Banking Awareness of 10, 11, 12 and 13 August 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. India became a net steel exporter during April–July FY26 after two years of being a net importer.

• Steel exports reached 1.70 million tonnes (MT), narrowly surpassing imports which stood at 1.67 MT in the same period.

• Compared to the previous year, steel imports declined sharply by 40% from 2.8 MT, while exports rose moderately by 8% from 1.57 MT.
• This turnaround was largely driven by government interventions such as a 12% safeguard duty on steel imports and tighter quality regulations.
• India's enforcement of 151 BIS steel standards led to several non-compliant shipments being rejected or returned.
• Imports of non-alloyed steel fell by 44% year-on-year to 1.12 MT from 2 MT in the previous year.
• Imports of alloyed and stainless steel, which are not subject to the safeguard duty, also dropped by 29% to 0.53 MT.
• On the export side, non-alloyed steel saw a 4% annual rise to 1.4 MT, while alloyed and stainless steel exports jumped over 30% to 0.3 MT.
• In July alone, imports saw a 65% annual drop and a 36% decline compared to June, settling at 0.282 MT.
• July exports rose significantly by 65% year-on-year and 9% over the previous month, reaching 0.5 MT.
• Despite the usual seasonal decline, domestic finished steel consumption grew 7.5% year-on-year to 51.5 MT.
• The safeguard duty made Chinese steel more expensive, shifting the cost advantage in favor of Indian producers.

Topic: Taxation

2. Net direct tax collections in FY26 so far have fallen to ₹6.64 lakh crore.

• This marks a 3.95% decline compared to ₹6.91 lakh crore collected in the same period last year.
• The drop is mainly due to a sharp rise in refunds. Refunds have increased by 10%, reaching ₹1.35 lakh crore.
• Gross direct tax collections before refunds stood at ₹7.99 lakh crore.
• This is a 1.87% decrease from ₹8.14 lakh crore recorded a year ago.
• Corporate tax collections amounted to around ₹2.29 lakh crore between April 1 and August 11.
• Non-corporate tax revenue, which includes individuals, HUFs, and firms, totaled ₹4.12 lakh crore.
• The Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collection was ₹22,362 crore during the same period.
• The government has set a direct tax target of ₹25.20 lakh crore for FY26.
• This represents a 12.7% growth over the previous year.
• It also aims to collect ₹78,000 crore from STT in the current financial year.

Topic: RBI

3. RBI has levied a ₹75 lakh fine on ICICI Bank for breaching specific regulatory norms.

• The breaches relate to improper procedures in property valuation and the mishandling of current account operations.
• ICICI Bank was found to have failed in using independent valuers for assessing properties tied to certain mortgage loans.
• Additionally, the bank was found to have opened or continued current accounts in ways that violated RBI rules.
• These issues came to light during the RBI’s 2024 supervisory inspection, which reviewed the bank’s status as of March 31, 2024.
• Following these findings, the RBI issued a notice asking the bank to justify why a penalty should not be applied.
• After reviewing ICICI Bank’s written response, additional materials, and oral defense, the RBI upheld the charges.
• The penalty strictly addresses shortcomings in regulatory adherence.
• It does not affect the legitimacy of customer-related transactions.
• RBI also noted that this action does not rule out the possibility of further measures being taken against the bank.
• ICICI Bank is also in news as it has decided to raise the Minimum Account Balance (MAB) requirement to Rs 50,000 for new customers in urban and metro regions from 1 August.
• In case of non-compliance with this minimum balance requirement, the penalty has been kept by ICICI Bank at 6% of the shortfall or Rs 500, whichever is less.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. Mutual fund equity inflows hit a record ₹42,702 crore in July.

• According to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), mutual fund equity inflows reached a record high of ₹42,702 crore in July.
• This figure marked a sharp increase from the ₹23,587 crore recorded in June this year.
• The surge in inflows was driven by new fund offerings, which mobilized ₹30,416 crore during the month.
• The mutual fund industry’s total net assets under management (AUM) reached an all-time high of ₹75.35 lakh crore, compared to ₹74.41 lakh crore in June.
• Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) contributions also rose to an all-time high of ₹28,464 crore in July.
• It was the second consecutive month of record flows after exceeding ₹27,000 crore in June.
• Sectoral and thematic funds saw the largest inflows, pulling in ₹9,426 crore during the month.
• Small-cap schemes attracted ₹6,484 crore in July, up 61% from ₹4,025 crore in June.
• Large and mid-cap funds recorded inflows of ₹5,035 crore, while equity-linked savings schemes saw net outflows of ₹368 crore.
• In the fixed income segment, debt mutual funds witnessed net inflows of Rs 1.06 lakh crore last month.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. 302 million Indians lifted out of poverty in the last decade.

