Simplify investment for non-investors out there

Over the past decade or so, financial inclusion has expanded by leaps in India, thanks to efforts that drew more people into the formal set-up.

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Over the past decade or so, financial inclusion has expanded by leaps in India, thanks to efforts that drew more people into the formal set-up. This, however, has mostly meant no-frill bank accounts for the country’s multitudes. This was a worthy objective, as the state could send cash directly to those in need of welfare support. A fast emerging economy, however, must set its sights higher. In a world of money being made off money, savers must learn to be investors too. By and by, folks at every level of India’s pyramid must be acquainted with the basic range of risk-return options. After all, it is a path of upward mobility open to everyone. To light it up for all to see, India should launch a public service ad campaign. It could draw inspiration from the “Sahi hai” effort by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), which did a fabulous job of stirring interest in mutual funds. Except that this one ought to begin with the basics, with an elementary concept-selling brief, before it ventures into second-order questions of investor safe