According to the most recent data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the number of daily transactions based on the universal payments interface (UPI) has surpassed 700 million for the first time, reaching 707 million.

On August 2, the accomplishment was accomplished. Even while growth has slowed compared to prior years, the number of daily transactions has doubled over the last two years.

UPI recorded about 350 million transactions per day in August 2023; by August 2024, that number had risen to 500 million transactions per day.

If UPI continues to develop at its current rate, it is expected to surpass the government’s aim of 100 crore transactions per day next year.

According to fintech companies and payment groups, UPI’s business model should reinstate merchant discount rates (MDR) in order to reach one billion transactions by the following year. They requested that the government set up a marginal MDR for high-value transactions and significant businesses.

The government rejected the ecosystem’s MDR demand even though it cut UPI subsidies from about Rs 4,500 crore in FY 24 to Rs 1,500 crore in FY 25. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently expressed support for payment companies’ MDR demand.

Sanjay Malhotra, the governor of the RBI, recently stated that the UPI interface needs to be made commercially viable. Users can now use the UPI system for free because the government pays for it by subsidizing banks and other parties that support the payments infrastructure. “Expenses must be covered. The expense will have to be borne by someone,” he continued.

The government abolished the MDR, a tax that banks charge businesses for processing digital payments and usually ranges from 1% to 3% of the transaction value, for RuPay debit cards and BHIM-UPI transactions in December 2019. It’s unclear if users will also be responsible for paying for UPI infrastructure or if MDR will be reinstated.

The RBI Governor made these remarks when UPI’s daily transaction volumes overtook those of Visa, the world’s largest payments company. Around 19.5 billion transactions totaling more than Rs 25 lakh crore were registered by UPI in the past month.

This amounts to over 650 million transactions every day on average, with a daily value of approximately Rs 83,000 crore. Approximately 85% of all digital transactions in India and 50% of all real-time digital payments worldwide are currently powered by UPI.

The platform sees monthly growth of 5–7% and annual growth of roughly 40% as internet penetration rises and more businesses and consumers embrace digital payments.

Argentina won gold in both the men’s and women’s divisions of the 2025 Pan American Cup, which concluded in Montevideo, Uruguay. Canada’s men and Uruguay’s women won bronze in both competitions, while the United States’ men and women took home silver.

With their respective winning and second-place finishes at the tournament, the USA women and Argentina men also guaranteed a spot at the next FIH Hockey World Cup, which will be held in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026. The FIH Hockey Pro League had already guaranteed Argentina’s women’s World Cup spot, so the United States, in second place, had to compete in the regional tournament for the lone women’s World Cup spot.

Argentina dominated Pool A in the men’s competition, winning all three games to take first place. They maintained three clean sheets and scored 28 goals during the league stage! With two victories and one defeat, the USA came in second. With three victories, Chile topped Pool B, and Canada came in second with two victories.

Despite Canada scored the game’s first goal, Argentina easily defeated them in the first semifinal, winning 9-1. Nicolas della Torre scored three goals and Tomas Domene scored four for the Leones. The USA and Chile played to a 1-1 stalemate in regulation time in the second semi-final, which was a hotly contested match. The ensuing shoot-out saw the USA prevail 3-1 to earn a chance at the gold medal against Argentina.

Argentina’s dominance on the continent was once again demonstrated in the final, as they defeated the USA defense 10-0 to win the Pan American Cup for the fourth time in a row and their fifth overall.

After winning player of the tournament, Tomas Domene expressed his happiness with the victory today. Our ultimate goal was to qualify for the World Cup, which is why I believe we are so thrilled. We’ll celebrate tonight and then get ready for the upcoming tournament because I’m pleased of this team.”

Argentina won all three of their matches and finished first in Pool A of the women’s competition, placing them ahead of the hosts Uruguay in second place. All four teams qualified for the semi-finals, with the United States taking first place in Pool B and Chile coming in second.

In a fiercely contested match that ended 2-0 in favor of the eventual champions, Argentina defeated Chile in the first semifinal. Agustina Gorzelany added a second goal in the third quarter to give the Leonas the victory after Victoria Granatto had put them ahead in the first. The victorious side was guaranteed a spot in the World Cup, making the second semi-final an anxious affair.

