Flipkart Introduces Fingerprint & Face ID Payments with Axis Bank, PayU

• Flipkart has become one of the leading Indian e-commerce platforms to offer biometric authentication for card payments, powered by PayU & Axis Bank
• Customers can now approve Axis Bank card payments using Face ID or fingerprint, eliminating OTP delays and failed attempts
• The biometric authentication feature brings faster approvals backed by device binding and next-gen fraud protection

Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, in collaboration with Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India and PayU, India's leading diversified fintech platform, announced the launch of biometric authentication for card payments. Three trusted organizations have joined forces for this initiative, building on their shared history of a consumer first approach, and reinstating their collective commitment to the consumers of India.

The initiative allows users to authenticate transactions using their fingerprint or Face ID on supporting Android and iOS devices, eliminating the need for a one-time password (OTP). The service is enabled first for Axis Bank cardholders through issuer‑level biometric verification. With this launch, Flipkart has become one of the leading major Indian e-commerce platforms to offer biometric authentication for card payments.

The feature offers customers a more secure method of authentication backed by device fingerprinting and enhanced checks, reducing the risk of SIM‑swap or OTP‑based fraud. It addresses significant friction points in digital payments replacing SMS-based OTPs, with a faster and more secured mechanism already familiar to smartphone users. Under this collaboration, PayU manages the merchant-side infrastructure, including device security and authentication flows while Axis Bank leverages Wibmo (a PayU company) to power biometric verification on the issuer side.

Biometric authentication addresses India's alarming digital payment fraud landscape, where fraud values surged more than fivefold to exceed ₹1,400 crore in FY 2024, according to RBI-linked data. In response, the Reserve Bank of India issued the 'Authentication Mechanisms for Digital Payment Transactions Directions, 2025' circular, explicitly encouraging adoption of biometric and risk-based authentication over SMS OTPs. Strategically aligned with this regulatory vision, the Flipkart-PayU-Axis Bank partnership enhances security, improves transaction success rates, and creates a more resilient payment ecosystem while fulfilling RBI's mandate for stronger digital authentication mechanisms.


Commenting on the collaboration, Hemang Dattani, Chief Business Officer, PayU Payments, said, “As digital commerce continues to scale in India, simplifying payments without compromising on security is critical. At PayU, we are proud to partner with Flipkart to enable a biometric authentication experience for card payments, helping customers move past long-standing friction associated with OTP-based verification. By combining biometric authentication with enhanced security controls, this partnership marks a meaningful step towards building a faster, more secure and frictionless digital payments experience for Indian consumers.”

Speaking on the launch, Gaurav Arora, Vice President, Payments and SuperCoins at Flipkart, said, “At Flipkart, our approach to innovation is anchored around robust compliance and consumer trust. The integration of the biometric authentication feature reflects our commitment to building safety into consumer payments at a time when digital fraud risks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. By leveraging secure biometric credentials, we are delivering a payment experience that is intuitive and seamless, while meeting the highest standards of consumer protection. As digital commerce continues to scale, our focus remains on enabling faster transactions while reinforcing the regulatory rigour and ecosystem-wide trust that secure payments demand.”

Arnika Dixit, President & Head – Cards, Payments and Wealth Management, Axis Bank, said, “At Axis Bank, we are constantly working to reinforce trust and security across every digital touchpoint. Customers today expect digital payments to be not only safe but effortless, and biometric authentication delivers exactly that by enabling a secure, onetouch approval experience. We are delighted to introduce this enhanced capability for our cardholders through our collaboration with Flipkart and PayU. This rollout reflects the strength of our long standing partnership and our shared commitment to elevating industry standards in both security and customer experience. As digital commerce continues to evolve, we remain focused on bringing innovations that make payments simpler, stronger and future ready for our customers.”

This rollout marks a step forward in India’s transition away from OTPs, offering users a smoother way to pay while maintaining high standards of compliance and control. Through this collaboration, Flipkart, Axis Bank and PayU are establishing a strong model for a device‑bound biometric card authentication that can support the next generation of secure digital transactions in India.

