Designing Change is the insider’s account of how India leapt from a cheque-based system to one of the world’s most advanced digital payments ecosystems. Drawing on more than three decades across government, global banks, NPCI, the World Bank, and IIM Bangalore, Dr. Balakrishnan Mahadevan (Balu) narrates how systems like IMPS, AEPS, NACH, RuPay, and UPI were built, scaled, and woven into the country’s economic fabric.
Blending personal journey with institutional history, the book reveals the ideas, policies, leadership values, and technical innovations that enabled India to create inclusive, interoperable, real-time digital public infrastructure at population scale. Clear, engaging, and rich in detail, it explains not just what India achieved, but how it did so — through discipline, collaboration, and purposeful design.
An essential read for policymakers, bankers, technologists, entrepreneurs, students, and anyone interested in how resilient institutions and thoughtful system design can transform a nation.
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Dr. Balakrishnan Mahadevan, Ph.D (Balu)
“This book narrates how values such as aspiration, discipline, and collaboration shaped India’s digital payments journey, bringing together history, personal experience, institutional memory, and thoughtful analysis. Dr Balu’s journey reflects the spirit of individuals who cared deeply about doing the right thing, executing with rigour, and keeping the long-term national interest ahead of all else, and his contributions over the decades highlight how much can be achieved when capability meets integrity.”
– Shri. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Co-founder of Infosys
“This book encapsulates the remarkable progress in India’s payment ecosystem and the invaluable contributions of its author, and I was inspired by Dr Balu’s leadership, dedication, and commitment while working with him during the formation of NPCI.”
– Mrs. Liz Oakes, Global Payment Systems Expert; Ex EVP Mastercard
“The book is a compendium of historical developments in Indian Payment Systems, the author’s journey and contributions in shaping it more specifically through NPCI, and an insightful discussion on future developments—informative, engaging, and inspiring, and Dr Balu made important contributions in shaping India’s payment systems.”
– Shri. R. Gandhi, Former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
“This book is a remarkable testament to a journey shaped by industry practice and academic insight, and Dr Balu offers unparalleled depth of insight from decades of direct engagement with the technology, governance, and transformation of payment systems.”
– Dr. Ruth Wandhöfer, Visiting Professor, Bayes Business School (UK)
