UPI: Internationalization of Digital Payments

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which connects to Singapore’s PayNow payment system, was revealed on Tuesday by the Union government as India’s first cross-border real-time payments systems connection.

Unified Payments Interface: What Is It? (UPI)

UPI is a mobile-based quick payment system in India that enables users to build their own Virtual Payment Addresses (VPAs) and make round-the-clock payments instantly.

It removes the danger of the remitter disclosing bank account information.

UPI allows users to transfer or receive money and supports both Person-to-Person (P2P) and Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments.

What is PayNow?

It is a fast payment system in Singapore.

It enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service, available to retail customers through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore.

It allows users to send and receive instant funds from one bank or e-wallet account to another in Singapore by using just their mobile number, Singapore National Registration Identity Card (NRIC)/Foreign Identification Number (FIN), or VPA.

Overview: Remarkable success of UPI

Changed the landscape of electronic payments: The introduction of UPI in 2016-17 led to a dramatic change in the electronic payments landscape of the country.

Instrumental in dramatic growth of digital payments: Along with the JAM trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile phones, this payment architecture has been instrumental in facilitating the dramatic growth of digital payments in the country, aided by a conducive regulatory framework.

Value and volume increasing day by day: Over the years, various reports by the RBI have documented the significant increase in digital payments transactions in the country, with per person digital transactions growing both in terms of value and volume.

Dramatic surge during the pandemic: Contactless payments also witnessed a surge during the pandemic. In fact, as per another study, roughly one-third of households surveyed had transacted digitally for the first time during the lockdown.

Statistics for instance:

In January 2023, roughly 8 billion transactions were carried out on the UPI platform, whose value touched almost Rs 13 lakh crore.

In comparison, in January 2020, just prior to the pandemic, 1.3 billion transactions were routed through the UPI platform, which touched Rs 2.1 lakh crore in value.

Aided in accelerating financial inclusion: The convenience of real-time transfer of payments, the zero-cost framework for users, the rapid expansion in the acceptance touch-points, have encouraged its widespread adoption. This has also aided in accelerating financial inclusion by providing access to financial services at low cost.

India’s Rich Biodiversity Needs Science Based Implementation

Biodiversity, the totality and variety of our biological resources, is crucial to the survival of the world. India is in a prime position to lead the world in becoming biodiversity champions because it currently has 17% of the world’s population and 17% of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

The 3030 commitment is what?

The United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada, made a strong case for the value of our planet’s biodiversity.

The 3030 promise, which 188 national delegates adopted on December 19, 2022, aims to stop and reverse biodiversity loss by conserving 30% of the world’s land and 30% of its oceans by 2030.

Government’s efforts, Programs with potential

Green Growth push in Budget: The Union Budget 2023 mentioned Green Growth as one of the seven priorities or Saptarishis. The emphasis on green growth is welcome news for India’s biological wealth as the country is facing serious losses of natural assets such as soils, land, water, and biodiversity.

Green India Mission: The National Mission for a Green India aims to increase forest cover on degraded lands and protect existing forested lands.

Green Credit Programme: The Green Credit Programme has the objective to incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals and local bodies.

The MISHTI Program: The Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) is particularly significant because of the extraordinary importance of mangroves and coastal ecosystems in mitigating climate change.

PM-PRANAM: The Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM) for reducing inputs of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is critical for sustaining our agriculture.

Amrit Dharohar scheme: The Amrit Dharohar scheme is expected to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance biodiversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities. If implemented in letter and spirit, Amrit Dharohar, with its emphasis on sustainability by balancing competing demands, will benefit aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services.

For instance: The recent intervention by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to stop the draining of Haiderpur, a Ramsar wetland in Uttar Pradesh, to safeguard migratory waterfowl is encouraging.

Programs must be science-based

Evidence-based implementation: It is critical that these programs respond to the current state of the country’s biodiversity with evidence-based implementation.

A science-based and inclusive monitoring programme: A science-based and inclusive monitoring programme is critical not only for the success of these efforts but also for documentation and distillation of lessons learnt for replication, nationally as well as globally.

Employing modern concepts of sustainability: New missions and programmes should effectively use modern concepts of sustainability and valuation of ecosystems that consider ecological, cultural, and sociological aspects of our biological wealth.

Setting clear boundaries and priorities: With clear system boundaries, prioritisation of the benefits to resource people, and fund-services (rather than stock-flows) as the economic foundation for generating value has enormous potential for multiple sustainable bio-economies.

Efficient water use patterns: The future of our wetland ecosystems will depend on how we are able to sustain ecological flows through reduction in water use in key sectors such as agriculture by encouraging changes to less-water intensive crops such as millets as well as investments in water recycling in urban areas using a combination of grey and blue-green infrastructure.

