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- Why in News?
- Self-Respect movement completes 100 years.
- Key Provisions:-
- The Self-Respect Movement was founded in 1925 in Tamil Nadu by E.V. Ramasamy, popularly called Periyar, inspired by reformers like Jyotirao Phule and B.R. Ambedkar. Periyar edited the Tamil weekly Kudi Arasu and participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha.
- Its aim was to dismantle the caste system, promote rationalism, and challenge Brahminical dominance. The movement’s principles, outlined in Namathu Kurikkol and Tiravitak Kalaka Lateiyam, stressed equality, individual dignity, and rejection of ritualism.
- Prominent women leaders included Annai Meenambal and Veeramal. It pioneered Self-Respect Marriages—Hindu weddings without priests—later given legal recognition. The movement also fought the Devadasi system, caste-based discrimination, and widow remarriage restrictions, promoting social reform.
- The first provincial Self-Respect Conference was held in 1929 at Chengalpattu, led by W.P.A. Soundara Pandian. The movement fostered dignity among non-Brahmins and laid the groundwork for Dravidian politics and welfare-oriented governance in Tamil Nadu.
- Why in News?
- The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs has launched Angikaar 2025, a special outreach initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U 2.0).
- Key Provisions:-
- PMAY-U 2.0, introduced in 2024, seeks to fulfill the vision of ‘Housing for All’ by providing all-weather pucca houses to all eligible urban households. It builds upon the original PMAY-U framework, with enhanced focus on speed, quality, and inclusivity in housing delivery.
- Angikaar 2025 is designed as a two-month, last-mile awareness campaign aimed at ensuring beneficiaries fully understand the scheme’s provisions, benefits, and application process. It involves extensive community engagement through information drives, interactive sessions, and on-ground mobilization.
- The campaign also promotes sustainable living practices, encourages beneficiary participation, and ensures that the benefits of PMAY-U 2.0 reach intended households efficiently—bridging the gap between policy and people, and advancing the goal of inclusive urban development in India.
- Why in News?
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has revised the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) limits, increasing the per-transaction cap for Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payments with verified merchants to ₹5 lakh and setting a cumulative 24-hour limit at ₹10 lakh.
- Key Provisions:-
- This change applies only to P2M transactions, enabling higher-value payments for services like healthcare, education, and premium retail purchases. Person-to-Person (P2P) transfers remain capped at ₹1 lakh per day.
- Launched in 2016, UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by NPCI, allowing seamless fund transfers via mobile devices 24×7, all year round. It operates on a single-click, two-factor authentication system for enhanced security.
- NPCI, the body behind UPI, was set up under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 to manage India’s retail payments infrastructure. The revised limits aim to boost digital adoption, ease high-value merchant transactions, and support the growing cashless economy.