Banking Awareness of 14 and 15 March 2025

Topic: Banking System

1. The raising of Basel III–compliant tier-II bonds has been proposed by Canara Bank.

• In August 2024, the bank has raised ₹3,000 crore through tier-I bonds in August 2024.
• Now, the issuance of ₹4,000 crore in Basel III–compliant tier-II bonds have been approved by the bank’s Board of Directors.
• CRISIL and CARE rated the bonds AAA/Stable. The bond will have a tenor of 10-years with 5-year call option.
• The date of bidding for tier II bonds is 17 March 2025.
• The bidding will be held through NSE Electronic Bidding Platform.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. In February 2025, India’s coal imports have declined for 6th consecutive month on a year-on-year basis.

• The reason for declined in coal imports is its rising domestic production.
• As per data provider Kpler, India’s thermal coal imports declined by 18.5% year-on-year.
• India’s thermal coal imports declined by 6.4% month-on-month to 11.36 million tonnes (mt).
• Thermal coal imports in February 2025 declined by 2.58 mt year-on-year.
• This is a sixth consecutive month of annual decline.
• Imports from April to December 2024 declined by 8.4% year-on-year to 183.42 million tonnes.
• This resulted in foreign exchange savings of approximately $5.43 billion. 
• Coal-based electricity generation increased by 3.53% year-on-year during the same period.
• Coal production grew by 6.11% year-on-year during the April-December 2024 period. 
• Thermal coal imports are expected to rise to nearly 14 million tonnes in March 2025.
• India’s coal production increased by 1.71% year-on-year to 98.26 million tonnes in February 2025. 
• From April to February in FY25, India’s coal output rose by 5.45% to 929.15 million tonnes. 
• In January 2025, coal consumption in pan-India thermal plants totaled 73.1 million tonnes.
• This was slightly lower than the 73.5 million tonnes consumed in January 2024. 
• Total coal supply in January 2025 was 78.2 million tonnes, a 1.03% year-on-year increase.
• This included 4.1 million tonnes of imported coal. 
• During the first 11 months of FY25, total coal supply rose by 3.36% year-on-year to 732.8 million tonnes.
• This consisted of 52.4 million tonnes of imports and 680.4 million tonnes of domestic coal.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

3. IRDAI has granted a Certificate of Registration to Valueattics Reinsurance Ltd. 

• Valueattics Reinsurance Ltd. is the first company to be registered exclusively for reinsurance operations. 
• This registration has come within the newly revised regulatory environment. 
• IRDAI sees this as a major step in increasing competition in the reinsurance market. 
• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), New India Assurance Company, and General Insurance Corporation of India have been identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for FY 2024-25. 
• These designations were made by the IRDAI. During the 129th Authority meeting held on March 12, several key initiatives were discussed. 
• These included Bima Sugam, Indian Risk-Based Capital, Ind AS, and the Risk-Based Supervisory Framework. 

Topic: Corporates/Companies

4. Amul has secured the third spot in the YouGov India Value Rankings 2025. 

• This recognition highlights Amul's strong cooperative model.    
• The model benefits farmers with fair pricing. It also ensures affordable products for consumers. 
• This recognition is especially significant in the International Year of Cooperatives.
• Amul leads in tier-2 cities. It remains among the top three in tier-1 and tier-3 cities. 
• Among male consumers, Amul ranks third. Among female consumers, Amul ranks second. 
• The rankings are based on insights from 1.3 lakh urban Indians. 
• Amul is one of the most valued brands in India. Amul is the only FMCG brand in the top three. 
• E-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart also made the list. 
• Brands were evaluated across sectors like food & beverages, airlines, and e-commerce. 
• The assessment focused on the value for money each brand provides.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. India’s industrial production rose to 5 per cent in January.

