Merchant Discount Rate
Why in News?
From January onwards, all companies with a turnover of Rs 50 crore or more need to provide the facility of payment through RuPay Debit card and UPI QR code to their customers, under which no MDR fee will be charged from customers as well as merchants
What is Merchant Discount Rate?
It is a fee charged from a merchant by a bank for accepting payments from customers through credit and debit cards in their establishments.
MDR compensates the card issuing bank, the lender which puts the PoS terminal and payment gateways such as Mastercard or Visa for their services.
MDR charges are usually shared in pre-agreed proportion between the bank and a merchant and is expressed in percentage of transaction amount.
Swachh Survekshan League 2020
Why in news?
Results (July-September) of ‘Swachh Survekshan League 2020‘ have been released.
SS League is conducted in three quarters (April-June, July-September and October-December) with the objective of sustaining the on-ground performance of cities along with monitoring of when it comes to cleanliness.
Swachh Survekshan 2020 is the 5th edition of the annual urban cleanliness survey conducted by the Ministry.
Performance of various states:
Cleanest city: Indore for the fourth time in a row.
Worst performer:
In the category of cities having population more than 10 lakh, Bhopal stood second in first quarter results (April to June), while Rajkot grabbed the second spot in second quarter results (July-September) of ‘Swachh Survekshan League 2020’.
The third position was grabbed by Surat in the first quarter and Navi Mumbai in the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Vodara was ranked fourth, followed by Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Nashik, Greater Mumbai, Allahabad and Lucknow.
Among cantonment boards, Tamil Nadu’s St.Thomas Mount Cantt was ranked 1st in quarter 1 whereas Delhi Cantt ranked first in the 2nd quarter.
Secunderabad Cantonment Board in Hyderabad is the worst performer among other cantonment boards.
All About Swachh Survekshan:
The process of ranking cities and town of India on the basis of cleanliness was first conducted in 2016, which covered 73 cities.
The second and third round of the survey in 2017 and 2018 widened the coverage of the assessment to 434 cities with a population of one lakh and above and 4,203 cities respectively.
Objectives of Swachh Survekshan:
The annual cleanliness survey aims to encourage large scale participation of citizens in cleanliness drives.
It aims to ensure sustainability of initiatives taken towards garbage free and open defecation free cities.
It aims to create awareness among all sections of the society regarding the importance of working together towards making towns and cities a better place to live in.
The Bhima-Koregaon anniversary
Why in news?
202nd anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle of 1818 was observed on January 1, 2020.
About the Bhima- Koregaon battle:
A battle was fought in Bhima Koregaon, a district in Pune with a strong historical Dalit connection, between the Peshwa forces and the British on January 1, 1818. The British army, which comprised mainly of Dalit soldiers, fought the upper caste-dominated Peshwa army. The British troops defeated the Peshwa army.
Outcomes of the battle:
The victory was seen as a win against caste-based discrimination and oppression. Peshwas were notorious for their oppression and persecution of Mahar dalits. The victory in the battle over Peshwas gave dalits a moral victory a victory against caste-based discrimination and oppression and sense of identity.
However, the divide and rule policy of the British created multiple fissures in Indian society which is even visible today in the way of excessive caste and religious discrimination which needs to be checked keeping in mind the tenets of the Constitution.
Why Bhima Koregaon is seen as a Dalit symbol?
The battle has come to be seen as a symbol of Dalit pride because a large number of soldiers in the Company force were the Mahar Dalits. Since the Peshwas, who were Brahmins, were seen as oppressors of Dalits, the victory of the Mahar soldiers over the the Peshwa force is seen as Dalit assertion.
On 1 January 1927, B.R. Ambedkar visited the memorial obelisk erected on the spot which bears the names of the dead including nearly two dozen Mahar soldiers. The men who fought in the battle of Koregaon were the Mahars, and the Mahars are Untouchables.