Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 29 and 30 June 2021

Topic: RBI

1. Monetary penalty imposed by RBI on four co-operative banks.

• RBI has imposed monetary penalty on Saraswat Co-operative Bank, SVC Co-operative Bank, Andhra Pradesh Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank, and Ahmedabad Mercantile Co-operative Bank.
• The monetary penalty on the four banks has been imposed because of non-compliance with RBI’s directions.
• The monetary penalty on Hyderbad-based Andhra Pradesh Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank has been imposed for non-compliance with RBI’s directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits’ and ‘Know Your Customer’.
• The monetary penalty on Ahmedabad Mercantile Co-operative Bank has been imposed for non-compliance with RBI’s directions on ‘Interest Rate on Deposits.’
• Co-operative banks:
  • It is a financial entity that belongs to its members, who are at the same time the owners and the customers of their bank.
  • These banks generally provide their members with a wide range of banking and financial services (loans, deposits, banking accounts, etc).

Topic: Appointments

2. Chandan Sinha and Manjeev Singh Puri appointed as directors on the board of RBL Bank.

• Chandan Sinha and Manjeev Singh Puri have been appointed by RBL Bank as directors on its board.
• The bank’s board now has 11 members. Prakash Chandra is the Chairman of the Board of RBL Bank.
• RBL Bank is an Indian private sector bank. It was earlier known as Ratnakar Bank. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Its MD and CEO is Vishwavir Ahuja.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market  

3. Anti-dumping duty on vitrified tiles from China extended by Finance Ministry till 31 December 2021.

• The validity of the existing anti-dumping duty on the import of vitrified tiles from China has been extended till 31 December 2021.   
• In January 2021, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) started sunset review investigations on imports of glazed/ unglazed porcelain/vitrified tiles from China.
• In 2016, Anti-dumping duty was imposed on Vitrified tiles from China for five years. This duty was valid till 28 June and now valid till December 31.
• DGTR in the Commerce Ministry has started anti-dumping investigations on Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) imports from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the US.
• MEG is used in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is converted into plastic bottles.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. NCAER expects Indian economy to grow 11.5% in June quarter.

• National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) expects the Indian economy to grow 11.5% in June quarter.
• NCAER expects that the Indian economy will grow in the range of 8.4-10.1% in FY22 over a negative base.
• As per NCAER, India needs expansionary fiscal policy to put the economy on a sustainable growth path.
• In its latest quarterly review of the economy on Friday (25 June), NCAER said that contractionary fiscal policy in FY21, sharply reducing the deficit, will delay economic recovery. 
• As per NCAER, India’s fiscal deficit is being reduced sharply from 9.2% of GDP in FY21 to 7.2% in FY22.
• NCAER said that expenditure in the 2021-22 budget was reduced from Rs 35.1 trillion in 2020-21 to Rs 34.8 trillion in 2021-22.
• As per NCAER, planned expenditure in FY22 at 16.3% of GDP is significantly lower than 17.8% in FY21.
• Expansionary fiscal policy means increased spending and tax cuts by government to increase aggregate demand and economic growth. 

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

5. The second unit of NTPC’s Tanda Super Thermal Power Station becomes operational.

• The 660 MW capacity second unit at NTPC’s Tanda Super Thermal Power Station in Uttar Pradesh has become operational.
• 250MW capacity second unit at Barauni Thermal Power Station in Bihar has completed trial operation. So, NTPC has added 910 MW capacity to its installed capacity.
• On 27 June, NTPC has announced a target to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032.
• NTPC also aims at 10% reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.

Topic: Indian Economy

6. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announces measures exceeding Rs 6.29 lakh crore.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced measures exceeding Rs 6.29 lakh crore.
• The measures are mainly focused on tourism and health sectors. They include a new loan guarantee scheme, enhancement of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) and others.
• Government has announced ₹1.1-lakh crore Loan Guarantee Scheme for Covid Affected Sectors. Out of this, ₹50,000 crore is for the health sector and the remaining part is for tourism and other sectors.
• The scheme will guarantee loans for expansion and new projects in cities other than the eight metros. Guarantee coverage will be 50 % for the expansion project and 75% for a new project in districts other than aspirational districts.
• In aspirational districts, guarantee coverage will be 75% for all projects.
• Government will provide working capital/personal loans to people in the tourism sector. The scheme will cover 10,700 regional level tourist guides recognised by the Tourism Ministry and State governments.
• It will also cover a thousand Travel and Tourism Stakeholders (TTS) recognised by the Tourism Ministry.
• While tourist guides can get up to ₹1 lakh each, Travel and Tourism Stakeholders (TTS) can get loans up to ₹10 lakh each.
• Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) that aims to benefit the smallest borrowers has also been announced.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

7. SEBI overhauls rules on appointment, removal and remuneration of Independent Directors (IDs).

• SEBI has overhauled rules on appointment, removal and remuneration of Independent Directors (IDs).
• The overhaul of rules is aimed at giving more say to shareholders while lowering the influence of promoters.
• SEBI said that Independent Directors should be appointed/re-appointed and removed through a special resolution of shareholders for all listed entities.
• SEBI has also introduced a limit for shareholder approval to appoint all directors including Independent Directors (IDs).
• As per SEBI, shareholder approval shall be taken at next general meeting, or within 3 months of the appointment on the board, whichever is earlier.
• A cooling-off period of three years has been introduced for Key Managerial Personnel or employees of promoter group companies, for appointment as an ID.
• As per the SEBI proposal, the changes will be in place from January 1, 2022. 
• Some radical changes such as allowing independent directors to receive profit-linked commissions and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) were also proposed by SEBI Board.
• SEBI has also permitted resident Indian fund managers to be constituents of foreign portfolio investors.
• It has also lowered minimum investment level in listed infrastructure investment trusts (InViTs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) from Rs 50,000 to Rs 10,000-15,000.
• SEBI has increased reward to informants from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore. This has been done to improve information flow on insider trading cases.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

8. RIL and ADNOC sign agreement to build polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

• Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) have signed an agreement to build polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
• Under the agreement, the companies will also build chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride production facility at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.
• Chlor-alkali is used in water treatment and in the manufacture of textiles and metals. It is also used in the production of caustic soda, which is required for aluminum production.
• Ethylene dichloride is used to produce polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Topic: Miscellaneous

9. Cipla gets regulatory approval to import Moderna’s Covid vaccine for use in India.

• Cipla has got regulatory approval to import Moderna’s Covid vaccine for use in India.
• Moderna’s mRNA vaccine is first Covid-19 vaccine, which has got Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) without bridge trials in India.
• India will now have four Covid vaccines — Covaxin, Covishield, Sputnik and Moderna.  
• Cipla is a Mumbai-based Indian pharmaceutical company. Umang Vohra is its CEO. Moderna is an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.

Read Banking Awareness PDF -29 and 30 June 2021