Resource Type: Research Papers

Digital payments in India have grown phenomenally in the past decade. This report highlights how digital payments in the country grew and charts the path ahead. We look at the journey of digital payments in India, major events and entities that contributed to it, and products that revolutionized the digital payments space. We also identify barriers to the digital payments sector and analyze the future of digital financial inclusion through payments for the low- and moderate-income segments in India.

MSC conducted a deep-dive analysis of the digital credit users in India, Indonesia, and Kenya to assess the impact of digital credit on their financial health. The analysis presents the insights from the assessment and recommends actionable interventions at the level of providers, regulators, and policymakers to enhance the financial health of digital credit users.

In 2001, Bangladesh launched a Primary Education Stipend Program (PESP) that provides a conditional cash transfer (CCT) to beneficiary mothers. The cash transfer depends on the student maintaining a specific attendance rate and grades at the school. MSC conducted a mixed-method research to ascertain the PESP program’s effectiveness in achieving its objectives. We examined if CCTs can help attain better educational outcomes in terms of increased attendance and grades with lower dropout rates. It simultaneously examines similar studies undertaken elsewhere to support the hypothesis.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned MSC to conduct an action research program to enhance the quality and usage of digital financial services among female traders in open-air and cross-border markets in Kenya. We analyzed 6,000+ transactions in the research. Read our report to see the findings from these financial diaries research.

This report evaluates the implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) operations and ranks the states and union territories based on the implementation status.

MSC conducted a national-level study on the PM Kisan program, India’s flagship cash assistance initiative for landholding farmers. The study intended to assess the cash transfer system’s efficacy and efficiency and capture the experience of the beneficiaries in how they received and used the benefit. We covered more than 13,000 beneficiaries across 20 states.