Banking Awareness of 1, 2, 3 and 4 June 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. As per government data, Indian Economy grew by 6.5% in FY 2024-25.

• This growth was less than 9.2% in the previous fiscal as per government data.
• Real GDP grew in Q4 of FY2024-25 by 7.4%.
• The construction sector led growth with 9.4% annually and 10.8% in Q4.
• ‘Public Administration, Defence & Other Services’ sector with 8.9% growth rate and ‘Financial, Real Estate & Professional Services’ sector with 7.2% growth rate followed the construction sector.
• Real GDP growth rate was 6.5% in FY 2024-25. Nominal GDP growth rate was 9.8% in FY 2024-25.
• In Q4 of FY 2024-25, nominal GDP grew by 10.8%.  
• In Q4 of FY 2024-25, Construction sector was followed by 8.7% growth rate in ‘Public Administration, Defence & Other Services’ sector and 7.8% growth rate in ‘Financial, Real Estate & Professional Services’ sector.
• 4.4% growth rate has been recorded in Primary Sector as against 2.7% growth rate seen in previous financial year.
• In Q4, FY 2024-25, primary sector has seen 5% growth rate as against 0.8% growth rate in Q4 of Fiscal Year 2023-24.
• Growth rate in Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) and Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) has been reported at 7.2% and 7.1%, respectively, during FY 2024-25.

Topic: Reports and Indices

2. PMI for May 2025 declined to three-month low level of 57.6.

• PMI declined from 58.2 in April. Job creation in manufacturing increased to its new peak.
• Manufacturing currently contributes about 17% of India’s GDP.
• Manufacturing is considered as a key job multiplier.
• Although overall inflation has reduced, companies are facing price pressure.
• May was another month during which purchasing prices increased.
• The main sources of cost pressures listed by managers were aluminium, cement, iron, leather, rubber and sand among others.
• The overall rate of inflation was highest since November 2024.
• PMI is based of responses from purchasing managers of 400 companies.
• Index being above 50 indicates expansion. Index below 50 means contraction.

Topic: Appointments

3. The appointment of Kalyan Kumar as MD and CEO of Central Bank of India has been recommended by the FSIB.

• The appointment of Asheesh Pandey as the MD & CEO of Union Bank of India has also been recommended by the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB).
• Asheesh Pandey is currently Executive Director at Bank of Maharashtra.
• Kalyan Kumar is currently Executive Director at Punjab National Bank.
• Current Union Bank of India Chief A Manimekhalai’s three-year tenor ends next month.
• The term of MV Rao as MD & CEO, Central Bank of India since March 2021, also ends in July 2025.
• Central Bank of India is a public sector bank. It is based in Mumbai. It was established on 21 December 1911.
• It was the first commercial Indian bank completely owned and managed by Indians.
• Union Bank of India was founded on 11 November 1919. It is headquartered in Mumbai. It is a public sector bank.

Topic: Appointments

4. Rajiv Memani took charge as the new CII President for FY 2025-26.

• Rajiv Memani, Chairman and CEO of EY India, has assumed office as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2025–26.
• His appointment was announced by CII, as he took over the position from Sanjiv Puri, Chairman and MD of ITC Ltd.
• Mr. Memani is a member of the EY Global Executive Board and serves as Chair of its Growth Markets Council.
• Additionally, R. Mukundan, MD and CEO of Tata Chemicals, has been named CII President-Designate for 2025-26.
• Mr. Mukundan has been with the Tata Group since 1990 and holds academic credentials from IIT Roorkee, FMS Delhi, and Harvard Business School.
• Apart from these, Suchitra K. Ella, co-founder and MD of Bharat Biotech, has been appointed as Vice President of CII for FY 2025–26.
• She co-founded Bharat Biotech in 1996 and played a pivotal role in the company’s vaccine innovations, including Covaxin.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. A review meeting of the world's largest cooperative food grain storage scheme was held in New Delhi.

