Topic: Banking/Financial/Govt Schemes
1. As of April 20, the assets under management (AUM) of the National Pension System (NPS) had grown by a strong 27.85% year over year to ₹ 11.73 lakh crore.
- As of April 20, there were just 51,331 new registrations for NPS and APY subscribers.
- As of April 20, there were 8.75 lakh more subscribers in the non-government sector year over year.
- There was just a 7.11 lakh growth in the government sector.
- Up to 9.47 lakh new NPS members joined from the non-government sector in 2023–2024.
- Among them, 1.37 lakh were corporate workers and 8.10 lakh belonged to the all-citizen model.
- As of April 20, 2024, the NPS assets of the non-government sector, which includes corporations and retail, had grown by 38.88 percent year over year to ₹ 2.27 lakh Crore.
- The government sector's NPS assets increased by 25.35 percent to ₹ 9.04 lakh crore.
- As of April 20 of this year, there were 7.37 crore NPS and APY subscribers overall, a 16.31% increase from 6.34 crore in the previous year.
Topic: Reports and Indices
2. In FY24, the Nifty PSU Bank Index yielded a higher one-year return than the Private Bank Index.
- In FY24, the PSU Bank Index on Nifty surged by 88.56% while the Private Bank Index increased by 14.25%.
- The performance of private sector banks (PVBs) and public sector banks (PSBs) is reflected in these indicators.
- They offer a benchmark that accurately represents these banks' capital market performance to investors and market intermediaries.
- Shares of all 12 PSBs and 10 PVBs are included in the Nifty PSU Bank Index and Nifty Private Bank Index, respectively.
- During the last fiscal year, the Nifty PSU Bank Index increased by 3,291.10 points, closing at 7,007.25 on March 28, 2024, which was the last day of trading for FY24.
- The Nifty Private Bank Index increased by 2,937.75 points to 23,555.85 as on March 28, 2024.
- ICRA projected PSBs and PVBs net NPAs in FY25 at 0.5-0.7 per cent and 0.5-0.6 per cent.
- ICRA estimated the moderation in banking sector’s credit growth to 11.6-12.5% in FY2025 from 16.3% in FY2024.
Topic: Banking System
3. IndusInd Bank has successfully executed the RBI’s programmable Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot.
- This is the first such instance by any bank. The pilot project was done in collaboration with Circularity Innovation Hub India Private Limited.
- It involved an alternate form of CBDC in which the bank can program the end use of funds, specifically target farmers for carbon credit generation.
- 50 farmers in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district received programmable CBDC disbursements from IndusInd Bank as part of this pilot.
- In the future, it will cover about 1,000 farms. This is a significant development for the agriculture industry's acceptance of creative finance solutions.
- Leading the way in farmer participation was Hindustan Agro and Jackfruit King Company.
- Emertech Innovations created a Blockchain-based technology platform that provide complete transparency and traceability in revenue generation.
- The goal of this cooperative project is to encourage the recycling of agricultural waste into Circularity Credits.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
4. China now accounts for 30% of India's imports of industrial goods.
- China's share in India's industrial goods imports has increased from 21% to 30% during the previous 15 years, according to GTRI.
- India's growing dependence on Chinese industrial items, such as electronics, machinery, and telecom, is highlighted in a recent report.
- The report is released by the economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI).
- India's yearly exports to China have remained steady between 2019 and 2024, totaling about USD 16 billion.
- From USD 70.3 billion in 2018–19 to over USD 101 billion in 2023–24, China's imports have increased dramatically.
- Over the course of five years, this led to a cumulative trade deficit that was more than USD 387 billion.
- Concerns are raised by the widening trade deficit with China. This has important ramifications for economic stability and national security.
- According to the report, India's imports from all other nations are expanding at a rate that is 2.3 times slower than China's exports to India.
- China contributed USD 101.8 billion to India's total merchandise imports of USD 677.2 billion in the fiscal year 2023–24.
- This suggests that 15% of India's total imports came from China.
- China contributes USD 19 billion to the machinery sector, accounting for 39.6% of India's imports in this area.
- China accounted for USD 15.8 billion, or 29.2%, of India's total imports of chemicals and pharmaceuticals during the period, which reached USD 54.1 billion.
Topic: Reports and Indices
5. According to the report ‘Investing in Productivity Growth’, India’s economy accounted for 11% of global productivity growth seen in the last 25 years.
- As per McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, about 50% of global productivity growth in the last 25 years came from India (11%) and China (37%) alone.
- The report says about 75% of global productivity growth came from all emerging economies combined.
- The new MGI report explores productivity in 125 economies over the last 25 years.
