Tableaux for R-Day parade are selected as per guidelines-Rajnath Singh

India Post Payments Bank, IPPB, has crossed the five-crore customer mark in just 3 years of commencement of its operations to become one of the fastest growing digital payments bank in the country. Announcing this achievement on Tuesday, the bank said that it has opened up these five crore accounts in digital and paperless mode through its one lakh 36 thousand Post Offices. Out of these post offices, one lakh 20 thousand are in rural areas. About one lakh 47 thousand doorstep banking service providers helped in opening up of these accounts. With this, IPPB has achieved the world’s largest digital financial literacy programme by building a financially aware and empowered customer-base, leveraging the strength of two lakh 80 thousand Post Office employees. IPPB has further stated that it has taken digital banking to the grassroots levels through Interoperable Payments and Settlement Systems of NPCI, RBI and UIDAI offering services in over 13 languages. out of the total account holders, around 48 per cent were women account holders that indicated the Bank’s focus on bringing the women customers under the banking network.

-Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has written to Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the exclusion of the states' tableaux from the Republic Day parade this year in New Delhi. In the letter,  Singh asserted that the decisions to select tableaux for the Republic Day parade are taken as per detailed guidelines.  Singh said, Tableaux proposals received from various States and UTs as well as Central Ministries and Departments are evaluated in a series of meetings of the Expert Committee. He said, for Republic Day Parade 2022, a total of 29 proposals were received from States and UTs including from Tamil Nadu. He said, the Tableaux from the State was considered in the first three rounds of meetings. Singh said that after the third round of meetings the Tableaux could not make it into the final list of 12 Tableaux selected for participation in the parade. Singh also said that during the last few years, the Tableaux from the State government of Tamil Nadu has been selected for participation in the Republic Day Parade during 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. In response to letter of West Bengal Chief Minister, the Defence Minister said that in his letter to Banerjee, he has emphasized that the Narendra Modi government holds Netaji in high regard and observes his birth anniversary, January 23, as 'Parakram Diwas'. He also said, from now on, Republic Day celebrations will begin with his birth anniversary and conclude on 30th of January. Singh also said that the process to select tableaux for the Republic Day parade is transparent and as per set guidelines and as per the set selection process, the Tableaux from West Bengal participated in 2016, 2017,2019 and 2021 in the parade. He also hoped that his letter would address West Bengal government's concerns and invited the state government to join the Republic Day celebrations. 

-Five hardcore Maoists, including two women rebels, were killed in separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh-Telangana border area on Tuesday.  A joint team of Grey Hound force of Telangana state, CRPF and Bijapur District Reserve Guard was conducting a joint operation in Ilmidi area this morning. Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on the team near Semaldodi village. This area is close to Chhattisgarh border in Mulugu district of Telangana. Security personnel retaliated the attack. After the gun battle, bodies of four Maoists, including one woman Maoist were recovered from the spot. Mulugu district Superintendent of Police Sangram Singh Ganpat Rao Patil said, one jawan of Grey Hound force was injured in this encounter. The injured jawan has been shifted to a hospital in Hyderabad. Search operation is going on in the area.In another incident, one female maoist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Katekalyan area of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh today. Police has recovered the body of Maoist from the spot.

-Jammu & Kashmir Director General of Police, Dilbagh Singh has called upon the field officers for continuing anti-terror operations with more commitment during this year. He directed the officers for formulating a comprehensive security grid and deployment mechanism for consolidating peace. He stressed for strengthening the city/highway nakas as also the border security grid. The DGP was chairing a high level meeting of police officers at Police Headquarters, Jammu to review the overall functioning of J&K Police on different fronts. Referring to the nefarious and concocted stories being circulated on social media by Pakistan sponsored agencies, the DGP stressed for taking the concrete steps to deal with these propaganda mechanization. The DGP emphasized on monitoring and dealing the challenges like radicalization and recruitment of locals more purposefully and efficiently.  With regard to the Republic day arrangement, the DGP said that all the security arrangements have to be made for forthcoming Republic day celebrations. He said that well coordinated surveillance systems must be ensured to undo nefarious plans of the enemies of peace.

-The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches in over 10 locations in Punjab at the premises of a relative of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Channi. The searches were done in connection with an alleged illegal sand mining linked money laundering case.