Banking Infrastructure:
An efficient financial system can influence the long-term growth through three important channels, namely: 1) increase in the proportion of saving transferred to investment spending, 2) augmenting private saving rate, and 3) improvement in the social marginal productivity. The financial intermediaries stimulate economic growth in two ways: (i) by channeling the individual saving into productive areas of development and (ii) by allowing the individuals to reduce risk associated with their liquidity needs. The creation of specialised financial institutions assumes significance in this regard because supply of credit to the poor involves high risk and carries exorbitant interest rates. The task of the special financial institutions would be to identify impediments to enhancing the productivity of existing assets and to find ways and means to overcome these and simultaneously to promote viable economic activities for the rural poor.