With reference to ‘Near Field Communication (NFC) Technology’, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1) It is a contactless communication technology that uses electromagnetic radio fields 2) NFC is designed for use by devices which can be at a distance of even a metre from each other 3) NFC can use encryption when sending sensitive information. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The correct answer is C. Statements 1 and 3 are right, and statement 2 is wrong.

NFC is a short-range, contactless technology that works through electromagnetic radio fields, operating at 13.56 MHz under the ISO/IEC 18092 standard. Two devices communicate only when they are brought within a few centimetres of each other, usually about 4 cm and rarely beyond 10 cm. So statement 1 is correct, while statement 2 is wrong because a range of a metre describes technologies like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, not NFC.

Statement 3 is correct. NFC supports encryption and secure elements, which is why it is used for contactless card payments, transit cards and mobile wallets. Security comes from the protocol and the payment application, not from the short range alone.

• Statement 1: correct, as NFC is contactless and uses electromagnetic radio fields.
• Statement 2: wrong, because the effective range is only a few centimetres.
• Statement 3: correct, since encryption is used for sensitive data.

Core concept: short-range wireless communication and its applications. Mains angle: NFC-based payments and digital financial inclusion, including the privacy and security trade-offs of cashless transactions.

Trap: assuming all wireless technologies have similar ranges and picking statement 2 because it sounds plausible.