CONTENTS
- Unified Payments Interface
- Graded Response Action Plan
Unified Payments Interface
Focus: GS III: Indian Economy
Why in News?
The Prime Minister has lauded fellow Indians for embracing digital payments as India reached a milestone of 782 Crore UPI Transactions worth ₹12.8 Lakh Crore in Dec 2022.
What is Unified Payments Interface (UPI)?
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
- UPI, which was introduced in 2016, has become one of the most used digital payments platforms in the country.
- The volume of UPI transactions has already reached ₹76 lakh crore in the current year, compared to ₹41 lakh crore in FY21 ,
- Advantages of UPI Includes – Immediate money transfer through mobile device round the clock 24*7 and 365 days.
Click Here To Read more : Unified Payments Interface
Graded Response Action Plan
Focus: GS III: Environment and Ecology
Why in News?
Delhi’s AQI in ‘Very Poor’ category, Stage III of GRAP remains enforced.
What is the Graded Response Action Plan?
- GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold.
- Stage 1 of GRAP is activated when the AQI is in the ‘poor’ category (201 to 300), for instance, the AQI in Delhi was 211.
- The second, third and fourth stages will be activated three days ahead of the AQI reaching the ‘very poor’ category (301 to 400), ‘severe’ category (401 to 450) and ‘severe +’ category (above 450) respectively.
- For this, the CAQM is relying on air quality and meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
- Measures being imposed under the previous categories will continue even when the subsequent category is activated, that is, if measures under Stage-2 are activated, measures under Stage-1 will continue to remain in place.
Click Here To Read More: Graded Response Action Plan