The Flipkart Group is one of India’s leading digital commerce entities with a strong technology-first foundation and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Flipkart Wholesale, Cleartrip, and super.money. Established in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of sellers, merchants, and small businesses to participate in India's digital commerce revolution. With a registered user base of more than 500 million, Flipkart’s marketplace offers over 150 million products across 80+ categories. Today, there are over 1.4 million sellers on the platform, including Shopsy sellers. With a focus on empowering and delighting every Indian by delivering value through technology and innovation, Flipkart has pioneered services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI, Easy Returns, and UPI payments. Beyond shopping, Flipkart continues to create jobs, empower entrepreneurs, and strengthen India’s digital economy.

Axis Bank is one of the largest private sector banks in India. Axis Bank offers the entire spectrum of services to customer segments covering Large and Mid-Corporates, SME, Agriculture, and Retail Businesses. It has 6,275 domestic branches (including extension counters) and 12,796 ATMs and cash recyclers spread across the country as on 31st March 2026. The Bank’s Axis Virtual Centre is present across eight centres with 1,591 Virtual Relationship Managers as on 31st March 2026. The Axis Group includes Axis Mutual Fund, Axis Securities Ltd., Axis Finance, Axis Trustee, Axis Capital, A.TReDS Ltd., Freecharge, Axis Pension Fund and Axis Bank Foundation.

SPECTRUM Digitizers and AWGs now support NVIDIA ClaraT

NVIDIA-Clara rear

Spectrum Instrumentation now offers driver support for the NVIDIA Clara AGX™, a universal computing architecture for the next generation of AI medical instruments. The new drivers enable scientists and developers to choose from 64 different Spectrum Digitizers, Arbitrary Waveform Generators (AWGs) and Digital I/O cards, letting the NVIDIA Clara AGX kit perform high-speed electronic signal acquisition and generation for analog and digital signals. With the big variety of cards to choose from, users can exactly match their electronic signal requirements.

For example, the digitizer cards can be used to acquire signals in the DC to GHz frequency ranges by sampling them at rates from 5 MS/s up to a maximum of 5 GS/s. Similarly, the AWG cards can be used to produce signals with almost any wave shape and frequency content, from DC to 400 MHz, by outputting samples at speeds from 40 MS/s up to 1.25 GS/s. Individual analog cards offer one, two, four or eight channel capability. Digital I/O cards and Digital Data Acquisition cards allow the acquisition of digital data at rates up to 720 MS/s and can generate digital patterns at up to 125 MS/s. There are different interface options for TTL and LVDS available.

The NVIDIA Clara AGX developer kit provides an easy-to-use platform for developing software-defined, AI-enabled, real-time, point-of-care medical devices. It delivers real-time streaming connectivity and AI inference by combining the flexibility of the NVIDIA® Jetson AGX Xavier™ embedded Arm® system on a chip (SoC), the performance of the integrated NVIDIA RTX™ 6000 GPU, and the 100 GbE connectivity of the NVIDIA ConnectX® SmartNIC, Clara AGX. The kit also includes full-stack GPU-accelerated libraries, SDKs, and reference applications for developers, data scientists, and researchers to create real-time, secure, and scalable solutions.

Adding a Spectrum card to the Clara system allows sensor signals to be acquired, generated, stored and processed. Data can be streamed between the cards, the processor and the GPU. In fact, the high-speed parallel processing capabilities of the GPU make it the perfect platform for handling the large volumes of data that can be acquired and generated by the Spectrum products. Spectrum already offers SCAPP (Spectrum's CUDA Access for Parallel Processing) to make GPU-based data processing easily achievable, even at the fastest streaming rates.

M4i.6631-x8

 
Looking at some examples: One or two cards of the M2p-series (5 MS/s to 125 MS/s) can be installed into the kit, as in Pic 2. The AWG signal generator card with 4 channels and the digitizer with 8 channels are running fully synchronized at a speed of 125 MS/s on all channels. Choosing one card of the ultra-fast M4i-series, such as the popular M4i.6631-x8 in Pic 3, turns the kit into an extremely low-noise AWG with signal generation up to 1.25 GS/s output speed on two channels. Another example uses the M4i.2212-x8 digitizer card that is already a core part of the world's first, high-throughput cell sorter created by the University of Tokyo in 2019. It allows signal acquisition up to 1.25 GS/s on four channels, with up to 3.4 GBytes per second streaming and high-speed processing via Spectrums SCAPP drivers and the internal NVIDIA RTX 6000 GPU of the Clara kit.

