Banking Awareness of 29, 30 and 31 March 2023

Topic: Taxation

1. UP Authority for Advance Ruling (UPAAR) has ruled that sugarcane juice will attract GST at 12%.

• It ruled that sugarcane juice is not an agricultural produce.
• Sugarcane juice is produced by crushing sugarcane. It is not produced by the farmer. It is neither a fruit nor a vegetable.
• UPAAR said that sugarcane juice is taxable at 6% CGST (Central Goods & Services Tax) and 6% SGST (State Goods & Services Tax) or 12% Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).
• UPAAR said agriculture produce should contain three elements. These elements are given below.
  • Produced from the cultivation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals.
  • Should not require any further processing, or processing is done by the cultivators or producers, which does not alter its essential characteristics.
  • Processing should only help it attain marketability in the primary market.
• The processing of sugarcane changes its form and constitution and processed form can be marketed in the secondary market.

Topic: Reports and Indices

2. India requires $540 billion of investment to achieve its targets for electricity generation from renewable energy sources.

• S&P Global Ratings said this recently. This investment is required between 2020 and 2029.
• S&P Global Ratings released its report ‘Asia-Pacific’s Different Pathways To Energy Transition’.
• S&P Global Ratings said renewables capacity addition in India is outpacing coal.
• It said India requires over 40 GW of new capacity additions annually to meet its renewables target of 500GW by 2030.
• It said private sector will lead investments in generation and public sector utilities are likely to lead grid investments.
• India is fourth biggest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. It comes after China, the US and the EU.
• However, India’s per capita emissions are lower than other major world economies.
• India per capita CO₂ emissions stood at 1.9 tonnes in 2019 against 15.5 tonnes for US and 12.5 tonnes for Russia.
• As per S&P, renewables face increasing intermittency issues.

Topic: Taxation

3. Employees contributing over ₹2.50 lakh to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will be liable to pay tax on interest even in case of death.

• Higher Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) rate will be applicable in case of employees who have yet not linked their EPF account with PAN.
• Higher TDS will also be applicable in case of employees having invalid PAN.
• The new rules will come into effect from 01 April 2023.
• If EPF account is not linked with a valid PAN, the rate of TDS will be 20%.
• In cases of EPF accounts linked with a valid PAN, the TDS rate will be 10%.
• Exempted establishments and exempted trusts and international workers will be subject to TDS.
• The rules will also apply to General Provident Fund (GPF). However, the threshold will be ₹5 lakh because there is no contribution from employer.

Topic: Summits/Meetings/Conferences

4. Second G20 Sherpas Meeting begins in Kumarakom, Kerala.

• The Second G20 Sherpas meeting under India’s G20 Presidency is scheduled to take place from March 30 to April 2, 2023, in Kumarakom, Kerala.
• The four-day meeting will be chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa Shri Amitabh Kant.
• 120 delegates from G20 member countries, 9 invitee countries, and various international and regional organizations are taking part in this meeting.
• The Meeting started with two high-level side-events on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Green Development.
• A panel discussion will also be held on global challenges and opportunities to build a growth-oriented and inclusive DPI.
• The Digital Public Infrastructure side-event has been organized in partnership with NASSCOM, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL).
• The Green Development event will be organized in partnership with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in India (UNRC) and Observer Research Foundation (ORF).
• It will give perspectives on global efforts needed for a new vision of green development.
• India’s G20 Sherpa Shri Amitabh Kant will also lead discussions with the G20 Troika comprising India, Indonesia and Brazil.
• The second Sherpa meeting will work on many important issues of global concern and will cover the work being done under the 13 working groups within the Sherpa Track.
• In addition, 11 Engagement Groups and 4 Initiatives will provide policy recommendations from the perspectives of civil society, private sector, academia, women, youth, scientific advancement and research.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/ Financial Institutions

