Banking Awareness of 23, 24 and 25 August 2023

Topic: Corporates/Companies

1. Life Insurance Corporation of India has acquired 6.7% stake in Jio Financial Services through demerger process.

• LIC has got 6.66% stake in Jio Financial Services, the demerged NBFC of Reliance Industries.
• Jio Financial was de-merged from Reliance Industries on July 13.
• As per LIC, the cost of acquisition is equivalent to 4.68% of the pre de-merged cost of Reliance Industries.
• LIC held 6.49% stake in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) at the end of June 2023.
• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC):
  • It was formed in September 1956. Government of India completely (100%) owns LIC.  It is headquartered in Mumbai.
  • Its slogan is yogakshemam vahamyaham (Your welfare is our responsibility). Siddharth Mohanty is its current Chairperson.

Topic: RBI

2. RBI has increased the upper limit of an offline payment transaction from ₹200 to ₹500.

• RBI has issued the directive to increase the upper limit under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• The directive to increase the upper limit has come into effect immediately.
• Though the upper limit has been increased, the total limit for offline transactions on payment instrument remains to be ₹2,000.
• The used limit can be replenished only in online mode with AFA (additional factor authentication).
• The announcement of increasing the upper limit of an offline payment transaction was made in the Statement on Development and Regulatory Policies dated August 10, 2023.

Topic: Banking System

3. The liquidity of the banking system in India fell into deficit for the first time in FY24.

• As per RBI data, banking system liquidity stood at Rs 236 billion ($2.84 billion) as of August 21.
• The liquidity fell into deficit after RBI’s temporary liquidity withdrawal move and tax outflows.
• The liquidity surplus had hit a high of 2.8 trillion rupees at the start of August 2023.
• However, liquidity has been declining especially after RBI asked banks to hold an incremental cash reserve ratio (CRR) of 10% on increase in deposits between May 19 and July 28.
• This has led to withdrawal of over one trillion rupees. 

Topic: Miscellaneous

4. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines stand out amid Asia’s massive shrinkage of working-age populations.

• According to an analysis by Moody’s Investor Services, the median working age for Asia’s top economies is 50.
• These economies include China, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and others.
• The analysis says that nine of these major Asian economies are consistently showing a fall in working-age populations.
• India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines hold up the bright side.
• The average working age in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines is 25 years old.
• Governance and infrastructure can foster a demographic dividend in economies witnessing growth in working-age populations.
• As per the report, in 2022, young and wealthier population positively impacted banks, technology services, and telecommunications. The ageing population negatively impacted the economy.
• As per Asian Development Bank, Asia’s elderly population is projected to reach nearly 923 million by 2050.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. Urban India’s retirement index has increased to 47 from 44 witnessed across the past two editions.

• According to the third edition of the India Retirement Index Study (IRIS), over two-thirds of millennials feel secure with their current savings/investments for retirement.
• Max Life Insurance in partnership with KANTAR (world's leading marketing data and analytics company) has conducted the IRIS 3.0.
• It assesses urban India’s readiness to live a healthy, peaceful, and financially secure retired life.
• Millennials, who were polled for the first time in IRIS 3.0, outperformed others in terms of retirement readiness.
• The retirement index consists of three sub-indices-health, finance, and emotion.
• The health awareness has moved up by 3 points from 41 in IRIS 2.0 to 44 in IRIS 3.0.
• According to the IRIS 3.0 study, about 1 in 3 urban Indians are worried about their savings depleting within five years of retired life.
• 2 out of 5 individuals have not begun investing for retirement yet.
• The IRIS 3.0 study finds out that 64% of urban Indians are familiar with National Pension System (NPS). Only 16% invest by making contributions. 
• According to IRIS 3.0, urban Indian women are now at par with men in retirement readiness.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

6. CCI has imposed penalties of Rs 55 lakh on Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and TPG Group.

• CCI has imposed penalty on ADIA for making false declarations before the CCI while availing the green channel facility in a deal about acquisition of a stake in UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions Ltd (UPL SAS).
• The acquirers shall pay the penalty within 60 days of the issue of order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
• Penalty of ₹5 lakh has been imposed under Section 43A for ‘gun jumping’.
• Penalty of ₹50 lakh has been imposed for making false declaration before CCI while availing green channel facility.
• Green channel is an automatic system of approval for certain mergers, amalgamations and acquisitions. It was introduced by an amendment to the Combination regulations in August 2019.