Uruguay rallied to equalize in the last quarter, forcing a shootout after the USA scored the game’s first goal in the second half. Thanks to her heroics in the shootout, USA goalie Kelsey Bing sent out the hosts and secured the team’s place in the final and the 2018 World Cup.

Agustina Gorzelany, the competition’s leading scorer with ten goals, gave Argentina the lead early in the final against the USA, which they won with relative ease. Argentina won the Pan American Cup for the fifth time in a row with a 3-0 victory thanks to two more goals from Eugenia Trinchinetti and Julieta Jankunas in the second half.

Juli Jankunas, a star for Leonas, stated following the game: “We are really thrilled right now. Argentina will host the Pan American Cup! We had to practice the finer points and effective defense, I believe. That was what mattered most. We are ecstatic and prepared to rejoice since objectives are always excellent.

Argentina became the fifth team to qualify for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands through the men’s competition. Due to their status as the event’s hosts, Belgium and the Netherlands achieved straight qualification. Australia was the FIH Hockey Pro League 2023–2024 champions and earned a spot in the World Cup.

In the 2024–2025 Pro League season, Spain finished second behind the Netherlands, who had previously qualified, making them the fourth club to guarantee their berth. Four further direct qualifiers will be chosen from continental championships in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania in the upcoming months.

The remaining seven teams will advance through the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers.

In order to meet India’s goal of producing $500 billion worth of electronics by 2030, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) demanded on Monday that industrial electronics be given top priority.

Manufacturing products that will automate our cities, factories, and transportation systems is the key to the future of India’s electronics sector, according to a statement.

According to the statement, ICEA is collaborating with industry leaders and the government through its Steering Committee on Industrial Electronics and Infrastructure to create a strategy roadmap and a policy specifically for industrial electronics.

In order to establish India as a world leader in industrial electronics, the steering committee—which consists of executives from Delta Electronics, Infineon Technologies, Festo, Fanuc, and other companies—will create a market research that addresses ecosystem development, regulatory frameworks, and technology access.

“The industrial electronics sector needs to be acknowledged as a strategic national priority. It is the central nervous system and brain of any sophisticated production system. India cannot claim to be a true manufacturing leader until it leads in industrial automation, stated Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the ICEA.

Mohindroo went on to say that industrial electronics offers enormous potential for high-skilled jobs, especially in fields like robotics, automation software, embedded systems, and AI-integrated systems.

To expand this industry and become a global center for industrial electronics design and manufacture, India must make investments in talent pipelines, R&D, and incentives.

The technological foundation of contemporary manufacturing infrastructure is made up of industrial electronics, which power robotics, intelligent grids, automated systems, smart factories, and transportation and logistics networks that are prepared for the future, according to Manish Walia, vice president of Delta Electronics. All manufacturing verticals and sectors are driven by industrial electronics, which is a horizontal rather than a vertical in and of itself.

In order to enhance India’s access to cutting-edge industrial automation technologies and further the country’s objectives of independence, export competitiveness, and job creation, Amber Enterprises India has acquired a majority share in Israel-based Unitronics Ltd.

The agreement would accelerate the country’s shift to smart factories and digitally-driven production processes, according to Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO of Amber Group, which will improve India’s industrial automation.

On a nerve-wracking final morning at The Oval, India produced a spectacular four-wicket burst to defeat England by six runs and tie the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2, led by Mohammed Siraj’s blazing five-wicket haul.

With four wickets remaining and just 35 runs needed at the start of Day 5, England was the clear favorite. However, Indian seamers, who were unrelenting and motivated, tore through the lower order of the hosts to write one of their best foreign heists.

Siraj had a spectacular first burst, scoring twice. Jamie Smith edged to Dhruv Jurel after flirting outside off, and UltraEdge confirmed a clean spike. England’s review was unsuccessful as ball-tracking confirmed umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s ruling after Jamie Overton was trapped in front by a shrewd nip-backer moments later.

Then, to huge cheers, Prasidh Krishna delivered the knockout blow, a vicious yorker at 141 kph that broke Josh Tongue’s middle stump. England dropped from what appeared to be a comfortable 347/6 to 354/9. Chris Woakes, with a dislocated shoulder but an unwavering spirit, trudged to the crease with one wicket remaining and 20 runs needed.

Not long after, the climax occurred. To give India a thrilling 6-run victory, Siraj hit the ideal length, and Gus Atkinson, who valiantly fought for 17, slipped behind.

