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Journalism of Courage
Digital transactions have changed the way Indians shop and exchange money. Boards providing Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ids are found at shops in every nook and corner of the country. Now, one such sighting at “India’s last tea shop” has netizens elated.
Business tycoon Anand Mahindra, an avid social media user, retweeted the photograph of ‘India’s last tea shop’ with a UPI facility. The photograph shows a UPI QR code at a tea shop in Uttarakhand’s Mana, the “last Indian village” and shopkeepers are seen smiling brightly with pride.
Appreciating the push for digital payments, the Mahindra group chairman wrote, “As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. This captures the breathtaking scope and scale of India’s digital payments ecosystem. Jai ho!”
The caption of the photograph read, “Bharat desh The last village 10,500 feet elevation Uttarakhand Looks like UPI is there too… #digital_bharat.”
Internet users were delighted over UPI being used in Mana. A user commented, “India’s first village to be on right side.” Another user wrote, “this is awesome! Being the architect of #upi it’s been really a proud moment!!” A third user wrote, “Not one village or town appeared under the influence of UPI when India had to face Covid and what a blessing it was.”
It should be noted that for the financial year 2021-22, UPI transactions crossed 5 billion in a month for the first time in March. With the increased usage of digital payments owing to the pandemic, the monthly transaction values have reportedly reached nearly Rs 9 lakh crore.
Mana, the last Indian village on the banks of the Alaknanda river, is approximately 50 km from the Indo-China border. The village includes several spots connected to the epic Mahabharat and is regarded as the last village ahead of the China border in Uttarakhand. Pilgrims arriving at Badrinath often visit Mana village as it is believed that the Pandavas passed through the village on their final journey to heaven.
