Banking Awareness of 28, 29 and 30 November 2023

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. India's GDP growth rate increased to 7.6% in the July-September quarter.

• On November 30, the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation shared data that showed India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 7.6% year-on-year in the second quarter of the current financial year.
• In the same period in 2022, GDP growth was 6.2%.
• However, GDP growth in the second quarter was slightly lower compared to the first quarter of FY 2024. GDP growth in the first quarter was 7.8%.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had estimated the GDP growth rate to be 6.5% in the July-September quarter.
• Manufacturing growth stood at 13.9%, while construction growth stood at 13.3%.
• For Q2 2023-24, the estimated nominal GDP or GDP at current prices is Rs 71.66 lakh crore, showing a growth of 9.1% compared to Rs 65.67 lakh crore for Q2 2022-23.
• The estimated GDP at current prices for the first half of 2023-24 was Rs 142.33 lakh crore, compared to Rs 131.09 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. A 12.1% growth has been recorded in the output of core industries in October 2023.

• In October 2023, positive growth has been recorded in all the eight industries.
• In same month of last fiscal (October 2022), 0.7% growth was recorded.
• Eight core industries output growth for September 2023 has been revised by the government upwards to 9.2%.
• Eight core industries output growth for August 2023 has now been revised up to 12.5%. The data for July 2023 has been revised up to 8.5%.
• The output of core industries for April-October 2023 grew 8.6% (provisional).
• Core industries output grew 7.6% in fiscal 2022-23. This is lower than 10.4% growth in the previous fiscal.
• Coal sector output has shown growth of 18.1% in October 2023.
• For October 2023, cement sector output grew 17.1% and electricity sector grew 20.3%. For October 2023, natural gas output grew 9.9%.
• For the same month, refinery products, fertilisers, and Steel grew at 4.2%, 5.3% and 11%, respectively. Crude oil output grew at 1.3%.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. In October 2023, fiscal deficit reached 45% of government’s target for full year.

• As per recently released Controller General of Accounts (CGA) data, the government’s fiscal deficit at the end of October reached 45% of the full–year budget estimate.
• The fiscal deficit was ₹8.03-lakh crore during the April-October period of 2023-24.
• In the corresponding period of 2022-23, the deficit was 45.6% of the budget estimates of 2022-23.
• For 2023-24, it is estimated that the fiscal deficit of the government will be ₹17.86-lakh crore or 5.9% of the GDP.
• The fiscal deficit is the difference between expenditure and revenue.

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

4. Terms of Reference for 16th Finance Commission has been approved by cabinet.  

• However, constitution of the Commission is not decided. Names of members and chairperson are also not decided yet.
• The recommendations of commission will be implemented from April 1, 2026 for 5 years.
• Finance Commission will give recommendations on the distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes that are to be divided between them.
• It will also recommend the principles that should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The ToRs also included the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities.

Topic: RBI

5. RBI imposed penalties totaling Rs 10.34 cr on Citibank, BoB, and IOB.

• The Reserve Bank imposed penalties on Citibank, Bank of Baroda, and Indian Overseas Bank for violating various regulatory norms.
• For non-compliance of norms related to depositor education and awareness fund scheme, and code of conduct on outsourcing of financial services, a fine of Rs 5 crore has been imposed on Citibank.
• Rs 4.34 core fine has been imposed on the Bank of Baroda for violating directions related to the creation of a central repository of large common exposures, and others.
• Rs 1 crore fine has been slapped on Indian Overseas Bank for contravention of directions concerning loans and advances.
• RBI said that all these penalties are based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance.

Topic: Appointments

6. HDFC Bank appointed former NABARD chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala as an additional independent director.

• The board of the HDFC Bank has appointed Harsh Kumar Bhanwala as an additional independent director.
• The board in its meeting also approved the appointment of V Srinivasa Rangan as chief financial officer of the Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd.
• Harsh Kumar Bhanwala has been appointed for a period of three years from January 25, 2024, to January 24, 2027.
• HDFC Bank:
  • HDFC Bank is India's largest private-sector bank. It is India’s second-largest lender after the State Bank of India.
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded in 1994.
  • The CEO of HDFC Bank is Sashidhar Jagdishan.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

7. Union Cabinet extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme for another five years.

• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) scheme to provide 5 kg of free foodgrains per month to 81.35 crore poor has been extended for five years from January 1, 2024.
• It shows the government's long-term commitment and vision of the government for resolving national food and nutrition security.
• The government will spend Rs 11.8 lakh crore on this scheme for the next five years.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was launched in 2020 as a COVID-19 pandemic relief measure to provide food security.
• Under this scheme, the beneficiary is provided 5 kg of free foodgrains per month in addition to the 5 kg of subsidized foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
• The Union Cabinet also approved a Central scheme for providing drones to 15,000 women self-help groups (SHGs) with a total outlay of Rs 1,261 crore for two years.

Topic: Miscellaneous

8. Continuation of fast-track courts for trying sexual offences has been approved by the Union Cabinet for 3 years.

• The Fast Track Special Court (FTSC) scheme was launched in 2019, it has been now extended up to March 31, 2026.
• Fast Track Special Courts under this scheme are dedicated to the dispensation of justice in cases of sexual offences.
• The government will cover its share of expenditure from the Nirbhaya Fund.
• The total cost of running the scheme for the three-year period would be ₹1,952.23.
• ₹1,207.24 crore would be borne by the Centre and ₹744.99 crore by the State.
• A total of 30 States and Union Territories have participated in the scheme.
• 761 fast-track courts including 414 dedicated POCSO courts have resolved more than 195000 cases.
• After the passage of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act in 2018, the government has decided to set up 1,023 fast-track courts.

Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes

9. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan has been approved by the Cabinet.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) with a total outlay of Rs 24,104 crore.
• Of the total Rs 24,104 crore, the central share will be Rs 15,336 crore and the state share will be Rs 8,768 crore.
• Under this, the focus will be on 11 important areas through related ministries.
• The Prime Minister had announced this campaign from Khunti on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas.
• Pradhan Mantri PVTG Vikas Mission will be launched to improve the socio-economic conditions of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• An announcement about this was made in the Budget Speech 2023-24.
• It will provide basic amenities like safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, better access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity and sustainable livelihood opportunities to PVTG families and settlements.
• An amount of Rs 15,000 crore will be made available to implement the mission over the next three years under the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes (DAPST).
• The Scheduled Tribe population in India was 10.45 crore as of the 2011 census, of which 75 communities located in 18 states and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

10. Unemployment rate in urban areas decreased from 7.2% to 6.6%.

• According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), the unemployment rate in urban areas has decreased from 7.2% in July-September, 2022 to 6.6% in July–September 2023.
• The unemployment rate was 6.6% for persons under the age of 15 years.
• For persons aged 15 years and above, the worker-population ratio (WPR) in urban areas has increased from 44.5% in July-September, 2022 to 46% in July-September, 2023.
• For the male category, it has increased from 68.6% to 69.4% while it has increased from 19.7% to 21.9% for women during this period.
• PLFS defines the unemployment rate as the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
• The LFPR in urban areas has increased from 47.9% in July-September, 2022 to 49.3% in July–September 2023 for persons aged 15 years and above.

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