India Post Payments Bank celebrates 7th Foundation Day: Reinforcing commitment to financial inclusion

Overview:

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) celebrates its 7th Foundation Day on September 1, 2024. Established by the Government of India under the Department of Posts, it aims to drive financial inclusion through accessible and affordable banking services, leveraging the extensive network of India Post.

 Key Achievements:

1. Customer Accounts: Over 9.88 crore accounts.
2. Merchant Onboarding: More than 12 lakh merchants.
3. Direct Benefit Transfers: Disbursed over ₹45,000 crore.
4. Aadhaar Mobile Updates: Facilitated for over 7.10 crore customers.
5. Digital Life Certificates: Provided for over 20 lakh pensioners.

Strategic Impact:

• Financial Inclusion: IPPB plays a crucial role in reaching underserved and unbanked populations, particularly in rural and remote areas.
• Network Utilization: Utilizes the vast infrastructure of 161,000 post offices and 190,000 postal employees.
• Digital Banking: Focuses on Doorstep Digital Banking Services, leveraging India Stack for paperless, cashless, and secure banking.

Vision and Mission:

• Vision: To create the most accessible, affordable, and trusted bank for common citizens, addressing the needs of the unbanked and underbanked.
• Mission: To ensure financial inclusion by making banking services available to every household in India, with special emphasis on remote and North-East regions.

Operational Model:

• Infrastructure: Integrated with a CBS (Core Banking System) through smartphones and biometric devices.
• Language Support: Services available in 13 languages.
• Focus Areas:  Promotes a less cash economy and supports the Digital India vision.

Motto: "Every customer is important, every transaction is significant, and every deposit is valuable."

NCA-F, IISC AND ITU COLLABORATE TO HOST WORKSHOP ON BHARAT 6G VISION: TRANSLATING RESEARCH TO STANDARDS 

Key Highlights

• Event: “BHARAT 6G VISION: TRANSLATING RESEARCH TO STANDARDS” Workshop
• Day 1 Focus: ITU standardization process, drafting and negotiating contributions, panel with DoT officials and industry leaders
• Day 2 Focus: Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) in telecom, Intellectual Property Rights, panel with government, patent office, industry, academia

Bharat 6G Project

About:

• India’s 6G project will be implemented in two phases, the first one from 2023 to 2025 and the second one from 2025 to 2030.
• The government has also appointed an apex council to oversee the project and focus on issues such as standardization, identification of the spectrum for 6G usage, createan ecosystem for devices and systems, and figure out finances for research and development, among other things.
• A key focus of the council will be on new technologies such as Terahertz communication, radio interfaces, tactile internet, artificial intelligence for connected intelligence, new encoding methods and waveforms chipsets for 6G devices.

Objectives:

• Facilitate and finance R&D, design, and development of 6G technologies by Indian startups/companies/research organisations/universities;
• Allow India to become a global leader in IP, products, and solutions for affordable 6G telecom solutions.
• Utilise 6G technology as a force multiplier for India by 2030.
• Enable an inclusive and significant improvement in the quality of life for citizens in India and around the world.

Challenges Related to 6G in India

• Complex Technology: The complexity, stemming from a multitude of components and subsystems, may introduce challenges during the developmental and implementation phases of 6G.
• Infrastructure: 6G requires substantial investments in infrastructure. For example, THz waves are also more difficult to transmit and receive, so 6G networks will need to use new antenna designs and signal processing techniques.
• Security Concerns: The ultra-fast speeds and massive data volumes transmitted through 6G networks could expose them to cyber threats.
• Low availability of bandwidth: 6G is expected to enable a 1 Tbps data rate in which a large continuous bandwidth is required but in reality, these bandwidths are limited and split over several bands.
• Lack of fibre connectivity: With less than 30 per cent of the country''s telecom towers now linked by fibre, the networks are ill-equipped to support 6G data speeds.

What is 6G Technology

• 6G (Sixth-Generation Wireless) is the successor to 5G cellular technology.
• It will be able to use higher frequencies than 5G networks and provide substantially higher capacity and much lower latency (delay).
• One of the goals of 6G internet will be to support one microsecond-latency communication (delay of one-microsecond in communication).
• This is 1,000 times faster - or 1/1000th the latency - than one millisecond throughput.
• It seeks to utilize the terahertz band of frequency which is currently unutilized.
• Terahertz waves fall between infrared waves and microwaves on the electromagnetic 
• These waves are extremely tiny and fragile, but there''s a huge amount of free spectrum up there that would allow for spectacular data rates.

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav extends deadline for idea submission in Ideas 4 LiFE till 15 October 2024

• The Ministry in collaboration with the Maharashtra Environment Department organised ''Ideas4LiFE at IIT Bombay to inspire innovative environmental solutions.
• The event is an initiative to engage students, faculty and researchers in generating ideas that promote an eco-friendly lifestyle. 

Ideas4LiFE portal: 

• It was launched for inviting ideas related to products and services, which induce behavioral changes related to environment-friendly lifestyles.
• This initiative aims to encourage and motivate students,faculty and research scholars to contribute their innovative ideas to the global initiative of Mission LiFE.
• It is a remarkable opportunity for inspired minds to participate in global movement dedicated to environmental sustainability.

