Karnataka ranks ninth in financial inclusion as measured by the Crisil Inclusix index.
The State has fared well in financial inclusion for the year ended March 31, 2012, the latest period for which data has been made available by the Reserve Bank of India for 638 districts across India.
Karnataka is ranked 9th among 35 States and Union Territories with an Inclusix score of 61.4, well above the all-India score of 42.8.
According to the Crisil Inclusix index, Karnataka’s score improved by 3.7 in 2012 over 2011, more than the all-India improvement of 2.7.
The improvement in 2012 over 2011 was predominantly driven by the growth in the number of deposit accounts (12.3 per cent year-on-year compared with an all-India growth of 12.6 per cent).
The State scores high on all three parameters viz., branch penetration, deposit penetration and credit penetration.
Pawan Agrawal, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings, said: “India’s overall Crisil Inclusix score has risen by 2.7 in fiscal 2012 — the highest annual increase since 2009. Twenty-seven out of 30 districts in Karnataka have seen an improvement in their score in 2012 over 2011.”