PM Modi, Sri Lankan President & Mauritius PM to watch UPI services launch
Colombo (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth will witness on Monday, via video conferencing, the launch of Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, it was announced here on Sunday.
The launch will enable the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius as well as for Mauritian nationals travelling to India, the Indian High Commission said in a statement.
"India has emerged as a leader in Fintech innovation and Digital Public Infrastructure. Prime Minister has placed a strong emphasis on sharing our development experiences and innovation with partner countries. Given India's robust cultural and people-to-people linkages with Sri Lanka and Mauritius, the launch will benefit a wide cross-section of people through a faster and seamless digital transaction experience and enhance digital connectivity between the countries," the statement said.
Earlier this month, India formally launched UPI at the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, terming it as taking global Modi's vision of the Indian instant payment system developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.
Modi had earlier this month said: "Great to see this- it marks a significant step towards taking UPI global. This is a wonderful example of encouraging digital payments and fostering stronger ties."
UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing and merchant payments into one hood, according to NPCI.
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Deepfake video of Nirmala Sitharaman used to dupe Belagavi man in Rs 7.9 lakh scam
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 76-year-old man in Belagavi city was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.9 lakh in an online investment scam that used an AI-generated deepfake video misusing the name of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure investors, police said on Wednesday.
An online fraud case was registered at the cybercrime police station on May 1, they said.
According to Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, the victim, Prakash Gubbi, a senior citizen, stated in his complaint that in November last year, he came across a video on YouTube in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to endorse an investment scheme.
The video also mentioned a link in its description for making investments.
The victim clicked on the link, entered his details, and was later contacted on social media by a person identifying himself as Adarsh Anand, who persuaded him to invest, the officer told reporters.
Citing the complaint, the officer said the victim initially invested a small amount, after which the application began showing profits of USD 65,000.
When he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded a “customs duty” payment of Rs 4.2 lakh, claiming it was required to process the withdrawal.
The victim paid the amount, after which he was asked to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. In total, he lost around Rs 7.9 lakh in the fraud, the officer added.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and police are investigating the matter, police said.
The commissioner cautioned the public not to trust such videos, stating that the finance minister does not endorse any such schemes.
He warned that such content is created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
He further advised the public to remain vigilant, avoid offers that appear too good to be true on the internet, and invest only through legitimate, registered agencies or trusted channels.
Deepfake technology enables the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings, and images that can mislead viewers by superimposing one person’s likeness onto another, altering their words and actions. This can present a false narrative or spread misinformation.
