Ideas to transform Nasik Kumbh Mela into LessCash Mela

What is a Mela?

In India, Mela denotes gathering of mankind to celebrate an auspicious occasion.

The largest gathering of mankind happens at the Kumbh Melas’.

This year a dedicated group of people have come together to change the face of Kumbh Mela.

The focus is on technology to make Nasik Kumbh Mela 2015 a safer, invigorating experience for the visitors as well as the Government.

The local administration with assistance by State Government plays a major role in setting up the infrastructure.

Broadly the following is the thought processes to encourage the migration from Cash Transactions to LessCash Transactions.

The aim is LessCash Transactions, as the CashLess mode is a distant dream.

Sr No	Idea	Brief Approach
01)	Mobile Wallet – Aggregator mode	a)    Merchants are on boarded onto  a Mobile Wallet b)   Buyers complete the electronic transaction through a OTP (One Time Password) Prerequisite: Smart Phone, Balance in the mobile wallet Mobile Wallet funding: Online or through cash at designated outlets Reverse sweep facility is preferred
02)	POS Mode	All mela visitors will not have smartphones, however a majority are expected to have Debit Cards. Hence, the mela visitors should have a choice of electronic payment modes.
03)	Low transaction costs	There should be minimal/nil transactions costs for the merchants as well as the buyers. The visitors profile will be skewed towards middle-class and lower middle class people, The transaction value will range will be between INR1 to INR10,000/- The average transaction value will be INR2000/- Any transaction cost will discourage merchants as well as buyers to opt for the electronic payment model.
	Increase the pool of Merchants	Success of Electronic Transactions depends on a large pool of Merchants willing to accept electronic payments. The types of merchants in the Mela area will be Pujaris, shopkeepers selling puja items, food stalls, lodges, transport operators, parking operators etc Atleast 50% of the merchants in the Mela Area should be willing to adopt electronic payments. This would encourage the buyers to opt for electronic payments.
	Shift in Mindset	Electronic payments means the credits will reflect in the merchants bank accounts. The current mindset is FOR cash transactions rather than CashLess transactions, as the benefits of cash transactions for merchants are more compared with CashLess transactions. As the nature of the mela is temporary in nature, the majority of the merchants would not prefer to either open bank accounts or accounts with bill aggregators. Strategies must be in place to convert merchants to the Electronic Payment channel.
	Addons	Vehicle tracker Mela Insurance-Group Insurance model Water ATMs Loyalty points 10 seconds advertisements on smartphones Person tracker

Credits to Nitin Gaikwad and Gnana Sudhakar