- India’s productivity grew by 5.6% on average annually. Its productivity (GDP per worker) increased from $6,200 to $21,800 between 1997 and 2022.
- Growth in capital per worker explains as much as 70% of India’s productivity growth.
- India recorded high productivity growth in agriculture (4.2 per cent per annum) and was able to reduce employment in this sector.
- But India’s urbanisation rate is low. The share of construction workers increased by 12 percentage points.
- The share of service-sector workers increased by 7 percentage points.
- Service-sector productivity growth was very high at 5.8% per annum, the highest in the world.
- Manufacturing productivity growth was also high at 5.7%. But manufacturing employment is low in India at 12%.
Topic: Miscellaneous
6. In FY25, Indian Gas Exchange (IGX) expects a 35% increase in the amount of gas exchanged on its platform.
- The expansion will be brought about by the rising demand from industry, gas-fired power plants, city gas distribution networks, and fertilizer units.
- More than 5.1 crore million metric British thermal units (MMBTU) of gas were exchanged on the IGX platform in 2022–2023.
- In 2023–2024, this dropped to 4 crore MMBTU.
- At the moment, Maharashtra is the state in India that consumes the most natural gas, after Gujarat.
- Twenty-five percent of India's daily gas consumption, or 185 million metric standard cubic meters, comes from Gujarat.
- Indian Gas Exchange (IGX):
- It is India's first automated national level Gas Exchange.
- It started operations on 15th June 2020 as Gas Trading Platform.
- It has been operating as the Gas Exchange since 10th December 2020.
- It operates under the regulatory framework of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
Topic: Corporates/Companies
7. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has been granted Navratna status by the Department of Public Enterprises.
- IREDA is now empowered to execute significant investments of up to ₹1,000 crore without the need of approval from the central authority.
- The firms with Navratna status are allowed to allocate up to 30% of their net worth annually. However, it shall remain under ₹1,000 crore.
- They also have the option to take part in joint ventures, forge partnerships and establish overseas subsidiaries.
- A corporation must first receive the Miniratna category-I designation in order to be eligible for Navratna status.
- It must be included on Schedule A of the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in order to be eligible for Navratna status.
- Under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, IREDA is a non-banking financial organisation.
- Its activities include providing funding to support the establishment of projects pertaining to innovative and renewable energy sources.
- It was founded in March of 1987. Government owns seventy-five percent stake in IREDA.
Topic: Banking System
8. Axis Bank became 4th largest lender by market cap in India.
- Axis Bank surpassed Kotak Mahindra Bank to become India's 4th largest lender by market cap.
- Kotak's market value decreased to Rs 3.3 lakh crore, while Axis Bank's rose to Rs 3.4 lakh crore.
- Due to better-than-expected Q4 results, Axis Bank's shares rose by 4%.
- HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) are India's top three most valuable banks by market cap.
- HDFC Bank tops the lenders with a market cap of ₹11.5 lakh crore, followed by ICICI Bank with a market cap of ₹7.78 lakh crore and SBI at ₹6.99 lakh crore.
- Recently, RBI has banned Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers online and issuing new credit cards.
- Axis Bank registered a net profit of ₹7,130 crore in the January-March quarter.
Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market
9. The gems and jewelry sector was given AEO status by the Center.
- Gems and Jewelry Sector, Gems and Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) has been extended to the status of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) by the Centre.
- In 2011, the AEO program was introduced as a pilot project by the Customs Department as part of a comprehensive framework for ease of doing business.
- This has been instrumental in simplifying export operations across various sectors, resulting in significant time and cost savings for exporters.
- Under the secure framework of standards of the World Customs Organization (WCO), AEO is a program to secure and facilitate global trade.
- It aims to enhance international supply chain security and facilitate the movement of legitimate goods.
- Under this program, an entity engaged in international trade is approved by Customs as conforming to supply chain security standards, and given AEO status and certain benefits.
- India's AEO program is in line with the commitments made under Article 7.7 of the WTO TFA.
- Among the 20 companies that applied for AEO status, diamond, and diamond jewellery manufacturer Asian Star was granted AEO status, making it the first company in the Indian gems and jewellery industry to receive the certificate.
Topic: Infrastructure and Energy
10. Vizhinjam Port got approval to run as India's first transshipment hub.
- Adani’s Vizhinjam Port in Kerala has got approval from the centre to operate as India’s first transshipment port. It will help India to become a manufacturing hub.
- A transshipment port is a crucial hub where cargo is transferred from one big vessel to several smaller ones.
- India’s 75% of transshipment cargo is currently processed at ports overseas with destinations such as Colombo, Singapore, and Klang.
- This approval will pave the way for customs to set up an office at Vizhinjam port.
- It will be India’s first full-fledged deep-water transshipment port.
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