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GK Tornado for Dena Bank 2018 Exam Current Banking & Financial Awareness

Dear readers, This GK Tornado is a complete docket of important Banking & Financial news and events that occurred in last 4.5 months (1st January 2018– 21 May 2018). Tornado is important and relevant for all competitive exams like Banking and Insurance Exams.

Banking & Financial Awareness

May 2018

1. RBI modified norms for setting up of IFSC Banking Units

• The Reserve Bank of India modified the norms for setting up International Financial Services Centres (IFSC)

Banking Units (IBUs) by banks in IFSCs.

• According to the new norms - the parent bank will be required to provide and maintain always a minimum

capital of $20 million or equivalent in any foreign currency to its IBU.

• In April 2015, RBI framed a scheme for setting up of International Financial Services Centres Banking Units

by banks in IFSCs.

• Still, the minimum prescribed regulatory capital, including for the exposures of the IBU, should be

maintained on an on-going basis at the parent level. 2. RBI proposes 100% net stable funding ratio for banks

• On 17th May 2018, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued final guidelines suggesting on net stable funding ratio

(NSFR) to ensure banks have sufficient stable sources of funding to finance their activities over the long term.

• RBI suggest 100 percent net stable funding ratio (NSFR) for banks a long-term liquidity measurement included

in the Basel III liquidity standards.

• Banks will have to submit NSFR data for every quarter within 15 days. About NSFR

• NSFR is defined as the amount of available stable funding (ASF) relative to the amount of required stable funding

(RSF).

• It promotes resilience over a longer-term time horizon by requiring banks to fund their activities with more stable

sources of funding on an ongoing basis.

• The above ratio should be equal to at least 100 percent on an ongoing basis.

Objective

• The objective of NSFR is to ensure that banks maintain a stable funding profile in relation to the composition of their

assets and off-balance sheet activities.

Note:

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) proposed certain reforms to strengthen global capital and

liquidity regulations during the global financial crisis of 2007-08.

• In this regard two minimum standards, viz., Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) for funding liquidity were prescribed by the Basel Committee for achieving two separate but complementary objectives.

• In India, Liquidity Coverage Ratio would be fully implemented from 1 January, 2019.

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3. RBI imposed Rs5 crore penalty on South Indian Bank

• On 18th May 2018, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a Rs 5 crore penalty on South Indian Bank for not

following its rules on asset classification, know-you-customers (KYC) and treasury functioning.

4. RBI imposed PCA on Dena Bank

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) against public sector lender Dena Bank

in view of high non-performing loans.

• The gross non-performing assets of the bank, as percentage of gross advances, was 22.4% as on end March as

compared with 16.17% a year ago.

• According to RBI’s PCA norms, the bank is at the second level of risk threshold since it reported three consecutive

years of negative RoA and net NPA more than 9%.

• The fourth and final risk threshold is four years of negative RoA and more than 12% net NPA.

• Returns on Assets (ROA)– ROA is one of the parameters on which banks are judged for prompt corrective action.

Note:

• Prompt Corrective action is a qualitative tool introduced by the Reserve Bank of India under which direct action

is taken on weak banks to ensure the financial health of a bank is maintained and it does not go bust.

• In India it was first introduced in 2002 during the period of Bimal Jalan as RBI governor and was tightened by RBI

governor Urjit Patel on April 2017.

• It is applicable to all the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), Small Finance Bank except RRB. It also does not

take into its ambit the payment banks, NBFCs and MUDRA banks.

5. RBI cancels Certificate of Registration of 3 NBFCs

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the certificate of registration of the three non-banking financial

companies (NBFCs).

• The Reserve Bank of India, in exercise of powers conferred on it under Section 45-IA (6) of the Reserve Bank of

India Act, 1934, cancelled the Certificate of Registration of the following companies –

M/s Jagannatha Financial Services Limited, M/s SCF Finance Limited and M/s Mansar Finance Limited.

April Month 2018

1. RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6% - On 5th April 2018, in the first bi-monthly policy review for the financial year 2018-

19, RBI keep the policy Repo rate unchanged at 6%. Therefore, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 5.75 per cent,

and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.25 per cent.

New Policy & Reserve Rates

1. Repo Rate 6% (unchanged)

2. Reverse Repo Rate 5.75% (unchanged)

3. CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio) 4.00% (unchanged)

4. SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) 19.50% (unchanged)

5. MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) 6.25% (unchanged)

6. Bank Rate 6.25% (unchanged)

Note:

• The Reserve Bank projected India's economic growth rate to strengthen to 7.4 per cent in 2018-19, from 6.6 per cent

in 2017-18

2. RBI strict reporting norms for Liberalised Remittance Scheme

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tightened reporting norms for the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)

under which individual can transfer up to US $2,50,000 abroad in a year.

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• The purpose of tightening of norms is to improve monitoring and to ensure compliance with LRS limits.

• At present transactions under LRS scheme are permitted by banks which is based on the declaration made by

remitter.

• The main motive behind these norms is to monitor and restrict to obtaining such declaration without

independent verification, in absence of reliable source of information.

About LRS scheme –

• The Reserve Bank of India introduced Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) in February 2004.

• The regulations under LRS scheme are is provided under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.

• Under LRS scheme all resident individuals including minors are allowed to freely remit upto certain amount in

terms of US Dollar for current and capital account purposes or combination of both.

• At present, LRS limit for all resident individuals, including minors, is US $2,50,000 (Rs. 1.5 crore) per financial

year.

3. RBI switches back to GDP model from GVA model to measure economy

• To forecast the estimate of economic activity in the country, RBI switched back to gross domestic product

(GDP) model from the gross value added (GVA) methodology.

• According to the RBI Deputy Governor, Viral Acharya; the RBI switched back to GDP model is mainly to

follow the international standards and global best practices.

• The performance of most economies measures in the world in the terms of GDP model.

The difference between two models is –

• The GDP model gives picture of economy from consumers’ side or demand perspective.

• The GVA model gives picture of state of economic activity from producers’ side or supply side.

Note: • From 2015 onwards, Government had started analysing growth estimates using GVA methodology and had also

changed the base year to 2018 from January.

March Month 2018

4. The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Axis Bank for violation of NPA classification norms.

Note: RBI fined Rs 2 crore on Indian Overseas Bank for not complying with the KYC regulations.

5. The Reserve Bank of India had imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank for violating norms relating to sale of government securities from the held-to-maturity category.

• The Central Bank stated this penalty has been imposed in the exercise of powers vested with the RBI under the

provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, taking into account failure of the bank to adhere to its

directions/guidelines.

February Month 2018

1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the

exposure limit under exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) trading for residents and foreign

portfolio investors (FPIs) to $100 million.

• Earlier, the limit was of $15 million for US Dollar-

Rupee and $5 million for other currency pairs of

Indian rupee with Japanese Yen, Euro and British

Pound.

About ETCD

• Exchange Traded Currency Derivatives is a

financial tool that trades on regulated exchange.

• The value of ETCD is based on value of another

asset. These derivatives are traded in a regulated

manner.

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• ETCD can be used to hedge exposure or consider

on wide range of financial assets like commodities,

currencies, equities and even interest rates.

2. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data,

combined Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of

Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) have declined

marginally from 10 percent as on June 30, 2017, to 9.8

percent as on September 30, 2017.

• Note:

• As per the Financial Stability Report (FSR)

released by RBI in December 2017, the gross

NPAs (GNPAs) of SCBs increased to 10.2

percent in September 2017 compared to 9.6

percent in March 2017.

Note:

• For strengthening PSB balance-sheets, under

Indradhanush plan, Government provided for Rs

70,000 crore till 2018-19, as a result of which

despite high NPA and consequential provisioning,

banks were successful in complying with capital

adequacy norms.

3. RBI set up ombudsman for non-banking finance

companies – The Reserve Bank of India launched the

'Ombudsman Scheme' for non-banking financial

companies (NBFC) for redressal of complaints against

them.

• The offices of the NBFC ombudsmen will be located

in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.

• In effect, when a bank revises its MCLR, either

upwards or downwards, the base rate will

move in the same direction and by the same

amount.

• The new MCLR regime was implemented in

April 2016.

• Base Rate was put into practice in 2010.

• The Base Rate was the lowest rate that a bank

would lend to its best customers, and there

won't be any lending below that floor rate.

4. RBI relaxes priority sector lending rule for banks -

Reserve Bank of India has made banks' priority sector

norms lenient by saying that all loans to micro small

and medium enterprises (MSME) will henceforth

qualify as priority sector lending.

Note:

• Till date, loans up to Rs 10 crore per MSME

borrower was considered for priority sector

calculation.

• The sub-target for bank lending to the micro

enterprises has been 7.50 percent of adjusted net bank credit or credit equivalent amount of

off-balance sheet exposure, whichever is

higher.

• Foreign banks will also have to follow 8% sub-target for lending to the small and marginal

farmers.

January Month 2018

1. Mauritius largest source of FDI in India in 2016-17

– RBI

• According to the Reserve Bank of India report -

Census on Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Indian

Direct Investment Companies 2016-17 - Mauritius was the largest source of FDI in India.

• Mauritius was the largest source of FDI in India

(21.8 per cent share at market value) followed by

the USA, the UK, Singapore and Japan.

• In Overseas Direct investment (ODI) Singapore

(19.7 per cent) was the major ODI destination,

followed by the Netherlands, Mauritius, and the

USA.

2. Telangana launches India’s 1st co-financing NBFC

for MSMEs - Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Ltd. got RBI clearance to register and function as a non-

banking finance company for Ministry of Micro, Small

and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

• TIHCL will be the first state promoted and co-

financing NBFC.

3. RBI Introduces New Rs. 10 note in Chocolate Brown

Colour.

• The new denomination has motif of Sun

Temple, Konark on the reverse and the base

colour of the note, Chocolate Brown.

• The dimension of the banknote will be 63 mm

x 123 mm.

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December Month 2018

1. NPAs of Public Sector Banks reach Rs 7.34 lakh

crore - RBI data – According to the Reserve Bank of

India data - Bad loans of Public sector banks (PSBs)

stood at Rs 7.34 lakh crore by the end of second

quarter this fiscal, a bulk of which came from

corporate defaulters.

