INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH:

India's financial system is intended to be modernized and developed through electronic transactions. To transition the economy from a cash-based economy to a cashless economy, the government and Reserve Bank of India made numerous attempts. By demonetizing the high-value currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 as of November 8, 2016, the government brought about a significant shift in the economic environment and accelerated India's move toward a cashless society. Most Indians began using electronic payments for their operations following demonetization. Digital payment options are being adopted by everyone, from the tiny retailer to the nearby vegetable vendor. India's transition to a cashless market is currently occurring more quickly.

The majority of people began using electronic payments for their transactions after demonetization efforts. Digital payment methods are being accepted by everyone, including neighborhood vegetable vendors and tiny retailers. Malda is gradually transitioning to a cashless system. A cashless economy is one where all activities are carried out electronically or with cards.

In a cashless system, physical currency is hardly ever used. The advantages of a cashless system are numerous.

Increased use of credit and debit cards in lieu of cash makes it possible to keep a more thorough record of all societal transactions, enabling greater transparency in company transactions and money transfers. People will carry less cash as a result of using credit cards more frequently, which lowers the danger and expense involved in doing so. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the public's view of cashless transactions in Malda and to identify the difficulties that they encounter when making these transactions.

LITERATURE SURVEY:

· Venkateswararao Podile (2017) In this essay, an effort is made to look at how the Indian public feels about cashless purchases and to pinpoint any difficulties they may encounter.

· Garg, P., and Panchal, M. (2017) This essay looked into Indians' opinions regarding the implementation of a paperless economy. The research was carried out in the Delhi region, and data were gathered using a structured questionnaire and then analyzed using a straightforward percentage method.

· V. S. Krishna (2018) The purpose of this article is to examine the demonetization policy from the perspective of the admirable goal it seeks to accomplish and to offer insight into the economic benefits and constructive impacts of the policy.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

Primary objective:

To investigate the remote population's attitude toward the cashless economy.

Secondary objectives:

To investigate the effect of a cashless economy on the rural population.

To ascertain the degree of interest in the cashless economy among the rural population

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The Indian government's new cashless economy initiative had a significant effect on the economy by converting all economic transactions from cash to a cashless economy. Additionally, a lot of businesses are giving people a method to participate in the cashless economy by offering a variety of apps and other technological tools.

As a result, the study's main objective is to understand how rural residents feel about the cashless economy. The Malda region was chosen for the study because it has a large number of villages, and data was gathered there from local residents.

RESEARCH DESIGN:

Type of research:

Analytical and descriptive research are both used in this work. Various types of studies and fact-finding investigations are included. The main goal of this document is to explain the current situation. Thus, this research study is a fact-finding inquiry that is intended to collect descriptive information about the investors using the questionnaire technique. Using a questionnaire, provide detailed information about the investors. The questions "what," "when," "which," and "where" are all addressed by descriptive study. The goal of analytical research is to provide answers to the questions "why" and "how" regarding a specific occurrence, both historically and presently.

Sampling typed and technique:

Sample size: The study's sample size is 100, and the data needed were gathered from remote residents' perceptions of the cashless economy.

Sampling technique: Quota sampling, a non-probability sampling technique also known as deliberate, purposive, or judgment sampling, is used to select the sample for the research. The samples are picked consciously in this sampling technique on the theory that the small mass selected from the large one is a typical representative of the whole

Data need, tools and method of collection:

Data needs: - In this research project, both primary and secondary data were used. Primary data is information that is gathered from scratch for the first time and is therefore unique in nature. Secondary data is information that has already been gathered, so it is merely a collection.

Primary data: - The questionnaire technique is used to obtain the main research data directly from the respondents. The questionnaire was meticulously designed with the fact to be looked into and analysed in mind. The first few sets of questions are related to the responsibility's demographic description, and the remaining questions are based on the study's title. Wherever there is a high degree of interest in the cashless economy among rural people, closed-ended questions have been used.

Secondary data: - The research's secondary sources include books, reports, journals, media articles, and the internet. The same is used as a benchmark and to support the main data.

HYPOTHESIS:

A hypothesis is merely an assertion or supposition that needs to be supported or refuted. The goal of the research is to answer a formal query. The null and the alternative hypotheses are the two ways that the hypothesis is stated. H0 stands for the null hypothesis, which is the one that is expressed in the negative. The alternative hypothesis one wants to prove is represented by H0 or H1.

Hypothesis 1:

H0: The perception of the rural people toward the cashless economy is not significantly influenced by education.

H1: The perception of the rural people toward the cashless economy is greatly influenced by education.

Hypothesis 2:

H0: The degree of interest in the cashless economy is not correlated with gender.

H1: The degree of interest in the cashless economy and gender are related.

