Banking Awareness of 15 and 16 October 2021

Topic: Banking System

1. The share of private sector banks in total credit steadily increases from 20.8% in March 2015 to 35.4% in March 2021.

• As per RBI, the share of private sector banks in total credit has steadily increased from 20.8% in March 2015 to 35.4% in March 2021.
• RBI said that share of public sector banks in total credit has come down from 71.6 % to 56.5 % over the same period.
• Share of foreign banks had come down from 4.9 % as of March-end 2015 to 4% as of March-end 2021.
• At the end of March 2021, gross outstanding credit of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) amounted ₹1,10,78,050 crore.
• As per ‘Basic Statistical Return on Credit by Scheduled Commercial Banks in India’, personal loans continued to grow at a robust pace over the last decade.
• The share of personal loans in outstanding bank credit increased to 25.9 % in March 2021 from 16.4 % 10 years ago.
• The share of personal loans in total credit stood at 24 % in March 2020. RBI said that the average size of bank loan account has gradually declined from ₹4.8 lakh in March 2015 to ₹3.7 lakh in March 2021.
• Industrial loan growth has been decelerating during the last decade. It turned negative for the first time during 2020-21.
• Working capital loans accounted for 31.9 % of outstanding credit of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) as of March-end 2021.

Topic: Appointments

2. The appointment of Pradeep Kumar Panja as Chairman of Karnataka Bank approved by RBI.

• The appointment of Pradeep Kumar Panja as part-time non-executive Chairman of Karnataka Bank has been approved by RBI.
• He will take over on November 14 for a period of three years. He will succeed P Jayarama Bhat, who will complete his term on November 13.
• He retired as Managing Director (Corporate Banking) of State Bank of India (SBI).
• Currently he is a member of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB). He is also the Director on the boards of seven companies.
• He has been on the board of Karnataka Bank Ltd since August 19, 2020.
• Karnataka Bank Limited is India's twelfth largest private sector bank. It is based in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

Topic: Appointments

3. A K Goel elected as Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for 2021-22.

• A K Goel has been elected as Chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for 2021-22. He is Managing Director & CEO of UCO Bank.
• Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, SBI, L V Prabhakar, MD & CEO, Canara Bank, and Rakesh Sharma, MD & CEO, IDBI Bank Ltd has been elected as Deputy Chairmen of IBA.
• Madhav Nair, Country Head & CEO, Mashreqbank PSC, has been elected as Honorary Secretary of IBA.

Topic: Miscellaneous

4. Revision of GST assessment order beyond RP’s jurisdiction.

• As per a recent order by Chennai bench of NCLAT, revision of GST assessment order is beyond Resolution Professional’s jurisdiction.
• The duties of the Resolution Professional (RP) are provided Section 25 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
• Section 28 provides for approval of the Committee of creditors for certain actions in the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
• NCLAT bench said that CoC has no role in the acceptance or rejection of the claim. Acceptance or rejection of a claim is under the duties of IRP/Resolution Professional.

Topic: Agriculture

5. APEDA offers to conduct buyer-seller meets for the promotion of GI tagged rice from Kerala.

• APEDA has offered to conduct buyer-seller meets for the promotion of GI tagged rice from Kerala.
• Simi Unnikrishnan, Assistant General Manager, APEDA, New Delhi, said that the uniqueness and taste of GI rice from Kerala and its demand from the Indian population in importing countries offer good opportunities for marketing GI rice.
• Kerala’s share in rice production in the country is only 0.51 %. India ranks first in exporting rice and China, Philippines and Nigeria are the major rice importing countries.
• Excessive use of pesticides, lack of quality seeds, untimely rains, and irregular supply of demanded quantities of rice, not meeting the global standards were the constraints in rice exports.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

6. 500 multi-modal cargo terminals to be established by Indian Railways under PM GatiShakti programme.

• 500 multi-modal cargo terminals will be established by Indian Railways under PM GatiShakti programme.
• The terminals will be established with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore in four-five years.
• PM GatiShakti multi-modal cargo terminals of railways will be terminals where different modes of transportation will be integrated at one place
• ‘PM GatiShakti - National Master Plan’ has been launched by PM Modi for multi-modal connectivity to economic zones.
• The idea behind the plan is to fasten the implementation of infrastructure projects worth Rs 100 lakh crore across the country.

Topic: Agriculture

7. Assocham report says that farmers in Union Territory of Ladakh should be informed about alternatives to greenhouses.

• As per a report by Assocham, farmers in Union Territory of Ladakh should be informed about alternatives to greenhouses such as low tunnel technology or trench farming, to help them cultivate herbs and vegetables.
• The report suggests taking up greenhouse cultivation of Indian and exotic vegetables and flowers on a large scale.
• Trench farming is low-cost and portable technology. The farmers can relocate the tunnel to whatever location they want.
• The report also calls for setting up at least one or two greenhouses in every village.
• The report says that climatic conditions are favourable for cultivation of high-quality apricot and apple in the Union Territory.
• Large-scale seabuckthorn cultivation has the potential to be a critical instrument for long-term development of Ladakh's cold desert.
• The report says that Ladakh Organic Mission should focus on making Ladakh an organic certified region, like Sikkim.

Topic: Indian Economy

8. India’s exports increase for the tenth straight month in September 2021.

• India’s exports have increased for the tenth straight month in September 2021 with a growth of 22.63 per cent to $33.79 billion.
• Exports in the first six months of the fiscal showed a 57.53 % growth to $197.89 billion.
• They reached almost half of the export target of $400 billion set by the Commerce & Industry Ministry for 2021-22.
• In September 2021, imports of goods showed an increase of 84.77 % to $56.39 billion.
• As a result, trade deficit in September 2021 widened to $22.59 billion compared to $2.96 billion in September 2020.
• In April-September 2021, imports grew 81.67% to $276.02 billion. Trade deficit increased to $78.13 billion from $26.31 billion in the same period last year.