**Executive Summary:**
The Ministry of Finance addresses financial literacy among Scheduled Tribes and vulnerable populations in India. The government aims to prevent financial exploitation and promote financial freedom through various initiatives. These initiatives include financial literacy programs, credit support schemes, and awareness campaigns, with the goal of empowering these communities.
**Key Points / Main Content:**
**Financial Literacy Initiatives:**
* The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) initiated the Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) Project in 2017, establishing 2,421 CFLs across the country by March 31, 2025.
* The National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) conducted 54 Financial Education (FE) programs for women in tribal areas in FY 2024-25.
* Banks conduct camps through Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) on digital financial tools like UPI and USSD.
* Rural bank branches conduct monthly camps using the Financial Awareness Messages (FAME) booklet, covering basic banking, digital literacy, and consumer protection.
* Financial Literacy Week (FLW) has been conducted annually since 2016 to promote financial education on various themes.
* RBI's "RBI Kehta Hai" campaign uses multimedia to promote financial literacy and safe banking practices.
**Credit Support Schemes:**
* **Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM):** Promotes poverty reduction by building institutions for the poor, enabling access to financial services, and targeting sustainable livelihoods for women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs), with an emphasis on vulnerable groups.
* **Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Guidelines:** RBI has framed PSL guidelines to ensure adequate credit flow to various sectors, including underserved segments. Scheduled Tribes are included as part of the Weaker Section category under PSL.
* **Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) Scheme:** Banks provide finance up to ₹15,000 at a 4% interest rate to weaker sections for productive activities, with at least 40% of DRI advances for SC/ST borrowers.
* **Stand-Up India Scheme:** Promotes entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women by facilitating bank loans between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore for Greenfield enterprises. Since its launch, ₹3,613 crores have been sanctioned to ST communities through 16,991 accounts.
**Impact Analysis:**
**Scheduled Tribes and Vulnerable Sections:**
* *Impact:* Increased financial literacy and access to credit, potentially leading to economic empowerment and reduced financial exploitation.
* *Action Required:* Participate in financial literacy programs, utilize available credit schemes, and adopt safe banking practices.
**Banks:**
* *Impact:* Required to conduct financial literacy camps and provide credit support under specific schemes like DRI and Stand-Up India.
* *Action Required:* Implement financial literacy initiatives, meet PSL targets, and provide concessional loans under the DRI scheme.
**Reserve Bank of India (RBI):**
* *Impact:* Oversees and promotes financial literacy through initiatives like CFL projects and awareness campaigns.
* *Action Required:* Continue to monitor and expand financial literacy programs, and refine PSL guidelines to ensure adequate credit flow to vulnerable sections.
**National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE):**
* *Impact:* Responsible for conducting financial education programs targeted at specific demographics, such as women in tribal areas.
* *Action Required:* Continue to conduct targeted financial education programs, tailored to the specific needs of the communities they serve.
Key Entities Referenced
Scheduled Tribes: Refers to the tribal communities recognized by the Government of India as particularly vulnerable and deserving of special protection and development assistance.
Reserve Bank of India: The central bank of India, responsible for regulating the banking system and promoting financial stability.
Centre for Financial Literacy CFL Project: An initiative by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to promote financial literacy through community-led approaches.
National Centre for Financial Education NCFE: An organization that conducts financial education programs, including those specifically for women in tribal areas.
Financial Literacy Centres FLCs: Centres established by banks to conduct camps and provide financial literacy to the general public and specific target groups.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihoods Mission DAYNRLM: A government scheme promoting poverty reduction by building strong institutions of the poor, especially women, and enabling access to financial services and livelihoods.
Priority Sector Lending PSL Guidelines: Guidelines framed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure adequate flow of credit to specific sectors of the economy, including weaker sections.
Stand-Up India Scheme: A scheme launched to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and women by facilitating bank loans for setting up Greenfield enterprises.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4029
ANSWERED ON MONDAY, 18 AUGUST, 2025/SRAVANA 27, 1947 (SAKA)
FINANCIAL LITERACY
4029. SHRI ANANTA NAYAK:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) whether financial literacy of the Scheduled Tribes in the country is very low, if so, the details
thereof;
(b) the steps taken by the Government to prevent financial exploitation of tribal communities; and
(c) the details of the Government schemes and entitlements to create financial freedom for the
most vulnerable sections of the society to empower them to break free from the cycle of
poverty?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)
(a) to (c) It has been the endeavor of the Government to increase financial literacy of all sections of
the society including the Scheduled Tribes. Various financial literacy measures being undertaken,
inter-alia, are as under:
i. The Centre for Financial Literacy (CFL) Project has been initiated by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) since 2017 with an objective to adopt community-led innovative and participatory
approaches to financial literacy. A total of 2,421 CFLs have been set up across the country, as on
March 31, 2025, with one CFL covering three blocks on an average.
ii. As part of broader efforts to empower tribal communities, National Centre for Financial
Education (NCFE) has conducted 54 Financial Education (FE) programs dedicated to women in
tribal areas in FY 2024-25.
iii. Banks conduct camps through their Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) on "Going Digital" through
UPI and *99# (USSD) for general public and tailored camps for different target groups.
iv. Rural branches of banks are required to conduct one camp per month covering all the messages
that are part of the Financial Awareness Messages (FAME) booklet, which, inter alia, contains
messages on various facets of financial literacy including basic banking, digital financial literacy,
consumer protection etc.
v. Financial Literacy Week (FLW) has been conducted every year since 2016 to propagate the
message of financial education on various themes among members of the public across the
country.
vi. RBI’s multi-media, multilingual public awareness campaign, titled "RBI Kehta Hai" uses various
mediums to promote financial literacy and to educate the public on safe banking practices.Banks provide credit support to disadvantaged sections under various schemes, which are as detailed
below:
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): The
scheme promotes poverty reduction by building strong institutions of the poor, especially women,
and enabling access to financial services and livelihoods. It targets sustainable livelihoods for
women SHGs and ensures coverage of vulnerable groups—50% SC/STs, 15% minorities, and 3%
persons with disabilities—aiming for 100% coverage of eligible households on the basis of Socio-
Economic and Caste Census (SECC).
• Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Guidelines: RBI has framed PSL guidelines with a view to
delineating a framework for ensuring adequate flow of credit from the banking system to the
different sectors of the economy which is crucial for their contribution to socio-economic
development, with focus on specific segments whose credit needs remain underserved despite
being credit worthy. The PSL guidelines prescribe targets and sub-targets under PSL. A sub-target
for lending to Weaker Sections has been prescribed with Scheduled Tribes included as part of
Weaker Section category.
• Differential Rate of Interest (DRI) Scheme: Under the DRI Scheme, banks provide finance up
to ₹15,000/- at a concessional rate of interest of 4 per cent per annum to the weaker sections of
the community for engaging in productive and gainful activities. In order to ensure that persons
belonging to SCs/STs also derive adequate benefit under the DRI Scheme, banks have been
advised to grant eligible borrowers belonging to SCs/STs such advances to the extent of not less
than 2/5th (40 percent) of total DRI advances.
• Further, Stand-Up India Scheme was launched on 5th April 2016 with aim to promote
entrepreneurship among the SC/ST and Women by facilitating bank loans of value between Rs.10
lakh and Rs.1 crore to at least one SC/ ST borrower and one-woman borrower per bank branch of
Scheduled Commercial Banks for setting up Greenfield enterprises in trading, manufacturing,
services sectors & activities allied to agriculture. A total of 16,991 accounts with an amount of
Rs. 3,613 crores have been sanctioned to the borrowers belonging to the ST communities since
launch of the scheme.
****