The Citizen Advocate Summary: Declaring April 11 as Safe ePay Day
Proposing April 11 as Safe ePay
Day to mark UPI’s pilot launch on April 11, 2016, by NPCI with 21 banks,
initiated by Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan in Mumbai. This initiative celebrates UPI’s
seamless integration of banking and merchant payments.
August 18 – Appeal No 88
April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay
Day’,
Yes, April 11 is vacant in the UN
Observance Day calendar
UPI 10th
Birthday -April 11 2026 – 236 Days to go
August 18 IIT
Kharagpur Foundation Day: From Hijli to Global Horizons 🌏
IIT
Kharagpur celebrates its Foundation Day on August 18th every year,
marking its establishment in 1951 as the first Indian Institute of
Technology. The day honors its legacy of excellence in education, research, and
innovation.
Not yet
visited IIT Kharagpur – Apna Time Ayaga
Anchoring
Excellence: IIT Kharagpur Foundation Day (Aug 18) × Safe ePay Day (Apr 11,
proposed) 🌱🔗
On August 18, 1951,
India’s journey towards a future shaped by technological excellence began with
the formal inauguration of IIT Kharagpur, the nation’s first Indian
Institute of Technology. What began on the grounds of the historic Hijli
Detention Camp — itself etched in history for its role in India’s independence
struggle — has transformed into a sprawling, world-renowned institute known for
its interdisciplinary brilliance and societal impact.(telegraphindia.com,
en.wikipedia.org)
Fast forward to the present, and
over 74 years later, the spirit of innovation that underpins IIT KGP now
resonates in a different domain: the realm of digital trust, where we
envision April 11 as Safe ePay Day — a day to celebrate and reinforce
security in digital payments across India and beyond.(iitkgpfoundation.org,
en.wikipedia.org)
🎓 IIT Kharagpur: From Hijli Camp
to Hub of Innovation
IIT Kharagpur’s origin story is
inseparable from India’s struggle for freedom. The institute took root in Hijli
Detention Camp, once used by the colonial government to imprison freedom
fighters. By August 1951, the site transformed — classrooms replacing cells —
as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister, inaugurated
the institution. The first batch comprised 224 students and 42 faculty
members, guided by founding director Jnan Chandra Ghosh, a visionary
who championed close academic collaboration and cultivated a cosmopolitan
ethos.(telegraphindia.com,
en.wikipedia.org)
Over the decades, the institute
expanded beyond engineering, embracing management, law, humanities,
architecture, and medicine. Today, its 8.7 km² campus, with over 15,000
students, stands as a testament to multidisciplinary aspiration.(en.wikipedia.org)
Recent Foundation Day
celebrations (August 2024) saw a vibrant gathering of visionaries — Amitabh
Kant, S. Somanath (ISRO), Samir Kamat (DRDO) — along with
recognition of rising alumni innovators and long-serving faculty and staff. A
notable initiative, Gurudakshina, invited alumni to strengthen the
institute’s future through contributions.(iitkgpfoundation.org)
💳 April 11 – Safe ePay Day:
Envisioning Digital Trust
Nearly 65 years after IIT KGP’s
founding, digital innovation has launched public trust into a new
frontier. On April 11, 2016, the UPI (Unified Payments Interface)
pilot began with 21 banks, ushered in under the vision of Dr. Raghuram Rajan
and powered by NPCI.(medium.com,
nshantin.medium.com,
en.wikipedia.org)
This leap ignited exponential
growth: from nascent beginnings to a system that now handles billions of
daily transactions, making India a global leader in real-time payments.(static.pib.gov.in,
en.wikipedia.org)
Safe ePay Day —
anchored on April 11 — would mark UPI’s transformation from breakthrough to
backbone — a day dedicated to safe, inclusive, and secure digital transactions.
Imagine nationwide workshops on fraud prevention, school programs on financial
hygiene, and merchant awareness drives to make digital payments not just
convenient, but trusted.(nshantin.medium.com,
innovationinbanking.blogspot.com)
🌉 Bridging Two Milestones:
Physical Trust Meets Digital Trust
When we look at August 18,
1951 and April 11, 2016, they appear separated by time, context, and
focus. One belongs to the post-independence era of brick, chalk, and
laboratories; the other to the digital-first world of apps, QR codes, and cloud
servers. Yet, at their core, both milestones embody a single, enduring
principle: trust as foundation.
At IIT Kharagpur, trust was not
just in academic excellence, but in the belief that science and technology
could drive India’s progress. Young students walked through the gates of the
former Hijli Detention Camp with the assurance that their knowledge would be
nurtured, their ideas respected, and their contributions valued. Physical trust
was built in classrooms, hostels, workshops, and the human connections that
formed India’s first IIT community.
Safe ePay Day, envisioned on
April 11, reflects a similar demand for trust — this time in invisible systems.
Every time a customer taps a phone at a tea stall, sends money across states,
or pays for a book online, they are walking into a digital space with the same
expectation: that their transaction is safe, their rights are protected, and
their financial footprints are secure. This is digital trust — unseen
but essential, no less critical than the trust IIT students placed in their
alma mater decades ago.