5. SBI will stop to be a fund manager for Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) by March-end.

• Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said this recently. Under RBI norms, a bank cannot function as an asset management company.
• Currently, fund managers of EPFO are SBI, ICICI Securities Primary Dealership, Reliance Capital, HSBC AMC and UTI AMC.
• SBI Capital and UTI Mutual Funds have been separately engaged by EPFO as exchange-traded fund (ETF) managers.
• 75% of ETF investment of the EPFO are managed by the SBI Capital. Remaining 25% are managed by UTI Mutual Funds.
• Labour Minister chaired meeting of EPFO’s apex decision-making body, Central Board of Trustees (CBT).
• The CBT meeting approved the constitution of the FAIC, Pension & EDLI (insurance scheme) Implementation Committee and Exempted Establishments Committee (for PF trusts).
• The proposal for appointment of CRISIL Ltd as Consultant was ratified by CBT.   
• As per the proposal, CRISIL Ltd will assist EPFO in review and selection of portfolio managers.

Topic: Miscellaneous

6. State Bank of India will donate ₹48 lakh for the plantation of 32,000 tree saplings at Garden City University, Bengaluru.

• The tree saplings will be planted in association with an NGO, That’s Eco Foundation.
• SBI has announced the donation as part of its corporate social responsibility.
• SBI, Garden City University, and the Eco Foundation have signed the MoU for the project.
• The implementation of project is being done under Miyawaki technique.
• A Japanese botanist, Akira Miyawaki, pioneered Miyawaki technique. This technique helps build dense, native forests quickly. 

Topic: RBI

7. RBI has for the first time in seven years rejected all the bids for 91-day Treasury bill (T-bill).

• RBI has done so for the first time since February 2016.
• On 29 March 2023, RBI auctioned ₹9,000 crore of the 91-day T-bill, ₹16,000 crore of the 182-day T-bill, and ₹14,000 crore of the 364-day T-bill.
• Bids for the 91-day T-bill were more than five times the notified amount. Higher bids show strong demand for a security.
• The cut-off yield on the 91-day T-bill is estimated to be more than the expected level (7.15-7.20%).
• If RBI would have accepted the bids at a higher level, this may have led to an inversion in the yield curve.
• RBI accepted all the bids for 182-day and 364-day T-bills.
• Treasury bills (T-bills):
  • They are short-term, zero coupon debt instruments issued by government.
  • They are money market instruments. Only central government issues them.
  • They are issued when government requires money for short period.
  • They are issued for maturity period of 91 day, 182 day, and 364 day.

Topic: Banking System

8. Aditya Birla Health Insurance and UCO Bank has entered into bancassurance partnership.

• Aditya Birla Health Insurance has entered into the partnership for the distribution of health insurance product through branches of the bank.
• Through this partnership, Aditya Birla Health Insurance will be able to expand its footprint with the help of UCO Bank’s network of branches.
• Aditya Birla Health Insurance will be able to reach out to more than 40 million customers of the bank.
• Customers and employees of the bank will get access to health-first insurance solutions of the Aditya Birla Health Insurance.
• Bancassurance is an insurance distribution model in which an insurance company partners with bank to sell policies.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

9. SBI has signed an MoU with Godrej Capital to provide various financial products and offerings.

• SBI and Godrej Capital will come together to make financial solutions more accessible and affordable.
• As per Dinesh Khara, Chairman of SBI, the focus will be on delivering financial solutions to the Godrej group.
• The MoU leverages the strengths of both groups by facilitating financial services offered by the bank.

Topic: Appointment

10. Former SEBI chairman UK Sinha appointed as non-executive chairman of NDTV.

• The appointment of former SEBI chairman UK Sinha as non-executive chairman and additional director till March 26, 2025, has been approved by the board of New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV).
• In addition, NDTV has appointed Dipali Goenka, MD & CEO, Welspun India, as Additional Director in the rank of Non-Executive Independent Women Director.
• The appointments came in the wake of a significant change in the leadership of NDTV following the acquisition of the company from its former promoters, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, by the Gautam Adani-led group.
• The Gautam Adani Group now controls about 65% stake in NDTV.
• On December 30, 2022, Roys sold 27.26% stake in NDTV to Adani-owned entity AMG Media Network.
• About former SEBI chairman UK Sinha:
  • Upendra Kumar Sinha served as SEBI Chairman for six years from February 2011.
  • He is an IAS officer of Bihar cadre. His autobiography is titled Going Public.

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