Citizen Observation 2 of 777 | A Beta Portal Deserves Beta Citizens

Published: July 17, 2026

CO 2 of 777

One Beta. One Citizen. One Suggestion. One Better Portal.

A beta portal is more than an early version of a website.

It is an invitation for citizens to help build a better public service.

When a public institution launches a beta version of its digital platform, are citizens merely expected to report bugs—or are they being invited to help shape a better public service?

Sometimes, the best beta testers are the citizens who care enough to suggest improvements.

All roads lead to April 11 – Digital Transactions Day.

Please note that Digital Payments are a subset of Digital Transactions.

The launch of the IRCTC Beta Portal is an encouraging example of citizen-centric digital service design.

By inviting users to experience the portal before its official rollout, IRCTC has done more than introduce a new website. It has invited citizens to participate in improving a public service.

That opportunity deserves to be fully utilised.

Most beta portals rely on a generic feedback box. While valuable, free-text comments often vary in quality, omit important context and require considerable effort to analyse.

What if a beta portal guided citizens to provide more structured feedback?

Imagine a dedicated Citizen Suggestion module.

Citizen Suggestion

🎯 What were you trying to do?
(Search trains, book tickets, make payments, cancel bookings, update your profile, etc.)

👍 What worked well?

⚠️ What did not work?

💡 What is your one improvement suggestion?

📂 Which area does your suggestion relate to?

☐ Train Search
☐ Ticket Booking
☐ Payments
☐ User Interface
☐ Accessibility
☐ Performance
☐ Other

⭐ How important is this improvement?

○ Essential

○ Useful

○ Nice to Have

🌱 How would this improvement benefit future users?

One sentence.

This simple framework would help citizens organise their thoughts while enabling product teams to classify, compare and prioritise feedback more effectively.

More importantly, it changes the conversation.

Instead of asking,

"Tell us what is wrong?"

it encourages citizens to ask,

"How can we make this better?"

Although inspired by the IRCTC Beta Portal, this idea extends far beyond a single website.

Every government department, regulator, public sector organisation, bank, fintech platform and digital service launching a beta product has the same opportunity.

A beta release is not merely a software testing phase.

It is an exercise in participatory governance.

It recognises that the people who use a service can also help improve it.

When citizens become contributors rather than passive users, digital public services become stronger, more inclusive and more trusted.

This also reflects the broader philosophy behind Digital Transactions Day (April 11).

India's digital transformation is not defined only by successful digital payments. It is shaped by every digital interaction that precedes them—discovering a service, navigating an interface, completing a journey and sharing ideas for continuous improvement.

Good governance does not end when a service is launched.

It continues every time a citizen is invited to improve it.

That is why better digital transactions begin with better digital interactions.

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Citizen Observation

A beta portal deserves beta citizens—not merely users who report problems, but citizens who help build better public services through thoughtful participation.

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One Measurable Suggestion

Introduce a structured Citizen Suggestion module in the IRCTC Beta Portal to guide user feedback through a simple, consistent framework that generates richer, more actionable insights while encouraging meaningful citizen participation.

---

The success of a beta portal should not be measured by how many bugs it uncovers.

It should be measured by how many better ideas it inspires.

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Every trusted digital transaction begins with a trusted digital interaction.

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Author

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

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Observation Metadata

Sector: Railways

Institution: IRCTC

Theme: Beta Testing & Citizen Participation

Primary Stakeholder: IRCTC Product Team

Observation Type: Digital Service Design

Suggested Beneficiaries: IRCTC users, product teams and future users of public digital services

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Further Reading:

 IRCTC Beta Portal @ https://www.IRCTC.co.in/eticket/train-search

  Ministry of Railways announcement on the IRCTC Beta Portal

  IRCTC Next Generation eTicketing System

  Digital India Programme

 Digital Transactions Day (April 11) initiative  @ https://movethebarrier.blogspot.com/search/label/%23April11

---

Disclaimer

This Citizen Observation reflects a constructive personal observation based on publicly available information and personal experience.

The intention is not to criticise any institution, but to identify opportunities for practical, measurable improvements that may strengthen public services and enhance the citizen experience.

The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

Citizen Observation 1 of 777 | Dear SEBI, A COMMA Is Not a Special Character

 Published: July 15, 2026

CO 1 of 777

Three Days. Five Responses. Thousands of Characters. One Small Observation.

 

Public consultations are among the most meaningful ways in which citizens can contribute to better public policy.

 

Could enabling secure copy and paste together with commonly used punctuation such as commas make the consultation process more citizen-friendly while preserving appropriate validation and security controls?

 Sometimes, improving regulation begins by improving the conversation around regulation.

 Author: Nayakanti Prashant

3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

 Over the last three days, I participated in SEBI's public consultation on the proposed Common Advertisement Code.

