Banking Awareness of 24, 25, 26 and 27 October 2025

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. HSBC’s flash India Composite PMI declined to 59.9 in October from 61.0 in September.

• Despite the decline, the index remained above the 50 threshold. This shows continued expansion in overall business activity.
• The decline was chiefly caused by weaker growth in the services sector.
• The Manufacturing PMI improved to 58.4 from 57.7. The services activity index declined to 58.8 from 60.9.
• New business orders continued to increase at their slowest pace since May.
• India’s private sector growth declined in October and reached its weakest pace in five months.
• The slowdown was caused by softer demand and higher output costs.

Topic: Appointments

2. The reappointment of CS Rajan as part-time chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank has been approved by RBI.

• RBI has approved his reappointment for another term beginning January 1, 2026, until October 21, 2027.
• He is serving as part-time chairman of the bank since 1 January 2024.
• He was appointed as an Independent Director on the board of bank in October 2022. He is an retired IAS officer.
• He also serves as an Independent Director on the Board of Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd was founded in February 2003. The bank has its headquarters in Mumbai. It is a private bank. Ashok Vaswani is its Managing Director and CEO.

Topic: Miscellaneous

3.  A $280 million World Bank program approved to strengthen Kerala's health system.

• A new programme has been approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors to improve the life expectancy and quality of life of 1.1 crore elderly and vulnerable people in Kerala through wider access to health coverage and resilient health systems.
• The initiative was launched under the Kerala Health System Improvement Programme to build a climate-resilient health system.
• It will enhance digital health services, data integration, and cyber security in the state.
• The $280 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development has a final maturity of 25 years, including a five-year grace period.
• Kerala has made steady progress in health for over two decades, with improvements in neonatal (3.4 per 1,000 live births), infant (4.4 per 1,000 live births), under-five mortality (5.2 per 1,000 live births) and maternal mortality (19 per 100,000 live births).
• However, the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and cancer) and a rapidly ageing population (more than 20 per cent of the total population comprises elderly) have put pressure on the health system.
• The programme aims to treat and support over 90% of patients registered for hypertension and diabetes in the state through a personalised electronic tracking mechanism.
• This program will ensure a 40% increase in the number of patients with controlled hypertension and a 60% increase in cervical and breast cancer screening among women, thereby accelerating efforts to reduce preventable deaths.

Topic: Reports and Indices

4. The RBI report shows digital payments gaining momentum, with UPI leading India's cashless transformation.

• According to the Reserve Bank of India's Payment Systems Report for the half year ended June 2025, India’s digital payment ecosystem has continued to expand rapidly.
• The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has maintained its dominant position in overall transaction volumes.
• Digital transactions have expanded 38 times in volume and three times in value over the past decade.
• In the first half of 2025, total payment transactions reached 12,549 crores in volume and ₹1,572 lakh crore in value, with digital payments accounting for 99.8% of transactions by volume.
• UPI contributed 85% of total transaction volume and 9% in value.
• The Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system continued to handle 69% of total transaction value for large fund transfers.
• Retail systems like NEFT, IMPS, NACH, BBPS and NETC also showed steady growth.
• UPI transactions alone grew to 10,637 crore in the first half of 2025, equivalent to ₹143.3 lakh crore.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. State Bank of India (SBI) was honoured with the titles of “World’s Best Consumer Bank 2025” and “Best Bank in India 2025” by Global Finance, New York.

• The awards were presented during the Global Finance Award Ceremony.
• The event was held alongside the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings 2025.
• Global Finance recognised SBI for its global leadership in innovation, customer service, and financial inclusion.
• SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty noted that SBI serves over 520 million customers.
• SBI’s flagship mobile app caters to more than 100 million users. About 10 million users access the app daily.
• This reflects the bank’s “Digital First, Consumer First” approach.
• Global Finance is an English-language monthly financial magazine.

Topic: RBI

6. HaRBInger 2025 has been launched by RBI to promote secure, inclusive banking solutions.

• HaRBInger 2025 – Innovation for Transformation is fourth global hackathon of RBI.
• It has been luanched by RBI to develop innovative, secure, and user-centric financial solutions.
• HaRBInger 2025 focuses on the theme “Secure Banking: Powered by Identity, Integrity, and Inclusivity.”
• Participants have been invited to develop solutions around three key challenges — Tokenized KYC, Offline CBDC, and building customer trust.
• Individual and entities can participate to develop solutions using technology and innovative approaches under these three problem statements.

Topic: Banking System

7. The key provisions of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, related to nomination will take effect from the first day of November 2025.

• The Finance Ministry made an announcement about this. The changes will give depositors greater flexibility.
• Depositors can now make nominations more easily. Customers can nominate up to four individuals for their bank deposits.
• The new rules are meant to simplify the claim settlement process. This will help both depositors and their nominees.
• The amendment also aims to improve governance practices. It seeks to increase accountability in the banking system.
• The Act will create uniform standards for banks’ reporting to the Reserve Bank of India.
• It focuses on enhancing depositor protection. It also aims to strengthen audit quality in public sector banks.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. Coal India Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with IIT Madras to establish a Centre for Sustainable Energy.

• CIL Director Achyut Ghatak and IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti signed the MoU.
• The new centre will promote research in sustainable and low-carbon technologies.
• The new centre aims to support India’s transition toward clean energy.
• It will also focus on repurposing coal mines and developing innovative green energy solutions.
• These efforts will be supported through Coal India’s financial support.
• IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti highlighted that partnerships between academia and industry are vital for achieving India’s low-carbon goals.
• The Centre will also train skilled professionals. It will offer Ph.D., postdoctoral, and internship opportunities in sustainable energy research.