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By:

Bhaskar Nath Biswal

13 May 2026 at 3:00:30 pm

India’s Quiet Financial Revolution

India stands at a remarkable crossroads in its journey toward economic democratization. Over the past decade, the country has witnessed a profound transformation in how millions of its citizens interact with formal financial systems. The latest data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) reveals an impressive surge in financial inclusion metrics. What was once a landscape marked by systemic exclusion, especially for rural populations and women, now shows near-universal...

India’s Quiet Financial Revolution

India stands at a remarkable crossroads in its journey toward economic democratization. Over the past decade, the country has witnessed a profound transformation in how millions of its citizens interact with formal financial systems. The latest data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6, 2023-24) reveals an impressive surge in financial inclusion metrics. What was once a landscape marked by systemic exclusion, especially for rural populations and women, now shows near-universal access to basic banking services. This represents a fundamental shift in opportunity, dignity and resilience for ordinary Indians. The foundation for an inclusive economy has been laid and the narrative is shifting from survival to empowerment. Rural-Urban Divide The numbers tell a compelling story of acceleration and structural realignment. According to NFHS-6, a striking 98.2 percent of households across India now have at least one usual member with a bank or post office account. This marks a significant jump from 95.7 percent recorded in NFHS-5 (2019-21). Even more telling is the rural-urban breakdown, where rural households have reached 98.6 percent coverage, slightly outpacing urban areas at 97.3 percent. This reversal of traditional patterns is noteworthy. For generations, financial services were heavily concentrated in cities, leaving vast rural stretches underserved and dependent on exploitative informal networks. Today, the data suggests that targeted government initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, combined with expanded digital infrastructure and biometric-enabled direct benefit transfers, have successfully bridged much of that historic divide. Equally transformative is the progress in women’s financial autonomy. In NFHS-6, 89 percent of women report having a bank or savings account that they themselves actively use, which reflects an increase of over 10 percentage points from 78.6 percent in the previous survey cycle. Rural women, at 89.3 percent, are marginally ahead of their urban counterparts at 88.3 percent. This statistic carries profound social implications. When women control financial resources, they invest more heavily in health, education, and nutrition for their families. It weakens traditional power imbalances and fosters greater decision-making agency within households. The near-parity between rural and urban women underscores how digital schemes promoting zero-balance accounts and financial literacy programs have penetrated deep into villages, often successfully leveraging self-help groups and grassroots community networks. Social Resilience Health insurance coverage, while still lagging behind banking access, has also shown robust growth. NFHS-6 reports that 60.2 percent of households have at least one member covered under some health insurance or financing scheme, a dramatic rise from just 41 percent in NFHS-5. Here too, rural areas lead with 62 percent compared to 56.4 percent in urban settings. This improvement likely reflects the aggressive expansion of state-sponsored schemes like Ayushman Bharat, which aims to provide secondary and tertiary healthcare coverage to vulnerable populations. Yet, the fact that nearly 40 percent of households still lack such protection highlights persistent vulnerabilities. These gains in financial inclusion are part of a larger narrative of digital and economic democratization. What makes this progress particularly noteworthy is its timing. It has occurred amid global economic challenges, including the aftermath of the pandemic, which exposed the fragility of informal financial arrangements. By bringing more citizens into the formal fold, India has enhanced the macroeconomic resilience of its population. Direct benefit transfers have radically reduced leakages, enabled quicker crisis response and given millions a tangible stake in the formal system. However, celebrating these achievements should not blind us to the long road ahead. Near-universal bank account ownership is a strong foundation, but true financial inclusion demands more than mere access. It requires active usage, deep financial literacy, and robust protection against consumer risks. The gender gap, though narrowing rapidly, persists in meaningful usage; women may hold accounts but face systemic barriers in accessing formal credit, insurance products, or sophisticated investment opportunities. Rural dominance in some metrics is encouraging, yet the quality of services, such as proximity to physical branches, reliable internet connectivity and effective grievance redressal, remains highly uneven across states. Enhancing financial literacy campaigns tailored specifically to women and rural youth can translate account ownership into empowered financial planning. Expanding affordable, customized credit products for micro-enterprises and smallholder farmers will unlock massive productive potential at the grassroots level. Leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI-driven alternative credit scoring and vernacular digital interfaces, can address the remaining last-mile challenges. Finally, strengthening public-private partnerships to achieve near-universal health coverage should be an urgent priority, ensuring that financial inclusion translates into comprehensive health security. India’s financial inclusion story is one of quiet but powerful disruption. (The writer is a former college Principal and Founder of Supporting Shoulders, an Odisha-based non-profit Trust. Views personal.)

