Banking Awareness of 21, 22 and 23 January 2025

Topic: Agriculture

1. The sixth International Millets Festival was held in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

• As part of the festival, a conference called "Transformation of agrifood systems through agri-ecology: A Global Perspective" was organised.
• International organisations like GIZ Germany and FiBL Switzerland collaborated to host the event.
• The symposium featured experts from more than ten nations, including Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, Kenya, Tanzania, Italy, Peru, and England.
• One of the leading producers of nutri cereals is Karnataka, which hosted the inaugural International Millets Festival in 2017.
• In the state, millets are cultivated on more than 18.37 lakh hectares (ha).
• Of the main millets, 8.27 lakh hectares are planted to ragi, 8.11 lakh hectares to jowar, and 1.68 lakh hectares to bajra.
• Minor millets namely fox millets, kodo millets and proso millets are cultivated in about 0.31 lakh ha in the state.

Topic: Agriculture

2. Between April and December of FY25, fertiliser imports fell by 18%.

• Sales of urea up to December 31 in the current fiscal year were 300.26 lakh tonnes (lt).
• The combined sales of all fertilisers rose 7.3% to 525.92 litres.
• Reduced sales of fertilisers containing diammonium phosphate (DAP) were the primary cause of this.
• However, from April to December, total DAP sales fell 12.7% to 86.23 litres.
• Nevertheless, complex climbed by 27.1 percent to 122.65 lt, while muriate of potash (MOP) increased 31.6 percent to 16.78 lt.
• Despite increased sales, urea imports have been kept to a minimum.
• The government had previously set a goal to make India self-sufficient in urea by 2025.
• During the first nine months, 43.16 liters of urea were imported.
• During the entire fiscal year 2020–21, a record 98.28 liters of urea were imported.
• Overall fertilizer imports decreased by 18.4% to 120.54 liters between April and December.
• Low base effect, however was the reason for the 15.3% increase in MOP imports to 21.71 lt.
• In the meantime, the subsidies for urea and potash and phosphorus have reached ₹98,258.74 crore and ₹40,990.67 crore, respectively.

Topic: Corporates and Companies

3. Reliance Industries would contribute ₹100 crore to the development of biogas feedstock under the ICAR project.

• About ₹100 crore would be allocated by Reliance Industries (RIL) to a project run by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• Eleven different types of grass species that can be utilized as feedstock to create compressed biogas are the focus of the investment.
• RIL is expected to sign a deal with the Indian Grassland & Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), which is located in Jhansi and is part of ICAR.
• The project will be for a period of five years and about ₹85 crore (excluding GST) will be provided by RIL.
• While the patent will remain with IGFRI, RIL will be allowed to take these species to suitable area for commercial/contract farming.

Topic: Corporates and Companies

4. To cover wedding costs, Tata AIA Life Insurance introduced Shubh Muhurat.

• In order to assist parents in saving for their child's wedding, Tata AIA Life Insurance has introduced "Shubh Muhurat," a life insurance plan.
• The solution is appropriate for parents who are between the ages of 31 and 50 and with children of ages 1 to 20.
• By making an early investment in this, the parent may have enough time to build up the corpus needed for the child's wedding.
• Shubh Muhurta provides equity exposure along with a capital guarantee.
• Unaffected by market fluctuations, the guaranteed lump money guarantees that wedding preparations stay on course.
• According to a survey by Jefferies India, a capital market and investment banking firm, over 80 lakh weddings were held last year, with an estimated ₹10.7 lakh crore spent.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. A Global Antitrust Award nomination has been made for CCI's Monetary Penalty Guidelines.

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has gained international acclaim.
• It has received a nomination for the 2025 Concurrences Antitrust Awards in the Soft Laws & Studies category for its "Determination of Monetary Penalty Guidelines, 2024."
• Every year, the Concurrences Antitrust Writing Awards are held.
• The awards honor exceptional global contributions to competition law and policy.
• In 2024, the Competition Commission of India released its guidelines.
• The recommendations improve enforcement's predictability and openness by offering a systematic framework for calculating monetary penalties in antitrust cases.
• The goal of the 2024 Monetary Penalty Guidelines is to provide proportionate punishments.