The NVIDIA Clara is already being used in a number of biomedical research programs and next generation of medical devices. Applications include imaging, genomics, patient monitoring, and drug discovery. It can be found everywhere the healthcare industry is innovating and accelerating the journey to precision medicine. Now, by installing a Spectrum card, or cards, this powerful platform has an easy way to acquire and generate the fast electronic sensor signals that are often found in this cutting-edge field.

Oliver Rovini, Chief Technical Officer at Spectrum, said: "We were delighted to be approached by NVIDIA, and partner with them to develop drivers for their NVIDIA Clara platform. Spectrum already has many customers using our technology in medical science. Now, together with the NVIDIA Clara, they have an easy way to create very small, low power systems, that offer some of the most advanced data processing tools available today."

Like all products by Spectrum Instrumentation, the 64 different M2p- and M4i-series cards carry a 5-year product warranty, with free software and firmware updates, as well as customer support directly from the engineering team, for the whole lifetime of the product. For more information, please visit:

www.spectrum-instrumentation.com

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For Asia's 1st Pilot of Biometric Card, Mastercard Team Up with IDEMIA and Singapore's Fintech Firm MatchMove

Mastercard has teamed up with IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, and MatchMove, a Singapore-based fintech, on their first pilot in Asia of a biometric card that uses a fingerprint to authorize transactions at in-store payment terminals.

The card, with the product name F.CODE Easy, takes the seamless and intuitive experience of biometric authentication from a smartphone to a smart card. It makes transactions more convenient, safe and secure by eliminating the need for a cardholder to provide a PIN number or signature, thereby reducing touch points in public places.

Developed by IDEMIA in accordance with Mastercard’s technical and design specifications, F.CODE Easy ensures privacy and security by storing all biometric credentials on the card chip rather than a central database. The battery-free card, which harvests energy from payment terminals to power its fingerprint sensor, is designed to be user-friendly and is certified to ISO standards by Mastercard for security and compliance.

MatchMove, a Banking as a Service provider in Singapore, will issue the biometric cards for the pilot in the fourth quarter of this year. The pilot will feature employees of Mastercard, IDEMIA and MatchMove using the cards for transactions and live demonstrations for customers.

“As people make a permanent move to contactless transactions, the biometric card promises more choice and greater security for consumers,” said Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “With Mastercard’s focus on digital commerce, this solution is a testament to the innovative partnerships Mastercard cultivates and its mission to provide fast, frictionless payment experiences that are protected at every point."

The shift to touch-free transactions is underway globally as almost six in 10 consumers say the move to digital payments is likely to last and nearly half plan to use cash less often even after the COVID-19 pandemic passes, according to a Mastercard study in multiple markets around the world. In Asia Pacific, a large majority – 71% in Australia, 77% in India, 73% in China and 62% in Japan – believe the shift to contactless payments is here to stay.

To support the onboarding process for F.CODE Easy, IDEMIA will provide a full set of services to MatchMove that allow users to enroll in their own homes for maximum convenience.

“We are proud to celebrate this milestone on our journey to shaping the future of payments into one powered by biometrics,” said Vincent Mouret, Senior Vice President of Financial Institutions Asia Pacific at IDEMIA. “We are delighted to partner with Mastercard and MatchMove to launch F.CODE Easy in Asia and we look forward to continuing to work together to provide end-to-end security for fintechs."

MatchMove, which aims to democratize essential financial services using advanced cloud and mobile technologies, is one of 21 applicants for Singapore’s digital banking licenses.

“We are excited to partner with IDEMIA and Mastercard to pioneer cutting-edge solutions that empower our customers to make safe and secure payments,” said Amar Abrol, Chief Commercial Officer at MatchMove. “By leveraging F.CODE Easy, we can enable multiple use cases for our clients who in turn create greater value and utility for their customers, employees, suppliers and partners. We look forward to working together and introducing new innovative solutions to the market.”


