Banking Awareness of 26, 27 and 28 June 2025

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

1. Sebi has imposed a Rs 25 lakh fine on BSE.

• The penalty was for violating rules related to fair disclosure and weak trade monitoring.
• The action followed an inspection conducted between February 2021 and September 2022.
• During the inspection, Sebi found serious lapses in BSE’s disclosure systems.
• BSE allowed its paid clients and internal Listing Compliance Monitoring (LCM) team to access corporate announcements before they were made public.
• This created an information gap and gave an unfair advantage to select users.
• Such early access violated rules requiring equal and simultaneous information sharing for all stakeholders.
• Sebi said BSE’s information dissemination lacked necessary safeguards to protect market fairness.
• The exchange failed to meet the standards under Regulation 39(3) of the SECC Regulations, 2018.
• This regulation requires fair and transparent access for all market participants.
• BSE had not implemented an RSS feed, which could have ensured timely and equal access to information.
• The exchange only addressed the issue after Sebi pointed out the shortcomings.
• Corrective measures were delayed and reactive in nature.
• Sebi also found failures in BSE’s oversight of client code modifications by brokers.
• Such changes are allowed only for genuine mistakes.
• BSE did not take disciplinary action against brokers who repeatedly made these changes.
• It also failed to properly monitor error accounts.
• This raised concerns about possible misuse and lack of diligence in trades involving unrelated institutional clients.
• Sebi concluded that BSE’s practices harmed the integrity of the market.
• Giving early access to internal staff and select clients undermined fairness, transparency, and neutrality in information sharing.

Topic: RBI

2. RBI has decided to increase trading hours for the interbank call money market.

• The closing time will be extended from 5 pm to 7 pm starting July 1.

• From August 1, repo and tri-party repo (TREP) markets will also see extended trading hours.
• These markets will now close at 4 pm instead of earlier.
• The new schedule for the call money market will be from 9 am to 7 pm.
• Repo and TREP transactions will be allowed between 9 am and 4 pm from August.
• This move is aimed at reducing excess liquidity in the banking system.
• It is also meant to lower banks’ dependence on the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF).
• During May 16 to June 20, SDF balances averaged ₹2.62 trillion.
• In comparison, the average was ₹1.77 trillion in the previous month.
• In February, RBI had formed a special group to review trading and settlement timings across its regulated markets.
• The working group had nine members. It was chaired by Radha Shyam Ratho.
• There will be no changes in the trading hours of other markets.
• These include government securities, forex, and interest rate derivatives, which will still close at 5 pm.
• The SDF was introduced in April 2022. It now acts as the floor for the RBI’s liquidity adjustment facility, replacing the fixed reverse repo rate.

Topic: Appointments

3. Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has been appointed as a senior advisor by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

• Kant played key role during India's G20 presidency.
• As NITI Aayog CEO, he was behind the Aspirational Districts Programme.
• He served as Secretary of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). 
• During his tenure, reforms like Make in India and Startup India campaigns were carried out.
• The company also mentioned his work in promoting tourism wih the 'Incredible India' campaign.
• Fairfax is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, it is mainly engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance.

Topic: Appointments

4. Zou Jiayi has been elected as the next President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

• Zou Jiayi is China's former Vice Finance Minister.
• Zou would succeed bank's founding President Jin Liqun.
• China is the largest shareholder of the AIIB, with 26.54% voting shares.
• Zou's five-year term will start from January 16, 2026.
• Founding President Jin Liqun served for two five-year terms.
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank. AIIB began operations in 2016.
• It has 110 approved members worldwide. It is is capitalized at USD100 billion.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. The Reserve Bank of India published its annual review of listed private non-financial firms for the fiscal year 2024-25.

• IT sector revenue rose to 7.1% in FY25. This marked an improvement from 5.5% in the previous year.
• The manufacturing sector recorded a 6.0% increase in sales. This was higher than the 3.5% growth seen in FY24.
• Sales growth in manufacturing was mainly driven by automobiles, electrical equipment, food and beverages, and pharmaceuticals.
• However, petroleum and iron & steel industries reported a drop in sales.
• Non-IT service companies posted strong double-digit growth in sales during FY25.
• This growth was supported by solid performances in telecom, transportation and storage, and wholesale and retail trade.
• Manufacturers saw a 6.6% rise in input costs over the fiscal year.
• The raw material-to-sales ratio in manufacturing increased to 55.7%.
• It was 54.2% in the previous year. This indicates rising pressure from input costs.
• Employee costs increased across all sectors.
• Manufacturing companies saw a 10% rise in staff expenses.
• IT companies recorded a 4.4% increase in employee costs.
• Non-IT service firms experienced a 12% jump in staff expenses.

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. NITI Aayog released the 3rd edition of the 'Future Front' series, stresses on data quality for governance.

• On 24 June, the third edition of NITI Aayog’s quarterly insight series, Future Front, was released under the title “India’s Data Imperative: The Pivot Towards Quality.”
• The report emphasizes the urgent need to improve data quality to enhance digital governance and service delivery.
• Poor data quality in public systems has been identified as a long-standing challenge by the report.
• Two key tools to help tackle the issue have been introduced: a Data-Quality Scorecard designed to assess and track essential data attributes and a Data-Quality Maturity Framework that enables self-assessment and the development of actionable roadmaps for data improvement.
• The report was launched in the presence of B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog, and other senior officials, and they also stressed the need to build robust data infrastructure.
• The event was attended by policy experts and officials who highlighted the role of data in digital transformation.
• The aim of the report is to guide policymakers and institutions in bringing data systems in line with global standards for better decision-making.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

7.  India recorded a historic high in exports, reaching $825 billion in the past fiscal year.

• The country saw a 6.3% increase in exports.
• This growth outpaced the global average, which stood at 4%.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this while addressing the Exim Bank Trade Conclave 2025 in New Delhi.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman credited this rise to reduced tariffs.
• Sitharaman stated that new Free Trade Agreements are being negotiated.
• These agreements are expected to transform India’s export landscape.
• The Exim Bank Trade Conclave 2025 was held in New Delhi on 24th June.
• The event highlighted key achievements of the Trade Assistance Programme (TAP).
• TAP was launched by Exim Bank in 2022.
• It is a first-of-its-kind initiative that supports exporters in high-risk markets.
• Since its launch, TAP has facilitated over 1,100 export transactions.
• These transactions span across 51 different countries.
• Exim Bank has partnered with more than 100 overseas banks under TAP.
• These partnerships help bridge financing gaps for Indian exporters.
• Minister Sitharaman praised TAP for boosting India’s global trade presence.
• Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes
• 8. Tripura has officially become the third Indian state to achieve full functional literacy.
• It follows Mizoram and Goa in reaching this milestone.
• The achievement was made under the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram.
• ULLAS is a centrally sponsored literacy scheme running from 2022 to 2027.
• It is aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.
• The programme focuses on educating adults aged 15 years and above.
• The declaration was made at Rabindra Satabarshiki Bhawan in Agartala.
• Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha called the event a historic moment for Tripura.
• He noted that Tripura’s literacy rate has reached 95.6%.
• This marks a dramatic rise from just 20.24% in 1961.
• Tripura has now met the national benchmark for full literacy. The benchmark applies to individuals aged 15 and above.
• ULLAS was launched in 2022 to provide basic literacy and numeracy.
• It also offers essential life skills to non-literate adults.