September 15 Engineers’ Day: From Bridges of Steel to Rails of Money

 

The Citizen Advocate Summary: Declaring April 11 as Safe ePay Day

Nayakanti Prashant – Citizen Advocate for 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.

September 15 – Appeal No 112

April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay Day’,

Yes, April 11 is vacant in the UN Observance Day calendar

UPI 10^th Birthday -April 11 2026 – 208 Days to go

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September 15 Engineers’ Day: Engineering Trust in the Digital Age

  Engineers’ Day (Sept 15) in India honours Sir M. Visvesvaraya and the vital role of engineers in building safe, innovative futures.

  On Sept 15, Engineers’ Day celebrates innovation, problem-solving, and the legacy of Sir M. Visvesvaraya in shaping modern India.

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September 15 – Engineers’ Day in India & April 11 – Safe ePay Day (Proposed): Bridging Steel to Digital Trust

 

Part 1 —From Bridges to Bytes

Every society is built on trust — and at the heart of that trust stand engineers. From the earliest stone bridges to modern skyscrapers, engineers have shaped the way we live, travel, work, and even dream. In India, this trust is celebrated each year on September 15, Engineers’ Day, in honour of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya — a civil engineer, visionary planner, and national builder whose legacy continues to inspire.

Sir Visvesvaraya is remembered for innovations that saved lives and transformed landscapes: irrigation systems, flood control, and city planning that balanced safety with progress. His sluice gate designs became a symbol of practical ingenuity, reminding us that engineering is not just about structures, but about protecting people.

Fast forward to today. While bridges, dams, and railways still matter, our world is increasingly connected by digital rails — the payment systems that carry money as safely as roads carry cars. Just as engineers once guaranteed safe passage across rivers, today’s software and financial engineers must guarantee safe passage for every online transaction.

This is where a new vision enters: the proposal of April 11 as Safe ePay Day. Positioned six months apart from Engineers’ Day, it extends the spirit of engineering into the digital age, ensuring not just strong structures but also secure systems for money flows.

In celebrating engineers of the past and advocating for digital safety today, we can weave a story that bridges steel with cyberspace, and tradition with innovation.

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Part 2 — Sir M. Visvesvaraya & The Indian Engineers’ Day Legacy

On September 15, 1861, in a small village near Chikkaballapur in Karnataka, a boy was born who would later be known as the “Father of Modern Engineering in India” — Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. His life’s work transformed not only landscapes but also the way India thought about planning, resilience, and innovation.

Visvesvaraya’s contributions were monumental. His invention of automatic sluice gates revolutionised irrigation and flood control, protecting farms and towns from devastation. He designed the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam in Mysuru, which not only provided water security but also became a symbol of engineering excellence in pre-independence India (Wikipedia, 2025).

Beyond his technical brilliance, Visvesvaraya was a nation-builder. As Diwan of Mysore (1912–1918), he championed industrialisation, education, and infrastructure. He helped establish institutions like the University of Mysore and was a strong advocate for research and technical education (Indian Express, 2025).

Recognising his unmatched service, the Government of India declared September 15 as Engineers’ Day in 1968. Since then, the day has been celebrated nationwide to honour engineers’ contributions to the country’s growth (Institution of Engineers India, 2025).

Engineers’ Day is not just a ritualistic remembrance. Each year, it carries a theme relevant to contemporary challenges. For instance, the 2025 theme is “Deep Tech & Engineering Excellence: Driving India’s Techade”, highlighting the role of emerging technologies in shaping the nation’s future (IEI, 2025).

Visvesvaraya himself was known for his ethics, discipline, and dedication. Stories abound of his punctuality and his insistence on high standards — qualities that resonate even today as engineers navigate complex challenges in AI, fintech, space, and urban design.

By anchoring September 15 to his name, India pays tribute to the timeless principle that engineering is not only about innovation but also about responsibility. And in today’s digital-first era, that responsibility extends beyond concrete and steel — it touches every citizen’s life through the safety of their digital financial transactions.

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Part 3 — From Sluice Gates to Digital Rails: Why Safe ePay Day Matters

Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya is remembered not only for the structures he built, but for the principle of safety embedded in every innovation. His sluice gates, for instance, were designed to regulate water flow and prevent catastrophic flooding. They were engineering marvels of control, resilience, and foresight.

