Banking Awareness of 1 April 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. The proposal for increasing auto settlement of advanced claim limit of provident fund has been approved by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

• The proposal increases the limit from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
• 60% of advance claims are processed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment through online in an auto mode within three days.
• The initiative was approved in 113th meeting of Executive Committee (EC) of Central Board of Trustees (CBT) held on March 28 in Srinagar.
• The meeting was held on March 28 in Srinagar. CBT will now ratify the approval before it becomes norm. 
• Claim of up to ₹5 lakh provident fund (PF) can be made by the EPFO subscribers through the auto settlement of advanced claim (ASAC).
• In April 2020, auto mode of PF claim settlement was introduced to permit subscribers get advance for treatment of illness.
• In May 2024, the auto settlement of the advanced claim limit was increased from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh by EPFO.

Topic: Banking System

2. Yes Bank has got a demand notice of ₹2,209 crore from Income Tax Department.

• The notice is of ₹2,209 crore for the assessment year 2019-20.
• On March 28, National Faceless Assessment Unit of the income-tax department passed the reassessment order.
• In a regulatory filing, Yes Bank said no demand should have been raised against it total income assessed in original assessment order has remained unchanged in the reassessment order.
• The original assessment order was passed under section 144 of the Income Tax Act.
• The bank said it would pursue proceedings against the reassessment order.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

3. NITI NCAER States Economic Forum Portal launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.

• National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has developed this portal in collaboration with NITI Aayog.
• NCAER States Economic Forum portal is a holistic depository of data on social, economic and fiscal parameters, research reports, papers, and expert commentary on State Finances.
• The repository is for a period of about 30 years from 1990-91 to 2022-23.
• There are four components of portal-State Reports, Data Repository, State Fiscal and Economic Dashboard and Research and Commentary.
• National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) is the oldest and largest independent, economic policy research think tank of India.
• It was established in 1956 in New Delhi.
• NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog is the apex public policy think tank of Government of India.
• It was established on 1 January 2015. Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of NITI Aayog.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

4. Government increased MGNREGS wages by 2-7% for FY26.

• For the financial year 2025-26, the government has increased wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) by 2-7%.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) issued a notification revising the NREGS wages for FY 2025-26.
• In absolute terms, the NREGS wages would increase in the range of Rs 7 to Rs 26.
• The NREGS wages have been hiked by ₹7 in five states, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, and Telangana.
• The highest increase will be of Rs 26 in Haryana, where NREGS wages will touch the Rs 400-mark during 2025-26.
• It will be the first time the NREGS wages will touch Rs 400 per day in any state.
• The NREGS wage rates are fixed according to changes in the CPI-AL (Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers).

Topic: Miscellaneous

5. Lok Sabha passed the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2024.

• The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2024 will replace the Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925.
• It aims to modernize regulations governing the responsibilities, liabilities, rights, and immunities of carriers involved in the transportation of goods by sea.
• It will consolidate the law relating to ports, and promote integrated port development.
• It will facilitate ease of doing business and ensure the optimum utilisation of India’s coastline by establishing and empowering State Maritime Boards.
• The Maritime State Development Council will also be formed to foster structured growth development of the port sector.
• It empowers the central government to amend the schedule specifying rules applicable to bills of lading.
• The Act applies to ships transporting goods from an Indian port to a foreign port and between Indian ports.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

6. A ₹22,919 crore electronics component manufacturing scheme announced by the Union Cabinet.

• On March 28, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the Union Cabinet has approved the Non-Semiconductor Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme.
• The production-linked incentive scheme will have an outlay of Rs 22,919 crore.
• Electronics manufacturing has seen historic growth, with production increasing fivefold in CAGR and exports growing sixfold, making electronics one of the top three exported goods.
• He said that capacitors, inductors, resistors, connectors, etc. would be manufactured in the country.
• This will significantly enhance value addition in India, generating ₹4,56,000 crore in production and 91,600 direct jobs.

Topic: Appointments

7. S.K. Majumdar appointed as the Executive Director of Canara Bank.

• The Central Government has appointed SK Majumdar as the Executive Director of the Bank for a term of three years with effect from March 24, 2025.
• 56-year-old Majumdar is a Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant with over 25 years of experience in the banking sector.
• He has been associated with Canara Bank since January 2000 and has held key leadership roles in branches and administrative offices including Project Finance, Large Corporate Lending and International Operations.
• Prior to his promotion, Majumdar was the Chief General Manager and Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO) of Canara Bank.

Topic: Agriculture

8. India became the highest milk producer in the world.

• India became top milk producer in the world with 239 MMT milk production.
• India has set a target of producing 300 million metric tons of milk in next five years.
• About 10 crore people in the country are engaged in milk production.
• In India, per person consumption of milk is 471 gram.
• Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing the Rashtriya Gokul Mission.
• Its main aim is the development and conservation of indigenous breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and enhancement of milk production.
• Rashtriya Gokul Mission was launched in 2014. Its main objective is to enhance the productivity of bovines and increase milk production in a sustainable manner.
• It also aims to enhance artificial insemination coverage by strengthening the breeding network.

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