Banking Awareness of 15, 16, 17 and 18 February 2026

Topic: Taxation

1. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation increased to 1.81% in January.

• Wholesale price inflation continued upward rise for the third straight month.
• It was driven by increase in prices of food, non-food articles and manufactured items on a month-on-month basis.
• In December 2025, the inflation stood at 0.83%. In January 2025, it was 2.51%.
• Inflation in food articles was 1.55% in January as compared with deflation of 0.43% in December.
• Vegetable inflation was 6.78% in January as compared with deflation of 3.50% in December.
• In manufactured products, WPI inflation increased up to 2.86%, as against 1.82% in December.
• Inflation in non-food articles increased to 7.58% in January, against 2.95% in December.
• Negative inflation, or deflation in the fuel and power sectors stood at 4.01% in January, as compared with 2.31% in December.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

2. SBI has become India's fourth-largest company by market cap by surpassing Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

• State Bank of India (SBI) has become India’s fourth-largest listed company by market capitalisation.
• It has surpassed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) after a sharp rally in its stock following stronger-than-expected December-quarter earnings.
• On February 10, SBI’s market capitalisation was around ₹10.9 lakh crore.
• This exceeded TCS’s valuation of around ₹10.53 lakh crore.
• SBI has also moved ahead of ICICI Bank with respect to market value, which stood at 10.05 lakh crore.
• Reliance Industries (RIL) continues to be at the first place as India’s most valuable company with a market capitalisation of about ₹20 lakh crore.
• Reliance Industries (RIL) is followed by HDFC Bank at ₹14.3 lakh crore and Bharti Airtel at ₹12.3 lakh crore.
• Slower deal-making in the US has had an impact on TCS's performance. US is the largest market for Indian IT companies.

Topic: Appointments

3. Prasanna Kumar D has been elected as 74th President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for the 2026–27 term.

• He will take over as the President of ICAI from Charanjot Singh Nanda.
• Mangesh Pandurang Kinare has been elected as the new Vice President of ICAI.
• As President, Prasanna Kumar D will lead all Standing Committees of ICAI and will also be an ex-officio member of all Non-Standing Committees.
• He will serve as Director on the boards of the Institute of Social Auditors of India and will also be on the board of ICAI Registered Valuers Organisation.
• Vice President Kinare has more than 33 years of experience in accounting, auditing, taxation and corporate governance.
• ICAI was formed on 1 July 1949. It is India's largest professional accounting body.
• It is under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

4. Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 (FoF 2.0) has been approved by the Cabinet to boost venture capital ecosystem.

• A corpus of ₹10,000 crore has been created to mobilise venture capital for India’s expanding startup ecosystem.
• The new fund has been designed to accelerate the next phase of India’s startup journey.
• Long-term domestic capital mobilisation and strengthening of the venture capital landscape have been targeted under the scheme.
• FoF 2.0 builds upon nearly a decade of efforts under the Startup India initiative launched in 2016.
• The startup ecosystem has grown from fewer than 500 startups in 2016 to more than 2 lakhs recognised by DPIIT.
• The earlier Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS 1.0) had committed the full ₹10,000 crore corpus to 145 Alternative Investment Funds.
• These AIFs together invested over ₹25,500 crore in more than 1,370 startups across multiple high-technology sectors.
• The new phase will prioritise deep-tech and innovative manufacturing ventures requiring patient long-term capital.

Topic: RBI

5. Higher acquisition financing limits for banks have been permitted by the Reserve Bank of India.

• Indian lenders will now be allowed to finance acquisitions up to 20% of their eligible capital base.
• The revised limit has been issued under the final rules following a review of bank exposure to capital markets.
• The earlier draft proposal had suggested a lower cap of 10% of Tier-1 capital.
• Earlier, Indian banks were not permitted to finance acquisitions, putting them at a disadvantage against foreign lenders.
• The new framework opens an additional avenue of credit growth for domestic banks.
• Banks will be allowed to lend up to 75% of the acquisition value.
• Acquisition finance will be permitted for purchases of both listed and unlisted companies.
• Stake acquisition can be undertaken through equity shares or compulsorily convertible debentures as per the rules.

Topic: Miscellaneous

6. Amit Shah launched a Central Bank Digital Currency-based Public Distribution System in Gandhinagar.

• This initiative is a major reform in transparent food distribution.
• Shah said the Digital India vision of Narendra Modi is now being applied to the food supply system.
• He said that India accounts for nearly half of global digital transactions.
• CBDC-based PDS will reduce corruption in ration distribution.
• The system will remove middlemen from the supply chain.
• During the launch event, Shah inaugurated the ‘Annapurna’ machine, which can dispense 25 kg of food grains in about 35 seconds.
• The system will be expanded nationwide within three to four years.
• CBDC-based PDS will ensure secure and transparent food distribution.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. RBI’s Digital Payment Index (RBI-DPI) for September 2025 increased to 516.76.

• RBI-DPI for March 2025 stood at 493.22 and was announced on July 28, 2025.
• Reserve Bank of India released the latest Digital Payments Index.
• The index recorded a noticeable rise over the six-month period.
• The increase indicates continued expansion of digital payment usage.
• The RBI said growth in Payment Performance contributed to the increase.
• Improvements in Payment Enablers also supported the rise.
• The RBI-DPI measures the level of digital payment adoption across India.
• The composite index has been published by RBI since January 1, 2021.
• March 2018 functions as the base year for the index calculation.

Topic: Appointments

8. Uday Kotak appointed Chairman of GIFT City Company.

• Industrialist and banker Uday Suresh Kotak has been appointed Chairman of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFT City Co. Ltd.).
• The appointment was made through a Government of Gujarat resolution dated February 13, 2026.
• He has replaced Hasmukh Adhia, who had been serving as Non-Executive Chairman since June 2023.
• The appointment has been made with immediate effect until further orders.
• Uday Kotak is the founder and director of Kotak Mahindra Bank and has led the group’s growth for nearly four decades.
• He previously served as Managing Director and CEO of the bank until September 1, 2023.
• Thereafter, he assumed the role of Non-Executive Non-Independent Director from September 2, 2023.
• GIFT City in Gujarat is India's first operational smart city and hosts India's first and only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).