Anything generally accepted as a medium of exchange for goods and services.

Medium of exchange.

The double coincidence of wants.

Money acts as a common measure to express prices and compare values.

Ability of money to be saved and used in the future to purchase goods and services.

Inflation reduces money's purchasing power over time.

Its immediate acceptability for transactions without conversion.

Durability and portability (also divisibility and acceptability).

Physical notes and coins issued by the government/central bank.

Bank deposits that can be withdrawn on demand, such as savings or current accounts.

Debit card (also credit card).

A written order directing a bank to pay a specified amount from the drawer's account to the payee.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) or mobile wallets.

They can be transferred or used for payments, functioning like cash for transactions.

Money represented electronically in bank accounts or digital wallets used for online transactions.

They enable cashless transactions, convenience, and faster payments.

Money lent by a bank to an individual or business to be repaid with interest.

Crop loan for agricultural inputs.

An asset offered as security against a loan, e.g., land or gold.

Interest — a percentage of the borrowed amount.

By lending a portion of deposits, which becomes new deposits in the economy (credit creation).

Mobilising savings and providing loans for investment and consumption.

A long-term loan secured by property, usually for buying a house.

Borrower default — failure to repay the loan.

Credit used for activities that generate income, e.g., buying seeds or machinery.

Credit used for consumption or non-income activities, e.g., festivals or personal expenses.

It increases income and the borrower's ability to repay loans.

It may not generate income, increasing the chance of default.

Loan to purchase seeds and fertiliser for cropping.

Loan taken to finance a wedding ceremony.

The percentage charged on the borrowed amount as the cost of loan.

The time given to repay a loan — short, medium, or long-term.

Lenders assess the purpose to evaluate risk and repayment capacity.

Presence of collateral can lower interest rates and increase loan size.

A plan showing when and how loan installments must be paid.

Credit history or ability to repay (income and past records).

Commercial banks.

Member-owned banks that provide credit, often to farmers and small borrowers.

Banks focused on providing credit in rural areas for agriculture and allied activities.

Providing loans and advances, hire-purchase, or asset financing.

Lower interest rates compared to informal lenders.

Documentation and collateral requirements can exclude the poorest.

A small voluntary group of people who save together and lend to members.

Often poor women in rural or urban areas.

They build a savings record and are linked to banks for group loans.

Reduces dependence on moneylenders and promotes financial inclusion.

Members mutually guarantee each other's loans, reducing need for collateral.

Limited loan size and need for better financial training.

Moneylenders (also friends or relatives).

Informal lenders usually charge higher interest than formal institutions.

Formal lenders require documentation; informal lenders are flexible.

Because it is quick, easy to access, and often needs no collateral.

By providing lower-cost loans for investment, boosting production and income.

A situation where borrowers keep borrowing at high rates and cannot escape debt burden.

An agreement in which a borrower receives money now and repays later, usually with interest.

Small loans provided to the poor, often through SHGs or microfinance institutions.

Use short definitions, examples, and a comparison table to score well on short questions.