Banking Awareness of 22, 23 and 24 December 2024

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. In 2024–2025, HDFC Securities projects that India's GDP would moderate to 6.4%.

• In 2024–2025, the financial advisory services company HDFC Securities projects that India's GDP would expand by 6.4%.
• Given the decline in urban demand and the lack of a significant recovery in private capital expenditures, it anticipates downside risks.
• However, two important growth drivers are rising rural demand and projected increases in government investment.
• The GDP is expected to increase to 6.7% in 2025–2026, according to HDFC Securities' 'The Big Review 2024'.
• According to the report, rural consumption is more advantageous than urban consumption, and investments will continue to propel growth.
• The purchasing power of the urban poor is being weakened by ongoing inflation, which is causing a decline in urban spending.
• According to the report, the Central government's capital expenditures were relatively low during the first half of 2024–2025.
• During the fiscal year 2023–2024, India's GDP increased by 8.2%. In 2022–2023 and 2021–2022, the economy expanded by 7.2% and 8.7%, respectively.

Topic: Taxation

2. The 55^th meeting of the GST Council took place at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on 21 December 2024.

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting.
• The GST Council resolved to lower the levy on fortified rice kernels to 5%.
• It has suggested changing the definition of pre-packaged and labelled items.
• It has been decided by the GST Council to exempt gene therapy from GST.
• Bank and NBFC penalties and late payment fees will not be subject to GST.
• Additionally, it has been decided to exempt the National Skill Development Council's training partners from GST.
• There has been no decision to include Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) in the GST's purview.
• The Group of Ministers will continue to work towards lowering the GST rate on health insurance.
• The concept note to eliminate the challenges associated with small companies’ registration has received in-principle approval from the council.
• The plan to lower the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on delivery fees for meals purchased via online shopping platforms has been postponed.
• Following the GoM's assessment of a lack of agreement on the problem, the Council postponed talks on insurance-related issues.
• Smaller petrol and diesel vehicles, as well as old and used EVs, will be subject to an 18% GST tax. The present rate of 12 percent has been raised.
• Ready-to-eat popcorn that has been seasoned with salt and spices will be subject to 5% GST if it is not already packaged.
• Popcorn that has already been packaged and labelled will be subject to 12% GST.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. In November 2024, All-India CPI-AL and CPI-RL has shown an increase of 5 points each.

• In November 2024, All-India Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) and Rural Labourers (CPI-RL) reached 1320 and 1331, respectively.
• CPI-AL and CPI-RL based year-on-year inflation rates for November 2024 were recorded at 5.35% and 5.47%, respectively.
• CPI-AL and CPI-RL based inflation rates stood at 7.37% and 7.13% in November, 2023.
• In October 2024, inflation rates were 5.96% for CPI-AL and 6.00% for CPI-RL.

Topic: Miscellaneous

4. A $500 million loan has been signed by Government of India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 20th December 2024.

• This loan has been signed to support green and sustainable infrastructure projects aligned with the India’s climate commitments.
• The ADB loan will be extended to the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL).
• Ms. Juhi Mukherjee Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, for the Government of India, and Country Director Mio Oka for ADB were the signatories to the Financing Environmentally Sustainable Growth in Infrastructure Project.
• IIFCL's institutional capacity to incorporate best practices and green practices into infrastructure projects will be strengthened by the project.
• To evaluate the sustainability rating of the projects, a sustainability unit, environmental sustainability framework, and scoring system will also be devised.

Topic: Banking System

5. ICICI Bank and Times Internet have come together to launch premium metal credit card.

• This co-branded credit card targets high-net-worth individuals.
• The ‘Times Black ICICI Bank Credit Card’ is powered by Visa.
• Perks for cardholders include unlimited lounge access at over 1,300 global airports, visa services at home, and entry to ‘The Quorum Club’.
• The metallic card has a unique design incorporating historic printing plates from The Times of India as its feature.
• Key benefits that come with the card are 2.5% reward points on international spending and 2% on domestic transactions.

