Banking Awareness of 21, 22 and 23 June 2023

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

1. SEBI has barred 135 entities from accessing the securities market.

• It has barred these entities from selling, buying or dealing in securities because of manipulation of stocks of five small-cap companies.
• SEBI also put a fine of Rs 126 crore on these entities, which were circulating buy recommendations of the scrips of five companies via bulk text messages and websites to investors.
• As a result, there was rapid increase in price and volume in the scrips of five small-cap companies.
• The names of five small-cap companies are Mauria Udyog Ltd., 7NR Retail Ltd., Darjeeling Ropeway Company Ltd., GBL Industries Ltd. and Vishal Fabrics Ltd.
• SEBI has also issued show cause notices to 226 entities for violations of regulations.

Topic: Appointments

2. Hasmukh Adhia has been appointed as Chairman of GIFT City Ltd and as chairman of the boards of GMDC, GACL.

• He is former Union Finance Secretary & Revenue Secretary.
• He replaces Sudhir Mankad as Chairman of GIFT City Ltd. He took charge on 21 June 2023.
• He has also been appointed Director and Chairman of the boards of Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (GMDC) with immediate effect.
• GACL and GMDC are State public sector undertakings.
• He currently serves as an advisor to the Gujarat Chief Minister. He is a non-executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda.
• Joseph Tsai will replace Daniel Zhang as the chairman of the board of Alibaba. Eddie Wu will take over as chief executive of the company.
• Alibaba is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded by Jack Ma.

Topic: Miscellaneous

3. New scheme of education and training for chartered accountancy course has been approved by the centre.

• The scheme is likely to be launched from July 1 when ICAI will celebrate 75th anniversary of its foundation.
• President Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest for the CA foundation day event in New Delhi on 01 July.
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the world’s largest accounting body (members and students put together).
• The new curriculum has been approved by both the law ministry and corporate affairs ministry.
• ICAI has now proposed practical training of two years for CA aspirants. Students currently go through a three year practical training.
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI):
  • It was established on 01 July 1949 as a statutory body by the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
• It regulates the Chartered Accountancy profession in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Aniket Sunil Talati is its president.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

4. India has become a power surplus nation in the last nine years.

• It has also become a net exporter of electricity in the last nine years.
• India’s energy shortage has come down from 4.2% in 2014 to around 0.2% in 2023.
• Union Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh said that all villages and households have been electrified in India.
• He also said that average hours of supply in rural areas has grown from 12.5 in 2014 to 20.53 in 2023.
• The average hours of supply stands at 23.78 hours for urban areas.
• Non-fossil installed power capacity has increased to 43% now (2023).
• Union Minister said that government has awarded 1,000 megawatt hour battery storage project.
• India has exported 2,410 million units to Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan in FY23.
• The minister said 185 gigawatts (GW) of power has been added in the last nine years and country’s cumulative installed capacity has increased to 416 GW.
• India’s total generation capacity is 416 gigawatts. The minister said the highest peak demand has been recorded at 221 gigawatts.  
• He also talked about the various reforms that the Ministry has taken during the last nine years. These reforms are given below.
  • Electricity (Right to Consumers) Rule for consumer empowerment
  • Revamped distribution sector scheme for strengthening distribution
  • Real time market
  • Late payment surcharge rule to improve sector viability
  • General Network Access regime for ease of doing Business

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

5. India and the United States have decided to end six trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

• India will do away with customs duties on 28 American products like almonds, walnuts, and apples.
• The six disputes include three initiated by India and three initiated by the US.
• At WTO, the first step to resolving a dispute is bilateral consultation.
• If the both sides are not able to resolve a dispute by bilateral consultation, any side can approach setting up of a dispute settlement panel.
• The rulings of panel can be challenged at WTO's appellate body, which is current non-functional due to non-appointment of members. 
• The US is the India’s largest trading partner. In 2022-23, bilateral goods trade between two countries increased from $119.5 billion in 2021-22 to $128.8 billion.
• US Company GE Aerospace and Indian aerospace company HAL have signed a MoU to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
• Under the agreement, GE Aerospace’s F414 engines will be co-produced in India to power the Indian Air Force’s Light Combat Aircraft Mk2.
• GE Aerospace is among the top aircraft engine suppliers. It is headquartered in Evendale, Ohio, United States. It is a subsidiary of General Electric.
• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):
  • It is a government-owned corporation involved in the design, fabrication, and assembly of aircraft, jet engines, and helicopters.
  • Its headquarters is located in Bangalore. It was established on 23 December 1940 as Hindustan Aircraft Limited.
  • It was established in 1964 as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. CB Ananthakrishnan is its chairperson and MD.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

