Banking Awareness of 14, 15, 16 and 17 September 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. India’s consumer inflation increased to 2.07% in August.

• This marked a 46 basis point increase from the revised 1.61% in July.
• Despite the rise, inflation remains well below the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4%.
• Rural inflation increased to 1.69%. Urban inflation was higher at 2.47%.
• Food inflation, based on the Consumer Food Price Index, stayed in the negative for the third straight month. It stood at -0.69% in August.
• In rural areas, food prices fell by 0.70%. In urban areas, they declined by 0.58%.
• The rise in overall inflation was mainly driven by costlier vegetables, meat and fish, oils and fats, eggs, and personal care items.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. India’s wholesale price inflation (WPI) turned positive in August, rising to 0.52%.

• This followed two months of deflation. WPI stood at -0.58% in July and -0.19% in June.
• In August last year, WPI inflation was higher at 1.25%.
• The increase in August 2025 was mainly due to rising prices of food items, manufactured goods, non-food articles, mineral products, and transport equipment.
• Food article deflation eased to 3.06% in August. In July, the deflation in food articles was at 6.29%.
• Vegetable prices continued to fall but at a slower rate.
• Vegetable deflation improved to 14.18% in August from 28.96% in July.
• Inflation in manufactured products rose to 2.55% in August. This was up from 2.05% in July.
• Fuel and power remained in deflation. Prices in this category fell by 3.17% in August compared to a 2.43% drop in July.
• The Reserve Bank of India left the key policy rate unchanged at 5.5% last month. This decision was based on retail inflation trends.
• Retail inflation increased to 2.07% in August after declining for nine consecutive months.
• The rise was mainly due to higher prices of vegetables, meat, fish, and eggs.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. India’s unemployment rate declined to 5.1% in August, marking the second month in a row of improvement.

• The unemployment rate was slightly higher at 5.2% in July.
• Unemployment among men reached its lowest point in five months during August.
• Female employment trends remained positive, with workforce participation rising for the second consecutive month.
• The number of women entering the labour force also saw a two-month upward trend.
• These findings are based on a survey of over 89,000 households and approximately 3.76 lakh individuals.
• Among men aged 15 and above, the unemployment rate dropped to 5% in August, the lowest since April.
• In urban areas, male unemployment fell from 6.6% in July to 5.9% in August.
• Rural male unemployment decreased to 4.5%, the lowest level in the past four months.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for people aged 15 and above rose to 55% in August, slightly up from 54.9% in July.
• Female LFPR increased to 33.7% in August, compared to 32% in July, mainly driven by rural participation.
• Worker Population Ratio (WPR) saw increase in both rural and urban sectors.
• Overall WPR went up to 52.2% in August from 52% the month before.
• LFPR measures the share of the population either working or actively seeking work.
• WPR reflects the percentage of the population that is currently employed.

Topic: RBI

4. RBI has introduced detailed rules for Payment Aggregators (PAs).

• It has also recommended technology standards for Payment Gateways (PGs).
• These measures aim to improve security and transparency in digital payments.
• PAs handle money and are therefore directly regulated by RBI.
• PGs are considered technology providers and are encouraged to follow security guidelines.
• Non-bank PAs must get RBI approval under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• They must be registered in India. They need a minimum net worth of ₹15 crore when applying.
• This net worth must increase to ₹25 crore by the end of the third financial year.
• Existing PAs can continue to operate without interruption.
• Banks offering PA services as part of normal banking do not need separate approval.
• PAs must be managed by qualified professionals.
• They must meet ‘fit and proper’ criteria for promoters and directors.
• Any changes in ownership or management must be reported to RBI within 15 days.
• Agreements between PAs, merchants, and acquiring banks should clearly state responsibilities.
• This includes handling disputes, refunds, and customer complaints.
• PAs must appoint a nodal officer for compliance and grievance redressal.
• They must perform background checks on merchants to prevent fraud and banned sales.
• Merchants must comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS).
• Funds collected by PAs must be held in an escrow account with a scheduled commercial bank.
• PA operations must be separate from other businesses. All settlements should go through the escrow account.
• PAs need strong risk management and IT security systems to reduce fraud risk.
• Annual security audits by CERT-In accredited auditors are mandatory.
• Cybersecurity incidents must be reported immediately to RBI and CERT-In.
• PAs and merchants are not allowed to store customer card details.
• Refunds must go back to the original payment method unless the customer agrees otherwise.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. India’s goods exports grew by 6.7% in August 2025 and reached $35.10 billion.

