Topic: Taxation
1. India’s net direct tax collection has increased by about 16% to around 16 lakh 90 thousand crore rupees in FY25 so far.
- Direct tax collections surpassed 76% of the budget estimates (BE) of Rs 22.07 lakh crore.
- As per Central Board of Direct Taxes, gross direct tax collection has grown by around 20% to over 20 lakh crore rupees.
- This is a significant rise from nearly 17 lakh crore rupees collected in same period of the last fiscal year.
- The corporate tax contributed nearly ten lakh crore. Contribution of non-corporate tax stood at around 11 lakh crore rupees.
- Securities Transaction Tax (STT) recorded an increase of 80% from April 1, 2024, to January 12, 2025.
- STT already exceeded BE of ₹37,000 crore in December 2024.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
2. India’s M&A activity declined to a four-year low in deal value in 2024 at $ 80.5 billion.
- The activity declined 11.4% from a year ago, according to latest data from LSEG Deals Intelligence.
- As per latest data from LSEG Deals Intelligence, more deals were done in small-to-mid market sizes.
- In 2024, deal making activity involving India saw the busiest year on record.
- The deal count has grown steadily each year from 2020 to 2024.
- In 2024, target India M&A activity reached $ 71.5 billion. This was down 13.6% as against the previous year.
- Domestic M&A increased 14.4% year-on-year (y-oy) by deal count. This is a 27.5% decline from the last year.
- Majority of the deal making activity involving India targeted the industrials sector.
- Inbound M&A grew 18.7 percent from a year ago. It reached $29.6 billion.
- Outbound M&A activity reached $8.3 billion. It grew 30.3% yo-y.
- US was the most active nation doing cross-border deals with India.
Topic: Banking System
3. On January 16, the government will conduct an auction to buy back five securities with a total face value of ₹30,000 crore.
- Through the buyback, funds will be infused into the banking system.
- The banking system is experiencing a massive liquidity shortfall.
- On January 9, the deficit was approximated to be around ₹2 lakh crore.
- The causes of the deficit are the RBI’s actions in the foreign exchange market to avert a steep decline in the value of the Rupee and sluggish government expenditure.
- At the upcoming auction, four of the five Government Securities that will be repurchased mature in 2025, and one matures in 2026.
- During the most recent buyback auction of five G-Secs aggregating ₹25,000 crore held on January 9, market participants submitted offers for G-Secs with a face value totaling ₹45,710 crore.
- However, offers aggregating ₹19,217 crore were accepted by RBI.
Topic: RBI
4. RBI has raised the monetary ceiling of gold loans under Bullet Repayment Scheme.
- Earlier limit was two lakh rupees. New limit is four lakh rupees for Urban Co-operative Banks.
- According to the Union Cooperation Ministry, this will eliminate the challenges that the Urban Co-operative Banks are now facing.
- Additionally, this will assist in reaching the designated Priority Sector Lending goal.
- The government is dedicated to bolstering cooperatives and treating them similarly to other types of businesses.
Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces
5. India joined the UN committee on big data for official statistics.
- India joined the UN Committee of Experts on Big Data and Data Science for Official Statistics (UN-CEBD).
- The UN-CEBD was formed to investigate the benefits and challenges of Big Data including the potential for monitoring and reporting on sustainable development goals.
- India will contribute to shaping global standards and practices in harnessing Big Data and data science for official statistical purposes.
- Big Data and advanced data science techniques will revolutionize the production and dissemination of official statistics.
- India aims to modernize its statistical processes by integrating non-traditional data sources such as IoT, satellite imagery, and private sector data streams.
Topic: Awards and Prizes
6. Dr. Syed Anwar Khursheed received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2025.
- Dr Syed Anwar Khursheed has been conferred Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest recognition for overseas Indians by the Government of India.
- This award has been given to Syed Anwar Khursheed for his remarkable contributions to healthcare, community welfare, and strengthening ties between India and Saudi Arabia.
- Dr. Khursheed has served in key roles, including three decades at King Faisal Hospital and a decade at the National Guard Hospital as a Royal Protocol Physician.
- He played a critical role by providing essential healthcare, vaccine advocacy, and round-the-clock consultations to the Indian diaspora.
- He founded the International Indian School in Taif, which will foster academic excellence and cultural integration for Indian expatriates.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
7. In December, India’s retail inflation rate dropped to 5.22%, marking a four-month low.
- According to data published by the Ministry of Statistics, prices for vegetables, pulses, and sugar decreased over the month.
- In October, inflation reached 6.21%, marking a 14 month high level. In November, the CPI inflation rate fell to 5.48 percent.
- In December, the housing inflation rate compared to the previous year was 2.71%, a decrease from November's rate of 2.87%.
- The housing index is prepared exclusively for the urban sector.
- In December 2024, the five items with the highest year-on-year inflation at the All India level were peas, potatoes, garlic, coconut oil, and cauliflower.
- Jeera, ginger, dry chillies, and LPG were the key items showing the lowest year-on-year inflation in December 2024.
Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings
8. Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh inaugurated Entrepreneurship Development Conclave in Pune, Maharashtra, on 13 January.
- The conclave is organised by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
- It is themed “Empowering Entrepreneurs: Transforming Livestock Economies.”
- The conclave brings together policymakers, industry leaders, and stakeholders from the livestock sector to encourage innovation and drive growth.
- The aim of Entrepreneurship Development Conclave is to provide a platform for discussions on challenges and opportunities in the livestock sector.
- The inauguration of the National Livestock Mission – Entrepreneurship Development Programme (NLM-EDP) Dashboard is the key highlight of the conclave.
- NLM-EDP Dashboard will offer an organized summary of key project information.
- Another highlight of the conclave is the launch of 40 projects supported under Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) and NLM-EDP, worth Rs. 545.04 crores.
Previous 
Comments