Focus must be on ecological restoration: As far as the Green India Mission is concerned, implementation should focus on ecological restoration rather than tree plantation and choose sites where it can contribute to ecological connectivity in landscapes fragmented by linear infrastructure.

Choices should be made on evidences of resilience: Choice of species and density should be informed by available knowledge and evidence on resilience under emerging climate change and synergies and trade-offs with respect to hydrologic services.

Careful site selection for mangrove initiative: Site selection should also be carefully considered for the mangrove initiative with a greater emphasis on diversity of mangrove species with retention of the integrity of coastal mud-flats and salt pans themselves, as they too are important for biodiversity.

Effort in response: In response to these needs, we hope that the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing (Mission to green India’s economy, restore natural capital, and make India a global leader in applied biodiversity science) already approved by PM-STIAC, will be immediately launched by the government.

Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC):

PM-STIAC is a high-level advisory body that provides strategic guidance on science, technology, and innovation to the Prime Minister of India.

Advises the Indian Prime Minister on science and technology policy, identifying emerging areas, recommending missions and projects, and enhancing the effectiveness of science and technology to tackle national challenges.

The council comprises eminent scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers who are appointed by the Prime Minister.

PM-STIAC also serves as a forum for stakeholders from academia, industry, and government to interact and collaborate on science and technology initiatives.

Local community involvement

Efforts must be inclusive: Each of these efforts must be inclusive of local and nomadic communities where these initiatives will be implemented.

Traditional practices should be integrated: Traditional knowledge and practices of these communities should be integrated into the implementation plans.

Key findings about Keeladi Excavation

The Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology has been conducting excavations at the archaeological site Keeladi since 2014. The Sangam age has been further regressed by recent excavations in this area.

Keeladi is a little village in south Tamil Nadu’s Sivaganga district.

It is situated along the Vaigai River and is about 12 km south-east of the temple city of Madurai.

The 2015 excavations at this location demonstrate the existence of an urban civilization in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam era along the banks of the Vaigai River.

How are Keeladi and Sangam age related?

In ancient Tamil Nadu, a time period known as the Sangam age is thought to have existed between the third century BCE and the third century CE.

The name is derived from the renowned Sangam poets of Madurai from that time.

Recent findings

In 2019, a TNSDA report dated the unearthed artefacts from Keeladi to a period between sixth century BCE and first century BCE.

Some samples sent for carbon dating in the US, dated back to 580 BCE.

The findings placed Keeladi artefacts about 300 years earlier than the previously believed third century BCE.

Significance of the findings

Older than perceived: Recent finding at Keeladi has pushed the Sangam age to 800 BCE based on these archaeological findings.

Literary evidences: Keeladi, along with other Tamil Nadu sites which have over a thousand inscribed potsherds, clearly suggest the long survival of the script.

Substantial evidence to Sangam Age: It comes across as an industrious and advanced civilisation and has given evidence of urban life and settlements in TN during the Early Historic Period.

Another major civilisation: The unearthed Keeladi artefacts have led academics to describe the site as part of the Vaigai Valley Civilisation. It has all the characteristics of an urban civilisation, with brick structures, luxury items and proof of internal and external trade.

Filling in the cultural gaps: This could provide crucial evidence for understanding the missing links of the Iron Age (12th century BCE to sixth century BCE) to the Early Historic Period (sixth century BCE to fourth century BCE) and subsequent cultural developments.

Links with Indus Valley

Ans. A lot of digging and study has to be done to establish the links between these two civilisations.

The findings have invited comparisons with the Indus Valley Civilisation while acknowledging the cultural gap of 1,000 years between the two places.

Till now, the gap is filled with Iron Age material in south India, which serve as residual links.

However, some of the symbols found in pot sherds of Keeladi bear a close resemblance to Indus Valley signs.

‘HD 3226’ Wheat can beat the heat

Researchers at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have created a new, heat-resistant strain of wheat called “HD 3226.”

Wheat 3226 HD

The wheat, called as “HD 3226,” was created especially for growing in northwest India, where temperatures can get as high as 42 degrees Celsius.

The ICAR took ten years to create this type.

It has been created especially for cultivation in India’s northwest.

Characteristics of HD 3226 Wheat

more heat stress resistant According to reports, the wheat variety HD 3226 is more resistant to heat stress than other wheat cultivars.

Increased yields: Under conditions of high temperature, the HD 3226 wheat variety can yield up to 12–15% more.

Significance

The development of this new wheat variety is particularly important given the increasing frequency of heatwaves in the region due to climate change.

With rising temperatures, it is becoming more challenging for farmers to grow crops.

Government approval and availability

The HD 3226 wheat variety has now been submitted to the Indian government for approval.

Once approved, it is expected to be available to farmers in the coming years.