The structural architecture of India’s informal economy has historically been sustained by traditional artisans and craftspeople who provide foundational services across rural and semi-urban landscapes. Despite their critical contribution to cultural preservation and local self-reliance, these micro-enterprises have long remained textually and financially excluded from organized banking networks and formal credit mechanisms.
Although the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been operational for a decade, it does not exhibit the obsolescence typical of legacy infrastructure; rather, it currently faces challenges associated with rapid and unprecedented scalability. NPCI launched it in April 2016 to make bank-to-bank transfers instant and interoperable, so a payment from any bank app could reach any other bank account without the usual friction. The decision that really made it explode came later: in January 2020, the government set UPI’s Merchant Discount Rate to zero, so neither payer nor payee would ever see a fee. That single choice is arguably why the neighbourhood vegetable seller and the metro-station tea stall started accepting UPI as readily as a large retail chain.
The Public Financial Management System (PFMS) is a web-based platform developed and operated by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, to track and manage the flow of government funds in real time. It began in 2009 as the Central Plan Schemes Monitoring System (CPSMS), a Central Sector Scheme under the erstwhile Planning Commission, at a time when the government had no reliable way of knowing how much of the money released for its Plan schemes had actually reached implementing agencies or been spent, since expenditure was typically reported only after the fact, through conventional accounting cycles that could lag actual spending by months. CPSMS was conceived to close that gap, with a narrow original mandate: tracking funds released under Plan schemes and reporting expenditure in real time, rather than months later.
Youth unemployment and underemployment remain persistent concerns in India's labour market despite recent improvements. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2025 reports that India's youth (15-29 years) unemployment rate declined to 9.9% from 10.3% in 2024. However, significant disparities persist across states, educational levels and rural–urban areas, prompting governments to complement wage-employment strategies with self-employment and enterprise promotion.
Policy UpdateNayanshi Jain Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented economic shock, severely straining the fiscal capacity of Indian states. Nationwide lockdowns disrupted economic activity, leading to a sharp decline in tax revenues while simultaneously increasing expenditure on healthcare, social…
Policy UpdateMannat Abbot Background The constitution of the 8th Central Pay Commission comes at a time when India is trying to balance employee welfare with fiscal prudence in the face of slowing global growth and rising expenditure commitments. The Pay…
Policy UpdateSruti Halder Background The National Financial Information Registry (NFIR) was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2023-24 speech as a proposed central repository of financial and ancillary information, intended to facilitate the efficient flow of…