In many ways, today’s digital world faces a similar challenge — not with water, but with money flows. The sheer volume of digital transactions, from UPI payments at a roadside vendor to cross-border remittances, has created rivers of value streaming across invisible channels. Just as Visvesvaraya engineered sluice gates to protect lives and livelihoods, we now need digital sluice gates to protect citizens’ money in an increasingly interconnected world.

This is where the vision of Safe ePay Day (April 11, proposed) finds its anchor. It is not merely about creating another observance, but about institutionalising awareness — a day that reminds banks, fintech companies, regulators, and citizens that secure digital payments are as critical to modern life as safe bridges and dams were a century ago.

The parallels are striking:

• Bridges then, rails now: Engineers built bridges of steel to connect cities; today’s engineers build payment rails like UPI in India or Pix in Brazil to connect economies.
• Flood control then, fraud control now: Visvesvaraya’s sluice gates stopped destructive floods; digital engineers design fraud detection systems to stop cyber theft.
• Infrastructure then, trust now: Dams and canals carried water safely; today, digital platforms carry money securely, reinforcing trust in the financial system.

Globally, we see national engineering pride mirrored in ePayment innovations:

• India’s UPI, hailed as the world’s fastest-growing real-time payment system (NPCI, 2024).
• Brazil’s Pix, which has revolutionised inclusion by making instant transfers universal.
• The USA’s FedNow, a major leap for real-time clearing in one of the world’s largest economies.
• Pakistan’s Raast, Mexico’s CoDi, Sri Lanka’s LankaPay — each a testament to the same spirit: engineering financial trust for citizens.

Yet, while we celebrate these systems, the threats are real. Frauds, phishing, data breaches, and cyber-attacks are the modern equivalent of collapsing dams or broken bridges. The consequences can devastate families, businesses, and national economies. According to RBI reports, digital fraud cases in India alone numbered in the thousands last year, with losses running into crores (RBI Annual Report, 2024).

This makes April 11 — Safe ePay Day (proposed) a vital complement to September 15 — Engineers’ Day. Six months apart, they form a bridge of responsibility:

• Engineers’ Day reminds us of the heritage of building safe systems for society.
• Safe ePay Day reminds us of the need to carry that same heritage into the digital economy, where money moves faster than water ever did.

The call here is not only for engineers, but for citizens. Just as people were taught to respect floodplains and bridges, today they must be educated about safe digital practices: not sharing OTPs, verifying apps, securing devices, and demanding accountability from payment providers. Safe ePay Day becomes a citizen advocacy platform, echoing the timeless principle that safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Sir Visvesvaraya famously said: “Remember, your work may be only to sweep a railway crossing, but it is your duty to keep it so clean that no other crossing in the world is as clean as yours.” That ethos applies equally to digital payments: every transaction, every app, every safeguard must aspire to be world-class in safety.

Thus, April 11 is not just a proposed date — it is a continuation of Visvesvaraya’s legacy. From sluice gates to payment gateways, the story is the same: engineering safety, ensuring trust.

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Part 4 — Engineers’ Day Across the World: A Global Tapestry of Innovation & Digital Parallels

Engineering is universal. While each nation celebrates its own icons and milestones, the underlying message is the same: engineers safeguard societies by building systems of trust. Just as India honours Sir M. Visvesvaraya on September 15, other countries have their own dates, heroes, and traditions.

Below is a snapshot of Engineers’ Day observances worldwide:

Country	Date	Why Celebrated
India	September 15	Birth anniversary of Sir M. Visvesvaraya
United States	February (week of George Washington’s birthday)	National Engineers Week, honoring George Washington as the first engineer
Italy	June 15	In honour of Leonardo da Vinci’s engineering contributions
Argentina	June 16	Commemorates start of the first Engineering degree course (1865)
Mexico	July 1	Recognition of engineers’ role in national development
Turkey	December 5	Founding of Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects
Iran	February 24	Birthday of Persian polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi
Brazil	December 11	Creation of the first engineering school in Brazil (1792)
Sri Lanka	September 17	Establishment of Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka
Pakistan	March 4	In honour of M. A. Rashid, Pakistan’s first chief engineer

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🌐 The Digital Parallels: ePayments as Modern Engineering

Just as bridges, dams, and canals defined earlier centuries, today’s ePayment channels are the 21st century’s equivalent — invisible, but equally powerful. Let’s look at a few stories:

