Assessing Financial Inclusion in Assam: Evidence from the Bodoland Territorial Region

Abstract

Financial inclusion is a pivotal pillar for achieving inclusive growth, poverty reduction, and regional economic stability. Although national and state-level financial inclusion initiatives in India have expanded significantly under schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and digital financial architectures, peripheral and socio-economically sensitive regions often exhibit structural disparities. This study examines the status, depth and spatial infrastructure of financial inclusion in Assam, with a focus on the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), comprising the districts of Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar and Udalguri. Utilizing secondary data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) Assam and the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (Government of Assam), the study employs descriptive, comparative and analytical methods to evaluate financial access, deposit mobilization and credit penetration. The findings reveal that while PMJDY and Business Correspondent (BC) networks have substantially mitigated basic access barriers across Assam, BTR districts suffer from pronounced structural bottlenecks, including lower Credit-Deposit (CD) ratios, inadequate brick-and-mortar rural branch density and fragmented financial literacy. Among BTR districts, Kokrajhar demonstrates relatively superior financial infrastructure, whereas Chirang and Baksa lag across key credit and banking parameters. The study underscores the necessity of moving beyond account ownership toward credit deepening, targeted agricultural finance and robust digital-financial literacy tailored to tribal and rural populations in BTR.