• "The gross non-performing assets of public sector and private sector banks as on September 30, 2017 were Rs 7,33,974 crore, Rs 1,02,808 crore,

respectively.

• Among the major public sector banks, State Bank of India (SBI) had the highest amount of NPAs at over Rs 1.86 lakh crore followed by Punjab National Bank (Rs 57,630 crore), Bank of India (Rs 49,307 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 46,307 crore), Canara Bank (Rs 39,164 crore) and Union Bank of India (Rs 38,286 crore).

• Among private sector lenders, ICICI Bank had the highest amount of NPAs on its books at Rs 44,237

crore by the end of September, followed by Axis Bank (Rs 22,136 crore), HDFC Bank (Rs 7,644 crore) and Jammu and Kashmir Bank (Rs 5,983 crore).

2. Uma Shankar appointed RBI Executive Director. 3. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will open an office in

the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

4. RBI sets up task force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) - The Reserve Bank of India constituted a 10-member ‘High Level Task Force on Public Credit Registry (PCR) for India’. The task force will be headed by YM Deosthalee, ex-CMD of L&T Finance Holdings.

5. Legal Entity Identifier mandatory for all large corporate borrowers: RBI - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made 20-digit Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) compulsory for companies having aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure over Rs 5 crore. The move is aimed at improving risk management in

wake of huge stressed assets in banking system. Before

this, RBI had made LEI mandatory for transactions in

interest rate, forex and credit derivative market

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

➢ LEI is a 20-digit unique code to identify

parties to financial transactions worldwide.

➢ It is a global reference number that uniquely

identifies every legal entity or structure that is

party to a financial transaction, in any

jurisdiction.

➢ LEI code has been conceived as key measure to

improve quality and accuracy of financial data

systems for better risk management post the

global financial crisis.

➢ The LEI system was developed by G20 in

response to inability of financial institutions to

identify organisations uniquely, so that their

financial transactions in different national

jurisdictions can be fully tracked. The first LEIs

were issued in December 2012.

➢ Legal Entity Identifier India Limited (LEIL), a

wholly-owned subsidiary of Clearing

Corporation of India (CCI), acts as a local

operating unit (LOU) for issuing globally

compatible legal entity identifiers (LEIs) in

India.

6. Banks to Provide Funds at 7% to Women SHGs

under DAY-NRLM: RBI - The RBI has issued

guidelines to banks will provide funds to women self

help groups, SHGs, in rural areas at 7 per cent under

the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural

Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) in the current fiscal

(2017-18).

Note:

➢ National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) is a

poverty alleviation project implemented by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of

India.

➢ NRLM is focused on promoting self-

employment and organization of rural poor.

➢ Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana or DAY is a

Government of India scheme for the helping the

poor by providing skill training.

15. Reserve Bank of India acknowledged HDFC Bank Ltd as a Domestic-Systemically Important Bank (D-SIB). With this, HDFC Bank joins State Bank of India and ICICI Bank in the elite D-SIB list. Note: The higher capital requirements applicable to D-SIBs will be applicable from April 1, 2016, in a phased manner and would become fully effective from April 1, 2019.

16. RBI to pay Rs 30,659 cr dividend to Govt. - The

Reserve Bank has to pay Rs 30,659 crore to the government for the fiscal ended June 2017. It is a less

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than half of what it paid in 2016. Previous year in 2016

RBI had paid Rs 65,876 crore dividend to the

government.

17. RBI issues new Rs 200, Rs 50 banknotes - After

demonetization, Rs 200 is the fourth note introduced by

the apex bank.

Features of Rs. 200 bank note – The note will carry the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel, the year of printing on the left, and the Swachh Bharat logo with the slogan. ● Colour – The colour of the bank note is Bright

Yellow. ● Design: It has a motif of Sanchi Stupa on the

reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage. ● Dimension - The dimension of the bank note will

be 66mm X 146mm. Features of 50 Rs bank note – The note will carry the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel, the year of printing on the left, and the Swachh Bharat logo with the slogan and language panel. ● Colour: The bank note is fluorescent blue in colour. ● Design: The note bears the motif of ‘Hampi with

Chariot’ on the reverse that depicts India’s cultural heritage.

● Dimension - Dimension of the banknote will be 66 mm x 135 mm.

● Note: Till now, India has currency denominations of Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 2,000.

18. RBI broadens scope of Banking Ombudsman

Scheme – With the amendment, from 1 July 2017, the

banking ombudsman scheme will include –

i. sale of insurance, mutual funds and other third-party

investment products by banks

ii. mobile and online banking services.

Now, a bank customer also files a complaint to Banking

Ombudsman on following issues –

i. Mutual Fund & Insurance policy - wrongly sold

third party products such as mutual fund schemes &

insurance policies.

ii. mobile and online banking services - delay or

failure of online payments or fund transfers and

unauthorized electronic payments or fund transfers.

Key points -

● So far, the banking ombudsman only accepted

complaints about banking products and services.

● Third-party products sold by banks, such as

insurance and mutual fund products, were kept

out of its ambit.

● RBI has included in its amended scheme that in

case of any grievance, you can lodge a complaint

against the bank for its non-adherence to RBI’s

instructions on mobile banking and electronic banking services in India.

Increase in compensation amount: The RBI has

increased the compensation limit from Rs10 lakh to

Rs20 lakh. The compensation excludes the amount

involved in the dispute. For case, if you have a complaint

about a transaction amount of, say, Rs15 lakh. The

compensation will be over and above this amount.

19. RBI’s notification related to Interest Subvention

Scheme for Short Term Crop Loans during the year

2017-18 – A farmer can avail loans up to Rs. 3 lakh at

an interest rate of 7% p.a. during the year 2017-18.

Highlights of the Union Budget 2018

The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Mr. Arun Jaitley presented the General Budget 2018-19 with

remarkable flexibility in adjusting with the structural reforms.

• To reflect the status, role and empowerment of women in the society and gender equality, economic survey 2018

carries the pink theme.

Agriculture and Rural Economy

• The government has decided to keep MSP for all

unannounced kharif crops at least one and half

times of their production cost after declaring the

same for the majority of rabi cops.

• The government proposed to raise the volume of

institutional credit for agriculture sector to Rs.11

lakh crore for the year 2018-19.

• Proposal for setting up a Fisheries and Aqua

culture Infrastructure Development Fund

(FAIDF) for fisheries sector and an Animal

Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund

(AHIDF) for financing infrastructure requirement

of animal husbandry sector with a total corpus

of Rs.10,000 crore for the two new funds.

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• ‘‘Operation Flood’’ replaced with a new Scheme

‘‘Operation Greens’’ was announced with an

outlay of Rs 500 Crore to address the challenge of

price volatility of perishable commodities like

tomato, onion and potato with the satisfaction of

both the farmers and consumers.

• The government announced to develop and

upgrade existing 22,000 rural haats into Gramin

Agricultural Markets (GrAMs) to take care of the

interests of more than 86% small and marginal

farmers.

• The Finance Minister announced a Re-Structured

National Bamboo Mission with an outlay of

Rs.1290 crore to promote bamboo sector in a

holistic manner, Bamboo as ‘Green Gold’.

• The Finance Minister increased the loan to Self Help Groups of women to about Rupees 42,500 crore in 2016-17, growing 37% over previous year and expressed confidence that loans to SHGs will increase to Rs. 75,000 crore by March, 2019.

• Propose to extend the facility of Kisan Credit Cards to fisheries and animal husbandry farmers to help them meet their working capital needs.

• Long-Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) in NABARD for

meeting funding requirement of irrigation works,

expanded to cover specified command area

development projects.

Education, Health and Social Protection

• This year, 2018-19 the estimated budgetary

expenditure on health, education and social protection is Rs.1.38 lakh crore against

estimated expenditure of Rs.1.22 lakh crore in

2017-18 .

• Technology will also be used to upgrade the skills

of teachers through the recently launched digital

portal ‘‘DIKSHA".

• To provide the best quality education to the tribal

children in their own environment by 2022 in

every block with more than 50% ST population

and at least 20,000 tribal persons with special

facilities for preserving local art and culture

besides providing training in sports and skill

development, the government announced setting

up of Ekalavya Model Residential School on par

with Navodaya Vidyalayas.

• To set up ‘‘Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022’’ with a

total investment of Rs.1,00,000 crore in next four

years.

• The government would launch the ‘‘Prime

Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF)’’ Scheme

this year to improve the quality of teachers an

integrated B.Ed. programme for teachers will be

initiated.

➢ Under this scheme 1,000 best B.Tech

students will be identified each year from

premier institutions and provide them

facilities to do Ph.D in IITs and IISc, with a

handsome fellowship.

➢ Allocation on National Social Assistance

Programme this year has been kept at Rs.

9975 crore.

• National Health Protection Scheme, the world’s

largest government funded health care

programme, is introduced to cover over 10 crore

poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50

crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5

lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and

tertiary care hospitalization.

• The Government also decided to allocate

additional Rs.600 crore to provide nutritional

support to all TB patients at the rate of Rs.500

per month for the duration of their treatment.

• 24 new Government Medical Colleges and

Hospitals will be setting up by upgrading existing

district hospitals in the country.

• The free LPG connection scheme (Ujjwala

Yojana) will be expanded to 8 crores households.

• The government will provide free 4 crore

electricity connections to the poor under

Saubhagya Yojana.

Defense Sector

• In the Union Budget 2018-19 Rs 2.95 lakh crore

amount has been earmarked for Defence sector

• Defence budget for 2018-19 has been increased by

7.81 per cent over last year's Rs 2.74 lakh crore.

• This accounts for 12.10 percent of the total

Central Government expenditure for the year

2018-19.

• The budget has been increased 7.81% for the

year 2018-19 over last year budget 2017-18 in

Defence sector.

• In the Union Budget 2018-19 the defence outlay

works out to just about 1.58 per cent of the GDP

for 2018-19.

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Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and

Employment

• MUDRA Yojana is proposed to set a target of Rs.3

lakh crore for lending under MUDRA for 2018-19.

• The launch of National Apprenticeship Scheme

with stipend support and sharing of the cost of

basic training to give training to 50 lakh youth by

2020.

Infrastructure and Financial Sector Development

• According to the Finance Minister, investment in

excess of Rs.50 lakh crore is needed to increase

growth of GDP and connect the nation with a

network of roads, airports, railways, ports and

inland waterways.

