The Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi, recently handed out an award for excellence in public administration to a remote village in Chhattisgarh for their work in going completely cashless.
It is reported that it only took a few weeks for the village to go completely cashless, with thousands of people being trained in how to make digital transactions.
The village amazingly doesn't even have a mobile tower, but they sought to overcome the shortcomings through innovation; they established a new Wi-Fi internet facility along with help from the telecommunications company BSNL.
It is said to be the very first district within that state where all transactions are entirely cashless.
It wasn't the only award that the PM had to give away either. There was a total of 12 rewards that were reported to have been given away, to reward priority programming and innovation.
When it comes to going cashless, many areas in India have been aggressively moving in that direction and mobile payment options have consequently seen tremendous growth in the area. This all comes after the government announced their incentive to get rid of old currency notes.
A number of shopkeepers and other businesses have had to quickly adapt to the situation and some have even offered discounts to try and encourage their customers if they choose to go cashless when they pay. Many banks have also launched Unified Payments Interface apps which allow customers to send money transfers between different bank accounts using mobile phones.
Pics:
cfo-india.in
Economic Times
Sources:
http://www.firstpost.com/india/village-in-naxal-affected-dantewada-district-gets-pm-award-for-going-cashless-3397288.html
http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/remote-chhattisgarh-village-gets-pm-narendra-modi-award-for-going-cashless/637377/
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-honours-babus-for-implementing-govts-priority-programmes-4622550/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/cashless-payments-at-petrol-pumps-triple-to-rs-400-crore-per-day/articleshow/58300703.cms
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/none-of-mobile-payment-apps-in-india-fully-secure-qualcomm/articleshow/55965892.cms
http://www.cfo-india.in/article/2016/07/19/financial-inclusion-necessary-sustainable-growth-raghuram-rajan
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/4QxVi5QTTEuNhh7R6QbJsJ/Bhim-Indias-ticket-to-a-cashless-economy.html