ABSTRACT
India's UPI recorded approximately 228 billion transactions worth nearly Rs. 300 lakh crores in 2025, making it the world's largest real-time retail payment system [13, 6]. Despite this national growth, its penetration into remote tribal economies remains largely unexplored. This paper examines UPI adaptation and impact among street vendors in Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh, a seven-district predominantly Scheduled Tribe region, through a mixed-method approach that combines a structured survey (n=34) with systematic stall-by-stall field observations across three distinct markets. The field data, collected in May 2026, reveal a sharp urban–rural digital divide. At Geedam Haat (rural) on 10 May 2026 we counted UPI QR codes at only 62 of 274 stalls (22.6%); the remaining 212 stalls (77.4%) traded entirely in cash. At Jagdalpur Sanjay Market (urban) on 16 May 2026, by contrast, 278 of 317 stalls (87.7%) accepted UPI. Despite strong 5G connectivity and nearby financial infrastructure at Geedam, 69% of vendors owned no smartphone, which indicates that device access, rather than network quality, is the primary barrier to digital inclusion. The gender divide is equally sharp: of the 202 female vendors at Geedam Haat, only 7.9% used UPI, a pattern we also observed qualitatively in urban Jagdalpur. The preliminary survey (n = 34) recorded 100% UPI adoption, but that figure reflects a selection bias toward vendors who already own smartphones. To achieve genuine digital financial inclusion in tribal Bastar, therefore, policymakers must prioritise expanding smartphone access, foster peer-led adoption, and deliver targeted, women-specific interventions.

Keywords: UPI adoption in Bastar, tribal economy, street vendors, Bastar Division, financial inclusion, women vendors, mixed method, UPI adoption in Bastar, Chhattisgarh