Financial literacy plays an important role in this day and age where money can be spent very easily and keeping a track of it is very important. Financial Literacy is the ability to understand and productively use various financial skills.
Financial Literacy in India
Even now a huge part of the Indian population is not financially literate and struggles to understand and keep a balance of their money. Data shows that 16.4% of Indians live a life of poverty and are subject to harsh living conditions.
Only 27% of our country is financially literate. This becomes a huge problem with our vast population of 1.4 billion and only a small part of them being able to handle their money effectively.
Many people still consider women to be inferior and they don’t have their own money. They aren’t financially independent.
In the past two years, the need for financial literacy has been seen as people lost their jobs and had saved no money to fall back on. Financial illiteracy leads to huge debts, and in turn leads to poverty. This is a major reason why India is still struck with huge poverty rates throughout the country.
Even though there has been an increase in technology in the past years, financial literacy rates have remained at a standstill. A lack of financial knowledge leads to poor financial choices which hurt people and the economy.
What can we do?
The UN has stated Financial Inclusion as one of its SDGs- sustainable developmental goals.
Financial literacy should be thought to all children since a young age so that people are confident to make financial decisions by themselves and do not have to rely on others for help. This is very important in this day as governments remain unstable and markets collapse without any warning. We can even contribute by helping NGO’s whose aim is to make people financially independent.
