New Delhi, June 20: Recent wallet inactivity notifications from PhonePe have led to increased consumer interest in digital wallets and how they function. One of the key observations from these discussions is that many users continue to assume that their PhonePe account, UPI account, and PhonePe Wallet are the same. In reality, these are different payment instruments that operate independently and serve different purposes.

As digital payments become increasingly common in everyday life, understanding how wallets work and how they differ from UPI can help consumers make informed decisions and better understand the products they use.

Understanding the difference between UPI and wallets

When you make a payment through UPI on PhonePe, the money is debited directly from your linked bank account. A PhonePe Wallet, on the other hand, is a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) where money is stored separately from your bank account.

This distinction is important because the inactivity fee applies only to the PhonePe Wallet and not to UPI-linked bank accounts.

Understanding how wallet inactivity charges work

One of the concerns raised by users is whether PhonePe can deduct the inactivity fee from their bank account if their wallet has no balance. The answer is no.

If a user’s PhonePe Wallet has a zero balance and has remained inactive for an extended period, the inactivity fee will not be recovered from the user’s linked bank account or through UPI. Similarly, the wallet balance will not become negative.

In other words:

• No deduction will be made from a linked bank account.
• No deduction will be made via UPI.
• A wallet with insufficient balance will not show a negative balance.

Why some active PhonePe users may still receive notifications

Some users have reported receiving inactivity notifications despite using PhonePe regularly for QR-code payments, bill payments, or money transfers. This happens because wallet activity and UPI activity are tracked separately.

A customer may actively use PhonePe every day through UPI while their PhonePe Wallet remains unused for months or years. In such cases, the wallet can still be classified as inactive even though the user continues to use the PhonePe app.

Advance Notification and User Choices

According to PhonePe, affected users are notified 15 days in advance before any inactivity fee is deducted from the wallet balance.

During this period, users have the opportunity to:

• Activate their wallet.
• Add money to the wallet if they wish to continue using it.
• Withdraw eligible balances.
• Review whether they want to continue maintaining the wallet.

Addressing common questions around KYC

Some users believe they must complete Full KYC before they can reactivate their wallet. However, reactivating a wallet does not necessarily require converting a Minimum KYC wallet into a Full KYC wallet.

Users can activate their wallet by completing OTP verification and making a transaction using the wallet. Upgrading to Full KYC is not a prerequisite for activation.

Understanding wallet balances and cashback credits

Another area of confusion involves cashback rewards. Many users assume that cashback balances are stored inside their PhonePe Wallet. In reality, cashback rewards are typically credited to a separate Gift Card Balance, which is distinct from the PhonePe Wallet.

As a result, receiving cashback does not automatically mean that a wallet is active, nor does it mean the cashback balance is subject to wallet inactivity deductions.

Wallet closure and customer support

Some users have reported difficulties while attempting to close their wallet through the app, including error messages or requests for additional verification.

In such situations, users are advised to contact PhonePe customer support for assistance with account closure or wallet-related issues.

Why inactivity charges exist

Wallets are regulated as prepaid payment instruments and require maintenance, compliance, and operational support even when they are not actively used.

As a result, some wallet providers levy inactivity or maintenance fees on dormant wallets. The practice is not unique to a single company and has been observed among multiple wallet providers in the prepaid payments ecosystem.

The key takeaway in this case is that the inactivity fee applies only to the PhonePe Wallet, which is a separate prepaid payment instrument. It does not apply to UPI transactions, does not affect linked bank accounts, and does not result in negative wallet balances.

For users who have received a notification, the most important step is to determine whether they have an active PhonePe Wallet and decide whether they want to continue using it, reactivate it, or close it.

New Delhi, June 19: The Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has removed the requirement for a domicile certificate for students applying under Pre‑Matric and Post‑Matric scholarship schemes for Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Classes, an official statement said on Friday.

This step is expected to reduce the compliance burden on students and simplify the application process for scholarships, enabling easier access to benefits.

