Banking Awareness of 19, 20 and 21 February 2026

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. The base year of India’s merchandise trade Indices has been revised by the government from 2012–13 to 2022–23.

• The revision aims to improve accuracy, relevance and analytical value for policymakers and researchers.
• The revision was carried out by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, which functions under the Commerce Department.
• The update reflects structural changes in India’s economy and accounts for evolving trade patterns and shifts in commodity composition.
• The change has been done on the recommendations of a committee headed by Nachiketa Chattopadhyay, Professor, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.
• The new base year better represents the present structure of India’s exports and imports.
• The revised series provides monthly, quarterly and annual trade indices.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

2. The government has introduced seven new measures to boost exports under the ₹25,060-crore Export Promotion Mission.

• Three components of this mission were already launched in January.
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry announced credit support with interest subvention and partial credit guarantees.
• The Direct E-Commerce Credit Facility will offer support up to ₹50 lakh with 90% guarantee coverage.
• The Overseas Inventory Credit Facility extends support up to ₹5 crore with 75 per cent guarantee coverage.
• It also offers a 2.75 percent interest subsidy, subject to an annual ceiling of ₹15 lakh per applicant.
• To promote export factoring for MSMEs, a 2.75 percent interest subvention will be provided on the factoring cost for eligible transactions carried through entities recognised by the Reserve Bank of India or the International Financial Services Centres Authority.
• Factoring assistance is limited to ₹50 lakh per MSME each year.
• Claims will be processed through a digital system for transparency and timely payments.
• Shared-risk and credit enhancement tools such as Letters of Credit confirmation and negotiation will be used to support exporters entering new or high-risk markets.
• The Trade Regulations, Accreditation and Compliance Enablement scheme will help exporters meet global standards.
• Reimbursement will cover 60 percent of costs under the Positive List. It will cover 75 percent under the Priority Positive List.
• The annual ceiling is ₹25 lakh per IEC (import export code).
• The Facilitating Logistics, Overseas Warehousing and Fulfilment (FLOW) initiative will improve overseas storage and distribution access.
• The Logistics Interventions for Freight and Transport scheme targets exporters in remote and hilly regions.
• Up to 30 percent of eligible freight costs will be reimbursed. The ceiling is ₹20 lakh per IEC per financial year.

Topic: RBI

3. The Reserve Bank of India has mandated the use of a Unique Transaction Identifier for all over-the-counter (OTC) derivative trades.

• The requirement will take effect from January 1, 2027.
• An earlier draft circular had proposed implementation from April 1, 2026. The final guidelines extended the timeline.
• This extension allows market participants more time to build technical systems.
• The Unique Transaction Identifier is globally recognised as a key reporting element.
• It improves transparency in over-the-counter derivatives markets.
• At present, several OTC derivative transactions are already reported to a trade repository.
• These include rupee interest rate derivatives and government securities forward contracts, foreign currency derivatives, foreign currency interest rate derivatives, and credit derivatives.
• The trade repository is managed by Clearing Corporation of India Limited.
• The RBI has now made the Unique Transaction Identifier compulsory for these transactions.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. A growth of 4 per cent has been registered in the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) in January 2026 on an annual basis.

• This is a decline from a revised 4.7% in December 2025 and 5.1% in January 2025.
• As per the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the decline was mainly due to weaker performance in energy-related sectors.
• On the other hand, steel, cement and electricity continued to register positive growth.
• Cement production increased by 10.7 per cent during the month.
• Steel production increased by 9.9 per cent and electricity generation recorded a growth of 3.8 per cent.
• Fertiliser production grew by 3.7 per cent. Coal production increased by 3.1 per cent.
• Crude oil production declined by 5.8 per cent. Natural gas output fell by 5 per cent.
• Petroleum refinery products showed no growth compared to January 2025.
• The cumulative growth of the core industries from April to January stood at 2.8 per cent on a provisional basis.
• These eight core sectors account for over 40 per cent of the weight in the Index of Industrial Production.

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

5. ₹137 Crore XV-FC Grants released to strengthen rural local bodies.

