Evaluating the Impact and Outreach of Financial Literacy Programs under India’s National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE), 2020–2025

The National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE) 2020–2025, spearheaded by the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) and implemented through the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE), aims to build a financially aware and empowered India. This research paper critically evaluates the reach, implementation, and outcomes of financial literacy programs under the NSFE framework. It examines progress under the five strategic pillars—Content, Capacity, Community, Communication, and Collaboration (5 Cs)—and assesses stakeholder roles, delivery mechanisms, and behavioral impact on target groups, including schoolchildren, women, small businesses, and rural populations. Using a mixed-methods approach that integrates policy analysis, program-level data, and survey insights, the study finds significant improvements in outreach, especially through technology-enabled delivery and community-based models. However, challenges remain in standardizing content, ensuring last-mile inclusion, and aligning digital literacy with financial decision-making capabilities. The paper offers policy recommendations to strengthen implementation, monitoring, and evaluation frameworks to optimize the long-term effectiveness of India’s financial literacy ecosystem