• Under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, about 35000

km road construction in Phase-I at an estimated

cost of Rs.5,35,000 crore has been approved.

• Smart Cities Mission aims at building 100 Smart

Cities with state-of-the-art amenities.

• 99 Cities have been selected with an outlay of Rs. 2.04 lakh crore.

• Rs 1.48 lakh crore have been allocated for

the Indian Railways for the year 2018-19.

• In Railways, 18,000 km of doubling of

tracks would eliminate capacity constraints.

• Niti Aayog to establish a national program to

direct efforts in artificial intelligence towards

national development.

Digital Economy

• The Budget doubled the allocation on Digital India

programme to Rs 3073 crore in 2018-19.

• Explore the use of blockchain technology proactively to boost digital economy.

• Department of Science & Technology will launch a

Mission on Cyber Physical Systems to support

establishment of centres of excellence for research,

training and skilling in robotics, artificial

intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data

analysis, quantum communication and internet of

things.

• The Finance Minister allocated Rs. 10000 crore in 2018-19 for creation and augmentation of Telecom

infrastructure.

Disinvestment

• The government set disinvestment target of Rs. 80,000 crore for 2018-19.

• Three Public Sector Insurance companies-

National Insurance Co. Ltd., United India

Assurance Co. Ltd., and Oriental India insurance

Co. Ltd., will be merged into a single insurance

entity.

• The Budget proposes to revise emoluments to Rs.5

lakh for the President, Rs 4 lakhs for the Vice

President and Rs.3.5 lakh per month to

Governor.

Employment Generation

• The Government will contribute 12% of the wages

of the new employees in the EPF for all the sectors

for next three years.

• The Budget proposed an outlay of Rs.7148 crore

for the textile sector in 2018-19 as against

Rs.6,000 Crore in 2016.

International

In the Union budget 2018-19, the Ministry of External

Affairs was granted Rs 15,011 crore, up from last year’s Rs

213 crore.

• This time government has come up with a

maritime strategic diplomacy through Union

Budget.

• Island nations located in the Indian Ocean region

were granted a large sum of money. Countries like

Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Maldives

got budget allocations. Indian Ocean region is a

crucial region as China as been trying to gain

supremacy.

➢ In the Budget 2018, Seychelles was given

Rs 300 crore.

➢ Rs 350 crore were allocated for another island nation Mauritius.

➢ Maldives was allocated Rs 125 crore.

➢ Afghanistan was allocated Rs. 325 crore.

➢ Bangladesh was allocated Rs. 175 crore.

➢ Chabahar Port in Iran was allocated Rs

150 crore.

➢ Bhutan was granted Rs 2,650 crore.

➢ Nepal got Rs 650 crore for projects in

Budget 2018.

➢ In the Union Budget, Myanmar was

granted Rs 280 crore.

• In Mauritius, India has signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) for the improvement in sea

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and air transportation facilities at the Agaléga

island.

• With the government announcing withdrawal of

subsidy on the Haj pilgrimage, there were no

funds allocated under this category.

• Separately, Rs 3,772.60 crore has been

earmarked for other expenditures such as funds

for the Nalanda university (Rs 200 crore),

maintenance cost of Aircraft of Air India for VVIP

travel (Rs 141 crore) and 'Special Diplomatic

Expenditure' (Rs 2,400.01 crore).

• The budget also provides for Rs 280 crore

towards schemes/projects in Myanmar. India had

also inked a pact with Myanmar last December on

the restoration of normalcy and development of

the Rakhine State, from where thousands of

Rohingya Muslims recently fled following incidents

of violence against the community.

Highlights of the Economic Survey 2017-18

Economic Survey - The central government presents Economic Survey just ahead of the Union Budget every year. The survey

was prepared by the by the Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian

• The Pink-color Economic Survey 2017-18 tabled in Parliament by the Union Minister for

Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley

highlights Gender Issues Against Backdrop of

Development

• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao;

• Sukanya Samridhi Yojana and

• Mandatory Maternity Leave are all Steps in

Right Direction, Acknowledges Survey.

New Facts of Indian Economy

• A large increase in registered indirect and direct

taxpayers.

➢ A 50 percent increase in unique indirect

taxpayers under the GST compared with

the pre-GST system

➢ An addition (over and above trend growth)

of about 1.8 million in individual income

tax filers since November 2016

• Indian society exhibits strong son “Meta”

Preference.

➢ Parents continue to have children until

they get the desired number of sons. This

kind of fertility-stopping rule leads to

skewed sex ratios but in different

directions: skewed in favor of males if it is

the last child, but in favor of females if it is

not the last.

Important points in Economic Survey

Growth –

• The Survey forecasts a growth rate of 7 to 7.5

per cent for FY19, as compared to the expected

growth rate of 6.75 per cent in FY18

• Industry growth seen at 4.4% in 2017/18

• Farm sector growth seen at 2.1% in 2017/18

• Real GDP growth expected at 6.5 per cent in

2017-18

• GVA growth at basic prices is expected to be

6.1 per cent in 2017-18

FISCAL DEFICIT

• Central Government is confident of achieving

fiscal deficit of 3.2 per cent of GDP for 2017-18.

• Current account deficit for 2017/18 expected

to average 1.5-2 pct of GDP

Inflation and monetary policy:

• Retail inflation averaged 3.3% in 2017-18,

lowest in last 6 fiscals

• Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation seen at

2.9 per cent in 2017-18

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut the

repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.0 per cent in

August 2017.

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Others

• Policy agenda for next year -- support

agriculture, privatise Air India, finish bank

recapitalisation

• Rs 20,339 cr approved for interest subvention

for farmers in current fiscal

• FDI in services sector rises 15% in 2017-18 on

reforms

• Swachh Bharat initiative improved sanitation

coverage in rural areas from 39% in 2014 to

76% in January 2018

• GST data shows 50% rise in number of indirect

taxpayers

• Agriculture, industry & services sectors are

expected to grow at the rate of 2.1%, 4.4%, and

8.3% respectively in 2017-18.

India’s GDP Growth Rate Projected by Different Org. – 2018

1. International Monetary Fund (IMF) – In its latest World Economic Outlook update IMF projected India’s GDP growth

rate at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019.

2. World Bank - The 2018 Global Economics Prospect (GEP) released by the World Bank projected India's GDP growth to

pick up to 7.3% in 2018 and to 7.5% in 2019 & 2020.

3. Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected India’s economic growth rate to grow

at 7.3% in 2018-19 and 7.6% in 2019-20 fiscal. 4. UN report - According to UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP), India’s economic growth is expected to

grow to at 7.6% in fiscal year 2018-19. GDP growth in India is expected to grow at 7.5 in 2017-18.

5. Fitch - According to the report of credit rating agency Fitch, India's economic growth will accelerate to 7.3 per cent in the

fiscal 2018-19 and 7.5 per cent in the fiscal 2019-20.

6. Nomura - According to the Nomura report, India’s GDP is expected to grow by 7.7% in January-March, up from 7.2% in

the preceding quarter.

7. National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) projected India’s economic growth at 7.5% in 2018-19.

8. Moody’s investor service projected India’s growth forecast at 7.6% for 2018.

Note: Growth forecast for 2019 estimated at 7.5%.

9. Rating agency CRISIL projected India’s GDP growth to be accelerated at 7.5% in fiscal 2019. Note: CRISIL is India's first credit rating agency. The headquarter of CRISIL is located in Mumbai.

Rank of India in Different Indexes

May 2018

1. Business optimism index 2018

• India slipped to the 6th position globally in the business optimism index for the first quarter of this year, says a

survey.

• With a score of 89, India is at the sixth place in the index.

• The top five nations are Austria, Finland, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the US.

2. FDI Confidence Index 2018

• India ranked at 11th positions in the 2018 FDI Confidence Index.

• Last in 2017, India was at 8th position in the FDI Confidence Index.

• Global consultancy firm A T Kearney publishes the report.

• Top 3 countries in the index – United States, Canada and Germany.

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April 2018

1. World Press Freedom Index 2018

• India ranked at 138 positions in 2018 World

Press Freedom Index.

• The index is compiled and published by the

Reporters Without Borders.

• Last year in 2017 India stood at 136th in the

index.

• Norway topped the World Press Freedom

Index 2018.

• Sweden and Netherlands stood on the second

and the third rank respectively.

2. Economic Freedom Index 2018

• India ranked at 130 positions among 186

economies in the 2018 Economic Freedom

Index.

• The index measures the degree of economic

freedom in the countries of the world.

• India with score of 54.5 jumped 13 places

from 143rd rank in previous year (2017)

with a score of 52.6 points.

• China with 57.4 points was ranked 111th.

• The index is released by top US based Think

Tank, The Heritage Foundation.

• It ranks countries based on score ranging 0

(least free) to 100 (most free).

• Top 3 countries in the index are: Hong

Kong, Singapore and New Zealand. 3. 2017 Global Start-up ecosystem

• India has been ranked at 37th positions among

125 countries in 2017 Global Start-up

ecosystem.

• The report is released by the Startupblink.

• Top 3 countries in Global startup ecosystem in

2017 are - United States, United Kingdom and

Canada.

• In Asia, the list was topped by Singapore and

followed by China and South Korea.

March 2018

1. Energy Transition Index 2018

• India was ranked at 78th among 114 countries

in Energy Transition Index.

• The World Economic Forum published the

index.

• Top three countries on the index are – Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

2. World Happiness Index 2018

• India ranked at 133rd positions among 156

countries in the World Happiness Index 2018.

• The report is published by the UN Sustainable

Development Solutions Network's (SDSN).

• The top three nations in the index are -

Finland, Norway and Denmark.

• Last year India was ranked at 122nd positions.

• Pakistan is ranked 75th, down 58 places from

India. Bhutan is 97th and China is 86th.

February 2018

1. Global Corruption Perception Index

• India has been ranked 81st in the global corruption perception index for 2017.

• In the 2016 India was in the 79th place among

176 countries.

• New Zealand (89) and Denmark (88) were

placed highest respectively.

• Syria, Sudan, and Somalia were ranked lowest with scores of 14, 12 and 9, respectively.

