Banking Awareness of 8, 9 and 10 September 2024

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

1. ICAI has constituted up 16-member group on SA600 changes.

• Regarding the NFRA's proposed modifications to the important auditing standard SA 600 on "Using the Work of Another Auditor," the group will advise the ICAI Central Council.
• The Central Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is expected to receive a report and a note from this group.
• At least four former Auditing & Assurance Standards Board (AASB) Chiefs and ICAI Presidents are in the group.
• The group is led by former ICAI President Debashis Mitra.
• The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has requested that ICAI modify its twenty-year-old SA 600 in order to bring it into compliance with the international accounting standard (ISA600).   
• Aligning it with ISA600 would include the CA Institute giving the principal auditor access to the audit's working documents for the component auditors of the corporate group's subsidiaries.
• Furthermore, the acts of the component auditors would have to be owned and accepted by the principle auditor (auditor of a holding company in a corporate group).

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

2. From September 2023, when the J P Morgan Bond index inclusion was announced, foreign portfolio investors had pumped $18 billion into Indian government debt.

• JP Morgan declared that it would incorporate Indian government bonds into its global developing markets government bond index effective June 28.
• It was declared that the addition of Indian government bonds will happen gradually over the course of ten months, from June 28, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
• After one percent is added each month, Indian government bonds will account for ten percent of the weight in the GBI-EM Global Diversified Index by the end of March 2025.
• The Reserve Bank of India's Fully Accessible Route (FAR) bonds were the only ones that qualified for index inclusion.
• As much as $12.9 billion of the $18 billion FPI investment has been made between October 2023 and June 2024.
• From the day of index inclusion on June 28 to the end of August, the net debt FPI flows were $5.1 billion.

Topic: Taxation

3. GST council has decided to reduce rate of Goods and Service Tax (GST) on cancer drugs from 12% to 5%.

• The decision was taken in the 54th GST Council meeting held in New Delhi on 09 September 2024.
• The meeting was chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and Finance Ministers of States.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said GST on selected snacks has also been cut from 18% to 12%.
• According to Union Finance Minister, grants to universities established by the law of Centre, state governments and those who have got income tax exemption are not subject to the Goods and Services Tax.
• The Group of Ministers (GoM) was established by the GST Council with the goal of lowering the tax rate on health and life insurance.
• By the end of October 2024, the Group of Ministers on GST rate reduction on medical health insurance will give its report.
• The matter of rate decrease will be decided at a meeting scheduled for November.
• The formation of a Group of Ministers on Compensation Cess has also been approved by the GST Council.
• The Group of Ministers on Rate Rationalisation and Real Estate presented the status reports, according to the Union Finance Minister.
• She said, status report on online gaming and casinos was also submitted.
• According to Union Finance Minister, in just six months, the revenue generated by online gaming has surged by 412%, or 6,909 crore rupees.
• Car seats now carry a 28 percent GST charge instead of the previous 18 percent rate.
• The GST rate on Roof Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) Air Conditioning Machines for Railways would be 28%.
• GST shall not apply to certified flight training courses delivered by DGCA-licensed flight Training Organisations.

Topic: RBI

4. RBI has given Paysharp the final approval to act as a payment aggregator.

• The RBI has granted Paysharp final permission to function as a payment aggregator.
• Paysharp received an in-principle license in December 2022.
• Paysharp will be able to reach more retailers with the RBI's final authorization for payment aggregators.
• As of right now, 36 payment aggregators, including Cashfree, Stripe, and Razorpay, have been approved by the RBI.
• As an alternative to other payment aggregators percentage-based pricing, Paysharp offers flat pricing to retailers.
• Additionally, Paysharp offers UPI-powered payment pages and Link Payment.
• Paysharp is focusing on the government sector, B2B, NBFC, and SMBs.
• Paysharp is now extending to the e-commerce segment.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

5. Star Health launched India’s first health insurance policy in Braille.

• Star Health and Allied Insurance has introduced an insurance policy in Braille.
• Its main aim is to empower visually impaired individuals in India.
• It will allow blind people to access health insurance information independently.
• The policy has been designed to fulfil the specific needs of people with 40% or more disability, including physical, sensory, or cognitive impairments.
• Star Health has also launched an initiative for visually impaired individuals to become health insurance agents.
• The initiative will focus on training and up-skilling of marginalized groups. It will allow them to generate income while working from home.
• The Braille policy has been developed in partnership with the National Association of the Blind (NAB).

