In News:

In a significant push toward inclusive financial literacy, the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to launch Phase 2 of the “Niveshak Didi” initiative in April 2025.

Objective:

The Niveshak Didi initiative, launched in 2023, is a women-led, community-driven financial literacy program designed to empower rural and underserved populations by fostering responsible financial behavior, promoting digital banking, and spreading fraud awareness.

Key Highlights:

• Target Group: Rural women and semi-urban communities.
• Approach: Local women, especially postal workers, are trained as financial educators (Niveshak Didis).
• Impact of Phase 1:
  • Over 55,000 beneficiaries reached, with 60% women, predominantly from deep rural areas.
  • Most beneficiaries belonged to the youth and economically active age groups.

Phase 2 (2025 Onward):

• Deployment of 4,000+ financial literacy camps across rural, tribal, and semi-urban areas.
• Training of 40,000 women postal workers to serve as grassroots financial educators.
• Curriculum Focus:
  • Savings and budgeting.
  • Responsible investing and fraud prevention.
  • Digital tools and services provided by IPPB.
• Digital Inclusion: Leveraging India Stack for paperless and presence-less banking; training delivered in 13 regional languages.

About Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA)

• Statutory Body: Functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.
• Objective: Ensures informed and protected investors across India.
• Key Role:
  • Promotes financial literacy to aid budgeting, saving, and investment decisions.
  • Empowers citizens to make sound financial choices.
• Focus Areas:
  • Educates citizens on investor rights and responsibilities.
  • Special outreach to rural and underserved areas to bridge financial knowledge gaps.
• Vision: To build a financially aware and confident India, where every citizen has the tools to secure their financial future.

About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)

• Established: On September 1, 2018 under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications.
• Ownership: 100% equity owned by the Government of India.
• Mission: To be the most accessible, affordable, and trusted bank for the common man.
• Mandate:
  • Bridge financial inclusion gaps for the unbanked and underbanked.
  • Leverage the vast postal network of approx. 1.65 lakh post offices (1.4 lakh in rural areas) and 3 lakh postal employees.
• Technology Backbone:
  • Based on India Stack: Paperless, Cashless, and Presence-less banking.
  • Uses CBS-integrated smartphones and biometric devices.
• Commitment:
  • Promotes a less-cash economy.
  • Supports the vision of Digital India.
  • Motto: Every customer is important, every transaction is significant, every deposit is valuable.