About Mastercard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

About IDEMIA

IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, provides a trusted environment enabling citizens and consumers alike to perform their daily critical activities (such as pay, connect and travel), in the physical as well as digital space. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, an identity that ensures privacy and trust and guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect one of our greatest assets – our identity – whether for individuals or for objects, whenever and wherever security matters. We provide Augmented Identity for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. With close to 15,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries. For more information, visit www.idemia.com / Follow @IdemiaGroup on Twitter.

About MatchMove

MatchMove, which is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, is one of the world’s fastest growing and most disruptive fintech companies in digital payments and next-generation banking. MatchMove’s proprietary Banking Wallet OS™ enables 'Banking-As-A-Service' and the capabilities of Spend.Send.Lend™ within any app. The platform empowers businesses and their customers to Spend both online and offline easily and safely, via instantly issued prepaid cards on major card networks. Its Send capabilities include P2P domestic transfers, cross-border remittances, P2M and mass disbursements to global recipients. MatchMove’s platform further extends to Lend, where credit scores are assigned based on customers’ spending and sending patterns to offer customised lending solutions. MatchMove’s solutions help enterprise clients digitise payments and give the financially underserved segments the empowerment to move their money anytime and anywhere. For more information, please visit www.matchmove.com.

Advancing Contactless Payments: Infineon and Fingerprint Cards Join Forces to Drive Mass Deployment of Biometric Cards

Biometric payment cards with integrated fingerprint sensor make contactless payments more convenient, more secure and hygienic. The contactless card remains in the hands of the cardholder throughout the entire payment transaction, while eliminating the need for PIN entries or signatures to authorize even high-value payments. Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) and Fingerprint Cards AB (Fingerprints™, STO: FING-B) have joined forces to enable mass deployment of this emerging solution.

The world leaders for security controller in contactless payment and for fingerprint sensors incl. their related software aim to provide card makers with biometric semiconductor solutions which make integration particularly cost-efficient and scalable. The fingerprint information is stored on the card’s embedded secure element and not shared with any third party, thus protecting the user’s credentials.

“Authorizing payments without handing over the card is a huge step forward in terms of user experience, data security and hygiene. We selected Fingerprints as they are the leading biometric silicon and technology provider with market proven performance. Jointly, we want to drive the industrialization of biometric payment cards from a niche into mass market rollout,” said Bjoern Scharfen, Head of the Payment and Transport Ticketing product line at Infineon. “Combining Fingerprints’ leading biometric technology with our expertise in chip security, energy efficiency and contactless performance, we will develop a system solution that is easy to integrate and gives our customers a head start in an emerging growth market.”

“Collaboration is key in the payment ecosystem, in which Infineon is a leading player. Together we will produce an optimized solution that will make it easier for card manufacturers to integrate biometrics into future generations of contactless payment cards, ultimately putting these cards into the hands of consumers around the world to enable a worry-free payment experience,” says Michel Roig, SVP Business Line Payments & Access at Fingerprints.

Fingerprints’ sensor modules, combined with Infineon’s 40 nm high-performance and energy-efficient security controllers based on the 32-bit ARM® SecurCore® SC300™, fully support the requirements of biometric payment cards. They enable:

• Secured matching of the fingerprint image within the security controller where the private data is securely stored


• Excellent contactless performance despite the increased power required


• Convenient and reliable enrollment of sensitive biometric data in the card

Almost every second payment card with a chip worldwide has an Infineon security controller at its core Infineon also supplied chip solutions for major biometric card projects and pilots in 2020. For further information about Infineon’s payment security controllers, please go to www.infineon.com/payment

Further information about Fingerprints’ solutions for payment device manufacturers is available at https://www.fingerprints.com/solutions/payments/device-manufacturers/

Cabinet Allows Use of Aadhaar Data, Biometric ID for State Schemes and Subsidies

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved official changes to Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill 2019 that incorporates a clause to allow use of Aadhaar data for state schemes and subsidies.

The amendment to the Aadhaar Act entails use of India's national biometric ID by states governments for their schemes that are funded through the 'Consolidated Fund of the State'.

"The states had demanded (this). As per Supreme Court order, Aadhaar is allowed where the funds are going for beneficiary schemes coming straight from the central government. It will enable the use...the way subsidies to the central schemes are transferred from the central fund, Aadhaar can be used for transferring state subsidies," Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters while briefing about the Cabinet decisions.

