Banking Awareness of 20, 21 and 22 July 2024

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. An RBI research shows that over the last 40 years, from 1980–1981 to 2021–2022, labour quality increased by 0.7% per year.

• Growth in the capital-intensive industrial and service industries is higher, according to the labour quality index.
• Labour quality index demonstrates that the poor growth in the construction and agricultural industries is caused by the large number of low-skilled workers.
• The industries that produce capital-intensive goods, such chemicals, machinery, and transportation equipment, had the fastest improvements in labour quality.
• All workers have higher levels of education overall, but this is particularly true for those working in capital-intensive industries like manufacturing and services.
• But from 2000 to 2022, the quality declined in contrast to the preceding 20 years.
• The quality of labour increased annually by 0.72% between 1980–1981 and 1999–2000.
• The growth rate from 2000–01 to 2021–22 was 0.60 percent.
• The health, social work, and telecommunication subsectors of the services industry saw the fastest growth in the labour quality index.
• Subsectors with slower development in the quality index included business, education, and financial services.
• This was due to the high proportion of skilled individuals already present in these areas.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

2. 19.5 lakh new net members joined the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme in May.

• Since the release of the initial payroll statistics in April 2018, this is the highest monthly addition.
• This increase is due to increased employment opportunities, rising employee benefit awareness, and the success of EPFO's outreach initiatives.
• More than 58% of the new joinees are between the ages of 18 and 25 years.
• The payroll data shows that 14.09 lakh members left EPFO and then returned.
• Gender-wise analysis of payroll data reveals that 2.48 lakh of the new members added in May are female.
• State-wise analysis of payroll data shows that the five states have the highest net member addition.
• Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Haryana are these states.
• These states account for about 58.24% of the net increase of members. Maharashtra is the leading state out of all the states.
• Under the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act of 1952, EPF is a mandatory savings programme.
• It is managed under the aegis of Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO).
• It includes all establishments with 20 or more employees.
• It also includes a few more establishments that, even if they employ fewer than 20 people, may be notified by the Central Government. The monthly salary cap is Rs. 15,000.

Topic: Taxation

3. The CVD on new or unused pneumatic radial tyres imported from China has been extended by government for five years.

• Countervailing Duty (CVD) was ending on July 23. The tyres will continue to attract CVD at the rate of 17.57 per cent.
• It is expected that this step will help domestic businesses like MRF, Apollo Tyres, and J K Tyres, among others.
• Countervailing Duties (CVDs) are additional charges levied on imported goods.
• They are levied to counter any unfair advantage a foreign manufacturer might have due to government subsidies.
• They are aimed at ensuring a level playing field for domestic manufacturers.

Topic: Banking System

4. A Generative AI-powered virtual relationship manager (VRM) has been launched by Bank of Baroda.

• It has also launched a credit line on UPI for improving payments and banking experience for customers.
• GenAI-powered VRM is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Indian banking sector.
• It provides real-time information about the products and services of the bank.
• It also captures customer requirements for specific banking services.
• It communicates in multiple languages. It is accessible through video, audio, and chat interfaces. It will be released to customers in phases.
• It will meet every day basic banking services. These include account statements, cheque book requests, debit card requests, interest certificates, etc.
• The bank launched 11 products and services on its 117th foundation day.
• It will enable the credit line on UPI feature on Baroda Kisan Credit Card (BKCC) for customers.
• BKCC customers can access a pre-sanctioned credit line on UPI. Initially, the project is being implemented in Madhya Pradesh.

Topic: Taxation

5. Taxnet 2.0 project has been awarded by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to Bharti Airtel.

• CBDT has awarded the Taxnet 2.0 project to Bharti Airtel Ltd for providing network connectivity, video conferencing services and facility management services to the Income Tax Department.
• The Taxnet 2.0 aims to revamp the Income Tax Department’s network system.
• It also aims to provide enhanced security, reliability, and user experience for all stakeholders.
• The key features of Taxnet 2.0 project include following.
  • Enhanced security to protect sensitive data and ensure privacy,
  • Higher reliability by delivering consistent and dependable service to departmental users across the country
  • Seamless connectivity by ensuring smooth and uninterrupted access to departmental users
  • Enhancing tax services for citizens and businesses alike
• Bharti Airtel Limited is commonly known as Airtel. It is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company.

