Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{189748,
        author = {Dr. Sana Pathan and Dr. Archana Fulwari},
        title = {A Comparative Analysis of Financial Inclusion Index: Core v/s Advanced Index},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {4612-4622},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=189748},
        abstract = {The foundation of financial sector development starts with ensuring access to financial services. To achieve the complete development of the financial sector in the real economy, all sections of society must have complete access to financial services. For inclusive growth of any economy, financial access is necessary, which results in financial inclusion and unleashes the accelerating effect of financial development on economic growth. Financial inclusion is measured by the improvement in the penetration, availability, and usage of financial services. Most of the studies found in the literature have constructed financial inclusion index specifically for the banking sector. The present study has proposed two sets of indices to measure how far financial inclusion in the financial institutions and financial markets has improved over a period. The first index covers the banking services provided by banks and post offices, the second index is a broader index, and it covers both financial institutions and markets along with technology. It makes a comparison of the two sets of indices to emphasize the qualitative aspects of financial inclusion that has occurred in India. The study uses the indicators of the banking sector, post offices, insurance sector, small savings, mutual funds, stock market and technology. The proposed indices cover the period of 11 years from 2010 to 2020. The findings of the study reveal that financial inclusion has increased in India over the years. The comparative result of indices confirms that the increased usage of technology-based services can further improve the financial inclusion of the country.},
        keywords = {Advance Financial Inclusion Index, Banking Penetration, Core Financial Inclusion Index, Financial Access, Financial Inclusion.},
        month = {January},
        }