For a young Indian team captained by Shubman Gill without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it was a historic return. Even though their absence was a major concern early in the series, India’s youthful brigade took advantage of their opportunity thanks to bursts of brilliance and a strong pace assault.

Joe Root and Harry Brook’s centuries on Day 4 had earlier pulled England back into the game, but India’s poise and discipline won out, ensuring a fitting 2-2 conclusion to an exciting five-match series.

India’s Player of the Series is Shubman Gill. With 754 runs at 75.4 and a top score of 269, the incoming Test captain for India has an impressive record.

Harry Brook wins Player of the Series for England. He scored 481 runs at an average of 53.44 and a high of 158.

Mohammed Siraj wins the title of Player of the Match! A well-earned honor for the pacer who spearheaded India’s assault without Bumrah.

“Great win by team india. Resilience and determination from Siraj and Prasidh has given us this phenomenal victory. Special mention to Siraj who will put everything on the line for the team. Extremely happy for him @mdsirajofficial @prasidh43,” Virat Kohli wrote on X.

Brief scores: India 224 & 396 in 88 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 118, Akash Deep 66; Josh Tongue 5-125, Gus Atkinson 3-127) beat England 247 & 367/10 in 85.1 overs (Harry Brook 111, Joe Root 105; Mohammed Siraj 5-104, Prasidh Krishna 4-126) by six runs.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, the founder of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), passed away earlier on Monday. For more than a month, Soren, 81, had been receiving treatment at the hospital for issues connected to his kidneys.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his respects to him at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here. PM Modi also met with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Soren’s son, and other family members during his visit to personally offer his condolences.

“To honor Shri Shibu Soren Ji, I visited Sir Ganga Ram Church. met his family as well. PM Modi wrote on X, “My thoughts are with Hemant Ji, Kalpana Ji, and the supporters of Shri Shibu Soren Ji.”

Hemant Soren, Shibu’s son, revealed his father’s death on Monday. “All of us have lost the esteemed Guru Dishom. “I have become empty today,” Hemant Soren wrote in Hindi on his X account.

According to the hospital’s statement, “He passed away following a protracted illness. A month and a half ago, he had experienced a stroke in addition to a kidney condition. For the past month, he has been on life support.

Following Soren’s death, the prime minister expressed his sorrow on X, calling him a “grassroots leader” who devoted his life to helping the poor and tribal people.

“With unshakable devotion to the people, Shri Shibu Soren Ji ascended through the ranks of public life as a grassroots leader. He had a special enthusiasm for uplifting the impoverished, oppressed, and indigenous populations.

“I was saddened by his death. I’m thinking of his supporters and family. Sent condolences to Jharkhand Chief Minister Shri Hemant Soren Ji. He went on, “Om Shanti.”

A kidney problem had kept Soren in the Sri Ganga Ram Hospital for more than a month. He was being treated by the hospital’s neurology and intensive care unit team, as well as Dr. A.K. Bhalla, chairman of nephrology.

He was referred to as “Guruji” or “Dishom Guru” in his native state. Soren was the Chief Minister of Jharkhand three times, from 2005 to 2009 and from 2008 to 2010. However, because of political obstacles, his terms were frequently brief.

Soren, a member of the Santal (Santhal) tribe, was born on January 11, 1944, in Nemra village, which was then a part of Bihar. At the age of 18, he founded the Santhal Navyuvak Sangh, a group dedicated to land rights and tribal liberation.

Along with A.K. Roy and Binod Bihari Mahato, he cofounded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in 1972 with the goal of achieving tribal uplift and a separate Jharkhand state. He later served as its general secretary. He was a key figure in the push for independence, which ultimately led to the creation of Jharkhand in 2000.

During his four-decade political career, Soren was elected to the Lok Sabha eight times and was a member of the Rajya Sabha for two terms, the second of which is still continuing on.

On Sunday, Google stated that it is examining the instructions from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding its actions in the online display advertising industry.

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) filed a complaint, and the trade regulator requested a full investigation. The CCI stated that it has instructed the Director General (DG) to launch a comprehensive investigation into Google’s actions inside the AdTech ecosystem and has chosen to combine the complaint with ongoing investigations in situations comparable to this one.

In a different ruling, the CCI rejected an ADIF complaint against Google, stating that the claims made had already been investigated and resolved in earlier cases. According to the regulator, it is not persuaded by ADIF’s justifications for separating its claims from the problems it looked at in earlier rulings.

