PIB Summary- 19th January, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)

Why in News?

India Post Payments Bank’s customer base crossed 5 Crore Mark.

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.

Hurdles of IPPB

• Despite various efforts by the Government like the Jan Dhan Yojna, it is estimated that about 18% of the Indian population is not being served by the banking system.
• The IPPB can be seen as filling an important gap in the scheme of financial inclusion.
• The service available should be efficient and cost effective.
• The making available a good connectivity and network, for example, can be a major challenge in remote parts for IPPB to be a success.
• Also, the postmen need to be trained periodically to provide such new services and he may demand an incentive for this new job.
• To overcome the possible challenges lying ahead required training programs have been started by the Department of Posts.
• The micro ATMs have been given in many of the Post Offices in rural areas.
• To sort out the issue of connectivity in remote areas, different connectivity providers are being contacted to issue SIM cards, etc.

Open Data Week

Why in News?

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has announced the initiation of the Open Data Week to encourage the adoption of open data and promote innovation across India’s urban ecosystem.

About Open Data Week:

• It is being conducted during the third week of January, i.e., from 17th January 2022 to 21st January 2022.
• The idea is to provide a platform that offers ample opportunities on how to continue creating and promoting the use of data that addresses complex urban issues, such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
• Open data is data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone – subject only, at most, to the requirement to attribute and share alike.
• It can be understood under three broad categories:
  (i) Availability and Access: It is easily available at a minimal cost. It should also be available in a usable form.
  (ii) Re-use and Redistribution: It is made available without any restriction on re-use and redistribution.
  (iii) Universal Participation: Anyone and everyone can access and/or re-use it. There should be no discrimination against a person or group based on any criteria.

Advantages of Open Data in Urban Planning:

• Greater transparency and integrity of the public sector.
• It enhances the possibility to track public money flows and market insights.
• It illuminates the current and historical trends, which can be correlated with information on social, political, and environmental climates.
• It provides the ability to recognize, respond to, or even predict changes in real-time.
• Increased productivity via the streamlining of processes and services, by allowing the easy identification of inefficient or ineffective practices.
• Reduction of environmental impact by simplifying the identification of its sources, and by aiding in the compliance of existing projects, services and infrastructure with environmental regulations.
• It will allow information to be accessible to the average end-user.