6. Piramal Enterprises sold its complete 8.34% stake in Shriram Finance in a deal of around ₹4,824 crore.

• It sold its 3.12 crore shares of Shriram Finance via multiple block deals on the National Stock Exchange.
• After the block deals, shares of Shriram Finance surged 15%.
• GIC Singapore was the largest buyer picking up 91.2 lakh shares. It is the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore.
• It was followed by Societe Generale ODI. Societe Generale ODI bought 30.4 lakh shares of Shriram Finance.
• Total 54 buyers took part in the block deals.
• Earlier, TPG India Investments sold its whole 2.65% stake in Shriram Finance for ₹1,390 crore.
• In January 2023, Apax Partners had sold its 2.95% stake for ₹1,300 crore via block deals.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. Indian Overseas Bank has signed MoU with the Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihood Mission.

• As part of the MoU, Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihood Mission will facilitate credit linkage of eligible SHGs with Indian Overseas Bank.  
• The MoU will foster the growth of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu and provide them with financial support.
• The MoU aims to streamline access to financial resources for SHGs and enable them to undertake entrepreneurial activities.
• It will also increase the disbursal under DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission) during this fiscal.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM):
  • National Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD in June 2011 as a restructured version of Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY).
  • In November 2015, it was renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM)
  • It aims at creating institutional platforms for the rural poor which enable them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.

Topic: Banking System

8. Axis Bank has launched the one-view feature to manage multiple accounts on one platform.

• With the help of this one-view feature, customers can manage their accounts across multiple bank accounts, including non-Axis accounts.
• The feature has been introduced using the open banking principle. It uses the account aggregator ecosystem.
• Customers are able to link their non-Axis Bank accounts. They can get overall view of their balance, transactions and statements on a real-time basis.
• The feature will eliminate the need for multiple mobile banking applications.
• With the help of this feature, customers can download and e-mail transaction details from their linked accounts.

Topic: RBI

9. Swaminathan Janakiraman has been appointed as RBI Deputy Governor.

• State Bank of India Managing Director Swaminathan Janakiraman has been selected for the post of Deputy Governor in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The appointment of Swaminathan Janakiraman has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• He will replace Deputy Governor M.K. Jain whose five year tenure will end on 30 June, 2023. M.K Jain was appointed to this role in 2018.
• His tenure will be of three years from the date of joining or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Dr M.D. Patra, M.R. Rao and T. Rabi Shankar are the other three deputy governors of RBI.
• Out of the four deputy governors, two are traditionally selected from executive directors of RBI. One is nominated from among chairpersons of PSB and the other is an economist.
• RBI can have a maximum of four deputy governors and one governor.

Topic: Miscellaneous

10. Devotees will be able to make digital donations at Puri Jagannath temple during Rath Yatra.

• Paytm has enabled digital donations at Puri Jagannath temple.
• Digital donations can be made using Paytm UPI and Paytm UPI Lite by scanning QR code.
• Devotees across India can also make donations to Shri Jagannath Temple, Puri from the ‘Devotion’ section on Paytm Super App.
• On the occasion of the Rath Yatra, Paytm is offering a VIP Darshan to select devotees making donations through the Paytm app.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

11. Fitch Ratings raised India’s GDP forecast to 6.3 % for FY 2023-24.

• Fitch Ratings increased the GDP growth rate forecast of India from 6% to 6.3% for the current fiscal year 2023-24.
• According to Fitch Ratings, GDP is up by 6.1 percent year-on-year in 1Q23 (January-March) and auto sales, PMI surveys and credit growth remain robust in recent months.
• The GDP growth in January-March was higher than expected and there was a recovery in manufacturing after two consecutive quarterly contractions.
• Earlier in March, Fitch had lowered its forecast for 2023-24 to 6 percent from 6.2 percent due to high inflation and interest rates.
• Fitch Ratings has estimated a growth of 6.5 percent each for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years.
• In terms of expenditure, GDP growth is mainly due to increased domestic demand and a boost from net trade.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 21, 22 and 23 June 2023