Banking Awareness of 25, 26, 27 and 28 January 2026

Topic: Reports and Indices

1. According to SBI report, central government capital expenditure is estimated to cross ₹12 lakh crore in FY27.

• This would register a year-on-year growth of around 10%.
• The report points to a steady rise in government-led capital spending over recent years.
• It highlights the continued focus on infrastructure building.
• Data from the report showed that budgeted capital spending has increased sharply over time.
• It increased from ₹2.5 lakh crore in FY16 to ₹11.2 lakh crore in FY26.
• Grants for creating capital assets have also increased steadily from ₹1.3 lakh crore in FY16 to ₹4.3 lakh crore in FY26.
• This reflects higher support for asset creation across vaious levels of government.
• Capital expenditure by central public sector enterprises stood at ₹4.3 lakh crore in FY26.
• This spending was funded through internal and extra budgetary resources.
• Effective capital expenditure has reached ₹15.5 lakh crore in FY26.
• The grand total capex increased from ₹7.0 lakh crore in FY16 to ₹19.8 lakh crore in FY26.
• Capital expenditure remained strong as a share of the economy and stood at around 5.5% of GDP in FY26.
• Net central government borrowing in FY27 is projected at about ₹11.7 lakh crore. This is close to 70 per cent of the fiscal deficit.
• Repayments in FY27 are expected to be around ₹4.60 lakh crore.
• Gross borrowings by states are estimated at ₹12.6 lakh crore.
• The report notes that reforms could lower net borrowing by states.

Topic: RBI

2. Payoneer India has received in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a cross-border payment aggregator.

• The category is known as Payment Aggregator – Cross Border (PA-CB).
• With this approval, Payoneer India can move toward offering regulated cross-border payment services.
• The RBI has already fully authorised 19 entities under the PA-CB framework.
• A PA-CB licence permits companies to facilitate international payments for merchants. These payments can be inward, outward, or both.
• Payoneer said the approval is an important milestone for its India business.
• Payoneer India is a subsidiary of Payoneer Global. The company plans to offer end-to-end cross-border payment solutions.
• After receiving full PA-CB authorisation, Payoneer India plans to expand its offerings.
• It will provide payment solutions for both imports and exports. The services will help Indian businesses grow globally.

Topic: Appointments

3. Guardian India Operations Private Limited has appointed Karunakaran Azhisur as Country Head for India.

• The company functions as the global capability centre for The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.
• Azhisur will oversee Guardian’s operations in India.
• He will report to Michael Prestileo, who is the Chief Strategy Officer of Guardian and Chair of the Guardian India Board.
• Azhisur will continue to hold the position of Chief Information Officer at Guardian India.
• Azhisur said Guardian India’s success is driven by its people.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

4. Gulfood hosts India as its partner country for the first time.

• Gulfood is the world’s largest annual food and beverage trade event. It is being held from January 26 to January 30, 2026.
• Dubai is making global exhibition history as Gulfood becomes the first exhibition to operate simultaneously across two mega venues.
• One venue is the Dubai World Trade Centre. The second venue is the Dubai Exhibition Centre at Expo City Dubai.
• India’s participation is a milestone as a total of 161 exhibitors will showcase India’s agri-food ecosystem.
• The Indian pavilion has doubled in size from last year. This reflects expanding footprint of Indian agri-food exports.
• This also reflects rising global demand for Indian products.
• Bharati Pavilion is a key highlight of India’s participation.
• It is APEDA’s flagship initiative to promote export-ready agri-food and agri-tech startups.
• It is located at Startup Zone at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
• The pavilion features eight high-potential Indian startups. The startups were selected through a national-level process from more than 100 applicants.
• India is having a presence at both venues. The Dubai World Trade Centre hosts the Beverage Hall and the Startup Hall, including the Bharati Pavilion.
• Dubai Exhibition Centre hosts the World Food Hall, Pulses, Grains and Cereals Hall and Gulfood Green.
• The event brings together over 8,500 exhibitors showcasing 1.5 million products from 195 countries.
• Twenty-five states are participating. These states include Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal.

