Content

1. From Cash to Digital: India’s Leap Towards Inclusive Finance
2. Soil Health Card

From Cash to Digital: India’s Leap Towards Inclusive Finance

Basics of Financial Inclusion

• Definition: Ensuring access to affordable financial services—savings, credit, insurance, remittance, pensions—for all sections, especially the unbanked poor.
• Significance:
  • Reduces dependence on informal moneylenders.
  • Encourages savings → capital formation.
  • Provides safety net (insurance, pensions).
  • Facilitates government welfare delivery (DBT).
  • Empowers marginalized groups, especially women.
• Global Context: Seen as a critical enabler of 7 SDGs (poverty reduction, gender equality, decent work, inequality reduction, etc.)

Relevance : GS 2(Governance), GS 3(Finance)

Indicators of India’s Progress

• RBI’s FI-Index (2025): 67.0 → +24.3% rise since 2021.
• Global Findex 2025 (World Bank): Account ownership = 89% (vs 35% in 2011).
• Shift in inclusion model: From “bank-led branch expansion” to “digital-led penetration”.

Key Policy Innovations Driving the Leap

a) PM Jan Dhan Yojana (2014–present)

• Scale: 56.04 crore accounts, ₹2.64 lakh crore balance.
• Social Impact: 55% accounts held by women → women-centric inclusion.
• Features: Zero-balance accounts, Rupay cards, overdraft facility, accident cover.

b) DBT & JAM Trinity

• Mechanism: Jan Dhan (accounts) + Aadhaar (auth) + Mobile (access).
• Impact: ₹45.70 lakh crore directly transferred → reduced leakage, ensured transparency.

c) Insurance Schemes

• PM Suraksha Bima Yojana (accident cover): 50.99 crore enrolled.
• PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (life insurance): 23.59 crore enrolled.
• Social Reach: Nearly half beneficiaries are women, majority rural.

d) Micro & Pension Schemes

• PM MUDRA Yojana: 53.85 crore loans sanctioned, ₹35.13 lakh crore → “Funding the Unfunded”.
• Atal Pension Yojana: 7.65 crore subscribers, corpus ₹45,974 crore → security for unorganised workers.
• Stand Up India: ₹62,410 crore sanctioned, targeting SC/ST & women entrepreneurs.

e) UPI Revolution

• • Transactions grew from 92 crore (2017–18) → 18,587 crore (2024–25) (CAGR 114%).Value: ₹1.10 lakh crore → ₹261 lakh crore.
  • July 2025: 1,946.79 crore transactions in a single month.
• Significance: World’s most successful real-time payment system → drives cashless economy, reduces transaction costs.

f) SEBI’s CHOTI SIP (2025)

• Entry-level SIP at ₹250 → democratizes investment culture → bridges savings to wealth creation gap.

Grassroots Campaigns

• 3-month Saturation Campaign (Jul–Sep 2025):
  • 99,753 camps, 6.65 lakh new PMJDY accounts, 10 lakh+ KYC re-verification.
• Community Banking Approach: Doorstep services, financial literacy outreach.

Transformative Outcomes

• Women Empowerment: Majority beneficiaries of PMJDY, insurance, and pension schemes.
• Rural Penetration: Insurance & pension uptake significant in rural India.
• Entrepreneurship Boost: MUDRA & Stand Up India nurtured millions of micro-businesses.
• Transparency in Welfare Delivery: DBT reduced corruption, ghost beneficiaries.
• Digital Economy Shift: UPI as backbone of fintech-led India.

Challenges & Gaps

• Dormant Accounts: High account ownership, but not all are active.
• Digital Divide: Connectivity, literacy, and device affordability limit full access.
• Cybersecurity Risks: Rise in frauds with digital transactions.
• Credit Access Inequality: Women entrepreneurs & rural MSMEs still face hurdles.
• Financial Literacy: Schemes exist, but awareness and effective use remain low.

Way Forward

• Strengthen financial literacy campaigns at grassroots.
• Promote cyber hygiene and stronger consumer protection norms.
• Leverage UPI cross-border linkages for global remittance inclusion.
• Expand insurance and pension penetration beyond enrolment to regular premium payments.
• Integrate fintech startups with government schemes for innovation in micro-credit & micro-insurance.

Conclusion

• India’s financial inclusion journey (2011–2025) is a textbook case of policy + digital + grassroots outreach synergy.
• From cash dependency → digital empowerment, India has turned financial inclusion into a mass movement.
• The next frontier: moving from access to meaningful usage, ensuring security, literacy, and equity in finance.

Soil Health Card

Background & Rationale

• Pre-2015 Scenario:
  • Overuse of chemical fertilizers (esp. nitrogenous urea) → nutrient imbalance.
  • Declining soil fertility, stagnant yields, rising input costs.
  • Farmers lacked scientific knowledge of soil nutrient requirements.
• Global Context: 2015 declared as International Year of Soils by FAO → India launched Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme on 19 Feb 2015 (Suratgarh, Rajasthan).

