New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) Airtel Payments Bank has surpassed one billion transactions on its platform in January 2025, reflecting a 47 per cent year-on-year growth in transaction volume across businesses, according to a top official.

Anubrata Biswas, MD and CEO at Airtel Payments Bank told PTI that the “milestone” underscores increasing adoption of digital banking and payment solutions. It also highlights the diverse business model that the bank has built over the years.

The bank caters to three key customer segments, urban digital, underbanked, and industries and institutions.

“The bank’s extensive digital presence combined with its deep distribution of over 5,00,000 banking points across India has been instrumental in making its services accessible to millions of customers in both urban and rural areas. Today, the Bank’s monthly transacting users exceed well above 100 million,” Biswas said.

Airtel Payments Bank’s ‘Safe Second Account’, which offers an additional layer of payment verification, has been driving strong customer adoption and increasing transaction volumes, he explained.

In addition, the Bank is logging a strong uptake for its RuPay NCMC-enabled cards, having issued over 2 million cards to date.

“This surge in transaction volume is also fuelled by the growing popularity of the Bank’s diverse digital products, including UPI-based payments, FASTag, AePS payments, mobile recharges, and its comprehensive retail solutions,” he added.

Airtel Payments Bank recently announced its consolidated results for the third Q3 FY25, marking record growth with quarterly revenue crossing Rs 700 crore and net profit reaching Rs 18.5 crore.

“With its deep distribution network, Airtel Payments Bank extends financial services to even the most remote areas… As the largest micro-cash player in the country, the Bank is currently digitising Rs 8,000 crore in cash transactions each month through partnerships with over 4,000 corporate clients,” he added.

Mumbai, Mar 16 (PTI) The upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport will be inaugurated in June, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said on Sunday.

Earlier, it was set for inauguration on April 17.

The greenfield airport — the second such facility in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport — is being developed by a special purpose vehicle, NMIAL, which is a 74:26 joint venture between Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) and City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2018 laid the foundation stone for the new airport, which is coming up at an investment of Rs 16,700 crore with an aim to reduce the congestion at the capacity-constrained Mumbai Airport, along with meeting the soaring demand for air travel in the country.

“A glimpse into India’s aviation future! Visited the Navi Mumbai International Airport site today — a world-class airport taking shape. Set for inauguration this June, it will redefine connectivity & growth. A true gift to India!” Adani said in a post on X.

“Kudos to the Adani Airports team & partners for making this vision a reality,” he further said in the post.

Earlier, late last December, Adani Airport Holdings Ltd CEO Arun Bansal had told the media that “our ambition is to do the commercial inauguration of the airport by April 17”.

Domestic operations would start from the second half of May and international operations were expected to commence from the end of July, Jalan had said after the successful trial landing of the first civil passenger aircraft at the under-construction airport on December 29, 2024.

Navi Mumbai International Airport with two runways and four terminals will have a capacity to cater to 90 million passengers per annum once all the five phases of the projects are completed.

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Blue Dart on Sunday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide urban logistics service.

According to a statement from DMRC, the initiative — the first of its kind in the entire South Asia Pacific region — reinforces both DMRC and Blue Dart’s commitment to environmental stewardship and fostering more sustainable logistics solutions.

Under this collaboration, Blue Dart will transport cargo via metro trains during non-peak hours, utilising available capacity to ensure faster and more reliable movement of time-sensitive shipments, it stated.

It further highlighted that the step will reduce dependency on road transport, thereby easing congestion and curbing vehicular emissions.

At the same time, DMRC will optimise its resources while reinforcing its commitment to environmentally friendly transport solutions, it stated.

“Under this initiative, DMRC is leveraging its stations and tracks to establish a sustainable urban freight network across Delhi-NCR,” DMRC stated in the statement.

It also aims to boost operational efficiency, shorten delivery timelines, and support urban freight systems with lower carbon emissions by repurposing metro premises into logistics hubs, it stated.

With this pioneering model, DMRC and Blue Dart will redefine urban logistics by integrating sustainability with innovation, ensuring a greener and more efficient future for cargo movement in metropolitan areas, it added.

New Delhi, Mar 12 (PTI) A parliamentary committee has suggested that the government’s crop insurance scheme PMFBY should cover damages caused to crops by stray animals, besides pitching for financial assistance of Rs 100 per quintal to paddy farmers to curb burning of crop residues.

It also recommended free compulsory crop insurance to small farmers with land holdings of up to 2 hectares.

A Parliament Standing Committee of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing, in its report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said the PMFBY (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana) aims to provide financial support to farmers in the event of crop losses due to natural calamities, pest attacks, and other adverse conditions.

“The committee suggest that the damages caused to the crops by stray animals may be considered for covering under PMFBY so that the farmers whose crops are destroyed by stray animals are entitled for compensation under PMFBY,” the report said.

It also asked the government to address issues such as delay in fund release from state governments and inadequate compensation against losses, at the earliest to improve the scheme’s effectiveness of this scheme.

The committee said that “free compulsory crop insurance to small farmers with land holdings of up to 2 hectares, if provided by the government on lines of health insurance Scheme- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) to all citizens of the country, can significantly impact the financial stability of smallholder farmers…”

This will help in providing small farmers a safety net against crop losses and encouraging investment in better farming practices as they would be sure of financial compensation for losses caused by natural calamities, pests, or diseases, it added.

“Consequently, this step would go a long way in helping farmers avoid debt traps and ensuring that they can reinvest in the next crop cycle,” the report said.

On the need to tackle issues related to crop residue, the committee recognised that the widespread practice of burning crop residues, commonly referred to as Parali, is a significant environmental concern.

The panel stressed on the need to have a multifaceted approach to address crop residue management.

This approach should include a combination of policy interventions, farmer education, technological innovations, and financial incentives.

Financial support is crucial to encourage farmers to adopt alternative methods for utilising crop residue, such as converting it to bioenergy, composting, or other productive uses instead of burning, it said.

“To effectively discourage the burning of crop residue and minimise its environmental impact and considering the economic viability of farmers, the committee strongly recommends that the government provide financial assistance of Rs 100 per quintal of paddy to farmers as compensation for the cost incurred in collecting parali (paddy residue),” the report said.

This amount should be in addition to the minimum support price (MSP) and directly transferred to farmers’ bank accounts at the time of paddy procurement.

The financial incentives could be distributed through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, ensuring efficient and transparent delivery to farmers’ bank accounts.

“The committee recommends starting with a financial incentive of Rs 100 per 100 kg of paddy and conducting large-scale research studies to assess the costs and returns for alternative crop-residue management techniques,” it added.