Banking Awareness of 12, 13 and 14 October 2024

Topic: Taxation

1. The STT collection increased by 86% from April 1 to October 10.

• The Securities Transaction Tax (STT) collection increased by 86% in the first 193 days of the current fiscal year.
• With this, it has fulfilled about 83% of the FY25 budget projections.
• The government raised the STT collection target for FY25 from ₹27,000 crore to ₹32,000 crore.
• The projection for the current fiscal year is ₹37,000 crore.
• The Income Tax Department has made available the data that was gathered between April 1 and October 10.
• According to the data, STT receipts totalled ₹30,630 crore, up from ₹16,373 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
• This means that in just over six months, more than three-quarters of the Budget Estimate (BE) has been achieved.
• The STT was implemented in 2004 by then Finance Minister P Chidambaram to combat tax evasion on capital gains.
• STT is levied on the value of securities, excluding commodities and cash, as well as mutual funds. STT is a direct tax.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. First instalment of finance commission grant for local bodies in Andhra, Rajasthan has been released by centre.

• The first instalment of the 15th Finance Commission (FFC) grants for 2024-25 to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan has been released by union government.
• Andhra Pradesh has received ₹395.50 crore as untied grants.
• These funds are for duly elected eligible district panchayats, block panchayats, and gram panchayats in the state.
• Rajasthan has received ₹507.11 crore as untied grants and ₹760.67 crore as tied grants.
• With the help of untied grants, panchayats will be able to address specific local needs across 29 subjects under the 11th Schedule of the Constitution.
• These funds cannot be used for salaries or establishment costs.
• The tied grants will focus on core services such as sanitation, rainwater harvesting, and water recycling.

Topic: Taxation

3. More than 13.57 lakh crore rupees has been collected by the Income Tax Department as direct tax for the financial year 2024-25 so far.

• This includes personal income tax of more than seven lakh crore rupees and corporate tax of more than six lakh crore rupees.
• The refunds of more than 2.31 lakh crore rupees till 10 October 2024 have been made by the department.
• A growth of more than 18% amounting to more than 11.25 lakh crore rupees has been recorded in the net direct tax collection.
• On a gross basis, direct tax collections increased by 22.3%.
• The government aims to collect ₹22.07 lakh crore in direct taxes for the current fiscal year.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP) contracted 0.1% in August 2024.

• It was 4.7% in July, as per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

• The estimates of IIP for August 2024 were recorded at 145.6 in comparison to 145.8 August 2023.  
• Mining registered a decline of 4.3%, electricity sector declined by 3.7% while manufacturing sector increased by 1.0% in August 2024.
• The three major components of IIP are mining, electricity and manufacturing.
• The decline in the growth of Mining sector was because of heavy rainfall in the same month.
• As per Use-based classification, the capital goods segment grew 0.7 percent and intermediate goods grew at 3%.
• The growth of construction goods stood at 1.9 percent, and that of consumer durables stood at 5.2 percent in August 2024.
• Primary goods growth rate declined 2.6% and consumer non-durable growth contracted 4.5%.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

5. India’s renewable energy capacity has crossed 200-GW mark in September.

• The total renewable energy-based electricity generation capacity in India reached 201,457.91 MW.
• This includes small and large hydro, biomass and co-generation and waste-to-energy.
• Solar (90,762 MW) and wind (47,363 MW) accounted for major part of it.
• Top four states in renewable energy capacity are Rajasthan (31.5 GW), Gujarat (28.3 GW), Tamil Nadu (23.7 GW) and Karnataka (22.3 GW).
• Central Electricity Authority entered its 50th year on 14 October.
• As part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, a ‘Brainstorming session on Indian Power Sector Scenario by 2047’ was held.

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. The September 2024 round of the RBI's bimonthly consumer confidence surveys has been released.

• The CSI (current situation index) increased to 94.7, up 0.8 points.
• However it remained below the threshold level of 100.
• To reach 121.4, the future expectations index (FEI) increased by 0.7 points.
• The median household impression of current inflation dropped to 8.1%, a decrease of 10 basis points (bps).
• Their inflation expectations for the three-month and one-year ahead periods moderated by 20 and 10 basis points, respectively, in comparison to the July 2024 poll round.
• Inflation and price pressures decreased for every category of products.
• When compared to their male counterparts, female respondents' assessments and expectations on inflation were rather lower.

Topic: RBI

7. Government has extended tenure of RBI deputy governor for one year.

• The tenure of Mr M. Rajeshwar Rao as Deputy Governor, RBI has been extended with effect from the 9th of October, 2024.
• The extension is for one year or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Mr Rao was initially appointed as Deputy Governor in October 2020 for three years.
• This is the second one-year extension for Mr Rao.
• He will continue to look after the Department of Regulation, Department of Communication, Enforcement Department, Legal Department and Risk Monitoring Department.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

8. India’s textile sector is expected to grow to nearly 350 billion dollars by 2030.

• As per the trade data for August 2024, the sector has seen 11 per cent year-on-year growth in ready-made garments.
• More over 90 thousand crore rupees of investment is expected to flow through the PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Park and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes in the next 3-5 years.
• Seven PM Mitra parks are sanctioned across the country and each park is expected to attract an investment of Rs 10,000 crore.
• It will generate 1 lakh direct employment and 2 lakh indirect employment.

Topic: Reports and Indices

9. As per the NABARD survey, the average monthly income of rural households has increased by 57%.

• Between 2016-17 and 2021-22, the average monthly income of rural households has grown by over 57 percent.
• The average monthly income increased from 8,059 rupees in 2016-17 to 12,698 rupees in 2021-22.
• The average monthly expenditure of households also increased from over 6,600 rupees to over 11,200 rupees.
• As per the survey, average household savings increased to over 13,200 rupees, from around 9,100 rupees during the period.
• The percentage of households reporting saving has increased from 50.6 percent in 2016-17 to 66 percent in 2021-22.
• The proportion of households with outstanding debt increased from 47 percent in 2016-17 to 52 percent in 2021-22.
• The survey also registered an increase in insurance coverage among rural households in India.
• The proportion of households with at least one member insured surged from 25.5 per cent in 2016-17 to 80.3 per cent in 2021-22.
• The survey also highlighted the effectiveness of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) in expanding financial inclusion among rural farmers.
• Pension coverage has also improved, rising from 18.9 per cent to 23.5 per cent of households.

Topic: Appointments

10. Noel Tata has been appointed Chairperson of Tata Trust.

• Noel Tata has been unanimously appointed Chairperson of Tata Trust, the philanthropic arm of the Tata Group.
• This decision was made during a board meeting following the passing of Ratan Tata at the age of 86.
• Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, serves on the boards of several listed companies, including Tata Steel and Voltas.
• Tata Trusts have a 66% stake in Tata Sons, which controls Tata Trusts effectively and has a bigger role in the affairs of Tata Sons.
• Noel N. Tata has been associated with the Tata Group for 40 years and currently serves on the Board of various Tata Group Companies.
• Noel Tata is the chairman of Tata International, Tata Investment Corporation Ltd.

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