Category: Life & Style

In April-July 2024, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed ₹80.8 lakh crore ($964 billion), a 37% increase over the previous year. In 2023, UPI processed an amazing 3,729 transactions per second, outpacing worldwide giants such as Alipay, PayPal, and Brazil’s PIX, which handled 117.6 billion transactions. This represents a 58% increase over 2022’s 2,348 transactions per second.

In July 2024, UPI had its highest-ever monthly transaction value of ₹20.64 lakh crore ($247 billion), with three consecutive months above ₹20 lakh crore. As the number of digital payments grows worldwide, UPI stands out, accounting for more than 40% of all payments in India.

UPI users grew from 300 million to more than 400 million when credit cards, prepaid wallets, and coupons were added. This expansion and enhanced platform interoperability has secured UPI’s position as India’s most popular payment method. Experts believe that with new products such as RuPay credit cards and credit lines, the volume and value of UPI transactions will increase in the next 2-3 years.

Alternative payment systems such as Skrill and PIX are gaining acceptance around the world, but UPI continues to outperform in terms of volume and growth.

On Sunday, President Droupadi Murmu introduced the Supreme Court’s new flag and insignia to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its establishment. The National Institute of Fashion Technology Delhi developed the new flag and insignia for the Supreme Court, which symbolises justice and democracy. This freshly designed flag prominently depicts the Ashoka Chakra, representing the perpetual wheel of law, the Supreme Court building, symbolising the judiciary’s role in protecting justice, and the Indian Constitution, emphasising the importance of constitutional supremacy in the country.

The flag will be available in a variety of shapes, including cross table flat, single table flag, pole flag, and wooden frame, allowing it to be displayed in a variety of contexts, from courtrooms to offices, reflecting its importance in a wide range of environments.

During the closing session of the two-day National Conference of District Judiciary, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud gave the President a special green gift’. 75 seedlings of 12 distinct indigenous types were planted in Delhi’s Central Ridge Reserve woodland area to commemorate the Supreme Court’s 75th year of service.

These saplings have been dedicated to President Murmu as a token of respect for her remarkable humility and leadership, and to celebrate a key milestone in the judiciary’s history.

Jared Isaacman, the wealthy founder of Shift4 Payments, is preparing for his second space trip, the Polaris Dawn. This mission, backed by SpaceX and Elon Musk, aspires to reach the highest orbit ever achieved by a crewed flight, 1,400 kilometres above Earth.

Isaacman will lead a four-person crew that includes SpaceX engineers Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, on their first orbital voyage.

Isaacman’s spacewalk is a major highlight of the trip since he becomes the first private civilian to venture outside a spacecraft in space. In addition to studying radiation exposure and testing cutting-edge X-ray technologies, the crew will generate data for future Moon and Mars missions.

Isaacman, a seasoned pilot who has previously flown fighter jets and co-founded Draken International, will take on this expedition following his 2021 Inspiration4 journey. As part of the five-day journey, the crew will orbit Earth in an elliptical orbit, prolonging human exploration beyond any previous commercial spaceflight.

The Polaris Dawn project, which was first delayed due to a helium leak, is now poised to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Isaacman and his crew hope that this expedition will improve space exploration and set new standards for space tourism.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) reports that over Rs 25,000 crore worth of business was transacted during the Janmashtami celebrations in India. Sales of flowers, fruits, sweets, god costumes, ornamental things, fasting sweets, dairy products, and dry fruits all went up during the festival, which is a reflection of the festival’s enormous economic influence.

According to CAIT National General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal, Janmashtami and other celebrations are great for the Sanatan economy and the nation’s finances. According to BC Bhartia, national president of CAIT, the festivities were most vibrant in western and northern India.

Devotees fasted and decorated temples and homes with diyas, lights, and flowers to mark Krishna Janmashtami on August 26, this year. The beautifully decorated temples attracted many worshippers.

The birth of Krishna is commemorated on Janmashtami, which falls on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada. The holiday follows the previous Rakhi celebrations, during which CAIT reported festive trade of nearly Rs 12,000 crore, a considerable increase from Rs 7,000 crore in 2022.

Customers have been quite responsive this holiday season, which has contributed significantly to the economic boost.

Manette Baillie, a 102-year-old British woman and WWII veteran, has completed a tandem jump in eastern England, making her the UK’s oldest skydiver. The skydive took place just days after her birthday, breaking the previous record set in 2017 by a 101-year-old.

Following her jump, Baillie told BBC Radio 4 that it was “a bit scary.” I must admit that I closed my eyes extremely tightly.” She urged those in their 80s and 90s not to give up on life, saying, “Just keep going.”

Baillie leapt to collect funds for three causes: the East Anglian Air Ambulance, the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and her local Benhall & Sternfield Ex Servicemens Club, which she says needs to be renovated. Her motivation for supporting the Motor Neurone Disease Association originates from a personal experience with the “deeply cruel disease.”

