GK One-Liners

What: PayNearby secured the Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) licence from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), enabling it to offer Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services. The company launched PayNearby Saathi, which integrates BHASHINI—the government’s multilingual AI platform—to enable voice-based payments in multiple Indian languages.

How: The TPAP licence allows PayNearby to operate as an independent UPI application provider, expanding financial inclusion in underserved areas. BHASHINI integration enables users to make digital payments through voice commands in their native languages, removing language barriers in digital transactions. This strengthens last-mile payment infrastructure across semi-urban and rural India.

Why: This development is crucial for UPSC Prelims and Mains (GS Paper III) covering Digital India initiatives, financial inclusion schemes, and payment ecosystem evolution. Questions may link NPCI’s regulatory framework, UPI architecture, BHASHINI’s role in language technology, and government efforts to bridge the digital divide in rural areas.

What: The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) amended the National Pension System (NPS) exit norms, increasing the lump sum withdrawal limit from 60% to 80% of the corpus, reducing mandatory annuity purchase to 20%, extending maximum annuity purchase age to 85 years, and permitting loans against the NPS corpus.

How: Subscribers now have greater flexibility at retirement—they can withdraw a larger portion as lump sum for immediate needs while investing a smaller portion in annuities for regular pension income. The age extension to 85 allows seniors to defer annuity decisions, and loan provisions provide liquidity during emergencies without premature exit from the scheme.

Why: This reform is frequently tested in Banking and Economic Affairs sections of SSC, UPSC, and state PSC exams. Questions may cover pension sector reforms, PFRDA’s regulatory role, comparison between NPS and other retirement schemes like EPF, and government measures to enhance social security infrastructure for India’s aging population.

What: NITI Aayog’s report highlighted a severe 28:1 imbalance between Indian students studying abroad (outbound) versus international students studying in India (inbound), resulting in an estimated annual outflow of ₹6.2 lakh crore. The report urges comprehensive reforms to position India as a global education hub.

How: The imbalance reflects challenges in India’s higher education infrastructure—quality concerns, limited research funding, and lack of globally competitive universities. The report recommends improving university rankings, establishing international campuses, enhancing research output, and creating regulatory frameworks to attract foreign students and reverse the brain drain trend.

Why: This topic is critical for UPSC Mains (GS Paper II – Education Policy) and essay writing on brain drain, National Education Policy 2020 implementation, and India’s soft power projection. Questions may explore causes of student migration, comparison with education hubs like USA/UK, measures under NEP 2020, and strategies to transform India into a knowledge economy destination.

What: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully completed user trials of the Akash-NG (New Generation) surface-to-air missile system, which intercepted multiple aerial targets with high accuracy. Akash-NG is an advanced variant of the Akash missile system, designed to neutralize fast-moving aerial threats at extended ranges.

How: Akash-NG features improved range, accuracy, and target engagement capabilities compared to its predecessor. The missile uses indigenous radar systems, advanced guidance mechanisms, and can simultaneously engage multiple targets. These successful user trials validate the system’s operational readiness and pave the way for induction into the Indian Air Force and Army’s air defence units.

Why: This development is crucial for UPSC and CDS exams covering indigenous defence capabilities, Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing, and India’s layered air defence architecture. Questions may explore DRDO’s role, comparison with systems like S-400, Make in India in defence sector, and India’s strategic deterrence capabilities against aerial threats in the context of regional security challenges.

What: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi developed AILA (Autonomous Intelligent Lab Assistant), an advanced artificial intelligence agent capable of independently designing, executing, and analysing real-world laboratory experiments without human intervention. AILA represents a breakthrough in autonomous scientific research automation.

How: AILA combines machine learning algorithms, robotics, and decision-making frameworks to plan experimental protocols, operate laboratory equipment, collect data, and interpret results autonomously. The system can adapt to unexpected outcomes, optimize experimental parameters in real-time, and generate scientific insights, significantly accelerating research cycles and reducing human error in repetitive experimental tasks.

Why: This innovation is highly relevant for UPSC Science & Technology sections, covering AI applications in research, India’s position in global AI development, and technological self-reliance under National AI Mission. Questions may link AI ethics, automation in scientific discovery, IIT contributions to frontier technologies, and implications for India’s research productivity in achieving Viksit Bharat 2047 goals.

What: ROHM Semiconductor (Japan) and Tata Electronics announced a strategic partnership to establish a Make in India semiconductor supply chain targeting automotive, artificial intelligence, defence, and electronics sectors. This collaboration aims to reduce India’s dependence on imported semiconductors and strengthen domestic chip manufacturing capabilities.

How: The partnership will leverage ROHM’s semiconductor technology expertise and Tata Electronics’ manufacturing infrastructure to set up fabrication facilities, design centers, and testing units in India. The initiative aligns with the government’s Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors and will focus on producing chips for electric vehicles, AI computing systems, defense electronics, and consumer devices.

Why: This development is critical for questions on semiconductor policy, Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, India-Japan strategic cooperation, and Make in India in high-tech manufacturing. UPSC and Banking exams may test knowledge of India’s semiconductor mission, global supply chain diversification post-COVID, critical technology partnerships, and government incentives under PLI schemes for achieving technological self-reliance and positioning India as a global electronics hub.