Agentic AI Reshapes Digital Payments: NPCI MyUPI Unveiled, EY Estimates 80% Treasury Automation

FM Urges RBI to Advance CBDC & Digital Rupee; India's First Tokenised Corporate Bond Pilot by REC

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged RBI to accelerate CBDC and digital Rupee capabilities, highlighting the success of India's first tokenised corporate bond pilot by REC under SEBI's sandbox. This signals a major push towards tokenisation in financial markets, with implications for exam questions on digital currency, fintech regulation, and RBI-SEBI coordination.

RBI Dy Governor: CBDC and ULI Adoption Rising, 12 States Digitise Land Records for Faster Loans

RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain announced that CBDC (Digital Rupee) and ULI (Unified Lending Interface) are moving beyond pilot stages into real-world usage, with 12 states already digitising land records. This signals a major push for financial inclusion, faster credit delivery, and digital public infrastructure, making it a high-priority topic for banking and economy sections in exams.

SEBI Revamps SLB Scheme, Launches Setu Portal, Pilots Bond Tokenisation on Blockchain

SEBI is modernizing the Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) scheme to improve price discovery and link cash and derivatives markets. It also launches a single online portal (Setu) for intermediaries and a pilot project for tokenising corporate bonds using blockchain. These reforms are crucial for capital market efficiency and are highly exam-relevant for UPSC, Banking, and SSC.

RBI Subsidiary BRBNMPL Issues EOI for Polymer Substrate: 68,000 Reams for Rs 10 & Rs 20 Notes

India moves closer to introducing polymer banknotes in Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations. Bidders for the polymer substrate must certify no animal tallow and firewall operations from China/Pakistan. The RBI subsidiary BRBNMPL requires 68,000 reams of substrate, with samples tested across climatic zones.

RBI & SEBI Tighten Cybersecurity Norms: ITRI, Kill Switch & 6-Hour Reporting Mandated

Indian financial regulators RBI and SEBI are significantly strengthening cybersecurity frameworks in response to rising AI-driven fraud. SEBI introduced an IT Resilience Index (ITRI) for market infrastructure institutions, while RBI mandated board-level ownership and a strict 6-hour cyber incident reporting window, signaling a major shift in regulatory vigilance.

SEBI Introduces IT Resilience Index (ITRI) for MIIs: 9-Parameter Scorecard to Quantify Tech Risk

SEBI has launched the IT Resilience Index (ITRI), a first-of-its-kind quantitative scorecard to measure the robustness of critical IT systems at stock exchanges, clearing corporations, and depositories. This shifts regulation from compliance-checking to risk-monitoring, with 9 weighted parameters — Availability and Security each carrying the highest weight of 20%. For exam aspirants, this is a high-priority topic: it links to regulatory bodies (SEBI), financial market infrastructure, and emerging tech risks (cyber, AI, cloud).

UPI Completes 10 Years: 66 Cr Daily Transactions, 49% Global Volume, Challenges of Monetisation & Next Frontiers

UPI's 10th anniversary highlights its dominance in global real-time payment volume (49%) but not in value, as low-value retail payments dominate. The key challenges ahead are monetisation of the zero-MDR model, expanding into high-value transactions, and integrating with tax compliance to drive digital economy growth.

SEBI Proposes Digital KYC Norms for NRIs/OCIs, Eases Physical Presence for FATF-Compliant Countries

SEBI has proposed major relaxations in KYC norms for individual overseas investors (NRIs, OCIs, foreign nationals) by allowing digital onboarding without physical presence for residents of FATF-compliant countries. This move aims to simplify entry into India's securities market, reduce paperwork, and boost foreign portfolio investment by enabling KYC portability across intermediaries.