From Queues to QR Codes: India’s Payment Revolution

• India's transition from cash/cheque-based payments to a real-time, mobile-first, QR-driven ecosystem anchored by UPI (Unified Payments Interface), RuPay, BHIM, AePS and the JAM trinity (Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile).
• Operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under RBI regulation; UPI launched in 2016 and is now the world's largest real-time payments system, accounting for ~49% of global real-time transaction volume (IMF, 2025).
• UPSC relevance: cross-cuts GS-II (governance, financial inclusion) and GS-III (economy, digital infrastructure, cyber-security); high probability of Prelims factual MCQs on NPCI/RBI/year-launch.