• India (September 15)
  Sir M. Visvesvaraya engineered dams and irrigation projects that secured millions of lives. Today, India leads the world in digital payment engineering with UPI and RuPay. UPI processes billions of transactions monthly, empowering both a street-side chai vendor and a global enterprise alike (NPCI, 2024).
  Digital Parallel: UPI, RuPay.
• United States (February — National Engineers Week)
  Celebrated around George Washington’s birthday, acknowledging him as the first American engineer. The U.S. built railroads, highways, and space programs. Now, it pioneers real-time money rails with FedNow, alongside existing ACH and Zelle systems.
  Digital Parallel: ACH, FedNow, Zelle.
• Italy (June 15)
  The day honours Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance genius whose notebooks bridged art and engineering. In modern times, Italy’s Bancomat and emerging NexiPay platforms carry forward the spirit of blending creativity with security.
  Digital Parallel: Bancomat, NexiPay.
• Argentina (June 16)
  Marks the launch of the first engineering degree program in 1865. Today, Argentina is re-engineering finance with Transferencias 3.0 and DEBIN, systems that bring interoperability and inclusion to digital payments.
  Digital Parallel: DEBIN, Transferencias 3.0.
• Mexico (July 1)
  Recognises the crucial role of engineers in building the nation. In finance, Mexico’s CoDi (Cobro Digital) is an instant payments platform designed for financial inclusion, extending safety rails to millions.
  Digital Parallel: CoDi.
• Turkey (December 5)
  Linked to the founding of the Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects, highlighting professional responsibility. Turkey’s digital parallel is the FAST instant payments system, a modern sluice gate regulating the speed and safety of money.
  Digital Parallel: FAST.
• Iran (February 24)
  Celebrates the birthday of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, a 13th-century polymath known for contributions to mathematics and astronomy. Iran’s modern Shetab system integrates banking networks nationwide, ensuring resilience even under external pressures.
  Digital Parallel: Shetab.
• Brazil (December 11)
  Commemorates the founding of Brazil’s first engineering school (1792). Today, Brazil’s pride is Pix, one of the fastest-adopted instant payment systems in the world, hailed as an engineering marvel of financial inclusion.
  Digital Parallel: Pix.
• Sri Lanka (September 17)
  Marks the establishment of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. The country’s payment backbone, LankaPay and CEFTS, reflects the same trust — reliable, interoperable, citizen-focused.
  Digital Parallel: LankaPay, CEFTS.
• Pakistan (March 4)
  Celebrates M. A. Rashid, the country’s first chief engineer. Today, Pakistan showcases its modern “sluice gate” in the form of Raast, a secure instant payment system launched by the State Bank.
  Digital Parallel: Raast.

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📌 The Bigger Picture

When seen together, these stories reveal a clear pattern:

• Every country honours engineers.
• Every country is now engineering payments.

The bridges of trust once built in steel and stone now extend into cyberspace, where ePayments connect citizens, businesses, and governments with speed and safety.

For India, this connection is especially symbolic: just as September 15 (Engineers’ Day) honours Visvesvaraya’s sluice gates, April 11 (Safe ePay Day, proposed) could honour today’s digital sluice gates that regulate the safe flow of money.

The global table of Engineers’ Days reminds us that engineering is not just about machines — it is about trust, safety, and resilience. And in the digital age, that mission continues.

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Part 5 — Bringing It Back Home: Safe ePay as Citizen Engineering

Global observances of Engineers’ Day show a universal truth: engineering is about building systems of trust. Whether it is Brazil’s Pix or Mexico’s CoDi, engineers are now just as vital in cyberspace as they were in physical landscapes. But the question remains: what does this mean for India and its citizens?

India’s story is both inspiring and urgent. On one hand, UPI (Unified Payments Interface) has become the gold standard of digital payments globally, praised for its speed, interoperability, and inclusivity (NPCI, 2024). On the other, the RBI’s reports continue to highlight growing fraud incidents and cyber threats that risk undermining this trust (RBI Annual Report, 2024).

This duality mirrors the legacy of Sir Visvesvaraya. His sluice gates saved lives, but he knew that complacency was dangerous. Just as rivers had to be constantly managed, today’s digital payment streams require constant vigilance.

🔑 Citizen as Advocate

The call for April 11 as Safe ePay Day is not about handing responsibility to regulators or banks alone. It is about empowering citizens as advocates of safe transactions. A dam can be perfectly engineered, but if people misuse the floodplain, the risk remains. Similarly, even the most secure digital rails can fail if users share OTPs carelessly, fall prey to phishing, or neglect basic cyber hygiene.

