Content
- UPI: India’s Digital Revolution Goes Global
- PMAY-Urban 2.0
UPI: India’s Digital Revolution Goes Global
Context
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as India’s biggest digital success story.
- UPI has reshaped India’s financial ecosystem and is now being adopted globally.
- Why it matters:
- Makes India a global model for digital financial inclusion.
- Recognized by IMF (2025) as the largest real-time payment system in the world.
- Shows how public digital infrastructure can drive inclusion and innovation.
Key Achievements & Figures
- Launch: UPI introduced in 2016 by NPCI.
- Scale (as of Aug 2025):
- 20+ billion transactions monthly.
- Value: ₹24.85 lakh crore in a single month.
- Accounts for 85% of India’s digital transactions.
- Inclusivity:
- 89% of Indian adults have bank accounts (Jan Dhan + Aadhaar).
- UPI connects small vendors, domestic workers, and farmers directly to digital banking.
- High-value transactions: From 15 Sept 2025, ₹10 lakh/day P2M limit for select merchant categories.
- Global status:
- UPI > credit + debit card usage combined in India.
- Recognized by IMF as world’s largest retail fast payment system.
Global Footprint
- Singapore: Linked with PayNow for instant cross-border transfers.
- UAE & Mauritius: Indian travellers can pay with UPI in rupees.
- France: UPI accepted at the Eiffel Tower.
- Nepal & Bhutan: UPI integrated for payments and transfers.
- Talks underway: Asia, Africa, Europe – expanding acceptance.
- Impact: From reliance on Western card networks → to Indian-built open digital rails.
Structural Foundation – Digital Public Infrastructure
UPI success rests on the “Trinity” model:
- Jan Dhan Yojana → financial inclusion (hundreds of millions of accounts).
- Aadhaar → unique biometric identity for all.
- Low-cost mobile data → cheap internet for masses.
- Together, they created the base for UPI’s rapid adoption.
- Design innovation:
- Interoperability: Works across all banks/apps (not closed like wallets).
- Incentive structure: Competition among banks, fintechs, big tech → better services, faster innovation.
IMF Recognition (2025)
- Fintech Note (June 2025): Recognized UPI for interoperability.
- Finance & Development (Sept 2025): Featured article “India’s Frictionless Payments”.
- Called UPI a lesson for the world.
- Highlighted shift from cash → digital trust.
- Showed UPI as a model for inclusive, low-cost, open payment rails.
Socio-Economic Impact
- Vendors: Street-side sellers now get instant payment confirmation.
- Women entrepreneurs: Digital access widens financial independence.
- Farmers: Receive direct payments, reducing reliance on middlemen.
- Government: Gains trust in formal banking, expands tax base, and reduces leakage in DBTs.
Overview
- Polity & Governance:
- Strengthens Digital India Mission.
- Acts as a public good showcasing successful state-market collaboration.
- Economy:
- Facilitates cashless economy.
- Reduces transaction costs and expands market participation.
- Social Justice:
- Promotes financial inclusion of marginalized groups.
- Technology & Innovation:
- Open architecture encourages start-ups and fintech growth.
- International Relations:
- Expanding UPI abroad strengthens India’s soft power and digital diplomacy.
Did You Know?
- UPI processes more payments than debit + credit cards combined in India.
- 20+ billion monthly transactions = world’s largest retail real-time payment system.
- ₹10 lakh/day merchant transaction limit (2025 reform).
- Adopted in Singapore, UAE, Mauritius, France, Nepal, Bhutan – expanding to Asia, Africa, Europe.
- 85% share in India’s digital transactions.
Conclusion
- UPI is not just a payments tool → it is:
- India’s symbol of digital innovation.
- A model for inclusive financial systems worldwide.
- A diplomatic asset, exporting India’s digital rails abroad.
- From local chaiwala to the Eiffel Tower, UPI is India’s story of trust digitized, inclusion scaled, and innovation globalized.
PMAY-Urban 2.0
Context
- Scheme: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) launched in 2015 → mission of “Housing for All”.
- PMAY-Urban 2.0: Relaunched in Sept 2024, focusing on inclusivity, speed, and saturation in urban housing delivery.
- Current Development (2025):
- Angikaar 2025 campaign (Sept–Oct 2025) launched to fast-track application verification, construction, and delivery.