 

The consultation itself was thoughtful.

 

It encouraged stakeholders to think deeply about investor protection, virtual characters, digital communication and technology-enabled supervision.

 

The portal experience, however, led me to one small citizen observation.

 

Several commonly used punctuation marks, including the comma , could not be typed directly into the comment fields.

 

Ironically, my grammar tool occasionally suggested corrections and inserted a comma  automatically.

 

I accepted those suggestions sparingly because I genuinely did not know whether the final submission might later be rejected for containing a character that contributors themselves were unable to type.

 

A comma is not merely punctuation.

 

It separates ideas.

 

It improves readability.

 

It reduces ambiguity.

 

Most importantly, it helps the reader understand the contributor's intent.

 

Public consultations invite citizens to spend hours researching, refining and validating their recommendations.

 

The effort should ideally be invested in improving ideas rather than manually reproducing them under avoidable interface constraints.

 

One small enhancement for future consultations could therefore be to permit secure copy-and-paste functionality together with commonly used punctuation marks such as comma s while continuing to block characters that genuinely present security or validation concerns.

 

In many cases, the manual transcription effort may exceed the time spent developing the actual recommendations.

 

That is time that could otherwise be invested in producing better public policy inputs.

 

As someone who advocates Digital Transactions Day on April 11, I often say that Digital Payments are only a subset of Digital Transactions.

 

In the same spirit, a public consultation is more than a web form.

 

It is a digital transaction between a citizen and a regulator.

 

The easier it is to contribute thoughtfully, the stronger that transaction becomes.

 

Sometimes, the smallest improvements create the biggest participation.

 

Disclaimer

 

This article reflects my personal experience while participating in SEBI's public consultation process and is intended as a constructive citizen observation. The views expressed are my own. Artificial Intelligence was used as a research, drafting and language assistance tool. The analysis, observations and responsibility for this article remain entirely mine.

 

Every trusted digital transaction begins with a trusted digital interaction.

All roads lead to April 11 – Digital Transactions Day.

Please note that Digital Payments are a subset of Digital Transactions.

The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

 

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Rapido – Could "Skip for Now" Make Your Feedback More Honest?

Published: 05 July 2026

By Nayakanti Prashant

3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru

Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Disclaimer: These are my personal thoughts. The need to act is entirely on Rapido Team.

The ultimate destination is April 11 – Digital Transactions Day.

And, in this ride, maybe Rapido can make it smoother.

Sometimes, the smallest button on a screen has the biggest impact.

Somewhat similar to the Butterfly Effect.

 

 

Sometimes, the smallest button on a screen has the biggest impact.

This isn't about pricing.

It isn't about ride quality.

It isn't about technology.

It is about human psychology.

Over the last couple of days, I have started using Rapido's two-wheeler services in Bengaluru. The experience has largely been positive—quick bookings, professional captains, and an efficient way to navigate the city's traffic.

Like millions of users, I reached the end of my ride and was greeted by the familiar feedback screen.

Then one question caught my attention.

"Would you recommend this captain to other women?"

The available responses were simple.

Yes

or

No

For a moment, I paused.

Not because I didn't want to answer.

But because I wasn't sure whether I was the right person to answer it.

And that made me wonder...

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The Missing Third Option

Imagine walking into a restaurant.

The waiter asks,

"Was the food excellent or terrible?"

You reply,

"Actually... it was good."

The waiter smiles and says,

"Sorry. You can only choose one."

That is exactly how many digital feedback journeys work today.

Life is rarely binary.

Our experiences usually live somewhere between two extremes.

Sometimes we simply don't know.

Sometimes we don't have enough context.

Sometimes we don't feel qualified to answer.

And sometimes...

we just want to skip the question without affecting the overall feedback.

---

The Most Honest Answer Might Be...

Not Yes.

Not No.

But

Skip for now.

Three simple words.

Yet they acknowledge something every product designer knows:

Users should never be forced to express an opinion they don't genuinely hold.

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Why This Matters

From a data perspective, forcing binary answers can unintentionally reduce data quality.

When users encounter a question they cannot confidently answer, several things may happen.

Some tap Yes simply to complete the process.

Some tap No because they don't know what else to choose.

Some abandon the feedback altogether.

In all three cases, the collected data becomes less representative of the user's actual experience.

A neutral option helps distinguish between:

• genuine positive feedback,
• genuine negative feedback,
• and no opinion.

Those are three very different signals.

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Better Data. Better Decisions.

Product teams spend enormous effort analysing customer feedback.

Heat maps.

Dashboards.

Recommendation scores.

Trend analysis.

Machine learning.

But what if the data entering those dashboards is already influenced by a forced choice?

A simple "Skip for now" button could produce cleaner datasets, more meaningful insights, and ultimately better product decisions.

