Indian economy is a rural economy. The growth and development of the economy depends on the growth and development of agriculture. The role of credit in the development of agriculture assumes greater importance. It should be made available to the farmers at the right time, required quantity and in the required institutional form. The cause of concern is that despite the broad international consensus regarding the importance of access to finance as a crucial poverty alleviation tool, it is estimated that globally over two billion people are currently excluded from access to financial services. In India financially excluded constitute a significant share of the population especially amongst the low income groups in India. It also showed that lower the asset class or income, higher the degree of exclusion. Hence, it is the need of the hour to analyze the situation holistically to identify the causes of financial exclusion, the extent of the problem, region wise, sector wise and social group wise, and evaluate the ongoing schemes for reducing financial exclusion and bring out an implementable strategies for all the agencies involved in this process - Government, CBOs, RBI, IBA, Research Institutions, Technology and Service Providers, and the public.