NPCI Inks Pact With IISc To Conduct Research On AI, Blockchain

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for conducting joint research on blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. 

In a joint statement, the organisations said they will focus on scalable blockchain platforms and multi-modal analytics over fintech data. Faculty members from five departments at IISc will work with the researchers of the NPCI on practical challenges related to these areas. 

Besides, the partnership is also expected to propel further innovation through the establishment of the “NPCI–IISc Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Deep Tech Research & Development”.

The NPCI operates retail payments and settlement systems in India like UPI, IMPS, RuPay card network, and Bharat BillPay. On the other hand, IISc is a reputed and premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education.

The development comes at a time when the central government has increased focus on tech innovation in the country and announced building CoEs for AI, semiconductor manufacturing, spacetech, and multiple other sectors.

In Union Budget 2023-24, the Centre had announced setting up three CoEs for AI in top educational institutions.

Speaking on the pact, Vishal Kanvaty, chief technology officer of the NPCI, said, “At NPCI, we continuously explore new possibilities to augment the consumer experience by leveraging emerging technologies. This latest development marks an important step towards achieving that goal.”

“As our nation progresses towards digital sustainability, we recognise the significant potential for research in deep technologies such as blockchain and AI to further enhance the payment landscape,” Kanvaty added.

Yogesh Simmhan, associate professor at the department of computational and data sciences at IISc, said the joint research envisioned between NPCI researchers and IISc faculty members that’s working on distributed systems, cryptography and machine learning, provides a unique opportunity for translational research. 

It can enhance the scalability and effectiveness of the billion-scale platforms managed by the NPCI, said Simmhan.

This partnership is expected to not only foster research and the development of models and software prototypes but also nurture professional development through workshops and training programmes.

Earlier this week, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank has also given its approval to NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) for implementing an interoperable payment system for net banking and it is likely to be launched in the ongoing calendar year.