India has made remarkable progress towards financial inclusion but the use of digital payments still remains limited. This documentary, part of a project for USAID, provides an insight into the acceptance levels, challenges and opportunities of digital financial payment systems in India.
For this film we shortlisted case studies based on their location, income and occupation. For a pan India feel, we shot in the villages of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), the town of Kota (Rajasthan) and Mumbai city (Maharashtra). We filmed the case studies in their environment - home & workplace - capturing their daily lives as they live it.
One of the people we filmed is Rambabu. Rambabu runs a small tea shop in the town of Kota, Rajasthan. Rambabu gave us an interesting insight into how he buys small change from beggars at a premium because of a shortage of coins. For every 1,000 rupees of change he buys, he gives them 100 rupees extra.
We also used Rambabu's case study as a profile graphic for the website to highlight the problem of change management that small merchants face in India..
I personally found Chaitanya's story most fascinating. Chaitanya is a school principal in Tadikonda village of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh. She started the school for the rural poor with her personal savings. Chaitanya charges a small fee and ploughs back the earnings for the upkeep of the school. Her personal expenses are taken take of by her husband who works in the city. Each month he remits a fixed amount to her via online banking. But Chaitanya walks to the bank and withdraws cash because no merchant in her village accepts digital payments.
*This is a low resolution version of the original documentary shot in HD
