Banking Awareness of 14, 15 and 16 August 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. S&P Global has raised India’s sovereign credit rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-’.

• This comes after almost 18 years. The move is expected to boost foreign investor confidence.
• It will also help sustain India’s growth momentum. The long-term rating carries a stable outlook.
• This is the second sovereign rating change in 2025. DBRS had earlier in May 2025 upgraded India to BBB.
• S&P highlighted policy consistency as a strength. It also pointed to high infrastructure investment as a driver of growth.
• India continues to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
• Between FY22 and FY24, the economy grew at an average of 8.8%. This was the highest growth in Asia-Pacific.
• S&P projects India’s GDP to rise 6.8% annually over the next three years.
• Strong growth is moderating the debt-to-GDP ratio. This is despite India’s wide fiscal deficits.
• The short-term rating has been raised to ‘A-2’.
• The last S&P upgrade was in January 2007. At that time, the rating was moved to ‘BBB-’.
• DBRS, now known as Morningstar DBRS, is a global credit rating agency.
• In 2019, it became the fourth-largest credit rating agency globally after the Big Three (Moody's, S&P, and Fitch).

Topic: Banking System

2. SBI has introduced a special personal loan scheme for Agniveers under the Agnipath programme.

• The scheme was launched to mark India’s 79th Independence Day.
• Eligible Agniveers with an SBI salary account can borrow up to ₹4 lakh.
• No collateral is required for the loan. The scheme comes with zero processing fees.
• Repayment tenure will match the term of the Agnipath scheme.
• The scheme is designed to provide flexibility and convenience for Agniveers.
• SBI has set a flat interest rate of 10.50% on personal loans for all Defence personnel.
• This special interest rate is valid till 30th September 2025.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

3. India reached the milestone of 100 GW of solar PV module manufacturing.

• India has reached an installed manufacturing capacity of 100 GW for solar photovoltaic modules under the Approved List of Models and Manufacturers (ALMM) scheme.
• This marks a massive rise from just 2.3 GW of capacity in 2014.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the achievement as a step towards self-reliance in clean energy.
• Union Minister Pralhad Joshi credited the success to initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive Scheme.
• The milestone supports India’s goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.
• The ALMM Order was introduced by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in 2019, with the first list enlisting 8.2 GW of capacity.
• In just four years, this capacity has grown more than twelve-fold to 100 gigawatts, powered by 100 manufacturers operating 123 manufacturing units, up from 21 in 2021.
• This growth reflects contributions from both established companies and new entrants, many of which are adopting high-efficiency technologies and vertically integrated operations.
• This has created a competitive landscape that is able to meet both domestic and global demands.

Topic: Miscellaneous

4. Aadhaar face authentication crossed 200 crore transactions in record time.

• On 10 August 2025, UIDAI achieved 200 crore Aadhaar Face Authentication transactions.
• The pace of adoption of this system is steadily increasing.
• By mid-2024, 50 crore transactions were recorded.
• In January 2025, this number doubled in about five months to 100 crores.
• After this, in less than six months, this figure has doubled again to reach the unprecedented milestone of 200 crore.
• UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar stated that the achievement reflects strong trust in Aadhaar’s secure authentication ecosystem.
• By enabling quick, secure and paperless identity verification in every corner of the country, UIDAI is strengthening the backbone of digital governance.
• This growth reflects the core vision of Digital India, transforming the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. Retail inflation eased to an 8-year low of 1.55% in July.

• Retail inflation fell to 1.55% in July 2025, the lowest since June 2017.
• The rate is below the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort band of 2-6%, led mainly by a contraction in food prices.
• On August 12, 2025, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that inflation in India has been declining for nine consecutive months.
• The food and beverages category registered deflation of -0.8% in July 2025, lower than -0.2% in June and 5.1% in July 2024.
• Vegetable and pulse prices contracted by 21% and 14%, respectively.
• Economists attributed the decline to healthy agricultural activity and a favorable base.
• Core inflation, which excludes the impact of food and fuel prices, also eased to 4.1% in July 2025 from 4.4% in the previous month, almost at par with the RBI's target of 4%.
• Inflation in the housing segment remained steady at 3.2% in July, while inflation in the fuel and light category rose from 2.5% in June to 2.7% in July.
• Experts warned that geopolitical factors, such as restrictions on Russian oil imports, could affect future trends.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. India's current account deficit will remain below 1% despite US tariffs.

• CareEdge Ratings has projected India’s current account deficit (CAD) at 0.9% of GDP for FY26 despite higher US tariffs on Indian goods.
• The domestic-driven economy and low goods export share to the US — around 2% of GDP — are cited as reasons for the resilience.
• Exports to the US, accounting for 19.8% of total exports, grew 22% year-on-year in Q1 FY26, led by electronic goods.
• Electronic goods, which make up 30% of India’s US-bound exports, remain exempt from US tariffs.
• Exports to China grew by 17.8% during the same period.
• CareEdge attributed the growth to advance loading of shipments and continued relaxation in tariffs for sectors such as pharmaceuticals and electronics.
• Higher tariff rates have increased pressure on India to negotiate a trade deal with the US, though sensitive sectors like agriculture and dairy may delay talks.
• Gems and jewellery exports could be affected by reciprocal tariffs due to their dependence on discretionary spending.
• Competitor countries like Vietnam and Indonesia may benefit from lower US tariffs in sectors such as footwear, textiles, and leather.
• Exports to Asia and Europe—which account for 62% of India’s total exports—saw a year-on-year decline in Q1 FY26.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Bibi Fatima Women’s Self-Help Group has received the UNDP Equator Initiative Award.

• The award is often described as the Nobel Prize for Biodiversity Conservation.
• The group is one of only 10 organisations worldwide to win the Equator Prize 2025.
• The announcement was made on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (9 August).
• The award recognises grassroots and indigenous efforts that use nature-based solutions.
• It focuses on promoting sustainable development and strengthening ecological resilience.
• Bibi Fatima SHG is the only Indian organisation to receive the award this year.
• The other winners are from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Tanzania.
• The prize includes $10,000 in cash, which is roughly ₹8.5 lakh.
• The 2025 awards followed the theme “Women and Youth Leadership for Nature-Based Climate Action.”
• The Bibi Fatima Women’s Self-Help Group is from Teertha village in Kundgol taluk, Dharwad district, Karnataka.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. India and Zambia sign agreement to strengthen cooperative trade ties.

• India has entered into an agreement with Zambia to boost trade cooperation between the cooperatives of both nations.
• On 12 August, the deal was announced by Cooperation Minister Amit Shah in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
• The Ministry of Cooperation is working to strengthen the cooperative export ecosystem of India through Indian Missions abroad.
• A memorandum of understanding was signed on July 18 to facilitate cooperative trade partnerships.
• Shah said the ministry is working through Indian missions abroad to provide market information to National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) and to establish contact with importers from specific countries.
• He said NCEL has also signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Senegal and Indonesia-based entities Sintan Vantage Trading and PT Sintan Surini Nusantara.