Digital Technology

In a move aimed at strengthening India’s digital security architecture, Unique Identification Authority of India has entered into a five-year strategic collaboration with National Forensic Sciences University. The partnership focuses on advancing capabilities in digital forensics, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies to safeguard the country’s digital identity ecosystem. By combining institutional expertise, the initiative seeks to enhance cyber resilience across Aadhaar infrastructure.

PhonePe has achieved a major milestone, reflecting its vast reach across India’s digital payments ecosystem. The platform’s rapid user growth underscores rising consumer trust and deep market penetration. Notably, what once took 136 days to acquire one million users now takes just six days, highlighting exponential adoption. Between FY23 and FY25, PhonePe sustained a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 56.25 percent, demonstrating consistent expansion even at scale.

India’s artificial intelligence ambitions received a major boost as senior industry leaders highlighted the strategic importance of infrastructure, energy, and connectivity in building a robust digital ecosystem. Jeet Adani of the Adani Group and Rakesh Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises emphasised that Visakhapatnam is emerging as a critical digital gateway for the country. Their remarks came after the foundation-laying ceremony of a USD 15 billion Google AI data centre near the coastal city.

Digital payments major PhonePe has announced a significant milestone, reaching 50 million merchants across India, marking a major step in the country’s ongoing financial digitisation journey. The company highlighted that its merchant ecosystem, which often begins with simple QR code-based transactions, has evolved into a broader gateway for formal financial services. These include access to credit and other financial products aimed at improving business efficiency and inclusion.

Digital payments platform MobiKwik has received regulatory approval to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC), marking a significant milestone in its evolution into a full-fledged financial services provider. The licence enables the company to establish a dedicated lending arm, broadening its ability to design and distribute credit products across consumer and merchant segments. The swift approval process underscores regulatory confidence in the firm’s governance and operational framework.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) witnessed an unprecedented surge in March 2026, with transaction values reaching Rs 29.53 lakh crore and total volumes at 22.64 billion, marking a record high, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This growth reflects both festive season spending and the end-of-financial-year momentum, with year-on-year value growth of 19 per cent from Rs 24.77 lakh crore in March 2025. Month-on-month, UPI transaction values rose 10 per cent from Rs 26.84 lakh crore in February.

India’s digital payments ecosystem has entered a more secure phase as the Reserve Bank of India enforces mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) across all electronic transactions, including those conducted via the Unified Payments Interface. The directive aims to curb rising instances of fraud by requiring users to complete dual verification steps before processing payments. Even if sensitive credentials such as PINs are compromised, unauthorized transactions will be blocked without the second authentication layer.

India’s digital payments revolution has entered a new phase, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now accounting for nearly 92 percent of lending transactions across peer-to-peer platforms. A recent industry report highlights a structural shift in how credit is disbursed and managed, driven by seamless payment infrastructure and evolving investor behavior. Notably, female participants are deploying significantly higher capital than their male counterparts, signaling changing demographics in digital finance.

India’s digital payments ecosystem continues to evolve with enhanced security and user convenience at its core. Fintech platform CRED has introduced biometric authentication for UPI transactions up to Rs 5,000, enabling users to approve payments through facial recognition or fingerprint verification. Developed in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the feature aims to streamline payment processes while strengthening fraud prevention measures.

One 97 Communications, the operator of Paytm, is expected to consolidate its leadership in India’s merchant payments ecosystem, according to recent brokerage assessments. With a rapidly expanding base of 45 million merchants, the platform is leveraging integrated offerings such as payments, lending, and subscription-based devices to accelerate growth. Analysts project a strong revenue trajectory with a 22 percent CAGR between FY26 and FY28, alongside improving profitability metrics.