Banking Awareness of 12 and 13 September 2023

Topic: RBI

1. Banks and NBFCs have been directed by RBI to release property documents within 30 days of settlement of loan account.

• These directions come under Reserve Bank of India’s responsible lending conduct for regulated entities.
• All banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) have been asked to release all the original movable/immovable property documents.
• They have also been asked to remove charges registered with any registry within a period of 30 days after full repayment/settlement of the loan account.
• The borrower will be given option of collecting the documents from the banking outlet/branch where the loan account was serviced.
• The borrower will be given option of collecting the documents from any other office of the Regulated Entity where the documents are available, as per her / his preference.
• In case of delay in releasing of original movable/immovable property documents, the Regulated Entity shall communicate to the borrower reasons for such delay.
• If the Regulated Entity is to blame for the delay, it must pay the borrower compensation of 5,000 for each day of the delay.

Topic: Taxation

2. GST assessees with turnover of at least ₹100 crore will now have up to 30 days to disclose invoices on the e-invoice portal.

• New norms will become effective from November 1. Earlier, time limit was kept at 7 days.
• GST Authority has decided to impose a time limit of 30 days for reporting of invoices from date of invoice, on e-invoice portals.
• This time limit is applicable for taxpayers with Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) greater than or equal to ₹100 crore.
• Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) under GST is the entity’s total annual turnover which may be registered in various states or union territories.
• Taxpayers in the category of ₹100 crore or more will not be allowed to report invoices older than 30 days on the date of reporting.
• As per Rule 48(4) of CGST Rules, the notified class of registered persons have to prepare invoice on Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).  

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. India’s factory output grew 5.7% in July 2023 and retail inflation declined to 6.8% in August 2023.

• India’s industrial growth increased to a five-month high level of 5.7% in July.
• Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by 3.7% in June 2023. It was 2.2% in July 2022.
• According to the IIP data, output of manufacturing sector grew 4.6% in July 2023 against 3.1% a year ago.
• Mining output increased 10.7% in July 2023 against a 3.3% contraction a year ago. Electricity output grew by 8% for July 2023.
• According to the use-based classification, capital goods output increased 4.6% in July 2023.
• Consumer durables output declined by 2.7%. Consumer non-durable goods output increased by 7.4%.
• Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined from 7.4% in July to 6.8% in August.
• The prices of vegetables and edible oil have fallen. However, cereal prices are still high.
• Core inflation came down to around 5% from 5.1%. It recorded 3rd consecutive month of decline.
• Rural areas saw a slightly higher inflation rate at 7.02% than urban areas at 6.59%.
• The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for August 2023 stood at 9.94%. It stood at 11.51% in July 2023.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/ Financial Institutions

4. SEBI has imposed penalty of ₹15 lakh on Reliance Home Finance.

• The penalty has been imposed for violating LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement) regulations and failure to disclose the adverse findings of a forensic report.
• A penalty of ₹2 lakh, ₹2.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh have been levied on Chief executive Ravindra Sharad Sudhalkar, company secretary and compliance officer Parul Jain and CFO Pinkesh Shah, respectively.
• In January 2020, Reliance Home Finance reported that there were no adverse findings in the forensic audit report carried out by Grant Thornton.
• However, it was later reported that the company had granted loans worth about ₹12,000 crore to a set of “potential indirectly linked” borrowers.

Topic: Appointments

5. Reappointment of ICICI Bank MD Sandeep Bakhshi has been approved by RBI for three years.

• Bakhshi was appointed as the head of ICICI Bank in October 2018. He took over from Chanda Kochhar.
• His reappointment will be effective from October 4, 2023. His reappointment will be effective till October 3, 2026.
• His reappointment was approved by the board of directors of the bank in October 2022.
• Shareholders approved his appointment at the annual general meeting held on August 30.
• ICICI Bank (ICICI Bank Limited):
  • It is a private sector bank. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi is chairman of its board of directors.
  • Its MD & CEO is Sandeep Bakhshi. It is headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded in 1994.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. India has imposed anti-dumping duty on some Chinese steel for a period of five years.

