<p>This study examines financial inclusion as a pathway to inclusive and sustainable development in Eastern India, integrating Inclusive Growth Theory, Sen’s Capability Approach, and Institutional Theory. Adopting a consumer-oriented perspective, it investigates how technology-driven drivers of financial inclusion, financial capability, and institutional support jointly shape socio-economic development. Primary data from 2,495 bank customers across Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal were collected through a structured questionnaire, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to estimate the proposed model. The results show that drivers of financial inclusion operationalized as platform usability, digital service efficiency, and technology readiness have a strong positive effect on socio-economic development and on financial capability, with usage-enabling factors exerting the largest influence. Financial capability, captured through awareness of financial services and financial decision-making ability, significantly mediates the relationship between drivers of financial inclusion and socio-economic development, indicating that access translates into developmental gains primarily when consumers possess the competence to use services effectively. Institutional support for financial inclusion, comprising financial schemes, government financial programmes, and policy support, also exhibits a substantial direct impact on socio-economic development. Together, the constructs explain 87.7% of the variance in socio-economic development (R² = 0.877), providing robust empirical backing for the integrated framework.</p>