Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
1. In April and May 2024, India's trade deficit in steel increased to ₹4,284 crore.
- This represents almost 47% of the ₹9,036 crore that was reported for FY24.
- India is still a net importer of the steel, and shipments from China are steadily increasing.
- The total value of imports in April and May was ₹11,831 crore. The total value of exports in April and May was ₹7,547 crore.
- Volume-wise, imports were higher in April and May at 1.3 mt than exports at 0.94 mt.
- A significant 95 percent of imports were made up of flat products. Imports of flat products increased 42%. The non-flat imports decreased by 8.9%.
- 87% of the exports were made up of flat products. The export of flat products decreased by more than 42%. Non-flat exports decreased 11 per cent.
- India still purchases the majority of its steel from China. China replaced established markets like Korea and Japan.
- Over the last two months, Chinese shipments have increased 79% year over year to 0.41 mt.
- Stainless and alloy steel account for around 43% of shipments from China.
- Vietnam, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates are the other three nations where Chinese shipments have increased for the January–May 2024 period.
- Europe continues to be a major market for Indian steel manufacturers. Shipments decreased to two of the main buyers, Spain and Italy.
- Exports to the UK increased by 25% to 0.13 mt.
Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions
2. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended its insider trading norms.
- With this SEBI has allowed more flexibility for executing trading plans.
- The new norms will become applicable after three months.
- The amendments include a reduction of the cool-off period for trading plans from six months to 120 days.
- SEBI has provided for a 20 per cent price range for buying or selling shares.
- If the compliance officer approves insider's trading plan, they are permitted to trade in the company's securities under the Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) regulations.
- This guarantees that the insider plans their trades before gaining access to confidential, price-sensitive information.
- A six-month cooling-off period is allowed for trading plans starting from the time of public notice. This time has been shortened to 120 days.
- Insiders are typically senior management and key personnel who possess access to undisclosed price-sensitive information.
- Regulations state that in order to prevent insider trading, they have a limited window of time to carry out trades.
- Insiders are required to provide a "trading plan" in advance that includes the share price, amount, and transaction date.
- Insiders now have the option to not execute trades if the execution price exceeds the trading plan's upper limit.
- On non-implementation, they must notify the company's compliance officer within two trading days of the trading plan's end, along with reasons and any necessary documentation.
Topic: Miscellaneous
3. US emerged as India's top defence export partner.
- A significant progress in the India-US defence alliance has been reported by the American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM), the premier chamber of US industry in India.
- It focuses on the US-India defense alliance, highlighting the importance of joint efforts in shaping global security and advancing prosperity for both countries.
- With exports to the U.S. making up more than 50% of total exports and surpassing $2.8 billion in the last five years, the U.S. has emerged as India's top destination for defence exports.
- India's defence exports are growing rapidly, reaching $1.6 billion in the financial year 2022-23, a remarkable ten-fold increase compared to the last five years.
- The US defense industry in India has created over 28,000 direct jobs and gainful employment for an additional 20,000 individuals.
Topic: Miscellaneous
4. The first international solar festival will be held in New Delhi in India by the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- It aims to provide favourable circumstances for significant international collaborations that will accelerate the change to solar-powered energy transition.
- It is planned that the festival will take place from September 5–6, 2024.
- Businesses, academia, young people, and community leaders will come together during the festival to exchange knowledge, foster innovation, and build global collaboration towards creating a future powered by solar energy.
- The four core themes at the International Solar Festival will be role of youth, communities, women and private sector.
- These themes will bring together stakeholders from around the globe.
- South American nation, Paraguay, has become the 100th full member to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- On 26 June 2024, Paraguay officially handed over its Instrument of Ratification to the ISA in New Delhi.
- ISA was co-founded by India and France during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.
- ISA aims to promote solar energy deployment worldwide. It plays role of a collaborative platform for member countries to ensure energy security, increase energy access, and drive the transition towards sustainable energy sources.
- 119 countries are now signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement.
- Out of these, 100 have finished the ratification process and become full members. Spain joined as the 99th member in May 2024.
Topic: Banking System
5. The digital investing platform SmartWealth has been launched by HDFC Bank.
- A new digital investing platform has been launched by HDFC Bank to provide wealth services to all Indians.
- Additionally, this platform was introduced to simplify and transparently make investments.
- HDFC Bank SmartWealth enables investors to plan their financial path and make wise investment decisions.
- First-time investors can benefit from SmartWealth's intelligent tools and customised portfolio designs.
- Users can create SmartJars, which gives users personalised portfolio plans that can be modified or paused anytime.
