Direction () : Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. Certain words are printed in bold to help you locate them while answering some of these.
Financial exclusion is the main cause of poverty. Lack of opportunities and access to finance besides financial illiteracy are the main causes of financial exclusion. Financial inclusion is proving to be a major thorn in the path of Indian economic growth. Access to finance by the poor, disadvantaged and unprivileged group is a prerequisite for poverty reduction and social upliftment. One of the main reasons why the large section of the rural population still remains under below poverty line is lack of opportunities and access to finance besides financial illiteracy. Large sections of the rural population have no access to financial services and their only recourse is to borrow from money lenders, who charge exorbitant rates. Also, ignorance is rife, with concepts like insurance virtually unheard of. One of the main reasons why mass poverty is persisting in India is that the problem of financing the poor still remains unresolved (RBI, 2011a), with almost all states show more than 60% of populations below the poverty line. Projections based on NSSO data present a disturbing picture as population cut offs for average consumption for almost all states fall between the sixth and seventh deciles, statistics for which are available in its report “Key indicators of household expenditure in India.” Further fine-tuned, they deliver a precise percentage of population below the average spends (Sunday Times, 2012). The large section of population below the expenditure curve also points to a worrying inequity in incomes, something that should concern planners as the government looks to target benefits for those who need them through initiatives like food security and employment guarantees (Sunday Times, 2012).