IISc and NPCI Unite for AI, Blockchain Research

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to conduct joint research on blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The collaboration aims to enhance the payment landscape in India by developing scalable, secure and efficient solutions for fintech data.

The partnership will also establish the “NPCI–IISc Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Deep Tech Research & Development” to foster innovation and professional development in these domains. Faculty members from five departments at IISc will work with NPCI researchers on practical challenges related to distributed systems, cryptography, machine learning, neural networks, Graph AI and Large Language Models (LLM).

NPCI, which operates retail payments and settlement systems such as UPI, IMPS, RuPay and Bharat BillPay, joins forces with IISc, a premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education. This initiative aligns with the government’s increased focus on tech innovation, as seen in the announcement of CoEs for AI, semiconductor manufacturing, spacetech, and other sectors in Union Budget 2023-24.

Vishal Kanvaty, Chief Technology Officer of NPCI, expressed the organization’s commitment to exploring new technologies for enhancing consumer experiences. He highlighted the potential of blockchain and AI research to further improve the payment landscape in India. Yogesh Simmhan, Associate Professor at IISc’s Department of Computational and Data Sciences, emphasized the opportunity for translational research between NPCI and IISc, particularly in scalability and privacy preserving designs.

The partnership will not only drive research and development but also facilitate workshops and training programs for researchers and professionals. Additionally, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the approval for NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) to implement an interoperable payment system for net banking, likely to be launched this year.

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