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Topic Digital payments
Asked 5 times across 3 UPSC exams over 4 years (2022–2026), peaking in 2023.
Key insights
- Most tested in CSE — 2 of 5 PYQs
- First appeared in CDS 2022 — 3 years before CSE 2025 (allied exams preview CSE)
- Most asked in 2023
- Recurs across 4 years (2022–2026)
How it travelled across exams
First appearance in each exam — the same idea, reframed.
CDS 2022 → LDCE 2023 → CSE 2025
How the concept evolved
Rising — more than half its appearances (5 of 5) are since 2016.
Related concepts
Ideas UPSC tests alongside this one — keep exploring.
Sample questions
You've seen the pattern — here are a few of the actual PYQs.
CSE2026
Which one of the following statements about Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Central Bank Digital Currency (Digital Rupee) is not correct?
- A UPI is a real-time payment system but Digital Rupee is akin to sovereign paper currency.
- B In case of UPI, settlement for end users happens instantly as the money gets immediately debited or credited but in case of Digital Rupee, there is no settlement as the wallet balance gets transferred to another wallet.
- C UPI transactions are recorded by banks and reflected in bank statements but in case of Digital Rupee, no data is captured in bank statements as transactions are from one wallet to another.
- D In both the cases (UPI and Digital Rupee), the liability lies with the users and their respective banks. ✓
✓ Correct answer: (D)
Economy › Money/Banking/Finance
CSE2025
Consider the following countries
- United Arab Emirates
- France
- Germany
- Singapore
- Bangladesh How many countries amongst the above are there other than India where international merchant payments are accepted under UPI?
- A Only two
- B Only three ✓
- C Only four
- D All the five
✓ Correct answer: (B)
Economy › Money/Banking/Finance
LDCE2023
Consider the following
- Smart cards
- Magnetic stripe cards
- Paper vouchers
Which of the above are Pre-paid Payment Instruments?
- A 1 and 2 only
- B 1 and 3 only
- C 2 and 3 only ✓
- D 1, 2 and 3
✓ Correct answer: (C)
Economy › Money/Banking/Finance
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