• More than ₹137 crore under the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV-FC) Untied Grants was released by the Union Government.
• The grant has been released to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural Local Bodies in Goa, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
• The grants were released during FY 2025–26 to further reinforce rural local governance across the beneficiary states.
• The allocation was made for different financial years and was intended to improve grassroots institutional capacity.
• In Goa, ₹11.60 crore was released as the second instalment for FY 2023–24 for two eligible District Panchayats and 191 Gram Panchayats, along with ₹2.979 crore of withheld funds.
• Meghalaya received ₹27 crore as the second instalment for FY 2021–22 covering the Autonomous District Councils of Khasi, Garo and Jaintia.
• For Sikkim, ₹6.60 crore was released for FY 2025–26 benefiting six District Panchayats and 199 Gram Panchayats, along with ₹0.165 crore for one additional District Panchayat.
• Uttarakhand received the largest share of ₹89.4117 crore as the first instalment for FY 2025–26 covering 13 District Panchayats, 95 Block Panchayats and 7,568 Gram Panchayats.
• The grants are recommended by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti and are released by the Ministry of Finance in two instalments annually.
• Untied Grants will be used by local bodies for location-specific needs under the Eleventh Schedule, excluding salaries and establishment expenses.
• Tied Grants will support essential services such as sanitation, ODF maintenance, waste and fecal sludge management, drinking water supply, rainwater harvesting and water recycling.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. India's foreign exchange reserves rose to a record $725.727 billion.

• India’s foreign exchange reserves were reported by the Reserve Bank of India to have surged by $8.663 billion to an all-time high of $725.727 billion for the week ended February 13.
• The sharp increase was recorded after reserves had declined by $6.711 billion in the previous week due to falling gold prices.
• The latest rise was driven by gains across key reserve components.
• Gold reserves were increased by $4.990 billion to reach $128.466 billion during the reporting week.
• Foreign Currency Assets, the largest component of reserves, rose by $3.550 billion to $573.603 billion.
• FCA comprises major global currencies such as the US dollar, euro, yen and pound expressed in dollar terms.
• Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) increased by $103 million to $18.924 billion, while India’s reserve position with the IMF rose by $19 million to $4.734 billion.
• Strong forex reserves provide a key indicator of the country’s economic strength and external sector stability.
• The reserves enable the central bank to intervene in currency markets to prevent excessive depreciation of the rupee.
• Significantly, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26, the country remains the largest recipient of remittances in the world, with inflows of $135.4 billion in FY25, maintaining stability in the external account.
• Despite the deteriorating global financial situation, India has consistently attracted large gross investment inflows, which amounted to 18.5% of GDP in FY25.

Topic: Banking System

7. The Online Death Claim Settlement Portal has been launched by Indian Overseas Bank.

• This portal provides a digital solution for families and legal heirs.
• It provides a time-bound process for efficient claim settlement.
• Claimants can initiate and complete settlements from the comfort of their homes.
• All required documents can be uploaded directly through the portal.
• A real-time tracking system allows claimants to monitor progress at every stage.
• The bank has simplified the process for claims up to ₹15 lakh. Claims below this amount do not require any third-party security.
• Indian Overseas Bank ensures that claims are processed within 15 days.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

8. Union Cabinet has approved one lakh crore rupees for the Urban Challenge Fund (UCF).

• The fund will leverage private participation and citizen-centric reforms to deliver high-quality urban infrastructure.
• The initiative is expected to make cities the key drivers of the country's economic growth.
• The Urban Challenge Fund (UCF) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• The aim of the fund is to build resilient, productive, inclusive and climate-responsive cities.
• The UCF will crowd-in private capital by making projects bankable.
• It will also achieve this capital by reducing risks for lenders and private partners.
• The Fund supports up to 25% of project cost, subject to raising a minimum of 50% of the project cost from the market.
• The operational period for the fund is from Financial Year 2025-26 to Financial Year 2030-31.
• Its implementation period is extendable up to the Financial Year 2033-34.
• This move is expected to result in a total investment of four lakh crore rupees in the urban sector in the next five years.
• This is also expected to mark a shift in India’s urban development approach from grant-based financing to outcome-oriented, market-linked and reform-driven infrastructure creation.