Sometimes improving analytics doesn't require another AI model.

It requires another button.

---

Respecting the User

Good user experience is not only about making users answer quickly.

It is also about respecting their choice not to answer.

That small act communicates something powerful.

We value your honesty more than your response rate.

In an age where every application seeks more feedback, perhaps trust is built by occasionally asking for less.

---

A Small Suggestion

What if the feedback screen looked like this?

Would you recommend this captain to other women?

🟢 Yes

🔴 No

⚪ Skip for now

Simple.

Clean.

Honest.

No lengthy explanations.

No additional screens.

No friction.

Just one extra option for users who genuinely don't wish to express an opinion.

---

The Ripple Effect

The beauty of good UX is that it travels.

A thoughtful improvement in one app often inspires better experiences across many others.

Today, it may be Rapido.

Tomorrow, it could influence food delivery apps, e-commerce platforms, banking applications, travel portals, healthcare services, and government platforms.

Sometimes innovation isn't about introducing something revolutionary.

Sometimes it is about removing unnecessary pressure from a user's thumb.

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Final Reflection

Every ride does not deserve applause.

Every ride does not deserve criticism.

Some rides simply deserve acknowledgement.

And some questions deserve an honest silence.

Perhaps that silence deserves its own button.

Not because users are indifferent.

But because honesty should always have a place in good design.

---

My Suggestion to Rapido

A tiny enhancement.

One additional button.

Three words.

"Skip for now."

Because the most honest feedback is sometimes the one that isn't forced.

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The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

 

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

FIFA 2026: The Fan Behind the Ticket

 Published: 2 July 2026

By Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

Disclaimer: This article uses FIFA World Cup 2026 as a public example to discuss digital transactions.

Digital payments are a subset of digital transactions.

References are illustrative and intended for public-interest discussion.

The ultimate destination is April 11 – Digital Transactions Day.

The Beginning

A football fan in Tokyo has been waiting for this moment.

A FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket is finally secured.

The payment takes only a few seconds.

The celebration begins immediately.

But the real journey has only just begun.

Weeks later, the same fan joins thousands of supporters walking towards a stadium in Los Angeles.

The ticket is ready. The match is about to begin. The crowd is gathering.

Yet before the turnstile opens, one simple question must be answered.

Who is the fan behind the ticket?

That question sits quietly at the heart of one of the world's largest sporting events.

The Tournament So Far

As FIFA World Cup 2026 progresses across three host nations and sixteen host cities, millions of supporters are experiencing one of the most digitally connected tournaments ever organised.

Official mobile ticketing, digital identity verification, secure ticket transfers and stadium access management have become an integral part of the fan journey. Alongside the excitement on the pitch, FIFA continues to encourage supporters to rely only on its official digital platforms for ticketing and tournament information.

The football may last ninety minutes.

The digital journey begins much earlier.

The Ticket and the Fan

A ticket identifies a seat.

A digital identity identifies the fan.

The distinction appears simple.

Yet it has become increasingly important in a connected world.

A ticket can be purchased.

A ticket can be transferred.

A ticket can be stored on a mobile phone.

But before access is granted, systems need confidence that the person presenting the ticket is the person entitled to use it.

The fan has to be identified, even after the match is over, atleast till the time, he/she reaches his/her base location.

That confidence is built through digital identity.

Across travel, banking, e-commerce, government services and major sporting events, digital identity has quietly become one of the most important digital transactions of our time.

Three Cities. One Identity.

Consider the journey.

The ticket may be purchased in Tokyo.

The journey may continue through Toronto.

The match may be watched in Los Angeles.

Three cities.

Multiple systems.

One trusted identity.

Behind the scenes, digital systems create an invisible chain of trust.

Accounts are created.

Credentials are verified.

Devices are authenticated.

Permissions are assigned.

Access rights are validated.

No money changes hands.

Information does.

Each of these interactions is a digital transaction.

Together, they create the confidence required to welcome millions of fans into stadiums safely and efficiently.

Trust Before Payment

Recent reports surrounding fake ticketing websites, phishing attempts and fraudulent resale offers are an important reminder that attackers often target identity before they target payment.

The objective is rarely just to steal money.

It is to compromise the trusted identity behind the ticket.

That is why protecting digital identity has become just as important as protecting digital payments.

The challenge is not only moving money securely.

It is ensuring that the right person receives the right access at the right time.

A Digital Transactions Day Reflection

As the world celebrates goals, saves and unforgettable moments, another story is unfolding quietly in the background.

Millions of fans.

Thousands of journeys.

Countless identity checks.

A ticket identifies a seat.

A digital identity identifies the fan.

Perhaps that is one of the hidden lessons of FIFA World Cup 2026.

Whether the journey begins in Tokyo, Toronto or Los Angeles, trust travels with the fan.