• Index is published by Transparency International.

2. Inclusive Internet Index (III) 2018

• India was ranked at 47th positions out of 86

countries in India.

• The Inclusive Internet Index, commissioned by

Facebook and conducted by The Economist

Intelligence Unit.

• Top three countries are - Sweden, Singapore &

United States.

• India was ranked at 36th rank in 2017.

3. Global Democracy Index (GDI) 2017

• India ranked at 42nd in the index.

• The index is released by the UK-based

company, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

• Top 3 countries in 2017 GDI: Norway, Iceland,

Sweden.

• India’s rank has slipped from 32nd in 2016 GDI.

4. Environmental Performance Index 2018

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• India ranked at 177th position among 180

countries.

• Top 3 countries in the index are –

Switzerland, France, Denmark.

• India ranked at 141 in 2016.

• This report is produced by researchers at Yale

and Columbia Universities in collaboration

with the World Economic Forum.

5. International Intellectual Property (IP) Index 2018

– India ranked at 44th among 50 nations.

• The US tops the list followed by United

Kingdom and Sweden.

• The report is published by the US Chambers of

Commerce.

6. Times Higher Education (THE) rankings for Asian

universities 2018 - Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in

Bangalore ranked 29th and Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT) Bombay ranked at 44th position.

• The National University of Singapore once

again topped the list.

January 2018

1. Global Democracy Index (GDI) 2017 – India was

ranked at 42nd among 165 independent states.

• The index is released by UK-based company,

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

• India’s rank has slipped from 32nd in 2016 GDI.

• Moreover, India was classified India as a

flawed democracy in 2017 GDI

• Top 3 countries in 2017 GDI: Norway,

Iceland, Sweden 2. Environmental Performance Index 2018 - India was

ranked at 177th position among 180 countries.

• Top 3 countries – Switzerland, France, Denmark.

• US rank at 27th & China rank 120 spots.

• India ranked at 141 in 2016.

• The report is report is produced by

researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities

in collaboration with the World Economic

Forum.

3. Global Index of Talent 2018 - India was ranked at

81st position among 188 countries.

• Top three countries are – Switzerland,

Singapore & US.

• The index measures ability of countries to

compete for talent i.e. how countries grow,

attract and retain talent.

• Last year India ranked at – 92 positions

• The report is published by global business

school INSEAD in partnership with Adecco

Group and Tata Communications.

4. Inclusive Development Index 2018 - India was

ranked at the 62nd position among 74 emerging

economies countries in Inclusive Development Index

2018.

• China ranked at 26th and Pakistan ranked at

47th position in Inclusive Development Index

2018

• The index has been divided into two parts – (i)

29 advanced economies and (ii) 74 emerging economies.

• Among advanced economies, Norway is

followed by Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Denmark in the top five.

• The top-five most inclusive emerging economies are Lithuania, Hungary,

Azerbaijan, Latvia and Poland.

• India was ranked 60th among 79 developing economies last year.

About IDI

• World Economic Forum published the Index

annually.

• Inclusive Development Index measures

progress of 103 economies on three individual

pillars — growth and development; inclusion;

and inter-generational equity.

5. Global Manufacturing Index 2018 - India was ranked

at 30th position among 100 countries in Global

Manufacturing Index 2018.

• The report has been developed in

collaboration with World Economic Forum & A

T Kearney.

• Japan topped the index.

• Top 3 countries in GMI: Japan, South Korea,

Germany.

6. Ease Doing Business Report 2018 – India ranked at 100th position among 190 countries.

• The report is published by World Bank.

• Top three countries –New Zealand, Singapore

& Denmark.

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• India has jumped over 30 ranks to attain

100th spot from 130th position in 2017

Ease of Doing Business Index.

Rank of India in Different Reports/Survey

1. India third largest solar market in the world: Mercom Communications

• According to the Mercom Communications, India emerged as the third largest solar market in the world in 2017

behind China and the US.

• As per the report, India set a new record with 9.6 GW of solar installations in 2017, which was more than double

the 4.3 GW installed in 2016.

• Mercom Communications India is an arm of global clean energy consulting firm Mercom Capital Group.

2. India ranks fourth in Asia-Pacific on power index

• India ranked at 4th positions among 25 nations in the Asia-Pacific region on an index.

• The index is published by an Australian think tank firm the Lowy Institute of.

• Top three countries in the index are – US, China & Japan.

3. India among top five defence spenders in the world: SIPRI

• According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, India is among world’s five

biggest military spenders in 2017.

• Indian government boosted the operational capability of its armed forces in the face of tensions with China and

Pakistan.

• India was in the 5th spot, after the US, China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, and they together accounted for 60% of global military spending.

• China spends far more on its military than any other power in Asia.

4. India highest recipient of Remittances in 2017: World Bank

• As per the Migration and Development report of World Bank, India has retained top position as recipient of

remittances with about $69 billion in 2017.

• China with ($64 billion) stood on the second positions followed by Philippines ($33 billion), Mexico ($31 billion),

Nigeria ($22 billion) and Egypt ($20 billion).

5. India is world’s sixth largest economy: IMF

• India is now the world’s sixth largest economy with a GDP of 2.6 trillion in 2017.

• India displaced France to stand firm on this position.

• The data was released by the International Monetary Fund’s in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018.

• The five economies ahead are United States, China, Japan, Germany and United Kingdom. 6. India becomes second largest manufacturer of crude steel

• According to Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), India has overtaken Japan to become world’s second largest

producer of crude steel in February 2018.

• China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world.

• Earlier in 2017, India had overtaken US to become third largest producer of crude steel.

7. India is now World’s second largest mobile phone producer

• India has become the second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017.

• According to the data provided by Indian Cellular Association, India has replaced Vietnam to become second

largest producer of mobile phones in 2017.

• Annual production of mobile phones in India increased from 3 million units in 2014 to 11 million units in 2017.

• China is on the top in mobile production around the world.

• The top three mobile producing countries are China, India and Vietnam.

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8. India became the third largest Electricity Producer in the World.

• India became the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world.

• The top 3 Producers of Electricity in the world are-1. China, 2. The USA & 3. India.

9. India ranks 4th in automobile market in the world.

• According to the latest global data, India surpassed Germany to become the fourth largest automobile market in

the world.

• India automobile sales which includes passenger and commercial vehicles grew by 9.5%.

• The top 3 countries on the list are-1. China, 2. USA & 3. Japan.

10. Iraq became India's top crude oil supplier in the current fiscal.

• For the first time, Iraq has surpassed Saudi Arabia to become India's top crude oil supplier in the current fiscal.

• Traditionally Saudi Arabia is a top oil supplier to India.

• Iran continues to be the third largest supplier to India

• Venezuela is India's fourth largest supplier of crude oil.

11. India is 6th wealthiest Country: New World Wealth Report

• India is 6th wealthiest countries with total wealth of $8,230 billion, in a list of top 10 wealthiest nations, according to

a report by New World Wealth.

• Top 3 wealthiest nations – US, China & Japan 12. India becomes third largest producer of crude steel: WSA Report

• India has overtaken US to become the world’s third largest steel producer in 2017, according to recent report

published by World Steel Association (WSA).

• Top 2 largest producer of crude steel: China is the largest and Japan is second largest global steel producer. 13. India 5th most attractive market for investments: PwC survey

• According to the survey by global consultancy PwC, India has emerged as the fifth most attractive market for investments and the optimism over global economic growth.

• “The US remains the top spot for global investment, followed by China and Germany at second and third places, respectively.

• At the fourth spot is the UK. “India beat Japan as the fifth most attractive market in 2018,” it noted.

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Banking & Financial Awareness

May 2018

1. China's bank launches country's first India-

dedicated investment fund

• The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,

a top state-run Chinese bank had launched

China's first India-dedicated publicly offered

investment fund.

• The bank urges the Chinese to invest heavily

asserting that the Indian economy is entering

the "golden age of economic take-off".

• The fund, named as the Industrial and

Commercial Bank Credit Suisse India Market

Fund, will "invest in exchange-traded funds

listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe

and the US that are based on the Indian

market."

• It is China's first publicly offered fund for

investing in India, state-run Global Times

reported.

Note

• The ICBC bank, the largest in the world with over USD 3.6 trillion in assets, has given an

upbeat picture of India’s economic growth

path, while launching the fund.

2. BSE is first Indian exchange to get US SEC

recognition

• On 16 May 2018, BSE became the first Indian

exchange to be selected as a ‘Designated

Offshore Securities Market’ (DOSM) by the

United States Securities and Exchange

Commission (SEC).

• The DOSM status allows sale of securities to US

investors through the trading venue of BSE without registration of such securities with the

US SEC, which eases the trades by US investors

in India.

• The recognition will also enhance the

attractiveness of Indian Depository Receipts

(IDRs) amongst US investors.

• BSE’s new status will provide additional

benefits to companies whose securities are

traded both in the US and on BSE, it added. 3. DoT approves merger of Bharti Airtel and Telenor

India

• The Department of Telecom (DoT) approved

the merger of Telenor India with Bharti Airtel.

• The guarantee included Rs 1,499 crore for one-

time spectrum charge for the radiowaves

allocated to Airtel without auction, and over Rs

200 crore for spectrum payment which

Telenor has to make.

4. PNB post biggest ever loss quarterly loss by any

bank in India

• On 15th May 2018, the Punjab National Bank

reported a Rs13,417-crore loss for the

January-March period of the financial year

2017-2018, the largest quarterly loss posted

by any bank in India.

• This is the biggest ever quarterly loss in the history of India’s banking sector.

• The bank's profit in the same quarter last year was Rs 261.9 crore.

Rise in bad loans

• The bank's total NPAs (non-performing assets)

rose to 18.38 per cent for Q4 against 12.53 per cent a year ago.

• Its net NPAs ratio soured to 11.24 per cent against

7.81 per cent a year ago and 7.55 per cent in Q3.

• Besides, the bank's provision for NPAs was Rs

16,203 crore in Q4 compared to Rs 2,996 crore in

Q3. 5. India pulled US to WTO over steel, aluminium

duties

• India had dragged the US to the World Trade Organisation's dispute settlement mechanism

over the imposition of import duties on steel

and aluminium.

• India has stated that the decision will impact

exports of these products to the US and it is not

in compliance with global trade norms.