Hypothesis 3:

H0: Age and the effects of the cashless economy on rural populations do not vary significantly.

H1: Age and the effect of a cashless society on rural people vary significantly.

RESULTS OF TESTED HYPOTHESES:

Cross-tabulation of perceptions of the rural populace toward the cashless economy and education

H0: The perception of the rural people toward the cashless economy is not significantly influenced by education.

H1: The perception of the rural people toward the cashless economy is greatly influenced by education.

	Value	df	Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)	Decision
Cashless economy is safe	9.548^a	8	0.298	Accepted
Cashless economy has led to increase in Internet fraud	10.653^a	8	0.222	Accepted
cash less transaction as easy and save time, convenience	5.907^a	8	0.658	Accepted
There should be Transparency and Efficiency in E-payments. Do you agree	4.713^a		0.788	Accepted
Not every individual will be able to adopt cashless economy, because of their illiteracy.	0.098^a	2	0.952	Accepted

Interpretation:

The paired chi-square test was used to assess the hypothesis as shown in the above table, which can be analysed. The p-value was determined to be 0.298, 0.222, 0.658, 0.788, and 0.952, which is greater than 0.05 (p>0.05).

We reject the alternative hypothesis (H1) because the value is greater than 0.05 and adopt the null hypothesis instead. (H0)

H0: The perception of the rural people toward the cashless economy is not significantly influenced by education.

Cross-tabulation of interest in the cashless economy by gender and among remote residents

Hypothesis 2

Null hypothesis (H0): The degree of interest in the cashless economy is not correlated with gender.

Alternate hypothesis (H1): The degree of interest in the cashless economy and gender are related.

Gender v/s interest level about cashless economy among the rural population Crosstabulation
Count
		Cashless Economy is easy			Total
		Yes	No	May be	Total
Gender	Male	42	10	9	61
Gender	Female	27	7	5	39
Total		69	17	14	100

Chi-Square Tests
	Value	df	Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square	0.098^a	2	0.952
N of Valid Cases	100

Interpretation: The chi-square test was used to evaluate the hypothesis, as demonstrated above. The computed p-value is 0.952, which is higher than the threshold of 0.05 (p>0.05).

We reject the alternative hypothesis (H1) because the value is greater than 0.05 and adopt the null hypothesis instead. (H0)

Null hypothesis (H0): The degree of interest in the cashless economy is not correlated with gender

Cross-tabulation of the effect of the cashless society on the rural people

Hypothesis 3:

Null hypothesis (H0): Age and the effects of the cashless economy on rural populations do not vary significantly.

Alternate hypothesis (H1): Age and the effect of a cashless society on rural people vary significantly.

Value

Asymp. Sig.

(2-sided)

Decision

Do you feel cashless transaction benefit for the greater good of the people in the country

11.098^a

0.196

Accepted

Cashless economy eliminates physical cash and branch banking completely.

13.541^a

0.095

Accepted

Interpretation: The paired chi-square test was used to assess the hypothesis as shown in the above table. The computed p-value is 0.196, which is greater than the threshold of 0.05 (p>0.05).

We reject the alternative hypothesis (H1) because the value is greater than 0.05 and adopt the null hypothesis instead. (H0)

Null hypothesis (H0): Age and the effects of the cashless economy on rural populations do not vary significantly.

SUGGESTIONS FROM THIS STUDY:

The study suggests stepping up efforts to inform rural residents about online banking and its benefits and drawbacks. They will be able to learn about and experiment with various e-payment platforms while avoiding fraud thanks to this. The enabling conditions and driving forces behind the rural population's transition to the e-economy should be the subject of further research. To understand how individuals view e-transactions as more efficient but struggle with online fraud, independent studies and case studies are also required.

CONCLUSION:

The most important finding of this original research is that a cashless economy is a powerful tool against counterfeit money, corruption, and financial fraud. It also increases payment efficiency and transparency. The majority of people—nearly 81%—believe that the greatest defence against counterfeit money is a cashless society. A further 84% of people indicated that it stops money trafficking. Another 74% of people believed that a cashless system could lessen corruption.

Overall, when compared to metropolitan areas, rural areas use the cashless economy much less frequently. The research makes clear that rural areas. The public agrees and is interested in using the cashless economy, but regrettably they are unable to access such services because the relevant authorities have not made the public aware of cashless banking, online services, etc.

However, it is evident that people of all ages and genders are interested in learning more about using the cashless economy based on the study's findings, the answers from the rural population, as well as the outcomes of the Chi-square test. For this to happen, people in rural regions should also emphasize the value of education and internet access.

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Received on 13.08.2023 Modified on 29.12.2023

Asian Journal of Management. 2024;15(3):245-248.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5763.2024.00038