Thousands of eligible applicants across the country who study in institutions other than their domicile states will be benefitted, the statement from Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment said.

Under the Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Schemes for SCs and OBCs, nearly 1.2 crore students receive scholarship benefits annually. The removal of domicile certificate requirements will make the application process more student-friendly by reducing documentation requirements and lowering compliance costs.

Further strengthening digital governance, the Department has launched SETU (Scholarship for Educational Transformation and Upliftment) on the UMANG platform as a comprehensive solution for scholarship-related services.

The platform provides a single interface to the eligible applicants, Institutional Nodal Officers, District Nodal Officers and State officials for application registration, tracking, and validation of other services, improving transparency and efficiency.

“These initiatives are aligned with the government’s broader objective of promoting inclusion, reducing procedural barriers, and ensuring effective delivery of welfare schemes,” the statement noted.

The Department remains committed to leveraging technology-driven reforms to enhance outreach and provide timely support to students, it added.

A total of Rs 7,981.47 crore has been disbursed to over 75 lakh scheduled caste (SC) beneficiaries in FY26, an official statement said in April.

The funds were disbursed as part of schemes run by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment focused on the educational empowerment of marginalised students belonging to Scheduled Castes.

Across key scholarship programs, expenditure rose year‑on‑year, with a 21 per cent increase under the Pre Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs and Others, an 11.23 per cent increase under the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SCs, a rise of 13.5 per cent under Central Sector Scholarship of Top Class Education for SC students.

Mumbai, June 19: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday outlined five major value creation pathways for the Group to create a diversified growth architecture spanning energy, materials, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, consumer businesses, and global exports.

Addressing Reliance shareholders, Ambani said: “First, the O2C business, the mainstay of Reliance so far, will increase earnings as soon as the geopolitical situation improves. Simultaneously, and more importantly, we are reinventing this business to create a new revenue stream less vulnerable to external volatility. We will convert all the crude oil we process into new materials ─ carbon fibre, speciality materials, green chemicals, and much more. This new vision will drive margin expansion and lay the foundation for our oil-to-chemicals-and-new materials business.”

He further stated that the second pathway comprises the new energy business, which has entered the phase of accelerated commissioning and early revenues. The integrated solar manufacturing and advanced battery platform will achieve one of the world’s lowest costs of RTC green power. It will also enable the world’s most competitive green hydrogen and green chemicals ecosystem.

Besides, the underground coal gasification business has immense growth potential, and the CBG business is ready to be scaled up as the world’s largest bioenergy business, he added.

Ambani identified the third path of growth as Reliance Intelligence, with AI becoming a multi-trillion-dollar business globally. “Reliance Intelligence will lead this business in India. The infrastructure for it is being built at breakneck speed, and it will fully operationalise over the next couple of years,” he remarked.

The Reliance Chairman listed the FMCG business as a new multi-billion-dollar growth engine with plans to grow it into India’s largest FMCG company, and among the biggest in the world.

“It is already among the top few players in various categories and is expanding globally. It recently entered Europe and Africa and will enter many more global markets going forward. Our FMCG growth path is neatly aligned to that of Reliance Retail. Both are anchored in our plan to create India’s most advanced manufacturing platform and a distribution and exports platform with tens of thousands of small, medium and large partners,” he maintained.

Ambani highlighted exports as the fifth path of the group’s growth. “Reliance has long been India’s largest merchandise exporter, with a proven globally competitive world-class platform for energy and materials exports. Leveraging this experience, Reliance aims to become an anchor institution for developing a globally competitive, multi-sector export hub, with a target to enable $125-150 billion in exports by 2032. In this way, we will enlarge global markets for Made in India brands,” he observed.

Hiring the best talent for this new venture has already begun. This scalable platform will strengthen India’s export ecosystem and external economic resilience. This ambition is not only about creating a larger Reliance. It is about creating a stronger India, Ambani added.