Baillie has lived in Benhall Green since 1961, and she served in Egypt with the Women’s Royal Naval Service during WWII. The centenarian has also taken part in daring events, including racing around the Silverstone racecourse at 130 mph for her 100th birthday.

Even Prince William recognised Baillie’s bravery, giving her a note of support before her jump.

On the one-year anniversary of India’s historic Moon landing, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made scientific data from the Chandrayaan-3 mission available to researchers worldwide. This move demonstrates ISRO’s commitment to advance worldwide lunar research.

On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 made a gentle landing near the Moon’s south pole, a previously unknown region. In recognition of this accomplishment, the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) has made over 55 gigabytes of data from the mission’s five payloads—three on the Vikram lander and two on the Pragyan rover—available via the Policy-based Data Retrieval, Analytics, Dissemination, and Notification System (PRADAN) portal at https://pradan.issdc.gov.in/ch3/

ISRO Chairman S Somanath emphasised the importance of sharing this data globally: “This data will not be confined to the scientists who created those instruments, but will be made available to all researchers in the country and around the world.”

The data provides crucial insights into the moon’s surface and composition, which aid in understanding its formation and evolution. The Pragyan rover’s in-situ chemical studies have been critical to furthering lunar science, providing significant information for current and future research.

Following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas Morera, Tomiko Itooka, who was born on May 23, 1908, was named the oldest living person in the world at 116 years old. The Gerontology Research Group and Guinness World Records have both confirmed her age. Tomiko lived with her daughters until she was 110 years old, at which point she went into a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.

Even though she has hearing loss, Tomiko can communicate well and shows her carers her appreciation frequently. She drinks Calpis every day and likes bananas. She was raised in Osaka, participated in volleyball as a student, and went on to oversee her husband’s textile factory office during World War II. She is currently the mother of many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, having had four children.

Following her husband’s passing in 1979, Tomiko became an enthusiastic hiker and even summited Mt. Ontake twice. She often climbed Mt. Nijo. At the age of 100, she was able to climb the Ashiya shrine steps without the use of a walking stick, having performed the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage twice.

As of December 2023, Tomiko is the oldest living person in Japan and the 24th oldest person in history.

Citizens of 35 countries, including China, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States, will be able to enter Sri Lanka visa-free for six months beginning October 1, 2024. Participating countries include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan Indonesia, Thailand and Australia. The program’s overarching goal is to increase tourism.

This is in continuation of a previous initiative that ran from last year to March 2024. The visa-on-arrival option would still be available to Indian travellers until the new policy takes effect.

The e-visa portal run by IVS-GBS and VFS Global was recently suspended by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, which caused some confusion. However, Sri Lanka’s tourist industry is vital to the country’s economy. With 246,922 arrivals in the first half of 2024, India is the leading source of tourists, followed by the UK with 123,992 visitors.

With an increase of $875 million over the previous year, Sri Lanka’s tourism industry brought in $1.5 billion in the first half of 2024. India, China, and European countries are important markets, and the government’s new visa policy is likely to increase these numbers even more.

The Indian diaspora in Warsaw welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with open arms before he made history as the first prime minister to pay tributes at the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar Memorial. Additionally, he paid his respects at two Warsaw memorials—the Monte Cassino and the Kolhapur.

The history of these memorials has a unique connection between India and Poland, according to Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs. Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar (now in Gujarat) saved Jewish children from Poland and gave them a safe home in India during WWII. Jam Saheb Digvijaysinh is honoured at Warsaw’s ‘Good Maharaja Square’ for his humanitarian actions; the Maharaja welcomed the displaced children into his summer home.

Approximately a thousand Polish children who had been left orphaned during World War II made the dangerous journey from Siberia to India in 1942. After being rejected at multiple ports, Jam Sahib took in the kids and set up camp in Balachadi, close to Jamnagar.

The Polish soldiers who lost their lives in the 1944 conflict are remembered at the Monte Cassino Memorial.

The Canadian company Lucara Diamond owns the Karowe mine in Botswana, where it found the second-largest rough diamond ever discovered, weighing 2,492 carats. This is the largest diamond discovered since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond in South Africa in 1905. Botswana’s government claimed that this is the largest diamond ever discovered in the country, surpassing a 1,758-carat diamond discovered at the same mine in 2019.

Lucara Diamond, Botswana’s leading diamond producer, revealed that the stone is one of the largest raw diamonds ever discovered. “We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” said William Lamb, Lucara’s CEO. The diamond was discovered using Lucara’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology, designed to protect high-value gems during ore-crushing processes.

The stone’s gem quality and value have not been released, although insiders close to Lucara estimate it to be worth more than $40 million. In recent years, the Karowe mine has produced other large finds, including a 1,109-carat diamond sold for $53 million in 2017 and a diamond purchased by Louis Vuitton in 2019.

Botswana, a key worldwide diamond producer, is looking into laws to promote indigenous ownership in the mining sector.