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@article{191126,
        author = {Miss Mansi Devluk},
        title = {Digital Trust and UPI Usage Among Rural Women in Bhavnagar District: A Qualitative Study of Barriers, Adoption, and Empowerment},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {},
        volume = {12},
        number = {no},
        pages = {877-883},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=191126},
        abstract = {This research explores the complex interplay between digital trust and the adoption of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) among rural women in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. Despite India’s rapid digital transformation, a significant gender-based digital divide remains, particularly in rural ecosystems where technology is often perceived through a lens of apprehension. Using a qualitative phenomenological design, this study investigates the lived experiences of women across four diverse blocks: Sihor, Talaja, Palitana, and Gariyadhar. Through data triangulation involving direct field observations and semi-structured interviews, the research identifies that digital adoption is driven less by hardware access and more by psychological and social Trust Anchors.
Findings highlight the Sihor Paradox, where smartphone ownership does not correlate with functional digital agency due to techno-anxiety and literacy barriers. Conversely, observations in Palitana and Talaja illustrate how social proof and immediate utility can bridge the trust gap, especially when supported by auditory feedback mechanisms like the Sound Box. A critical outcome of the study is the identification of the Digital Rice Jar effect, where UPI provides women with unprecedented financial privacy and bargaining power within the domestic sphere. The paper concludes that digital trust is a fluid social construct requiring localized intervention. Recommendations include the institutionalization of Digital Sakhi programs and the comprehensive vernacularization of error interfaces into the Gujarati dialect to ensure that rural women transition from passive observers to empowered participants in India’s digital future.},
        keywords = {UPI, Digital Trust, Rural Women, Qualitative Study, Bhavnagar District, Financial Empowerment.},
        month = {},
        }