Banking Awareness of 10, 11 and 12 March 2024

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. Latest Annual Report of the Ombudsman Scheme have shown a 68.24% rise in the total number of complaints received by CRPC and ORBIOs.

• In FY23, the Centralized Receipt and Processing Center (CRPC) and the Offices of the RBI Ombudsman (ORBIOs) received a total of 7,03,544 complaints.
• In FY22, 4,18,184 complaints were received by CRPC and ORBIOs combined.
• According to the report, complaints about mobile and electronic banking accounted for the majority of all complaints filed against banks and other non-bank payment system users.
• The majority of complaints against NBFCs, according to the report, had to do with their failure to follow the Fair Practices Code.
• This is the first standalone report under the Reserve Bank-Integrated Ombudsman Scheme (RB-IOS), 2021.
• It provides the activities of the 22 ORBIOs, CRPC and the Contact Centre during the year.
• 57.48% of complaints disposed under RB-IOS 2021 were resolved using mutual settlement, conciliation, and mediation.
• The remaining ones were either adjudicated by passing awards, withdrawn by the complainants, or rejected by RBIOs.
• In 2022–2023 the average turn-around time (TAT) for complaints processed by ORBIOs was 33 days.
• The average turnaround time decreased from 44 days in 2021–2022 by a considerable margin.

Topic: Appointments

2. Dhanaraj T has been appointed as the Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank.

• He has been appointed for a period of three years, effective from 10 March.
• Before joining Indian Overseas Bank, he served as the Chief General Manager at Indian Bank.
• Indian Overseas Bank is a nationalized bank headquartered in Chennai.
• It is a government-owned bank. Ajay Srivastava J is its MD and CEO.

Topic: Agriculture

3. West Bengal has become fourth largest rice-producing state as per latest crop estimates.

• According to estimates released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, West Bengal has declined to 4th place in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June).
• Formerly, West Bengal was the state that produced the most rice.
• Telangana is climbing the ladder by increasing the amount of rice it produces annually.
• As per the data, it is reaching a place below top grower Uttar Pradesh.
• West Bengal was the leading producer at 15.88 million tonnes (mt).
• In 2019–20, its portion of the national output was 13.36%. In 2023–24, it dropped to 11.52 mt with a 9.3% share.
• Telangana was at sixth place with 6.25% share in 2019-20. The share of Telangana has reached at 12.94% with a production of 16.03 mt.
• UP’s share stands at 13.16% with 16.3 mt in 2023-24.   

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. Buyofuel has been recognised among the top 100 global start-ups by the SET Award.

• It has been chosen as one of the top 100 global start-ups for the SET Award 2024 in the category of "Clean Energy and Storage".
• SET100 list is a compilation of the top 100 SET Award applications.
• It was originally launched in 2017 in association with the World Energy Council.
• It was launched to offer new businesses a stage on which to present their innovative solutions.
• Buyofuel is a Biofuel manufacturer and aggregator.

Topic: Banking System

5. IndusInd Bank has launched ‘Indus PayWear’.

• It is a new wearable payment solution. It is available on Mastercard.
• Users can tokenize their IndusInd Bank cards with these devices to make tap-and-pay purchases at contactless Points of Sale (PoS) locations across the globe.
• With a mobile app, users can quickly set up their cards on the wearable and switch between them. 
• As per RBI guidelines, transactions under ₹5,000 can be completed with a tap.
• PIN entry is required for transactions over ₹5,000 as per RBI guidelines.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

6. Easy Trip Planners and Ministry of Rural Development has signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

• Easy Trip Planners has signed the MoU to train members of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM)’s Women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Lakhpati Didi Yojana.
• As part of the MoU, EaseMyTrip will provide training to members of SHGs in 800 districts across India.
• Basic proficiency with computer use and internet browsing, as well as reading and writing in English and Hindi, are requirements for eligibility.
• Through the training and empowerment of one SHG member in each block throughout 800 districts in India, EaseMyTrip will support this initiative.
• Making bookings for all necessary trip segments—including flights, hotels, buses, and trains—will be covered in the training.
• Under the partnership, EaseMyTrip will carry out a pilot project across 10 blocks in district recognized by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• The districts include Patna, Begusarai, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Bhopal, Ujjain, Ayodhya and Varanasi.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. India has signed a $100 billion free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

• India will remove most significant tariffs on industrial items from four nations in return for the investment over 15 years.
• The EFTA includes Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, all non-European Union nations.
• The agreement is known as India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).
• India has signed trade deals with the United Arab Emirates and Australia in the past two years.
• According to Swiss government, India will remove, or partially lift, very high customs duties on 95.3% of industrial imports from Switzerland, excluding gold, either immediately or gradually.
• The agreement includes some new aspects such as intellectual rights and gender equity.
• The agreement cannot go into force until the countries have ratified it.
• India is fifth among EFTA's trading partners, following the US, the UK, China, and the EU.
• EFTA was formed in 1960. It was formed as a counterweight to the EU.
• It is a regional trade organization and free trade area. Its secretariat is in Geneva.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. On March 8, the first National Creator Awards presented by PM Modi at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

• The National Creator Awards is an effort to recognize excellence and its impact in areas including storytelling, social change advocacy, environmental sustainability, education, and gaming, among others.
• The National Creator Awards have witnessed exemplary public participation.
• Over 1.5 lakh nominations were received in the first round across 20 different categories.
• Subsequently, around 10 lakh votes were cast for digital creators in various award categories in the voting round.
• Subsequently, 23 winners, including three international creators, were decided.
• Here is the list of winners:

Topic: Miscellaneous

9. Sudha Murthy has been nominated to Rajya Sabha by President Murmu on Women's Day.

• Sudha Murthy serves as the Chairman of the Murthy Trust and is also the author of several books.
• Murthy is the wife of Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy.
• In 2006, she received the Padma Shri award and the Padma Bhushan award in 2023.
• Murthy started her career as a computer scientist and engineer, becoming the first female engineer to be appointed to Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO).
• The President of India nominates twelve members to the Rajya Sabha for a six-year term in recognition of their contributions to the arts, literature, science, and social services.
• According to the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of India (Articles 4(1) and 80(2)) this power has been provided to the President.

Topic: Miscellaneous

10. India is now the world’s 2nd largest producer of mobile phones.

• As per India Cellular and Electronics Association, the sector has changed from being 78% import-dependent in 2014 to 97% self-sufficiency.
• Currently, imports account for just 3% of all mobile phones sold in India.
• India’s mobile phone manufacturing is almost at 20 lakh crore rupees.
• In ten years (2014-2024), India produced 2.45 billion mobile phones, against the target of 2.5 billion.

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