Volume 13 | Issue 8 |

 Abstract

The Indian digital payment ecosystem has undergone a significant transformation in recent years, particularly after the government's Digital India initiatives and demonetization. Among various platforms, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2016, has emerged as a key driver of retail digital transactions. This study examines the growth, opportunities, and challenges of UPI as a digital payment service in India. Using secondary data from RBI, NPCI, and other published sources, the paper applies a SWOT analysis to assess UPI's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Findings reveal that UPI has experienced exponential growth in both volume and value of transactions, owing to its simplicity, interoperability, and cost-effectiveness. It has significantly enhanced financial inclusion by enabling small businesses and individuals, even in rural areas, to adopt cashless transactions. However, challenges such as cybersecurity risks, transaction failures, limited awareness in rural areas, and dependency on banking infrastructure persist. Opportunities lie in expanding internet penetration, government policies supporting a cash-lite economy, and the widening scope of services such as bill payments, insurance, and overdraft facilities through UPI 2.0. Despite threats from fintech competition and consumer reliance on cash, UPI continues to dominate retail digital payments, contributing over half of India's total digital transactions. The study concludes that UPI is not only a technological innovation but also a strategic instrument to advance financial inclusion and India's transition toward a digital economy.

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 Keywords

UPI, SWOT, Cashless Economy, NPCI

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Corruption is a widespread occurrence in postcolonial nations. The detrimental effects of European colonialism on Africa have been clear through corruption that affected every part of life. Corruption in Nigeria is regarded as a representative case of other African nations. As a result, literary works became important for showing the truth and depicting African communities during and after colonial times. This dissertation examines the issue of corruption in Africa during the post-independence era through Chinua Achebe's African novel, No Longer at Ease (1960). It analyses the author's portrayal of corruption as a postcolonial issue and the postcolonial elements inside his novel. He has not depicted an idealised Africa; rather, he presents a sympathetic yet candid perspective of a nation characterised by its own casualties. Achebe has endeavoured to convey a truthful picture of his society through this book. It focusses on the relationship between the coloniser and the colonised, as well as the main character's struggle within Nigerian society following independence. The book reveals how Achebe thinks that English culture is better than others and how colonialism and western orientalism create false impressions of Nigerians and Obi Okonkwo as corrupt. As a result, these traits have a big effect on the minds of Nigerians, which leads to feelings of inferiority. Achebe uses the problems of the main character, Obi Okonkwo, to show the problem of corruption in this book.

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Corruption, Achebe, Postcolonialism, No Longer at Ease

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Medicinal plants have been used for therapeutic purposes since ancient times, playing a crucial role in healthcare. Approximately 70% of the population in developing countries relies on herbal medicines. Plant-derived compounds are considered safer and non-toxic compared to synthetic products. Traditional Indian Medicine (Ayurveda) and Traditional Chinese Medicine contribute significantly to the global knowledge of therapeutic plants. The World Health Organization identifies 21,000 medicinal plants globally used for medicinal purposes, with 2,500 species in India, 150 of which are used commercially. Herbal medicines are complex mixtures that require understanding of pharmacokinetics to identify bioactive compounds. Medicinal plants are crucial in developing anticancer drugs, with the National Cancer Institute screening about 35,000 plants, 3,000 of which show anticancer activity. Indigofera aspalathoides, widely used in India, possesses anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor activities. This plant's decoctions are traditionally used to treat cancer, leprosy, and other ailments, demonstrating its significant therapeutic potential.

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 Keywords

Herbal Medicines, Indigofera Aspalathoides, Anticancer activity, Secondary Metabolites & Chemoprevention.

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This paper has been tried to examine various aspect of the Inter-relationship between educational level and Political awareness among Dalit women in Bihar. Political participation is also an important factor for individual development. Dalit women are traditionally untouchable and depressed class in India According to Verna system they are bottom on the line and are excluded from educational system and property. before independence Dalit women are also excluded from political participation. After Independence; Indian traditional society has undergone a change due to various factors, e.g., urbanisation, changing occupational structure, rising literacy, democratic value system, Constitutional and legal measures for protective discrimination. Government started socially desirable and economically viable developmental measures to protect equality of opportunity of every individual. But all social groups have not benefited equally in last seven decades. Scheduled Castes (Dalit, used in exclusive sense of the term) is designated as 'disadvantaged group' even today. In Bihar, Dalit women are kept away from traditional political process as well as from modern political institutions. The paper is descriptive and analytical in design, based on primary and secondary both sources of data.

