Banking Awareness of 17, 18 and 19 December 2024

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. The second edition of IDFC First Private Banking and Hurun India’s ‘India’s Top 200 Self-made Entrepreneurs of the Millennia 2024’ has been released.

• DMart's promoter, Radhakishan Damani, came in first.
• He was followed by Zomato's Deepinder Goyal, and Sriharsha Majety, and Nandan Reddy of Swiggy.
• Damani increased the value of his business by 44% to Rs 3.4 lakh crore.
• Zomato's and Swiggy's respective valuations increased by 190% and 52% to ₹2.52 lakh crore and Rs 1.01 lakh crore.
• This year, the list featured the addition of 56 founders from 32 companies.
• Remarkably, 32 promoters were removed off from this year's list.
• This year, the entry threshold for self-made entrepreneurs rose by 13% to ₹3,400 crore.
• The total worth of the 200 listed companies increased by 20% to ₹36 lakh crore.
• This exceeds the GDP of all other states and is nearly equal to that of Maharashtra.
• A quarter of the value of India's 200 Most Valuable Family Businesses is represented by the $431 billion worth of businesses founded by self-made entrepreneurs.
• The youngest self-made business entrepreneurs were Zepto co-founders Kaivalya Vohra and Aadit Palicha.
• Ashok Soota, the 81-year-old founder of Happiest Minds, was the oldest self-made entrepreneur on the list.
• Falguni Nayar of Nykaa is the highest-ranked woman among the 19 women on the list.
• MamaEarth's Ghazal Alagh became the youngest woman entrepreneur.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

2. Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme, three states with the most rooftop solar installations are Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh.

• Since the scheme's inception, more over 6.79 lakh installations have been completed as of December 9, 2024.
• These consist of around 1.41 lakh households through installations in residential welfare associations and over 5.38 lakh individual residential units.
• Approximately 88% of all installations are in six states.
• With more than 3.02 lakh installations, Gujarat leads the list.
• It is followed by Maharashtra with over 1.39 lakh installations and Uttar Pradesh with more than 56,000 installations.
• Kerala has over 55,000 installations, Tamil Nadu has more than 21,000 installations, and Rajasthan has more than 20,000.
• The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana makes renewable energy more affordable for households by providing a 40% subsidy.
• Additionally, it makes low-interest, collateral-free loans available for the installation of residential rooftop solar systems up to 3 kW in power, with interest rates of about 7%.
• On February 15, 2024, PM Modi launched this scheme. By March 2027, one crore households should get rooftop solar power because to this scheme.
• Installments are anticipated to surpass 10 lakh by March 2025, double to 20 lakh by October 2025, and reach 40 lakh by March 2026 as part of the scheme plan.
• Through the installation of rooftop solar panels, the program aims to provide households with free electricity.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. In 2023–2024, India exported cotton textiles valued at $12258 million.

• Compared to the export numbers for 2021–2022, India’s cotton textile exports fell by over 29%.
• The amount of cotton textiles and madeups exported from India in 2023–2024 decreased by 19% from 2021–2022.
• There was a 31 percent decrease in cotton yarn in 2023–2024. Additionally, raw cotton shipments fell by 60%.
• Nonetheless, there was a 12% growth in exports of other textile yarns and makeups in 2023–2024.
• India's exports fell to $11085 million in 2022–2023 from a peak of $17166 million in 2021–2022.
• Exports from Gujarat, which supplies about 30% of India's cotton textiles, fell from a peak of $4760 million in 2021–2022 to $3615 million in 2023–2024.
• Gujarat is the top cotton producing state. The second-largest producer of cotton is Maharashtra.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. Wholesale food inflation declined from 25-month high level of 11.6% in October to 8.9% in November.

• Overall inflation in wholesale prices declined from 2.4% in October to a three-month low of 1.9% in November.
• In November, manufactured products’ inflation increased to 2%.
• Inflation in primary articles declined from 8.1% in October to 5.5% in November.
• Vegetable inflation had increased over 63% in October. It more than halved to 28.6% in November.
• Onion inflation had halved from 78.8% in September to 39.25% in October. Onion inflation declined to 2.85% in November.
• Food products’ inflation increased to 9.5% in November from 7.8% in October.
• Edible oils and fats’ prices increased 28% from 20.2% in October.
• On a sequential basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was down just 0.06%.