Topic: Agriculture

6. The MSP of Copra for the 2025 season increased by the government to ensure better returns to farmers.

• Approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Copra for the 2025 season has been given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
• To provide remunerative prices to farmers, the Government had announced in the Union Budget 2018-19 that the MSP of all mandated crops would be fixed at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average cost of production.
• The MSP for milling copra has been fixed at ₹11,582 per quintal and for ball copra at ₹12,100 per quintal for the 2025 season.
• This represents a significant increase of 121% and 120%, respectively, compared to the MSP of ₹5,250 (milling copra) and ₹5,500 (ball copra) per quintal in 2014.
• Karnataka has the highest share in copra production at 32.7%, followed by Tamil Nadu at 25.7%.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. India’s forest cover has increased by 1,445 square kilometres, as per the India State of Forest Report 2023.

• India's total forest and tree cover stood at 8 lakh 27 thousand 357 square kilometers, which is 25.17 percent of India’s total geographical area.
• Out of this 7 lakh 15 thousand 343 square kilometers is classified as forest cover while 1 lakh 12 thousand 14 square kilometers is tree cover.
• The highest increase in forest and tree cover has been registered in Chhattisgarh with 684 square kilometers.
• It is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, each with a 559 square kilometer increase.
• In terms of forest cover, Mizoram, Gujarat, and Odisha were the top three leading states.
• Mizoram registered an increase of 242 square kilometers, followed by Gujarat (180 square kilometers) and Odisha (152 square kilometers).
• Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and Maharashtra are leading in total area covered by forests and trees.
• Lakshadweep (91.33%) has the highest percentage in terms of forest cover relative to total geographical area.
• It is followed by Mizoram (85.34%) and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (81.62%).
• As per the assessment, 19 states and union territories have more than 33 per cent of their geographical area under forest cover.
• Eight states have forest cover exceeding 75 per cent.
• India’s mangrove cover is estimated at 4,992 square kilometers. Bamboo-bearing areas have also seen growth.
• The carbon stock in India’s forests is another key highlight of the report. The current estimate stands at 7,285.5 million tonnes.

Topic Miscellaneous

8. Centre said that Indian pharma sector is recognized as the third largest globally, valued at $50 billion in FY 2023-24.

• The domestic pharmaceutical market was valued at $23.5 billion, with exports contributing $26.5 billion in financial year 2023-24.
• The Indian pharmaceutical industry has a strong presence globally and ranks 14th in terms of production value.
• The National Accounts Statistics 2024 reported that the pharmaceutical, medicinal, and botanical products industry had a total output of ₹4,56,246 crores at constant prices for FY 2022-23.
• National Accounts Statistics 2024 was released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Topic: Appointments

9. Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American entrepreneur, has been appointed by Donald Trump.

• U.S. President-elect Donald Trump named Sriram Krishnan as Senior White House Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence.
• He will serve as the Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
• He will focus on American leadership in AI and will help shape and coordinate AI policy across the government.

Topic: Miscellaneous

10. National Consumer Day is celebrated every year on 24th December to highlight the importance of the consumer movement.

• This day is also celebrated to spread awareness about the rights and responsibilities of every consumer.
• The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted on 24th December 1986 (replaced by Consumer Protection Act 2019 from 20th July 2020).
• This year, the theme of National Consumer Day is “Virtual Hearings & Digital Access to Consumer Justice”.
• As per the Consumer Protection Act, every Indian consumer has got six rights.

• Jago Grahak Jago App, Jagriti App, and Jagriti Dashboard launched by Department of Consumer Affairs on the occasion of National Consumer Day 2024.
• The objective of these apps is to enhance the ability of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to take automatic action against dark patterns.
• The ‘Jago Grahak Jago App’ aims to provide essential e-commerce information about all Universal Resource Links (URLs) during a consumer’s online activities.
• The ‘Jagrati app’ will allow users to report URLs where they suspect the presence of one or more dark patterns that have been declared illegal.

Read Banking Awareness PDF -22, 23 and 24 December 2024