Banking Awareness of 16, 17 and 18 April 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. In March 2025, CPI inflation declined to 3.34%.

• This is the lowest level since August 2019. This is also the 67-month low level.
• In March 2025, rural inflation declined to 3.25%. This stood at 3.79% in February.
• Urban inflation increased from 3.32% in February 2025 to 3.43% in March 2025.
• Inflation in education and health sector grew from 3.83% to 3.98% in March 2025 and 4.12% to 4.26% in March 2025, respectively.
• Food inflation in rural areas declined from 4.06% to 2.82% in March 2025.
• Urban food inflation declined from 3.15% in February to 2.48% in March 2025.
• Housing inflation increased from 2.91% in February to 3.03% in March 2025.
• Fuel & light inflation increased from -1.33% to 1.48% in March 2025.
• Transport & communication sector inflation increased from 2.93% to 3.33% in March 2025.
• Core inflation was more than 4%. Core inflation is headline inflation minus food and fuel inflation.
• For March 2025, retail inflation was highest for items like Coconut oil (56.8%), coconut (42.1%), gold (34.1%), silver (31.6%) and grapes (25.6%).
• For March 2025, retail inflation declined maximum for items like tomato (-39.5%), ginger (-38.1%), cauliflower (-26%), jeera (-25.9%) and garlic (-25.2%).
• Six States with populations of higher than 50 lakh according to the 2011 census saw inflation more than national average.
• These states are Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
• Excluding one, all these States recorded a decline in inflation. But their inflation was higher than national headline.
• Five States and one Union Territory with populations of higher than 50 lakh recorded inflation less than national number.
• These are West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Telangana.
• Retail inflation has declined to 4.6% in the fiscal year 2024-25. This is the lowest in six years since 2018.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. Government will now release Index of Industrial Production on 28th of every month.

• This will reduce its release timeline from 42 days to 28 days.
• Consumer price indices are released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation within 12 days after the end of the reference month.
• Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation will now release the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) within 28 days instead of 42 days.
• IIP is an in short-term indicator of industrial growth in country.
• Its compilation and release commenced with base year 1937.
• This was revised many times and now base year is 2011-12.
• As of now, monthly all India IIP is released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on 12th of every month within 42 days from reference month.
• The next IIP estimates will be released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on 28 April 2025.

Topic: Reports and Indices

3. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has projected 6.5% growth rate for Indian economy in 2025.

• As per latest UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, India will be the fastest-growing major economy with 6.5% growth rate in 2025.
• As per the report, China’s growth rate is projected at 4.4%. US economy is projected to grow at 1%.
• European Union is also projected to grow at 1%. France, Germany and Italy will record less than 1% growth.
• Japan’s economic growth rate will come to a 0.5 per cent.
• In the report ‘Trade and Development Foresights 2025’, India is in the list of countries propelling growth through increased government expenditure and monetary policy stimulus.

Topic: Reports and Indices

4. Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi is now ranked 9th among the busiest airports in the world for 2024.

• The airport served 77.8 million passengers this year.
• This marks a 7.8% increase in passenger traffic compared to 2023.
• Compared to 2019, passenger numbers have grown by 13.6%.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport ranked first, handling over 108 million passengers.
• Dubai and Dallas Fort Worth airports ranked second and third, respectively.
• IGI’s rise to 9th place is due to expanded airline operations and better infrastructure.
• The airport also benefits from improved global connectivity.
• ACI forecasts global passenger traffic will reach 9.9 billion in 2025.
• ACI’s rankings are based on total passenger numbers, counting embarking and disembarking passengers once.
• In 2018, IGI Airport was ranked 16th among the busiest airports worldwide.
• Airports Council International (ACI) represent over 2,000 airports in 170 countries.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

