Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), developed by all the United Nation’s (UN) Member States in 2015, are a collection of 17 goals to address the serious global challenges we face. SDGs do not identify financial inclusion (FI) as an independent objective, but acknowledge that it is central in achieving many goals such as reduction of poverty and inequality; ensuring well-being and equitable quality education with lifelong learning opportunities; providing access to justice for all by building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, etc. Park and Mercado (2015) established that FI has helped in reducing poverty and income inequality significantly in 37 developing Asian economies despite rapid economic expansion in the previous decades. Chibba (2009) suggests that FI is a tool for poverty reduction in promoting inclusive growth to address the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Dahiya and Kumar (2020) describe an inclusive financial system as a key to sustainable development of a nation by eliminating or minimising poverty, unequal distribution of income, and dominance of indigenous bankers through studying secondary data empirically for the period 2005-2017 in India. Bank operations have a measurable impact on poverty alleviation and reducing inequality Read more
