Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness

1. Michael Patra appointed as new RBI deputy governor

• Michael Debabrata Patra has been appointed as a new RBI deputy governor for three years.
• Currently, he is working as Executive Director in the Monetary Policy Department of RBI. He is also one of the six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
• In June 2019, Viral V Acharya resigned from the post of Deputy Governor and Michael Patra will take his place. His name has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
• RBI can have a maximum of four deputy governors. The other three deputy governors are N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and M K Jain.
• Out of the four deputy governors, two are usually chosen from executive directors of RBI. One is nominated from chairpersons of PSBs. One is an economist.
• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) consists of Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs. Prime Minister is its chairman.

2. 33 % increase in consolidated net profit of Induslnd Bank

• In October to December quarter of 2019, Induslnd Bank has reported a 33% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,309 crore.
• Bank's consolidated net profit increased due to growth in retail and treasury revenue. The bank also reported a 72 % increase in provisioning.
• The bank's net profit decreased by 6% from Rs 1,383.37 crore net profit in the second quarter of FY20.
• The bank reported a 34% increase in net interest income for October to December quarter of 2019.
• Net interest income is the difference between income from interest bearing assets(loans, mortgages and securities) and expenses on interest bearing liabilities (customer deposits).
• Induslnd Bank:
  • It is a Mumbai based private sector bank.
  • It was started in 1994.
  • CEO: Romesh Sobti
  • Tagline: We Make You Feel Richer

3. WPI based inflation highest in last seven months

• In December 2019, WPI based inflation stood at a seven-month high level of 2.59 %.
• It stood at 0.58% in November 2019 and at 3.46 % in December 2018.
• In December 2019, inflation for food and non-food articles increased to 13.24% from 7.7 %.
• In November 2019, inflation for food and non-food articles was 11.1 % and 1.93 %.
• In the category of food articles, vegetable prices increased to 69.69% and caused an increase in WPI based inflation.
• In December 2019, inflation for primary articles was 11.46%. In November 2019, it was 7.7%.
• Currently, a total of 697 items are covered in the Wholesale Price Index. These include 117 primary articles with 22.26 % weightage, 16 fuel & power items with 13.15% weightage and 564 manufactured products with 64.23 % weightage.

4. Vedanta allowed to bid for surplus alumina from National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO)

• Supreme Court has allowed the Jharsuguda unit of Vedanta to bid for surplus alumina being sold by Nalco.
• Earlier, Odisha High Court has also allowed Vedanta. But, Nalco challenged the order in Supreme Court and said that Vedanta must participate in the bid through its UK unit.
• Vedanta said that as per the policy of the Central government, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is considered as foreign territory. So, it should be permitted to take part in bid.  
• Vedanta Limited is an India based mining company. UK based company Vedanta Resources owns Vedanta Limited. Jharsuguda unit of Vedanta is located in Orissa.
• National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) is a Navratna Central Power Sector Enterprise (CPSE). It was started in 1981.

5. Trade between India and China decreases in 2019

• In 2019, trade between India and China decreased from $95.7 billion in 2018 to $ 92.68 billion in 2019.
• In 2019, trade deficit between India and China also decreased from $58.04 billion in 2018 to $56.77 billion in 2019.
• While India's imports to China decreased by 0.2 %, China's exports to India increased by 2.1 % in 2019.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Who has been appointed as the new Deputy Governor of RBI?

1. V V Acharya
2. N S Vishwanathan
3. M D Patra
4. B P Kanungo
5. M K Jain

2. In October to December quarter of 2019, Induslnd Bank has reported a 33% increase in consolidated net profit. Induslnd Bank is a

1. Public Sector Bank
2. Private Sector Bank
3. Urban Cooperative Bank
4. Small Finance Bank
5. Non-Banking Financial Company

3. Which of the following carries maximum weightage in WPI?

1. Primary articles
2. Fuel items
3. Power items
4. Manufactured products
5. Food articles

4. Supreme Court has allowed the Jharsuguda unit of Vedanta to bid for surplus alumina being sold by Nalco. Where is Jharsuguda located?

1. Assam
2. Jharkhand
3. Chattisgarh
4. Madhya Pradesh
5. Odisha

5. Trade between India and China in 2019 decreased by

1. 3%
2. 5%
3. 8%
4. 10%
5. 12%

Correct Answers:

1. C
2. B
3. D
4. E
5. A