FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH FINANCIAL LITERACY: RECENT INITIATIVES IN INDIA

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) has structured a new era for financial services, shifting the industry from manual, intuition-driven practices to data-centric, analytical decision-making. This study examines the widening curricular gap between traditional undergraduate finance programs and the evolving expectations of an AI-driven industry. Utilizing a descriptive research design, primary data was collected from 125 respondents. The findings indicate that while traditional subjects like accounting and corporate finance dominate the current curriculum, there is a profound lack of exposure to essential technological tools such as Python, Power BI, and machine learning. An overwhelming 89.6% of respondents agree that current curricula fail to adequately prepare students for the modern financial landscape, highlighting an urgent need for industry-academia alignment and continuous reskilling.