Financial inclusion will ensure development: Narendra Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the government is focused on financial inclusion of the poorest sections to ensure that the “base” of the pyramid of development is firm. The prime minister in his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort here said the government has announced schemes to ensure social security. “There is a school of thought that financial inclusion is not always good… but if we look at the pyramid of development in the country, the base is the broadest. If that is strong, the pyramid will be strong,” Modi said. He said the poor form this base, and to make it strong financial inclusion is needed. “When the purchasing power of the last person in the line will increase, economy will grow,” he said. The prime minister then mentioned the Atal Pension Yojna (APY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) as tools of providing social security.