“We are examining the directives from the CCI. In a statement, a Google representative said, “We applaud the CCI’s decision to dismiss one portion of the case.

The business continued, “We are confident that our continued work with the CCI will confirm that Google’s advertising practices are fully compliant with competition law and have continuously benefited advertisers, publishers, and users.”

In their case, ADIF claimed that Google had used anti-competitive tactics at several levels of its advertising technology stack.

Additionally, ADIF accused Google of engaging in anti-competitive behavior through its various group entities by favoring its own services within the AdTech ecosystem. This included tying and bundling its ad exchange (AdX) with its publisher ad server (DFP) and connecting its demand-side platform (DV360) with access to YouTube ad inventory.

According to Section 4 of the Competition Act, which addresses abuse of a dominant position, the CCI stated that it was first convinced that Google’s actions merited examination.

Sam Altman, CEO of the US artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI, has urged ChatGPT users to exercise patient as “probable hiccups and capacity crunches” may result from the impending feature launches and new model releases.

Altman stated, “We have a ton of stuff to launch over the next couple of months — new models, products, features, and more,” in a post on X (previously Twitter). We ask for your patience throughout the likely delays and capacity constraints. We believe you will truly enjoy what we have made for you, despite the fact that it could be a little choppy.

Altman did not say which new models he was talking about, but according to some rumors, OpenAI was going to release its GPT-5 model in early August. The ChatGPT creator claims that the new, cutting-edge GPT-5 model is the first LLM to have unified reasoning capabilities, which will remove the requirement for users to choose a reasoning model from the model picker for more complex reasoning tasks.

This month, OpenAI also revealed plans to offer its first-ever open-weights model.

It is said that the new GPT-5 model can decide when to use extended reasoning and when not to. Altman hinted at GPT-5’s potential in a recent podcast with The Verge, stating that the model assisted him in responding to a challenging email that he should have been able to manage but was unable to.

“I received a question while testing our new model. I didn’t fully comprehend the question that was emailed to me. In the model, I included it. I kind of went back in my chair and thought, “Oh man, this GPT5 answered it perfectly. I got over it quickly,” he added.

“It was really difficult, and I felt like I was worthless compared to the AI in this task that I should have been able to complete, but the AI simply carried it out in that manner.” He also said

GPT-5 free tier users will have unlimited chats at the standard intelligence setting, according to Altman’s announcement earlier this year. ChatGPT Plus subscribers will be able to run GPT-5 at a higher level of intelligence, and Pro subscribers will be able to run the most recent model at a “even higher level of intelligence.”

The state government of Odisha has announced the creation of the Integrated Global Financial Technology Capability Hub (I-GFTCH) in the city, a landmark decision that has the potential to transform the state’s digital economy.

The government inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Asian Institute of Digital Finance at the National University of Singapore (NUS-AIDF) and the Singapore-based Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN) during President Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s January visit.

After the first group of students is chosen, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will officially launch the I-GFTCH on August 21.

The first-of-its-kind FinTech competence center will teach professionals in the FinTech and InsurTech fields, preparing more than 7,000 graduates for employment over the course of the next five years.

With I-GFTCH, Odisha not only joins the FinTech race but also hopes to lead it, according to Minister for Electronics and IT Mukesh Mahaling. Under Vision Odisha 2036 and 2047, the financial services industry in Odisha, which presently contributes around 8% of the state’s gross state value added (GSVA), is expected to grow rapidly. By concentrating on advanced banking, insurance, payments, and cutting-edge FinTech solutions, the state hopes to raise its GSVA share to over 49 percent by 2047,” he said.

Job applicants selected through an online exam will be offered a future-proof FinTech and InsurTech professional certification program by I-GFTCH as part of the project. This five-month hybrid course is intended for postgraduate and final-year undergraduate students who want to progress in their financial careers. It consists of online courses, on-campus sessions, and internship placements.

“This initiative puts Odisha on the global map of digital skilling, perfectly aligning with India’s broader technological aspirations,” said Minister of Higher Education Suryabanshi Suraj. “We are committed to building a talent pipeline that can power India’s innovation economy, and certification is a powerful step forward,” stated the chief executive officer. Additionally, I-GFTCH will have a Center of Excellence (CoE) to support business acceleration and digital innovation.