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

6. India overtook China in MSCI's Emerging Markets Investable Markets Index.

• India has overtaken China in terms of its weightage in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Emerging Markets Investable Market Index as per the Morgan Stanley report.
• India's weightage in the MSCI EM IMI stood at 22.27% compared to China's 21.58%.
• This significant change in the market scenario happened earlier this week, when India's weighting in the emerging markets index came close to becoming possibly the largest.
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (EM IMI) is a comprehensive index that includes large, mid, and small-cap stocks from 24 emerging market countries.
• With a total of 3,355 constituents, the index roughly represents approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each of the included countries.
• Several key factors have contributed to this favorable trend.
• These include a remarkable 47% increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the early months of 2024, a decline in Brent crude prices, and substantial foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Indian debt markets.

Topic: Miscellaneous

7. Uttar Pradesh government bagged the "Top Achiever" status in two categories of BRAP 2022.

• Uttar Pradesh has been adjudged “top achiever” in two business-centric and one citizen-centric area under BRAP 2022.

• This recognition is the state’s efforts to reduce industrial bottlenecks and to enhance ease of doing business.
• The reforms in states have streamlined administrative processes and made it easier for businesses to operate.
• Invest UP is the nodal agency responsible for the implementation of the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) in Uttar Pradesh
• A total of 352 reforms have been recommended under BRAP 2022.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has implemented all the reforms prescribed under the Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2022.
• One of the key areas of reform was land administration and transfer.
• Uttar Pradesh digitized land records and introduced online land allotment systems.
• Uttar Pradesh has simplified various laws and introduced online registration and renewal of licenses.

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. In the Union Environment Ministry's Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024, Surat city achieved first place.

• Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav named it the nation's "National Clean Air City" in Jaipur.
• The award comes with a cheaque of Rs 1.5 crore. Mayor Daxesh Mawani and Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal received it.
• Surat came in at number thirteen in Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2023, with Indore at the top.
• Last year, Surat city topped the list of the nation's cleanest cities.
• Cities under "category 1" of the Swachh Vayu Survekshan survey have a population of above ten lakh people.
• Surat topped the list this year with 194 points out of 200, followed by Jabalpur and Agra.
• Similarly, Ferozabad topped the list of category 2 cities (those with a population of three to ten lakh), followed by Amravati and Jhansi.
• Rae Bareli, Nalgonda, and Nalagarh took the top three spots among Category 3 cities (population less than 3 lakh).

Topic: Appointments

9. IAS officer Tuhin Kant Pandey has been appointed as the Finance Secretary.

• On September 7, senior bureaucrat Tuhin Kant Pandey was named as the new Finance Secretary by the Central Government.
• Pandey, a 1987 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Odisha cadre, was till now posted as Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
• The post of Finance Secretary fell vacant after the appointment of TV Somanathan as Cabinet Secretary in August.
• Tuhin Kant Pandey is known for his role in the privatization of Air India and the country's biggest IPO brought by LIC.
• Before joining the Finance Ministry, he worked as Principal Secretary in his home cadre Odisha.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

10. IEPFA celebrated its 8th Foundation Day with emphasis on investor education and protection.

• On 7th September, the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research, celebrated its 8th Foundation Day.
• The occasion highlighted the ongoing efforts of IEPFA to promote a more resilient and informed investor community across the country.
• The theme of the conference was "Empowering Investors: Financial Literacy as the Key to Combat Fraud and Digital Scams."
• The theme reflects the growing need to equip investors with the knowledge and tools needed to protect themselves in an increasingly complex financial landscape.
• In 2016, IEPFA was constituted under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

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