Banking Awareness of 19, 20 and 21 April 2023

Topic: Appointments

1. Appointment of Kaizad Bharucha as Deputy Managing Director of HDFC Bank has been approved by RBI.

• RBI has also approved appointment of Bhavesh Zaveri as Executive Director of the HDFC Bank.
• RBI has approved these appointments for three years with effect from April 19, 2023.
• Kaizad Bharucha was earlier Executive Director with the bank.
• Zaveri was Group Head – Operations, Cash Management & ATM Products with the bank.
• HDFC Bank:
  • HDFC Bank is India's largest private sector bank. It is India’s second largest lender after State Bank of India.
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded in 1994. The CEO of HDFC Bank is Sashidhar Jagdishan.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

2. Federal Bank has signed a Banking Correspondent agreement with KiVi.

• Federal Bank has signed the agreement to expand its agri lending portfolio in Tamil Nadu.
• As part of the agreement, KiVi will service and augment underwriting capability of Federal Bank.
• In the starting phase of the partnership, KiVi aims to serve 10,000 farmers in Tamil Nadu.
• KiVi is a Chennai-based agri fintech start-up operated by Agrosperity Tech Solutions.
• KiVi is co-incubated by IIT Madras Incubation Cell, the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub and Indigram Labs.
• Federal Bank:
  • It is an Indian private sector bank with headquarters in Aluva, Kochi.
  • Shyam Srinivasan is CEO of Federal Bank. Its tagline is your perfect banking partner.

Topic: Miscellaneous

3. New ₹100 commemorative coin will be released by the government for the 100th episode of Mann Ki Baat.

• The coin will be in the denomination of ₹100. It will be circular, with a diameter of 44 millimetres and 200 serrations.
• Its weight will be 35-gram. Coin’s metal composition will be a quaternary alloy, with silver having a share of 50%, copper 40%, nickel 5%, and zinc 5%.
• The obverse face of the coin will bear the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the centre with the legend “Satyamev Jayate” inscribed below.
• The Lion Capitol will be flanked on the left periphery with the word “Bharat” in Devnagri script and on the right periphery with the word “INDIA” in English.
• The coin’s reverse face will have the logo for the 100th Episode of Mann Ki Baat.
• The logo will have an image of a microphone with sound waves and year ‘2023’ written on it.
• ‘Mann Ki Baat 100’ in Devnagri and in English will be written above and below of the microphone image, respectively.
• Commemorative coins are not released for general circulation. They are considered legal tender. They can be sourced from specified agencies.
• The 100th episode will be broadcasted on 30 April. Mann Ki Baat programme started on 3 October, 2014. It is broadcast on the last Sunday of every month.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. IndusInd Bank’s GIFT City IFSC Banking Unit branch has signed $100 million long-term loan agreement with JBIC.

• It has signed the agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to encourage the growth of Japanese construction equipment companies in India.
• This is the first of its kind lending by JBIC through any IFSC Banking unit at GIFT City.
• Currently, the component suppliers and dealers of the selected Japanese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will be covered under the program.
• The final buyers of the construction machinery manufactured by those companies will also be currently covered under the program.
• The facility will be co-financed by Japan-based Mizuho Bank and Joyo Bank, and Singapore-based Shizuoka Bank.
• IndusInd Bank:
  • It is a Pune-based bank. It was started in 1994.
  • Sumant Kathpalia is its CEO. Its tagline is we make you feel richer.

Topic: Banking System

5. City Union Bank has launched India’s first voice biometric authentication for logging into its mobile banking app.

• Kaizen Secure Voiz Pvt Ltd has developed the voice biometric service.
• The voice biometric service has been developed under the guidance of 5G use case lab of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).
• Kaizen Secure Voiz Pvt Ltd is a Chennai-based deeptech start-up.
• City Union Bank has earlier launched the first robot (Lakshmi) in the banking industry.
• It has also launched India’s first wearable debit card in the form of a wrist watch and key chains.
• N Kamakodi, MD & CEO, City Union Bank, said that the voice biometric service will initially be limited to login. It will not be available for authentication of transactions.
• City Union Bank is a private sector bank. It is headquartered in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

