Socio-Economic Impact of Financial Inclusion on Farmers in Selected Tribal Districts of South Gujarat

Abstract

Socio - economic outlook of life is that part where economic activity affects and molds social aspects of life. It focuses on how societies grow, stagnate or revert because of their local or global economy. Financial inclusion has a great role to play for better socio-economic life of people of any country. The prime element of financial inclusion is to provide credit to the weaker sections of society in a fair, transparent and equitable manner at affordable cost. Financial inclusion may lead to economic growth and development of a nation by spreading the benefits of financial inclusion to the grass root level in the society. For a country like India, where around 28 per cent of the population lives in severe poverty, the need for reaching out to the base of the pyramid becomes very essential. In this direction, India is vehemently supported by the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in reaching out to the last person. In the light of this, the present study is analyzing the socio-economic impact of financial inclusion on farmers of selected tribal districts of south Gujarat region. The study has observed positive relationship, to an extent, between the parameters of financial inclusion and economic conditions of farmers in these districts. As a result, social life of the framers has also witnessed some enhancement. Still more efforts are required to make financial inclusion more meaningful to realize its true objective of achieving the deepest socio-economic uplift of the weaker section.
Keywords: Financial Inclusion, Tribal, Socio-Economic Impact, Farmers