Sebi rolls out rural financial literacy plan

TO BOOST FINANCIAL literacy amongst the rural population, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in collaboration with panchayati raj ministry has started imparting training to sarpanches and officials at panchayat levels.

- SANDIP DAS

The training programme has now been initiated in six states—Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and Tripura—and will be rolled out across the country.

The programme seeks to empower elected representatives of the three tier—Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) —gram panchayats at the village level, panchayat samiti at the block level, and zilla parishad with essential financial knowledge, enabling them to educate and guide rural communities on responsible investments in equities and other legitimate investment avenues.

The training will cover financial planning, investment in equity, mutual funds budgeting, savings and safeguarding against fraudulent investment schemes.