Content

1. UPI: India’s Digital Revolution Goes Global
2. 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:

1. Jan Dhan Yojana → financial inclusion (hundreds of millions of accounts).
2. Aadhaar → unique biometric identity for all.
3. Low-cost mobile data → cheap internet for masses.
4. Together, they created the base for UPI’s rapid adoption.
5. Design innovation:
   1. Interoperability: Works across all banks/apps (not closed like wallets).
   1. 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.