5. An MoU signed between Ministry of Labour & Employment and Swiggy.

• On 15 April, an MoU signed between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and Swiggy, the Indian online food ordering and delivery platform.
• This marks a significant step towards strengthening employment relationships in the gig and logistics sector through the National Career Service (NCS) portal.
• The National Career Service Portal is an active platform to connect job seekers and employers across the country.
• It has been instrumental in bringing together more than 1 crore 25 lakh job seekers and 40 lakh registered employers as of January 31, 2025, and is playing a vital role in workforce mobilization.
• This partnership with Swiggy will expand the reach of the portal to the workforce and the connected economy, providing position-responsive and location-based employment opportunities to millions of youth.
• Under this MoU, Swiggy will integrate its job opportunities with the NCS portal, which includes jobs in delivery, logistics, and support roles.
• This platform with real-time integration will showcase job opportunities to NCS users, enabling workers to benefit from timely job opportunities across urban and semi-urban areas.
• Swiggy:
  • Founded in 2014, it is an Indian online food ordering and delivery company. Swiggy is headquartered in Bangalore.
  • Apart from food delivery, the platform also offers instant commerce services called Swiggy Instamart, and same-day package delivery with Swiggy Genie.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

6. Startup QNu Labs launched world’s first unique platform Q-Shield.

• Q-Shield is the world’s first platform that will help enterprises to protect their critical infrastructure.
• It also enables seamless cryptography management across any environment, including cloud, on-premises, or hybrid.
• It was launched on World Quantum Day i.e on 14th April.
• Q-Shield enables various services like Qosmos for key generation, QConnect for secured connectivity, QVault for secret digital keys management and QVerse for secured collaboration.
• QNu Labs (incubated in 2016 at IIT Madras Research Park) is one of the startups selected by Department of Science and Technology under the National Quantum Mission.
• National Quantum Mission:
  • It was approved by the government in 2023 from 2023-24 to 2030-31.
  • The Mission objectives include developing intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50-1000 physical qubits in 8 years in various platforms like superconducting and photonic technology.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. A report on Hand and Power tools sectors – ‘Unlocking $25+ Billion Export Potential - India’s Hand & Power Tools Sector’ launched by NITI Aayog.

• The report highlights the transformational potential of the hand and power tools industry for India's economic growth.
• It also discusses in depth the challenges, policy constraints, and interventions required to strengthen the Indian hand and power tools ecosystem.
• It outlines a strategic path for the region to enhance its global competitiveness and gain a significantly larger share of the international market.
• The report shows that the global trade market for power and hand tools, currently valued at around $100 billion, is projected to grow significantly, reaching nearly $190 billion by 2035.
• Hand tools account for $34 billion of this market and are expected to grow to $60 billion by 2035.
• While power tools, which include tools and accessories, represent $63 billion and are projected to grow to $134 billion, with power tools accounting for the majority of the market.
• China dominates global exports, accounting for approximately 50% of the hand tool market at $13 billion and 40% of the power tool market at $22 billion.
• While India has a smaller presence, exporting $600 million in hand tools (1.8% market share) and $470 million in power tools (0.7% market share).
• An important finding of the report is that India has the potential to capture a large share of the global market, targeting exports of $25 billion over the next decade.
• This could create around 35 lakh jobs by capturing 10% market share in power tools and 25% in hand tools.
• The report also analyzes the challenges that India may face, including a 14-17% cost disadvantage compared to China, driven by higher structural costs and smaller operational scale.
• This loss stems from increased costs of raw materials such as steel, plastics, and motors, as well as lower labor productivity due to high overtime wages and restrictions on overtime hours.

Topic: Miscellaneous

8. In a first-of-its-kind move, an ATM introduced inside the Mumbai-Manmad Panchavati Express by the Central Railway.

• In a first, trials for an ATM onboard the Panchvati Express train were initiated by the Railways, aiming for non-fare revenue (NFR) generation in coordination with the Bank of Maharashtra.
• The concept of installing ATMs on trains originated following a non-fare revenue customer interaction meet conducted by the Bhusawal division.
• Following the finalization of the proposal, a formal plan was created by the Bank of Maharashtra under the New, Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme (NINFRIS).
• The feasibility and operational efficiency were assessed through the first trial undertaken on the Manmad–Mumbai CSMT Panchvati Express.
• The ATM kiosk was installed in an empty space in the coach to avoid inconvenience to passengers.
• Railway officials want this facility to be utilised as much as possible in the train which has 22 coaches and a full capacity of 2,016 passengers.
• The Electrical and Mechanical departments of Indian Railways have executed an ATM facility aimed at providing services to senior citizens, women, and those facing unforeseen needs.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 16, 17 and 18 April 2025