Digital Finance and Literacy in India

Digital finance and literacy have assumed greater significance in 21st century due to complex financial products, prevalence of fraudulent schemes, and deregulation policies of the governments. In 2020, the world endured an unexpected onslaught by the COVID-19 virus. The shock of the pandemic has been extremely unconventional in terms of its size and uncertainty. The pandemic has been unique in its wide-ranging effects on almost every section of the economy and the society. The virus has posed an unprecedented challenge for policy-makingglobally and nationally. It has tested the mettle of policy-makers to deal with uncertain, fluid, complex and dynamic situations, having far-reaching socio-economic implications. The pandemic and lockdowns have highlighted the importance of digital financial services. Digital financial services enable people to conduct financial transactions remotely using either mobile banking or internet banking. Digital financial transactions do not involve any physical cash exchange and hence prevent the spread of pandemic and helps to keep the economy moving during the pandemic. Digital financial services are enabling governments to provide quick and secure financial support to hard-to-reach people and businesses. This will help mitigate the economic fallout and potentially strengthen the recovery. Financial literacy enables one to manage ones personal finance in a prudent manner and achieve financial well-being. The objective of any financial literacy programme is to improve knowledge, skills and behaviour of individuals which will lead to awareness and action towards better management of family finances. This volume contains 11 research papers authored by scholars in the field of digital finance and literacy. Their contributions provide deep insights on various aspects of the subject.