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Interview Bundle PDF Course – Important Banking & Economy News
IMPORTANT BANKING & ECONOMY NEWS- OCTOBER

ICRA maintains India's FY23 GDP growth forecast at 7.2%
 Rating agency ICRA has maintained its forecast of 7.2% growth in India'sGross Domestic
Product (GDP) for the financial year FY23.

 According to ICRA, the growth will be aided by a revival in contact-intensive services owing to
pent-up demand, and a back-ended pick-up in Government and private CAPEX.
Key Highlights:
 ICRA's note highlighted that the Year over Year (YoY) performance of 12 of the 14 non-financial
indicators (except ports cargo traffic and finished steel consumption) deterioration in July-August
2022 relative to Q1 FY2023, on account of the normalization of the base after the easing of the
Covid 2.0 wave.
 In Q1FY23, India's real GDP is estimated at ₹36.85 lakh crore, as against ₹32.46 lakh crore in Q1
2021-22, showing a growth rate of 13.5%. While the gross value added (GVA) growth stood at
12.7% in Q1FY23.
Muthoot Finance ties up with Lulu International Exchange for gold loan repayment
 Muthoot Finance, one of India’s largest gold loan Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)
companies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lulu International
Exchange, one of the money exchange and transfer companies in the UAE, to work as its
collection partner.
Aim:
 To drive convenience and ease of money transfer for over 4 lakh Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in
UAE whose relatives have availed gold loans back home
 India is the world's largest recipient of remittances and the share from the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) is higher in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Note:
 CEO of LuLu Financial Group: Richard Wason
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RBI hikes repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.9%

 The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) headed
by RBI Governor Mr. Shaktikanta Das decided to increase Repo Rate by 50 basis points to
5.90%.
 This is the RBI's fourth rate hike in the current financial year.
 Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate is adjusted to 5.65% & the marginal
standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.15%, the Fixed Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%,
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4.50%, Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) 18.00%.
GDP:
 The Governor informed that the RBI’s growth projection for the Indian economy for 2022-23 is
projected at 7.0% with Q2 at 6.3%; Q3 at 4.6%; and Q4:2022-23 at 4.6%, with risks broadly
balanced.
 The growth for Q1 of 2023-24 is projected at 7.2%.

 The RBI has retained its inflation projection at 6.7% for this fiscal year.
 India’s foreign exchange reserves: $537.5 billion
About the Monetary Policy Committee:

 Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934 provides for an empowered six-member monetary
policy committee (MPC) to be constituted by the Central Government by notification in the Official
Gazette.
Members of the MPC:
1. Chairperson- Shaktikanta Das
2. Michael Debabrata Patra
3. Rajiv Ranjan
4. Ashima Goyal
5. Shashank Bhide
6. Jayanth Varma
 Members 1 to 3 are officials from the RBI and members 4 to 6 are appointed by the central
government.
About RBI:
 Established: 1 April 1935

 Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
 Governor: Shaktikanta Das
 Deputy Governor: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar
World Bank & SIDBI to launch USD 1 billion fund financing purchase of electric 2 & 3 Wheelers
 The Government of India (GoI), World Bank (WB), and Small Industries Development Bank of
India (SIDBI) are set to launch a $1 billion fund to provide guarantees against loan default to
lenders financing the purchase of electric 2- and 3-wheelers.

 The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) is the facilitating agency for the
project.
 Currently, loans for electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers attract 20-25% interest per annum.
About SIDBI:
 Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
 MD & CEO: Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann

 SIDBI is the apex regulatory body for overall licensing and regulation of micro, small and medium
enterprise finance companies in India.

 It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
SEBI extends two-factor authentication for mutual fund subscription transactions
 Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) decided to extend the
two-factor authentication (2FA) for subscription transactions in units of mutual funds to further
safeguard the interest of investors.
 The new framework will come into effect from April 1, 2023.
 In the case of subscription and redemption of units, two-factor authentication (for online
transactions) and signature method (for offline transactions) will be used for authentication.
SEBI lays guidelines on preferential issues for listed REIT, InvIT

 Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued guidelines on
preferential issues and institutional placement of units in emerging investment vehicles – real
estate investment trust (REIT) and infrastructure investment trust (InvIT).

 However, the allotment of units can be made to the sponsor for unsubscribed portions in the
institutional placement where at least 90% of the issue size has been subscribed.
 A listed InvIT and REIT may make a preferential issue of units or institutional placement of units
in case units of the same class, which are proposed to be allotted, have been listed on a stock
exchange for at least 6 months before the date of issuance of notice to its unit holders.
SEBI rolls out a framework for credit rating agencies
 Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with a new framework
for credit rating agencies (CRAs), involving ratings of securities having explicit credit
enhancement features.
 The new framework, applicable from January 1, 2023
Key Highlights:
 Under the rule, CRAs can assign the suffix 'CE' (Credit Enhancement) to the rating of instruments
having explicit credit enhancement.
 CRAs will have to conduct independent due diligence on the nature of specified support
consideration and form a definitive internal view and, wherever warranted, obtain an independent
external legal opinion for ascertaining the strength of the credit enhancement.
Airtel has become the first company to launch 5G services in the country:
 Telecom operator Bharti Airtel's 5G services will be available in eight cities announced chairman
Sunil Bharti Mittal at India Mobile Congress.
 Airtel and Nokia have partnered to bring India’s first 5G-enabled immersive experience to visitors
at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022.
 Bharti Airtel has become the first company to launch 5G services in the country.
 The services will be available in eight cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore, and
others.
 Airtel will roll out 5G services in several cities across the country by March 2023 and across India
by March 2024.
 Bharti Airtel had placed the order for 5G gears with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung immediately
after the auctions were over.

 Bharti Airtel acquired spectrum worth ₹43,084 crores in the just-concluded auction.
IOCL has set up a subsidiary to pool the funds of its overseas units:
 India's top refiner Indian Oil Corp has set up a subsidiary to pool the funds of its overseas units to
meet capital and trade finance needs.
 The new unit - Finance Company - will help IOC benefit from interest arbitrage as the company's
borrowings increase after selling fuel locally at below-market rates.
 Finance Company will be based in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in western India.

 Companies based in GIFT City get a 100% income tax exemption for 10 years.
 Finance Company will "carry out finance activities such as fund pooling of foreign companies and
utilise the same for carrying out trade financing of IOC and group companies".
 The Finance Company will also handle IOC's global treasury operation and utilise IFSC to raise
capital and debt from overseas markets.
SIDBI and Dun & Bradstreet India launches SIDBI–D&B SPeX dedicated to MSMEs
 Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and Dun & Bradstreet, the global leading
provider of business decisioning data and analytics, signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to create the SIDBI -D&B Sustainability Perception Index (SIDBI – D&B SPeX),
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu (TN).
 The Index, to be released every quarter, will capture the various business parameters that, when
analyzed at an aggregate level, will provide valuable insights into the adoption of an ESG
(Environmental, Social & Governance) framework.
RBI to ease net banking norms for customers of regional rural banks
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has proposed to ease norms for internet banking for customers
of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
 Currently, RRBs are allowed to provide Internet Banking facilities to their customers with prior
approval of the Reserve Bank, subject to fulfillment of certain financial and non-financial criteria.
 To promote the spread of digital banking in rural areas, the criteria for RRBs to be eligible to
provide internet banking are being rationalized.

