Banking Awareness of 23, 24, 25 and 26 November 2025

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

1. A threshold-based method has been introduced by SEBI to determine when related party transactions are considered material.

• It has also revised approval thresholds by audit committees for related party transactions carried out by subsidiaries.
• SEBI has also simplified requirements of disclosure for smaller related party transactions.
• With these new norms, SEBI aims to address practical issues and remove ambiguities.
• SEBI aims to balance investor protection with ease of doing business under Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) norms.
• As per new norms, a transction is considered material when it is more than 10% of annual consolidated turnover for companies with turnover up to ₹20,000 crore.
• The materiality threshold is ₹2,000 crore plus 5% of the turnover above ₹20,000 crore for firms with turnover between ₹20,001 crore and ₹40,000 crore.
• The threshold is ₹3,000 crore plus 2.5% of turnover above ₹40,000 crore or Rs 5,000 crore, whichever is lower, for companies with turnover beyond ₹40,000 crore.
• The limit cannot exceed ₹5,000 crore for listed entities having a turnover above Rs 40,000 crore.
• This upper limit has been notified to protect the interests of minority shareholders.
• Earlier, threshold to determine materiality was uniform at ₹1,000 crore or 10% of annual consolidated turnover.
• The amount of minimum information required for audit committee and shareholder approval has also been relaxed by SEBI.
• In case of total annual transactions with a related party staying below 1% of consolidated turnover or ₹10 crore, a shorter disclosure format can be used.
• Validity of omnibus approvals for material related party transactions given at an annual general meeting (AGM) shall be valid until the next AGM.
• Approvals granted by shareholders in general meetings other than AGM sahlle be valid for up to one year.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. S&P Global has maintained growth forecast for India at 6.5% for FY26.

• As per the agency, India’s economy is expected to grow 6.7% in FY27.
• According to S&P Global, domestic growth remains strong. It is supported by robust consumption despite the impact of increased US tariffs.
• If US lowers tariffs on Indian products, this could aid labour-intensive sectors.
• The Indian rupee has depreciated around 4.3% so far this calendar year.
• This depreciation is because of capital outflows and trade uncertainty.
• Decreased GST rates, income tax cuts, and interest rate reductions will strengthen middle-class consumption.
• In FY26 and FY27, consumption may drive growth more than investment.
• India’s CPI inflation forecast for FY26 has been lowered by S&P to 2.5%. It expects inflation to increase to about 5% in FY27.
• IMF raised India’s FY26 growth forecast to 6.6%. It lowered FY27 growth forecast  to 6.2%.
• World Bank raised India’s FY26 forecast to 6.5%. It lowered FY27 forecast to 6.3%.
• RBI has projected India’s GDP growth at 6.8% for FY26.
• For the Asia-Pacific region, growth will remain steady in 2026.
• China’s 2026 GDP growth forecast was increased to 4.4% from 4%.

Topic: Appointments

3. Sunil Kumar Chugh has been appointed as Executive Director by Canara Bank.

• His appointment has become effective November 24, 2025 for a term of three years.
• He was Chief General Manager at Punjab National Bank.
• Mini TM has been appointed as Executive Director by Indian Bank.
• Mini has worked at Federal Bank, Vijaya Bank, and Bank of Baroda.
• She holds a degree in Agriculture and an MBA in Finance. She is a Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers.
• She is also a certified Financial Risk Manager from GARP, USA.
• Canara Bank was established on 1 July 1906. It is an Indian public sector bank.
• It is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. K Satyanarayana Raju is its MD & CEO.
• Indian Bank was founded on 15 August 1907. It is an Indian public sector bank.
• It is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Binod Kumar is its MD & CEO.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

4. The Sixth International Agronomy Congress started in New Delhi on 24 November 2025.

• IAC-2025 was inaugurated by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• It is a three-day long event. It features plenary talks, themed symposia, research presentations, and exhibitions.
• It also features a dedicated Young Scientists and Students' Conference.
• Ministry of Agriculture and farmers’ Welfare said that it will serve as a platform for world-class scientific discourse.
• More than one thousand global delegates are participating in the Congress.
• These include university heads, ICAR officials, industry leaders and agri-business innovators.
• Re-envisioning Agronomy for Smart Agro-Food Systems and Environmental Protection is the theme for Sixth International Agronomy Congress.

