Journal Press India^®

Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

Rural development is considered as the way and target of India's planned development efforts. It implies both the economic betterment of people as well as greater social transformation. To accelerate such a process, people's participation and financial support by way of making the funds available in time are of paramount importance. Among a host of financial agencies that cater to the needs of rural people, regional rural banks (RRBs) are the official organs of the government of India, to interveve in the rural financial market. Kerala Gramin Bank is an RRB established with the specific objective of making the benefit of the formal source of finance available at the local level to support the productive activities in the rural areas and thus to build an inclusive financial system to overcome poverty. This empirical study conducts a perceptive analysis of the role played by the Kerala Gramin Bank in improving the socio-economic status of the customers through its inclusive practices. The analysis based on the opinion of the customers reveals that the bank has contributed significantly to the socio-economic progress of the State through increased employment, income, savings, involvement in socio-cultural institutions, and relieving customers from the repression of money lenders, among others.

Keywords

Financial inclusion; Regional rural bank; Rural development; Socio-economic growth.

1. Ahmad, M. U., & Siddiqui, S. (2010).  An analysis of performance of rrbs in India. Journal of Management and Information Technology, 2(1), 52-62. Retrived from  https://ssrn.com/abstract=2697175
2. Alamelu, K., & Devamohan, A. (2010). Regional Rural Banks-the Turnaround Story. The Indian Economic Journal, 58(1),  53-164.
3. Anurag Agarwal, A. L. (2005). Regional Rural Banks. Kurukshetra, 53(9), 20-24.
4. Balishter (1986). Performance of regional rural bank: An eva1uation of a rural bank in Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, Agricultural Situation in 1ndia, 41(9), 731-38.
5. Balishter. (1990). Role of regional rural banks in upliftment of weaker sections-A study in Agra district of UP. Agricultural Situation in India, 45(5), 345-349.
6. Bhagaban Padhy (2008). Regional rural banks and agricultural development: New horizons in rural development. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House.
7. Bhatt, N., & Thorat, Y. S. P. (2001). India's regional rural banks: The institutional dimension of reforms. Journal of Micro Finance/ESR Review, 3(1), 65-88.
8. Chakrabarthy, M. (2008). The Role of Regional Rural Banks in West Bengal. PhD. Thesis. Calcutta, Kolkata: Calcutta University.
9. Dhabal, A., & Bhattacharya, K. (1989). Poor recovery of institutional loans: An analysis of its causes. Indian Journal of Economics, 69(274), 307-321.
10. Dutta, P. & Bhattacharya, M. (2016). The performance of regional rural banks and non-banking institutions in priority sector lending: A study on West Bengal. The IUP Journal of Bank Management, 25(3), 36-51. Retrived From SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2963568
11. Gangadharan, T. G. (2004). Management of overdue in rural banking. In renga reddy (Ed.), New Delhi: Mittal Publications.
12. Ghosh, S. (1988). Losses no Justification for Removal. Business Standard, 5.
13. Government of India. (2011). Census Data. Office of the registrar general & census commissioner. ministry of home affairs, New Delhi: Government of India.
14. James, C. P. (1986). Regional rural banks and rural development-A case study with reference to north malabar gramin bank in Cannanore district. M.Phil Dissertation.  Cochin: Cochin University of Science and Technology.
15. Kamath, C. C. R. (1984). Working and viability of north malabar gramin bank. Financing Agriculture, 16(2), 31-36.
16. Khosla. R., & Singh, R. (2009). Banking Sector Reforms- A Fresh Outlook. Southern Economist, 47(17), 22-29.
17. Krishnan, C. (1988). Regional rural banks and agricultural credit- A study with special reference to south malabar gramin bank. MPhil Dissertation. Pondicherry University, Puthuchery.
18. Kumar, M. (2009). Rural credit: Issues, contradictions and perspectives. Journal of Rural Development, 26(4), 461-483.
19. Lakshmi Narasaiah, M., & Ramudu, R. (2008). Financing of Agriculture by Regional rural Banks. New Delhi: Sonali Publications.
20. Loganathan, P. (2007). Performance of regional rural banks in financing SHGs in India. Indian Economic Panorama, 16(4), 24-30.
21. Meslier, C., Banos, J. L, Nys, E., & Sauviat. A. (2008).  Philippine rural banks and regional economic development. 21st Australasian Finance and Banking Conference 2008 paper. Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1253502 
22. Mukherjee, A., & Chakraborty, S. (2012). Financial inclusion of the poor and marginalised in Jharkhand: Analysis of the existing model. International Journal on Research and Development - A Management Review (IJRDMR),1(1), 2012. Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2169673
23. Musthafa, A. (2010). Indian Rural Economy. New Delhi: Serial Publication.
24. Nanda, Y. C. (2002). Souvenir on 62^nd Annual Conference of IJAE. New Delhi:  Division of Agricultural Economics, IARI.
25. Navi, B. (2016).  Impact of regional rural banks on rural farmers - A Case study of belgaum district. International Journal in Multidisciplinary and Academic Research (SSIJMAR), 2(1), Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2864334
26. Pathak, S., & Raees, S. (2015). Financial Inclusion Through Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) –Dream or Reality. Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2670439 
27. Prahalad, C. K. (2006). The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. New Jersey, US: Pearson Prentice Hall.
28. Ravindran, P. T. (1986). Agricultural credit and recovery problems- A case study with special reference to north malabar gramin bank-kerala. M Phil. Dissertation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Madras University.
29. Reddy, N. & Kumari, R. S. (1986). Credit repayment performance of borrowers of RRB: A Case Study. Southern Economist, 49(3), 5-6.
30. Serrao, M. V., Sequeira, A. H., & Hans, B. (2012, December 10). Designing a methodology to investigate accessibility and impact of financial inclusion. Retrived from  https://ssrn.com/abstract=2025521 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2025521
31. Sethy, S. K. (2016). Towards financial inclusion in India: Progress so far, issues and challenges. Indian Journal of Economics and Development, 12(4), 641-652. Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3070400
32. Singh, K. (2007). Changing perspectives and paradigms of rural development. In Yatindra Singh Sisodia, (Ed.), Rural development: Macro-lities. Jaipur, Rajasthan: Ravath Publications.
33. Subbiah, A., & Selvakumar, M. (2005). Regional rural banks and agricultural credit. Kurukshetra, 53(8), 45-45.
34. Subudhi, R. N., & Ram, J. K. (2014). Making regional rural banks market efficient: A study on amalgamation effect. conference proceeding, ICBPEM, NIT Rourkela, India (Springer), Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2556715
35. Sura, J. S. (2008). Efficacy of regional rural banks (RRBs) in India: A conventional analysis, JIMS-8M. The Journal of Indian Management and Strategy, 11(4), 4-12. Retrived from SSRN: https://ssrn.com/ abstract=1310074
36. Thorat, Y. S. P. (2006). Rural credit in India-issues and concerns. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 61(1), 1-10.                                   
37. Uddin, N. (2003). Regional Rural Banks and Development. New Delhi: Serial Publication.
38. Velayudhan, T. K., & Sankaranarayanan, V. (2002). Regional rural banks and rural credit - some issues. Economic and Political Weekly, 25(38), 64-2157.
39. Vimala, P. (2003). Performance of regional rural banks in Kerala. Land Bank Journal, 41(3), 71-77.
40. Vivekanandan, N. R. (2013). Financial inclusion in India - A path towards inclusive economic growth. Retrived from SSRN:  https://ssrn.com/abstract= 2294779 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2294779.