• Between April-July, China was the 2nd biggest steel exporter to India, after South Korea.
• During April-July, China sold 0.6 million metric tons, up 62% from the same period a year earlier.
• India imported 2 million metric tons of finished steel during April-July.
• This was the highest level since 2020 and up 23% from a year earlier.
• China is the world's top steel producer. It exported mostly cold- rolled coil or sheets to India.
• Anti-dumping duty:
  • It is imposed by custom authorities over normal customs duty in order to prevent cheaper export of goods from a country to another country.
  • Dumping or cheaper export of goods from a country may distort trade in another country.
  • Anti-dumping duty is recommended by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) and imposed by the Ministry of Finance.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. An MoU has been signed between the Bharat 6G Alliance and the Next G Alliance.

• This MoU has been signed to explore collaboration opportunities on 6G wireless technologies in India and other parts of the world.
• The Bharat 6G Alliance Chair N. G. Subramaniam and the President and CEO of ATIS's Next G Alliance Susan Miller signed the MoU.
• The MoU will facilitate aligning research and development priorities that support a common 6G approach and create secure and reliable telecommunications and resilient supply chains.
• This agreement is an important step in furthering the development of the global 6G mobile wireless ecosystem.
• Next G Alliance is an initiative of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS).
• It is an initiative to advance North American wireless technology leadership over the next decade through private sector-led efforts with the initial focus on 6G.
• Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA):
  • It was launched by the Department of Telecommunications.
  • It is a collaborative platform comprising public and private companies, academia, research institutes, and standards development organizations.
  • The primary objective of B6GA is to understand the business and societal needs of 6G beyond technology requirements, promote consensus on these needs, and foster high-impact open research and development (R&D) initiatives.    

Topic: Miscellaneous

8. Dennis Austin passed away recently.

• He co-created the PowerPoint software along with Robert Gaskins.
• Austin died from lung cancer that metastasized to the brain.
• PowerPoint was released by software firm Forethought in 1987.
• It was initially released for Macintosh computers only. Microsoft acquired PowerPoint later.
• Gaskins has written the book "Sweating Bullets: Notes about Inventing PowerPoint" (2012).

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

9. The tranche of RBI’s Sovereign Gold Bond scheme has been opened for subscription from September 11.

• RBI has fixed the issue price at Rs 5,923 per gram.
• The issue price is calculated on the basis of the simple average of the closing price for gold of 999 purity.
• Those investors who will apply online and make digital payments will get a discount of Rs 50 per gram.
• The subscription period for the bonds is set from September 11 to September 15.
• These bonds can be purchased by investors through various channels, including banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd (SHCIL), designated post offices, and recognized stock exchanges like NSE and BSE.
• The Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was launched in November 2015.
• Its aim is to encourage financial savings over physical gold purchases.
• The bond price is decided in Indian rupees based on simple average closing price of gold of 999 purity, published by the India Bullion and Jewellers’ Association Ltd for the last 3 working days of the week preceding the subscription period.
• The bonds are available in multiples of grams. The bonds are available with minimum investment of 1 gram.
• The bonds have an 8-year tenor with an exit option after the fifth year.
• Maximum subscription limit for individual investors is 4 kg.
• Maximum subscription limit for trusts and similar entities is 20 kg per fiscal year.

Topic: Appointments

10. Sindhu Gangadharan has been appointed as Vice Chairperson of NASSCOM.

• Sindhu Gangadharan, MD, of SAP Labs India, has been appointed as Vice Chairperson of NASSCOM.
• She was earlier appointed as Chairperson of the NASSCOM GCC Council 2023-25.
• She also serves on the Board of Siemens India and Titan Company.
• She is the first woman to lead SAP Labs India. She is responsible for overseeing product development and innovation at all five centres of SAP.
• National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM):
  • It was established in 1988 as an association of the software industry.
  • It is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India.
  • Rajesh Nambiar is the chairperson of NASSCOM.  

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