Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 18, 19 and 20 April 2021

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

1. Hydrogen Roundtable organized by The Energy Forum (TEF) and FIPI on 15 April.

• On 15 April, The Energy Forum (TEF) and Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) organized Hydrogen Roundtable under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Hydrogen Roundtable was organized to discuss emerging hydrogen ecosystems and to explore opportunities for collaboration, cooperation and coalition.
• It comprised of a High-level Ministerial Session, followed by five Panel Discussions. It had 25 panelists from15 countries. It had a separate session devoted to India’s Hydrogen Mission.
• Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, delivered the inaugural keynote address.
• The Energy Forum (TEF) is a think tank that carries out research and analyses on global energy markets.
• Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) is an apex society of hydrocarbon sector entities.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: Banking System

2. RBL Bank and Mastercard announce partnership to launch Pay by Bank App.

• RBL Bank and Mastercard have announced a partnership to launch Pay by Bank App, a mobile-based consumer-friendly payment solution.
• Pay by Bank App ensures that customer’s payment data is not revealed to the merchant.
• RBL Bank account holders can now use their mobile banking app to make contactless payments anywhere in the world.
• This feature will be available to all Mastercard accepting merchants all over the world.
• RBL Bank is an Indian private sector bank. It was earlier known as Ratnakar Bank. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Its MD and CEO is Vishwavir Ahuja.
• Mastercard is an American multinational financial services corporation. Michael Miebach is its CEO.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/ Taskforces

3. RBI sets up a six member Committee under chairmanship of Sudarshan Sen.

• RBI has set up a six member Committee under the chairmanship of Sudarshan Sen for a comprehensive review of the working of ARCs in financial sector ecosystem.
• The committee will also recommend measures to enable Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to meet the growing requirements of the financial sector.
• The Committee will give its report within three months from its first meeting.
• The Committee will review all current legal and regulatory frameworks that apply to ARCs.
• Measures to improve the efficiency of ARCs will be recommended by the Committee.
• Role of ARCs in the resolution of stressed assets, including under Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, will also be reviewed.
• The committee will also review any other matter related to the functioning, transparency and governance of ARCs.
• Vishakha Mulye, P N Prasad, Rohit Prasad, Abizer Diwanji and R Anand are names of members of the Committee.
• In July 2020, ARCs were advised by RBI to establish Fair Practices Code (FPC) to achieve transparency and fairness in dealing with stakeholders.

Topic: Miscellaneous

4. Italy launches its first mega food park project in India.  

• Italy launched its first mega food park project in India on April 17. 
• The project is named as “The Mega Food Park”. It also has food processing facilities.
• A Letter of Intent was signed between the ICE Office in Mumbai and Fanidhar Mega Food Park in Gujarat.
• This is the first Italian-Indian food park project. The project aims to develop synergy between agriculture and industry of India and Italy.

Topic: World Economy

5. A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) taskforce jointly set up by Bank of England and the Treasury.

• A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) taskforce has been jointly set up by the Bank of England and the Treasury for the exploration of a new digital currency.
• This new digital currency could be known as Britcoin. It will be different from digital currencies Bitcoin and other so-called cryptocurrencies as state authorities will issue it.
• Currently, only the Bahamas has such a currency. Sweden could have its own digital currency by 2026. China is trialing digital currency in several cities.

Topic: Indian Economy

6. Unemployment rate in India increases from 7.21% for the week that ended April 4 to 10.72% for the week ended April 18.

• As per the latest data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in India increased from 7.21% for the week that ended April 4 to 10.72%, for the week ended April 18.
• This data shows that the unemployment rate in urban India is increasing since the beginning of the current month.
• Overall unemployment rate declined a little from 8.58% a week ago to 8.4% for the week ended April 18.
• Rural unemployment rate was increasing during March month from 5.86% on March 7 to 8.58% on April 4. It declined to 8% on April 11 and further to 7.31% on April 18.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 18, 19 and 20 April 2021