Topic: Banking System

7. Uttar Pradesh topped the list for the second consecutive year in receiving bank funds for projects.

• According to the Reserve Bank of India, Uttar Pradesh continues to lead the charts in the total share of projects approved by banking and financial institutions.
• The state's share in 2022-23 was 16.2%, retaining its number-one position for the second year in a row.
• Under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has won the trust of not only investors but also nationalized banks and financial institutions.
• The average percentage share of the state in the cost of the sanctioned projects from 2013-14 to 2020-21 was 4.4%.
• However, there has been a marked improvement in the last two financial years.
• In 2021-22, Uttar Pradesh had a 12.8% share in the total cost, which increased by 3.4% over the period from 2021-22 to 2022-23.
• The average growth rate in Gujarat between 2013-14 and 2020-21 was 14.3%, it has come down to 14% in 2022-23 with a decrease of 0.3%.
• Similarly, the average growth rate in Odisha from 2013-14 to 2020-21 was around 4.5%, which has come down to 2.2% in 2021-22.

Topic: Appointments

8. Parminder Chopra became the first woman to be appointed as head of the Power Finance Corporation.

• On August 17, Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) appointed Parminder Chopra as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD).
• Her appointment took effect on August 14, 2023, making her the first woman to lead the company.
• Parminder Chopra was honored with the 'Icon of the Year' and 'Finance Leader of the Year' awards for his significant contribution to the field of business, finance, society, and nation.
• Justice Prakash Shrivastava has been appointed as the new chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
• The former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Shrivastava has assumed the charge from 23 August.
• Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC):
  • It was formed in 1986. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) is its subsidiary.
  • PFC is the largest infrastructure finance company dedicated to the power sector.
  • It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

9. Government is planning to launch 'Mera Bill Mera Adhikar' GST reward scheme in 6 states.

• The government will launch the 'Mera Bill Mera Adhikar' invoice incentive scheme.
• Under this scheme, a cash prize from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 crore will be provided to six states and Union Territories.
• It will be launched in the states of Assam, Gujarat and Haryana; and the UTs of Puducherry, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
• Under the Invoice incentive scheme, Cash prizes will be given on uploading GST invoices.
• All invoices issued by Goods and Services Tax (GST) registered suppliers to consumers will be eligible for the 'Mera Bill Mera Adhikar' scheme.
• The minimum purchase value for the invoice to be considered for the lucky draw is Rs 200.
• The 'Mera Bill Mera Adhikar' mobile app will be also launched on both IOS and Android platforms.
• The seller's GSTIN, invoice number, amount paid, and tax amount should all be included on the invoice that is uploaded to the app.

Topic: Miscellaneous

10. In FY 23-24, GeM achieved the milestone of one lakh crore rupees in Gross Merchandise Value.

• In the current financial year, the Government e-marketplace (GeM) crossed the Gross Merchandise Value of one lakh crore rupees.
• GeM has achieved this milestone in a record time of 145 days in the current fiscal year against 243 days in the last fiscal.
• The average GMV per day has increased from INR 412 crore per day in FY 22-23 to INR 690 crore per day in FY 23-24.
• Since its establishment, GeM has crossed 4.91 Lakh crore rupees in Gross Merchandise Value and has facilitated over 1.67 crore orders on the platform.
• The contribution of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Central Ministries and State Governments in this achievement is 54%, 26% and 20% respectively.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM):
  • GeM is an online platform for the procurement of goods and services by government departments, public sector units, and other agencies.
  • It was launched in 2016 as a part of the government's "Digital India" initiative.
  • Its main aim is to bring transparency, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness to public procurement.

Topic: Miscellaneous

11. Renowned statistician CR Rao passed away.

• India’s most distinguished statistician Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao passed away at the age of 102.
• He was awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics.
• He is known for the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound and the Rao-Blackwell Theorem and many other results.
• He served as the Director of the Indian Statistical Institute and worked as Professor in many institutions.
• He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
• Rao received the SS Bhatnagar Prize in 1963 and was elected as a “fellow of the Royal Society” in 1967.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 23, 24 and 25 August 2023