Topic: Appointments

5. Rama Mohan Rao Amara has been appointed as managing director of the State Bank of India (SBI).

• Rama Mohan Rao Amara has been appointed as managing director in the bank for a period of three years.
• The SBI board is headed by a Chairman assisted by four managing directors.
• Rama Mohan Rao Amara was working as the Deputy Managing Director of SBI.
• This post had become vacant after the elevation of CS Shetty as chairman of the bank.
• Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) has recommended the name of Rama Mohan Rao Amara.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

6. SEBI tightened norms for Investment advisors.

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated that a person giving investment advice must be qualified and registered under the Investment Advisor Regulations (IA Regulations), 2013.
• The amendment also throws light on the use of AI in providing investment advice.
• It also gives responsibility to investment advisors for the security, confidentiality, and integrity of client data and the accuracy of the advice generated.
• The proposed amendment also suggested key changes to the definition of ‘Investment Advice’.
• It also defined the qualifications for a person to be an investment advisor.

Topic: Agriculture

7. The annual funding to the agricultural sector has increased nearly six times over the past decade.

• The budget allocation for the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has increased six-fold, from around Rs 21 thousand crore in 2013-14 to Rs 1 lakh 22 thousand crore in 2024-25.
• The major schemes being implemented for the welfare of farmers include Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), Pradhan Mantri Kisan Mandhan Yojana (PM-KMY), Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has released a compilation of success stories of 75,000 farmers.
• They have more than doubled their income through the convergence of schemes run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and allied ministries.
• Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur said that farming is a state subject, hence, state governments need to take appropriate steps for the development of agriculture.
• However, the Government of India supports these efforts through appropriate policy measures, budgetary allocations, and various schemes.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

8. India has become the third-largest smartphone exporter in the world.

• India, which was ranked 23rd in 2019, has now become the 3rd largest exporter of smartphones in the world.
• According to data submitted by companies and data compiled from industry associations, the country's smartphone exports have also crossed the Rs 20 thousand crore mark in a single month in November 2024.
• The country's smartphone exports reached 20,395 crore rupees last month, marking an impressive 92% increase compared to the same month last year, when the exports were 10,634 crore rupees.
• This achievement is much more than the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme’s commitment to export 70-75% of the production value in FY 2024-25.
• In November, Apple emerged as the leader with exports worth Rs 14,000 crore, the highest ever for the company in India.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

9. In November 2024, India's total exports came to $67.79 billion, a 9.59% increase over November 2023.

• From April to November 2024, merchandise exports came to $284.31 billion, up 2.17% from $278.26 billion in 2023.
• Merchandise exports decreased from $33.75 billion in November 2023 to $32.11 billion in November 2024.
• Exports of non-petroleum goods reached $28.40 billion in November 2024, up 7.75% from $26.36 billion in November 2023.
• Electronic goods, technical items, rice, marine products, and ready-made clothing were major drivers of export growth in November 2024.
• The estimated total imports for November 2024 were $87.63 billion, a 27.47% increase over November 2023.
• An estimated $619.20 billion was spent on imports between April and November of 2024, a 9.55% increase.
• The increase in gold imports caused the merchandise trade imbalance to increase from $27.14 billion to $37.84 billion in November 2024.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. The 'Jamsetji Tata Award' has been given to Kiran Mazumdar for the biosciences movement in India.

• The Indian Society for Quality (ISQ) presented Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw with the Jamsetji Tata Award.
• Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is chairperson of the Biocon Group.
• She has been given Jamsetji Tata Award in recognition of her leadership in the biosciences movement in India.
• At the ISQ Annual Conference 2024, which took place in Bengaluru, the award was presented.
• Janak Kumar Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director of TQM International and President of ISQ, presented the prize to Mazumdar-Shaw.
• In 2004, the Jamsetji Tata Award was established. It honours business leaders who have significantly impacted Indian society.

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