Banking Awareness of 1, 2 and 3 January 2026

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

1. Third phase of the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme worth ₹41,863 crore has been approved by the central government.

• The objective of Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) is to deepen electronics manufacturing ecosystem of India.
• Several companies have been selected under the third phase of the scheme.
• These companies include BPL, Wipro Hydraulics, Motherson Electronics, Tata Electronics, Samsung Display, Dixon Electronics and ATL Battery Technology.
• ECMS was launched in 2025 to boost domestic electronics production.
• As of now, 46 project approvals have been given across all phases with an investments worth ₹54,567 crore.
• There has been a direct employment of 51,000 people.
• Companies have been given six weeks to submit detailed manufacturing requirements.
• ECMS was approved by Union Cabinet on March 28, 2025, and notified on April 8, 2025, with guidelines launched on April 26, 2025.

Topic: Reports and Indices

2. India’s manufacturing PMI declined from 56.6 in November to 55 in December.

• Even after declining, manufacturing PMI reading indicates expansion.
• Festive demand declined during the month and global orders also declined.
• Manufacturing output growth slowed sharply, reaching the weakest level seen in 38 months.
• The survey by S&P Global found that overall sector health improved at the slowest pace in two years.
• Employment levels continued to rise. New business orders rose strongly.
• The survey is based on responses from purchasing managers at 400 firms.
• Manufacturing accounts for around 16 percent of India’s GDP.
• Overall inflation remained close to November levels and stayed below the long-term average.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

3. The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation has increased the SPREE 2025 scheme deadline to January 31, 2026.

• The scheme was first launched on July 1 to widen social security coverage.
• Scheme for Promotion of Registration of Employers and Employees (SPREE) targets employers and workers left out of ESI coverage.
• No penalties are imposed for past non-compliance and employers are not required to submit past records.
• As of December 14, total 71,199 new employers and 87.60 lakh employees have been added.
• The earlier deadline was December 31. Coverage under the scheme starts from the registration date.
• The scheme was approved at the 196th ESIC meeting in Shimla, which was chaired by Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
• SPREE is designed to strengthen coverage under the ESI Act.
• With the extension of deadline, employers have more time to register digitally.
• The extension highlights ESIC’s focus on voluntary compliance.

Topic: Appointments

4. RBL Bank has appointed Deepak Ruiya as interim Chief Financial Officer.

• His appointment became effective from 30 December 2025.
• He will serve untill the appointment of a permanent CFO.
• The bank has also elevated Jaideep Iyer to the position of Executive Director.
• Iyer is currently Head of Strategy at RBL Bank. His appointment will be for three years, effective 21 February, 2026.
• Iyer will succeed Rajeev Ahuja in the role. Ahuja will retire on February 20, 2026.
• Ahuja earlier served as interim Chief Executive Officer. He helped rebrand Ratnakar Bank into RBL Bank.
• Pushpendra Sharma has resigned from RBL Bank. He headed the digital banking unit.
• RBL Bank is one of India's leading private sector banks.It was founded in 1943 and headquartered in Mumbai. R Subramaniakumar is MD & CEO of Bank.

Topic: Banking System

5. In December, UPI transactions registered a year-on-year increase of 29%.

• A strong year-on-year growth of 29% in UPI transaction volume was recorded in December, with total transactions reaching 21.63 billion.
• The transaction value under UPI was reported at around 28 lakh crore rupees, showing an annual increase of 20%.
• The data was released by the National Payments Corporation of India, which oversees digital payment systems in the country.
• Month-on-month growth was also observed in both transaction volume and transaction value during December.
• The average daily transaction value stood at 90 thousand 217 crore rupees, rising from 87 thousand 721 crore rupees in November 2025.
• The average daily transaction count increased to 698 million from 682 million in the previous month.
• Transactions through the Immediate Payment Service amounted to 6.62 lakh crore rupees in December.
• IMPS transaction value registered a 10% annual growth and showed an increase from 6.15 lakh crore rupees in November.
• The IMPS transaction volume rose to 380 million from 369 million recorded in the previous month.
• The average daily IMPS transaction value increased to 21 thousand 269 crore rupees, reflecting sustained digital payment adoption.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

6. Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL) has started lending operations.

• It is India’s first non-banking financial company dedicated to the maritime sector.
• The company has sanctioned loans worth about ₹4,300 crore.
• The approvals were cleared at SMFCL’s 51st board meeting.
• Recently, expansion roadmap was cleared at the annual general meeting of the company.
• The roadmap set a overall borrowing limit of ₹25,000 crore and fixed a lending target of ₹8,000 crore.
• SMFCL plans to build a loan book of ₹8,000 crore in FY26.
• Out of the sanctioned amount, around ₹4,000 crore has been allocated to a greenfield port project.
• Dredging Corporation of India has been sanctioned ₹150 crore and Goa Shipyard has received loan approval of ₹110 crore.
• SMFCL was inaugurated on June 26, 2025. It was created as a dedicated lender for the maritime sector.
• SMFCL has been designated as the nodal agency for the Maritime Development Fund, having a total corpus of ₹25,000 crore.
• It includes a ₹20,000-crore Maritime Investment Fund and a ₹5,000-crore Interest Incentivisation Fund.
• SMFCL expects guidelines for the Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme soon.
• Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Scheme has an outlay of ₹44,700 crore and is expected to boost investment in shipbuilding.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

7. The AI ​​Impact Summit is scheduled to be held in India in February next year.

• The AI Impact Summit is set to be hosted by India in New Delhi from 15th to 20th February.
• The event aims to shape the future of inclusive, responsible and resilient Artificial Intelligence.
• This summit is based on the three guiding principles of people, planet, and progress, demonstrating how AI should serve humanity, protect the environment, and promote inclusive development.
• It seeks to bridge gaps in the use and access of AI technologies.
• A Research Symposium on AI and its impact will be organised as part of the summit.
• Researchers and practitioners will exchange ideas and forge collaborations.
• Over 300 pre-summit events have already been organised across more than 100 cities globally.
• AI leaders and experts from over 140 countries will participate in the summit.
• The summit will promote democratisation of AI for healthcare, education and agriculture.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

8. The REPM scheme approved to build India's integrated manufacturing ecosystem for high-value magnets.

• The Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPM) has been approved by the Government.
• An outlay of over ₹7,000 crore has been sanctioned for implementation of the scheme.
• The scheme aims to build India’s first integrated domestic manufacturing ecosystem for high-value magnets.
• A production capacity of 6,000 metric tonnes per annum will be created across the entire value chain.
• The value chain will span from rare-earth oxides to finished magnets.
• India has large reserves of rare-earth minerals in several coastal and inland areas.
• These minerals are found in beach sands, red sands, and inland alluvial soils in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
• The initiative is aimed at reducing dependence on imports, particularly from China.