The Business Correspondent Resource Council (BCRC) has sought the establishment of a dedicated business correspondent (BC) equity fund modelled on the Microfinance Equity Fund, structured as a consortium between the government of India and development finance institutions. According to reports from Business Standard, BCRC also demanded access to the Financial Inclusion Fund and the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund to directly subsidise essential digital infrastructure at the agent level. The self-regulatory body highlighted that per-agent equipment costs of ₹1–1.5 lakh annually strain sustainability, covering items like tabs, passbook printers, micro-ATMs, biometric devices, UV lamps, and cash-counting machines. As per Business Standard, BCRCEO D Tripathy emphasized that with the right policy support, a stronger and economically viable BC ecosystem has the potential to generate lakhs of additional livelihood opportunities, particularly for rural youth and women, while expanding access to banking, government services, insurance, pensions, and other digital financial services.
During the BCRC-RBI meeting, discussions focused on implementing a risk-sharing framework that apportions liability by proximate cause, replacing the current position where BCs bear full liability even for fraud arising from bank processes or technology failure. As reported by Business Standard, this reform aligns with recommendations from the C Rangarajan Committee report on Financial Inclusion published in January 2008, which suggested funds be provided to specialised institutions for capacity-building inputs to BCs. The demand for funding institutions for BCs mirrors this historical recommendation for specialized support mechanisms, with the report pointing that a risk-sharing framework needs to be put in place that apportions liability by proximate cause, replacing the current position where BCs bear full liability even for fraud arising from the bank's processes or from technology failure.
The BC network exceeds five lakh agents with nationwide footprint, positioning it to play a significant role in insurance distribution. According to Business Standard, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) is promoting the Bima Trinity - Bima Vistaar, Bima Vaahaks, and Bima Sugam, which could enhance earning capacity for field agents. A BCRC official noted that climate-related issues are affecting those at the bottom of the pyramid significantly, presenting opportunities to sell weather-indexed insurance policies designed to trigger payouts based on specific weather conditions like low rainfall or extreme heat events.
According to the RBI's Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India (FY25), the number of basic savings bank deposit accounts increased by 2.6 per cent to 72.4 crore at end-March 2025, while the aggregate balance in these accounts grew by 9.5 per cent to ₹3.3 lakh crore. However, quality concerns persist as a white paper by the Indicus Centre for Financial Inclusion in March 2021 observed that more than a quarter of agents were incurring losses. The report attributed this to inadequate compensation for government transfers, leading to poor training, service quality, and restricted public accessibility.
The BCRC also sought an independent pricing committee to examine the commission architecture for BCs providing last-mile banking services in remote areas. As reported by Business Standard, the latest deliberations should be read alongside the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI): 2025-30, which observed that last-mile financial services need improvement. The National Institute of Bank Management, set up by the RBI, has been tasked to suggest measures for improving the BC network, with the NSFI noting that strengthening the BC ecosystem could generate lakhs of additional livelihood opportunities, particularly for rural youth and women.
