Banking Awareness of 1 and 2 September 2023

Topic: Appointments

1. The tenure of Competition Commission of India (CCI) Director General has been extended by three months.

• The three month’s extension is effective from 1 September. CCI Director General Atul Verma will now hold office till 30 November.
• Atul Verma has got deputation tenure extension for the second time.
• In May, he was given a three-month extension till August-end.
• He was appointed as DG in June 2020 for three years.
• The DG is the independent investigation arm of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Topic: Reports and Indices

2. PMI Manufacturing increased to 58.6 in August.

• Increase in PMI has been registered after a gap of two months.
• PMI Manufacturing in August is the second best in nearly three years.
• However, job creation growth was slower. PMI was 57.7 in July.
• PMI is prepared by S&P Global based on the survey among purchasing executives of 400 companies.
• Manufacturing has a share of over 14% on Gross Value added (GVA) in India.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. RFP has been invited to appoint an asset valuer for strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank.

• Department of Investment & Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has invited Request for Proposal (RFP).
• In a public notice, DIPAM said it on behalf of Government of India and LIC wishes to engage the services of a reputed asset valuer entity.
• It said the entity should be registered with Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
• It would act as the asset valuer for undertaking the IDBI Bank assets’ valuation.
• It would provide requisite assistance in the process of Strategic Disinvestment of IDBI Bank Limited, till the completion of the transaction.
• IDBI Bank is listed on NSE and BSE in India.
• As of March 31, 2023, LIC holds 49.24% while the Government has 45.48% in IDBI Bank.

Topic: Appointments

4. Jaya Verma Sinha has been appointed as the chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Railway Board.

• Jaya Verma Sinha is the first woman appointed to the post.
• Her appointment has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• She is currently posted as a Member (Operations and Business Development) in the Railway Board.
• She will succeed Anil Kumar Lahoti. She will take charge on or after the 1st of September.
• Her tenure will be till the 31st of August next year.

Topic: Miscellaneous

5. The government has approved startup guidelines dedicated to technical textiles.

• The Ministry of Textiles has approved the “Startup Guidelines for Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT)”.
• It will provide grant-in-aid up to INR 50 Lakhs to Technical Textiles for up to a period of 18 months.
• The guideline focuses on supporting individuals and companies to translate prototypes of technologies and products, including commercialization with an emphasis on developing startup ecosystems in technical textiles.
• The GREAT guidelines provide emphasis on application areas of technical textiles including agro-textiles, mobile textiles, development of high-performance fibers and composites, and smart textiles using Artificial Intelligence, etc.
• To encourage the incubators, the ministry will provide an additional 10% of the total grant-in-aid to the incubators.
• To strengthen authenticity and commitment towards the project, it is mandatory for incubators to invest a minimum of 10% of the funding in two equal tranches.
• The Ministry has also approved 26 institutes for upgrading their laboratory infrastructure and training of trainers in the application areas of technical textiles.
• The Ministry has approved the applications of 26 institutions for starting technical textiles courses/papers in key departments/specialties and new degree programs in technical textiles.
• For this, approval of Rs 151.02 crore was given, of which 15 applications worth Rs 105.55 crore are from public institutions and 11 applications worth Rs 45.47 crore are from private institutions.
• Some of the prominent institutes that are funded under this scheme include IIT Delhi, NIT Jalandhar, NIT Durgapur, NIT Karnataka, NIFT Mumbai, ICT Mumbai, Anna University, PSG College of Technology, and Amity University.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

6. India's first indigenously developed nuclear power plant unit has become operational at full capacity.

• PM Modi said, “The first largest indigenous 700 MWe Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant Unit-3 in Gujarat has started operations at full capacity”.
• Kakrapar Unit-3 is an expansion of the existing plant. The existing plant had two operational units, KAPS-1 and KAPS-2.
• KAPS-1 and KAPS-2 have a capacity of around 220 MWe (megawatts electrical) each.
• The third unit is larger. It is more advanced. The fourth unit (KAPP-4) has also been constructed. It is expected to begin by March 2024.
• The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) operates nuclear plants in the country.
• As per NPCIL, KAPP-3 and 4 are India's first pair of indigenously designed Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW unit size.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Indian Oncologist R. Ravi Kannan wins the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

• Surgical oncologist R. Ravi Kannan is one of the Ramon Magsaysay Awardees for 2023.
• He has been awarded for revolutionising cancer treatment in Assam through people-centric and pro-poor healthcare.
• R. Ravi Kannan is the Director of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in Assam
• Under Dr. Kannan’s leadership, the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) became a full-fledged comprehensive cancer hospital and research centre.
• The hospital now has 28 departments including oncology, pathology, radiology, microbiology, epidemiology, etc.
• The CCHRC provides free or subsidised cancer care treatment to around 5 Lakh patients annually.
• Other winners of the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award:

• Ramon Magsaysay Award:
  • It is the highest honour in Asia and is considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
  • The award is given annually to individuals or organizations in the Asia region for philanthropy and social service.
  • It was established in 1957 in memory of Ramon Magsaysay, the third President of the Philippines.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements 

8. NITI Aayog and UNDP signed MoU to accelerate Sustainable Development Goals.

• NITI Aayog and UNDP India signed a MoU for fast-tracking progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
• The MoU has been signed to formalise a framework of cooperation in different areas including SDG localisation, data-driven monitoring, Aspirational Districts and Blocks.
• The MoU has been signed in the presence of B. V. R. Subrahmanyam CEO, NITI Aayog.
• The MoU has been signed for five years.
• NITI Aayog is the nodal agency for coordinating the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national levels.
• UNDP plays an important role in coordinating efforts to fast-track progress on the SDGs within the UN system.
• UNDP will also provide support for NITI Aayog’s work on women's livelihoods, innovation, and Mission LiFE.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

9. Government formed a committee to explore the possibility of one nation, one election.

• The government formed a committee under the chairmanship of former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of one nation, one election.
• Union Parliamentary Affairs Ministry Pralhad Joshi said that the report of the committee would be discussed by Parliament.
• Ram Nath Kovind during his tenure said that the “one nation, simultaneous elections” is need of the hour.
• He said that it will accelerate the development in the country.
• Ram Nath Kovind served as the 14th president of India from 2017 to 2022.
• What is ‘One Nation One Election’?
  • The "One Nation, One Election" aim is to synchronise elections for the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies.
  • The idea is to hold the election of Lok Sabha and state assemblies either on a single day or within a specific time frame.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

10. Indian real GDP has grown by 7.8% in the April-June quarter.

• On August 31, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released data showing that India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.8% in the quarter that ended on June 30.
• India's gross domestic product (GDP) and gross value added (GVA) growth in the economy accelerated to a four-quarter high in the first quarter of this financial year.
• Manufacturing GVA grew for the second consecutive quarter, with the pace of growth picking up slightly to 4.7% in the first quarter (Q1) of the year, from 4.5% in the previous quarter.
• The GVA of agriculture, forestry, and fishing grew by 3.5% between April and June, but it was the services sector that posted the fastest growth and outpaced estimates released by the National Statistics Office (NSO).
• The GVA of financial, real estate, and professional services grew by 12.2% in Q1, while the GVA of services related to trade, hotels, transport, communication, and broadcasting grew by 9.2%.
• GVA from public administration, defense, and other services and the employment-intensive construction sector grew by 7.9%.
• The electricity, gas, water supply, and other services GVA grew only 2.9% in Q1, while mining and quarrying GVA grew 5.8%.
• In the January to March 2023 quarter, GDP growth stood at 6.1% and 13.1% in the first quarter of 2022-23.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 1 and 2 September 2023