About RRB:
 RRBs are jointly owned by the central government, state government, and sponsor banks.
 The ratio of holding for central government is 50%, state government 15%, and sponsor bank
35%.
 RRBs provide various banking and financial services like MGNREGA wages disbursal, debit and
credit cards, and Unified Payment Service (UPI), among others.
 RRB was allowed to provide internet banking facilities in 2015.
About RBI:
 Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar.
Cabinet Approves 4% DA Hike For Central Govt Employees
 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved a proposal to
increase the dearness allowance (DA) & dearness relief (DR) of the central government
employees and pensioners by 4% under the 7th Pay Commission with effect from July 1, 2022.
 The increase in the DA and DR is based on the percentage increase in the 12 monthly average of
the All India Consumer Price Index for the period ending June 2022.
 The additional installment of DA and dearness relief (DR) is an increase of 4% over the existing
rate of 34% of basic pay/pension & now, this has increased to 38%.
 This is the second increase in the dearness allowance of the central government employee in
2022.
RBI may adopt an expected loss approach for banks' loan provisioning
 Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) adopted the
“expected loss” approach for loan provisioning.
 At present, the banks follow the “incurred loss” approach, where money is set aside after an asset
turns sour.
 RBI will release a discussion paper on the 'expected loss-based approach' for loan loss
provisioning by banks.
 At present, larger non-bank lenders have already been using the expected loss approach for
provisioning since 2018.
ICICI Bank launches special account for Indian students in the UK
 ICICI Bank UK PLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ICICI Bank Limited, offers a bank account to
Indian students aspiring to study in the UK called, ‘HomeVantage Current Account’ (HVCA).
 It is specially designed to meet every student’s banking needs in the UK.
 The HomeVantage Current Account (HVCA), which comes with a Visa debit card valid for use
anywhere in the world, can be activated digitally before the students leave India for the UK.
NABARD sanctions Rs 222 cr to augment infrastructure in Punjab’s rural schools
 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 221.99
crore from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to strengthen school infrastructure
in rural schools in Punjab.

About NABARD:
 Founded: 12 July 1982

 NABARD was established on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee (by Act 61,
1981 of Parliament).
 It is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex
cooperative banks in India.
RBI to release a discussion paper on the securitization of stressed assets framework

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will release a discussion paper on the Securitisation of Stressed
Assets Framework (SSAF).

 RBI has decided to introduce a framework for securitizing stressed assets to provide an
alternative mechanism for securitizing non-performing assets (NPAs) in addition to the existing
Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARC) route
 Currently, the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security
Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 provides a framework for the securitization of NPAs to be
undertaken by Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) licensed under the Act.
 Earlier in September 2021, the revised framework for securitization of standard assets was
issued by RBI.
RBI to stop 28-day VRRR will continue with 14-day auctions
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will stop conducting 28-day variable rate reverse repo (VRRR)
auctions, considering the current banking system liquidity conditions, but will continue with 14-day
VRRR auctions.
 In Sep 2022, India's banking system liquidity slipped into deficit & it currently stands at a deficit of
187 billion Indian rupees ($2.29 billion).
 The RBI has been conducting 28-day VRRR auctions for 500 billion rupees since November
2021, but these auctions have not been fully subscribed for the last few months.
 The RBI also conducts 14-day VRRR auctions for 2 trillion rupees and these too have failed to
attract complete subscriptions in the last few weeks.
SBI launches 'Gram Seva Program' across 6 states of India

 On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 02, 2022), State Bank Group Chairman Mr. Dinesh
Khara, adopted 30 remote villages across Aspirational Districts in Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Punjab, Tamil Nadu (TN), and West Bengal (WB) under the 4th phase of the 'SBI Gram Seva'
program.
 SBI Gram Seva was launched in 2017 to build and develop Atmanirbhar Rural India.
NPCI Signs MoU with Central Bank of Oman to Enable UPI Payments in Oman
 The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Central Bank of Oman (CBO) signed a
historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the Rupay debit card in Oman, paving
the way for a new era of financial connectivity.
 This comes after New Delhi and Muscat reached a consensus to expand the Indian digital
payment ecosystem to the gulf region.
 So far countries including Singapore, Nepal, UAE, Bhutan, Malaysia, and France are among the
global nations that accept payments through UPI and RuPay Cards.
 Russia has expressed interest in pushing dialogue on accepting the UPI and Faster Payments
System (FPS) of the Central Bank of Russia within their respective national payment
infrastructures.
EXIM Bank extends $100- mn LoC to the Maldives for development projects
 Export-Import Bank of India [Exim Bank], on behalf of the Government of India, has extended a
Line of Credit (LOC) of USD 100 million to the Government of the Republic of the Maldives for
financing developmental projects.
About EXIM Bank:
 Founded: 1982
 MD: Harsha Bangari
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das launches advanced supervisory monitory system – DAKSH
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shri Shaktikanta Das launched a new 'SupTech'
initiative called DAKSH.
 This application will be the bank's advanced supervisory monitoring system, which is expected to
make the supervisory processes more robust.

About DAKSH:
 DAKSH means 'efficient' and 'competent', reflecting the underlying capabilities of the application
 It is a web-based end-to-end workflow application through which RBI shall monitor compliance
requirements in a more focused manner.
Objective:
 To improve the compliance culture in Supervised Entities (SEs) like Banks, Non-Banking
Financial Companies (NBFC), etc.
 The app will help in strengthening supervision, by utilizing the latest data and analytical tools as
well as leveraging technology for implementing more efficient and automated work processes.
World Bank cuts India's GDP growth forecast to 6.5% for 2022-23
 The World Bank (WB) trimmed India’s growth forecast for 2022-23 (April-March) by 100 basis
points, projecting that the Indian economy will grow at 6.5% compared to its earlier estimate of
7.5% released in June.
 This is the third time the World Bank revised its GDP growth forecast for India in FY23.
 In June 2022 it had slashed its forecast to 7.5% & earlier in April 2022 it had trimmed the forecast
from 8.7% to 8%.
About World Bank:

 Established: December 1944
 Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
 President: David Malpass
 The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA).
HDFC Bank launches SmartHub Vyapar Merchant app for SMEs
 India’s largest private sector bank HDFC Bank in partnership with a merchant Saas platform,
Mintoak Innovations India has developed the SmartHub Vyapar app.
About the SmartHub Vyapar app:
 The app is a comprehensive payment and banking solution designed to fulfill the everyday
business needs of merchants.

 On the banking front, merchants can avail of banking services like the opening of fixed deposits,
and quick access to pre-approved loans and credit cards.