6. Paytm introduces automatic recurring payments

• On 14th May 2018, Paytm introduced a new feature i.e. automatic recurring payment.

• This new feature will allow users configure the

payments app to pay for periodic recurring

expenses automatically.

7. Walmart buys 77% stake in Flipkart

• On 9 May 2018, Walmart Inc announced that it

would pay $16 billion for an initial stake of

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approximately 77% in India e-commerce

company Flipkart.

• This is one of its biggest foreign investment

ever as it battles rival Amazon in one of the

world's biggest emerging markets.

• With this deal, Flipkart co-founder and

chairman Sachin Bansal will leave the

company and sell his 5.5-6% stake in the

company.

8. The GST collection in April has crossed Rs. 1 lakh

crore

• The GST collection in April has crossed Rs. 1

lakh crore. The figures reflect the increase in

the economy and better compliance.

• While Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection

in entire 2017-18 stood Rs 7.41 lakh crore, in

March the figure was Rs 89,264 crore.

9. India will be world’s fastest growing economy in

coming decade: Harvard

• According to a Harvard University report,

India will be the fastest growing economies in

the world in the coming decade and

• India is projected to grow at 7.9 per cent

annually, ahead of China and the US.

• China is projected to grow at 4.9 per cent

annually to 2026, the US three per cent and

France 3.5 per cent.

10. Singapore is Asia’s best-performing stock market

• The Singapore Straits Times Index is Asia’s

best-performing stock market.

• This year’s Straits Times Index gain to 6.2

percent in local currency terms, and took the

top spot from Vietnam’s VN Index, which

plunged 2 percent.

April 2018

1. Fitch retains India’s rating at BBB- with stable outlook

• International credit rating agency Fitch has

unchanged India’s sovereign rating at BBB- with stable outlook.

• This BBB- indicates lowest investment grade.

• The rating was based on India’s weak fiscal

finances and some lagging structural factors,

including governance standards and

improving, business environment.

2. SBI offers free withdrawal of cash from PoS

terminals or 'Mini ATMs'

• State Bank of India (SBI) announced that now any bank customer who holds the debit card

can withdraw money from the bank's Point of

Sale (PoS) terminals.

• The bank will not charge any fees for the

withdrawal even if the debit card holder is not

an SBI customer.

• The motive behind this step is to sort out the

cash crunch problems in different parts of the

country.

• The RBI guidelines allow withdrawal of Rs

1,000 in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and Rs 2,000 in Tier 3 to Tier 6 cities per day per card from the

PoS terminals.

• SBI's point of sale (POS) terminals is mostly installed at shops and known as 'Chotta ATM',

'Mini ATM'.

3. SBI became the most trusted bank in the country: TRA Brand Trust Report

• According to the TRA Brand Trust Report

2018, State Bank of India (SBI) became the

most trusted bank in the country.

• SBI topped the chart in both private and public

sector in the Banking and Financial Services

Institutions (BFSI) sector.

• In Private sector lender, ICIC bank topped the

list.

4. TCS retained as most valuable company in India

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) retained its position as the most valuable company in

India.

• On April 12, 2018 TCS' market valuation stood

at Rs 6,00,569.45 crore.

• TCS is followed by Reliance Industries Ltd and

HDFC Bank.

5. Yes Bank launched GST backed over draft facility

for MSMEs

• Yes Bank announced the launch of ‘Yes GST’, an

OD (over draft) facility for Micro, Small and

Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

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• Through this facility, an MSME can avail over

draft up to Rs. 1 crore based on their annual

turnover, backed by GST returns.

• This over draft facility can be availed by an

MSME against mortgage of residential or

commercial property.

• In order to avail this facility, MSMEs need to

submit GST returns and residential or

commercial property papers.

• The sanctioned amount can be utilised by the

MSME either fully or in tranches.

6. Yes Bank received RBI nod to open representative

offices in London & Singapore

• Private sector lender YES Bank received

approval from the Reserve Bank of India to

open two international representative offices

in London and Singapore.

• The new offices will come up in London and Singapore as part of the bank’s international

expansion to provide services to the NRI (non

resident Indian) population, the bank said in a statement.

• In 2015, YES Bank opened its first overseas

office in Abu Dhabi.

• In 2015, Yes Bank is the first bank to start

operations in GIFT City Gandhinagar by setting

up an IBU (IFSC Banking Unit). 7. Kotak Mahindra Bank become India’s second most

valuable bank

• On 16 April 2018, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd

dominate India’s largest lender State Bank of

India (SBI) for the first time to become the

second most valued bank in the country.

• Kotak Mahindra’s market capitalization

touched Rs 2.23 lakh crore on 16 April 2018

which was somewhat ahead of SBI’s, which stood at Rs 2.22 lakh crore.

• HDFC retained its position as country’s most

valuable bank with a market capitalization of

Rs5.04 trillion.

• SBI’s shares dropped by 15 per cent in 2017

while Kotak Mahindra has seen an ascent of 33

per cent through the year.

8. Bhuj Mercantile Co-operative Bank won the Banco

Award

• Bhuj Mercantile Cooperative Bank Ltd won the

prestigious Banco Award for best performing

cooperative bank.

• The bank was adjudged best among the 1500

cooperative banks from across the country.

• Banco Award given annually to the top

performing cooperative banks recognise and

encourage best practices in the cooperative

banking sector.

9. Govt. launched FIEO GlobalLinker digital platform

for MSME Exporters

• The government has launched the FIEO

GlobalLinker, a digital platform for Ministry of

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

• The main objective of this digital platform is to

digitise MSME businesses and join global

community of growing businesses.

• It was launched by the Ministry of Commerce

and Industry.

• It has been developed by Federation of Indian

Export Organisations (FIEO). 10. SBI launches UK subsidiary with 225 mn pounds

capital

• The State Bank of India (SBI) announced to launch, SBI (UK) Limited (its UK subsidiary)

with an initial capital commitment of 225

million pounds from its parent entity.

• Now, SBI has become the first foreign bank in

the UK to ringfence its retail division from its

wholesale business.

• The UK's Prudential Regulation Authority

(PRA) wants foreign banks to establish UK

subsidiaries to protect depositors in the UK

from uncertainties in foreign markets.

11. SBI to invest Rs. 80 Bn in Hydropower project of

Nepal

• The State Bank of India (SBI) will invest a total

of Rs 80 billion in the Arun III hydropower

project of Nepal.

• It has 900 megawatts (MW) electricity

production capacities.

• After completion of the project, Nepal will get

21.9% of the total electricity produced in a

year.

• The mega project is targeted to be completed

by 2022's September.

• The SJVN (constructing the mega power project) has made an informal agreement with

the SBI to acquire the investment as a loan and

soon will make the formal agreement.

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12. ICICI Bank becomes first Indian bank to go live on

SWIFT’s GPI service

• ICICI Bank became first Indian bank to go live

on SWIFT’s (Society for World Interbank

Financial Telecommunication System) Global

Payment Innovation (GPI), an improved cross-

border payments service.

About SWIFT GPI

• SWFIT GPI was launched in May 2017.

• The purpose of SWIFT GPI is to help banks to

track their global transactions at all times,

keeping full vigil on payments activity.

• It accounts for 10% of cross border payment

traffic on SWIFT network and has enabled

more than hundred billion dollars to be

transferred across world rapidly and securely

every day.

• It covers all payment instructions sent across

network, enabling GPI banks to track all their

SWIFT payment instructions at all times, and giving them full visibility over all their

payments activity.

About SWIFT

• SWIFT stands for - Society for Worldwide

Interbank Financial Telecommunication.

• A SWIFT transfer is a type of international

money transfer sent via the SWIFT

international payment network.

• This is a kind of network between banks,

which can be used to send and receive

messages.

• In fact, it is used by many banks and financial

services providers and institutions, and

through them, the payment becomes easily and

fast.

• For every bank, there is a special swift code

that works for its identification.

• The SWIFT network does not actually transfer

funds, but instead, it sends payment orders

between institutions’ accounts, using SWIFT

codes.

• A SWIFT code is an international bank code that identifies particular banks worldwide.

• It's also known as a Bank Identifier Code (BIC).

CommBank uses SWIFT codes to send money

to overseas banks. SWIFT code consists of 8 or

11 characters.

13. SIDBI celebrates its foundation day on April 2

• On April 2, 2018 the Small Industries

Development Bank of India (SIDBI) celebrated

its foundation day.

• The day was celebrated as day of Sampark

(connect), Sanwad (interaction), Suraksha

(security) and Sampreshan (disseminate).

• SIDBI is the main development financial

institution for promotion, financing and

development of Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises (MSME) sector in India.

• It was established on April 2, 1990 through an

Act of Parliament (thus, it is statutory body).

• It is headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. 14. E-way Bill came into effect

• In April 2018, the e-way Bill System for Inter-

State movement of goods is introduced across the country.

• As per the E-way bill - the businesses and transporters moving goods worth over Rs.

50,000 from one state to another will have to

carry an electronic or e-way bill.

• The e-way bill will apply to inter-state transportation of goods worth over Rs. 50,000

through road, railways, airways and vessels.

15. SEBI relieve algorithm trade rules in commodity

exchanges

• The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

relaxed algorithm trading norms at commodity

derivatives exchanges.

• SEBI raised the limit of trading using algorithm

trading process up to 100 orders per second

by user from the existing limit of 20 orders per

second.

• Algorithmic trading introduced in 2009 in

India.

• In financial markets Algorithmic trading refers

to transaction orders generated by using

advanced mathematical models that involves

automated execution of trade.

• It uses mathematical models and software

codes to make transaction decisions on

exchanges and execute them at high speed.

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March 2018

1. The government has made providing passport

details mandatory for taking loans of Rs. 50 crore

and above.

• The main aim of this decision is to ensure a

swift action in case of fraud and prevent

fraudsters from fleeing the country.

• Now for all existing loans of over 50 crore

rupees, banks have been asked to collect

passport details of borrowers within 45 days.

2. ICICI Bank bank launched ‘InstaOD’ country’s first

online and instant overdraft facility for MSMEs

(Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) customers.

• ‘InstaOD’ is a fully digital and completely

paperless procedure.

