Banking Awareness of 6, 7, 8 and 9 July 2025

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. The Indian government has announced the auction of two long-term government bonds.

• The total value of the auction is ₹25,000 crore.
• One bond is a new issue that will mature on July 14, 2032. This bond is worth ₹11,000 crore.
• The other is a re-issued bond with a 7.09% interest rate. It will mature on November 25, 2074 and is worth ₹14,000 crore.
• The government may accept up to ₹2,000 crore more for each bond if demand is high.
• The Reserve Bank of India will conduct the auction on July 11, 2025.
• It will be held through the e-Kuber platform at RBI’s Mumbai office.
• The funds will be settled on July 14, 2025.
• Dated government bonds have fixed maturity dates and pay regular interest.
• Interest is usually paid every six months.
• Re-issued bonds are older securities sold again to raise more funds.
• They keep the same terms as the original issue.
• The auction will follow a multiple-price format.
• Both competitive and non-competitive bids are allowed.
• The bonds can be traded under the “When Issued” system from July 8 to July 11, 2025.
• They will be sold in minimum units of ₹10,000. Additional units must also be in multiples of ₹10,000.
• Five percent of each bond issue is reserved for specific investors. These investors can use the non-competitive bidding route.
• Retail buyers can take part through the RBI’s Retail Direct portal.
• Interest payments on the bonds will be made twice a year.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market 

2. India’s economy is growing at a steady and healthy pace.

• It continues to be a major contributor to global economic expansion.
• This growth is supported by strong fundamentals and careful policy decisions.
• The Reserve Bank of India highlighted these factors in its latest Financial Stability Report.
• India is showing strong resilience despite global economic uncertainty.
• The RBI warned about increasing risks from global trade and economic tensions.
• Financial systems across the world are under pressure.
• Government bond markets are particularly volatile. This volatility is due to shifting policies and geopolitical developments.
• Other risks include high public debt and inflated asset values.
• These issues could worsen the impact of future financial shocks.
• In India, the financial sector remains stable.
• Banks and non-banking financial institutions have strong balance sheets.
• Financial conditions have improved, helped by supportive monetary policy.
• Market volatility within India remains low. Corporates also have healthy balance sheets.
• This supports overall economic and financial stability.
• Commercial banks are performing well. They have strong capital reserves, low bad loans, and solid profits.
• Stress tests show banks would stay above required capital even in difficult conditions.
• Urban cooperative banks have strengthened their capital positions.
• Non-banking financial companies are also well-capitalised.
• The RBI’s systemic risk survey was conducted in May 2025.
• All major risk groups were rated in the medium-risk category.
• 92% of respondents are confident in the stability of India’s financial system.
• However, about two-thirds believe global financial stability is weakening.
• Geopolitical conflicts, capital outflows, and trade disruptions are seen as major short-term risks for India.

Topic: Appointments

3. Indian-origin Sabih Khan has been appointed as COO by Apple.

• Jeff Williams, Apple’s longtime chief operating officer, is retiring from the company later this year.
• He will step down as COO this month. Until his departure, he will continue to oversee the design team and health-related projects.
• Sabih Khan, an Indian-origin executive with 30 years at Apple, will succeed him as COO.
• Khan joined Apple’s executive team in 2019 as senior vice president of operations.
• Khan will report directly to CEO Tim Cook.
• After Williams retires, the design team will report directly to Cook.
• Williams will continue reporting to Cook and managing the design team and Apple Watch until he fully retires.
• Apple is an American multinational corporation and technology company. It is headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley.

Topic: Agriculture

4. India aims to boost maize production to 86 million tonnes by 2047.

• This would more than double the current output of 42.3 million tonnes.
• Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stressed the need for high-yield maize varieties.
• These varieties should have higher starch content.
• India’s average maize yield is currently 3.7 tonnes per hectare.
• Some states, like West Bengal and Bihar, perform better than the national average.
• Chouhan emphasized increasing yields without using genetically modified seeds.
• He made these remarks at the 11th maize summit hosted by FICCI.
• India is the fifth-largest maize producer in the world.
• India’s maize production has grown from 10 million tonnes in the 1900s to over 42 million tonnes today.
• Chouhan urged Punjab and Haryana to shift some focus from paddy to maize farming.
• He noted that maize prices were below the minimum support price of ₹2,400 per quintal.
• Prices have recently improved. This increase is linked to the government’s 20% ethanol blending target by 2025–26.
• Maize is known as the ‘Queen of Cereals’.
• FICCI organized the 11th Edition of the India Maize Summit on July 7, 2025.