6. SEBI has banned Rajesh Mokashi for ratings manipulation.

• Rajesh Mokashi is former MD & CEO of CARE Ratings.
• He has been banned by SEBI for two years from associating with stock-market related entities.
• SEBI has accused him of interfering in the rating committee decision while it rated instruments issued by YES Bank, DHFL, RCom and ILFS unit (Housing Finance and Infrastructure and Financial Services).
• SEBI has dismissed the case against SB Mainak, the former chairman of CARE Ratings.       
• In April 2022, CARE Ratings said that the justice BN Srikrishna (retd) panel gave a clean chit to its previous MD&CEO (Mokashi) and chairman (Mainak).
• CareEdge Ratings (CARE Ratings Ltd) started operations in April 1993. It is one of the leading credit rating agencies in India.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Utsa Patnaik has been chosen for the Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023.

• Utsa Patnaik is a renowned economist of national and international repute.
• The Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust gives this award every year.
• The prestigious national award honours outstanding social scientists.
• Utsa Patnaik will be given the award with a citation and prize money of ₹2 lakh at a function that will be held in Chennai.
• The Trust will soon announce the date of this event.
• Utsa Patnaik is an Indian Marxian economist.

Topic: Banking System

8. Bengaluru has topped in digital payment transactions in 2022.

• Bengaluru with 29 million transactions worth USD 65 billion emerged on top in digital payment transactions.
• New Delhi with 19.6 million transactions worth USD 50 billion and Mumbai with 18.7 million transactions worth USD 49.5 billion are in second and third spots.
• Pune and Chennai are also among the top 5 in digital payment transactions in 2022
• According to the report, physical merchants like grocery stores, restaurants, clothing and apparel, pharmacy, etc. accounted for over 43 per cent of digital transactions in terms of volume and about 40 per cent in terms of value.
• Around 85% of digital transactions in terms of volume are related to E-commerce space, gaming, utility and financial services.
• Education, travel and hospitality sector contributed 15 per cent in digital transactions volume and 75 per cent in terms of value.

Topic: Reports and Indices

9. India will become the world's most populous country by mid-2023.

• India will overtake China as the world's most populous nation by the middle of this year.
• According to the United Nations Population Fund's World Population Report, India's population is estimated to be 1.4286 billion by mid-year of 2023, compared to 1.4257 billion for China.
• India’s population will be around 3 million more than its neighbour china.
• The United States will be in third place with an estimated population of 340 million by the end of June.
• China is ahead of India on most socio-economic parameters.
• The life expectancy at birth for women in India is 74 years, in China, it is 82 years.
• As per the International Monetary Fund, China's per capita income is projected to be 5x India's ($2,601) in 2023.
• The total population of India was expected to be 1.388 billion in 2023 based on the 2011 census data, according to the report of the Technical Group on Population Projections under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare presented in July 2020.
• The youth population in the age group of 15-24 years is expected to increase from 233 million in 2011 to 251 million in 2021 and then decline to 229 million in 2036.
• Its proportion to the total population is expected to fall from 19.3% in 2011 to 15.1% in 2036.

Topic: Reports and Indices

10. India ranked third in Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2023.

• India retained third place with 68 unicorns in the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2023.
• According to the report, there are currently 1,361 unicorns globally.
• Edtech firm BYJU’S topped the list from India with a valuation of $22 billion.
• Foodtech platform Swiggy, and gaming company Dream11 are the other top unicorns of India.
• Globally, logistics unicorn Delhivery is on the 14th spot in the list of top IPOs of last year.
• 70 unicorns were started by Indian co-founders outside of India. The total number of unicorns founded by Indians globally rises to 138.
• The United States is in the first position with 666 unicorns while China is in the second spot with 316 unicorns.
• The Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2023 has been designed to give an insight of the future’s economy.
• According to Hurun Global Unicorn Index, the number of countries with at least one unicorn has doubled from 24 to 48.
• The period of the COVID-19 pandemic saw the fastest unicorn creation rate in history, with almost one new unicorn every day.
• A privately-owned startup company worth more than $1 billion is called a “Unicorn”.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 19, 20 and 21 April 2023