 Also, Merchants can get a real-time view of all Smart Hub Vyapar transactions credited into their
bank account.
Unity Bank introduces a special FD scheme with a lucrative interest rate

 Unity Small Finance Bank Limited (Unity Bank), a modern, digital-first bank, has introduced
Shagun 501, a special fixed deposit scheme with attractive interest rates.
 This festive offer will be available only for deposits booked up to October 31, 2022.
About Unity Small Finance Bank Limited:
 Established: 2018
 MD & CEO: Inderjit Camotra
RBI introduces Internal Ombudsman mechanism for Credit Information Companies (CICs)
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced the Internal Ombudsman mechanism for Credit
Information Companies (CICs).
 It is directed to all the CICs holding a Certificate of Registration under sub-section (2) of Section 5
of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005, to appoint an Internal Ombudsman
(IO) at the apex of their internal grievance redress mechanism by April 1, 2023.
 Under the mechanism, all complaints that are partly or wholly rejected by CICs will be reviewed
by the IO before the final decision of the CIC is conveyed to the complainant.
Eligibility of an internal ombudsman:

 Every CIC must appoint the Internal Ombudsman for a fixed term of 3 to 5 years
 Either a retired or a serving officer
 Not below the rank of Deputy GM or equivalent, should have at least 7 years of experience in the
banking sector
 Not attained the age of 70 before completion of the proposed term
 No reappointment for extension of term in the same CIC
 The internal ombudsman shall report to the Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer
administratively, and the Board functionally.
RBI to launch a pilot project for the digital rupee

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon commence the pilot launch of the Digital Rupee (e₹)
for specific use cases as it tests digital currency in India.
 It released a concept note on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

About e-RUPI:
 e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.
 It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the

beneficiaries.
 It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in
collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,
and the National Health Authority.
About CBDC:
 CBDCs are a digital form of a paper currency and unlike cryptocurrencies that operate in a
regulatory vacuum, these are legal tenders issued and backed by a central bank
 It is the same as a fiat currency (like the Indian rupee) and is exchangeable one-to-one with the
fiat currency
 The digital fiat currency or CBDC can be transacted using wallets backed by blockchain
 As of July 2022, 105 countries were exploring CBDC, accounting for 95% of the world GDP.
 The Bahamian Sand Dollar was the first to debut CBDC in 2020, while Jamaica's JAM-DEX was
the most recent.
 China became the world's first major economy to pilot a digital currency e-CNY in April 2020.
 According to the RBI, the e-Rupee can be structured as ‘token-based’ or ‘account-based’.
 Token-based CBDC: (which is a bearer instrument like banknotes, meaning whosoever holds the
tokens at a given point in time would be presumed to own them) is viewed as a preferred mode
for CBDC-R as it would be closer to physical cash.
 Account-based CBDC: (which requires maintenance of record of balances and transactions of all
holders of the CBDC and indicates the ownership of the monetary balances) may be considered
for CBDC-W.
About RBI:

 Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar
GST income in September of this year increased by 26%:
 The Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue in September this year saw a 26% year-on-year
jump at ₹1.48 lakh crore, the third highest ever collections crossing the ₹1.40 lakh crore mark for
the seventh consecutive month on robust business activities despite the global economic
slowdown.
 While the gross GST revenue collection in September at ₹1,47,686 crore.
 GST monthly collections stabilizing above Rs1.4 lakh crore for seven months in a row would
provide more headroom on the fiscal front.
 GST was introduced through the 101st Constitution Amendment Act, of 2016.
 It is one of the biggest indirect tax reforms in the country.
 It was introduced with the slogan of ‘One Nation One Tax.
IDBI Bank partners with Vayana Network on supply chain finance

 IDBI Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vayana Network as its first
fintech partner for end-to-end digitization services.
Aim:
 To contribute to the growth of the Supply Chain Finance (SCF) penetration in India, which is less
than 1 % of the gross home product (GDP) and contributes only 5% of the outstanding banking
assets.
 This platform is expected to reduce paperwork, and transaction processing time while providing a
smooth customer experience throughout.

About IDBI Bank:
 MD & CEO: Rakesh Sharma

 Tagline: Banking For All Aao Sochein Bada Bank Aisa Dost Jaisa
Nomura moderates India's FY24 GDP growth to 5.2%

 Japanese brokerage Nomura has projected a sharp moderation in India's growth rate for FY24 to
5.2% as compared to the FY23 GDP growth estimate at 7%.
 The economy grew at 4% in FY20 a multi-year low.

 It expects inflation to average 6.8% in FY23, a tad above the RBI's 6.7% estimate, and cool down
to 5.3% in FY24.
About Nomura:
 Founded: December 25, 1925

 Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
 President and Group CEO: Kentaro Okuda
NPCI launches program to connect with payments-oriented service providers

 National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched NPCI Partner Program (NPP) to
collaborate with various technological service providers, application service providers, and other
similar entities in the industry to connect with innovative and important payments-oriented service
providers.
 To augment the retail payments ecosystem by reducing the time to market and being more
transparent and accessible.
 This one-of-a-kind initiative will help in building new offerings that are better aligned with the
needs and demands of the contemporary market.

About NPCI:
 Founded: 2008

 MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe
 The NPCI is the specialized division of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which is under the
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
RBL Bank partners BookMyShow to launch ‘Play’ credit card

 RBL Bank has partnered with BookMyShow to launch a new credit card ‘Play’ that will take the
entertainment quotient for Indian audiences several notches higher.

About the ‘Play’ credit card:
 The card will be available to select customers on BookMyShow and give them access to offers on
transactions across movies and live entertainment offerings (online and offline).
 The eligible customers will be able to avail of offers on binge-watching movies and TV series on
BookMyShow Stream by renting or buying a title while enjoying benefits with every purchase
made.
South Indian Bank enters World Book of Records for '101 Oonjals'
 The South Indian Bank for the first time organized a first-of-its-kind category event 'Onnichirikkam
Oonjaladam' (Sit together and Swing) and was accoladed with the World Book of Records award
for 'staging and swinging 101 Oonjals' simultaneously at a single venue in Kochi.
 The World Book of Records team presented the Award to South Indian Bank Managing Director
(MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Murali Ramakrishnan & other officials.
Paytm partners with Jana Small Finance Bank for the deployment of card devices
 One97 Communications Limited (OCL), which owns the brand Paytm, has partnered with Jana
Small Finance Bank to deploy card machines to further drive digitisation among merchants
across India.
 With this partnership, Paytm and Jana Small Finance Bank will further drive the digital payments
revolution in India.
 The partnership will enable Jana Small Finance Bank bank to extend Paytm's All-in-one
Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machines to its existing and potential customers, providing a one-
stop solution for all their digital payment needs.
SBI first bank to achieve this milestone, home loan AUM crosses ₹6 trillion
 India's largest home loan provider, the State Bank of India (SBI) continues to lead the Home Loan
segment and has surpassed ₹6 trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM) to make home loans
affordable for all prospective buyers amidst the ongoing festive season.
Hero MotoCorp launched its first electric scooter worldwide:

 Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler maker, launched its first electric scooter worldwide,
as it looks to catch up with newer firms who have taken the lead in the country's clean mobility
push.
 The new Hero Vida V1 electric scooter will be offered in two variants, which are Vida V1 Plus and
Vida V1 Pro.
 It would be first launched in New Delhi, Jaipur, and Bangalore and the deliveries of this electric
scooter will start in the second week of December.
World Bank extends unconditional loan of $250 million for the SALT project in AP
 The World Bank (WB) has extended an unconditional loan of $250 million to Support Andhra’s
Learning Transformation (SALT) project in appreciation of the path-breaking reforms

implemented by the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government.
 The SALT is the first project in the school education sector to be funded by the World Bank
without any precondition.
About World Bank:

 Established: December 1944
 Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
 President: David Malpass

 The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the
governments of low- and middle-income countries.
Reserve Bank of India issues consolidated guidelines on unhedged foreign currency exposure
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued modified and consolidated guidelines to the banks on
Unhedged Foreign Currency Exposure (UFCE) Directions in 2022.

 These directions will apply to all commercial banks (excluding Payments Banks & Regional Rural
Banks).
 These instructions shall come into force from January 1, 2023.

 Entities that do not hedge their foreign currency exposure can incur significant losses during a
period of heightened volatility in foreign exchange rates.
 These losses may reduce their capacity to service the loans taken from the banking system and
increase their probability of default thereby affecting the health of the banking system.
About RBI:

 Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi
Shankar
Universal Sompo General Insurance adopts a village in Maharashtra
 Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd adopts Tung village, in the Maval sub-district
of Maharashtra. Universal Sompo committed to pledging INR 50 Lakh in developmental activities
in the village.
 This was followed by sharing details of the project with the village chief and the entire community
and simultaneously introducing the physician who would supervise healthcare-related activities.
Aim:
 To educate the women in the village on digital literacy and farm animal (veterinary) treatment.
Indian Army signs MoU with 11 banks for Agniveer salary package
 The Indian Army has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with 11 banks for
providing banking facilities to Agniveers on enrolment.
List of 11 banks:
1. State Bank of India (SBI)
2. Punjab National Bank (PNB)
3. Bank of Baroda (BoB)

4. IDBI Bank
5. ICICI Bank
6. HDFC Bank
7. Axis Bank
8. Yes Bank
9. Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB)
10. IDFC First Bank

11. Bandhan Bank.
About 'Agnipath Scheme':

 The Agnipath scheme entails recruitment for individuals below the rank of commissioned officer
for 4 years.
 The scheme provides for the recruitment of youths between ages 17-and-half years and 21
years for four years with a provision to retain 25% of them for 15 more years.
RBI intervening in the NDF market, monitoring rupee positions
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been selling dollars in the non-deliverable forward (NDF)
market via local banks based in India's GIFT City International Financial Services Center, as it
seeks to support the sliding rupee.

 The intervention by the RBI in the onshore NDF market was confirmed by Treasury officials at
two large private sector banks present in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in western India.
 In finance, a non-deliverable forward is an outright forward or futures contract in which

counterparties settle the difference between the contracted NDF price or rate and the prevailing
spot price or rate on an agreed notional amount.
LIC unveils Dhan Varsha life insurance plan

 The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) introduced Dhan Varsha, a non-linked, non-
participating, individual, savings, single premium life insurance plan offering a combination of
protection and savings.
 This plan provides financial support for the family in case of unfortunate death of the life assured
during the policy term.

 It also provides a guaranteed lumpsum amount on the date of maturity for the surviving life
assured.
 This is a close-ended plan and would be available for sale till March 31, 2023.
SBI General Insurance launches insurance buying facility via WhatsApp
 SBI General Insurance has partnered with Gupshup, a leader in conversational engagement to
offer a new insurance policy, renew an existing one, intimate claims, and more, through
WhatsApp.
Key Highlights:
 Customers across India can buy insurance from SBI General by sending a ‘Hi’ and Gupshup’s
chat bot will guide users through a simple and secure buying process, and help them complete
the purchase within the WhatsApp chat thread.
 The hassle-free buying experience ensures that end-to-end policy purchase happens on the
platform itself, right from exploring product features to accessing their policy documents.
Karnataka Bank launches term deposit scheme ‘KBL Centenary Deposit Scheme’
 To mark the glorious journey towards the Centenary year (2023-24) Karnataka Bank Limited
(KBL) has launched a unique term deposit scheme ‘KBL Centenary Deposit Scheme’ with a
higher rate of interest.

 The deposit will be for 555 days with an interest rate of 7.20% p.a & for Senior Citizens the rate of
interest will be 7.60% p.a.
Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services partners with IPPB to boost credit access to customers
 Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited, (MMFSL), part of the Mahindra Group & one of
India’s leading Non-Banking Finance Companies, announced a strategic partnership with India
Post Payments Bank (IPPB) to further enhance credit access to a larger customer base.
 It provides cash Equated Monthly Income (EMI) deposit facility to existing MMFSL Customers at
Post Offices.
 The scheme would first go live in IPPB branches in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh.
RBI gives in-principle approval to Cygnet to operate as an NBFC account aggregator

 Fintech firm Cygnet Infotech Private Limited has received in-principle approval from the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) account aggregator.
About Account Aggregator:

 Account Aggregator is one of the largest open financing data-sharing protocols regulated by the
RBI.
 It allows consumers to instantly share their financial data, securely and digitally with various
financial institutions.
Cashfree Payments launches ‘issuance’ solution for fintech firms
 India’s leading payments and Application Programming Interface (API) banking solutions
company, Cashfree Payments India Private Limited, has launched a card issuance stack with its
new solution ‘Issuance’ to enable businesses such as fintech and platforms to launch prepaid
cards and wallets for their customers, employees, and partners.

About ‘Issuance’:
 ‘Issuance’ is a prepaid card and wallet issuance API stack which can be used for payroll &
incentive disbursals, customer loyalty programs, and expense management among other use
cases.
 ‘Issuance’ allows businesses to launch both physical and virtual prepaid cards.
HDFC Securities Opens First Women-Only Digital Center In Bengaluru
 Leading stock brokerage firm, HDFC Securities Limited, has opened the first-ever Women-Only
Digital Centre (DC) in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
 The center, staffed with a team of women aged below 30 years, will serve both male and female
investors.
Aim:
 To encourage these women to take charge of their finances with a women-only team at the new
DC.
 It will be based in Bengaluru and cater to customers from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, and Telangana.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) Collaborate for innovations
in Financial Products and Services
 India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) and Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) have partnered to
enhance the reach of financial solutions to large sections of society across India and enable
frictionless finance to a billion Indians.
 The collaboration will explore projects which will have an impact on the masses by
1. leveraging the deep rural reach of IPPB-Department of Posts (DoP) to take rural finance to a
billion Indians.
2. It will enable access to sustainable and secure financial services to every segment of society,
through research and innovation.
 Additionally, IPPB shall be an active participant and partner with RBIH on initiatives of national
importance led by RBIH.

