Banking Awareness of 11, 12, 13 and 14 November 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation declined to 0.25% in October.

• The decline in CPI-based inflation rate was caused by GST rate cut that decreased overall prices of goods and services.
• Retail inflation continued its trend of decline. In September, it reached 8-year low level of 1.54%.
• Food inflation declined to –5.02% in October from –2.28% in September.
• This was fifth successive month of negative growth in food prices.
• Significant contributors to decrease in inflation were prices of cooking oils, vegetables, fruits, eggs, cereals, footwear, and transport and communication.
• GST rate changes implemented by government on 22 September continued to moderate prices across multiple products.
• Lower inflation levels provide the RBI with more flexibility to continue to keep an accommodative monetary stance.
• Inflation for late FY 2025–26 and early FY 2026–27 has also been revised to lower rate.
• Core inflation will remain stable through 2025–26 and Q1 of 2026–27.
• Headline CPI inflation declined to low level of 1.6% in July 2025.
• It later increased to 2.1% in August. This marked its first increase in nine months.
• Fuel inflation was steady between 2.4% and 2.7% from June to August.

Topic: Banking System

2. A combined net profit of more than ₹93,000 crore has been recorded by PSBs during April–September.

• This is a 10% annual growth, as per Finance Ministry data.
• Recently, a review meeting with Public sector banks (PSBs) heads was held by the Finance Ministry.
• The meeting was chaired by Financial Services Secretary M. Nagaraju.
• The focus of meeting was on sustaining growth in low-cost deposits and credit, especially for MSMEs and agriculture.
• Performance evaluation, asset quality, recoveries, digital transformation, and implementation of flagship government schemes were key agenda items of meeting.
• PSBs reported a return on assets of 1.08%. They lowered the cost of funds to 4.97%.
• During the meeting, digital banking was highlighted as a priority area.
• Asset quality continued to show improvement. Recoveries grew across the sector.
• The bad loans worth ₹1.62 lakh crore were taken over by National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL).
• Banks were requested to use platforms like BAANKNET for the purpose of faster and more transparent resolution of stressed assets.
• During the meeting, a new Startup Loans module on the Jan Samarth Portal was launched to enhance credit access for entrepreneurs.
• The “PSB Manthan 2025” released during meeting outlined the strategy and vision of PSBs for contributing to Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

3. PhonePe has partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT’s AI capabilities.

• As part of the partnership, PhonePe will integrate ChatGPT’s AI capabilities into its consumer and business apps in India.
• With this collaboration, PhonePe users will directly access AI tools within app ecosystem.
• Users will have intelligent assistance for everyday activities like travel planning, shopping, and information queries.
• The partnership is in alignment with PhonePe's goal of improving digital convenience for Indian users.
• The aim of collaboration is to showcase the benefits of consumer-focused AI in making daily life experiences better for millions in every part of the country.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. A contribution agreement has been signed between Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL). 

• IN-SPACe and SVCL have signed this agreement to operationalize a ₹1,000-crore venture capital fund to advance Indian space sector.
• IN-SPACe Joint Secretary Lochan Sehra and SVCL Managing Director Arup Kumar signed the agreement.
• With this signing, fund’s investment operations following SEBI’s approval has formally begun.
• The aim of the fund is to provide early-stage and growth financing for startups developing technologies in launch systems, satellites, payloads, in-space services, earth observation, communications, and downstream applications.
• Union Cabinet approved the fund in October 2024. SVCL, a fully owned subsidiary of SIDBI, was selected as the Fund Manager.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

5. A new Credit Guarantee Scheme for Exporters has been approved by the Union Cabinet.

• The scheme will provide full credit protection for exporters, including MSMEs.
• The scheme aims to facilitate up to ₹20,000 crore in additional credit.
• A revision of royalty rates for minerals such as caesium, graphite, rubidium, and zirconium has also been approved by the Cabinet.
• This move will promote mineral block auctions. It will strengthen domestic production of critical minerals like lithium, tungsten, and niobium.
• A new Export Promotion Mission (EPM) has been approved with a budget of over ₹25,000 crore.
• This major initiative was announced in the Union Budget 2025–26.
• It seeks to increase export competitiveness, especially for MSMEs, new exporters, and labour-intensive sectors.
• The mission will provide a flexible, and digitally driven framework for export growth from FY 2025–26 to FY 2030–31.
• The mission is a strategic consolidation of scattered export schemes into a single, unified mechanism.

Topic: Miscellaneous

6. NPCI International Payments Limited and Bahrain’s BENEFIT company have formed partnership to enable cross-border remittances between India and Bahrain.

• The partnership links India’s UPI system with Bahrain’s Fawri+ network.
• This initiative allows users in India and Bahrain to send and receive money instantly.
• They will also allow them to send and receive money in real time through interoperable digital payment systems.
• This partnership was established under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of Bahrain.
• The aim of partnership is to advance digital financial inclusion and promote fintech cooperation.
• The partnership builds upon a Memorandum of Understanding first signed during PM Modi’s 2019 visit to Bahrain.
• The agreement marks a major step in expanding economic integration between India and Bahrain.
• Bilateral trade between India and Bahrain reached USD 1.64 billion in 2024–2025.
• BENEFIT is Bahrain’s leading fintech and electronic financial transactions company.
• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) is the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Maharashtra topped the 6th National Water Awards 2024.

• On 11 November, the winners of the 6th National Water Awards were announced by Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri C.R. Paatil at Shram Shakti Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Forty-six winners, including joint winners, were selected for 10 categories.
• The categories include Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best School or College, Best Industry, Best Water User Association, Best Institution (other than school or college), Best Civil Society and Best Individual for Excellence in the Water Sector.
• Maharashtra was conferred the first prize in the Best State category, followed by Gujarat and Haryana in second and third positions, respectively.
• Each winner will receive a citation, trophy, and cash prize in applicable categories.
• The award ceremony will be held on 18 November 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, where President Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest.
• Since 2018, the National Water Awards have been recognising individuals and organisations contributing to a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat’.
• For the 2024 awards, 751 applications were received and evaluated by a jury, followed by ground verification by CWC and CGWB.
• These awards aim to encourage sustainable water practices and foster a nationwide movement for conservation and responsible usage.

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. National Statistical Office’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July–September 2025 showed continued improvement in India’s labour market.

• It reports a lower unemployment rate and higher workforce participation.
• The overall unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 years and above declined to 5.2%. In the previous quarter, it was 5.4%.
• Rural unemployment declined from 4.8% to 4.4%.
• Urban unemployment increased slightly. The male urban unemployment rate stood at 6.2%, while the female rate was 9.0%.
• The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased marginally to 55.1%.
• The rural LFPR reached 57.2%, and the urban LFPR was 50.7%.
• Female labour force participation increased to 33.7%, mainly supported by higher involvement of rural women.
• The LFPR for rural women increased to 37.5%. The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) improved to 52.2%.
• The female WPR reached 32.0%. Self-employment continued to dominate in rural India and expanded to 62.8% of the rural workforce.
• In urban areas, salaried and regular wage employment led the job market and increased slightly to 49.8% of the total urban workforce.
• Agriculture absorbed 57.7% of rural workers during the quarter.
• In urban areas, the services sector accounted for 62.0% of urban employment.
• The survey estimated that around 56.2 crore individuals (39.6 crore men and 16.6 crore women) aged 15 and above were employed nationwide.
• The PLFS methodology was updated in January 2025 to provide more frequent monthly and quarterly labour data for both rural and urban India.