Research Report is an output that presents the findings of a research project. It is a written account of the research process that includes the research questions, methodology, results, and conclusions. Research reports may vary in length and complexity, depending on the purpose of the research and the intended audience. At Dvara Research, we write reports in a formal and objective style, and they are often used to communicate research findings to audiences who are non-academic, such as governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders.
Almost 65% of India’s population lives in its rural areas.1 India’s financial sector has seen unprecedented expansion, driven by policy initiatives, digital infrastructure and regulatory reforms. Initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Aadhaar-linked banking, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and digital lending have significantly improved access to financial services, particularly for underserved segments.
This study sought to understand the impact of the new regulations on the microfinance sector through the lens of different categories of stakeholders – customers, leadership at microfinance institutions (MFIs) and intermediating staff.
In this study, we focus on whether consumers use the grievance mechanisms provided in UPI apps in smartphones, and whether those mechanisms make for an easily navigable grievance redress journey ending in satisfactory resolution.
The white paper discusses a set of solutions for the ecosystem of actors to consider in tackling and curbing the illegitimate activity of scamsters and other fraudulent actors over the very popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India.
Business correspondent (BC) agents are crucial last-mile infrastructure that support India’s vision for efficient, population-scale delivery of financial and other government services using Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). These agents primarily facilitate cash deposits, cash withdrawals (together known as cash-in cash-out or CICO), and optionally facilitate access to insurance, savings products, and various welfare schemes for rural and low-income India.
The study explores the financial lives of platform workers and finding answers to the following questions: do platform workers face volatility in their income and expenses, and how much do their earnings and expenditures vary on a day-to-day basis; how long do they work to earn as much as they would like to; whether and where they save and borrow; what strategies do they adopt to manage their money to meet their day-to-day expenses, raise lump-sums, deal with and recover from shocks; what social protection benefits do they have access to; what their financial goals are; and what barriers exist, if at all, in their pursuit of those goals.
MFIN India and Dvara Research partner to gather insights on users’ experience of navigating the MFIN-Customer Grievance Redress Mechanism (MFIN-CGRM). The study deploys mixed methods — a primary survey of over 300 users, stakeholder interviews and desk research to understand the user-centricity of the MFIN-CGRM.
In this interim report, we document our observations about the user interface of In-App GRMs in UPI applications (UPI Apps). Our observations are based on our review of the customer redress journey on these GRMs – mainly in terms of the GRM’s accessibility and usability – from the lens of a low-income, digital immigrant customer.
Technological advancement is enabling governments to break away from this fragmented model and adopt an approach that allows individual departments to share infrastructural capacities. In policy parlance, this new approach is referred to as an ‘ecosystem-based’ delivery model, wherein several government departments are integrated at the back end, operate on the same platform, with their workflows interoperable with each other.
Access to credit enables an individual and her household to achieve financial well-being and results in economic welfare outcomes for the entire society. However, excessive debt diminishes all developmental gains, and negatively impacts overall economic growth and stability.
In all our research efforts, we strive to maintain an independent voice that speaks for the low-income household and household enterprises. Our ability to perform this function is significantly enhanced by our commitment to disseminate as a pure public good, all the intellectual capital that we create.
