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    International Relations

    International Day for South-South Cooperation

    Syllabus: GS 2/United Nations, its Bodies & Agencies

    Context 

    • Every year, International Day for South-South Cooperation is celebrated globally on September 12. 

    About International Day for South-South Cooperation

    • It is an initiative for the economic, social and political developments of the countries in the Southern region. 
      • Basically, South-South cooperation refers to the technical cooperation among developing countries in the Global South.
    • It is a manifestation of solidarity among peoples and countries of the South that contributes to their national well-being, their national and collective self-reliance and the attainment of internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 
    • This day also commemorates the adoption of the “Buenos Aires Plan of Action (BAPA) in 1978 for promoting and implementing technical cooperation among developing countries by 138 member states.
    • Relevance 
      • The South-South collaboration helps developing nations to share knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to meet their development goals through concerted efforts.
    • Objectives
      • To enhance self-reliance among developing countries and to work out creative solutions to their development problems.
      • Recognising and responding to the problems and requirements of the least developed countries and enabling them to achieve a greater degree of participation in international economic activities

     

    Source: Times now 

    Indian Economy

    Linkages of India and Singapore Fast Payment Systems

    Syllabus: GS 3/Indian Economy & Related Issues

    In News

    • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced a project to link their respective fast payment systems — Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow.

    About 

    • The UPI-PayNow linkage will enable users of each of the two fast payment systems to make instant, low-cost fund transfers on a reciprocal basis without a need to get on boarded onto the other payment system.
    • The linkage builds upon the earlier efforts of NPCI International Private Ltd (NIPL) and Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) to foster cross-border interoperability of payments using cards and QR codes, between India and Singapore and will further anchor trade, travel and remittance flow between the two countries.
    • It closely aligns with the G20’s financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments.
    • It is also in line with RBI’s vision of reviewing corridors and charges for inbound cross-border remittances outlined in the Payment Systems Vision Document 2019-21.
    • The linkage is targeted to be operationalised by July 2022.
    • Significance: 
      • It is a significant milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore.

    Unified Payments Interface (UPI) 

    • UPI is India’s mobile-based, ‘fast payment’ system that facilitates customers to make round the clock payments instantly using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the customer.
      • This eliminates the risk of sharing bank account details by the remitter. 
    • UPI supports both Person to Person (P2P) and Person to Merchant (P2M) payments as also it enables a user to send or receive money.
    • It is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood. 
    • It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.

    PayNow 

    • It is the fast payment system of Singapore that enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service, available to retail customers through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore.
    • It enables users to send and receive instant funds from one bank or e-wallet account to another in Singapore by using just their mobile number, Singapore NRIC/FIN, or VPA.

    Source: TH

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