NPCI, IIT-Kanpur ink MoU for research collaboration

Kanpur: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for sharing knowledge on innovative ideas and to collaborate on the development of indigenous digital payments solutions. The collaboration will also help in the augmentation of cybersecurity controls for NPCI and its subsidiaries’ products and services.
With this collaboration, eminent faculty members from the institute will conduct informative sessions and deliver lectures for NPCI personnel on Cybersecurity and the new trends in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Security Product Roadmaps, and Distributed ledger technologies (DLT). NPCI, on the other hand, will offer internship opportunities to IIT-Kanpur students, providing them an invaluable experience of working on live projects of NPCI.
Commenting on the MoU, Professor Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur said, “This collaboration with NPCI strengthens our goal to achieve a holistic cyber secure ecosystem for our country. This association will not only converge the best of both the institutions in developing a robust digital payments system, but will also pave the way for multi-disciplinary research and opportunities.”
Antony Prakash, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), NPCI said, “The association provides NPCI and IIT-K an excellent opportunity to develop advanced technical solutions that will provide customers with best-in-class, convenient, and safer payments experience. We believe it will usher in the development of a more refined digital payments ecosystem.”
The MoU will mutually benefit both parties with its knowledge-sharing nature and will enable the constitution of better and more secure digital payment products and services oriented towards national interest and upliftment.