Banking Awareness of 17, 18 and 19 October 2021

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. Nomura India Business Resumption Index increases to an all-time high of 108.8 for the week ending October 17.

• Nomura India Business Resumption Index has increased from 105 in the prior week to an all-time high of 108.8 for the week ending October 17.
• Mobility indices increased sharply ahead of the festive season. The Apple driving index increased 14.1 percentage points (pp) over the week.
• Google workplace and retail & recreation indices increased by 2.7 pp and 3.1 pp, respectively. Labour participation rate increased from 40.4 % to 41.6%.
• The pace of vaccination has declined in October. Nearly 20.5 % of the population is fully vaccinated and 50.4 % have received at least one dose.
• Nomura said that it sees higher inflation as a bigger risk. Nomura is a Japanese financial holding company.

Topic: Banking/Financial Schemes

2. Textile Ministry released draft guidelines for PLI scheme for man-made fibre and technical textiles sectors.

• Textile Ministry has released draft guidelines for the ₹10,683 crore Production Linked Incentive scheme for man-made fibre (MMF) and technical textiles sectors.
• In the guidelines, Ministry has proposed a grading system to select entities for the ₹10,683 crore Production Linked Incentive scheme.
• The draft guidelines suggest a point-based system with criteria including employment generation, location, financial and technological soundness.
• Manufacturers who generate higher employment, locate in smaller cities, are financially sound, have relevant experience & technical capacity and are ready to invest in integrated production rather than in single segment will be given preferences as per draft guidelines.
• Under the grading system, an aspirant can score a maximum of 80 points. 15 points will be provided for providing jobs to over 10,000 persons.
• The points for employing 500-5,000 workers and between 5,000-10,000 workers is 5 and 10 respectively.
• A maximum of 10 points can be scored for both sound finances and relevant experience & technical capacity.
• Single segment investment can earn an applicant 5 points. Investing in integrated weaving and processing or fabrics and garments can earn an applicant 10 points.
• A business can get maximum 15 points for Investing in ‘aspirational districts’ and Group C towns as designated by Housing Ministry.

Topic: Miscellaneous

3. Indian agricultural waste recycling project wins Prince William’s inaugural Earthshot Prize.

• Indian agricultural waste recycling project has won Prince William’s inaugural Earthshot Prize, dubbed the “Eco Oscars”.
• Vidyut Mohan-led Takachar has won £1 million prize for its cheap technology innovation to convert crop residues into sellable bio-products.
• It is one of the five worldwide winners of the Prize. Takachar’s technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98%.
• It is a cheap, small-scale, portable technology that attaches to tractors in remote farms.
• It competed with another Indian finalist in the category – Vinisha Umashankar’s solar-powered ironing cart project.
• The prize was created by William, the Duke of Cambridge, to reward people trying to save the planet.
• Costa Rica won the prize in the “protect and restore nature” category. It won for a scheme paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems that have led to a revival of the rainforest.

Topic: Miscellaneous

4. Registrations on e-Shram portal cross 4-crore mark in less than two months of its launch.

• Registrations on e-Shram portal have crossed 4-crore mark in less than two months of its launch.
• As per the latest data, 4.09 crore workers have registered on the portal.
• Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh are at the forefront of this initiative with the highest number of registrations.
• Smaller states and union territories (UTs) have a lesser number of registered workforce.
• All workers in the unorganised sector, including migrant ones, can now take the benefits of social security schemes through registration on the e-Shram portal.
• After registration at e-SHRAM Portal, the unorganised workers receive a digital e-SHRAM card.
• A worker who is registered at the e-Shram portal and meets with an accident will be eligible for Rs 2 lakh on death or permanent disability and Rs one lakh on partial disability.
• The largest number of workers registered is from the agriculture and construction sector. Around 65.68 % of registered workers are in the age group of 16-40 years.

Topic: Banking System

5. Centralised agri-loans processing units launched by Bank of Baroda.

• Centralised agri-loans processing units have been launched by Bank of Baroda across 16 Zonal Offices.
• The unit is named as Centre for Agriculture Marketing and Processing (CAMP).
• It is a dedicated credit delivery model with a focus on financing non-traditional agricultural products and handling agri-marketing activities.
• Sanjiv Chadha, MD & CEO, Bank of Baroda, said that the agriculture sector has been resilient even during the ongoing pandemic.
• CAMP will promote the adoption of new and innovative agriculture products and practices.
• Bank of Baroda has also launched the 4th edition of ‘Baroda Kisan Pakhwada’, a fortnight long farmer engagement programme.

Topic: Appointments

6. A Balasubramanian elected as Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India.

• A Balasubramanian has been elected as Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
• Balasubramanian is Chief Executive Officer of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management.
• He would take over from Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mutual Fund.
• Radhika Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Edelweiss Asset Management has been elected as the Vice-Chairperson of AMFI.
• Sanjay Sapre, President, Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) was re-elected as the Chairman of AMFI Operations and Compliance Committee.
• Vishal Kapoor, CEO, IDFC Asset Management has been elected as the Chairman of AMFI Standing Committee of Certified Distributors (ARN Committee).

Topic: RBI

7. RBI imposes ₹1.95 crore monetary penalty on Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart)-India.

• RBI has imposed ₹1.95 crore monetary penalty on Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart)-India.
• It has imposed ₹1 crore monetary penalty on State Bank of India (SBI) for non-compliance with its directions in ‘Reserve Bank of India (Frauds classification and reporting by commercial banks and select FIs) directions 2016’.
• RBI had conducted a Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (ISE) of StanChart with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2020.
• RBI had found non-compliance with its directions on ‘Customer Protection – Limiting Liability of Customers in Unauthorised Electronic Banking Transactions’, ‘Cyber Security Framework in Banks’ etc.
• In the case of SBI, RBI had carried out scrutiny in a customer account maintained with SBI and found non-compliance.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

8. CoinDCX signs actor Ayushmann Khurana as the face for its latest campaign ‘Future Yahi Hain’.

• Cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX has signed actor Ayushmann Khurana as the face for its latest campaign ‘Future Yahi Hain’.
• The campaign has been launched to address key concerns surrounding crypto investments amongst the Indian audience.
• In the past six months (April-September 2021) the top three cryptocurrency exchanges (WazirX, CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX) have blocked over two lakh accounts citing malicious activities.
• Enforcement Directorate has recently issued a show-cause notice to WazirX for alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act on transactions involving crypto-currencies worth ₹2,790 crore.

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