IMPHAL, Jan 30 - While Akodara, a tiny village in Gujarat, had attained the unique status of India�s first digital village, Manipur�s tiny picturesque lake island Karang, a tourist destination, has become country�s first cashless island.
M Harekrishna, Deputy Commissioner of Bishnupur district, where Karang Island is located, has officially confirmed it. District officials and village representatives witnessed the cashless transactions in the island using digital method of payments.
Having a population of 1,859 (2011 Census), Karang island is located in the middle of Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in NE. �People of Karang pledged to contribute to Government�s vision of creating a cashless Gram Panchayat to make citizens� life easy and comfortable as no banking service is available in the Island,� said Common Service Centre (CSC) Bishnupur district Manager Prasant Oinam.
�Now most of the families in Karang are using e-wallet (SBI Buddy), SBI-freedom, UBI-Unified Payment Interface and Aadhar-enabled payment system for digital payments for mobile recharge, etc�, he informed.
�So far, 400 beneficiaries, 16 merchants including six motor boat service providers have registered and we are providing a Card swipe machine soon so that the island can achieve 100 per cent cashless society which will also help in attracting more international tourists.�
