Banking Awareness of 9, 10 and 11 February 2025

Topic: Appointments

1. Dr. Madhavankutty G has been appointed by Canara Bank as chief economist.

• His appointment is effective from January 2025. He was earlier a senior economist at Bank of India, Aditya Birla Group, and the Times Group.
• In his new role, he will provide strategic advice to the top management on economic and financial sector developments of domestic and global importance.
• Canara Bank was founded in July 1906. It is headquartered in Bengaluru. It was nationalized in 1969.
• K Satyanarayana Raju is its MD and CEO. The government has merged Syndicate bank with Canara bank.

Topic: Banking System

2. Latest artificial intelligence (AI) avatar of Amitabh Bachchan has been used by IDFC FIRST Bank in collaboration with Ikonz.

• The bank has used the avatar at 10 more branches in five new cities.
• These cities are Delhi, Gurugram, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
• Ikonz collaborated with IDFC FIRST Bank last year. Ikonz Studios is a Hyderabad-based company.
• It is one of the first global companies which introduced avatars based on generative AI technologies to enhance human potential.
• Amitabh Bachchan’s interactive digital avatar greets customers and provides them information about banking products.
• IDFC First Bank is an Indian private-sector bank. It was founded in 2015.
• It is headquartered in Mumbai. V. Vaidyanathan is its MD & CEO.

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

3. A working group to review trading and settlement timing of RBI regulated financial markets has been formed by RBI.

• The working group is headed by RBI Executive Director Radha Shyam Ratho.
• The group will submit its report by April 30, 2025.
• Several developments over past few years necessitate a reconsideration of India’s financial markets timings, which open between 9 AM-5 PM.
• The group includes members from banks, primary dealers and other bond market players.
• The group will study cross-country practices of market timings and their influence on market development.
• It will also review the implications in revising the current timings for trading and settlement.

Topic: Banking System

4. Over ₹16,000-cr GST demand notice has been given to J&K Bank.

• The bank has received demand notice from the Joint Commissioner, Central GST Commissionerate, Jammu.
• Demand notice is for the period July 8, 2017 to March 31, 2020 concerning transfers under the bank’s Transfer Price Mechanism (TPM).
• As per the tax department, interest receivables under TPM between the corporate headquarters and branches from the common pool of funds attracts GST.
• TPM is an internal allocation and measurement mechanism. It allocates the major component of profitability in a bank, Net Interest Margin.
• The bank said that TPM is adopted by all banks in India in accordance with RBI guidelines dated October 7, 1999.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

5. The IIAS-DARPG India Conference 2025 started in New Delhi at Bharat Mandapam.

• The conference was inaugurated by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh.
• The conference will continue until this month's 14th. 240 delegates from 55 countries have registered so far for this conference.
• Next Generation Administrative Reforms- Reaching the Last Mile is the conference's theme.
• Innovations in governance, policymaking, and public administration will be discussed and explored during the conference.
• India is hosting the IIAS Conference on Public Administration for the first time. India is the first nation in South Asia to do so.
• This conference is being held in New Delhi by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).

Topic: Taxation

6. Union Cabinet approved the new income tax bill.

• The new income tax bill will replace the six decades-old I-T Act.
• The new bill will reduce the number of sections by almost a third. It will be presented in the Parliament very soon.
• This bill is part of the efforts to reform the tax system and aims to overhaul the existing tax structure.
• This bill makes income tax laws simpler for taxpayers and will be 50 per cent less in text. 
• The Bill also aimed to resolve interpretation-related issues arising out of the ambiguity in language.
• The tax department wants the Bill to go for public consultation to ensure transparency and gather feedback from taxpayers, businesses, and experts.
• Union Finance Minister Sitharaman first announced a comprehensive review of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 in the July 2024 Budget.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

7. Golden Peacock Award has been conferred to Coal India.

• At the 19th International Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility, Coal India Ltd. (CIL) received the Golden Peacock CSR Award 2024.
• P.M. Prasad, Chairman, CIL received the award at a ceremony organized by the Institute of Directors.
• This recognition shows CIL’s unwavering commitment to driving meaningful social impact. The company’s CSR initiatives have positively impacted over 35 million lives.
• In the past five years, CIL has been the highest CSR spender among Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSEs).
• The CIL spends more than 70% of its CSR funds on Healthcare, Nutrition & Sanitation, and Education & Livelihood.
• CIL has constructed over 50,000 toilets under the Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan.

Topic: Reserve Bank of India

8. RBI to introduce 'bank.in' and 'fin.in' domains for increasing payment security.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched exclusive internet domains—‘bank.in’ and ‘fin.in’—for Indian financial institutions.
• This initiative aims to tackle the rising instances of fraud and cyber security threats.
• It will help in stopping phishing and other malicious activities that have become a threat to the safety of online transactions.
• The 'bank.in' domain will be available exclusively to Indian banks. It will ensure secure access to financial services and enhance customer confidence in digital banking.
• Domain, ‘fin.in’, will be used for other non-bank entities in the financial sector.
• The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) has been designated as the exclusive registrar for these domains.
• These domains will make it easier for consumers to identify legitimate financial services and reduce the risks of cyber fraud.

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