Relevance : GS 3(Agriculture) , GS 2(Schemes)

Objectives of SHC Scheme

• Provide soil health cards to all farmers every 2 years.
• Test soil samples on 12 parameters (macro, micro nutrients + soil quality indicators).
• Recommend crop-wise & region-specific fertiliser use.
• Promote balanced & integrated nutrient management → reduce excess chemical usage, encourage organics/bio-fertilisers.
• Build capacity of soil testing labs, agriculture students, SHGs, FPOs.
• Support data-driven decision-making in agriculture → reduce costs, increase productivity, ensure sustainability.

Implementation Architecture

• Soil Sampling:
  • Depth: 15–20 cm.
  • Sampling grid: 2.5 ha (irrigated), 10 ha (rainfed).
  • Tools: GPS-based mapping, revenue maps.
  • Carried out by trained agri-staff/students.
• Testing Infrastructure (as of Feb 2025: 8,272 labs)
  • 1,068 static labs.
  • 163 mobile labs.
  • 6,376 mini labs.
  • 665 village-level labs (VLSTLs).
• Digital Backbone:
  • Soil Health Card Portal → centralised, multi-lingual (22 languages + 5 dialects).
  • SHC Mobile App: GPS-based sampling, QR-code tagged results, automatic geo-tagging.
  • Developed by NIC for nationwide use.

Achievements (2015–2025)

• Distribution: Over 25 crore Soil Health Cards issued (as of July 2025).
• Financial Support: ₹1,706.18 crore released to States/UTs.
• Soil Mapping:
  • 290 lakh hectares mapped (1:10,000 scale) in 40 aspirational districts.
  • 1,987 village-level fertility maps for 21 States/UTs.
• Village-Level Labs (VLSTLs): 665 set up → run by SHGs, FPOs, rural youth (18–27 years).
• School Soil Health Programme (2023–25):
  • 1,021 schools implementing soil labs.
  • 1,000 labs established in schools.
  • 1.32 lakh students enrolled, trained in soil testing → farmer awareness multiplier.

Case Study – Mr. Mahendra Kumar Singh (Nalanda, Bihar)

• Pre-SHC: High chemical dependency, low yields (27.5 quintals/ha).
• Post-SHC testing: Identified nutrient deficiency (low N, P, Boron, organic carbon).
• Recommendations: Compost + cow dung + balanced fertiliser use.
• Results: Yield improved by 16% (to 32 quintals/ha).
• Key Takeaway: SHC can reduce input cost & increase yield simultaneously.

Technological Advancements

• GIS Integration (since April 2023) → nationwide interactive soil fertility maps.
• Geo-tagging of samples → ensures authenticity & prevents data tampering.
• Unique QR codes → direct linkage between farmer, sample & results.
• Digital Portal → real-time monitoring of SHC issuance & fertiliser use trends.

Benefits & Impacts

• Economic:
  • Reduced fertiliser input cost by 20–25% (RKVY reports).
  • Yield improvements in cereals, pulses, oilseeds reported.
• Environmental:
  • Decline in excessive urea usage, balanced NPK ratios.
  • Reduced risk of groundwater contamination & soil degradation.
• Social:
  • Empowered farmers with scientific knowledge.
  • Involvement of schools, SHGs & FPOs → community-driven approach.
• Governance:
  • Integrated under RKVY (2022–23 onwards) as “Soil Health & Fertility” → sustainable funding & institutional support.

Challenges & Gaps

• Awareness & Adoption: Not all farmers follow recommendations → behaviour change is slow.
• Coverage vs Quality: 25 crore cards issued, but follow-up usage data limited.
• Infrastructure Gaps: Some labs underutilised; rural labs face manpower issues.
• Fertiliser Policy Disconnect: Subsidy regime still urea-heavy, limits SHC’s balanced fertiliser push.
• Monitoring: Difficulty in ensuring 3-year update cycle for all farmers.

Way Forward

• Link SHC recommendations with fertiliser subsidy delivery → incentive for balanced use.
• Expand VLSTLs & school labs → ensure last-mile coverage.
• Encourage organic inputs & bio-fertilisers in SHC prescriptions.
• Strengthen fertiliser use monitoring through digital platforms.
• Integrate SHC with PM-KISAN & crop insurance schemes → holistic farmer support.
• Promote AI-driven soil analytics → predictive fertility maps at village/block level.

Conclusion

• Soil Health Card Scheme = landmark policy for scientific, sustainable, data-driven agriculture.
• Shifted narrative from “blind fertiliser use” → “informed soil stewardship”.
• Empowered millions of farmers to reduce costs, increase yields, and preserve fertility.
• By combining lab infrastructure, digital platforms, and community outreach, SHC has become a pillar of climate-resilient Indian agriculture.
• Continued focus on quality adoption, fertiliser policy reform, and farmer training will determine its long-term success.