Recently, the Airtel Payments Bank has officially launched its nationwide operations in all 29 states of India. It is the India’s first payments bank and is a fully-digital and paper-free bank . In it, the accounts will be opened by using e-KYC for which customers’ Aadhar number will be required. The bank is offering a 7.25% interest rate on savings accounts deposits and free personal accidental insurance cover of Rs. 1 Lac on every saving account. One can access the banking services by installing MyAirtel app on their smartphone or by registering online through Airtel site.

The committee under the Chairmanship of former Finance Secretary Sumit Bose has recently submitted report on Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). The committee was constituted to study the objective criteria for allocation of resources to States and identification and prioritization of beneficiaries under various programmes using SECC data. The committee’s interim advice has been accepted by the Ministry and accordingly appropriate guidelines have been issued to make inter–state allocation based on SECC data to cover households under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM). According to the committee, the use of SECC data and its TIN Number would enable the government to improve the efficacy of its interventions and will result in improved outcome. Apart from this, the use of SECC data would lead to better budgetary planning and allocation of resources for various programmes.

The book “An Unsuitable Boy” is the autobiography of Karan Johar, the well-known Indian filmmaker. The book is an honest, heart-warming and personal account of Karan Johar’s life and the business of Bollywood.

The 21st edition of National Youth Festival (NYF) has started in Rohtak, Haryana from January 12 and will continue till January 16, 2017. The 2017 theme of festival is “Youth for Digital India”. The 5-day festival organizes every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the greatest Youth Icon from 12th to 16th January.

William Peter Blatty (89), the US author and filmmaker, has recently passed away at Bethesda, Maryland. He was best known for his novel “The Exorcist” and for the Academy Award-winning screenplay of its film adaptation. He also wrote and directed the sequel The Exorcist III. Some of his other notable works are the novels Elsewhere, Dimiter and Crazy.