Banking Awareness of 28 and 29 March 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. Government will raise ₹8 lakh crore through dated securities in FY 2025-26’s first half. 

• This is 54% of the total borrowing target fixed for FY 2025-26. 
• ₹14.82 lakh crore is overall gross borrowing target for FY 2025-26. 
• ₹10,000 crore of the funds will come from sovereign green bonds (SGrBs). 
• Borrowing will be made via 26 weekly auctions and involve securities with maturities from 3 to 50 years. 
• ₹11.54 lakh crore is the estimated net market borrowings from dated securities. 
• The rest of the financing will be from small savings and other sources. 
• Securities with maturities of up to 5 years will constitute 16.6%, compared to 14.4% earlier. 
• Securities with maturities between 7 and 10 years will constitute 34.4% share. 
• Securities with maturities beyond 10 years will make up 49%. This is little less than 51.2%. 
• Government reserves the right to exercise a greenshoe option, allowing up to ₹2,000 crore in additional subscriptions for each security in the auctions.

Topic: Appointments

2. CS Setty has been chosen as the new Chairman of the IBA. 

• A Maninekhalai has been appointed as one of the deputy Chairmen. 

• CS Setty is the Chairman of State Bank of India. A Maninekhalai is MD of Union Bank.
• Swarup Kumar Saha has also been elected as a deputy Chairman. He is MD of Punjab & Sind Bank. 
• Madhav Nair has been appointed as a deputy Chairman. Madhav Nair is from Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait BSC. 
• B Ramesh Babu has been selected as the honorary secretary of IBA. He is MD of Karur Vysya Bank.
• Atul Kumar Goel has become the new CEO of IBA. He is former MD of Punjab National Bank. He replaces Sunil Mehta in this role.
• Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) represents both public and private sector banks and facilitates discussions between bankers and regulators on issues affecting the banking sector.

Topic: Reserve Bank of India

3. RBI will increase aggregate limit for Standalone Primary Dealers under Standing Liquidity Facility at repo rate.

• The aggregate limit for Standalone Primary Dealers will be increased from ₹10,000 crore to ₹15,000 crore with effect from April 2, 2025.
• This step of RBI is based on assessment of prevailing and evolving liquidity conditions.
• RBI said the limit for individual Standalone Primary Dealers is being conveyed to them separately.
• All other terms and conditions of the facility will remain unchanged.
• Primary Dealers strengthen the infrastructure in the Government Securities market, ensuring development of underwriting and market-making capabilities for G-Secs that are outside RBI.
• They improve the secondary market trading system. This leads to price discovery, enhances liquidity and turnover.
• PD promotes the voluntary holding of G-Secs and serves as an effective conduit for open market operations.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. Central Bank of India and PSB Alliance have entered into partnership for digital supply chain finance.

• Central Bank of India and PSB Alliance Pvt Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
• The MoU is for Digital Supply Chain Finance.
• As part of the partnership, Central Bank of India will leverage the digital platform offered by PSB Alliance.
• The bank said PSB Alliance’s digital platform will be used for end-to-end, paperless financing for supply chain participants.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

5. India is now the second largest 5G market globally, as per Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

• Addressing an event in New Delhi, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that nearly 11 lakh crore rupees investments are being made in different industries.
• He said that Indian Railways is expected to become the second largest carrier, handling 1.6 billion tons this year.
• He asserted that ports in India are also growing rapidly.
• Electronic manufacturing in India, which was minimal a decade ago, has now become a major export sector.
• The number of medical colleges and IITs in India has doubled over the last ten years. 
• He announced that India plans to launch its first domestically produced chip this year.

Topic: Reserve Bank of India

6. Fines on HDFC Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank has been imposed by RBI.

• RBI has imposed fines as they failed to meet regulatory compliance standards.
• HDFC Bank was fined ₹75 lakh as it did not follow RBI's Know Your Customer guidelines.
• Punjab & Sind Bank was fined for ₹68.20 lakh. It did not comply with RBI's guidelines.
• These guidelines were about the 'Central Repository of Large Common Exposures' and 'Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA)' under financial inclusion.
• KLM Axiva Finvest was also fined ₹10 lakh as it failed to comply with rules regarding dividend declarations.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. Roshni Nadar has become the first Indian woman to enter the world's top 10 richest women list.

• She ranks 5th among the wealthiest women globally, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2025. 
• She is chairperson of HCL Technologies. She has a net worth of Rs 3.5 lakh crore (US$40 billion). 
• She is now the third-richest person in India in 2025. 
• In 2023, she was awarded the Schaffner Award for her contributions to society. 
• In 2024, Roshni received France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. 
• She has been featured on Forbes' list of the world’s 100 most powerful women since 2017. 
• The Hurun Global Rich List 2025 includes 561 women. 
• Of these, 224 women are self-made, reflecting the rising influence of women in business. 
• Other women in the top 10 are given below.
  • Alice Walton (USA) is the wealthiest woman, with US$102 billion. Alice Walton is daughter of Walmart’s founder. 
  • Francoise Bettencourt Meyers (France), heiress to L'Oréal, holds US$67 billion and ranked at 2nd. 
  • Julia Koch & Family (USA), heirs of Koch Industries, have US$60 billion and ranked at third. 
  • Jacqueline Mars, heiress to Mars Inc., has wealth of US$53 billion and ranked at fourth. 
  • Roshni Nadar holds 5th place with a net worth of US$40 billion. 
• India is now ranked 3rd in world for number of billionaires. India added 13 new billionaires this year.
• 284 Indians are on the Hurun Global Rich List 2025. Mukesh Ambani remains the richest person in Asia.
• Mumbai (90 billionaires) remains India’s billionaire hub. Shanghai now has 92 billionaires.

Topic: Agriculture

8. India became world’s second-largest exporter of tea in 2024.

• In 2024, India became the world's second largest tea exporter, surpassing Sri Lanka.
• Kenya remained on the top spot in the export of tea.
• India exported 255 million kilograms of tea last year, marking a substantial growth in its export figures.
• India registered a 10 percent growth in tea exports compared to 231.69 million kilograms recorded in 2023.
• India exports tea to more than 25 countries including UAE, Iraq, Iran, Russia, USA and the UK.
• India’s Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri tea are considered one of the finest in the world.
• Black tea accounted for 96 percent of the country’s tea exports, while other varieties such as green tea, herbal tea, masala tea, and lemon tea also contributed in export.

Topic: Banking System

9. Parliament has passed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024.

• Rajya Sabha approved the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024 on 26th March. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill.
• The bill will amend the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934, the Banking Regulation Act 1949, State Bank of India Act 1955, the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act 1970 and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Act 1980.
• The bill proposed to increase the option for nominees per bank account to four from one.
• The bill also proposes to redefine substantial interest for directorships, which could increase to two crore rupees from the current limit of five lakh rupees.
• The Bill empowers banks to decide the remuneration of their auditors.
• In 2024, the public sector banks recorded the highest-ever net profit of 1.41 lakh crore rupees.

Topic: Appointments

10. Sanjay Kumar Mishra has been appointed as a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

• The government approved the appointment of Sanjay Kumar Mishra, the former head of the Enforcement Directorate, as the full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM).
• Sanjay Kumar Mishra is a 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer from Uttar Pradesh.
• Sanjay Kumar Mishra led the ED till September 15, 2023. His term ended after the Supreme Court curtailed his extended tenure.
• EAC-PM is an independent body constituted to advise on economic and related issues to the government.

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