Non-residents from 10 countries will soon be able to use UPI for fund transfer
New Delhi(PTI): The NPCI has permitted non-residents from 10 countries, including the US, Canada and UAE, to digitally transfer funds using the UPI platform from NRE/NRO accounts.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in a circular said it has been receiving requests for allowing non-residents to use international mobile numbers for transacting in Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Accordingly, the NPCI in a circular dated January 10 has asked the UPI participants to put in place a mechanism by April 30 under which non-residents having NRE/NRO accounts will be allowed to transfer funds using their international mobile numbers.
To start with, this facility will be available to non-residents in 10 countries -- Singapore, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Oman, Qatar, USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE and the United Kingdom.
While NRIs and PIOs can open Non-Resident (External) Rupee (NRE) bank accounts, Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) accounts can be opened by any person residing outside India for bonafide transactions in the rupee.
The NPCI, which operates the UPI platform, said, "To begin with, we shall be enabling transaction from mobile numbers having the country code of (10 nations)... and shall extend for other country codes in near future...".
Payments Council of India Chairman Vishwas Patel said the major convenience factor would be in the form of 'payment/money transfer convenience' for NRIs when they visit India.
Sarvatra Technologies Founder MD Mandar Agashe said all these years, NRIs couldn't access the UPI network since SIM binding, which is an important security feature of UPI, was available only to Indian SIM card phones.
"NRIs will just need to link their NRE and NRO accounts linked to their international SIM to UPI and use it like any other Indian UPI user for merchant payment as well as peer-to-peer payments," Agashe said.
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Several Gurugram schools receive hoax bomb threats
Gurugram (PTI): Several Gurugram schools received another hoax bomb threat emails on Wednesday morning, prompting police to launch searches on the premises.
Police said the email was sent by the 'Khalistan National Army', with threats issued to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to declare April 29 as the "40th Khalistan Declaration Day". It also threatened to bomb the Red Fort in Delhi.
Police said it was a hoax as no suspicious items were found after an intensive search.
Several schools, including Shri Ram, Amity, and the HDFC school, received threatening emails at 8.33 am, when classes had already begun, police said.
The school administrations became aware of the threats around 9 am and immediately informed the police, a senior police officer said.
The schools immediately implemented emergency protocols, with many declaring a holiday and asking parents to take their children home safely, the officer said.
A large number of anxious parents gathered outside the schools, as police and bomb squad teams reached the spots and started checks.
"Around 10 schools have approached the police from morning until now over bomb threats. Police teams are alert, and searches are underway on all the premises", the officer said.
As soon as the information about this email was received, police in Gurugram and Delhi swung into action and started investigation.
Schools immediately implemented emergency protocols upon receiving the mail. Many schools declared a holiday and sent messages to parents, asking them to take their children home. Large crowds of parents gathered outside the schools.
The schools were sanitised by sending a bomb disposal squad as well as a dog squad.
A senior police officer said that police teams thoroughly searched the school premises, classrooms, buildings, and surrounding areas. No suspicious objects or explosive materials were found during the investigation.
"Police teams are seriously investigating the entire matter. Cyber experts are being consulted to determine the authenticity of the email, its source, and the identity of the sender", added the officer.
This is the third time since January that schools have received fake bomb threats.
In March, at least a dozen schools in the city received bomb threat emails, which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Similarly, on January 28, as many as 13 schools received hoax bomb threats via email, forcing authorities to evacuate campuses and suspend classes.
Last month, police arrested a Bangladeshi national whose email ID was allegedly used to make a bomb threat for some payment.
