Which bank was set to become the first bank in India to integrate Aadhaar based one time password (OTP) services for offering digital financial services to its customers?

Introduction / Context:
As India moved towards digital payments and financial inclusion, Aadhaar based authentication became an important tool for verifying customer identity. Banks started integrating Aadhaar with their digital platforms to provide convenient and secure services. This question asks which bank was poised to become the first in the country to integrate Aadhaar offering OTP based financial services, a step that represented a significant innovation in digital banking at that time.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The integration mentioned involves Aadhaar based one time password (OTP) authentication.
• The context is digital financial services through a bank's application or platform.
• The options list Karur Vysya Bank, City Union Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank.
• We assume the question refers to press reports about a specific bank initiative linked to Aadhaar OTP based services.

Concept / Approach:
The concept is digital banking awareness and knowledge of how banks adopted Aadhaar within their service offerings. The initiative in question is connected with Kotak Mahindra Bank, which launched digital savings products and integrated Aadhaar based OTP authentication to simplify account opening and transactions. Therefore, the approach is to recall that Kotak Mahindra Bank made headlines as the first bank to implement Aadhaar OTP based financial services in that manner.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note that the question is about the “first bank to integrate Aadhaar offering OTP based financial services.”Step 2: Understand that larger private sector banks with strong digital platforms were more likely to pioneer such technology.Step 3: Recall that Kotak Mahindra Bank introduced products such as a fully digital savings account using Aadhaar and OTP verification, which was widely covered in financial news.Step 4: Compare this memory with the options and recognise that Kotak Mahindra Bank is listed as one of the choices.Step 5: Select Kotak Mahindra Bank as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Verification can be done by recalling that reports at the time specifically mentioned Kotak Mahindra Bank's plan to double its customer base with a digital initiative that relied significantly on Aadhaar based OTP authentication. While other banks were also experimenting with Aadhaar enabled services, this particular “first to integrate” description appeared in association with Kotak Mahindra Bank, not with the other banks listed in the options.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (Karur Vysya Bank) is incorrect because it is a respected private bank but was not highlighted as the first to integrate Aadhaar OTP based services in this way. Option B (City Union Bank) is a regional bank and did not receive national attention for pioneering Aadhaar OTP based financial services. Option C (IndusInd Bank) is innovative in various products but was not reported as the first bank for this specific Aadhaar OTP integration.

Common Pitfalls:
One pitfall is to select any bank that sounds large or modern without connecting it to actual reported initiatives. Another mistake is to confuse Aadhaar OTP based services with other Aadhaar related innovations such as Aadhaar Pay or biometric based authentication, which may have been pioneered by different banks. Careful reading and recall of the exact description given in news summaries help in choosing Kotak Mahindra Bank correctly.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is Kotak Mahindra Bank, which was set to become the first bank in India to integrate Aadhaar offering OTP based financial services.