• Growth was led by sectors such as gems and jewellery, engineering, electronics, and petroleum products.
• Exports to the United States grew by 7.15% to $6.86 billion in August, although this was lower than the $8 billion exported in July.
• The US imposed 25% reciprocal tariffs on most Indian goods on August 7 and added another 25% penalty tariff on August 27.
• India’s trade deficit shrank to $26.49 billion in August 2025, down from $35.64 billion in August 2024.
• Imports dropped by 10.12% to $61.59 billion in August 2025.
• Gold imports fell sharply by 56%, declining to $5.4 billion from $12.55 billion a year earlier.
• US-bound exports may fall in the coming months as the impact of tariffs fully materializes.
• Engineering exports, heavily exposed to US tariffs, experienced a nearly 5% decrease in August compared to July.
• Approximately $20 billion worth of engineering exports are vulnerable to these US tariffs.
• Exports to the UAE, the Netherlands, and China also recorded increases in August 2025.
• Between April and August 2025, India’s goods exports rose 2.52% to $184.13 billion.
• Imports during this period increased by 2.14% to $306.52 billion.
• The trade deficit from April to August 2025 widened slightly to $122.39 billion from $120.52 billion previously.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. Manmohan Singh posthumously awarded the P.V. Narasimha Rao Prize for Economics.

• The P V Narasimha Rao Memorial Award for Economics has been posthumously awarded to Late Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
• The award recognised his role in India’s economic reforms and his contributions to nation-building.
• It was received in New Delhi by his wife, Mrs. Gursharan Kaur, on his behalf.
• Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission and distinguished fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, conferred the award.
• The PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Foundation (PVNMF), based in Hyderabad, instituted this award for excellence in economics.

Topic: Appointments

7. Srinivas Injeti appointed Chairman of the NSE Governing Board.

• The National Stock Exchange of India has appointed Srinivas Injeti as the chairperson of its governing board.
• His appointment was approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
• Injeti, a retired IAS officer of the 1983 batch, is currently serving as Public Interest Director at NSE.
• He brings more than four decades of experience in financial regulation, governance, and public policy.
• He earlier held the position of Corporate Affairs Secretary and led reforms in insolvency, company law, and governance.
• He was also the founding chairperson of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
• During his career, he has served as Union Sports Secretary and headed the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority.

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. The All-India Credit and Investment Survey and the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households were announced.

• The National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has been conducting large-scale household surveys (NSS) on various social and economic subjects.
• These surveys have been conducted regularly since the inception of this office in 1950.
• Among its major surveys, two surveys are extremely important for the country's financial and agricultural sectors.
• These are the All-India Credit and Investment Survey (AIDIS) and the Situational Assessment Survey of Agriculture-based Households (SIS).
• Both these national representative surveys are planned to be conducted in the period from July 2026 to June 2027.
• The AIDIS has its origins in the All-India Rural Credit Survey of 1951-52 and has since been expanded to cover household debt and investment.
• It has been conducted roughly once every decade, most recently in 2019 at the request of the Reserve Bank of India.
• The survey provides vital statistics on indebtedness, asset distribution, and household finance in both rural and urban areas.
• The SAS of Agricultural Households was first launched in 2003 to assess the economic conditions of farming families.
• Its scope was expanded to include all agriculture-based families in the year 2013. It was further broadened in the year 2019 round.
• The survey estimates, among other aspects: household income and expenditure, borrowing burden and availability of credit sources, ownership of land and cattle, crop and livestock yield, agricultural practices and use of technology, and access to government policies and crop insurance.
• Its findings are used by the Ministry of Agriculture, NITI Aayog, financial institutions, and researchers to design rural development policies.