Banking Awareness of 20, 21, 22 and 23 July 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised India’s GDP growth forecast for FY26 to 6.5%, down from 6.7%.

• This change is due to global trade challenges and higher US tariffs.
• Weaker export prospects and growing policy uncertainty have also influenced the revision.
• India still remains one of the fastest-growing major economies.
• Domestic demand is expected to stay strong.
• A revival in rural consumption will play a key role in supporting growth.
• The services and agriculture sectors will be major contributors.
• Agriculture is likely to benefit from forecasts of an above-normal monsoon.
• The Economic Survey projects growth between 6.3% and 6.8% for FY26.
• The RBI has also reduced its FY26 growth estimate from 6.7% to 6.5%.
• India’s economy expanded by 6.5% in FY25. This was the slowest growth in the past four years.
• It was a drop from the 9.2% growth seen in FY24.
• The central government’s fiscal position is stable. Higher-than-expected dividends from the RBI have strengthened fiscal resources.
• The government is on track to reduce its fiscal deficit as planned. For FY27, growth is expected to rise to 6.7%.
• This improvement assumes lower policy uncertainty and higher investments.
• Supportive financial conditions will also aid growth recovery.
• Recent monetary easing is contributing to this outlook.
• Since February, the RBI has cut the repo rate by 100 basis points.
• It has adopted a neutral policy stance. This gives it the flexibility to either raise or lower rates as needed.
• In June, the RBI cut interest rates by 50 basis points. This was its third consecutive rate cut.
• It also reduced the cash reserve ratio by 100 basis points to 3%.
• This move added ₹2.5 lakh crore in liquidity to the banking system.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. India’s electronics exports rose sharply by 47% in the first quarter of the current financial year.

• The total value reached $12.41 billion during this period.
• From April to June, the United States, UAE, and China were the top markets for India’s electronics exports.
• The Netherlands and Germany were also significant destinations.
• This reflects India’s growing role in the global electronics supply chain.
• India is increasingly seen as a strong alternative manufacturing hub in Asia.
• The US alone accounted for over 60% of India’s electronics exports.
• The UAE followed with 8.09%, while China accounted for 3.88%.
• In the textile sector, the US remained the largest importer of Indian ready-made garments. It took in 34.11% of total garment exports.
• Other major markets included the UK at 8.81%, the UAE at 7.85%, Germany at 5.51%, and Spain at 5.29%.
• India’s ready-made garment exports rose to $4.19 billion in the April–June quarter.
• This was up from $3.85 billion in the same period last year.
• The increase shows India’s continued strength in the global apparel market.
• This is driven by skilled labor, a wide range of products, and strong quality and compliance standards.

Topic: Reports and Indices

3. India’s Financial Inclusion Index (FI Index) rose to 67.0 in March 2025.

• It was 64.2 in March 2024. This increase shows improvements across all major components of the index.
• Usage and quality made the biggest contributions to the rise.
• These gains reflect deeper access to financial services.
• They also highlight the success of ongoing financial literacy efforts.
• The Reserve Bank of India introduced the FI Index in August 2021.
• The index value was 53.9 in FY21. In March 2017, the index stood at 43.4.
• The FI Index measures inclusion in banking, insurance, pensions, postal services, and investments.
• It was developed in consultation with the government and key sectoral regulators.
• The index is scored on a scale from 0 to 100.
• A score of 0 means complete exclusion from financial systems. A score of 100 represents full financial inclusion.
• The index is built on three main components. These are access (35%), usage (45%), and quality (20%).

Topic: Banking System

4. Public sector banks have significantly reduced their gross non-performing assets in the last five years.

• The NPA ratio decreased from 9.11% in 2021 to 2.58% in 2025.

