Survey uncovers low financial inclusion shaped by income, education, and banking proximity in remote households, indicating that targeted outreach can broaden financial access.
Key Points
To identify key determinants of household financial inclusion in remote geographic areas and provide actionable insights for expanding banking services.
Conducted a structured survey of 411 households across Assam and Meghalaya in north-east India.
Used a logistic regression model to identify significant socioeconomic, informational, and geographical predictors of financial inclusion.
Financial inclusion was generally low, with higher income, higher education, access to financial information channels, and awareness of self-help groups significantly increasing inclusion.
Living closer to post office banks positively influenced inclusion likelihood, whereas individual terrain features and government benefit receipt alone did not promote inclusion.
Government benefit receipt significantly improved inclusion when combined with residence in plain terrain rather than rugged areas.