- With only three clicks, SmartWealth offers a consolidated account statement (CAS) for users with diversified portfolios.
- Additionally, SmartWealth has a special feature called portfolio rebalancing.
- This feature prompts customers to adjust their investment mix under volatile market situations.
- SmartWealth's Portfolio Analytics tool examines asset allocation and warns users when they are overexposed to a certain fund.
- Investors can create recurring deposits, open fixed deposits, and invest in mutual funds with SmartWealth.
- Investments in PPF, sovereign gold bonds, and insurance are upcoming features.
Topic: Appointments
6. Jeegar Shah has been named Chief Financial Officer (CFO) by Citi for its franchise in India.
- Shah’s appointment is effective from June 1, 2024. Since February 2024, Shah has been acting as interim CFO for India.
- He was the South Asia Cluster Controller for Citi before taking on the post of interim CFO.
- Jeegar will report to Mui-Eng Teo, CFO of Citi's Asia South Cluster, in his capacity as CFO for India.
- Citi is a global investment bank based in the United States. Its main office is located in New York City.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
7. India’s external debt stood at $ 663.8 billion at end-March 2024.
- India’s external debt recorded an increase of $ 39.7 billion over its level at end-March 2023, according to RBI data.
- The external debt to GDP ratio stood at 18.7 per cent at end-March 2024. It declined from 19.0 per cent at end-March 2023.
- According to the RBI, the external debt at the end of March 2024 would have climbed by $48.4 billion over the end of March 2023 if the valuation effect had not been taken into account.
- The rise of the US dollar in relation to the Indian rupee and other major currencies including the yen, the euro, and SDR resulted in a valuation effect of $8.7 billion.
- Debt denominated in US dollars continued to make up the majority of India's external debt. Its share at the end of March 2024 was 53.8%.
- It was followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee, yen, SDR, and euro.
- According to RBI data, as of March 2024, the overall government debt increased 11.5% year over year.
- On the other hand, there was a 16.5% reduction in households and nonprofit institutions serving households.
- At 37.4% of total external debt, non-financial firms held the largest share of outstanding debt.
- With a percentage of 33.4%, loans continued to be the biggest part of external debt.
- After loans, the following categories were money and deposits (23.3%), debt securities (17.3%), and trade credit and advances (17.9%).
Topic: Appointments
8. Anuj Tyagi will assume the charge as MD & CEO of HDFC Ergo from July 1.
- Anuj Tyagi will be the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Ergo General Insurance from July 1, 2024.
- He will replace Ritesh Kumar, who was the MD & CEO of HDFC Ergo General Insurance since 2008.
- Anuj Tyagi joined the company in 2008. He was serving as the Deputy MD.
- This appointment is subject to administrative approvals and consent of the Supervisory Board of ERGO International.
- In another appointment, Girija Subramanian has been appointed as CMD of New India Assurance Company.
- Her appointment has become effective from June 19, 2024.
Topic: Miscellaneous
9. Kozhikode in Kerala became India's first UNESCO 'City of Literature' on 23 June.
- In October 2023, Kozhikode was ranked in the 'Literature' category of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
- Gwalior and Kozhikode from India are among the 55 new cities that have joined UCCN.
- Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh has made it to the prestigious list in the 'Music' category, while Kozhikode has found a place in the 'Literature' category.
- Srinagar has received the World Craft City (WCC) tag from the World Crafts Council (WCC).
- The World Crafts Council AISBL (WCC-International) is an international non-profit organization for the preservation, promotion, and advancement of global craftsmanship and traditional crafts.
- It was founded in 1964 and has been affiliated with UNESCO under ‘consultative status (official partnership)’.
Topic: Agriculture
10. Government increased allocation for fertilizer sector under the SIGHT Programme.
- The government has increased allocation for the fertilizer sector from 5.5 lakh tonnes per annum to 7.5 lakh tonnes per annum of Green Ammonia under the SIGHT Programme of the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM).
- MNRE has amended the Scheme Guidelines dated January 16, 2024, by increasing allocation under the Mode 2A Scheme for the fertilizer sector by 2 lakh tonnes per year.
- Under the Mission, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy issued Scheme Guidelines for Site Programme – Component II of NGHM on 16.01.2024.
- National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) has set a target to achieve a production capacity of 5 million tonnes per year of Green Hydrogen in India by 2030.
- The National Green Hydrogen Mission was launched on January 4, 2023, with an outlay of Rs. 19,744 crores.
- The main objective of the mission is to decarbonize the economy and reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports.
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