Anmerkungen:
In: 20th Asian Law Institute Conference, Wednesday 31 May and Thursday 1 June 2023
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments April 30, 2023 erstellt
Beschreibung:
This paper examines the evolving role of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the principal financial regulator in aiding financial inclusion through increased participation of the fintech sector. Fintech and other digital financial services have continued to grow rapidly in one of the largest financial services markets in the world. However, significant parts of India's population continue to remain outside the reach of formal sources of banking and financial services, such as credit access. Universal access to financial services as a key goal for government policy makes it necessary for policy-makers and national authorities to implement measures that can increase the availability of financial services to all underserved parts of the population. Fintech has been recognized as key to reducing costs of financial services delivery and eventually bridging this existing gap in terms of access, despite geographic or demographic constraints. However, there remain several legal and policy bottlenecks, including devising methodologies by which progress in financial inclusion initiatives can be accurately determined.The paper builds on existing literature regarding the role of central banks in aiding and promoting financial inclusion to examine RBI’s role, functions and present performance in this regard. The scope of evaluation is limited to the Bank’s regulatory, facilitative, and supervisory functions in the context of digital financial services and the entities that are involved in aiding financial inclusion goals. Situating policy-making in India within the global narrative on financial inclusion, this paper evaluates the key contributions of the Bank against the backdrop of specific challenges and opportunities that are unique to India