• India’s industrial production has increased from 3.2 per cent in December to 5 per cent in January.
• As per the latest data, manufacturing grew 5.5 percent in January, mining activity increased by 4.4 percent, and electricity generation grew by 2.4 percent.
• The government has also revised the December 2024 industrial output figure to 3.5 per cent from the provisional estimate of 3.2 per cent.
• Mining production growth declined to 4.4 per cent from 6 per cent year-on-year.
• Power output growth declined to 2.4 per cent in January 2025 from 5.6 per cent a year ago.
• The capital goods segment growth increased to 7.8 per cent in January 2024 against 3.2 per cent in the year-ago period.
• Infrastructure/construction goods reported a growth of 7 per cent in January 2025, up from a 5.5 per cent expansion in the year-ago period.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. India’s unincorporated sector registered a 12.84% growth.

• The unincorporated non-agricultural sector of India witnessed a remarkable growth of 12.84%.
• As per the latest Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24), the number of enterprises increased by 12.84%.
• This survey has been conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• The number of establishments in the sector has increased to 7.34 crore in 2023-24 up from 6.50 crore in the previous year.
• Employment in these enterprises also saw a significant boost between October 2023 and September 2024, crossing 12 crore workers.
• This surge in employment reflects the resilience of small businesses and informal enterprises.
• The unincorporated sector comprised manufacturing, trade, and services (excluding construction).
• The report highlights the importance of these enterprises in providing livelihood opportunities, particularly in states like West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
• Government initiatives like Mudra Yojana and Startup India have played a pivotal role in encouraging entrepreneurship and expanding the informal sector.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

7. India’s retail inflation declined to a seven-month low level.

• It stood at 3.6% in February 2025 after decline. This was caused by a decrease in food prices.
• The consumer price index increased by 4.26% in January 2025.
• Inflation has slowed for the fourth consecutive month. It is now below the RBI's target of 4%.
• Inflation in February 2025 dropped by 65 basis points compared to January.
• This is the lowest year-on-year inflation since July 2024.
• The Consumer Food Price Index rose by only 3.75% in February 2025.
• This was the slowest growth in nearly two years.
• Vegetable prices fell by 1%. Wheat prices rose by 8.8% in February 2025.
• Pulses and related products saw a 1.35% decline in February 2025.
• This marked the first negative inflation for this category in the current fiscal year.
• Inflation in urban areas slowed to 3.3%. This declined from 3.9% in January 2025.
• Rural areas saw inflation fall to 3.8%, down from 4.6% in January 2025.
• Kerala had the highest inflation rate at 7.3%. Telangana had the lowest at 1.3%.  Inflation in nine of the 22 states exceeded 4%.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. South Africa will host the first G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TWGW) meeting.

• The first G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TWGW) meeting will be organized under the presidency from March 18 to March 20.
• The TIWG meeting will bring together senior officials from G20 member countries as well as the European Union and the African Union.
• This would be the first of the four proposed meetings of the TIWG.
• This session will be attended by international organisations, such as the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations Trade and Development, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and African regional communities.
• South Africa officially assumed the presidency of the G20 for the year 2025 under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

9. India has emerged as the top source of FDI in Dubai.

• India has emerged as the leading source country for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dubai as the desert city regains its top spot as a global FDI destination in 2024.
• Dubai has been ranked the world's No. 1 destination for greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) projects for the fourth consecutive year, according to Financial Times Ltd.'s 'FDI Markets' data.
• India has become the top source country for FDI in Dubai for the year 2024, surpassing the US, France, and the UK.
• According to the Dubai FDI Monitor of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, India contributed 21.5% to FDI inflows, followed by the United States (13.7%), France (11%), the United Kingdom (10%), and Switzerland (6.9%).
• During the year, Dubai attracted 1,117 Greenfield FDI projects, the most in its history.
• Dubai also achieved a historic milestone in FDI attraction with 1,826 announced FDI projects, up 11% from 1,650 projects in 2023.
• A total of 58,680 projected jobs were created through FDI in 2024, an increase of 31% from 44,745 jobs in 2023.

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