Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 22 January 2020

1. Inter-ministerial panel approves expansion of Paradip Port

• Inter-ministerial panel headed by the Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty has approved a proposal by the Ministry of Shipping for expansion of Paradip Port.
• Under the proposal, inner harbor facilities of the Paradip Port will be deepened and optimized at a total estimated cost of Rs 3,025 crore through public-private-partnership (PPP).
• The Paradip Port Trust will ask private bidders with a minimum net worth of 50 % of the project cost to execute the project.
• On 30 October 2019, Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) has cleared the project and cargo berths at the Western Dock of Paradip Port Trust will be developed as common user facilities for port dependent industries (PDI) and non-PDI.
• Out of Rs 102 lakh crore of infrastructure projects during 2020 and 2025, the port sector will account for Rs 1.01 lakh crore.

2. NSE becomes world’s largest derivatives exchange

• As per Futures Industry Association (FIA) data, the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) has become the world’s largest derivatives exchange in 2019.
• By becoming world’s largest derivatives exchange with regard to the number of contracts traded, NSE has taken over the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) group.
• As per the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) data, NSE comes in third place with respect to the number of cash equity segment traded.
• From Calendar Year (CY) 2015 to CY 2019, the cash equity segment has seen a growth of over 90% and equity derivatives daily average turnover increased by 70%.
• Futures Industry Association (FIA) is a derivatives trade association in US.
• World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) is a London-based trade association. It was earlier known as Federation Internationale des Bourses de Valeurs (FIBV) or International Federation of Stock Exchanges.

3. Decline in direct tax collections

• Direct tax collections by the government have declined by 5.2 % from the last year.
• From April 2019 to 15 January 2020, the government has collected ₹7.26 trillion or ₹7.26 lakh crore from direct taxes.
• For Financial Year 2019-20, the government has estimated the growth of gross direct tax collections at 17.4%.
• Tax collection from personal income increased by 6.5% till January 15. Due to the lowering of the corporate tax rate in September, corporate tax collections declined.
• In order to increase tax collections in March, the government may start a dispute resolution scheme for direct taxes. The government is already having a similar scheme for indirect taxes.
• In 2019, Sweden has collected the highest income tax. Currently, there are seven countries that do not have an income tax and are known as tax heavens. They are United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Bahamas, Qatar, Kuwait, Monaco, Oman and Panama.

4. NBFCs allowed to pool and auction gold jewelry

• RBI has allowed NBFCs to pool and auction gold jewelry from separate branches within a district.
• NBFCs can auction pooled gold jewelry anywhere within the district in case of failure of the first auction.
• In order to auction pooled gold jewelry, NBFCs must fulfill requirements like prior notice, reserve price, arms-length relationship and disclosures regarding the auction.

5. IRDAI approves ICICI Lombard's proposal

• IRDAI has approved ICICI Lombard's proposal to provide floater policy for motor insurance.
• In the future, ICICI Lombard may offer a single motor insurance policy for several vehicles. The policy will have different sub-limits for every vehicle.
• Currently, the floater insurance policy is not permitted for motor vehicles. But, IRDAI has allowed ICICI Lombard's product under its sandbox initiative aimed at allowing innovative ideas.
• Earlier, IRDAI has also approved ICICI Lombard's four proposals. They are being given below.
  • App Monitored Diabetes Mellitus Wellness Program
  • App Monitored Dyslipidaemia Management Program
  • Pay As You Use (PAYU) policies for Private Car
  • Pay How You Use (PHYU) policies for Private Car
• App Monitored Diabetes Mellitus Wellness Program will include a Disease Management Program (DMP).
• In Pay As You Use (PAYU) policies for Private Car, customers will pay premiums on the basis of kilometers they travel by car.
• In Pay How You Use (PHYU) policies for Private Car, customers can pay premiums on the basis of driving behavior monitored by an App for calculating premiums.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Recently, the expansion of Paradip Port was approved by the Inter-ministerial panel. Who was the head of this panel?

1. Ministry of Shipping Secretary
2. Department of Economic Affairs Secretary
3. Department of Expenditure Secretary
4. Finance Ministry Secretary
5. NITI Aayog Chairperson

2. Which among the following is the world’s largest derivatives exchange as per Futures Industry Association (FIA)?

1. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
2. Mexican Derivatives Exchange (MDE)
3. National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE)
4. Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
5. Japan Commodity Exchange(JCE)

3. How much money was collected by Government from direct taxes between April 2019 and 15 January 2020?

1. ₹7.26 trillion
2. ₹8.26 trillion
3. ₹9.26 trillion
4. ₹10.26 trillion
5. ₹11.26 trillion

4. Recently, RBI has notified that NBFCs can pool gold jewelry from branches in a district. As per RBI, NBFCs can auction pooled jewelry __________.

1. Outside district
2. At the collecting branch in district
3. Without failure of first auction
4. Anywhere in district
5. At the branch from where NBFCs collect jewelry

5. IRDAI has recently approved five different proposals of ICICI Lombard. Which of the following is not included in these proposals?

1. App Monitored Diabetes Mellitus Wellness Program
2. App Monitored Dyslipidaemia Management Program
3. Pay As You Use (PAYU) policies for Private Car
4. Pay How You Use (PHYU) policies for Private Car
5. Disease Management Program (DMP)

Correct Answers:

1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. E