• MSMEs customers can avail overdraft facility

up to Rs 15 lakh for a year anytime,

anywhere using the bank’s Internet and

mobile banking app.

3. All Bank Finance Ltd (ABFL) merged with Allahabad

Bank.

• CEO of Allahabad Bank - Usha

Ananthasubramanian

• Headquarter of Allahabad Bank – Kolkata,

West Bengal

4. President of India Ram Nath Kovind released commemorative coins in ₹10 and ₹1000

denominations of on Lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebar

festival in Odisha.

• The designing and minting of coins in

various denominations is also the

responsibility of the Government of India.

• Ministry of Finance issues all the coins,

including the Re.1 currency notes.

• Under the Section 22 of the RBI Act 1934,

RBI has the sole right to issue Bank notes of

all denominations except one-rupee note. 5. Axis Bank opened a representative office in Sharjah.

• The representative office in Sharjah is the third

such Axis Bank office in the UAE after Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

• Shikha Sharma is a present CEO & Managing

director of the Axis Bank.

• Axis Bank headquarter is in Mumbai.

• The UAE has the largest NRI community in the

world with a dynamic and diverse population base of

3.3 million NRIs.

6. The government of India had imposed anti-dumping

duty on import of Ofloxacin from China.

• Ofloxacin is pharma product of China which is used

in treatment of certain infections.

7. Equitas Small Finance Bank signed an agreement

with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to launch a new

‘Yellow Army Savings Account’ to increase its customer

base.

• Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is a franchise of the

Indian Premium League (IPL).

• The yellow army savings account will offer an interest rate of 6% per annum for balance

below Rs10 lakh and 6.5% per annum for

balance above Rs10 lakh.

• The average quarterly balance requirement will be Rs10,000 per account.

• The headquarter of Equitas Small Finance

Bank is in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

8. National Cultural Audio-visual Archives (NCAA)

became the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository.

• NCAA has been certified as the world’s first

Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO

16363:2012 standard, granted by Primary

Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation

Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom.

• The main objective of the NCAA is to identify

and preserve the cultural heritage of India

available in audio-visual form through a process

of digitization and making it accessible to the

people.

• National Cultural Audio-visual Archives (NCAA)

is a project of the Ministry of Culture,

Government of India.

9. National Financial Reporting Authority approved

by the government to tighten the regulatory

oversight over chartered accountants and plug

loopholes.

• National Financial Reporting Authority

(NFRA) will work as an independent

regulator for the auditing profession.

• Under the Companies Act 2013, the NFRA

will have power to impose penalties on

erring audit firms.

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February 2018

1. The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)

has slashed the interest rate to 8.55% for 2017-18?

2. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri

Narendra Modi approved for creation of National

Urban Housing Fund (NUHF) with a total corpus of

Rs.60,000 crores.

• NUHF is an autonomous body registered under

the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

3. The government proposed to change the base year for

the calculation of GDP and IIP numbers to 2017-18.

• Till now for the calculation of the GDP and

Industrial Production Index (IIP) and the retail

inflation, the base year is also compared to

2011-12.

• The base year retail inflation will be revised to 2018 from 2012.

• The base year Consumer Price Index (CPI) will

be change to 2018 from 2012.

• Present Union Minister of Statistics and

Programme Implementation is DV Sadananda

Gowda.

• In the Union Budget 2018-19 the Ministry of

Statistics and Programme Implementation

(MOSPI) has been allocated Rs 4,859 crore.

4. NITI Aayog released the “Healthy States, Progressive

India” report.

• The report is the first of its kind, nation-wide

analysis of health systems across the states,

including Union Territories.

• Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu have ranked

top among the larger states in terms of overall

performance.

• Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar

Pradesh are the top three states in the terms

of annual incremental performance.

• Among smaller states, Mizoram ranked first

followed by Manipur and Goa in terms of

annual incremental performance.

• Among Union territories, Lakshadweep

showed best overall performance as well as

highest annual incremental performance.

5. Yes Bank registered $600 million bonds issued under

its maiden $1 billion medium term note (MTN)

programme on Global Securities Market (GSM) of India

INX.

• Note: India INX is the country’s first

international exchange, located at

International Financial Services Centre,

GIFT City in Gujarat.

6. IndusInd Bank launched its new Sonic Identity a

musical logo.

• The musical logo is also referred to as the

'MOGO' (short for musical LOGO).

7. Bank of Baroda launches cash management

services for corporates – Bank of Baroda (BoB)

launched ‘Baroda DigiNext’ — a product for digitising

cash management of corporate and government

customers.

Aim - to provide the combined benefits of the

Government of India’s vision of a ‘Digital India’ coupled

with National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI)

retail payment systems to the customers of both

corporates and government.

8. The Union Finance Ministry is planning to ban

cryptocurrencies from payments system and at the

same time appoint regulator to oversee unregulated

exchanges that trade in crypto assets.

• The Dinesh Sharma committee constituted

by the Government - to look into issues

relating to cryptocurrencies will finalise its

recommendations by submitting its report in

current fiscal year, ending on March 2018.

9. India's first sentiment index ‘CriSidEx’ for micro,

small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) jointly

launched by SIDBI (Small Industries Development

Bank of India) and ratings agency Crisil.

• It was inaugurated by Finance Minister ‘Arun

Jaitley’ in New Delhi.

• CriSidEx is a composite index based on a diffusion

index of eight parameters and measures MSE

business sentiment on a negative to positive scale.

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January 2018

1. ‘Electoral Bond’ scheme announced which aimed at

increasing transparency in political funding. The Union

Finance electoral bonds scheme was announced by the

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the 2017 Budget.

Objective - to bring transparency in funding of

political parties and elections.

Key points –

1. Interest free instrument - Electoral bonds would

be a bearer instrument like promissory note and an

interest-free banking instrument.

2. Denomination - Electoral bonds can be purchased

for any value in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹10

lakh, and ₹1 crore.

3. Outlet - From any of the specified branches of the

State Bank of India.

4. KYC norms mandatory - The purchaser will be

allowed to buy electoral bonds only on due fulfilment

of all the extant KYC norms and by making payment

from a bank account.

5. Validity - The bonds will have a life of 15 days

during which they can be used to make donations to

registered political parties that have secured not less

than 1% of the votes polled in the last election to

the Lok Sabha or Assembly.

6. Available only 4 months in a year - The bonds

shall be available for purchase for a period of 10 days

each in the months of January, April, July and

October, with an additional 30 days to be specified by

the Central government in the year of a general election.

• The bond shall be encashed by an eligible

political party only through a designated bank account with the authorised bank.

• It will not carry the name of the payee.

2. ONGC to acquire Government’s entire 51.11%

stake in HPCL - The Union Government and state-run

oil explorer ONGC clinched deal for acquisition of

government’s 51.11% stake in Hindustan Petroleum

Corporation (HPCL) for a consideration of Rs. 36,915

crore.

Note: In 2017-18 Union Budget, Finance Minister

Arun Jaitley had announced that state-run oil

companies will be merged to create ‘oil major’.

Following this Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

(CCAE) in July 2017 had granted ‘in-principle’ approval

to the strategic sale of HPCL to ONGC.

3. Gujarat tops in Logistics Ease Across Different

States index - Gujarat has topped among 22 states in

the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS)

index released by Union Ministry of Commerce &

Industry.

• Punjab has acquired second position followed

by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and

Maharashtra.

4. IDFC Bank, Capital First announce merger - IDFC

Bank and Capital First announced merger between the

two to form a combined entity with assets under

management of Rs 88,000 crore, branch network of

194 and customer base of over 5 million.

• As per the agreement, IDFC Bank will issue

139 shares for every 10 shares of Capital First.

5. No Charges on Debit Card Transactions Up to Rs

2,000: Finance Ministry

• Customers will not have to pay any transaction charges for payments through debit card,

BHIM app and other payment made for up to

Rs 2,000.

6. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) – It

is a Pension Scheme announced by the Government of

India exclusively for the senior citizens aged 60 years

and above.

Objective - to provide social security during old age

and to protect elderly persons aged 60 and above

against a future fall in their interest income due to

uncertain market conditions.

Age limit –

Minimum Entry Age: 60 years (completed)

Maximum Entry Age: No limit

Key points

• The scheme provides an assured return of 8%

per annum for 10 years.

• Minimum purchase price under the scheme is

Rs.1,50,000/- for a minimum pension of Rs.

1,000/- per month and

• Maximum purchase price is Rs.7,50,000/- for

a maximum pension of Rs.5,000/- per

month.

• The scheme is exempted from Goods and

Services Tax (GST).

• The scheme is open for subscription till 3rd

May 2018.

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7. Railways to set up coach factory in Maharashtra’s

Latur - Under ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Indian

Railways will set up a coach factory in Maharashtra’s

Latur district to manufacture EMUs (electric multiple

units) for suburban trains and coaches for metros.

8. HDFC Bank partnership with Rajasthan

Government to promote and nurture start-ups in the

state.

9. The chief statistician of India (CSI) T.C.A. Anant retired

from the office after holding the office for seven-and-

half years. During his tenure, the statistical arm of the

government revised the base years for GDP and the

index of industrial production (IIP).

10. Govt. to Infuse Over Rs88, 100 cr in 20 PSB -

Under recapitalisation plan, the government has

announced to infuse Rs. 88,139 crore capitals for 20

public sector banks across the country.

• In addition, banks have raised more than

Rs10,000 crore so far and will raise more in

the coming months from the market, taking

the total recapitalisation to over Rs1 trillion

this fiscal.

• The recapitalisation bonds will be of a tenor

of 10-15 years and will be issued once the

boards of banks commit to the banking

reforms.

• IDBI Bank Ltd and Bank of India, will receive

the highest capital infusion from the

government at Rs10,610 crore and Rs9,232

crore, respectively.

• Both the banks were placed under prompt

corrective action (PCA) by Reserve Bank of

India.

• State Bank of India and Punjab National

Bank, which are not under the PCA

framework, will get Rs8,800 crore and

Rs5,473 crore, respectively, as the

government looks to support their growth.

11. IOB, NHB join hands for Rural Housing Push -

Indian Overseas Bank has signed an agreement with

National Housing Bank for the Rural Housing

Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS). of the Ministry of

Rural Development.

