PIB Summary- 25th August, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

India Post Payments Bank

Context
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has marked a significant milestone in the world of banking services with its continued profit streak, demonstrating its commitment to sustainable financial inclusion and citizen empowerment.

About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)

• The India Post Payments Bank is a public sector payments bank from India operated by the India Post.
• The India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) was setup under the Department of Post, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity Owned by Government of India.
• The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) will be like any other banks but its operations will be on a smaller scale without involving any credit risk.
• It will carry out most banking operations like accepting deposits but won’t advance loans or issue credit cards.
• Motto: “Every customer is important, every transaction is significant and every deposit is valuable”.
• Vision: “Building the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man”.
• Mission: “Spearheading financial inclusion by removing barriers and reducing costs for accessing banking services”.
• The IPPB has been integrated with Post Office Savings Bank (POSB).
• The IPPB is the sixth Payments bank, which has become operational after Aditya Birla, Airtel, Fino, Jio and Paytm Payments Banks.
• The freshly-minted payments bank will accept deposits of up to Rs. 1 lakh, offer remittance services, mobile payments/transfers/purchases and other banking services like ATM/debit cards, net banking and third-party fund transfers.
• The Payments bank are licensed under Section 23 of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, and registered as public limited company under the Companies Act, 2013.

ASTRA Missile

Context
Recently, Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) LSP-7 successfully fired the ASTRA off the coast of Goa on August 23, 2023.

ASTRA Missile

• Indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile.
• Purpose: Engaging and neutralizing highly agile supersonic aerial targets.
• Designed and developed by DRDL, RCI, and other DRDO labs.
• A significant stride towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ with Astra BVR integrated into Tejas fighters.

Key Features of LCA Tejas

• Lightest, smallest, and tailless multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft.
• Equipped for various air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided weaponry.
• Capability for air-to-air refueling.
• Tejas has a maximum payload capacity of 4000 kg.
• Achieves a speed of Mach 1.8.