Contribution of Financial Institutions towards Financial Literacy and Credit Counseling in India

Financial literacy can broadly be defined as "Providing familiarity with and understanding of financial market products, especially rewards and risks, in order to make informed choices"- Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

India is one of the countries who is having highest saving rate. Majority of Indians are investing their savings in low yielding instruments. People are investing in traditional instruments .They are not taking advantage of modern instruments which provides high returns. The main reason behind is lack of awareness about financial products. It is very important that people should be aware about various financial instruments or investment avenues. Financial literacy upsetting the financial planning of the person along with personal goals. Various financial institutions are taking initiative to improve financial literacy nationwide. The present paper focus on initiative takes by various financial Institutions to improve financial Literacy in India. The study also highlights the credit counselling. The absence of proper financial counselling, coupled with inadequate financial literacy levels has often resulted in forcing the consumers towards costlier decisions and eventual debt traps. Therefore there is a need for financial counselling in all the areas.The present paper will provide overview of initiative taken by financial institutions towards financial literacy and credit counselling.