[bgilroy26]

It looks like "shukriyaa" (शुक्रिया) is a way of saying 'thanks' in situations where formality is inappropriate. Can anyone confirm/deny?

http://wikihow.com/Say-Thank-You-in-Hindi

[sumedh]

Well atleast in Metros even if you are speaking in Hindi, you usually say thank you instead of "shukriyaa".

Pretty much everyone in Indian metro cities understands simple English words like Hi, Hello, OK, Bye, Thank you.

Coming back to your question then yes "shukriyaa" can be used instead of "thanks". "shukriyaa" is less formal than "dhanyavaad"