Jul 2, 2025

Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox? SUBSCRIBE Thank you for subscribing to Morning Dispatch We'll soon meet in your inbox. Happy Wednesday! Users are returning to the payments app Bhim, attracted by cashbacks and incentives. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch. Also in the letter: Bhim gets big boost as NPCI scales up incentives, offers The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)-run consumer payment app Bhim is making a comeback , offering cashbacks and incentives to attract users again, and early signs indicate it's succeeding. Driving the news: Bhim has more than doubled its monthly transactions, from 33 million in January 2025 to around 75 million now. NPCI has established a new subsidiary, NBSL (NPCI Bhim Services Limited), and is backing it with a substantial marketing budget of Rs 150-200 crore this financial year to rekindle user interest in the government-backed app. Behind the push: According to sources, the key objectives are clear: Bring users back to the Bhim ecosystem and drive usage across services. Help banks enable UPI through their net banking and mobile apps. Boost Bhim-powered in-app payments for online merchants. Larger impact: NPCI's renewed focus on Bhim signals a fresh ambition to strengthen its consumer-facing presence. With PhonePe and Google Pay still accounting for nearly 85% of all UPI transactions, NPCI is keen to tip the balance by helping banks and smaller players grow their UPI volumes. In this context, Bhim is more than just an app; it's a strategic lever for diversifying the UPI landscape and bringing banks back into the payments game. UPI sees marginal dip in June transactions, value down 4% The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), experienced a marginal decline in both transaction volume and value in June. Numberwise: UPI processed 18.40 billion transactions last month, a slight decrease from 18.68 billion in May. The total value declined 4% to Rs 24.04 lakh crore from Rs 25.14 lakh crore, according to NPCI data. Behind the dip? Seasonal factors, such as the Indian Premier League (IPL), which boosted UPI transaction volumes in May, weren't present in June, industry executives observed. Nonetheless, volume growth on an annual basis remains robust and is expected to persist. UPI also experienced several service disruptions recently , impacting users of Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and banking apps. Are digital privacy and the right to information in conflict? To settle the matter, the Centre will refer the proposed Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act to Attorney General R Venkataramani for his legal opinion on whether the new law conflicts with the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Quick recap: The DPDP Act empowers citizens to have greater control over their personal data. It was passed in August 2023 but has not been enforced yet, as the government is still finalising its Rules after seeking public feedback in January. Pretext of privacy? Critics, including civil society groups and the opposition, argue that the Act weakens the RTI law. Specifically, it removes a clause that permitted the disclosure of personal data if it served the public interest and did not unjustifiably invade privacy. They fear this could reduce transparency and shield governments from scrutiny. Centre's stance: Government officials maintain the Act remains a priority. One of them said, “The government's view is that the DPDP Act doesn't dilute the RTI Act,” one of these officials asserted. Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees. The opportunity: Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities. Centre advises permitting bike taxis; states to take final call In a boost for bike taxi operators such as Rapido, Uber, and Ola, the Centre has issued an advisory permitting the use of private two-wheelers for shared mobility services. Driving the news: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued updated aggregator guidelines, suggesting that states allow non-commercial bikes to operate as bike taxis. Yes, but: However, implementation depends on individual states, which retain the final authority. Industry response: Ride-hailing platforms welcomed the move but said swift and consistent adoption across states is essential for regulatory clarity and business continuity. Platforms and stakeholders have one month to submit feedback on the proposals. Govt eyes August-September start to electronic parts PLI approvals The government is likely to begin approving applications under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for electronic components by August-September, a senior official told us. Tell me more: A project management agency is expected to be appointed within a month to screen nearly 100 applications. Approvals will follow soon after. The scheme aims to attract an investment of Rs 59,350 crore, build capacity worth Rs 4.56 lakh crore, and generate around 91,600 direct jobs. Catch up: Applicants include both established players and new entrants to the market. As we reported earlier, Dixon, Tata Electronics, Zetwerk and Foxconn are among those planning investments . Quote, unquote: “The scheme will have the most impact on components that can be assembled or manufactured in India, such as batteries, camera modules, display modules and others, which make up a significant chunk of device costs,” said Neil Shah of Counterpoint Research. Other Top Stories By Our Reporters X wants IT Act provision backing takedown orders gone: Elon Musk's X has urged the Karnataka High Court to declare the Information Technology Act rule that permits the government to block posts as unconstitutional and exceeding the original scope of the law. CIMware bags $2.3 million in maiden institutional fundraise: The data centre infrastructure startup will use the funds for hardware production, hiring a software team, and covering operational costs, said CEO Rajiv Ganth. Zango AI nabs fresh funds: The regulatory tech startup has raised $4.8 million in a funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners to expand its teams in Bengaluru and London and develop additional product modules for AI-native governance, risk, and compliance solutions. Global Picks We Are Reading ■ Tech giants play musical chairs with foundation models ( Axios ) ■ Chinese students are using AI to beat AI detectors ( Rest of World ) ■ Sam Altman slams Meta's AI talent poaching spree: ‘Missionaries will beat mercenaries' ( Wired )