• Finance Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary shared this information in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
• Gross NPAs of Public Sector Banks have declined from ₹6.16 trillion in March 2021 to ₹2.83 trillion in March 2025. 
• The government and the Reserve Bank of India have taken several steps to address NPAs.
• Banks set up special units and branches to manage stressed assets.
• These efforts improved monitoring of bad loans. They also helped speed up the recovery process.
• Business correspondents were deployed to support recovery efforts.
• A field-based, feet-on-street approach was also adopted.
• Together, these measures boosted the recovery of NPAs.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. India’s core infrastructure output rose by 1.7 percent in June 2025.

• This is in comparison to the same month in 2024. The data comes from the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI).
• The increase was mainly due to strong performance in steel, cement, and refinery products.
• Steel production grew by 9.3 percent. Cement output went up by 9.2 percent.
• Refinery production increased by 3.4 percent during the month. However, not all sectors performed well.
• Coal production declined by 6.8 percent in June 2025. Crude oil production was down by 1.2 percent.
• Natural gas output fell by 2.8 percent. Fertilizer production dropped by 1.2 percent.
• Electricity generation also saw a decrease of 2.8 percent.
• The ICI tracks the output of eight major sectors. These include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity.
• Together, these industries make up 40.27 percent of the total weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. As per IMF, India has become global leader in fast payments as UPI records 18.39 billion transactions in June 2025.

• According to a recent IMF note titled ‘Growing Retail Digital Payments: The Value of Interoperability’, India leads the world in fast payments with UPI recording 18.39 billion transactions worth over 24.03 lakh crore rupees in June 2025.
• IMF said, UPI has revolutionised the country’s payment ecosystem by helping users to link multiple bank accounts to a single mobile app and make instant transactions with ease.
• It has not only simplified peer-to-peer payments but also enabled millions of small businesses to accept digital payments at minimal cost.
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) was launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• According to government data, UPI now processes over 18 billion transactions every month, accounting for 85 per cent of India’s total digital payments.
• With 491 million users and 65 million merchants onboard, UPI connects 675 banks through a single digital framework.
• This shift has taken India away from cash and card-based payments and pushed it towards a digital-first economy.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

7. India led global investment confidence growth in the third quarter of 2025, recording a rise of 12.6%.

• India recorded the highest year-on-year confidence growth of 12.6% among 32 economies in Q3 2025, despite a slight 1.4% dip in business investment confidence.
• This data was revealed in the D&B Global Business Investment Confidence Index of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), a data and analytics firm.
• According to the report, global investment confidence dropped 13.1% quarter-on-quarter, marking a third consecutive decline
• Nearly half of global businesses (46.8%) rated supply chain stability as a key determinant in investment decisions for the third quarter.
• In the global scenario, investment confidence declined more in advanced economies than in emerging economies.
• Except for the US, which has the highest weightage and fell 16.7% quarter-on-quarter, confidence in advanced economies declined more than in emerging economies.
• Significant declines were recorded in France, Japan, Germany, and Spain, wiping out prior gains seen in Q2 2025.
• Among emerging economies, the largest quarter-on-quarter declines were recorded in the Russian Federation (-26.1%), Brazil (-23.9%) and South Africa (-20.7%).
• The manufacturing sector recorded a larger drop (-17.2%) in investment confidence than the services sector (-10.8%) for Q3 2025.
• The biggest declines were in the manufacturers of capital goods (-33.1%), food (-26.9%), and automotives (-26.4%).

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

8. The National Conference on Making Cities Cyber Secure was held on 18 July 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

• The event focused on strengthening cities against growing cyber threats.

• It was organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• The aim was to build a unified strategy for improving urban cyber resilience.
• Over 300 delegates attended the conference.
• These included State IT and Urban Development Secretaries, senior police officials, Municipal Commissioners, Smart City CEOs, and cybersecurity experts.
• MoHUA unveiled major initiatives for urban cybersecurity.
• These included city-specific cybersecurity frameworks and the mandatory appointment of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs).
• The ministry also highlighted the importance of completing cybersecurity audits.
• Officials warned that increased digitisation of urban systems is exposing cities to higher cyber risks.
• Critical infrastructure like traffic management, utilities, and public services are especially vulnerable.
• Speakers stressed the need for coordinated efforts across government bodies.