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Higher FDI cap won't affect PSBs' financial inclusion goals: UCO Bank CEO
New Delhi
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The government's guarantee mechanism for startups is likely to improve lending to the sector in the coming years, says UCO Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD&CEO) Ashwani Kumar. In a telephonic interview with Harsh Kumar, he also discusses the expansion plans of the bank. Edited excerpts:
How is your bank addressing inoperative accounts under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)?
We are conducting a saturation drive for inoperative PMJDY accounts, meeting customers one-on-one to encourage them to operate their accounts. The main issue we face is that some customers have multiple accounts across different banks, and are receiving
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This impact is amplified by the phenomenon of employment homophily, where individuals tend to hire others similar to themselves. For example, the 2013 EC reported that 65% of employees in women-owned businesses were women. Therefore, encouraging women's entrepreneurship could create more jobs for women, improving India's overall women's labour force participation. The rise in women's entrepreneurship is in tandem with recent financial inclusion initiatives by the government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Following the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 2014, India's banking sector saw a steep rise in the share of bank accounts held by women. According to the ministry of finance (2024 data), 55.6% of PMJDY beneficiaries are women. As for women entrepreneurs, the enterprises survey shows that the share of women owners with a bank account has gone up from 40% in 2015 to 61% in 2023. This has enabled credit access, increasing the share of loan accounts held by women. Moreover, targeted schemes offered by banks under their Priority Sector Lending goals have also increased credit flow to women, particularly in rural areas. Also read: Women's participation in the labour force: It's too risky to let it languish The Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana launched in 2015 also aims to ease credit constraints through collateral-free loans with flexible repayment tenures and concessional rates for women borrowers. The share of MUDRA loan accounts held by women increased dramatically from about 18% in 2015 to 36% in 2024. Similarly, the female share of retail business loan accounts rose from 19.9% to 30.7%. This trend is reflected in the enterprise data, where commercial banks, cooperative banks and government schemes account for up to a third of outstanding loans to women-owned enterprises in 2023. 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Only through such an integrated strategy can we ensure that the gains made so far translate into a more inclusive and dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystem. The authors are affiliated with the Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning (CAFRAL).
