Doon University, Dehradun and Indian Institute of Management Kashipur will organise a conference on Sustainable livelihood and Financial Inclusion on February 12 and 13 at Doon University.
The conference is intended to be a forum for sharing best practices and strategies for sustainable livelihoods. It would also provide an opportunity for interaction and networking with academics, researchers, professionals, administrators, government officials and policy makers, NGO and industry representatives, and others working in the area of rural banking, inclusion activities, livelihoods and sustainable development in Uttarakhand. The theme for this year’s (2015-16) Financial Inclusion Conference is “Motivation, Initiatives & Inclusion” Conceptually, Financial inclusion is termed as one of the powerful instruments for social development. Financial inclusion means greater access to financial services for low-income households and firms, as part of the overall strategies for economic and financial development.
Financial inclusion is considered crucial for reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. According to World Bank (2014), globally, one in two adults—some 2.5 billion people—does not have a formal bank account and most reports cite distance from banking establishments as one of main reasons for not having a bank account. Technological and other innovations can help overcome this barrier of physical distance.
In emerging economies, the majority of practices and research are focused on integrating financial inclusion. Financial inclusion emerged as a significant tool for sustainable livelihood.But, on the ground, the major challenges facing the implementation of financial inclusion are scalability and cost structures. E-Inclusion, 2015 is an attempt to enhance financial inclusion through banking transformation by using recent technologies so that access to funds shall be available to masses, reducing poverty and helping achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth.