Management and Finance Bulletin

Analysing Digital Transaction Awareness and Usage Pattern in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh

Shiwani Singh — 2025-05-08

This study explores consumer awareness and usage patterns of digital transactions in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, focusing on differences across urban and rural populations and between genders. It examines how aware people are of digital transaction modes, identifies key sources of awareness, assesses how often different payment methods are used, and compares digital transaction usage across various domains. The findings show that urban residents and men are more aware of digital transactions than rural residents and women. UPI, mobile banking, and debit cards are among the most used digital transaction modes. Digital transactions are widely used for fund transfers, mobile recharges, online shopping, and retail payments, but urban respondents use them more frequently, especially in savings and investments. A significant association was found between place of residence and the use of digital transactions in the saving & investment domain, with urban respondents engaging more. The results highlight the need for greater digital financial literacy in rural areas, particularly in promoting awareness of digital transactions and their role in savings and investments.

Unveiling Investor Perspectives: Awareness, Motivations, and Behaviours in Kolkata’s Sustainable Finance Landscape

Sanhati Sengupta — 2025-05-07

Sustainable investment is shaped by a range of factors, including growing environmental concerns related to climate change and resource depletion, a commitment to ethical practices and social equity, and an emphasis on robust corporate governance and transparency. Additionally, regulatory incentives and policies play a role, as do the potential for competitive financial returns and effective risk management. The alignment with market trends and the increasing consumer demand for sustainability further bolster corporate reputation, motivating investors to pursue sustainable finance opportunities. This study aims to assess the awareness and understanding of sustainable finance concepts among investors in Kolkata. It will explore how these investors perceive the benefits and risks of sustainable investments and identify the key factors influencing their interest in such financial options. The need for heightened awareness of sustainable finance is critical, as it contributes significantly to advancing the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By channeling investments toward initiatives that foster economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity, sustainable finance supports objectives such as poverty reduction, the expansion of clean energy, job creation, innovation, and the development of sustainable cities. It also aids in promoting responsible consumption and production, climate action, and the preservation of marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Aligning financial flows with these global priorities allows sustainable finance to address urgent challenges and drive progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future. The study employs descriptive statistics to evaluate the awareness levels and motivational factors among investors in Kolkata. A purposive sampling method was utilized, with a sample size of 130 participants. The findings indicate that while investors demonstrate an awareness of sustainable finance, their knowledge of the associated benefits and risks remains limited.

Exploring Rationale of Existence of Informal Finance in Contemporary Indian Society

Dr. Vinod Kumar Yadav — 2025-05-08

India is a country where majority of population is engaged in the unorganized sector. Unorganized sector is recognized by the acute absence of security in terms of work, working conditions, wage rate, and amenities to be provided to the workers. Thus, a significant proportion of Indian workforce is far away from the guaranteed earnings and social security measures. On the other hand, cost of living is getting very costly day by day. Therefore, it has become very difficult for the common masses to get livelihood to cover the day to day cost of living and making enough provisions for the future uncertainties. Informal finance is the last resort for the poor and marginalized sections to address their day to day financial issues as when arise. Formal finance has its own procedural and systematic limitations. Furthermore, its outreach and volume are limited that is inadequate to cater the vast financial needs of the most populous and diverse country. Therefore, it is inaccessible to the common masses. That is why informal finance has become an integral part of Indian society. And it has been a very popular source of fund among the marginalized people, and micro and small entrepreneurs. Informal finance has also its strengths and weaknesses that suit the under developed and developing economies. As weak financial literacy, skewed development and expansion of formal financial institution, widespread poverty and agrarian society are hallmarks of emerging economies of the world that pave the way for expansion and outreach of informal finance across society.