About RBIH:
 CEO: Shri Rajesh Bansal
 The RBIH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up to promote and
facilitate an environment that accelerates innovation across the financial sector.
 It has been set up as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013 with an initial capital
contribution of Rs. 100 crore.
PhonePe launches its first Green Data Center in India with Dell Technologies and NTT Ltd
 India’s leading fintech platform, PhonePe, has launched its first Green Data Center in India, in
Mumbai, Maharashtra leveraging technologies and solutions from Dell Technologies and NTT.
About Green Data Center:
 The Green Data Center is set to open up new opportunities in data management for PhonePe,
with efficient data security, power efficiency, ease of operations, and cloud solutions.
 The center will also help the company to build sustainable and efficient infrastructure to further
seamlessly scale its operations across the country.

NPCI Bharat Billpay partners Kotak Mahindra Bank for credit card bill payments
 NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd. (NBBL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI), has partnered with Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL) to
introduce its credit cards on the Bharat BillPay ecosystem.
 Kotak Mahindra Bank has become the first private bank to go live in the credit card category on
the Bharat BillPay ecosystem.
 Bharat BillPay is a one-stop destination offering recurring payment services to customers across
several segments including electricity, telecom, DTH, gas, education fees, water, and municipal
taxes, NETC FASTag recharge, loan repayments, insurance, cable, subscription fees, mobile
prepaid recharges, among other things.
ICICI Bank launches Smart Wire for faster SWIFT-based inward remittances
 ICICI Bank has launched Smart Wire, an online solution to help its customers carry out SWIFT
(Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) based inward remittances in a
faster and hassle-free manner.

 The Smart Wire facility allows both Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and resident customers to
undertake inward remittance transactions in an online and paperless way.
 ICICI Bank is the first bank in the country to introduce this faster online solution to receive inward
wire remittances.
BSE gets SEBI nod for social stock exchange as a separate segment
 Stock exchange BSE has got an in-principle nod from the capital market regulator Securities and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the social stock exchange as a separate segment.
 The SEBI had specified minimum requirements to be met by a non-profit organization (NPO) for
registration with SSE, disclosure requirements for NPOs raising funds through the issuance of
zero-coupon zero principal instruments, and put in place annual disclosure requirements that
need to be made by NPOs on such exchanges.
 The listed NPO will have to submit a statement of the utilization of funds to SSE, as mandated
under Sebi's rules, within 45 days from the end of the quarter.
Russia's Gazprombank opens special Re account with UCO Bank
 Russia's Gazprombank has opened a special Rupee account with UCO Bank for undertaking
cross-border trade transactions in the Indian Rupee
 The move to open the special Vostro account clears the deck for settlement of payments in
Rupee for trade between India and Russia, enabling cross-border trade in the Indian currency
which the central bank RBI is keen to promote.
 UCO Bank already has a Vostro account-based facility in Iran.

Indian bank launches digital initiatives under project WAVE
 Public sector lender Indian Bank has rolled out 6 new digital initiatives under ‘Project WAVE’
(World of Advance Virtual Experience) for enhancing customer experience through integrated
services on its digital platform.
 This digital collaboration would enable Bank’s customers to access and buy general insurance
products digitally, anytime, anywhere.
India Post Payment Bank launches group accident insurance plan

 The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) operating under the Department of Posts has launched a
group accident insurance plan with an accidental death coverage of Rs 10 lakh.

 The India Post in partnership with TATA AIG and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance companies will
offer the insurance plan at a premium of Rs 399 or Rs 396 per annum.
IRDAI approved the bima sugam portal
 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), announced the launch of
Bima Sugam, an online marketplace that will house all companies selling life and non-life
insurance on a single platform.
 The portal is scheduled to go live on 1 January 2023.

 The online platform will provide you with a one-stop destination for all insurance needs, providing
services like buying insurance policies, portability facilities, change of insurance agents, and
settling claims.
IRDAI offers more flexibility to general insurance companies

 The Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has offered more flexibility to
general insurance companies in designing and pricing products under miscellaneous lines of
business and allowed them to launch these in the market without prior regulatory approval.
 This is part of IRDAI's endeavor to boost the ease of doing business.
 Earlier, the products with a sum assured above Rs 5 crore could be launched without prior
approval of IRDAI.
 But insurers needed regulatory approval before launching products with a sum assured up to Rs
5 crore.
 Now, IRDAI said that it has extended the ‘Use and File’ procedure, ie. launching insurance
products without prior approval, to all categories.
The BSE has introduced electronic gold receipts:

 The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) released Electronic Gold receipts (EGR) on its platform.
 During the Muhurat trading on Diwali, it presented two new goods with purity levels of 995 and
999.
 Trading will be in 1-gram increments, with deliveries in 10-gram and 100-gram increments.
 It will be settled in T+1. EGR enables efficient gold price discovery and standardization,
transparency in gold transactions, promotion of the India Good Delivery Standard, and payment
guarantees to investors.
 With an annual gold demand of roughly 800-900 tonnes, India is the world's second-largest
consumer of gold, and it plays a significant role in global markets.

 Despite being second only to China in gold consumption, India has remained a price taker in
global markets.
India's foreign reserves have reached a new low, forcing the RBI to spend $118 billion to protect the
INR:
 India's foreign exchange reserves (Forex Reserves) fell to a level not seen in more than two
years, as the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), defended the rupee's fall
while ignoring the serious threat posed by dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
 According to the RBI's Weekly Statistical Supplement, the decline in foreign currency reserves
can be attributed to a decline in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), which account for a sizable
share of overall reserves.
 FCA is the outcome of the appreciation or devaluation of non-US currencies held in foreign
exchange reserves, such as the euro, pound, and yen, represented in dollars.
Shiprocket is the first inter-city logistics company to join the ONDC Network:
 Shiprocket is the first inter-city logistics company to connect to the ONDC network, allowing
vendors from all industries to transport products to cities and towns across India.
 Shiprocket, a provider of shipping and logistics solutions, went operational on the government's
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and completed its first successful transaction.
 Shiprocket claims to be the first inter-city logistics company to connect to the ONDC network,
allowing retailers from all segments to transport products to cities and towns throughout India.
About ONDC:
 ONDC is a private non-profit Section 8 company established by the Government of India's
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to develop open e-commerce.
RBI lifts ban on new branches by Tamilnad Mercantile Bank

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted its 3-year ban on 101-year-old Tamilnad Mercantile
Bank (TMB) on opening new branches

 This comes in the backdrop of the bank's shares getting listed in the Indian Stock Exchanges on
September 15, 2022.
IRDAI sets up a consultative committee to increase health insurance coverage

 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has constituted a 15-
member committee for 2 years, to give suggestions for increasing health insurance coverage in
India.
 The 15-member committee is headed by Rakesh Joshi, a member at IRDAI, & it will have
representatives from the healthcare and insurance industries.

