicators into indices' while developing financial inclusion index. The study finds a wide variation in the level of financial inclusion across regions in India. The estimation results of time series analysis show that financial inclusion and human development move parallel to each other and both have influence on one another. The study suggests that government policies should be more based on human development, rather than only concentrating on financial insertion, so that regional disparities may reduce and financial inclusion mission becomes successful.

Keywords: financial inclusion; human development; banking services; regional disparity; poverty and inequality; sustainable development goals; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIR.2026.153501

International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 2026 Vol.40 No.1, pp.28 - 52

Received: 21 Jul 2022
Accepted: 15 Dec 2022
Published online: 12 May 2026 *

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