Title: Financial Literacy, Inclusion and Empowerment.
Author: Vinayak Sunil Kale.
Roll No.: 73
Class: FYMMS
Literature Review:
1. Financial Habit Formation
Sinnewe and Nicholson (2023) analysed how the subjective financial literacy, motivation, and social factors influence financial habits. The research used 28 Australian university graduates as participants. The research found that social factors, family, financial difficulties, and romantic relationships play a vital role in shaping financial habits. Healthy financial habits are important for young adults as they enter the workforce and gain financial freedom. The young adults used the budgeting and tracking expenses as the effective tools for managing their finances. In a very interesting finding, motivation and future goals are important than financial literacy itself in developing healthy financial habits. The research concluded that young adults could benefit from financial education that focuses on motivation and real-life financial situations (Sinnewe and Nicholson, 2023).
2. Youth Financial Wellbeing
Utkarsh et al. (2020) analysed effect of financial socialization, financial literacy, and attitude towards money on the financial well-being of young adults in India. Financial well-being is an important aspect that plays a significant role in the financial well-being of young adults. The research used a survey research design on postgraduate students in India. The research revealed financial conversations with parents in childhood positively influence the financial well-being of young adults. The research also revealed that a positive attitude towards money, such as saving and planning for the future, is a strong predictor of financial well-being. The research concluded that guidance of parents and a positive attitude towards money are crucial in enhancing the financial well-being (Utkarsh et al., 2020).
3. Empowering Women Financially
Financial literacy is found to play an important role in the improvement of financial management and empowerment of the salaried women in India. Sharma and Kumar (2025) conducted research to examine the influence of financial literacy, knowledge, awareness, and self-efficacy on the financial coping behavior and empowerment of women through a survey conducted among 477 salaried women in various sectors in India. The results of the study indicate that financial literacy has a positive influence on the confidence level, financial decision-making, and the ability to deal with financial issues in an effective manner among women. The education level and economic status also improve the financial empowerment of women in India, but the gender differences and lack of knowledge remain a challenge to the financial independence of women in India. Financial education can improve the financial stability of women in India (Sharma and Kumar, 2025).
4. Bridging Gender Gap
Nag and Shailesh (2025) state that even though the number of women who have bank accounts is high, the number of women who actively use financial services is low due to low financial literacy, lack of knowledge of digital technologies, and sociocultural factors. Financial inclusion is crucial for the empowerment of women, but the gender gap in India is quite high. The authors state that the role of digital technologies such as mobile banking, wallets, and UPI is crucial in the inclusion of women in the financial system, enabling them to be financially independent. Women in India still rely on male partners and lack the confidence to use digital technologies for financial inclusion, according to the authors, who stress the importance of financial literacy for the inclusion of women in the financial system in India (Nag and Shailesh 2025).
5. Women Financial Inclusion
Financial literacy plays an important role in enhancing financial inclusion among women in rural areas of India, as it enables women to access banking facilities as well as government financial schemes. The article aimed to identify factors that influence the adoption of government financial literacy programs. It used survey research, where 2354 people were surveyed in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Government financial schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra Yojana, and social security were introduced to enhance financial awareness as well as economic independence. It was established that awareness, easy accessibility, financial literacy, documentation, as well as government support, enhanced the usage of government financial schemes. Even though the people were aware of the government financial schemes, they did not use them due to the lack of internet, as well as insufficient financial knowledge (Goel and Kansal, 2025).
6. Digital Inclusion Empowerment
Tripathi and Jariwala (2025) used the systematic literature review method, based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, to investigate the link between digital financial literacy, financial inclusion, and economic empowerment. Their findings showed that digital financial literacy enhances financial knowledge, financial decision-making, digital banking, financial technology, and internet-based financial services. Digital financial literacy is an important skill that enables young people to use digital financial services efficiently, leading to financial empowerment. It also enables young people to form good savings and investment behaviours, as well as guard against financial fraud. According to the authors, digital financial education needs to be enhanced to increase financial inclusion (Tripathi and Jariwala, 2025)
7. Student Financial Literacy
The study conducted by Ergun (2018) aimed to investigate the level of financial literacy among university students in eight European countries, comprising 409 students, through an online survey and statistical analysis. Financial literacy has an important role to play in enabling university students to make the best financial decisions and to manage their finances properly. The study found that the students had an average level of financial literacy, with an average score of 72.2%. Male students, business majors, PhD students, and students who had completed finance-related courses scored better than others in financial literacy. Furthermore, students who had received financial education through universities scored better in knowledge than others. However, gaps were identified in the knowledge of students in the areas of retirement plans and inflation, and the study concluded that universities should improve financial education to help students in the long term (Ergun 2018).
