Impact of Demonetisation in Rural Areas Through the Lens of Financial Inclusion

Abstract

The paper studies the impact of demonetisation that was announced in the year 2016 on the rural population of Kutch district of Gujarat state. Rural areas in India, with about 38 per cent of bank branches in August 2016 (RBI 2017) and 69 per cent of the population (Census 2011), it will be critical to experience demonetisation. In this context, the study examines the hypothesis that the segment of the population which could easily access banking facilities and shift to cashless transaction might have had to bear the lower cost of demonetisation than those who could not. Both supply and demand side of the status of financial inclusion is considered. Although the study did not find any significant difference in the cost of exchange or impact on consumption and income between the inclusive group and excluded group, it implicitly brings out the challenges of financial inclusion in the rural economy.