Topic: Appointments

5. Ganesh Lakshminarayanan named CEO-Designate of Tata Communications.

• Former Airtel Business executive Ganesh Lakshminarayanan was named CEO-designate of Tata Communications by the company’s board.
• His appointment as Managing Director and CEO will be made after regulatory approvals, succeeding AS Lakshminarayanan in April 2026.
• More than 30 years of experience across multinational corporations, start-ups and Indian enterprises will be brought into the role.
• Prior to joining Tata Communications, Ganesh served as Managing Director and Group Vice President for ServiceNow India and SAARC.
• Market expansion and growth initiatives were led by him during his tenure at ServiceNow.
• Earlier, he served as CEO of Airtel Business and led Airtel’s Enterprise Business unit.
• Under his leadership, the enterprise business achieved 50% growth over three years.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

6. Fourth edition of India Energy Week 2026 virtually inaugurated by PM Modi on 27 January 2026.

• India Energy Week (IEW) 2026 conclave is being held in South Goa./li>
• After the inauguration, the Prime Minister virtually addressed the delegates.
• The inauguration ceremony was held at Betul village in South Goa district.
• The inauguration was attended by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
• UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber was present at the inauguration.
• Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson also participated in the inauguration.
• Senior ministers from Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and other Global South regions attended the inauguration ceremony.
• India Energy Week 2026 focuses on enhancing energy security across nations.
• The conclave aims to attract investments into the global energy sector.
• It will promote practical and scalable approaches to decarbonisation.
• The three-day event is hosting delegations from the  Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
• The event is expected to welcome more than 75,000 energy professionals from over 120 countries.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. The Government of India has announced the Padma Awards for 2026.

• A total of 131 distinguished individuals has been selected.
• Five Padma Vibhushan awards have been approved. Thirteen Padma Bhushan awards will be conferred.
• One hundred and thirteen Padma Shri awards have been announced.
• Nineteen of the awardees are women. Sixteen honours will be presented posthumously.
• Actors Dharmendra & Mammootty, judge KT Thomas and politician VS Achuthanandhan, singer Alka Yagnik and cricketer Rohit Sharma are prominent among them.
• Several prominent names appear in the Padma Bhushan category.
• Padma Bhushan awardees include playback singer Alka Yagnik, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy from Tamil Nadu, and Malayalam actor Mammootty from Kerala.
• Other recipients include Nori Dattatreyudu, Vijay Amritraj, S.K.M. Maeilanandhan from Tamil Nadu, Shatavadhani R. Ganesh, banker Uday Kotak and Vellappally Natesan.
• Piyush Pandey, V.K. Malhotra and Shibu Soren have been awarded the Padma Bhushan posthumously.
• One hundred and thirteen individuals have been named for Padma Shri awards, which recognises excellence in multiple professional fields.
• Batter Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar and, Captain of Indian Women Cricket team Harmanpreet Kaur, Baldev Singh, K Pajanivel, Savita Punia have been given Padma Shri for contribution in Sports.
• Padma Vibhushan (5) awardees 2026:
  • 1. Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) – Art – Maharashtra
  • 2. K T Thomas – Public Affairs – Kerala
  • 3. N Rajam – Art – Uttar Pradesh
  • 4. P Narayanan – Literature and Education – Kerala
  • 5. V S Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) – Public Affairs – Kerala

Topic: Miscellaneous

8. Wage and Pension Revisions approved for PSGICs, NABARD and RBI Employees.

• Wage revision for employees of Public Sector General Insurance Companies and NABARD was approved by the Central Government to improve employee welfare.
• Pension and family pension revision for retirees of the Reserve Bank of India and NABARD was also sanctioned to strengthen social security.
• Wage revision for PSGICs was made effective from August 1, 2022.
• The total hike in the wage bill will be 12.41%, which includes a 14% increase in the existing basic pay and dearness allowance.
• Around 43,247 PSGIC employees are expected to benefit, including enhancement of NPS contribution from 10% to 14% for employees who joined after April 1, 2010.
• Family pension for PSGICs was revised uniformly at 30%, benefiting 14,615 family pensioners.
• The total financial outgo for PSGICs is estimated at ₹8,170.30 crore, covering arrears, NPS contributions and pension payments.
• NABARD pay revision was approved from November 1, 2022, with an average hike of about 20% for Group A, B and C employees.
• Pension revision for eligible NABARD retirees was approved to bring parity with ex-RBI NABARD retirees.
• RBI pension and family pension were enhanced by 10% on basic pension plus dearness relief, effective from November 1, 2022.
• Overall, the decision will benefit more than 46,000 employees and pensioners, reinforcing financial security in the banking and insurance sectors.