Earlier this month, Parliament had approved amendments to the Aadhaar and other laws to allow voluntary use of the 12-digit unique number as ID proof for obtaining mobile phone SIM cards and opening bank accounts. The government also inserted a new clause allowing the use of Aadhaar data by states for implementation of their schemes.

A government official, who did not wish to be named, explained that since the particular clause was included after the Bill was introduced in Parliament, the Cabinet nod is in the nature of a 'post facto' approval.

According to the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 - posted by the Lok Sabha after its passage in the house - a new section 5A was inserted.

"In section 7 of the principal Act, after the words 'the Consolidated Fund of India', the words 'or the Consolidated Fund of State' shall be inserted," it had said.

Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act pertains to targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services funded from the Consolidated Fund of India. With the insertion of the Consolidated Fund of State, states can also use the Aadhaar database for better targeting of schemes.

Javadekar said there are about 128 crore Aadhar cards registered so far, and use of Aadhaar for transfer of state subsidies will enable weeding out of fake beneficiaries. PTI LUX MBI

Next-Gen Bomb Suits, Bio-metric Access Firearms and Chilli Bombs - International Police Expo Received Immense Response

Taking country’s Police, Civil defense and Homeland Security to newer heights with modernised equipment’s and advance technologies, International Police Expo 2019 received immense response from civilians and armed forces. 

Leading manufacturers and technology players from Singapore, Israel, Korea, Taiwan, China, UK, USA, Malaysia, Germany, Australia, Poland and other nations displayed the best and advance technologies in safety and security. The expo was organised by Nexgen Exhibitions, Asia’s leading and established trade fair, exhibition and conference organizer.

The next generation Bomb Suit from Rotax Electronics Pvt. Ltd. for India’s Bomb Detection and Disposal squads

Our Bomb Detection and Disposal squads are always on high risk and their mission demands for modernized equipment’s and state of the art technologies for their as well as public safety. EOD 10 is engineered to provide best-in-class balanced protection and support to bomb technicians against the threats of an explosive blast such as Overpressure, Fragmentation, Impact and Heat. The EOD 10 is the first bomb suit to integrate multiple digital technologies at a system level to assist a user. They help the operator control functions, interact with their surrounding environment, communicate, perform their render safe procedures, configure their system and reduce risk. Allowing Bomb squads to perform their best during tense situation, the unique design of EOD 10 reduces fatigue, improve comfort, increases situational awareness, provides upper body ventilation and adds new capabilities. A built-in Voice Command System allows the bomb disposal teams to control the helmet and suit’s many electronically activated features while using their hands to carry tools or use hook & line. This helps complete the mission more efficiently during manual tasks.

Lightest women-friendly concealed carry pistol Glock 42 now in India

India will have some of the most sophisticated firearms ever manufactured. Glock pistols are made to give confidence to the individual who carries, be it military personnel, law enforcement units or civilians - to perform their duties, their daily routine jobs and get back home safe to their families. Glock 42 is for the Indian commercial market, civilian arms license holders both state and national license all India permit. It is the world’s smallest, functional military-grade pistol. It has 0.380 calibre which is a nonprohibited bore as per the Indian Arms Act. It comes with 6+ one round magazine capacity and can be increased as per the requirement. It is the lightest and the women-friendly pistol which is even as small as the size of the mobile phone and women can carry it in their clutches and wallets.

Chilli Grenades by DRL Tejpur - DRDO 

With increasing cases of mob lynching in the country, DRDO has developed and tested Chilli Grenades made from Naga Chilly. The Chilli Grenade is now ready for commercialisation after being tested by various departments of Indian armed forces across the country. Chilli Bomb has been approved for use as a Non-Lethal Mob Dispersal Agent and maintaining law and order. Chilli Grenade has proved to be much more advanced and effective Non-Lethal Mob Dispersal Agent than the currently used Tear Gas Bombs which is a very crude method of dispersal. This is the first time that India has developed an alternative of Tear Gas from naturally procured-locally available source like Chilli. Tear Gas has known to affect the eyes and the respiratory system but Chilli Grenades affect only the eyes to decapacitate an aggressive mob without having suffocating the respiratory system. It does not harm the health of law enforcement personnel who might have to use it multiple times. While Tear Bombs might become ineffective humid conditions, Chilly Grenade’s effect is unaffected by humidity. Chilli Grenades are being successfully used by Rajasthan Police, Bihar Police, Manipur Police and Central Forces in India.      

