Banking Awareness of 15 and 16 July 2022

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. The norms for adjusting states' off-budget borrowings have been relaxed by the central government.

• As per the new norms, liabilities of the last fiscal year can be adjusted against their borrowing ceilings for the next four years till March 2026.
• In order to bring transparency to the finances of the states, the Center had informed them in March that the off-budget debt has to be equated with the states' own borrowing.
• Any such funds raised by the governments in the financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22 will need to be adjusted outside the debt limit.
• Off-budget borrowings are the loans taken by state government entities, special purpose vehicles, etc, in which principal and interest are repaid from the budget of the state government.
• The off-budget borrowings of states have increased mainly due to the reduction in revenue growth and increased revenue expenditure.
• As per norms, state governments have to take approval from the central government for fresh borrowing after the limit of a financial year.
• The Centre has fixed the net borrowing ceiling of states at Rs 8,57,849 crore or 3.5 percent of GSDP.

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

2. Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) has formed a committee on Right to Repair.

• The committee is chaired by Additional Secretary Nidhi Khatri.
• It includes Anupam Mishra, Justice Paramjeet Singh Dhaliwal, G.S. Bajpai, and Ashok Patil as members.
• The committee also includes representatives from stakeholders, consumer activists and consumer organisations as members.
• Department has set up the committee in a bid to develop an overall framework for the Right to Repair.
• Farming Equipment, Mobile Phones/ Tablets, Consumer Durables and Automobiles & Automobile Equipment are the key sectors identified for this framework.
• The framework is expected to serve as a catalyst for sustainability and employment generation by allowing third-party repairs. In India, a vibrant repair service sector exists.
• Right to Repair:
  • It refers to government law that gives the consumers ability to get their product repaired where the manufacturer of the product requires consumers to use only its services by placing software barriers or restricting access to tools and components.  
  • The right to repair is recognized in US, the UK and the European Union and many other countries.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. WPI-based inflation eased from 15.88% in May 2022 to 15.18% in June 2022.

• It stood at 12.07% in June last year. It eased due to lower prices of manufactured and fuel items.
• The WPI inflation in June remained double-digit for the 15^th consecutive month beginning April 2021.
• Inflation in food articles in June was 14.39%. In May, wholesale price inflation in food articles was 12.34%.
• Inflation in manufactured products and oilseeds was 9.19% and 2.74%, respectively.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. India’s goods exports increased 23.52% to $40.13 billion in June 2022.

• Imports in June 2022 increased 57.55% to $66.31 billion. Trade deficit increased to a record level of $26.18 billion in June 2022.
• The trade deficit was recorded at $9.60 billion in June 2021.
• The export of non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports has shown an 8.65% increase to $27.94 billion.
• In April-June 2022-23, total exports increased by 24.51% to $118.96 billion.
• During the same period, total imports increased 49.47% to $189.76 billion.
• Trade deficit during April-June 2022-23 more than doubled to $70.80 billion from $31.42 billion in the same period last year.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. GASAB will soon publish report on asset accounts for mineral and energy resources. 

• Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB) is expected to publish the report by mid-November.
• The report would capture Asset Accounts for Mineral and Energy Resources across 28 States and one Union Territory (J&K).
• The preparation of asset accounts for mineral and energy resources for 2020-21 is almost over.
• The asset accounts capture details of 58 minor minerals, 34 major minerals and all four fossils fuels.
• India is a signatory to the September 2016 UN General Assembly Resolution (Transforming the World, the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development).
• This Resolution requires the preparation of Natural Resource Accounts (NRA).
• Asset accounts is the first stage of NRA. The final third stage being environmental accounting.
• India has chosen to prepare national level asset accounts of four major resources.
• These four resources are mineral and energy resources, water resources, land resources, and forestry and wildlife resources.
• Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB) is part of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). It was constituted in 2002.

Topic: Banking System

6. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has become second public sector bank to go live on account aggregator platform.

• PNB is now acting as Financial Information User (FIU) and Financial Information Provider (FIP).
• It has on-boarded Account Aggregator (AA) platform. This will help customers digitally access and share information from one financial institution to other regulated entities.
• AA system helps banks use data acquired digitally through customers’ consent.
• It, therefore, does away with the requirement of physical documentation furnishing by a customer for other financial usages.
• Financial Information User (FIU) can ask for data from FIP based on consent given by customers on their Account Aggregator handle.    
• In May 2022, Union Bank of India onboarded the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem.
• About Account Aggregator:
  • Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem went live in September 2021.
  • Account Aggregator is a type of RBI regulated entity (with an NBFC-AA license).
  • It helps a person securely and digitally access or share information from one financial institution he/she has an account with to any other financial institution present in the AA network.

Topic: Banking System

7. Kotak Mahindra Bank has become first private bank to fully integrate with new e-filing portal of the Income Tax department.

• Customers of Kotak Mahindra Bank will now be able to pay their direct taxes through e-pay tax tab on the portal using Kotak net banking.
• In October 2021, Kotak Mahindra Bank became the first scheduled private sector bank to receive approval as a collections partner for taxes.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank was India’s 3^rd largest private sector bank in terms of assets and market capitalisation as of November 2021.
• It was founded in 2003. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Uday Kotak is its MD & CEO.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

8. Bundelkhand Expressway has been inaugurated by PM Modi in Jalaun district of Uttar Pradesh.

• Bundelkhand Expressway will pass through seven districts, Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya and Etawah.
• It is a 296 Km long four-lane expressway, which has been built at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crores. Later, it will be expanded up to six lanes.
• It starts from Gonda village near Bharatkoop in Chitrakoot district and ends near Kudrail village in Etawah district, where it merges with the Agra-Lucknow expressway.
• Prime Minister Modi laid the foundation stone of the Bundelkhand Expressway on 29 February 2020.
• Uttar Pradesh with 13 expressways has the largest network of expressways.

Topic: Banking/Financial Schemes

9. Government has approved the continuation of the Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) till March 2024.

• In 2019, the RoSL (Rebate of State Levies) scheme was converted into a new scheme Rebate of State and Central Taxes Levies (RoSCTL).
• The scheme has supported the incubation of start-ups and entrepreneurs. It helped in improving cost efficiency and export competitiveness.
• Textile Ministry has a fixed maximum rate of rebate for the scheme at 6.05% for apparel and 8.2% for made-ups.

Topic: Reports and Indices

10. India is ranked at 135th rank out of 146 countries in the Gender Gap Report 2022 of World Economic Forum (WEF).

• As per the Gender Gap Index, it would take 132 years to close the gap between men and women around the world.
• India has been ranked at 135th place in terms of gender parity despite an improvement in economic participation and opportunity areas.
• In 2021, India was ranked 140th out of 156 countries.
• Iceland retained the top position in the Index, followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden.
• India is the worst performer in the ‘health and survival’ sub-index with 146th place.
• India ranks 143rd in economic participation and opportunity, 107th in educational attainment and 48th in political empowerment.
• India’s score is 0.629, the seventh-highest score in the last 16 years. India’s score on political empowerment has declined.
• Among South Asian countries, India has been ranked the sixth best after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan.
• At the current pace, the South Asia region will take 197 years to close the gender gap.
• As per the report, one in five countries has managed to close the gender gap by at least 1% in the last year. The gender parity score for estimated earned income has improved.
• Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment are the four key dimensions of the Global Gender Gap Report.

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