Learn demonetization from Akodara, India’s first digital village

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Learn demonetization from Akodara, India’s first digital village
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Quite a lot of people across the country are struggling to withdraw money and exchange Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 notes from banks after the demonetization, but this one village in Gujarat is handling the situation in a hassle-free manner – all thanks to digitization.

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Going cashless is not a big deal for Akodara, India’s first digital village where 220 families have e-banking facility. And residents use it for buying milk and vegetables to bread and eggs. Their phones are linked to their bank accounts and they make instant transactions using the village WiFi smoothly.

Located about 90 km from Ahmedabad, in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat, the village has a population of 1,200 and was adopted by ICICI bank recently as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Digital India campaign.

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The village grocer is accepting payments through e-banking for any sale above Rs. 10 which is brilliant. The local dairy cooperative has also stopped paying farmers in cash since the last year and transfers directly to their bank accounts, making the process much easier.

The villagers have their accounts linked to their Aadhar cards,so government benefits are also transferred directly into their savings accounts.

Now, only if our cities had been converted just as easily, before this announcement was made.