Media Statement from NPCI During June 2020 on Digital Payments

“We have come across some quotes on social media which suggest that transferring money through Google Pay is not protected by the law, since the app is unauthorised. RBI has authorised NPCI as a Payment System Operator (PSO) of UPI and NPCI in its capacity as PSO authorises all UPI participants.

We would like to clarify that Google Pay is classified as Third Party App Provider (TPAP) that also provides UPI payment services like many others, working through banking partners and operating under the UPI framework of NPCI. All authorised TPAPs are listed on the NPCI Website. 

Enclosed:

Annexure 1 – List of UPI Live Members and Annexure 2 – List of 3rd Party Apps) All transactions made using any of the authorized TPAPs are fully protected by the redressal processes laid out by applicable guidelines of NPCI/RBI and customers already have full access to the same. Further, we would also like to clarify that all authorised TPAP’s are already bound by full compliance to all the regulations and applicable laws in India. UPI ecosystem is fully safe and secure, and we appeal to the citizens not to fall prey to such malicious news. We also request UPI customers not to share their OTP (one time password) and UPI Pin with anybody”.

Is US tightening of H-1B visa rules for Indians justified?

Indian professionals aspiring to go to the US to work may now find it more difficult to get H-1B visas with Washington deciding on stricter screening following complaints of misuse of the facility.

Acting on the complaints, the US has adopted “fraud prevention tactics” to prevent such misuse. “We’ve added fraud prevention tactics. We’ve begun looking at other more standard fraud investigatory techniques that weren’t being used in H-1B that we are now going to employ. It includes things like sites visits and worksites visits,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said.

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Napolitano said over the last month, the Department has added some tools to rigorously enforce H-1B visa programme and prevent fraud.

Napolitano comment’s on H-1B visa programme came in response to a question from senator Richard Durbin, who along with senator Chuck Grassley, has introduced a legislation in the US Senate in this regard. Senator Durbin alleged that most of the H-1B visa fraud is being done by companies in India.

“The most outrageous abuses when it comes to H-1B visas include the fact that some major companies overseas, primarily in India, have successfully managed to marshal many of these H-1B visas and make a profit off them,” Durbin said.

“They charged the citizens of India coming to the US on H-1B visas and after three to six years, when they are to return to India, they charge to place them in companies which will then compete with the US,” he alleged.

Agencies