Delivering Financial Literacy: Challenges, Approaches & Instruments

It’s interesting to see the Union Finance Minister inaugurating a workshop on financial literacy along with other biggies like Governor, RBI, and its Deputy Governors and the OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ambassador.

I mean the big guys are talking about what this blog is all about!!

So let me take a back seat and quote what’s being said in the welcome address:

……financial literacy refers to knowledge required for managing personal finance. It does not necessarily refer to formal education in finance. Instead, it encompasses an understanding of how to use credit responsibly, manage money and savings, minimise financial risks and derive long-term benefits of savings.

It is now well known that financial illiteracy afflicts both developing and developed countries although in different measures. Several surveys in countries like UK, Australia, etc. have found out that many people are taking on financial risks without realising or understanding it, and in fact are very poor managers of money.

It is genuinely believed that the recent financial crisis is largely precipitated by rampant financial illiteracy or the lack of transparency that financial literacy is supposed to bring into the model code books of financial service providers.

We have a plethora of instances of mis-selling and customers undertaking financial contracts without understanding the risk import of such transactions leading to unforeseen volatility and unsustainable business.

Well said.

But I am more interested in learning and using instruments of making that happen. I tried to look around the RBI site for the presentations & more resources, but failed to find anything. The presentations have not yet been put up here.

The plan and the speeches look good. But ultimately, the bigger question (and an age old one!) is how to bell the cat!

I will keep checking their resources page on how to design a suitable financial literacy programme. If you have any pointers for me, please let me know. Thanks.

Here is an update with my plan!

My short bio

Coming Soon! RupeeCamp "Financial Planning Workshop". "Join us"

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