NAREDCO sets up NFC to help builders in getting funds
 National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), under the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has formed a Finance Committee (NFC) on the sidelines of NAREDCO
24th Annual General Meeting to enable developers easy access to funds based on merit and
viability of the projects.
IRDAI forms a 24-member panel to develop insurance coverage for the rural population
 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set up a 24-member
committee to develop and suggest an affordable and comprehensive cover for the rural
population.
 The committee will be headed by Thomas M Devasia, Member (non-life).
 The insurance regulator has also asked the committee to develop and suggest a constitution and
operation of a preferably, women-centric distribution channel to focus on reaching untapped/ rural

areas of Bima Vahak & recommend the regulatory framework.
India needs dedicated wing to release Green GDP estimates - RBI article
 RBI in its estimation of Green GDP for India article, India needs to set up a dedicated wing in the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) that will be responsible for
providing the time-series database required for estimation of Green GDP and releasing estimates
of Green GDP for India periodically regularly.
 Green GDP takes into account estimates for environmental degradation, depletion of natural
resources, and savings of resources and environment into the national income accounts.
 There is also a need for a user-friendly data dissemination platform on the lines of the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Eurostat.
India GDP growth expected to decline to 5.7% in 2022: UNCTAD
 According to the forecast by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) Trade and Development Report 2022, India's economic growth is expected to decline
to 5.7% this year from 8.2% in 2021, citing higher financing costs and weaker public
expenditures.
 India’s GDP will further decelerate to 4.7% growth in 2023.
 UNCTAD projected the global economy is projected to grow at 2.5% in 2022, decelerating further
to 2.2% in 2023.
IMPORTANT BANKING & ECONOMY NEWS- NOVEMBER

BSE completes India’s first successful EGR transaction

 Leading stock exchange BSE Limited has completed India’s first successful creation,
transaction, and settlement of electronic gold receipts (EGRs).
 EGRs are electronic receipts issued based on a deposit of physical gold.

 This would pave the way for the operationalization of a gold exchange in India.
BSE Technologies launches of KYC Registration Agency
 BSE Technologies Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), launched the
Know Your Customer Registration Agency (KYC KRA), which maintains KYC records of investors in
an electronic form.
 KRA is a SEBI-regulated intermediary that grants the market participants authorization for
investors' Know Your Client (KYC), which is mandatory for investment in the securities market.
Infibeam Avenues gets RBI in-principle nod for payment aggregator license
 Infibeam Avenues Limited (IAL), which operates CCAvenue, has received in-principle approval
from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator (PA).
 The move will enable its flagship brand, CCAvenue, to scale offerings and help onboard a
greater number of micro-entrepreneurs onto its fold.

RBI launches the pilot project of the Digital Rupee in the wholesale segment
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has commenced India's first Digital Rupee pilot project to
implement the central bank digital currency (CBDC) or digital rupee in the wholesale segment.
 The first pilot in the Digital Rupee - Retail segment is planned for launch within a month in
select locations in closed user groups comprising customers and merchants.

 RBI has identified 9 banks for participation in the Digital Rupee’s wholesale pilot project which
are
1. State Bank of India (SBI)

2. Bank of Baroda (BoB)
3. Union Bank of India (UBI)
4. HDFC Bank
5. ICICI Bank
6. Kotak Mahindra Bank
7. Yes Bank
8. IDFC First Bank
9. HSBC.
What is Digital Rupee?

 A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or Digital Rupee is a digital form of currency notes
issued by a central bank.

 Digital currency or the rupee is an electronic form of money that can be used in contactless
transactions.
CBDC can be classified into two types

1) Retail (CBDC-R): Retail CBDC would be potentially available for use by all
2) Wholesale (CBDC-W) is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions.

Difference between the digital rupee and cryptocurrency :
 A cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital asset and a medium of exchange based on
blockchain technology.
 However, it has primarily been controversial due to its decentralized nature, meaning its
operation without any intermediary like banks, financial institutions, or central authorities.
 On the Contrary, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) issued by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) will be a legal tender in a digital form.
About RBI :

 Governor : Shaktikanta Das
 Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi
Shankar
HDFC ERGO launches first-of-its-kind satellite index-based Farm Yield Insurance Policy
 HDFC ERGO launched a technology-backed farm yield insurance policy for farmers, a first-of-
its-kind insurance solution, where a satellite-based index will be used to provide localized farm-level
coverage.
About HDFC ERGO :

 MD: Mr. Ritesh Kumar
 HDFC ERGO is a 51:49 joint venture firm between HDFC and ERGO International AG, one of
the insurance entities of the Munich Re Group in Germany.

SEBI Reduces Face Value for Debt Issues to Rs1 Lakh
 The Capital and Commodity markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
reduced the face value of debt security and non-convertible redeemable preference shares issued
on a private placement basis to Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 10 lakh will be applicable from 1
January 2023.
 The face value has been reduced to enhance liquidity in the corporate bond market.
 The issuer thereof will have the option while raising funds through a tranche placement
memorandum, to keep the face value at Rs 10 lakh or Rs 1 lakh.

 Face value is the money amount promised to the holder of the bond upon the maturity of the
bond.
India donates USD 2.5 million to UNRWA for the welfare of Palestine refugees
 The Government of India (GoI) presented USD 2.5 million (the second tranche of a total
contribution of US$ 5 million for the Financial Year 2022-2023) to the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to support Palestinian refugees.
 The UNRWA services for Palestinian refugees involve education, health care, relief,
infrastructure, camp improvement, protection, and microfinance.
 The financial contribution was presented to Ms. Xuran Wu, Associate Donor Relations and
Projects Officer, Department of External Relations, UNRWA at the Representative Office of India in
Ramallah, Palestine.
 India is a dedicated donor to UNRWA, having given USD 20 million in support of core UNRWA
services to Palestine refugees across the Middle East since 2018.
South Indian Bank launches app-based foreign outward remittance

 South Indian Bank has launched a foreign outward remittance service through the ‘SIB Mirror+’
mobile banking application.
 Non-resident external (NRE) and resident savings bank account holders can make foreign
outward remittances through the bank’s ‘SIB Mirror+’ mobile banking application.
 The service is also available on its Internet banking platform ‘SIBERNET’.
Bank of India launches special deposit scheme: star super triple seven FD
 The Bank of India (BoI) launched a special fixed deposit scheme Star Super Triple Seven
Fixed Deposit which will offer a 7.25% rate of interest (7.75% for senior citizens) on a deposit for
777 days.
 Apart from the special deposit scheme, the Bank of India has raised the interest rate on its
existing 555-days fixed deposit scheme to 6.30%.