Digital payments help people participate.

Digital identity helps people participate with trust.

And together, they remind us that digital payments are only one part of a much larger digital transaction ecosystem.

For official tournament information, fixtures and ticket guidance, visit FIFA.com and FIFA Ticketing.

For more reflections on Digital Transactions Day, visit InnovationInBanking.blogspot.com.

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The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

 

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com

 

Reflection 12 - 12 Years of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi – Digital Transactions Reflections

 12 Reflections. 12 Months. 12 Years. One Digital Journey.

Published 21 June 2026 | Reflection 12

By Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

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Disclaimer

These are my personal reflections as a citizen observer and Digital Transactions Day advocate.

This series reflects on India's digital journey during the twelve years of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's tenure and is not intended as a political assessment or scorecard.

The ultimate goal is April 11 - Digital Transactions Day.

As of now, unable to guess the distance between today and Digital Transactions Day.

Why Every Reflection Has Been Leading to April 11

For the past eleven reflections, we have travelled across countries, continents and ideas.

From Japan to Denmark.

From inclusion to prosperity.

From participation to resilience.

We explored different technologies, different institutions and different approaches to digital transformation.

Yet beneath these differences, a common thread connected every reflection.

People trying to move forward.

A student seeking an opportunity.

A citizen accessing a service.

An entrepreneur building a business.

A farmer seeking credit.

A traveller navigating a new city.

Different journeys.

The same aspiration.

Progress.

 

Reflection Evolution

Sankalpa (Vision)

↓

Samavesha (Inclusion)

↓

Parivartana (Transformation)

↓

Sahabhagita (Participation)

↓

Suvidha (Convenience)

↓

Vishwas (Trust)

↓

Suraksha (Security)

↓

Navonmesh (Innovation)

↓

Samarthya (Capability)

↓

Sahanshilta (Resilience)

↓

Samriddhi (Prosperity)

↓

April 11 – Digital Transactions Day

 

The Human Side of Digital Transactions

Imagine a student in Hyderabad sharing a verified certificate through DigiLocker while applying for a university programme.

A citizen in Copenhagen authenticating identity through MitID before accessing an essential service.

An entrepreneur in Bengaluru granting consent through the Account Aggregator framework while applying for business credit.

A resident in Singapore interacting with government services through Singpass.

A business owner in São Paulo securely sharing financial information across institutions through open finance frameworks.

Different countries.

Different systems.

Different circumstances.

Yet all are trying to do the same thing.

Move forward.

Useful references:

https://www.digilocker.gov.in

https://www.accountaggregator.in

https://www.mitid.dk

https://www.singpass.gov.sg

---

At first glance, these may appear to be completely different activities.

One involves education.

Another identity.

Another business.

Another public service.

Another financial data exchange.

Yet each depends on a trusted digital transaction.

Not necessarily a payment.

But a secure exchange of information, identity, consent or value.

 

A student shares a certificate.

A citizen proves identity.

A borrower grants consent.

A business submits an invoice.

A resident accesses a service.

An entrepreneur unlocks an opportunity.

The transaction may not move money.

But it moves trust.

It moves access.

It moves opportunity.

 

Expanding Beyond Payments

That is why digital transactions are larger than digital payments.

Payments are one important chapter of the story.

But they are not the entire story.

Every day, millions of citizens exchange documents, permissions, credentials, identities and opportunities through digital channels.

The transaction may be invisible.

The impact is not.

A verified certificate.

A trusted identity.

A consented data share.

A digital invoice.

A government service.

A business opportunity.

These too are digital transactions.

 

Why April 11 Matters

For many citizens, April 11 is associated with the beginning of India's UPI journey.

For me, it represents something broader.

A reminder that trusted digital transactions are becoming part of everyday life.

Not just in India.

But across the world.

From Hyderabad to Copenhagen.

From Bengaluru to Singapore.

From São Paulo to Tallinn.

Different places.

Different systems.

The same aspiration.

To make trust travel faster.

To make access easier.

To make opportunity more accessible.

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A Reflection For Digital Transactions Day

Vision creates direction.

Inclusion expands participation.

Trust builds confidence.

Security protects progress.

Innovation unlocks possibilities.

Capability broadens access.

Resilience sustains momentum.

Prosperity converts possibility into opportunity.

Together, they form the foundation of a digital society.

For me, that is the larger significance of April 11.

Not merely the anniversary of a payment platform.

But a reminder that trusted digital transactions are increasingly becoming the invisible infrastructure connecting people, institutions and opportunities.

 

Payments move capital.

Digital transactions move society.

And that is why I continue to advocate for April 11 as Digital Transactions Day.

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The Joy of Digital Transactions

Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Digital Transactions Day (April 11)

 

Author’s Blogs

https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com