Topic: Appointments

5. Sandeep Pradhan has been appointed as a Whole-Time Member on the board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

• He will serve a three-year term starting from the day he assumes charge.
• A notification from the Department of Economic Affairs conferred his appointment.
• He is a 1990-batch IRS officer and currently the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) in Pune.
• He previously headed the Sports Authority of India and also served as the CEO of the Khelo India programme.
• SEBI has four Whole-Time Member positions. Amarjeet Singh and Kamlesh Chandra Varshney are serving as Whole-Time Members.
• Additionally, SEBI has two part-time members.They are Deepti Gaur Mukerjee and Anuradha Thakur.
• Pradhan fills a vacancy created after Ananth Narayan G’s term ended in October.
• Another vacancy was created after Ashwani Bhatia’s tenure ended in May.

Topic: Miscellaneous

6. The implementation of four new labour codes has been announced by central government on 21 November 2025.

• These codes aim to streamline the existing labour laws in the country.
• They are also aimed at simplifying existing, decades-old labour laws.
• The new labour codes are expected to enhance wages, safety, welfare and social security for all employees.
• The Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 has become effective from 21 November 2025.
• Government have consolidated 29 labour laws into four Labour Codes.
• It notified the Code on Wages, 2019 on 8th August, 2019.
• Government notified remaining three Codes on 29 September, 2020.
• As per Labour and Employment ministry, India’s social-security coverage has grown from 19% of the workforce in 2015 to over 64% in 2025.
• Labour and Employment ministry said that the implementation of the four Labour Codes will further expand the social-security net.
• As per the Ministry, four new labour codes will guarantee following:
  • Timely minimum wages for all workers
  • Appointment letters for the youth
  • Equal pay and respect for women
  • Social security for 40 crore workers
  • Gratuity for fixed-term employees after one year of employment
  • Free annual health check-ups for workers above 40 years of age
  • Double wages for overtime
  • Full coverage health security for workers in hazardous sectors and
  • Guarantee of social justice for workers as per international standards

Topic: Appointments

7. The Centre has carried out a major secretary-level reshuffle across several important ministries.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, led by the prime minister, approved the new appointments.
• Neeraj Mittal has been moved from the telecom department to petroleum and natural gas secretary.
• Amit Agrawal, former Unique Identification Authority of India chief, will serve as telecom secretary.
• Manoj Joshi, who recently moved to land resources department, has been reassigned to head the pharmaceuticals department.
• Atish Chandra, serving as special secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, will join the agriculture ministry as officer on special duty.
• He will take the role of agriculture secretary on 1 February after superannuation of Devesh Chaturvedi.
• Tourism secretary V. Vidyavathi has been transferred to the disabilities empowerment department.
• Srivatsa Krishna is set to replace V. Vidyavathi as tourism secretary.
• Sunil Paliwal, Chennai Port Trust chairperson, has been appointed as chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India.
• Anju Rathi Rana of legal affairs department will be member secretary of the 23rd Law Commission.
• Government has extended Rajiv Mani’s term as legislative department secretary to July 2028.
• He will also oversee the legal affairs department in an additional capacity.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. A Joint Venture Cooperation Agreement has been signed between Bharat Electronics Limited and Safran Electronics and Defence of France.

• The agreement has been signed for the production of Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (HAMMER) Smart Precision Guided Air-to-Ground Weapon.
• The Defence Ministry said the partnership will localise manufacturing of HAMMER systems.
• It will also localise their supply and long-term maintenance for the Air Force and Navy.
• Officials said indigenisation will gradually reach about 60 percent. The transfer of production will occur in stages.
• BEL will oversee final assembly, testing and quality assurance.
• HAMMER is a combat-proven precision weapon. It is modular and highly accurate.
• It can be deployed from platforms such as the Rafale and the LCA Tejas.