You move up by building a credit record, since lenders need evidence of repayment. A credit card used for small, regular bills and paid in full each month starts that record. Borrowing from a regulated lender, instead of an informal moneylender, keeps costs and terms transparent, which is the point of financial inclusion.
Worked example: Kavya in Tirunelveli
Kavya is 24 and is the first in her family with a salaried job, working as a hospital lab technician in Tirunelveli on Rs. 32,000 a month. She opened a bank account for her salary, then used a credit card for her phone bill for 2 years, reaching a CIBIL score of 705. When she needed Rs. 60,000 for a part-time diploma course, her path through financial inclusion meant she could borrow formally, at an illustrative 17% per annum. She compared the equated monthly instalment (EMI) at 2 tenures.
EMI = P × R × (1 + R)^N ÷ [(1 + R)^N − 1]. Here P = Rs. 60,000, R = 17 ÷ 1,200 and N = months.
| Tenure | Monthly EMI (Rs.) | Total interest (Rs.) | EMI as share of salary (%) |
|---|
| 12 months (1 year) | 5,472 | 5,667 | 17.1 |
| 18 months (1.5 years) | 3,800 | 8,397 | 11.9 |
Last updated: 23rd October, 2026
Repaying over 18 months brings each instalment down by Rs. 1,672, with Rs. 2,730 extra in interest. On Rs. 60,000, processing costs at most Rs. 2,478. Kavya picked 18 months, keeping her EMI near 12% of her salary.
What can delay approval: a CIBIL score below 650 or existing EMIs that take up a large share of your income. Names or addresses that do not match across documents, and more than one loan application in the same month, can also slow it down.
Reached the credit rung of financial inclusion? With a Bajaj Finance Personal Loan, you can borrow Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 75 lakh, subject to eligibility. Check your loan offer with your phone number and a one-time password (OTP) → apply online → receive funds within 24 hours* of approval.
