DETERMINANTS OF HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY DEMAND IN RURAL INDIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE IMPACTS OF GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES AND SURCHARGES

Abstract In the digital age, financial inclusion continues to be connected to social inclusion. While most personal financial transactions are shifting from cash currency to digital transactions, we must ensure that marginalized members of society are not unbanked and excluded from financial opportunities. Many countries are declaring their intention to transform to cashless societies. India is one such country. As a case study, we investigated rural Indian villages that declared themselves as cashless to assess the financial reality of villagers. We conducted a survey of households (N=3,159) within villages across seven Indian states. In each state, we studied a village that was officially declared cashless and a nearby comparison village. Our findings suggest that the comparison villages did as well as the cashless villages, as financial inclusion via digital banking was minimal to nonexistent. Alongside significant state variations, we found that financial literacy and online access were the best predictors of performing any digital banking activity. This study concludes with a warning against rushing toward digital banking and the formation of cashless societies, as marginalized populations may be excluded.

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22. The Feminization of Agricultural Labour in India, With a Case Study of the Semi-Arid Region of Andhra Pradesh: A Means of Empowerment or a Method of Domination?

Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings ◽

10.24908/iqurcp.10704 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jamie Shinoff

Keyword(s):

Arid Region ◽

Andhra Pradesh ◽

Rural India ◽

Public Spheres ◽

Agricultural Work ◽

Economic Disparity ◽

Semi Arid Region ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Agricultural Labourers

With the general shift of men turning to out-migration work in times of economic disparity, women in rural India, specifically in the region of Andhra Pradesh, are forced to step in and fill the gap in agricultural labour left by migrating men. This phenomenon, coupled with the increased desire for female agricultural labourers – because of their tolerance of low wages – has led to a significant increase in the feminization of agricultural labour in India since the 1990s. While neoliberal writers argue that the increasingly feminized workforce of agricultural labour in rural India is largely demand-driven – both by male-out migration and thus the freeing up of agricultural work for women, I will argue, in accordance with the Marxist-feminist school of thought, that the increased feminization of agricultural labour in rural Andhra Pradesh does not reflect rural prosperity, but in fact is the “consequence of increasing pauperization among the small peasantry” (Garikipati 2008:630). This paper will explore the debate of whether or not the feminization of the agricultural workforce in rural Andhra Pradesh has accelerated female independence and empowerment in both the private (household) and public spheres. This locality study will thus add to a critical Marxist-feminist perspective of the feminization of agricultural labour in India generally, and the semi-arid region of Andhra Pradesh specifically, while raising the question of who truly benefits form the feminization of the agricultural workforce.

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Accountability and Information Technology Enactment

Handbook of Research on Overcoming Digital Divides ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-699-0.ch028 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 515-532

Author(s):

Richard K. Ghere

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Case Studies ◽

Development Policy ◽

Basic Needs ◽

Virtual State ◽

Rural India ◽

Social Equality ◽

Social Wellbeing ◽

Technology Enactment

This chapter focuses on the use of information technology (IT) in government and its possible impacton governance, particularly in terms of addressing the equity concerns of meeting the basic needs of regional subpopulations. In Building the Virtual State, Jane Fountain develops her theory of technology enactment (in essence, a variety of bureaucratic behaviors reacting to IT) and then applies that framework in three case studies in the book. This inquiry examines government IT enactment in various global settings to assess (1) where and how enactment occurs and (2) what, if any, effect enactment has upon governance in particular settings. The first section traces relationships between a nation’s IT development policy and that technology’s potential to promote equity in that society. The next two sections report (respectively) on the study and observations that emerge. A brief case study about the Gyandoot, an intranet system in rural India, examines the reality of e-government as a means to promote social equality. A concluding discussion reviews those observations as they relate to the human initiative in efforts to harness information technology to achieve public goals, especially those intended to improve social wellbeing in poor societies.

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Irrigation Optimization for Agriculture Productivity: Case Study of a Hybrid Solar Microgrid in Rural India

2019 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC) ◽

10.1109/ghtc46095.2019.9033074 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Janani Jayaraman ◽

Taruna Sudhakar ◽

Sai Shankar Muthukrishnan ◽

Aswin Gopikanna ◽

Vineeth Vijayaraghavan

Keyword(s):

Rural India ◽

Irrigation Optimization

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Employment Guarantee and Other Determinants of Subjective Wellbeing in Rural India: A Case Study from Tamil Nadu

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2814637 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Josef Novotny ◽

Jana Kubelkova

Keyword(s):

Tamil Nadu ◽

Subjective Wellbeing ◽

Rural India ◽

Employment Guarantee

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A Case Study on Technical and Social Aspects of Earth Houses in Rural India

Earthen Dwellings and Structures - Springer Transactions in Civil and Environmental Engineering ◽

10.1007/978-981-13-5883-8_10 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 105-115 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Y. Kulshreshtha ◽

P. J. Vardon ◽

N. J. A. Mota ◽

M. C. M. van Loosdrecht ◽

H. M. Jonkers

Keyword(s):

Social Aspects ◽

Rural India

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ICICI Prudential: challenges in reaching the last mile

Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies ◽

10.1108/eemcs-01-2020-0018 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 1-27

Author(s):

Parthasarathi Das ◽

Tapas Ranjan Moharana ◽

Indirah Indibara

Keyword(s):

Distribution Channel ◽

Rural India ◽

Insurance Company ◽

Life Insurance Company ◽

Market Strategy ◽

Content Type ◽

Rural Markets ◽

Rural Market ◽

Last Mile

Learning outcomes The specific learning objectives of the case are as follows: To contribute to the knowledge of environmental challenges faced by various financial companies while trying to foray into the rural markets, especially in case of insurance products’ expansion strategy; to understand the distribution strategy adopted by insurance companies in rural as well as urban markets; to apply the concepts such as mental accounting, designing and pricing of insurance products to develop an effective strategy for insurance products targeting the rural market; to be able to analyse the data available on products and the rural market structure that enables the students to derive from an implementable managerial framework and design an effective rural market strategy for insurance products; and to enable the students to evaluate the key rural market drivers, which will subsequently help them to develop a new structure of rural distribution channel. Case overview/synopsis ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited (IPRU) was trying to reach the last mile customers of rural India to tap the opportunity and meet the Indian Government's statutory requirement of financial inclusion. Even though the leadership of IPRU was optimistic about the untapped potential of rural India, and launched a separate business vertical - Rural Business Channel (RBC) in the year 2002 to cater to this target segment, yet it faced many strategic issues while foraying into the rural domain. The company struggled with both the designing of products as per the rural customers' needs, as well as the distribution of these products in rural areas. The present case study is an attempt to bring out the strategic challenges that were faced by the IPRU management, with a major focus on designing, pricing and distribution of rural insurance products. The case study will help the readers in understanding what might go wrong while entering new rural markets and how to deal with these challenges. Complexity academic level The case study can be used to teach both undergraduate and postgraduate management students. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 8: Marketing.

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