Key facts about Mission LiFE

• Mission LiFE, or Lifestyle for Environment, is an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.
• It was launched at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.
• The program hopes to “mobilize one billion Indians as well as people in other countries to become individuals who practice sustainable lifestyles.
• It emboldens the spirit of the P3 model, i.e., Pro Planet People.
• It aims at following a three-pronged strategy for changing people''s collective approach towards sustainability,
• nudging individuals to practice simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand)
• enabling industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply)
• to influence governmentand industrial policy to support both sustainable consumption and production (policy).

Relations between India and Pakistan unlikely to become better, finds survey

Key highlights from the survey by the Centre for Policy Research (CPR)-C Voter

Indo-Pak Relations:

• 60%+ of Indians and 50%+ of Pakistan is believe that the two countries cannot have friendly relations in this decade.
• 48% of Indians, 31% of Pakistanis, and 32% of Bangladesh is favor a reversal of conditions created by Partition.

Comparison to Previous Surveys:

• In 2011, two-thirds of Indians and Pakistanis believed peace was attainable in their lifetime, showing a significant decline in optimism by 2022.

Views on Global Influence:

• Indians believe India has the highest influence in South Asia.
• Pakistanis and Bangladeshis believe China has the most influence, followed by the U.S.
• High concern over Chinese interference is shown by two-thirds of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.

Relations between India and Pakistan

Historical Background

Colonial Era and Partition (Pre-1947)

• British Rule: India and Pakistan were part of British India until 1947. The British ruled India for nearly two centuries, fostering communal divisions through policies that emphasized religious differences.
• Partition of 1947: The subcontinent was partitioned into two independent dominions—India and Pakistan—based on religious lines. This partition led to one of the largest mass migrations in history, with widespread violence, resulting in the death and displacement of millions. Pakistan was created as a homeland for Muslims, while India remained a secular state with a Hindu majority.

Post-Independence Conflicts

• Kashmir Issue (1947–48): The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir became the first major flashpoint. The Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, chose to accede to India under certain conditions, leading to the first Indo-Pak war. The conflict ended with a UN-mediated ceasefire in 1949, establishing a Line of Control (LoC) but leaving the region divided.

Subsequent Wars:

• • 1965 War:Triggered by Pakistan''s Operation Gibraltar, aiming to incite insurgency in Kashmir. It ended in a stalemate, with the Tashkent Agreement of 1966 restoring the pre-war territorial status quo.
  • 1971 War and Bangladesh Liberation: India supported the independence movement in East Pakistan, leading to the creation of Bangladesh and the defeat of Pakistan. The Shimla Agreement of 1972 followed, reinforcing the LoC as a de facto border.
  • 1999 Kargil Conflict: Pakistani forces infiltrated the Indian side of the LoC, leading to a limited war in Kargil. India regained control of its territories, and Pakistan faced international condemnation.

Major Issues

1. Kashmir Conflict

• Core Dispute: Kashmir remains the central issue. Both nations claim the region in full but control only parts. Frequent skirmishes along the LoC, insurgency in Indian-administered Kashmir, and human rights concerns are ongoing issues.

2. Cross-Border Terrorism

• Terrorism: India accuses Pakistan of supporting terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, which have carried out attacks in India (e.g., 2001 Indian Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attacks).

3. Siachen Glacier

• Siachen Dispute: The Siachen Glacier, located in the eastern Karakoram range, is another military flashpoint. Both countries maintain a military presence in this inhospitable terrain.

4. Water Disputes

• Indus Waters Treaty (1960): The treaty, mediated by the World Bank, allocates the waters of the Indus River system between the two countries. Disputes occasionally arise, particularly over the construction of dams and water usage.

5. Nuclear Arms Race

• Nuclearization: Both nations conducted nuclear tests in 1998, leading to a precarious balance of power in the region. The presence of nuclear weapons has added a layer of complexity to their rivalry.

6. Diplomatic Relations

• Fluctuating Relations: Diplomatic relations have oscillated between periods of dialogue and deadlock. Confidence-building measures (CBMs) have been attempted but often derailed by incidents like the 2001 Parliament attack or the 2019 Pulwama attack.

Current Status

• Revocation of Article 370 (2019): India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been a significant bone of contention. Pakistan condemned the move, leading to a further deterioration in relations.
• Ceasefire Agreement (2021): In February 2021, both sides reaffirmed a 2003 ceasefire agreement along the LoC, leading to a reduction in cross-border violence.

Way Forward

Bilateral Dialogue

• Comprehensive Dialogue: Resuming a comprehensive dialogue covering all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, terrorism, and trade, is essential.

Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs)

• Military and Diplomatic CBMs: Regular meetings between military commanders, exchange of information, and diplomatic engagements can help reduce tensions.

Economic Cooperation

• Trade and Connectivity: Enhancing economic ties, including reopening trade routes and promoting people-to-people contact, can create interdependencies that promote peace.

Track-II Diplomacy

• Civil Society Engagement: Encouraging dialogue through non-governmental channels can foster understanding and build public support for peace.

International Mediation

• Mediation Role: Although both countries prefer bilateral engagement, third-party mediation or facilitation by countries like the US or organizations like the UN could help break deadlocks.