Financial inclusion a key area of interest for G20: Official

Kolkata: The Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion is committed to encourage and support private sector's involvement in expanding the scope for financial inclusion and bringing the unbanked population under its blanket, a senior government official said on Friday.

Chanchal C Sarkar, adviser G20, department of economic affairs of the finance ministry, told Bharat Chamber of Commerce that 200 more million men than women have access to the internet and women are 21 per cent less likely to own a cell phone, underlining the need to rope in the private sector to help bridge the financial inclusion gap.

He pointed out that under the impact of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in India, the country achieved bank account ownership of 80 per cent people with the help of Jandhan accounts, mobile phones and Aadhar cards by 2019.

He said about 1.4 billion people of G20 countries are currently unbanked. A total 55 per cent of them are women and the private sector's involvement is essential to bring more such people under the ambit of financial inclusion, a key area of interest for G20, he said.

Senior vice-president of the chamber, Naresh Pachisia said that engaging private players will enable reduction in transaction costs, ensure information symmetry and pave the way for structural data exchange.