Which one of the following links all the ATMs in India?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) National Payments Corporation of India
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) runs the National Financial Switch (NFS), the shared network that lets a card of one bank work at another bank's ATM. NPCI took over the NFS from the RBI's research institute IDRBT on 14 December 2009.
- ✓ (c) The NFS, operated by NPCI, is the largest network of shared ATMs in India, handling interoperable cash withdrawals, card-to-card transfers and cash deposits.
- ✗ (d) The RBI regulates payment systems and authorised NPCI to operate the NFS ATM network in 2009, but it does not itself run the switch.
- ✗ (a) The Indian Banks' Association is an association of bank managements; together with the RBI it promoted NPCI but it operates no ATM network.
Remember · NPCI (2008, promoted by RBI and IBA, not-for-profit) runs NFS (shared ATM switch), IMPS, UPI, RuPay, AePS, NACH and Bharat BillPay.
Sources
- About Us, National Payments Corporation of India (archived copy, October 2020) ↗ “National Financial Switch (NFS) is the largest network of shared Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in India facilitating interoperable cash withdrawal, card to card funds transfer and interoperable cash deposit transactions”
- NFS Product Overview, National Payments Corporation of India (archived copy, April 2021) ↗ “National Financial Switch (NFS) ATM network having 37 members and connecting about 50,000 ATMs was taken over by NPCI from Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) on December 14, 2009.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·