Evaluation of the Financial Literacy Landscape in the Eastern Region of India

Financial literacy is crucial for people’s welfare and wellbeing, enabling them to make informed decisions about their financial resources. Financial literacy promotes financial inclusion, reduces poverty, and contributes to economic growth and development. Financial literacy is a combination of financial attitude, financial behaviour and financial knowledge as proposed by OECD (2012). Overall financial literacy score is obtained by adding together, the scores of these three components (OECD/INFE 2015). The present study examined the financial literacy scenario in the East Zone of India. The study reveals that while financial attitude is strong across all zones in India, there is a significant gap in financial behavior and knowledge. Only 27 percent of the population meets the overall financial literacy threshold. Financial literacy in the eastern region of India is notably low, with only West Bengal (29 percent) exceeding the national average of 27 percent. All other states, including Bihar, Odisha, and Sikkim, fall significantly below, underscoring a critical need for region-specific financial education and awareness initiatives. This highlights the urgent need for targeted financial education and behavior-focused interventions to improve overall financial literacy in the country.