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah chaired the meeting.
• Minister of State for Cooperation Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar and Shri Murlidhar Mohol were present in the meeting.
• The meeting was also attended by officials from the Ministry of Cooperation, Food and Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs, Food Corporation of India (FCI), NABARD, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and other institutions.
• Amit Shah said called the world's largest food grain storage scheme a big step towards PM Modi's vision of “Sahkar Se Samriddhi”.
• He said that food storage scheme is meant to strengthen both Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment generation.
• The food storage scheme aims to raise the income of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). It also aims to create rural employment opportunities.
• Union Minister of Cooperation said that it is necessary to make PACS an integral part of this scheme.
• In the meeting, it was also decided that States should involve more PACS at their level in the scheme.
• FCI, the National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation (NCCF), the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), and State Warehousing Corporations were instructed to integrate PACS with as many warehouses as possible to maximize their involvement.
• About world's largest cooperative food grain storage scheme:
• World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector was approved by government on 31 May 2023 to be rolled out as a Pilot Project.
• The Plan involves creation of various agri infrastructure at Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) level through convergence of various existing schemes of the Government of India, such as, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI), etc.

Topic: Miscellaneous

6. India's first AI Special Economic Zone announced in Nava Raipur.

• To strengthen India's position as a global technology hub, the nation’s first Special Economic Zone dedicated to artificial intelligence is being proposed in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
• The ₹1,000 crore project will be undertaken by RackBank Datacenters Pvt. Ltd., an Indore-based firm known for its carbon-neutral data centers.
• The Chhattisgarh government confirmed that the AI SEZ will offer state-of-the-art infrastructure for AI development, research, and large-scale deployment.
• The 6-acre facility will include a 150,000-square-foot center equipped to power advanced AI servers and data-intensive operations.
• Four high-density data centers with a combined 80 MW capacity are planned to support pan-India digital infrastructure needs.
• Global tech giants, including Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta, are expected to begin operations within the upcoming AI SEZ.
• Tax exemptions and regulatory relaxations are being provided under the SEZ framework to enable innovation and global collaboration.
• The AI SEZ aims to generate jobs and offer world-class opportunities to youth from districts like Dantewada, Kanker, and Bilaspur.
• India has already approved 423 SEZs, of which 270 are operational across diverse sectors like IT, pharma, and engineering.
• The SEZ policy, introduced in 2005, continues to attract foreign investments, create employment, and enhance India’s global tech stature.

Topic: Appointments

7. Shailendra Nath Gupta took over as Director General of Defence Estates.

• Shri Shailendra Nath Gupta has taken charge as the Director General of Defence Estates as of May 31, 2025.
• A 1990-batch officer from the Indian Defence Estates Service, he brings extensive expertise in managing defence lands and cantonments.
• Before assuming this position, he had been posted as CEO of Cantonment Boards and as Defence Estate Officer across various circles.
• Key positions have also been held by him, including Director Defence Estates, Central Command, and Principal Director, Eastern Command.
• The Directorate General of Defence Estates is entrusted with maintaining approximately 18 lakh acres of defence land in India.
• Its administrative structure operates under six commands, with 38 Defence Estates Circles and 61 Cantonment Boards.

Topic: Taxation

8. The government has lowered basic custom duty on crude palm oil, crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil to 10%. 

• This step is aimed at cutting down retail prices of cooking oil and protecting domestic processors.
• Previously, duty on these three edible oils was 20%.
• India is a country that imports over 50% of its domestic edible oil requirement.
• India’s import of edible oils during 2023-24 oil marketing year (November to October) stood at 159.6 lakh tonnes.
• Now, effective import duty (including the basic custom duty and other charges) on these three products will be 16.5%. This was earlier 27.5%.
• Basic custom duty on refined oils is unchanged at 32.5%.
• As of now, the effective duty on refined oils is 35.75%.
• India imports palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia.
• Soyabean oil is imported from Brazil and Argentina.
• On 14 September 2024, the government raised the basic custom duty on crude soyabean oil, crude palm oil and crude sunflower oil from 0% to 20%.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 1,2, 3 and 4 June 2025