Banking Awareness of 10 and 11 January 2025

Topic: Taxation

1. GST notices of ₹1.12 lakh crore sent to online gaming companies have been stayed by Supreme Court.

• The Supreme Court stayed the implementation of showcause notices of ₹1.12 lakh crore against online gambling companies that were issued as part of GST proceedings.
• In separate petitions submitted by 49 online gaming companies, a bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan issued the ruling.
• The interpretation of GST's applicability to online gambling was the main point of contention in the case.
• The government contended that the entire contest entrance fee must be subject to 28% GST, so taxing the entire prize fund.
• Gaming companies argued that since many of these games require ability rather than luck, GST should only be applied to their platform fees or commission.
• In response to a plea by the E-gaming Federation against the 28% GST charge, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre in January 2024.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

2. Over ₹3000 crore will be invested for development of NW2, NW16 and the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) by 2030.

• The second meeting of Inland Waterways Development Council (IWDC) announced investments of over ₹50,000 crore in next five years.
• New initiatives across 21 Inland Waterway States were announced worth over ₹1400 crore.
• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal presided over the meeting.
• He said the Ministry has aimed at launching 1000 Green vessels.
• He said success of Kochi’s Water Metro Project will be expanded to 15 cities of India including Guwahati.
• Over ₹23,000 crores have been earmarked for New National Waterways Development and Green Shipping initiatives in Inland Waterways.

Topic: RBI

3. KredX has got final approval from the RBI to commercially launch its TReDS platform.

• It has received approval under the brand name DTX (Domestic Trade Exchange).
• With this approval, KredX became the 5th RBI-regulated Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform in India.
• KredX is a supply chain finance platform. It was founded in 2015 as India’s first supply chain finance platform.
• It was one of the first companies to receive the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) licence.
• It has both the TReDS (DTX) and ITFS (GTX) licences.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. Centre has disbursed ₹1,73,030 crore to state governments under tax devolution.

• This is an increase from the ₹89,086 crore distributed in December 2024.
• The increased devolution will support states in increasing capital spending.
• Uttar Pradesh got the highest allocation of ₹31,039.84 crore.
• UP was followed by Bihar with ₹17,403.36 crore and West Bengal with ₹13,017.06 crore.
• Maharashtra and Rajasthan got ₹10,930.31 crore and ₹10,426.78 crore respectively.
• Goa and Sikkim were allocated ₹667.91 crore and ₹671.35 crore.  
• Tax devolution is the distribution tax revenues between the central and state governments.
• It is based on recommendations by the Finance Commission.
• For 2021 to 2026, the Finance Commission recommended keeping the states’ share in central taxes at 41%.
• This is a declined from the 42% share suggested by the 14th Finance Commission (FC) for 2015–2020.
• To determine devolution amounts for each state, FC gives 12.5% weightage for demographic performance, 45% for income, 15% each for population and area, 10% for forest and ecology, and 2.5% for tax and fiscal efforts.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. A growth of 5.2% has been recorded in India’s Index of Industrial Production in November 2024.

• This is the highest growth rate in the past six months. In October 2024, the growth rate was 3.5%.
• In November 2023, 2.5% growth was recorded in IIP.
• In November 2024, a growth of 5.8% was recorded in manufacturing sector, as against 4.1% in October.
• The manufacturing sector constitutes the largest share of the IIP.
• In comparison to November 2023, 18 out of 23 industry groups within the manufacturing sector showed growth in November 2024.
• A growth rate of 1.9% has been recorded in electricity sector in November 2024.
• Mining sector recorded a growth of 4.4% in November 2024.
• Capital goods production grew by 9% in November, reflecting investment activity in the economy.
• Production of consumer durable increased by 13.1%. This reflects increased demand.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. According to AMFI, SIP inflows surpassed Rs 26,000 crore for the first time in December.

• For the first time, the amount invested in systematic investment plans (SIPs) surpassed 26,000 crore rupees.
• In November, SIPs received 25,320 crore rupees, whereas in December, SIPs received 26,459 crore rupees.
• The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) reports that inflows into open-ended equity mutual funds rose to around 41,156 crore rupees in December.
• Higher investments in small-cap and sectoral or thematic funds were the main drivers of this.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

7. 'Bima Sakhi Yojana' has been launched by the Government of Goa.

• Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant launched the ‘Bima Sakhi Yojana' to provide insurance to all.
• Goa became the second state after Haryana to launch this flagship scheme.
• Bima Sakhi Yojana is an initiative launched by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
• It has been designed to empower women aged 18-70 years, who are Class X pass.
• Under this scheme, women will receive specialized training and a stipend for the first three years to promote financial literacy and insurance awareness.
• They can work as LIC agents and the graduate Bima Sakhis could become development officer in L.I.C.

Topic: Appointments

8. Tuhin Kanta Pandey has been appointed as revenue secretary.

• Tuhin Kanta Pandey became revenue secretary by replacing Arunish Chawla.
• Arunish Chawla has been appointed as the secretary in the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM).
• Seniormost secretary in the ministry of finance become finance secretary.
• Tuhin Kanta Pandey is associated with the finance ministry since August 28, 2016.
• Arunish Chawla is 1992-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Bihar cadre.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

9. According to the UN, India retained the title of the world's fastest growing large economy, with a growth rate estimated at 6.6%.

• According to UN global economic monitoring chief Hamid Rashid, India will once again be the world's fastest growing large economy with an estimated annual growth rate of 6.6%.
• The UN’s flagship report, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2025 (WESP), released on January 9, estimates that gross domestic product (GDP) will grow slightly faster at 6.8% next year.
• India's economy will be boosted by "strong export growth in services and certain commodity categories, particularly pharmaceuticals and electronics."
• Overall global growth remained stable at 2.8%, while growth in advanced economies declined by 0.1% to 1.6% compared to the previous year.
• The forecast for China, the second-fastest growing economy, has fallen 0.1% to 4.8% this year and is expected to fall 0.3% next year from this year.
• The US economy has slowed further and is projected to grow by 1.9% this year, 0.9% lower than the 2.8% recorded last year.

Topic: Reports and Indices

10. India's ranking in Henley Passport Index falls to 85^th.

• In the Global Passport Index, India's ranking has dropped five points to 85 this year, with Singapore topping the list for the second consecutive year.
• In 2024, India's ranking in the Henley Passport Index was 80th globally.
• According to the 2025 Index, Pakistan and Bangladesh were ranked 103rd (101st in 2024) and 100th (97th in 2024) respectively.
• This data is taken from the Henley Passport Index, released on January 8, 2025, by citizenship consultancy firm Henley & Partners.
• With 19 years of historical data, the Henley Passport Index is the only index of its kind based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority [IATA].
• The index covers 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

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