Banking Awareness of 7, 8 and 9 August 2022

Topic: Appointments

1. Inderjit Camotra has been appointed as MD & CEO of Unity Small Finance Bank.

• Both RBI and Unity Bank’s Board has approved his appointment.
• Prior to this appointment he was interim CEO of the Bank.
• Unity Small Finance Bank (USFB) commenced operations in November 2021, with a capital infusion of about ₹1,100 crore.
• With effect from 25 January 2022, scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank was merged with USFB.  

Topic: RBI

2. RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹2.33 crore on Spandana Sphoorty Financial.

• RBI has imposed the penalty because it failed to adhere to pricing of credit guidelines for Non-Banking Financial Company - Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs).
• EBI has imposed the penalty in exercise of powers vested in it under the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd is Hyderabad based NBFC-MFI registered with RBI.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

3. PFRDA has decided to discontinue the facility of payment of contributions via credit card in the Tier-II account of NPS.

• A Tier-II account is a voluntary savings account. Only a Tier-I NPS account holder can open a Tier-II NPS account.
• Tier-II NPS account has flexible exit and withdrawal rules against Tier-I NPS account, which is a long-term one.
• In case of Tier-I NPS account, amount cannot be withdrawn until retirement.
• In case of Tier-II account, money can be withdrawn at any time. No minimum balance is needed in an NPS Tier-II account.
• As per PFRDA, pension asset under management (AUM) are expected to increase by 62% to ₹2 lakh crore in the FY23.
• Active subscribers in the non-government sector may increase 35% to 50 lakh subscribers by the end of FY23.
• PFRDA has now increased the maximum age of membership under the NPS-Private sector from the current 65 years to 70 years. The exit age has been increased to 75 years.
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) was established in October 2003. Its Chairman is Supratim Bandyopadhyay. Its head office is in New Delhi.

Topic: RBI

4. RBI has said that all scheduled SFBs will be eligible for AD Category-I licence after completion of at least two years of operations as AD Category-II.   

• This step aims to provide small finance banks (SFBs) flexibility to meet their customers’ foreign exchange business requirement.
• Authorised dealer (AD) category-I licence is subject to certain eligibility norms. Some of them are given below.
  • Minimum net worth of ₹500 crore
  • Capital to risk-weighted assets ratio should not be less than 15 percent
  • Net non-performing assets should not exceed 6 percent during previous four quarters
  • Should have made profit in the preceding two years
• Other eligibility criteria include SFB should not have defaulted in maintenance of cash reserve ratio/ statutory liquidity ratio during previous two years.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

5. Lok Sabha has passed Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

• The bill aims to tap the $800-billion global carbon market. It seeks to amend the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• The bill makes it mandatory for buildings with a minimum connected load of 100 KW to meet their energy requirements from renewable sources.
• Through the bill, government wants to enhance the scope of Energy Conservation Building Code.
• Through the bill, government also wants to increase members in the Governing Council of Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
• The government aims to save an estimated 300 billion units of electricity by 2030.
• Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE):
  • It is a statutory body that was formed as per the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
  • It was formed in 2002 and comes under the Ministry of Power.

Topic: Appointments

6. Ranjit Rath has been appointed as Oil India Limited's (OIL) new chairman and managing director (CMD).

• He received the prestigious National Geosciences Award from the President of India in 2016.
• Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has been appointed as the first woman director general of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).
• Oil India Limited is a Navratna Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

7. India’s good exports in July 2022 declined marginally by 0.76% (year-on-year) to $35.24 billion.

• The exports declined for the first time in over a year. Trade deficit in July 2022 increased three times to reach at $31.02 billion.
• This is because imports during July 2022 increased 43.59% to $66.26 billion.
• The rise in imports is led by sectors like petroleum, electronic goods, and coal and coke, according to preliminary trade estimates for July 2022 released by Commerce & Industry Ministry.
• India’s goods exports in 2021–22 reached an all-time high of $420 billion.
• In April-July 2022, India’s goods exports increased 19.35% to $156.41 billion. Goods imports during the same period was 48.12% higher at $256.43 billion.
• Trade deficit during the period was $100 billion, which is more than double of the trade deficit of $42 billion in the same period last fiscal.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

8. Government capex (capital expenditure) increased by 72% to over ₹80,000 crore in the road sector in the April-June quarter of current fiscal.

• The capex increased by 80% to over ₹46,000 crore in railways in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal.
• The overall government capital expenditure during this period remained at 57%.
• The government has budgeted around ₹7.50-lakh crore of capital expenditure during the current fiscal.
• Out of this, government spent over ₹1.75-lakh crore in the first three months.
• The capital outlay on defence services recorded 20% growth. It remained around ₹24,800 crore.

Read Banking Awareness PDF of 7, 8 and 9 August 2022