Consider the following statements: 1. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) helps in promoting the financial inclusion in the country. 2. NPCI has launched RuPay, a card payment scheme. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is C. Both statements are correct.

NPCI was set up in 2008 by RBI and the Indian Banks' Association as an umbrella body for retail payments. It runs UPI, the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System, Bharat Bill Payment System and the Bharat Interface for Money. These lower the cost of transactions and let people without bank branches or cards use formal channels, which is why statement 1 is correct.

RuPay was launched by NPCI in 2012 as India's domestic card payment scheme, so statement 2 is correct. It was promoted as an alternative to Visa and Mastercard and became the default debit card under PMJDY accounts.

• Option A rejects statement 2, which is wrong because NPCI launched RuPay.
• Option B rejects statement 1, which is wrong because NPCI's products are central to financial inclusion.
• Option D denies both statements, which is wrong on both counts.

The core concept is payment system infrastructure under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, which gives RBI the power to authorise and regulate such bodies. Mains links include digital public infrastructure, the cashless economy and the role of payment banks.

Trap: aspirants often treat NPCI as an RBI arm or a government department. It is a not-for-profit company owned by banks, and RBI regulates it rather than running it.