Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the central government believes that this is not the right time to make digital payments chargeable.

Speaking at an event, Sitharaman said, "We see digital payment as the public good. People should be able to access it freely so that the digitisation of the Indian economy becomes attractive. Also through digitisation, we achieve a level of transparency which is so required."

"Therefore, we still think it is not the right time to make it chargeable. We are more and more pushing toward open digital transactions, digitisation and platforms which can enable great access. The RBI's recommendation is to a working paper and let the working paper where it is," the Minister added.

Sitharaman's statement came against the backdrop of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking feedback from the public on the various changes proposed in the payments system, including the possibility of imposing tiered charges on transactions done through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

However, the Government of India last week announced that it will not levy any charges on UPI (Unified Payments Interface) services.

In India, the RTGS and NEFT payment systems are owned and operated by RBI. Systems like IMPS, RuPay, UPI, etc, are owned and operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which is a not-for-profit entity promoted by banks. The other entities like card networks, PPI issuers, etc, are profit-maximising private entities.

Notably, the number of digital transactions in July was the highest ever since 2016. UPI reported 6.28 billion transactions amounting to Rs 10.62 trillion, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's flagship financial inclusion program Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has completed its eighth year and a lot of intended goals were achieved in this period.

The program was announced by Prime Minister Modi in his first Independence Day address in 2014. While launching the program in the later part of August 2014, the PM had described the occasion as a festival to celebrate the liberation of the poor from a vicious cycle.

The objective of "Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)" was to ensure access to various financial services like availability of basic savings bank accounts, access to need-based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to the unbanked weaker sections and low-income groups through effective usage of technology.

The initiative was important as it provided an avenue for the poor for bringing their savings into the formal financial system, an avenue to remit money to their families in villages besides taking them out of the clutches of the usurious money lenders.

In addition, the beneficiaries get a RuPay Debit card with having inbuilt accident insurance cover of r 1 lakh. The plan also envisages channeling all Government benefits (from Centre / State / Local Body) to the beneficiary's accounts and pushing the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme of the Union Government.

As on August 10, 2022, the number of total PMJDY accounts was 46.25 crore, of which 55.59 per cent (25.71 crore) were women and 66.79 per cent (30.89 crore) in rural and semi-urban areas. During the first year of the scheme itself, 17.90 crore PMJDY accounts were opened. There has been a continuous increase in the number of accounts under PMJDY. PMJDY accounts have grown threefold.

Neeraj Chopra has gifted his historic Tokyo Olympics gold medal-winning javelin to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne

The Indian, who became the first track and field athlete from the country to win an Olympic medal in Tokyo last year, on  Aug 27 gifted his most-prized javelin to the museum.

The museum has a rich collection of 120 years, which includes the rifle of Abhinav Bindra, who became the first Indian to win individual Olympic gold in Beijing 2008.

The museum is managed by the International Olympic Committee's Heritage team with the objective of securing the Olympic legacy.

Q1. Which of the following is observed as nutrition month ?

1. July
2. Aug
3. Sep
4. Oct
5. None of These

Q2. The UN  has accepted  India's proposal to observe 2023 as the International Year of

1. Millets
2. Maize
3. Tea
4. Mango
5. None of These

Q3. Name the serial which highlights the contributions of freedom fighters, especially the unsung heroes, on Doordarshan ?

1. Satyagrah
2. Swaraj
3. Swadhinta
4. Shradhanjali
5. None of These

Q4. The National Sports Day is observed on

1. August 25
2. August 27
3. August 29
4. Sep 1
5. None of These

Q5. In India, the RTGS and NEFT payment systems are owned and operated by

1.  Reserve  Bank of India (RBI )
2.  National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
3. Ministry of Finance
4. Ministry of Trade & Commerce
5. None of These

Answers

1------------------------------------3   Sep

2-----------------------------------1   Millets

3-----------------------------------2    Swaraj

4-------------------------------------3   August 29

5-------------------------------------1   Reserve  Bank of India (RBI )

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Aug 28 stressed the importance of social awareness in fighting malnutrition and promoting water conservation and also noted that expansion of internet connectivity has brought a new dawn in remote areas, especially in the Northeast.

In his 'Mann Ki Baat' broadcast, the prime minister said that "Amrit Dhara" was flowing in every corner of the country in this month of India's 75th anniversary of independence and mentioned the unique ways the people have celebrated during the ongoing "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav".

He touched on a host of issues, including official efforts to deal with malnutrition, and said social awareness is crucial to this fight.

The month of September is observed as nutrition month.

The prime minister highlighted different innovative methods taken up in various states to tackle malnutrition.

With the UN accepting India's proposal to observe 2023 as the International Year of Millets, Modi lauded the nutritional benefits of these grains.

The prime minister said it has been his endeavour to serve dishes made from Indian millets to foreign guests visiting India.

Highlighting increasing digital connectivity in remote parts of the country through Digital India which has boosted digital entrepreneurs, he spoke about the Jorsing village in Arunachal Pradesh getting 4G internet services from Independence Day.

The prime minister also urged people to watch the Swaraj serial, which highlights the contributions of freedom fighters, especially the unsung heroes, on Doordarshan.

Modi also highlighted different individual efforts in various parts of India to celebrate Independence Day on August 15.

People in Indore made a map of India through a human chain while youths in Chandigarh made a giant human tricolour.

Both these efforts have also been recorded in the Guinness Records, he said.

These colours of the Amrit Mahotsav were seen not only in India but also in other countries of the world, he said.

With his government calling for constructing 75 'Amrit Sarovar' water bodies to mark India's 75th anniversary of independence in every district, he said it has become a mass movement.

He spoke about special efforts being made by people in different places for building water bodies.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on  Aug 26 resigned from all party positions, including its primary membership, delivering another blow to the embattled party that has seen a series of high-profile exits, including that of Kapil Sibal and Ashwani Kumar, in the recent past, Azad wrote a five-page no holds barred letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi detailing his grievances.

He described the party as "comprehensively destroyed" and said the Congress at the national level has conceded political space available to it to the BJP and state level space to regional parties 

American journalist Angad Singh was deported to New York soon after he landed  in Delhi on Aug 24 night, his mother claimed in a Facebook post.

Singh, who produces documentaries for Vice News with a focus on Asia, was on a personal visit to India, his mother Gurmeet Kaur said.

Singh has produced a series of documentaries on the Covid-19 pandemic in India as also on the farmers' protests on the borders of the national capital against the now-repealed three farm laws.

Singh's coverage of the deadly Delta wave of the pandemic last year earned him an Emmy nomination. There was no immediate official comment on Singh's deportation.

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Vice-Chancellor Prof Santishree Pandit  has advocated the need for declaring Sanskrit as the national language of India. Delivering the keynote address during the inaugural of the 19th State Level Political Science Teachers Conference on the theme ‘Nationalism and National Integration of India: Issues and Challenges’ at Gulbarga University, Prof Santishree said making Sanskrit the national language will be beneficial as it is the “fountain of knowledge”.

Paying tribute to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, she said he advocated for the welfare of all castes and communities and because of the constitution, written by Dr Ambedkar, the country has developed to this extent and is in competition with developed countries in many aspects.