A new tussle started between the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, VK Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the inauguration of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprasth University in East Delhi.

Delhi education minister, Atishi had announced the inauguration of the university by the Delhi CM which prompted the Delhi LG to issue a statement saying, “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself was aware of the fact that the L-G was scheduled to inaugurate the campus. In fact, they were also aware that they were supposed to be present in the function as Guest of Honour and distinguished guest, as desired by the L-G and had also consented to it.”

“Moreover, even on the day when Atishi made this claim in a press conference, i.e. 06.06.2023, earlier during the day, the VC of GGSIPU had announced on stage at the Convocation of GGSIPU, where Atishi was present as a Guest of Honour, that the East Campus of the University was scheduled to be inaugurated by the Lt. Governor on 08.06.2023,” it added.  

Reacting to this Delhi education minister, Atishi said that the L-G should not forget that education, higher education and technical education are all transferred subjects.

Even Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj reacted to this, saying that the L-G should focus on inauguration of buildings which come under Police, Land and Public order.

“The construction of this campus started when he (VK Saxena) was not the L-G. Manish Sisodia started this work and our elected government took it further. It is strange now for the L-G to say that he was asked by officials to inaugurate the university campus,” Bhardwaj said.

“At this rate, the L-G could say tomorrow that he would inaugurate Saurabh Bhardwaj’s office. That’s why L-G has kept all officers under his control and wants to keep it going. The CM is the one vested with the moral authority to inaugurate the campus. Such thoughts should not even come to the L-G’s mind,” he added.

Tensions have been rising between the Delhi L-G and Delhi CM for the past few years over various matters. Notably, in May this year a Supreme Court judgement had ruled that the Delhi government had powers over civil services in the Delhi after which the Centre had brought in an ordinance regarding civil services giving more power to the L-G, creating more friction between the two posts.

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UPI’s Global Expansion: A New Era of Cross-Border Transactions

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India’s UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, is now expanding its reach beyond borders. This month, Indians can use UPI to buy tickets to visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This marks the beginning of UPI’s international journey.

Indians can now transact using UPI at nearly 3 million merchants across seven Asian countries. Additionally, they can also send money from the UAE and Singapore, which together accounted for a quarter of the $125 billion remitted to India in 2023.

The numbers are small compared to local transactions, but they are expected to grow rapidly. UPI has seen tremendous growth domestically, from 920 million transactions in 2017-18 to 84 billion in 2022-23. The target is 1 billion transactions per day by 2026-27.

This global expansion of UPI was first recommended by a committee led by Nandan Nilekani. The aim is to facilitate real-time, low-cost cross-border transactions and promote India’s digital finance architecture in countries with trade, travel, and diaspora connections.

While progress is visible, there are challenges ahead. Merchant visibility and transaction costs need to be addressed. UPI’s leaner model has the potential to reduce transfer fees, but lowering foreign exchange conversion costs remains a challenge.

Raising transaction value limits and resolving cross-border payment disputes are among the hurdles UPI must overcome to scale up its global presence.

As NPCI looks to expand UPI to more countries, other nations are also advancing their payment systems. However, UPI’s open architecture and interoperability give it an advantage over many private wallets dominating other markets.

While full adoption may be challenging, NPCI’s success could pave the way for exporting India’s digital infrastructure to other countries, enhancing India’s economic and diplomatic influence on the global stage.

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