UPDATE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will finally launch the long-awaited India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on September 1, reports the PTI citing senior government officials. The launch of the payments bank, previously scheduled on August 21, was deferred last week due to the seven-day national mourning declared following the demise of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee on August 16. MediaNama reached out to IPPB for an official confirmation, however, we received no reply at the time of publishing. Earlier Update: The launch of India Post Payments Bank has reportedly been delayed owing to the seven-day national mourning, declared as a mark of respect to the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away on Aug 16th. "Launch of IPPB is being rescheduled due to national mourning to pay homage to Atal ji. New date will be announced soon," an official source told PTI. Original story: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the long–delayed India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on August 21, according to PTI. The bank, which currently has two operational branches, will set up 650 branches, with at least one branch located in every district of the country. IPPB will focus on delivering financial services, particularly in rural areas by leveraging its massive network of 1,55,000 post office branches in the country, a senior official of the communications ministry told PTI. The official further stated that the government is trying to link all 1,55,000 lakh post office branches with IPPB services by the end of this year, which will result in the body becoming the country's largest banking network. That apart, IPPB has…
