Financial Literacy for Personal Financial Matters: A Study of Indian Army Officers

Abstract

The basic as well as desirable needs of a person for decent survival in today’s materialistic and globalised world demand corresponding financial resources in hand. Irrespective of the profession and societal strata, individuals have their own financial aspirations and challenges. Financial literacy enables a person with understanding of financial terms and concepts besides imbibing skills, consciousness, talent and attitude to take important financial decisions. Military service having peculiar service conditions and limited exposure to financial field further makes it imperative to study the subject for inclusivity as very few studies have looked into financial issues pertaining to military personnel. The main aim of this research paper is to ascertain financial literacy of Commissioned Officers of Indian Army. For the study, 133 serving Commissioned Officers of Indian Army of varying age and length of service constituted the sample. Non-Probability technique of selecting sample has been used for the study wherein Purposive sampling is used to draw responses from the sample units. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect Primary data from serving Commissioned Officers of Indian Army. Detailed analysis has been carried out for the collected data using various tools and techniques in Microsoft Excel and SPSS. The study has brought out that financial literacy levels of serving commissioned officers of Indian Army are high. Though the demographic variables and financial literacy levels of Indian Army officers are not statistically associated, however overall high levels of financial literacy indicate their maturity of thought and quest for learning. Overall, the study outcomes indicate a healthy state for the organization and the Nation in terms of financial literacy of serving Commissioned Officers of Indian Army with respect to personal financial planning.