Adoption of Cashless Transactions in SHGS: A Case Study in Konaseema Region, Andhra Pradesh

ABSTRACT

Cashless transactions are common in business sectors and in cities to a large extent. But after the announcement of the demonetization of all Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 banknotes on November 8, 2016 by the Government of India, all the sectors to the maximum extent adopted cashless transactions. SHGs too have adopted this culture by installing mobile apps on their smart phones. During 2015-16, NABARD, through its project Eshakti digitisation of SHGs, has made an attempt to update the SHG bookkeeping on a real time basis to bring transparency and credibility. The project EShakti had the advantage of addressing the problem of book keeping through available technology, knowing the credit history of SHG members, generating grades for SHGs based on their financial and non-financial records and making them available to all important stakeholders. The stakeholders, namely bankers can now take informed decisions on extending credit linkages on the basis of reports generated through EShakti. In this paper, an attempt is made to study the adoption of cashless transactions in SHGs in the Konaseema region.