Bridging the two milestones means
acknowledging that while the mediums differ — chalkboards vs. dashboards,
hostel corridors vs. cloud infrastructure — the principle remains identical: people
need to feel safe while taking their next step. Whether that step is into a
lecture hall or onto a payments app, the confidence to move forward defines the
journey.
In this way, IIT Kharagpur
Foundation Day and Safe ePay Day complement one another. The first
celebrates India’s leap into scientific modernity; the second envisions India’s
leap into secure digital modernity. One built the trust to dream in steel and
circuits; the other builds the trust to transact in data and digits. Both,
together, remind us that progress is not just about creation, but about confidence
in using what has been created.
✨ Reflective Narratives: Steps and Screens
IIT Kharagpur reminds us that foundations
matter — solid values, visionary leadership (like J.C. Ghosh and Rajendra
Mishra), and institutional evolution.(en.wikipedia.org)
Safe ePay Day calls on the same
principle — building trust into our digital infrastructure. Just as Nehru’s
vision laid the foundation for scientific excellence, digital frameworks like
UPI must reinforce secure and inclusive transactions.
The metaphor of walking
resonates deeply: students traversing KGP‘s historic quads; everyday users
navigating payment apps. Each step — physical or digital — needs confidence,
clarity, and protection.
🌏 Conclusion: Walking Toward a
Secure Tomorrow
As August 18 approaches
and the beating heart of IIT Kharagpur pulses with pride and promise, we
reflect on how founding institutions shape a nation’s intellectual backbone.
Equally, as April 11 emerges as a proposed date for Safe ePay Day, we
are called to weave digital trust into the very fabric of daily conduct.
In both cases, the message is
timeless: trust is the foundation — whether in bricks and mortar or in
code and networks.
Let’s honor those who built the
buildings and those who built the systems — because every step in knowledge,
every transaction in safety, brings us closer to a future that’s both bold and
secure.
Bridging Two Milestones: Physical
Trust Meets Digital Trust
|
IIT Kharagpur
Foundation Day |
Safe ePay Day
(Proposed) |
|
Rooted in a historic site of
resistance; now a cradle of innovation |
Rooted in digital disruption;
now a symbol of financial inclusion |
|
Embodies academic vision over
decades |
Embodies financial trust for
everyday users |
|
Honors engineering, management,
research |
Honors fintech infrastructure
and financial security |
Both days celebrate foundational
trust — one physical and institutional, the other digital and universal.
Spotlight: IIT Kharagpur Alumni
Shaping Fintech & Digital Trust 💳✨
When we think of IIT Kharagpur,
we often recall its legacy of pioneering India’s journey in technology and
higher education. But the story does not stop at steel, circuits, and
classrooms — today, its alumni are also driving the fintech revolution
that underpins India’s digital economy.
Here are some notable IIT KGP
alumni shaping the future of financial technology and secure payments:
🚀 Sameer Aggarwal – Founder,
RevFin
- Sameer leveraged his IIT KGP foundation and
global banking experience to launch RevFin in 2018.
- RevFin uses innovative methods like psychometrics,
biometrics, and gamification to underwrite loans for customers with
limited traditional credit history.
- His mission: enabling financial access for
underserved communities in Tier II and III towns.
(YourStory)
📊 Sharath Pareddy – Head of Credit
& Analytics (India), Branch International
- An IIT KGP graduate who now leads credit
strategy for Branch International in India.
- Branch is a global mobile-first lending
company with operations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
- Sharath’s work blends data science, AI,
and inclusive finance to expand access to affordable credit.
(IIT KGP Alumni Foundation)
💡 Akash Sinha & Reeju Datta –
Co-Founders, Cashfree
- This duo of IIT KGP alumni co-founded Cashfree,
one of India’s fastest-growing fintech firms.
- Cashfree powers payouts, collections, and
instant disbursals for thousands of businesses, including lending
platforms and e-commerce players.
- Backed by SBI and Y Combinator, Cashfree has
become a cornerstone of India’s payments infrastructure.
(Bizzbucket)
🌉 Why This Matters
From Hijli’s classrooms to
today’s fintech boardrooms, IIT Kharagpur’s alumni are carrying forward a
legacy of trust and transformation. Their work is directly tied to the
same vision that a proposed Safe ePay Day (April 11) seeks to highlight:
that secure, inclusive, and innovative systems are the backbone of
progress.
They remind us that every digital
transaction is not just a click — it is a step of trust, much like
the steps IIT KGP students once took on campus decades ago.
Appeal for Safe ePay Day 🌟
## Call to Action
I urge governments, financial institutions, businesses, and
communities worldwide to join hands in declaring April 11 as **Safe ePay Day**.
Let’s celebrate UPI’s milestone by making **Safe ePay Day** a
global movement for secure, innovative fintech.
Together, we can build a future where financial access is
universal, and every e-payment is safe—starting with **Safe ePay Day** in 2026.
No Vada Pav, not even one bite,
Till SafeePay Day takes off in flight.
Quirky vow with a Mumbai flair—
Announce the date, and I’ll be there!
Disclaimer:
- The only Joy is Safe ePayments. Nothing More – Nothing Less.
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