“The time has come to think seriously about whether we have a national character or not,” he said. “Today, unfortunately, the atmosphere is that if you go to anybody for work, that person will immediately ask, ‘What is in this for me?’ When he learns that there is nothing for him, he will say, ‘Why should I?’ We have to break out of this cycle of ‘what is in this for me’ and ‘why should I?’ We need to shine our national character.”

With food inflation unabated since the election, Mr. Modi has been under pressure from supporters to flesh out his campaign promises with bold economic changes. The government’s first budget, presented in July, suggested that Mr. Modi’s government would tinker with, not dispose of, the economic policies it inherited, despite his relentless criticism of the Indian National Congress’s economic record during the campaign.

Mr. Modi’s promise to provide the poor with bank accounts may address some of that impatience, pointing to a long-term goal of converting distribution systems to cash payments, which would greatly reduce corruption and increase consumer spending. Account holders would be provided with a debit card and an insurance policy of up to 100,000 rupees, or about $1,600.

Mr. Modi said the programs could lessen the suffering of farmers, many of whom commit suicide under financial pressure. “For his daughter’s marriage, a poor man takes a loan from the moneylender that he cannot return,” he said.

Skeptics question whether access to banking — currently, 40 percent of Indian households lack it — can help in the absence of good jobs and higher wages; many bank accounts that have been created for poor Indians in recent years have gone unused, said Sujan Hajra, chief economist at Anand Rathi Financial Services.