UPI Completes 10 Glorious Years | GalaxEye Launches Mission Drishti | Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Short Range (NASM-SR)

UPI Completes 10 Glorious Years

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

• The Unified Payments Interface has completed 10 years since its launch in April 2016.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

• Launched by – UPI was designed and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016.
• Objective – It is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• Countries with operational or planned interoperability include: Singapore (PayNow), UAE, France, Nepal, Bhutan, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and others.

Additional Information – National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

• Established in – It serves as an umbrella body for the operation of retail payments in India.
• Established by – Reserve Bank of India along with the Indian Bank’s Association.
• Established under – It was set up under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Products of NPCI

1. RuPay
2. National Common Mobility Card
3. Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
4. Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
5. Bharat Bill Payment System

GalaxEye Launches Mission Drishti

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• Indian space start-up GalaxEye has launched Mission Drishti, the world’s first OptoSAR satellite, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from California in the United States.

Mission Drishti

• It is the world’s first OptoSAR satellite,
• It was launched on May 3, 2026, by Indian space-tech startup GalaxEye (founded by IIT Madras alumni) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
• This 190 kg Earth Observation (EO) satellite integrates SAR and optical sensors for all-weather, high-resolution imagery.

Key Features 

• Technology: Combines Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) with Multi-spectral Optical sensors (OptoSAR) on a single platform.
• Advantage: Unlike traditional satellites, it provides high-resolution imaging through clouds and at night.
• Applications: Border surveillance, disaster management, agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, and defence.
• Significance: India’s largest privately built satellite, boosting local private space capacity.
• Mission Goal: Part of a planned constellation of 8-12 satellites by 2029

Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Short Range (NASM-SR)

Syllabus: GS3/ Defence

Context

• India successfully carried out the maiden launch of a Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Short Range (NASM-SR) from a Sea King helicopter off the Odisha coast in the Bay of Bengal.

Naval Anti-Ship Missile – Short Range

• It is an indigenously developed, air-launched anti-ship missile designed for helicopter-based maritime strike operations.
• It is India’s first indigenous helicopter-launched anti-ship missile.
• It is developed to replace British-origin Sea Eagle missiles.
• It aimed to provide the Indian Navy with a high-precision, indigenous strike capability against maritime targets, strengthening defence self-reliance.
• The system has been developed by the Research Centre Imarat under the Defence Research and Development Organisation, in collaboration with other labs.