Indian Shipbuilding A Must Win Marathon

Shipbuilding

With a coastline of 7500 KM, it is hard to imagine, that for the first 20 years (1947-1967) India had no ‘shipping ministry’. In 1967 a Shipping ministry “coupled” with ROAD transport was established. Since then, this ministry has been on a name changing ride, not once, not twice but six times. In 2009 the “ROAD Transport and Highways” was de-coupled and ‘Shipping’ ministry was formed. Turning point came in 2015 with a clear maritime vision for 2030 and 2047. Ministry was re-christened, aptly to Ministry of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” in 2020.


Why is Shipbuilding important for a country?

a. A Shipyard becomes an opportunity hub and like a queen bee requires the support of an industrial colony to manufacture machinery and equipment.

b. National Shipyards support fleet renewal needs of the Navy.

c. Contributes to national GDP, increases inflow of FOREX.


Korea shipbuilding is 8% of GDP. Japan’s automobile industry is 2.9% of GDP. India’s shipbuilding a meagre 0.000578% of GDP. In context, India’s pharmaceutical industry, ranked third largest in the world is 1.72% of India’s GDP.


International Shipbuilding Market

The market is estimated to reach around USD 200 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.84%. While India is at bottom with 0.07% of world share, behind Philippines 1.5% and Vietnam 1%, however on the positive side, India has done well in taking care of its defence needs, with 37 of 39 Naval ships being built in India yards. Rear Admiral S Shrikhande researching on maritime as a Fellow at Wollongong University, Australia, says “Shipbuilding in India needs both, serious incentivisation and dogged determination and not harping on being a big ship breaking country. That Garden Reach shipyard has a $54 million order for merchant ships from a German owner, is a good sign.”


Were Shipyards of 20th century in Flight mode?

Prominent shipyards in India were built in the colonial period. Mazagon Dock 1774, Garden reach 1884, Hindustan shipyard 1941 to cater to British navy and merchant fleet needs. Cochin shipyard 1972, Adani Katupalli 2013, Reliance Naval and Engineering, Rajula Gujarat 1997 and others have limited capacity, hence a lot more work to do. Capt. Subhangshu Dutt (Singapore) a mariner and now a shipowner, says “GOI should hold hands in any collaboration till the marriage with the foreign entity is reasonably stable. He also suggests that “new shipbuilding sites should be given to existing successful shipyards since they have decades of experience and talent. Consortium of 3 or more parties may also be good idea”.


Shipbuilding GOLD

As per SPLASH report the demand for LCO2 carriers could reach 2,500 ships by 2050. As per other estimates, 40% of global fleet of ships could have wind propulsion by 2050. A surge in such vessels is due to an unparallel waves of decarbonization in the shipping industry. Demand for ships with ‘carbon neutral’ badges, such as Dual fuel, Wind assisted, Nuclear fuel ships, Hydrogen powered ships, Liquified CO2 (LCO2) carrier, is outstripping supply. A must in the ‘bucket list’ of every Shipyard. Pinning down a standard ROI in shipbuilding is not easy, but experts suggest it could range from 4% to 15% for the high demand ‘carbon neutral’ ships. While an LNG new build vessel could cost US$ 250 million upwards.


International collaboration

On China’s shipbuilding success story, Manoj Pandalanghat (Singapore) a mariner and ship owner believes that “China has around 50 active Shipyards. Each have a few large dry docks. In each dock two or more large vessels are built simultaneously. Thus, a single yard is able to roll out 2/3 vessels/month, 36 vessels/year and 50 shipyards roll out 1800 vessels/year”.


China could be a jaldi-5, but India needs a sturdy Mount Fiji. Besides technology, Japanese bring the most important hand baggage of soft-skills and culture, essential for success from keel laying to delivery. Maruti’s is a standing example.


Food for thought for New Delhi

a. Expertise: Hire Naval Architects and shipbuilding experts with current international experience.

b. Government assistance: Land, Financial support, subsidies and timebound clearances.

c. Monitoring: PMO should monitor the first 5 to 10 years till Shipbuilding takes-off on this long-haul flight to destination 2047.


India’s Shipbuilding is expected to grow to $237 billion by year 2047. On a back of the envelope calculations this works out to about 4% of India’s 2047 projected GDP of $ 5 trillion. While cars are driven on roads, however the Ministry of roads and transport has little to do with “Automobile manufacturing”. On a similar note, ‘Shipbuilding’ as an industry has little to do with Ports, Shipping and Waterways, thus it may be worthwhile to consider a separate ‘Ship-building’ wing in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways headed by a dynamic cabinet rank minister. Since 2047 targets are stiff and an uphill task, so in all probabilities, the officials in Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways are likely to push beneath the carpet, delays and failures of Shipbuilding with sweet success stories of “Ports, Shipping and Waterways” and if this does happen then India will not only miss the Shipbuilding bus of 21st century but a lot more from a national security and strategic perspective.


(The author is a Shipping and Marine consultant. Member Singapore Shipping Association and empaneled with IMO as a specialist consultant. Views personal.)

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