The center will provide all-encompassing support, including incubation, coaching, bootcamps, market readiness programs, and venture development help, with the goal of acting as a launching pad for regional startups and SMEs.

I-GFTCH will serve as the centerpiece of a globally integrated, multifaceted strategy to support inclusive growth, digital transformation, and international cooperation, according to Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary of Electronics and IT. “It will nurture financial technology and InsurTech startups and create a talent pool of professionals to help Odisha sustain its competitive edge in the digital economy,” he said.

Odisha’s goal to become a global hub for FinTech innovation is being realized, according to Sopnendu Mohanty, group CEO of GFTN, thanks to top-notch certification programs and a state-of-the-art capabilities hub that opens up international prospects for local talent and creates a digital economy prepared for the future.

In addition, the government said that in the first quarter of next year, Odisha will host the India edition of the Black Swan Summit (BSS), a prestigious worldwide gathering that aims to investigate disruptive ideas such as digital infrastructure, tokenization, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.

The summit, which was introduced this year in Perth, Western Australia, now serves as the focal point of the Black Swan Network, GFTN’s premier multi-location, worldwide platform for group vision and cross-border cooperation.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the iPhone manufacturer set revenue records in over two dozen countries and regions, including India, during the June quarter.

Cook told analysts on the call that double-digit increase in the iPhone, Mac, and Services categories was the main driver of these results.

In the great majority of the markets we monitor, we witnessed a global acceleration of growth. Every geographic area witnessed an increase in iPhone sales, while growing countries like Brazil, South Asia, the Middle East, and India had double-digit growth, according to the CEO of Apple.

With sales climbing 15% year over year, Mac continued to achieve outstanding achievements. Cook reported that “we set another all-time revenue record in Services which grew 13 per cent with double-digit growth in both developed and emerging markets.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to open new stores in the UAE and India later this year,” the company said, referring to the recent opening of the Apple Store online in Saudi Arabia.

According to Tarun Pathak, director of research at Counterpoint, Apple is still growing rapidly in India, setting yet another record-breaking revenue quarter with double-digit growth.

The iPhone 16 was the most delivered model in the area, which was a major factor in this momentum. According to Counterpoint, the iPhone captured 7% of the volume and 23% of the revenue share during the quarter. The big change in manufacturing was one of the quarter’s highlights, he told.

Cook pointed out that India is now listed as the “Country of Origin” for the majority of iPhones sold in the US.

India now accounts for 71% of all iPhone shipments in the United States, up significantly from 31% during the same period previous year, according to Counterpoint Research.

“As part of its continuous channel expansion strategy, Apple also announced plans to increase its presence in India with new retail stores opening later this year,” Pathak said.

Cook stated that the scenario about tariffs is changing.

We spent about $800 million on tariff-related expenses for the June quarter. “We estimate the impact to add about $1.1 billion to our costs for the September quarter, assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the remainder of the quarter and no new tariffs are added,” he said.

He said that there are a lot of variables that could change, including tariff rates, so this forecast shouldn’t be used to project future quarters.

On Wednesday, actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood will celebrate his 52nd birthday. To commemorate the milestone, he has announced a new unique project.

The actor from “Ek Vivaah… Aisa Bhi” has revealed an elderly care facility that will house and look after over 500 elderly people.

The goal of the old age home is to provide elderly people without caregivers with a caring, respectable, and safe environment.

In addition to housing, these senior citizens will receive medical attention, wholesome food, and emotional support.

That being said, Sood has already linked himself to a humanitarian cause. He has already garnered media attention for his assistance to migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and for his support of patients and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The ‘Dabangg’ actor genuinely thinks that helping others is important.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wished Sood a happy birthday and commended him for his steadfast dedication to charity.

“Happy Birthday to the ever-inspiring Sonu Sood!” the CM said on his official X handle, praising his altruistic charitable activities. Numerous lives around the country have been impacted by your unselfish generosity and assistance to people in need. I hope the upcoming year brings you health, happiness, and the willpower to start changing the world. @SonuSood.

Meanwhile, Sood celebrated his birthday in front of his followers and photographers.

A casual black shirt and dark blue trousers were the clothes he was wearing in the social media video.

As he sliced the cake, Sood was spotted grinning. The highlight of the celebration, though, was when fans showered Sood with flower petals.

The amount of love that Sood received on his special day clearly humbled him.