India’s first Lightest and indigenous Bullet Proof Jacket ‘Bhabha Kavach’ from Ordnance Factory Board gets nod from MHA

India’s Lightest Bullet Proof Jacket ‘Bhabha Kavach’ from Ordnance Factory Board was launched at the International Police Expo 2019. Developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) this state-of-the-art jacket can withstand 7.62mm hard steel core or bullets fired from an AK-47 rifle, 5.56mm INSAS bullet and even the recently decommissioned 7.65mm bullet of self-loading rifle (SLR). It is half KG lesser than the prescribed weight of MHA along with the 360 Degree Protection. It is protection level of NIJ III+. The actual weight of the jacket usually is 10 kg that Bhabha Kavach only weighs 9.2kg. This is a major breakthrough for the Indian armed forces.

India’s first ever Smart Biometric Access Controlled Holster to stop gun related accidents

Statistics suggest there are more than 2000 deaths in India every year due to Gun related accidents. Sri Hans Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. is an MSME from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, working extensively to come up with path-breaking innovative solutions for Gun Safety & Gun Control in India. ‘KAVACH’ is India’s first Smart Biometric Access Controlled Holster and the smartest technology available for securing the small arm weapon. It works on fingerprint technology that allows access to the weapon only to the authorized user, no other user will be able to fire the weapon. KAVACH’s Smart Grip also has Artificial Intelligence enabled Chip for firearms. This Chip will act as a black box of weapons and will record each shot fired from the weapon including the date stamping, time stamping & location stamping (optional). Sri Hans Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd. are also in a position to come out with multifarious solutions for the Armed Forces, Para-military Forces, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), State Police Forces and other uses of small arms & ammunition. They also offer Ammunition Inventory Management System and Weapon Inventory Management System. All the products are being developed and manufactured in the Defense Corridor in Kanpur.

More than 100 national and international organisations from across 25 countries including top brands such as GLOCK Pistols, IDEMIA, Foster+ Freeman, Röder HTS Höcker GmbH, Systools, Third Eye, Cellebrite, Matrix, Foundation Futuristic, Bodycam, Third Wave, Counter Measures Technology, Manit Group, Ansari Precision, Kamal Nayan, Deccaleap Technologies LLP, Cornerstone B displayed their latest innovations in defence & homeland security, police & civil defense,  arms and ammunition, non-lethal ammunition, rugged solutions for tough terrains and a host of other disruptive technologies.

The expo was organised by Nexgen Exhibitions, Asia’s leading and established trade fair, exhibition and conference organizer.

Indian Gun Factory Develops Fingerprint-access Gun Technology using 3D Printing

Smart firearms safety technology not only prevent misuse of deadly weapons but also prevent the accidental usage by children and teens, as well as reducing the use of a firearm against its owner if the firearm is stolen or taken away. Recognizing this, Government of India owned Field Gun Factory (FGF) of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh has recently developed a novel smart biometric powered firearm holster called Kavach, that can only be used with the fingerprint impression of its owner.

The gun factory leveraged the 3D printing technology to design & develop the holster. Holster is a holder for carrying a handgun or other firearm. A handgun holster is a device used to hold or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, reported Times of India.

[caption id="attachment_127173" width="400" align="aligncenter"] Kavach, Smart biomentric gun holster developed by FGF Kanpur 9Image Credit: ToI)[/caption]

Kavach, the holster, has a biometrically opened lock, which according the gun factory is a safer way to prevent misuse and theft of firearms. For this, FGF collaborated with a Kanpur-based private firm, Sri Hans Energy Systems Pvt Ltd, to develop this 'smart' holster to lock the gun in it.

A firearm, when used with Kavach holster, can not be taken out from it without opening its lock by using impression of the owner's finger print. As of now, Kavach has been designed for .32 bore revolver and soon will cover all major prominent bores.