8. Consumer FinTech Adoption
Jain and Agarwal (2025) conducted a research study on a sample of 600 participants from urban and semi-urban areas in order to understand the relationship between financial literacy, consumer perception, and the usage of FinTech services. Financial literacy is an important variable which is a significant factor in the usage of FinTech services by the consumers in India The research findings revealed that financial literacy is a positive influence on the perception and usage of FinTech services. Financial literacy was also found to influence the usage of FinTech services by 31%. The research findings also revealed that the level of financial literacy is positively related to the usage of FinTech services. It revealed in the research study that the level of financial literacy was related to the usage of FinTech services in a positive manner (Jain and Agarwal, 2025).
9. Inclusion Through Literacy
Financial literacy is a key aspect in the enhancement of financial inclusion in the country since it assists in the effective use of banking services, saving options, and investment options. The authors (Dixit et al. 2025) conducted research through a questionnaire targeting 380 participants and used factors such as saving behavior, debt handling skills, investment skills, and financial planning. The research findings revealed that these factors are positively related to financial inclusion and explained approximately 73.1%. Therefore, the research proves that enhancing financial literacy is instrumental in the achievement of financial security and active participation in the economy (Dixit et al., 2025).
10. Banking Literacy Linkage
Nasir et al. (2026) conducted a study on the relationship between financial literacy, banking services, and economic growth. Financial literacy has a crucial role to play in enhancing banking services and economic growth. The research used a sample size of 100 from a structured questionnaire. The research found that individuals with high financial literacy are likely to utilize banking services, which can enhance economic growth also age and experience are factors that influence individual’s perception of banking services. The research further found that many individuals are not financially literate, which can hinder economic growth. The research concluded that financial literacy could play a crucial role in enhancing banking services and economic growth (Nasir et al., 2026).
11. Conclusion
Financial literacy is an important aspect in the development of financial inclusion, empowerment, and well-being of the youth, students, rural people, and women. Financial literacy helps individuals make right financial decisions and confidently use the services of banks and FinTech companies. Financial literacy encourages the development of positive financial behaviours such as saving, investment, budgeting, and financial planning. These are important for the development of financial security and economic growth. It is also important in the empowerment of women and the reduction of gender gap in financial inclusion. However, financial literacy is not only aspect in the development of positive financial behavior. Other factors such as financial socialization, motivation, accessibility, education, and technology are also important in the development of positive financial behavior. The challenges such as a lack of awareness and technology still exist. Therefore, financial education and awareness are important in long-term financial empowerment of the youth.
12. References:
1. Dixit, V., Shailesh, A. and Singh, A.K., 2025. A study on the impact of financial literacy to accelerate financial inclusion: Evidence from India. Integral Review – A Journal of Management, 15(1), pp.41–47. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16627090
2. Ergün, K., 2018. Financial literacy among university students: A study in eight European countries. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(1), pp.2–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12408
3. Goel, M. and Kansal, M., 2025. Evaluation of the elements affecting government plans to escalate financial literacy among women in rural India. Pranjana: The Journal of Management Awareness, 28(1), pp.87–97. https://doi.org/10.5958/0974-0945.2025.00006.X
4. Jain, A. and Agarwal, A., 2025. Impact of financial literacy on consumer perception and usage of FinTech in India. Advances in Consumer Research, 2(4), pp.1143–1151.
5. Nag, N. and Shailesh, A., 2025. Gender gap in financial inclusion: The bridging role of digital technology and financial literacy. The IUP Journal of Financial Risk Management, 22(3), pp.36–49.
6. Nasir, S., Menedhal, M., Ramesha, H.H., Rajatha, V., Bano, N. and Shivaraja, 2026. Assessing the linkages between financial literacy, banking service’s and economic growth in India. Advances in Consumer Research, 3(1), pp.1459–1466.
7. Sharma, S. and Kumar, V., 2025. Influence of financial literacy on women’s financial management in India. The IUP Journal of Financial Risk Management, 22(1), pp.5–34. https://doi.org/10.71329/IUPJFRM/2025.22.1.5-34
8. Sinnewe, E. and Nicholson, G., 2023. Healthy financial habits in young adults: An exploratory study of the relationship between subjective financial literacy, engagement with finances, and financial decision-making. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 57(2), pp.564–592. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12512
9. Tripathi, A. and Jariwala, H.V., 2025. Digital financial literacy and financial inclusion: A pathway to economic empowerment for youth—A systematic literature review. Advances in Consumer Research, 2(3), pp.488–496.
10. Utkarsh, Pandey, A., Ashta, A., Spiegelman, E. and Sutan, A., 2020. Catch them young: Impact of financial socialization, financial literacy and attitude towards money on financial well-being of young adults. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 44(6), pp.531–541. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12583