Topic: Agriculture

6. India is currently the world's seventh-largest producer of coffee.

• India’s exports of coffee reached 1.29 billion dollars during the last fiscal year.
• According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, this is almost twice as much as the 719 million dollars in exports in 2020–21.
• Italy, Belgium, and Russia were India's top importers of the 9,300 tonnes of coffee that the country sold in the first half of this month.
• India's main export is unroasted coffee beans.
• The country's export boom is being further fuelled by the rising demand for roasted and instant coffee.
• With 248,000 metric tonnes produced in 2022–2023, Karnataka tops in coffee production, followed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• According to the Ministry, domestic consumption grew from 84,000 tonnes in 2012 to 91,000 tonnes in 2023.
• Higher disposable incomes, the emergence of cafe culture, and India's growing preference towards coffee over tea are all factors contributing to this.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. India is expected to grow by 6.7%, which is more than the 2.7% world growth rate, according to World Bank projections.

• India is expected to dominate the world economy, according to the World Bank's World Economic Prospects report (WEP), which was released in January 2025.
• According to the report, for the next two fiscal years, India will continue to be the large economy with the quickest rate of growth.
• A flourishing services sector and a revived manufacturing base are credited with this exceptional momentum.
• Government policies, which range from tax simplification to infrastructure modernisation, are boosting domestic growth and establishing India as a pillar of international economic stability.
• Additionally, the report predicts that China's economic growth will slow to 4% in the upcoming year.
• According to the report, manufacturing WEP report activity is predicted to increase while the country's services sector is predicted to continue growing strongly.
• A healthier employment market, easier access to finance, and declining inflation are all expected to boost private consumption in the nation.
• For the fiscal years 2025 and 2026, the IMF predicted that India's growth would continue to be strong at 6.5%.

Topic: Miscellaneous

8. Amitabh Kant authored the book ‘How India scaled Mt. G20′.

• On 21 January, G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant was lauded by PM Narendra Modi for his book on the country’s G-20 presidency titled How India Scaled Mt. G-20.
• External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has written a fascinating foreword for the book.
• It is noteworthy that Amitabh Kant's book 'How India Scaled Mt. G-20' depicts the country's determination and collaborative spirit in making the G-20 Presidency an unparalleled success.
• In September 2023, the G-20 summit held in New Delhi was one of the biggest global gatherings of this decade.
• A major success of this event was the consensus reached on the Joint Declaration.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

9. Maharashtra signed multiple MoUs at World Economic Forum in Davos.

• In the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra signed Memorandums of Understanding totalling 38,750 crore rupees at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
• The Kalyani Group and the Maharashtra government signed first Memorandum of Understanding.
• This MoU covers the defence, steel, and electric vehicle sectors.
• It is expected that this MoU will bring in 5,250 crore rupees in investment and create 4,000 jobs in Gadchiroli.
• Maharashtra government and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. inked the second Memorandum of Understanding in the defence sector. This is valued at 16,500 crore rupees.
• It is expected that 2,450 new jobs will be created under this MoU.
• The third MoU inked with Balasore Alloys Ltd. is worth 17,000 crore rupees.
• This MoU focuses on the steel and metals industry and would create 3,200 jobs.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

10. ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme has completed 10 years.

• The government is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme.
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched by the prime minister on January 22, 2015 at Panipat, Haryana.
• ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme resolves the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of women empowerment.
• It prevented gender-biased sex-selective elimination and promoted the survival, protection and education of the girl child.
• This scheme has created a strong foundation for valuing and protecting every girl child.
• Through this scheme, the focus will be on making long-term changes through inclusive policies, better implementation, and active community participation.

Read Banking Awareness PDF -21, 22 and 23 January 2025