According to Shailendra Nath, GM of Field Gun Factory, Kanpur, “We have designed a smart biometric firearm holster called Kavach, with the help of a private company Sri Hans Energy Systems Pvt Ltd, Kanpur and are in the process of launching it in the market. Smart biometric holster will act as a deterrent in case of misuse and theft of a firearm."

Other information about the different technology stacks used in 3D printing and biometric system, which was used for desiging and developing Kavach are not available as of now and we are in process of reaching out to Field Gun Factory, Kanpur, to furnish further additional details. Keep watching this space for more on this.

Related to firearms safety technology there are other technologies such as RFID activated gun accessories. RFID (Radio-frequency Identification) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. A RFID firearm safety systems, which typically employ RFID chips or other proximity tokens, fingerprint recognition, or magnetic rings, can prevent accidental shootings, gun thefts, and criminal usage by persons not authorized to use the guns.

India's neighbor Pakistan has also come up with quite an innovative and much needed gun safety technology. Brains for Innovative Research Development & Strategic Studies (BIRDS), a Pakistan-based privately-held R&D organization, has developed a firearm safety device called "APS 1". APS 1 automatically locks the weapon on reaching/entering boundary/protected area, such as school, religious building, public office, public gathering areas etc., can be programmed by Law Enforcement Agency/Licensing Authority at the time of purchase/installation

A US-based startup called Biofire Technologies, is developing smart guns as a mass-manufacturable commercial product, which uses a fingerprint sensor to unlock the firearm for use.

ICICI Bank To Invest ₹99 Lakhs In Mumbai-based Biometric Payment Startup Tapits

India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank announced that it is acquiring a minority stake in Tapits Technologies, a Mumbai-based early stage startup that helps merchants accept digital payments through Aadhaar biometrics, reports Business Standard.

ICICI is investing Rs 99 lakh in Tapits Technologies to acquire 9.9% stake in the startup, which had revenues of less than Rs 1 lakh for financial year 2016-17.

The transaction is expected to complete by February 2018.

"Tapits enables merchants to accept digital payments from customers through biometric authentication using Aadhaar enabled payment system," the bank said in a regulatory filing, adding objective of the investment is to promote Aadhaar-based payments.

Founded in 2016 by Pratyush Halen, Tapits is a startup based at Bombay Stock Exchange working with top banks to enable Merchants to accept digital payments using Aadhaar Pay, UPI and do bill payments.

The startup has its flagship point of sale device called 'FingPay', which can make payments "card-less, cashless and mobile-less".

Fingpay enables Merchants to collect digital payments from customers using Aadhaar Pay and UPI. It also enables them to do customer's bill payments like recharges, electricity, Insurance premium's etc. The product is fit for places where payment is happening and also for agents who can roam around and collect payments.

Fingpay has an android application and web portal for Merchants where they can connect a biometric reader to mobile or PC and start accepting payments. The product is now live with over 150 merchants.

This investment has now finally ends the long time speculation on a positive note that ICICI will invest in fintech startups in India as part of its strategic move to help it serve its customers better.

Last month, a Bengaluru-based payment startup iKaaz was acquired by Singapore-based Uber rival Grab.

At the same time, IndusInd Bank and Dynamics Inc., at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show announced plans to introduce the first battery-powered, interactive payment cards to the Indian market in 2018.

ICICI Bank To Invest ₹99 Lakhs In Mumbai-based Biometric Payment Startup Tapits

India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank announced that it is acquiring a minority stake in Tapits Technologies, a Mumbai-based early stage startup that helps merchants accept digital payments through Aadhaar biometrics, reports Business Standard.

ICICI is investing Rs 99 lakh in Tapits Technologies to acquire 9.9% stake in the startup, which had revenues of less than Rs 1 lakh for financial year 2016-17.

The transaction is expected to complete by February 2018.

"Tapits enables merchants to accept digital payments from customers through biometric authentication using Aadhaar enabled payment system," the bank said in a regulatory filing, adding objective of the investment is to promote Aadhaar-based payments.

Founded in 2016 by Pratyush Halen, Tapits is a startup based at Bombay Stock Exchange working with top banks to enable Merchants to accept digital payments using Aadhaar Pay, UPI and do bill payments.

The startup has its flagship point of sale device called 'FingPay', which can make payments "card-less, cashless and mobile-less".

