Which one of the following correctly represents the three key sub-indices of the Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ?

(a) Credit access, Insurance depth, and Pension coverage
(b) Banking access, GDP contribution, and Financial literacy
(c) Access, Usage, and Quality ✓ UPSC's answer
(d) Access, Affordability, and Transparency

Why the answer is (c)

• The RBI launched the Financial Inclusion Index in 2021 to measure, on a 0–100 scale, how far financial services have reached across banking, investment, insurance, postal and pension sectors.

• It is built from three sub-indices: Access (weight 35%) — availability of infrastructure such as branches, ATMs and agents; Usage (45%) — actual use of accounts, credit, insurance and pensions; and Quality (20%) — literacy, consumer protection and grievance redress.

• The index is published annually for the financial year ending March; it stood at about 67 in 2025.

• Options (a), (b) and (d) list plausible-sounding but incorrect components; 'GDP contribution', 'affordability' and 'pension coverage' are not sub-indices.

• Hence option (c).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Credit access, Insurance depth, and Pension coverage: Credit, insurance and pension are covered within the three real sub-indices, not as sub-indices themselves.
(b) Banking access, GDP contribution, and Financial literacy: 'GDP contribution' is not part of the FI-Index.
(d) Access, Affordability, and Transparency: 'Affordability' and 'transparency' are not FI-Index sub-indices.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, held on 24 May 2026. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.