Safe ePay Day therefore becomes a day for education and empowerment:

• Remind citizens about safe practices (never share PINs/OTPs, verify payment apps).
• Encourage banks and fintechs to simplify security (biometric logins, real-time fraud alerts).
• Push regulators to ensure accountability when lapses occur.
• Celebrate success stories where security innovations protected millions.

In this sense, Safe ePay Day mirrors the best traditions of Engineers’ Day: it is not just about remembering pioneers, but about renewing commitment to safety and innovation.

📣 The Narrative Arc

Imagine the rhythm of the year:

• September 15 (Engineers’ Day): India celebrates Sir Visvesvaraya, reminding engineers of their responsibility.
• April 11 (Safe ePay Day, proposed): Six months later, citizens join the chorus, advocating for safer digital finance.

This creates a biannual rhythm of accountability — engineers build, citizens demand, and together, society advances.

🌱 Towards a Safer Digital Future

For India, this rhythm is vital. With UPI already crossing 10 billion transactions per month, and with initiatives like the Digital Rupee on the horizon, the stakes could not be higher. A single breach of trust could slow adoption, discourage users, and undermine years of progress.

But by institutionalising awareness through Safe ePay Day, India could set a global precedent — just as it did with UPI. In time, other nations might align their payment safety campaigns with their Engineers’ Day traditions, creating a worldwide cycle of safety advocacy.

Engineers gave us railways, metros, and irrigation canals. Today, they give us payment rails, instant transfers, and encryption protocols. Citizens, in turn, must become guardians of these systems, ensuring they are used wisely, safely, and responsibly.

As Sir Visvesvaraya taught, engineering is not just about solving technical problems — it is about shaping societies. Safe ePay Day extends that ethos into the digital economy, ensuring that trust becomes the true currency of the future.

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Part 6 — The Countdown & Appeal

Every observance has meaning only if it translates into awareness and action. September 15, Engineers’ Day, reminds us that nations are built not just by stone and steel, but by vision, discipline, and responsibility. Sir M. Visvesvaraya embodied this principle — balancing

progress with safety, and ambition with ethics.

Today, as India and the world move deeper into the digital economy, we face an equivalent responsibility. Just as Visvesvaraya engineered sluice gates to regulate the mighty forces of nature, we must engineer safeguards for the powerful currents of money flowing across digital rails.

This is why the call for April 11 to be recognised as Safe ePay Day is not a symbolic gesture but a practical necessity. It creates a moment in the year when citizens, regulators, banks, and fintech innovators all pause to reflect on one question: are we doing enough to keep digital payments safe?

The countdown has already begun. As of today, there are 208 days to go until April 11, 2026. That is 208 opportunities to raise awareness, build momentum, and advocate for a day that could stand alongside Engineers’ Day as a complementary pillar — one rooted in the safety of our financial systems.

This blog itself is part of that journey. Every post, every conversation, every appeal builds toward that collective recognition. Just as Engineers’ Day was officially declared in 1968, Safe ePay Day too can become a global observance if citizens rally together.

So here it is, plain and direct:

Appeal No. 112
208 days to go

Signed,
Nayakanti Prashant
Citizen Advocate for Safe ePay Day

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Part 7 — Conclusion: Engineering Trust, Online and Beyond

Engineers’ Day is not only about remembering Sir M. Visvesvaraya, but about recognising the timeless role of engineers: to build with integrity, protect with foresight, and innovate with responsibility. His sluice gates and dams were more than physical structures — they were symbols of trust, ensuring that society could thrive in safety.

In the 21st century, we stand at a similar crossroad. Instead of rivers and canals, it is streams of digital money that must be managed. Instead of concrete and steel, it is code, encryption, and awareness that safeguard our lives.

This is why Engineers’ Day (September 15) and Safe ePay Day (April 11, proposed) belong in the same narrative. One celebrates the heritage of engineering safety; the other calls for a future of financial safety. Together, they create a continuum: from the strength of physical infrastructure to the security of digital infrastructure.

The journey ahead is clear — to honour the past, protect the present, and engineer the future. For India, for the world, and for every citizen.

 

 

 

• 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.

April 11 – Declare ‘Safe ePay Day’.

Driven by belief in UPI’s transformative power, this initiative—free of personal gain—aims to celebrate India’s fintech legacy and spark a global movement for secure, inclusive e‑payments.