Fingpay enables Merchants to collect digital payments from customers using Aadhaar Pay and UPI. It also enables them to do customer's bill payments like recharges, electricity, Insurance premium's etc. The product is fit for places where payment is happening and also for agents who can roam around and collect payments.

Fingpay has an android application and web portal for Merchants where they can connect a biometric reader to mobile or PC and start accepting payments. The product is now live with over 150 merchants.

This investment has now finally ends the long time speculation on a positive note that ICICI will invest in fintech startups in India as part of its strategic move to help it serve its customers better.

Last month, a Bengaluru-based payment startup iKaaz was acquired by Singapore-based Uber rival Grab.

At the same time, IndusInd Bank and Dynamics Inc., at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show announced plans to introduce the first battery-powered, interactive payment cards to the Indian market in 2018.

IBM working to deploy sensors and biometrics based apps in India

IBM, the tech giant is working on developing apps based on sensors and biometrics for India. The company’s enterprise division is working on it with corporates.  This means, gone are the days when you would get to know about the discounts or sales being offered at your nearby shops or malls after the sale ended. These apps would send you messages to keep you updated about the discounts being offered in the nearby shops or malls.

The US tech giant is also working on the idea of withdrawing money from an ATM without a card. IBM along with DLF, which is an Indian real estate major, will position the app for malls at the latter’s posh property in South Delhi. The ATM app would be deployed once the IBM’s analytics in India are made.

IBM is also working on some biometric projects with Indian customers in the financial services sector.

The Indian market is considered very vibrant from the mobile standpoint. Two years ago, IBM had also unveiled its ‘mobile first’ technology after it detected the fact that corporates whether small or big would need to have mobile apps for their business if they wanted to remain on the profit path.

Only 1 in 10,000 paid apps would be considered financially successful by their developers through 2018. This data was revealed during a study done by research firm Gartner on mobile apps.

Globally, over 50% of the companies that the tech giant spoke with don’t have a mobile strategy in action even today.  In India, the picture is almost the same. Of the people who invested in a mobile project, 73 percent saw a decent return on investments. More than 50 percent of the people who were surveyed got a 10 percent or more productivity increase.

According to Phil Buckellew, vice-president, enterprise mobile, IBM Software Group, the banking, financial and insurance sectors are in need of mobile applications which integrate with their back-end system instead of apps that just provide information.

Security is considered as a major problem in adoption of mobile apps. India has not been able to make the bring-your-owndevice concept a big success in the country due to the security issue.

IBM working to deploy sensors and biometrics based apps in India

IBM, the tech giant is working on developing apps based on sensors and biometrics for India. The company’s enterprise division is working on it with corporates.  This means, gone are the days when you would get to know about the discounts or sales being offered at your nearby shops or malls after the sale ended. These apps would send you messages to keep you updated about the discounts being offered in the nearby shops or malls.

The US tech giant is also working on the idea of withdrawing money from an ATM without a card. IBM along with DLF, which is an Indian real estate major, will position the app for malls at the latter’s posh property in South Delhi. The ATM app would be deployed once the IBM’s analytics in India are made.

IBM is also working on some biometric projects with Indian customers in the financial services sector.

The Indian market is considered very vibrant from the mobile standpoint. Two years ago, IBM had also unveiled its ‘mobile first’ technology after it detected the fact that corporates whether small or big would need to have mobile apps for their business if they wanted to remain on the profit path.

Only 1 in 10,000 paid apps would be considered financially successful by their developers through 2018. This data was revealed during a study done by research firm Gartner on mobile apps.

Globally, over 50% of the companies that the tech giant spoke with don’t have a mobile strategy in action even today.  In India, the picture is almost the same. Of the people who invested in a mobile project, 73 percent saw a decent return on investments. More than 50 percent of the people who were surveyed got a 10 percent or more productivity increase.

According to Phil Buckellew, vice-president, enterprise mobile, IBM Software Group, the banking, financial and insurance sectors are in need of mobile applications which integrate with their back-end system instead of apps that just provide information.

Security is considered as a major problem in adoption of mobile apps. India has not been able to make the bring-your-owndevice concept a big success in the country due to the security issue.