 Bank of Baroda has also revised interest rates on “Baroda Advantage Fixed Deposits”.
Aegon Life Insurance Unveils iGuarantee Max Savings Plan
 Aegon Life Insurance Company has launched a traditional insurance policy iGuarantee Max
Savings Plan that offers savings and life cover.
About iGuarantee Max Savings Plan :
 The policyholder can choose a policy term between 5 and 20 years, depending on their savings
goal.
 The minimum monthly contribution for the plan is Rs.500, which can be done online with no
paper works, and subscribers could gain higher tax-free returns on their savings.
Aviva Life Insurance launches Aviva Protection Plus policy
 Aviva Life Insurance company has launched the Aviva Protection Plus, a Non-Linked Non-
Participating Individual Life Insurance Savings Plan.
 Aviva Protection Plus offers attractive features with the Maturity Benefit of return of premiums,
Enriched Protection, and Savings Booster options.

SEBI extends the deadline for rules on direct ETF transactions to May 1, 2023
 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) extended the deadline for implementation
of the Rs 25 crore-threshold rule for direct Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) transactions with asset
management companies to May 1, 2023.
 This is the second time the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has extended the
deadline.
SEBI to develop the world's First system for securing stock exchanges from cyberattacks
 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in collaboration with India’s two largest
stock exchanges the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange is developing a
system to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks.

 The event was organized by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Launches SAHYOG
 Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited and an
investment manager to Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, has launched SAHYOG, an initiative to
empower its support staff and their families.

 SAHYOG is a first-of-its-kind initiative, by the mutual fund industry, targeted at improving the
financial health of support staff through steady, long-term investments.
Bank of Baroda launches two Premium Debit Cards with Visa

 Bank of Baroda, one of India’s leading banks, and Visa, the global leader in digital payments,
launched two new premium Debit Cards for Bank of Baroda customers
1. bob World Opulence – a super-premium Visa Infinite Debit Card (Metal Edition)
2. bob World Sapphire – a Visa Signature Debit Card

 PV Sindhu, India’s badminton icon and Bank of Baroda’s brand endorser, unveiled the cards at
the launch event.

Bank of Baroda (BoB) unveils special FD scheme - Baroda Tiranga Plus Deposit Scheme
 The leading public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) launched the “Baroda Tiranga Plus
Deposit Scheme", with higher standard interest rates of up to 7.50% p.a. for 399 days which
includes 0.50% p.a. for senior citizens and 0.25% for non-callable deposits.
 The scheme is applicable on retail term deposits below Rs 2 crore.
 BoB has also increased the premium on Non-Callable Retail Term Deposits from 0.15% per
annum to 0.25% per annum.
 Hence, non-callable deposits will now receive 0.25% per annum extra.
Aditya Birla Health Insurance & IDFC FIRST Bank Partner for Bancassurance
 Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Limited. (ABHICL), the health insurance subsidiary of Aditya
Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), a leading non-bank financial services conglomerate announced its
bancassurance partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank, a new-age bank, for the distribution of health
insurance products through the Bank’s state-of-the-art digital platform and its wide distribution
network.
About Bancassurance :
 Bancassurance is an insurance distribution model where insurance companies partner with
banks to sell policies.
 Both the bank and the insurance company get to benefit from this arrangement.
 While the bank earns a commission from the insurance company, the insurer gains from the
distribution network of the bank.

Chqbook & NSDL Payments Bank tie up to launch a zero-balance digital current account
 Fintech firm Chqbook teamed up with National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) Payments
Bank to open a zero-balance digital checking account for small business owners.
Key Highlights :
 Small business owners like kiranas, and chemists, among others, can open a current account
instantly on the Chqbook App from their smartphone and in a language, they are comfortable with.
 The current account is available in 8 languages making it more accessible and easy to
understand.
 The account offers all the features including downloading account statements to reconcile
transactions, adding and managing beneficiaries, providing transaction history, ensuring easy fund
transfers, and features enhanced biometric security.

 Further, customers receive the advantage of a zero-balance current account along with a free
debit card.
 The customers can also avail of a Point Of Sale (POS) machine with one single click on the
Chqbook App.
Bayer, Rabo Partnerships & MasterCard tie up to build a digital ecosystem for agri-finance
 Bayer, Rabo Partnerships, and Mastercard have come together to launch a scalable program to
advance the digitization of the Indian agricultural finance ecosystem.
 This collaboration brings together the expertise of three companies in digital, agri finance, and
payments technology to bear upon the task of expanding access to agronomic knowledge,
products, services, and partnerships.
Key Highlights :
 Over 5 years, the program aims to benefit 10 million smallholder farmers in India by enabling
them to gain access to formal financial services.
 Smallholder farmers account for 86% of India’s agrarian economy but have difficulty sourcing
quality farm products and are often at the mercy of middlemen when it comes to pricing.
 Mastercard’s Farm Pass is a digital ecosystem platform that works offline, even with feature
phones, connecting buyers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), and other agriculture
ecosystem players with farmers digitally, and helping them get the best value for their produce.
 The solution, which serves over 600,000 farmers in India and 2 million globally, creates a
standard interface for farmers and buyers that facilitates greater efficiency in the agriculture value
chain.
Benefits :
 Financial Inclusion: Farm Pass provides access to financial services for a customer segment
(farmers) that otherwise couldn’t be reached.
 Inclusive Growth: Farmers build credit profiles and histories.

 Higher Incomes: Farmers gain access to marketplaces and more buyers, improving their
livelihoods.
 Convenience: Payments are disbursed digitally, reducing cost, time, and effort per transaction.
 Transparency: Near real-time visibility of end-to-end value chain transactions.
 Operational Efficiencies: Reduced sourcing costs as Farm Pass aggregates produce through
agents.
 Trust & Transparency: Stronger ties between agri-sector partners and greater visibility of
produce.
India Post Payments Bank conducts India’s First Floating Financial Literacy Camp
 India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), conducted India’s First Floating Financial Literacy Camp with
an initiative called ‘Niveshak Didi’ to promote Financial Literacy ‘By the women, for the women, in
Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K).

 The floating financial literacy camp was conducted under the supervision of Shri Gursharan Rai
Bansal, Chief General Manager & Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, and Shri Vishwanath Divya,
Asst. General Manager (Marketing) along with IPPB & DoP team from Srinagar, J&K.
About ‘Niveshak Didi’:

 As part of the launch of the ‘Niveshak Didi’ initiative, IPPB conducted India’s First Floating
Financial Literacy Camp by a newly appointed ‘Niveshak Didi’.
 The Floating Financial Literacy Camp was conducted among the residents around the world-
famous Dal Lake of Srinagar, J&K.
 Niveshak Didi’ initiative is based on the ideology of women as rural area women feel more
comfortable sharing their queries with a female itself.
 Niveshak Didi, a female dakiya, having a deep social connection to rural masses, will be able to
collaborate and resolve their queries in a comfortable environment, at the same time enhancing the
financial awareness, especially for the women”.
 To take the Financial Literacy drive ahead, IPPB, in collaboration with the Investor Education
and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the aegis of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA),
launched the initiative called ‘Niveshak Didi’ to promote Financial Literacy.
MUFG Bank partners with M1xchange to digitize corporate trade finance
 MUFG Bank has partnered with M1xchange to facilitate digital invoice financing for the bank’s
clients.
Key Highlights :
 Under M1xchange’s TReDS (Trade Receivables Discounting System), MSME suppliers get
early funding for their receivables under a bidding mechanism, and this is funded by MUFG Bank,
which takes on the credit risk of the corporate buyers.

