PIB Summary- 12th January, 2024 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Exercise Sea Dragon-24

Context
Indian Navy’s P8I aircraft landed at Guam, a US island territory in Western Pacific, to participate in Exercise Sea Dragon – 24.

Exercise Sea Dragon-24: Multinational Maritime Collaboration

• Objective: Enhance collaboration and teamwork among participating navies through professional exchanges.
• Participating Countries: India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the US.

Focus Areas:

• Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW): Locating and neutralizing enemy submarines beneath the seas.
• Surface Warfare: Coordinated attacks on hostile surface vessels using advanced weaponry and tactics.
• Air Defence: Establishing an impenetrable air barrier for the safety of friendly forces.
• Search and Rescue (SAR): Tracking down and rescuing maritime personnel in distress.
• Communication and Coordination: Synchronizing activities across platforms and seamless information exchange.

Key Aspects of the P8I Aircraft:

• Versatility: A potent force multiplier in maritime operations.
• Long-Range Surveillance: Scans vast ocean areas, identifying hostile movements from considerable distances.
• Multi-sensor Fusion: Integrates electronic intelligence systems, sonars, and onboard radars for a comprehensive maritime picture.
• Anti-submarine Warfare Capability: Equipped with depth charges and torpedoes, posing a serious threat to enemy submarines.
• Communication Relay: Serves as a crucial means of communication between various participating fleets’ forces.

India Post Payments Bank

Context
India Post Payments Bank enter into MoU with Hindustan Zinc to offer financial inclusion services to its CSR beneficiaries.

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.