Banking Awareness of 20, 21 and 22 August 2023

Topic: Appointments

1. Neelkanth Mishra has been appointed part-time Chairman of UIDAI.

• After Nandan Nilekani, he will be the 2nd non-bureaucrat to chair UIDAI.
• Neelesh Shah and IIT Delhi Professor Mausam has been appointed as members of the UIDAI.
• The Chairperson and the Members will hold the office for three years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, from the date on which they assume office.
• Neelkanth Mishra is Chief Economist with Axis Bank. He is also part of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
• Nilesh Shah is the Managing Director (MD) of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management.
• Unique Identification Authority Of India (UIDAI):
  • It was established as a statutory authority under the Aadhaar Act 2016.
  • It works under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
  • Amit Agrawal is the Chief Executive Officer of the Unique Identification Authority of India.
  • It consists of a Chairperson, two part-time Members and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. The Advisory Board on Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF) has been reconstituted by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

• Suresh N Patel, former Central Vigilance Commissioner, will chair the reconstituted ABBFF.
• In addition to the Chairman, ABBFF have four members. The term of Chairman/Members will be for two years with effect from August 21.
• The four members of ABBFF are Ravikant, Rajnikant Mishra, David Rasquinha and Partha Pratim Sengupta.
• ABBFF carries out the first level examination of bank frauds before recommendations or references are made to investigation by agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
• All PSBs, public sector insurance companies, and public sector financial institutions are now required to refer all matters of frauds involving ₹3 crore and above to the ABBFF for advice.
• The ABBFF will be headquartered in New Delhi. It will have to ordinarily, within a month of receipt of the initial reference, tender the advice.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

3. IIFL Home Finance has received debt funding of $100 million from IFC, which is a member of the World Bank Group.

• This is a six-year money with a coupon of 8.32%. Non-convertible debentures (NCDs) has been issued for it.
• As part of the partnership, 50% of funding is earmarked for promoting housing finance for women borrowers.
• Remaining 50% is dedicated to financing green housing for buyers.
• The entire facility will be deployed for affordable housing.
• It will help increase access to housing finance among economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income groups (LIG), including women borrowers in India.
• IIFL Home Finance Limited (IIFL HFL) is a subsidiary of IIFL Finance.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international development finance institution. It was formed in 1956. It is headquartered in Washington, US.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

4. Bajaj Finance Limited’s fixed deposits book has crossed the ₹50,000-crore mark.

• Its fixed deposits portfolio increased two-fold in the last two years.
• It has half-a-million depositors, with each each depositor having placed 2.87 deposits.
• During the 10 years, the Bajaj Finance has grown its deposit book at a CAGR of 60% and depositor count at CAGR of 49%.
• Bajaj Finance Limited is a deposit-taking NBFC and part of Bajaj Finserv.

Topic: Banking System

5. Gaja Capital-led consortium is the frontrunner for Nainital Bank.

• Piramal Alternatives, Paragon Partners, Burman Family Holdings and the family office of Shiv Nadar are also parts of the consortium.
• A consortium of investors led by Faering Capital has also shown interest in the bank.
• Nainital Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda.
• Bank of Baroda will divest 50% stake in the first tranche of divestment and over time it will completely exit its investment.
• Bank of Baroda holds 98.57% stake in Nainital Bank. It took over the bank in 1973.
• In 2010, RBL Bank (Ratnakar Bank Limited) was the last occasion when a bank was sold to investors.
• Nainital Bank was founded in 1922. It is headquartered in Nainital, Kumaon. Its MD & CEO is Nikhil Mohan. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda. 

Topic: Banking System

6. UPI interoperable digital rupee mobile app has been introduced by Canara Bank.

• Canara Bank is the 1st bank in both the public and commercial sectors to offer this feature via its CBDC mobile app called the Canara Digital Rupee app.
• With the launch of this feature, customers can scan merchant UPI QR codes using the Canara Digital Rupee app and make payment through digital currency.
• This feature also empowers merchants to accept digital currency payments through their existing UPI QR codes along with UPI-based payments without going through a separate onboarding process for CBDC.
• The launch of the mobile application enabled with UPI interoperability will further digitalize Indian economy.
• Canara Bank:
  • It was founded in July 1906. It is headquartered in Bengaluru.
  • K. Satyanarayana Raju is its CEO. The government has merged Syndicate bank with Canara bank.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

7. The total number of Jan Dhan accounts crossed the 50 crore mark.

• Out of the total 50 crore accounts, 56 per cent of accounts belong to women and 67 per cent of accounts have been opened in Rural and Semi-urban areas.
• The total deposits in these accounts are above Rs 2.03 lakh crore.
• Around 34 crore RuPay cards have been issued with these accounts free of cost.
• The average balance in Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts is Rs 4,076.
• More than 5.5 crore of these accounts received Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana:
  • It was launched on 28th August 2014. It was launched to provide universal access to banking facilities to people.
  • It is also known as National Mission for Financial Inclusion.
  • Under this scheme, Rupay Debit card and Accident Insurance Cover of Rs.1 lakh (enhanced to Rs2 lakhs to new PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018) is provided to account holders.
  • An overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000 is provided to eligible account holders.

Topic: Reports and Indices

8.  According to SBI’s economic research report “Ecowrap”, weighted mean income of ITR filers increased to ₹13 lakh in AY 2023.

• As per this report, weighted mean income of Income Tax Return (ITR) filers increased from ₹4.4 lakh in AY2014 to ₹13 lakh in the Assessment Year (AY) 2023.
• It could further increase to ₹49.7 lakh in 2047 and distribution of tax filers could shift from lower income group to upper income group.
• Per capita income will increase from ₹2 lakh in FY23 to ₹14.9 lakh in FY47 as per the estimates by SBI’s economic research department (ERD).
• In USD terms, it could increase from about $2,500 in FY23 to about $12,400 in FY47.
• The report says that the number of Indians who file taxes will increase from 7 crore in FY23 to 48.2 crore in FY47.
• The number of people with a taxable income is estimated to increase by 80% by 2047.
• 25% of ITR filers will leave the lowest income strata by FY47. 13.6% left the lowest income strata between AY12-AY23.
• As per the report, there has been a material decline in zero tax liability.
• The share of people with zero tax liability in total returns filed declined from 84.1% in AY12 64% in AY23.
• State wise ITR filed during AY23 show that top five states are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
• These States form nearly 48% of the total income tax returns filed in AY23.
• In percentage growth, smaller states like Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland have registered over 20% increase in ITR filed during the last 9 years. 
• SBI’s report on 'The Ascent of the new Middle Class in circular migration' was released on the 77th Independence Day on 15 August 2023.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 20, 21 and 22 August 2023