Top News

New Delhi: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has become a season of technical challenges for Indias banking system. The legal and illegal betting activities during this tournament witnessed a massive spike putting immense pressure on the IT infrastructure of banks. IPL combines the charm of entertainment with the thrill of cricket creating an unparalleled sports spectacle that attracts millions of spectators each year. Illegal betting worth over USD 100 billion (approximately Rs 8.3 lakh crore) takes place in India every year during the IPL according to The Economic Times report. It is important to note that this betting is mostly carried out through foreign online platforms that offer services to Indian citizens via cryptocurrency and mule accounts. However legally operating fantasy sports platforms in India such as Dream11 and prediction market Probo are also rapidly gaining popularity. Through these platforms users place match-based bets with real money requiring banks to ensure instant and secure transactions via the UPI network. Heavy Traffic Pressure on UPI’s Capacity Indias UPI system has become the world’s largest real-time digital payment system. The UPI system in India handles transactions worth over USD 3 trillion (approximately Rs 250 lakh crore) annually. During the IPL season the number of transactions rises sharply leading to increased server load and higher failure rates. Every month the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) releases a report on banks ‘failure rates’ which helps customers decide which bank they should maintain an account with. Increasing Surveillance on Transactions The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also adopted a strict stance regarding the digital performance and cybersecurity of banks. In this scenario banks are now turning to big data and artificial intelligence (AI)-based analytics companies. Startups like Bengaluru-based VuNet Systems monitor nearly 1 billion transactions every day and process around 50 terabytes of data daily.