• Assuming equal sharing of resources within households, about 302 million people would move out of poverty between 2011-12 and 2022-23.
• The finding was presented in research titled Intra-Household Allocation of Resources and Changes in Poverty Rates of Females, Males, and Children in India from 2011-12 to 2023-24.
• Dr. Shamika Ravi (Member, EAC-PM) and Dr. Mudit Kapoor conducted the research.
• National poverty rates declined from 29.5% in 2011-12 to 4% in 2022-23 under equal sharing assumptions.
• When accounting for unequal sharing, the poverty rate in 2011-12 was found to be 34.7%.
• This rate dropped to 10.5% in 2023-24 when unequal distribution was considered.
• The poverty gap, reflecting the intensity of poverty, declined from 18.4% in 2011-12 to 10.2% in 2023-24 under equal sharing.

Topic: Miscellaneous

6. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) recorded a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of ₹5.4 lakh crore in the financial year 2024–25.

• This milestone was announced during GeM’s 9th foundation day celebration.
• CEO Mihir Kumar described the achievement as a step toward more inclusive and people-focused governance.
• He reaffirmed GeM’s commitment to making public procurement fair and accessible.
• In the previous financial year, 2023–24, GeM had reached a GMV of ₹4 trillion.
• Since its launch, GeM has onboarded over 1.5 lakh women-led businesses.
• The platform also supports startups, self-help groups, artisans, and micro and small enterprises.
• GeM was launched in 2016 to promote transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity in procurement.
• It acts as a digital platform that connects underserved sellers with government buyers across India.
• GeM also encourages participation from people with disabilities in the public procurement process.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

7. An additional budget of Rs 1,920 crore approved for PMKSY to boost agri-infrastructure.

• An enhanced budget of ₹6,520 crore, including an additional ₹1,920 crore, has been approved by the Union Cabinet for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).
• Since its launch in 2017, a total of 1,601 projects have been approved under various components of PMKSY till June 2025.
• Of these, 1,133 projects are now operational/completed, creating processing and preservation capacity of 255.66 lakh metric tonnes (MT) per annum.
• Once fully completed, these projects are expected to attract investment of Rs 21,803.19 crore, benefiting about 50.27 lakh farmers.
• PMKSY, earlier known as SAMPADA, was launched in 2017 to strengthen farm-to-market supply chains.
• The scheme aims to reduce agri-wastage, improve farmer incomes, and support food processing growth.
• It also focuses on job creation, especially in rural India, and enhances export potential.
• Targeted initiatives under PMKSY include cold chain infrastructure, agro-processing clusters, and food testing labs.
• The sector's GVA contribution rose from ₹1.30 lakh crore in 2013–14 to ₹2.24 lakh crore in 2023–24.
• In November 2018, an additional scheme called Operation Greens (OG) was added to PMKSY with a budget of Rs 500 crore.
• It aimed to stabilize prices of tomato, onion, and potato by providing financial assistance for transportation and storage.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

8. Crop insurance worth ₹3,200 crore released by the Centre to 30 lakh farmers.

• On 11 August, a ₹3,200 crore installment of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was released by the Central government.
• This transfer is the first installment of the scheme, with an additional ₹8,000 crore planned to be released later.
• The announcement was made by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• A warning was issued to insurance companies that failure to deposit payments on time would result in a 12% interest penalty, to be paid directly to farmers.
• It was stated that the scheme, launched in 2016, has become a boon for disaster-affected farmers by offering protection against crop losses caused by natural calamities.
• Minister Chouhan urged farmers to directly inform him of any complaints related to the scheme so that prompt action could be taken.
• The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana marked its ninth anniversary on 18 February 2025, nearing a decade of service to farmers.
• The scheme aims to stabilize farmers’ income and encourage them to adopt modern agricultural practices by providing insurance coverage against unpredictable hazards.
• In January 2025, the Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the scheme and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme till 2025–26 with a budget of ₹69,515.71 crore.
• Although the scheme is voluntary for farmers, the coverage of non-loanee farmers has increased to 55% of the total coverage under the scheme during 2023-24, indicating voluntary acceptance/popularity of the scheme.