• The IOB will now be able to provide the

benefit of RHISS to its rural home loan

customers of its 923 rural branches spread

across India.

• Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme

(RHISS) is an initiative of the Ministry of

Rural Development to achieve the objective

of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022.

• The aim of the RHISS is to provide subsidy

for housing loans taken by those living in

rural areas for construction and

modifications of their dwelling units.

• The interest subsidy under the scheme is 3

per cent for a loan amount of ₹2 lakh for 20-

year tenure.

12. HDFC become the first Indian bank to cross Rs. 5

trillion market capitalization - India’s most-valued

lender HDFC Bank Ltd crossed Rs5 trillion market capitalisation for the first time.

• HDFC bank became third Indian company to

achieve this milestone after TCS & Reliance

Industries.

• Reliance Industry Ltd remained the most

valued company with a market cap of Rs.

5.82 trillion, followed by Tata Consultancy

Services Ltd with a market cap of Rs. 5.57

trillion.

13. India INX lists 1st debt security at IFSC: IRFC’s

green bonds - Indian Railway Finance Corporation’s

(IRFC’s) green bonds has been listed by the India

International Exchange (India INX) on its debt

listing platform-Global Securities Market (GSM).

• With this, IRFC green bonds became first

debt security to be listed on exchange at

International Financial Services Centre

(IFSC) in Gujarat’s GIFT city.

• India INX’s GSM segment is India’s first debt

listing platform. It allows raising funds in

any currency of choice by both foreign and

Indian issuers from investors across the

globe.

About INX - • The India International Exchange (INX) is opened

in 2017 is India's first international stock exchange.

• It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

• It is located at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), GIFT City in Gujarat.

• The chief of the INX is V. Balasubramanian.

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About IRFC - • Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) is a

finance arm of the Indian Railway. • The headquarter of IRFC is in Mumbai. • It raises financial resources for expansion and

running through capital markets and other borrowings.

• IRFC raises money through financial bonds and from banks and financial institutions.

14. India’s first agri-options trading in Guar seed

launched by NCDEX - India’s first agricultural-

commodity options in Guar seed launched by the

National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd

(NCDEX).

• It was inaugurated by Union Finance

Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.

• It is a unique hedging tool will allow farmers

to mitigate their price risk along with taking

advantage of upward price movement.

• NCDEX is second exchange after MCX to

launch options trading in commodities. In

October 2017, MCX had launched gold

options.

• National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange

Limited (NCDEX) is an online multi-

commodity exchange. It’s headquarter is in

Mumbai.

15. Punjab National Bank has signed a MoU with

National Scheduled Castes Finance and

Development Corporation to provide financial

assistance to Scheduled Castes families living below Double Poverty Line.

16. Central Statistics Office (CSO) forecast 6.5 per cent

growth in gross domestic product for the fiscal year

ending in March (2017-18). 17. IndusInd Bank and Dynamics Inc. has announced plans

to introduce the first battery-powered, interactive

payment cards to the Indian market in 2018.

18. Paytm Payments Bank has partnered Induslnd

Bank to introduce a facility to create a fixed deposit

when the customer balance exceeds Rs1 lakh at the

end of day.

Banking & Financial terms 1. AEPS – Aadhar Enabled Payment System 2. APBS – Aadhar Payment Bridge System 3. ATM – Automated Teller Machine 4. ALM - Asset Liability Management 5. BBPS – Bharat Bill Payment System 6. BCA -Baseline Credit Assessment 7. BHIM - Bharat Interface for Money 8. CBS – Core Banking System 9. CIDR - Central Identities Data Repository 10. CTS – Cheque Truncation System 11. CDR - Corporate Debt Restructuring 12. CASA – Current Account Saving Account 13. CAD – Capital Account Deficit 14. CRA - Counterparty Risk Assessment 15. CRR – Cash Reserve Ratio 16. ECS – Electronic Clearing Service 17. DNS - Domain Name System 18. DEAF - Depositor Education and Awareness Fund 19. EFTPOS - Electronic funds transfer at point of sale 20. EFT – Electronic Fund Transfer. 21. FRBM - Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management 22. LGD - Loss Given Default 23. LTV- Loan To Value 24. GNFV - Gross Negative Fair Value 25. SFTs: Securities financing transactions 26. HCE - Host Card Emulation 27. PFE - Potential Future Exposure

28. ICAAP - Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process 29. IFSC - Indian Financial System Code 30. IMPS - Immediate Payment Service 31. IMPS - Interbank Mobile Payment Service 32. MMID - Mobile Money Identifier 33. MPIN - Mobile Personal Identification Number 34. NPA – Non- Performing Assets 35. NSFR - Net Stable Funding Ratio 36. NPCI - National Payment Corporation of India 37. NFS – National Financial Switch 38. NACH – National Automated Clearing House 39. NEFT – National Electronic Fund Transfer 40. NFC - Near field communication 41. NDTL – Net Demand and Time Liabilities. 42. OTC – Over the Counter 43. PIN – Personal Identification Number 44. PAC - Personal Access Code 45. PCA - Prompt Corrective Action 46. PSPs - Payment Support Providers 47. RTGS – Real Time Gross Settlement 48. USSD - Unstructured Supplementary Services Data 49. UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of India 50. VPA - Virtual Payment Address. 51. GDR – Global Depository Receipt 52. GAAR - General anti avoidance rule 53. PAN – Permanent Account Number 54. PLR – Prime Lending Rate

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55. SLR – Statutory Liquidity Ratio 56. SDR – Special Drawing Rights 57. DTAA – Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement 58. TIEA – Tax Information Exchange Agreement 59. EFSF – European Financial Stability Facility 60. PPP – Purchasing Power Parity 61. PPP – Public Private Partnership 62. NPS – New Pension Scheme 63. EEFC - Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency 64. FII – Foreign Institutional Investor 65. DII – Domestic Institutional Investor 66. GST – Goods and Services Tax 67. DTC – Direct Tax Code 68. FCNRA – Foreign Currency Non- Resident account

69. MFI - Micro Finance Institutions 70. MFDC – Micro Finance Development Council 71. TRAI - Telecom Regulatory Authority of India 72. MSF – Marginal Standing Facility 73. IDF – Infrastructure Debt Fund 74. CRIS – Comparative Rating Index for Sovereign 75. LIBOR – London Inter Bank Operation Rate 76. MIBOR – Mumbai Inter Bank Operation Rate 77. MICR – Magnetic Ink Character Recognition 78. SARFAESI - Securitization and Reconstruction of

Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest 79. BCBS - Basel Committee on Banking Supervision 80. NPCI - National Payments Corporation of India

Agreement & Deals India’s Agreement with other Countries & Organizations

May 2018

1. India offered 10 million dollar line of credit for Bio-

Technology to Panama

• During the visit of Vice President of India M.Venkaiah Naidu to Panama, India offered two

lines of credit - 10 million dollar line of credit

for Bio-Technology and 15 million dollar for Innovation sector- to Panama.

• Also, both the countries agreed to work together

to deal with the menace of terrorism.

Other key agreement –

• India and Panama signed two Memorandum of

Understandings (MoU)-

• one on visa exemption for diplomatic official and consular passport and

• the other on the work plan for cooperation in the agriculture sector.

• The MoUs were signed in presence of Vice

President Venkaiah Naidu and Panama President

Juan Carlos Varela.

• Vice President Naidu was on a three-nation visit

to Guatemala, Panama and Peru which

commenced from May 6, 2018.

Note:

• Panama City is the capital of Panama.

• The Currency of Panama is Balboa.

2. India & Peru ink agreement in field of Renewable

Energy

• India and Peru signed the agreement on

renewable energy sector in Lima on May 12,

2018.

• The pact was signed after bilateral meeting

between Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and

Prime Minister of Peru Cesar Villanueva Arevalo in Lima.

Note:

• Lima is the capital of Peru.

• The Currency of Peru is Sol.

3. India & Guatemala ink agreement to boost

cooperation in education sector

• The agreement was inked after a meeting

between Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and

his Guatemala counterpart, Jafeth Cabrera Franco in Guatemala City.

Note:

• Guatemala City is the capital of Guatemala.

• The Currency of Guatemala is Quetzal.

4. Niti Ayog inks pact with IBM to develop crop yield

prediction model using AI

• Niti Aayog and IBM signed an agreement to

develop a crop yield prediction model using

artificial intelligence (AI).

• The objective is to provide real time advisory to

farmers in Aspirational Districts across Assam,

Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

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• It will work towards use of technology to provide

insights to farmers to improve crop productivity,

soil yield and control agricultural inputs with the

overarching goal of improving farmers' incomes.

March 2018

1. In March 2018, India and Canada signed a MoU to

establish bilateral cooperation activities in the field of

Intellectual Property (IP).

2. In March 2018, India and Hong Kong signed agreement

for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention

of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.

3. India and European Union signed an agreement to

share earth observation data from each other’s satellites.

As per the agreement -

• The EU will provide India free, full and open

access to its global data from its Copernicus

satellite system.

• India, on its part, will provide the Copernicus

programme an open access to the data from

Isro’s earth observation satellites, including

Oceansat-2, Scatsat-1.

• The European Union is a political and economic

union of 28-member states.

• The headquarter of European Union is in

Brussels, Belgium.

February 2018

1. Google & NCERT joins hand for Digital Safety –

• Google National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) signed a pact to integrate

a course on 'Digital Citizenship and Safety' in

information and communication technology

curriculum.

• It was signed on the occasion of Safer Internet

Day (06th February).

2. Assam Govt & Ola signed an agreement for River Taxi

service in the state.

3. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has inked

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russian

firm United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) to develop

specialized vessels for Inland and Coastal shipping.

4. India Joins Ashgabat Agreement - India has joined

Ashgabat Agreement on the establishment of an

International Transport and Transit Corridor between

the Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Note: The agreement was signed in 2011, which

envisages facilitation of transit and transportation of

goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.

January 2018

1. India & Israel signed 9 agreements - Israeli Prime

Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu visited India in January

2018.

