RBI To Give Rs 40 Lakh Reward For This Work, Registration To Start On 15th November

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Mumbai, 10th November 2021: If you make digital payments and you can spot the flaws and rectify them, then you can win Rs 40 lakh. This is not a lottery but a reward for your talent and will be given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The central bank is going to organize its first global hackathon with an aim to make digital payments more secure and convenient for consumers.

What is Harbinger 2021?

Announcing this hackathon on Tuesday, RBI said that the theme has been to make digital payments more agile. The registration for this hackathon named Harbinger 2021 will start from 15th November. The central bank said that the participants of the hackathon will be asked to identify the issues related to making digital payments more secure along with making digital payments accessible to the underprivileged, simplifying and improving the payment experience, and providing solutions along with it.

This is how the winner will be selected

“By being a part of ‘Harbinger 2021’, the participants will get an opportunity to seek guidance from industry experts and showcase their innovative solutions,” RBI said in a statement. A jury will select the winners in each category. The first-place winner will be given Rs 40 lakh while the second place participant will get a reward of Rs 20 lakh.

Uncertainties of the pandemic increase demand for cash

Due to the uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the demand for currency notes i.e. cash not only in India but across the world. This information was given by official sources. Sources, however, brushed off criticism that demonetization had failed to reduce cash flow in the economy.

Government sources said the development of digital payment systems post-demonetization would eventually curb dependence on cash.

Official figures point to a boom in digital payments through various modes including plastic cards, net banking, and Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The UPI system of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is fast emerging as a major mode of payment in the country. UPI was launched in 2016 and transactions through it are increasing month by month.

Transactions over $100 billion

In October 2021, transactions in value terms stood at Rs 7.71 lakh crore or over $100 billion. In October, a total of 421 crore transactions were done through UPI. Sources also pointed out that in the US too, total cash transactions reached $2.07 trillion by the end of 2020, an increase of 16 percent from a year ago and also the biggest one-year percentage increase since 1945. 

Sources said the demand for cash always increases during periods of economic uncertainty and since cash is the most liquid form of assets, cash is expected to rise during periods of heavy uncertainty. The surge in demand for cash during the pandemic has been a worldwide phenomenon. 

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