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. India ranked 4th among the World’s Most Equal Societies by the World Bank.

• India has been ranked as the fourth most equal society globally by the World Bank, based on its Gini Index score.
• A Gini Index score of 25.5 has been recorded for India, placing it just behind the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Belarus.
• The Gini index is a simple but powerful way to understand how evenly income, wealth, or consumption is distributed among households or individuals in a country.
• India is placed in the “moderately low” inequality category, which ranges from a score of 25 to 30.
• India is only a few points away from the “low inequality” group, where top performers score below 25.5.
• This includes countries like the Slovak Republic with 24.1 points, Slovenia with 24.3 points, and Belarus with 24.4 points.
• India’s score surpasses that of 167 other countries for which the World Bank has released data.
• India’s score is significantly lower than China’s 35.7 and the United States’ 41.8.
• A consistent drop from 28.8 in 2011 to 25.5 in 2022 reflects India’s progress toward social equity.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. India has set a goal to increase its economy from $4 trillion to $32 trillion by 2047.

• Union Minister Piyush Goyal shared this vision at the IIT Madras ‘Sangam 2025’ Global Innovation and Alumni Summit in Bengaluru.

• He mentioned that India is currently the fifth-largest economy globally.
• The country is expected to become the third-largest economy by 2028.
• Goyal emphasized that India is growing rapidly on the world stage.
• He attributed this growth to the government’s forward-thinking policies.
• India is focusing on leading-edge fields such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
• In the previous budget, the government allocated ₹10,000 crore to support the deep tech sector.
• An additional ₹10,000 crore has now been approved to further boost innovation and technology development.
• The Union Cabinet recently sanctioned ₹1 lakh crore for the Department of Science and Technology.
• This funding will be provided as a zero-interest loan spread over 50 years.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. NITI Aayog has released the second edition of the North Eastern Region District SDG Index (2023-24).

• A total of 85% of districts in the region showed improvement in their overall SDG scores.
• All districts in Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura have attained Front Runner status.
• Hnahthial district in Mizoram achieved the highest SDG score in the region, with a composite score of 81.43.
• Three districts from Nagaland ranked among the top 10 performing districts in the region.
• The goal of Good Health & Well-being saw improved scores in 93 districts.
• Sikkim displayed the most consistent performance across its districts.
• It had the smallest score gap of just 5.5 points between its highest and lowest scoring districts.
• All districts in Assam made progress in Zero Hunger, Quality Education, Clean Water and Sanitation, and Decent Work and Economic Growth.
• The index was developed by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provided technical support.
• This edition builds on the first report, which was launched on 26 August 2021.
• The index tracks district-level progress across all eight northeastern states.
• It uses the SDG India Index framework created by NITI Aayog.
• District scores range from 58.71 in Longding, Arunachal Pradesh, to 81.43 in Hnahthial, Mizoram.
• Districts are categorized into Achiever, Front Runner, Performer, and Aspirant based on their scores.
• No district scored 100 to be classified as an Achiever.
• No district scored below 50 to fall into the Aspirant category.
• Tripura had high-performing districts with very little variation between them.
• The score difference among Tripura’s districts was just 6.5 points.
• Mizoram and Nagaland had high-scoring districts but wider variation.
• Mizoram’s districts showed a score gap of 13.72 points.
• Nagaland’s districts had a variation of 15.07 points.
• The index represents a collaborative effort across all eight northeastern states.
• It aims to promote inclusive and sustainable growth in the region.
• It is a valuable tool for policy planning, data-based decision-making, and resource allocation.
• The index supports progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

Topic: Appointments

8. Sahil Kini has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub.

• He is the co-founder of fintech infrastructure firm Setu and a former core member of the IndiaStack team.

• The appointment comes after Rajesh Bansal, the founding CEO of RBIH, who completed a four-year term earlier this year.
• Kini’s background includes stints at McKinsey, Aspada Investments, and Titan before he co-founded fintech infrastructure firm Setu in 2018.
• Later, Setu was acquired by Pine Labs in 2022.
• He was also a core team member at iSPIRIT Foundation, working on "IndiaStack" projects including Aadhaar and UPI.
• Established in 2022, the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI based in Bengaluru.
• It aims to foster innovation in financial services and promote collaboration between the public and private sectors in developing digital infrastructure.