List of agreements signed between two countries –

• On Cyber Security

• On Cooperation in Oil and Gas Sector

• On Amendments to the Air Transport Agreement

• On Film-co-production

• in the field of Research in Homeopathic Medicine

• for cooperation in the field of Space

• Intent between Invest India and Invest in Israel

• For cooperation in metal-air batteries

• for cooperation in concentrated solar thermal

technologies

Note:

• Israel Capital – Jerusalem

• Israel Currency – Shekel 2. India & United Kingdom (UK) - have signed two

Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)

• dealing with return of Indians residing in Britain

as illegal migrants.

• sharing of criminal records and intelligence.

Note:

• UK Capital – London

• UK Currency – Pound

• UK PM - Theresa May

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3. India & Canada - The Union Cabinet approved

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canada for

cooperation in field of Science & Technology.

Note:

• Canada Capital – Ottawa

• Canada Currency – Dollar

• Canada PM - Justin Trudeau

4. India & Sri Lanka - signed four agreements for

collaboration in Information and communication

technology (ICT) sector between both countries.

Note:

• Capital of Sri Lanka –Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.

• Currency of Sri Lanka - Rupee.

• President - Maithripala Sirisena

• PM - Ranil Wickremesinghe.

5. India & Vietnam - signed two Memorandum of

Understandings (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in field

of information and broadcasting and space

cooperation.

Note:

• Capital of Vietnam – Hanoi

• Currency of Vietnam - Dong.

• President - Maithripala Sirisena

6. National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) & Malaysia - signed an MoU with for exchange of

information and cooperation in areas such as policies to

aid development of small and medium businesses (SMBs)

in the two countries.

Note:

• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)

Minister- Giriraj Singh.

• Capital of Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur

• Currency of Malaysia - Ringgit.

• PM - Najib Razak

7. India & Laos - signed civil aviation cooperation

agreement for providing SkyRev360, a

comprehensive e-data gathering, invoicing and

collection system.

Note:

• SkyRev360 is fully automated and

comprehensive data gathering invoicing and

collection service system.

• It is developed by AAI in collaboration with

International Air Transport Association (IATA)

under the Government’s Make in India initiative

Note:

• Capital of Laos – Vientiane

• Currency of Laos - Kip.

• PM - Thongloun Sisoulith

8. India & Asean - India has signed an agreement to step

up maritime cooperation with the 10-member

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

• The agreement was signed during India-Asean

Commemorative Summit which was held to mark

25 years of bilateral partnership in New Delhi.

• The theme of the summit was -"Shared Values,

Common Destiny”.

Note:

• All the 10 ASEAN leaders was also the Chief

Guest be at India’s 69th Republic Day on 26th

January 2018.

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) member countries are – Thailand,

Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,

Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and

Brunei.

9. India & Seychelles on Assumption Island - India and

Seychelles signed a revised agreement that will allow the

country to build military infrastructure on Assumption

Island for the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces.

• The island nation has made it clear that it can suspend India’s right to use the facilities if it is at

war.

• The agreement is very important for India, as it works hard to mark a military presence on both

Seychelles and Mauritius (Agalega island), in its

drive to extend its strategic footprint in the

Indian Ocean.

Note:

• Assumption Island is a small island in the

Outer Islands of Seychelles north of Madagascar,

with a distance of 1,135 km southwest of the

capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island.

• Agalega is a small island in the Indian Ocean, 697

miles (1122 Kms) almost north of Mauritius. In

fact it consists of two islands; the North Island and the South Island.

• The allocation for Seychelles has also been

increased from Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore in

the budget, presented by Finance Minister Arun

Jaitley in Parliament.

• Last week, India and Seychelles signed a revised

agreement for the development of facilities on

Assumption island which will also allow India to

develop an airstrip and jetty there. Note:

• Capital of Seychelles – Victoria

• Currency of Seychelles - Seychellois rupee. • President - Danny Faure

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India’s agreement with Financial Institutions

May 2018

1. NABARD authorized Solar street lighting system in

Arunachal

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD) had authorized LED

Solar Street Lighting system for Arunachal

Pradesh under its Rural Infrastructure

Development Fund with a total grant of Rs 87.83

lakh.

• The project would be implemented in the four

districts of the state Tirap, Longding, Namsai and

Tawang.

• The government on May 16 approved a

dedicated Rs 5,000 crore fund under NABARD to

bring more land area under micro-irrigation as part of its objective to boost agriculture

production and farmers' income.

2. World Bank extends $300 mn credit to scale up

energy efficiency program

• The World Bank Board of Executive Directors

approved $300 million credit guarantee for the

India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program.

• The aim of the program is to increase private

sector participation in energy efficiency,

including through private sector energy service

companies.

• The program will be implemented by the Energy

Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

• Under the Program, EESL will deploy 219 million

LED bulbs and tube lights, 5.8 million ceiling

fans, and 7.2 million street lights, which will be

supplied by private sector manufacturers and

suppliers.

3. India, World Bank sign USD 200 million loan deal for

national nutrition mission

• The Government of India signed a loan deal worth $ 200 million with the World Bank for the

National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan).

• The loan would help the Government of India in

achieving its goal of reducing stunting in children

0-6 years of age from 38.4% to 25% by the year

2022.

• The loan will support the first phase scale up to 315 districts across all states and union

territories.

Note:

• The POSHAN Abhiyaan, an overarching scheme

for holistic nourishment, was launched by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi in 8th March 2018 at

Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.

• POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission)

is scheme of Ministry of Women and Child

Development.

April 2018

1. India & World Bank signed an agreement on National Biopharma Mission

• The Union Government signed an agreement with World Bank for a flexible financing arrangement to accelerate

research towards early development for biopharmaceuticals.

• The mission has been approved at a cost of USD 250 million for five years.

• The National Biopharma Mission is being implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council

(BIRAC) - a Public Sector Undertaking of Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

2. The Government of India, Madhya Pradesh state govt. and the World Bank signed USD 210 million loan agreement for

the Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project.

3. Uttarakhand state government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed 1,700 crore rupees agreement for

infrastructure development and creation of sewerage treatment facilities in urban areas.

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March 2018

1. The Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) will provide USD 500 million credit facility to ECOWAS Bank for Investment and

Development (EBID) to fund various development projects in the western-south Africa.

2. India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed $80 million loan agreement to help boost Youth Employability in

Himachal Pradesh state.

February 2018

1. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD) launched area development

plans worth Rs 1,918 crore for Punjab state to

supplement farmers' income.

2. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) $1.5

billion loan amount to India for infrastructure

projects in 2018.

3. India and World Bank signed a $100 million loan

agreement to promote rural economy in selected blocks

Tamil Nadu state.

• The objective is to promote rural enterprises,

facilitate their access to finance, and create

employment opportunities for youth,

particularly women, in selected blocks of Tamil

Nadu across 26 districts, directly benefitting over

400,000 people.

4. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) & World

Bank signed US $375 million loan agreement - For Jal

Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) i.e. National Waterway-1 on

Ganga River from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to Haldia

(West Bengal).

January 2018

1. India & World Bank – Agreement for Project to boost

Rural Economy of Tamil Nadu.

• Loan Agreement - $100 million.

2. NABARD & Odisha – NABARD has sanctioned loan

assistance of Rs 372.51 crore under the Rural

Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to Odisha towards irrigation and rural bridge projects for the last

quarter of this fiscal.

• loan assistance - Rs 372.51 crore

3. The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has

inked MoU with IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd for

construction of the 14.150 km long, 2-lane bi-directional

Zojila Tunnel in Jammu & Kashmir.

Note: This would be India’s longest road tunnel and longest bi-directional tunnel in Asia. On completion, the tunnel will provide all weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

4. India & World Bank - to help increase access to

improved water supply services in peri-urban areas in

Uttarakhand.

• Loan Agreement - $120 million.

5. India & Asian Development Bank (ADB) - to finance the

construction of 6,254 km of all-weather rural roads in 5

states - Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha

and West Bengal.

• Loan Agreement - $250 million.

6. IFAD & India - agreement to sustainably raise incomes

and food security for tribal farming households in

northeast India.

• Loan Agreement - $168 million.

Note:

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was established in 1977.

• IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations

dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in

rural areas of developing countries.

• Gilbert Houngbo is the head of IFAD.

• IFAD HQ is in – Rome, Italy.

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Important Committees

April 2018

1. Jayant Sinha panel - for fast-tracking the roll-out of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology.

March 2018

1. Subhash Chandra Garg Committee - to consider various issues related to Fintech for making regulations more

flexible and promoting financial inclusion in the country. February 2018

1. Y H Malegam committee - to investigate issues related to classification of bad loans, rising incidents of frauds and

effectiveness of audits.

2. Vinay Sheel Oberoi committee - to monitor and expedite capital acquisition projects for the modernisation of the armed

forces.

3. N Chandrasekaran (Tata Sons Chairman) committee - to study use and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in

military.

4. Dinesh Sharma committee – to look into issues relating to cryptocurrencies.

January 2018 1. BR Sharma committee - to frame guidelines on playing national anthem in cinemas and other public places.

Important Committees constituted in 2017

1. Amitabh Kant Committee - to address the problem of Non-performing assets (NPAs) or stressed assets in India’s power

sector.

2. YM Deosthalee Committee – task force on Public Credit Registry (PCR). The committee will review the current availability of information on credit in India.

3. B C Khanduri Committee - parliamentary standing committee on defense. The committee will examine the operational preparedness of armed forces and review accidents involving strategic defence assets and also assess the procurement policy relating to defence equipment.

4. Arun Jaitley Committee - The union govt. has constituted a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to

oversee merger proposals of state-owned banks.

5. Rina Mitra Committee - The Union govt. has set up a study group under Special secretary in the home ministry to

examine the problems of people along IB, LOC in J&K.

6. Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini Committee - to examine the sub-categorization of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

7. Dr Hasmukh Adhia Committee - The Union government has constituted a GST Committee on Exports headed by Dr

Hasmukh Adhia.

Note: The panel is mandated to recommend to the GST Council a suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-

GST set-up.

8. Dr. Rajiv Kumar Committee - With an aim to create new jobs by enhancing India’s export, the NITI Aayog constituted an Expert Task Force. The task force will be chaired by the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, Dr. Rajiv Kumar.

9. Dr V. Kamakoti Committee - The Union Government constituted a task force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the country's Economic Transformation. The 18-member panel, headed by Dr V. Kamakoti of IIT Madras.

10. K Kasturirangan Committee - to prepare National Education Policy.

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