- 17 Sept 2025 celebrated as PMAY-U Awas Diwas (1-year of PMAY-U 2.0).
Key Facts & Figures
- Overall PMAY Achievement (2015–2025):
- 1.2 crore homes sanctioned.
- 94 lakh homes handed over.
- PMAY-U 2.0 (since Sept 2024):
- 8.56 lakh houses sanctioned (additional 1.47 lakh in Aug 2025 CSMC meeting).
- 20 lakh houses under completion pipeline.
- ₹2.5 lakh financial assistance available per household (EWS/LIG/MIG).
- Inclusivity Focus:
- 75,417 houses sanctioned in the name of women (including single women & widows).
- 1,166 houses approved for senior citizens (Uttar Pradesh example).
- Community-wise sanction:
- 32,551 for SCs.
- 5,025 for STs.
- 58,375 for OBCs.
Angikaar 2025 – Campaign Highlights
- Duration: 4 Sept – 31 Oct 2025.
- Coverage: 5,000+ Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
- Objectives:
- Complete pending 20 lakh houses.
- Reach Special Focus Groups: safai karamcharis, street vendors (PM SVANidhi), artisans (PM Vishwakarma), Anganwadi & construction workers, slum dwellers.
- Connect homes with PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (solar power).
- Facilitate Grih Pravesh ceremonies for new houses.
- Loan facilitation for 8.5 lakh sanctioned homes.
- Extensive door-to-door verification, geo-tagging, document checks for eligibility.
- Community Events: PM Awas Mela – Shehri (Sept–Oct 2025).
- Services: Help desks, loan melas, health camps, solar scheme camps, awareness drives.
- Activities: beneficiary stories, women achiever awards, student performances, cultural events.
Structure of PMAY-U 2.0
- Four Verticals:
- Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC) – self-construction with subsidy.
- Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) – PPP projects.
- Affordable Rental Housing (ARH) – for migrants & urban poor.
- Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS) – CLSS (Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme).
- Recent approvals mainly under BLC & AHP.
Socio-Economic Impact
- Urban Poor Empowerment: Enables slum dwellers, daily wage earners, vendors, and women to access secure housing.
- Women Empowerment: Priority sanction in women’s names ensures property rights, security, and dignity.
- Elderly & Vulnerable Groups: Dedicated quotas for senior citizens, SC/ST/OBC, and minorities.
- Integration with Other Schemes:
- Energy: Solar power under PM Surya Ghar.
- Welfare: PM Ujjwala, Ayushman Bharat, PM SVANidhi.
- Livelihood: PM Vishwakarma, artisan support.
Overview
- Polity & Governance:
- Strengthens urban local governance (ULBs central in implementation).
- Promotes cooperative federalism (states, ULBs, and Centre coordination).
- Economy:
- Boosts construction sector, creates jobs in allied industries.
- Loan facilitation deepens credit penetration.
- Social Justice:
- Prioritizes marginalized groups → SC, ST, OBC, women, widows, transgenders.
- Promotes inclusive urbanization.
- Technology:
- Use of geo-tagging, online portals, Aadhaar-linked eligibility checks → reduces duplication and leakages.
- Environment:
- Integration with solar schemes promotes sustainable housing.
- Culture/Community:
- Events like Awas Mela – Shehri foster ownership, pride, and participation at community level.
Did You Know?
- PMAY since 2015: 1.2 crore sanctioned, 94 lakh handed over.
- PMAY-U 2.0 (2024–25): 8.56 lakh houses sanctioned.
- Financial aid per family: up to ₹2.5 lakh.
- 20 lakh homes currently under construction pipeline.
- Special sanction: 75,417 (women), 32,551 (SC), 5,025 (ST), 58,375 (OBC), 1,166 (senior citizens in UP).
- Coverage: 5,000+ ULBs under Angikaar 2025.
Conclusion
- PMAY-U 2.0 + Angikaar 2025 = twin approach of infrastructure + inclusion.
- Shifts focus from “how many homes sanctioned” → “when will mine be ready” (last-mile delivery).
- More than housing → ensures dignity, safety, empowerment, and inclusion.
- With convergence of welfare schemes and technology-driven accountability, India is moving closer to the constitutional ideal of equitable, dignified urban living.
