PM launches 81 cashless /less cash townships in 12 states facilitated by GNFC

Bharuch: A total of 81 townships were launched as cashless / less cash townships by Hon. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at Nagpur on 14 the April 2017. These townships across 12 states were facilitated to become cashless / less cash townships by Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemical Ltd (GNFC) under the auspices of Niti Aayog.

GNFC township at Bharuch is India’s first 100% Cashless Township. NITI Aayog appreciated GNFC’s initiative and model of cashless township and advised all the government of India ministries and all CMDs of the 300 plus central PSUs for adopting the GNFC model and quickly replicate it.

The 81 townships include townships of central public sector companies like ONGC, Indian Oil, NTPC, SAIL, BHEL, NMDC, CRPF, BSF and Police Lines and private sector townships like Reliance, Essar, Adani, Birla Aditya, Welspun spread across 12 states of Delhi, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Chhatisgarh. They cover a population of around 2 lakh and collectively are doing about 2.5 lakh number of transactions per day which is almost 9 crore number of transactions in a year.

“This initiative is aligned with honourable PM Shri Narendra Modi’s vision for a cashless society. The trends that have emerged from PwC’s study on Impact Assessment of GNFC’s cashless initiative clearly show that going cashless is a step in the right direction for our country due to the significant socio-economic benefits. This initiative offers financial inclusion, cashless as a lifestyle, better parental control, women empowerment and social upliftment using technology”, said Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, MD, GNFC Ltd.

As per the PwC study of GNFC’s cashless initiatives, for over 96% of farmers, cashless resulted in cost savings arising from fewer trips to fertilizer shops and discounts on cashless transactions. Electronic transactions resulted in better money management for over 90% farmers. Farmers felt more empowered and over 94% farmers preferred cashless transactions over cash transactions, for over 63% of them reliance on cash has dramatically reduced.

It further found that 92.3% of households believed there was a significant reduction in the use of cash resulting in more convenience when transacting for daily activities. Going cashless had become an effective tool for parents to have a better control over their child’s expenses. Around 98% of households said they saved time doing cashless transactions.

An estimated 87% of fertiliser retailers reported a rise in their total revenues, revenue per transaction and total transactions as per this study. GNFC’s timely cashless initiative resulted in increased market share and geographic reach as farmers from far flung places flocked to GNFC outlets. With 100% township retailers accepting digital payments, the cash handling improved, further e-wallets resulted in reduced transaction cost.

“This is just a beginning of a new era, the cashless era, and GNFC is on course to become the beacon of light for the cashless economy. GNFC’s deployment model is ready to be emulated across more townships in India to promote and adopt Digital Payments”, added Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta.

– Communication