Topic: Appointments

6. Georges Elhedery, the Chief Financial Officer, will become Group CEO, according to HSBC Holdings plc.

• Elhedery will replace outgoing chief Noel Quinn from September 2.
• Since 2020, Elhedery has been co-head of the Global Banking and Markets business, the division that houses HSBC's trading and investment banking advisory businesses.
• Elhedery began his career in banking as a rates trader before joining HSBC in 2005.
• He also served as CEO of HSBC's Middle East, North Africa and Turkiye region between July 2016 and February 2019.
• HSBC is a British bank and financial services group. It is headquartered in London, England.

Topic: Agriculture

7. India and Malaysia have decided to increase cooperation in the field of palm oil.

• Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan met the Minister of Plantations and Commodities of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani in New Delhi.
• Ministers also discussed the National Mission on Edible Oils.
• National Mission for Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) was launched by Government of India in August 2021.
• It aims to increase Crude Palm Oil production to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26. It is currently operational in 15 states nationwide.
• Palm oil is used as edible oil and biofuel. Oil Palm has highest vegetable oil yielding capability per hectare.
• Major oil palm growing States are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. These states account for 98% of total production.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. Global CSR & ESG Award 2024 presented to Sobha Group's Sri Kurumba Trust for Child & Women Development.

• The "Best Child and Women Development Initiatives of the Year 2024" award has been given to Sri Kurumba Educational and Charitable Trust, the CSR wing of the Sobha Group.
• On behalf of the organization, Mr. Nagarajan S, Project Vice President, Sobha Limited received the award.
• This prestigious honour was presented at the Global CSR, Sustainability and ESG Awards 2024 held at Hyatt Regency, Gurgaon.
• Marketing and brand honchos organized the event and brought together industry leaders and champions of social responsibility.
• This honour highlights the pioneering initiatives of Sri Kurumba Educational and Charitable Trust in empowering children and women through world-class education and community development programmes.
• The aim of the Global CSR & ESG Awards 2024 is to recognize and honour social and visionary leaders, organisations and individuals involved in humanitarian or social welfare work that brings about positive change or impact in society.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

9. Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia launched ‘The Future is Now’ as the theme for India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024.

• He also launched the Indian Mobile Congress 2024 application and Website, a unique interactive App for registration.
• The Minister also launched the Testing Scheme for Start-ups & MSMEs.
• The scheme is aimed at easing financial burdens for startups and Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the telecom sector.
• Under the scheme, up to 50 lakhs rupees per startup or MSE will be reimbursed for testing and certification costs essential for product quality and market access.
• With a total fund allocation of Rs. 25 crore, the application process will be completely online.
• The Minister oversaw the signing of MoU for between National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT) and IIT Jammu for capacity building in the areas of Cybersecurity.
• India Mobile Congress 2024 will be 8th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC).
• It will be co-hosted by the Department of Telecommunications and Cellular Operators Association of India.
• It will be held from 15th October at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
• India will also host World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly New Delhi 2024 (WTSA 2024) and Global Standards Symposium (GSS 2024) from 14-24 Oct, 2024 at the same venue.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

10. Madhya Pradesh is the 'best performing state' under the PM SVANidhi Scheme.

• On July 18, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said Madhya Pradesh has secured the first position in the 'best performing state' category in the Pradhan Mantri SVANidhi Yojana.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Narendra Modi government introduced the micro-credit plan for urban street sellers, offering collateral-free loans up to Rs 50,000.
• Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar presented the awards to the winners.
• Assam has been ranked second in the 'Best Performing State – Innovation and Best Practices Awards' category.
• In the 'Best Performing ULBs - Loan Performance with mega and million plus cities' category, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) secured first place.
• It was followed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in second place and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in third.
• The National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM) awards were announced, with Kerala topping the chart in the 'Systematic Progressive Analytical Real Time Ranking (SPARK)' category.
• In this category, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan followed in second and third place, respectively.

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