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Education, political awareness and Dalit women

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This study explores the impact of Emotional Intelligence (EI) on Job Satisfaction (JS) among professionals in select IT organizations. Recognizing the growing importance of non-technical competencies in workplace performance, the research investigates the relationship between EI and JS, examines the predictive influence of EI on satisfaction levels, and identifies specific EI dimensions that significantly contribute to job satisfaction. A descriptive and analytical methodology was employed, with data collected from 100 IT professionals using standardized instruments--the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale and Spector's Job Satisfaction Survey. Statistical analysis using SPSS revealed a moderate to high prevalence of EI and JS among respondents. Regression results confirmed a significant positive impact of EI on JS, with EI explaining 34% of the variance. Further dimensional analysis highlighted Regulation of Emotion and Use of Emotion as the strongest predictors of job satisfaction. The findings underscore the strategic value of emotional intelligence in enhancing employee well-being and organizational effectiveness, recommending its integration into HR and leadership development initiatives within the IT sector.

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Emotional Intelligence, Job Satisfaction, Work environment, IT organizations.

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Shelf life determination of pharmaceutical products is a critical process in ensuring drug safety, efficacy, and quality over time. It involves evaluating how a drug product degrades under various environmental conditions and estimating the period during which it remains within acceptable specifications. Stability studies, guided by ICH Q1A (R2) guidelines, are essential in this process and form a key part of regulatory submissions. These studies include real-time and accelerated stability testing, retained sample testing, and cyclic temperature stress testing. Factors like pH and temperature significantly influence the rate of degradation, often illustrated using pH-rate profiles. Forced degradation studies, involving hydrolytic, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal stress, help validate the robustness of stability-indicating analytical methods. Techniques such as HPLC-UV, LC-MS/MS, HPTLC, and others are commonly employed for stability analysis. For estimating shelf life, methods including the FDA-recommended approach, direct and inverse methods, simulation techniques, and the Garrett and Carper model are applied. Together, these methodologies provide a scientific foundation for determining the shelf life of pharmaceutical products, supporting drug development, formulation optimization, and patient safety.

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 Keywords

Self Life Evaluation, Stability Testing, Forced Degradation Testing, PH Rate profile, Solution Kinetics.

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Transport-related accidents within major Indian ports constitute a significant portion of total reportable incidents. A five-year analysis (2015-2019) reveals that, on average, 33% of all reportable accidents are transport-related and not directly linked to cargo handling or dock operations.

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Transport Safety, Major Ports, Dock Safety

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Smart materials are engineered substances that can change their physical or chemical properties when exposed to certain external stimuli. They have emerged as transformative components in dentistry including modern orthodontics. These materials offer dynamic functionality and adaptability in clinical settings, enhancing treatment effectiveness, appliance precision, and patient experience. This review synthesizes current knowledge on smart materials used in orthodontics, including their classification, working mechanisms, clinical relevance, benefits, challenges, and future scope.

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Smart materials, Orthodontics, Shape memory alloys, Shape memory polymers,Nanotechnology.

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Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare, rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by various combinations of autonomic dysfunction, parkinsonism, and cerebellar ataxia. While often misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease (PD) or progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), MSA follows a more aggressive course with distinctive neuropathology. This study aims to elucidate MSA's clinical heterogeneity and identify key biomarkers and pathological mechanisms underlying its progression. Through a combination of retrospective cohort analysis, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker assays, neuroimaging review, and neuropathological examination, we investigate diagnostic accuracy, disease progression, and overlaps with other synucleinopathies. Results demonstrate that MSA patients exhibit distinct CSF ?-synuclein oligomer patterns, greater cerebellar atrophy on MRI, and more rapid autonomic decline compared to matched PD patients. These findings support the hypothesis that MSA represents a distinct alpha-synucleinopathy with unique neurodegenerative trajectories. Limitations include small sample size and retrospective design. We propose future longitudinal and multi-center studies to validate biomarkers and refine disease-modifying therapeutic targets.

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Multiple System Atrophy, neurodegeneration, ?-synuclein, biomarkers, MRI atrophy, parkinsonism

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

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Despite progressive policies recognizing transgender rights in India, significant challenges remain in translating legal protections into meaningful welfare outcomes. Kerala has been a pioneering state, introducing a comprehensive transgender policy in 2015 that addresses education, healthcare, housing, and employment. While these initiatives reflect a progressive vision, persistent gaps exist between policy intent and lived experiences. Transgender individuals continue to face social stigma, limited access to essential services, and barriers to economic participation, highlighting the need for more effective implementation strategies. This conceptual paper proposes an integrative framework to bridge the gap between policy and practice in Kerala. The framework emphasizes four interconnected dimensions: responsive policy design, strengthened institutional capacity, community empowerment, and promotion of social acceptance. By linking these dimensions, the model aims to ensure that welfare measures are not merely symbolic but result in tangible improvements in the lives of transgender individuals. The paper highlights the importance of participatory governance, capacity building, and cultural change as essential components for sustainable transgender welfare. By offering a structured approach, the framework provides actionable insights for policymakers, civil society, and practitioners seeking to advance inclusion and equity. Ultimately, it positions Kerala as a potential model for comprehensive transgender welfare that balances policy intent with real-world outcomes.

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 Keywords

Key words: Transgender, transgender policy, social stigma

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition