Banking - Financial Affairs

Top Banking Awareness November 2020

Rupee continues to lose against US Dollar while currencies of other emerging economies continue to rise.

Rupee is continuing to lose against US Dollar while currencies of other emerging economies are continuing to rise from April 2020. In 2020, Rupee has lost 3.59% against the greenback (informal term for dollar) and performed worst among Asian currencies such as China’s Renminbi, the Philippines’ Peso, Taiwan’s dollar and Korea’s won. These currencies appreciated by more than 4% against the dollar. Monetary easing by US Federal Reserve has caused the greenback index (US Dollar index) to move down by over 10% from its peak in March 2020.

SDG Investor Map for India launched by UNDP and Invest India

SDG Investor Map for India has been launched by UNDP and Invest India. SDG Investor Map for India has 18 Investment Opportunities Areas (IOAs) spread over six critical areas. It has also identified eight White Spaces in which investors have shown interest. Six critical sectors included in SDG Investor Map are Education, Healthcare, Food & Beverages, Renewable Resources & Alternative Energy, Financials and Sustainable Environment.

Inverted duty structure making domestic rubber industry non-competitive in international markets

The inverted duty structure in India is making its domestic rubber industry non-competitive in international markets. Inverted duty structure means import duty on raw materials is high and import duty on finished products is low. Inverted duty structure causes a rise in imports and negatively affects the domestic industry. Under the Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN countries, import duty on natural latex liquid is 70%. But, import duty on latex products is only 5%. It is easier to import finished products than to manufacture them domestically. The duty on rubber products is between 0 to 10%.