 This collaboration allows MUFG Bank to leverage the digital ecosystem established by
M1xchange, thereby enhancing the efficiency of its client services.
 The collaboration with M1xchange demonstrates MUFG’s commitment to meeting the growing
trade finance needs of the industry.
 With this partnership, the bank would offer digital trade solutions to clients while adding value to
Micro Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) enterprises who are the end users of this supply
chain."
RBI Provides approval of C2FO for setting up the TReDS Platform in India
 C2FO, a global on-demand working capital platform, announced that its India arm C2FO
Factoring Solutions Private Limited has got in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to
set up and operate Trade Receivable Discounting Systems (TReDS) platform in India.
 With this, C2FO has become the 4th platform to get the license to operate TReDS after
Receivables Exchange of India Ltd (RXIL), M1Xchange, and Invoicemart.
Key Highlights :
 The fintech platform C2FO provides working capital to businesses and claims to be serving
more than ten lakh businesses across 160 countries.
 Out of these, 2 lakh businesses are in India with a significant share of micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs).
SEBI issues guidelines to standardize the usage of rating scales used by CRAs
 Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with fresh guidelines
to standardise the usage of rating scales used by Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs).
 The new guidelines will come into force from January 1, 2023.
Key Highlights :
 According to Sebi, 'rating outlook' indicates CRA's view on the expected direction of the rating
movement in the near to medium term.
 A 'rating watch' indicates a CRA's view on the expected direction of the rating movement in the
short term.
 SEBI has specified standard descriptors for rating watches and rating outlooks.
RBI conducts special meet to draft report for govt on missing inflation target
 The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) convened a special off-cycle meeting to discuss and
draft the content of the report that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has to send to the government
for missing the inflation target.
 The meeting was chaired by RBI Governor Mr. Shaktikanta Das.

 All the MPC members Michael Debabrata Patra, Rajiv Ranjan, Shashanka Bhide, Ashima
Goyal, and Jayanth R Varma attended the meeting.
Key Highlights :
 The report to be sent to the Government by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the
provisions of Section 45ZN of the RBI Act, 1934 and Regulation 7 of RBI MPC and Monetary Policy
Process Regulations, 2016
 The MPC meeting was held a day after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75
basis points in its fight against inflation.

 Consumer price-based inflation (CPI), or retail inflation, has been above the target range of 2-
6% for three consecutive quarters, or nine straight months from January to September 2022.
 This is for the first time, since the adoption of a new monetary policy framework in 2016, that a
special MPC meeting was called under Section 45ZN of the RBI Act.
 It was the second out-of-turn MPC meeting this year, the first being held in May 2022.
ADB clears $350 million loan to improve road connectivity in Maharashtra

 Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a USD 350 million (about
Rs 2,900 crore) loan to improve the road connectivity of key economic areas in Maharashtra.
Key Highlights :
 The Connecting Economic Clusters for Inclusive Growth in Maharashtra project will further
develop the state's core road network in the Ahmednagar, Hingoli, Jalna, Kohalpur, Nagpur,
Nanded, Nashik, Pune, Sangli, and Satara districts.

 It will help connect underdeveloped rural communities with off-farm opportunities and markets,
improve access to health and social services and improve agricultural value chains by reducing
transport costs for small and medium-sized enterprises.
 It will build on the Maharashtra State Road Improvement Project approved by ADB in April 2020
to upgrade state highways and major district roads.
HDFC Mutual Fund launches two exchange-traded sectoral indices

 HDFC Mutual Fund has launched two new exchange-traded funds – HDFC Nifty IT ETF and
HDFC Nifty Private Bank ETF to expand their suite of “HDFC MF Index Solutions”, which the fund
house has been managing for the past 20 years.

 These index funds offer a simple way to gain exposure to the growing IT and Private Bank
space.
The objective of the funds :
 To provide investment returns that, before expenses, correspond to the total returns of the
Securities as represented by the Nifty IT Index and Nifty Private Bank Index.
 The captioned new fund offers opened on October 28, 2022, and will close on November 9,
2022.
Emirates NBD invests USD 100 million more in India, opens two more branches
 United Arab Emirates-based bank Emirates NBD announced an additional USD 100 million
investment in its India operations and added two more branches in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and
Gurugram, Haryana
 The lender, having the largest presence in the Middle East region, has so far invested USD 300
million in the last 5 years of its operations in India in three tranches, its group head for international
and group strategy.

Max Life ties up with Ditto for Online Life Insurance Distribution
 Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. has announced a life insurance product distribution tie-up
with Tacterial Consulting Private Limited (Ditto).

Aim :
 To leverage Ditto's diversified insurance advisory platform to offer Max Life's plans to online
customers.
Key Highlights :
 In the initial phase, Ditto will sell multiple variations of Max Life's protection plan providing
comprehensive coverage against Death, Disease & Disability along with applicable riders facilitated
via a seamless digital distribution model.
 The tie-up aims to improve Max Life's customer experience by leveraging Ditto's insurance
advisory capabilities and technological prowess to enhance life insurance penetration in the country.
SME lending startup ftcash gets NBFC license from RBI
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted ftcash, a startup in Small and Medium Enterprise
(SME) lending, a license to set up a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
Aim :
 To disburse loans worth ₹100 crores in FY23.
 The company has partnerships with Northern Arc, Ugro, and Ambit for providing credit offerings
to their customers.
AIIB & GEAPP partners to accelerate the energy transition
 The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Global Energy Alliance for People and
Planet (GEAPP) announced a collaboration and strategic investment partnership for mobilizing up
to $1 billion for the financing of green energy transition and renewable energy projects, in both the
public and private sectors.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency signs MoU with SIDBI to finance green MSMEs
 The government body for energy efficiency Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
for Micro Small & Medium Enterprise (MSMEs).

Aim :
 To promote energy efficiency financing for MSMEs and explore the internet of things (IoT)-
based solutions, greening MSMEs, capacity building of various stakeholders, etc.

 The announcement comes weeks after SIDBI announced partnerships with multiple
stakeholders to help MSMEs become more energy efficient in their operations to support India’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 targets.

MF penetration: Maharashtra, Delhi in lead; Jharkhand in top 10
 According to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), Maharashtra, New
Delhi, and Goa have the highest mutual fund (MF) penetration in India, due to high-income levels,
better literacy rates, and high inflows from corporates and net worth individuals. (HNIs).
 However, it is not that all higher-income and developed states have high MF penetration and all
'poorer' states lag.
NPCI introduces BHIM App open source license model
 The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) an initiative by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) and the Indian Banks Association (IBA), has announced the launch of the BHIM App open-
source license model.
Aim :
 In a step ahead towards attaining the goal of ‘Digital Payments for All’
 The NPCI will licence the source code of the BHIM app to regulated entities which do not yet
have a Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app of their own, to empower them to launch their own UPI
app.
NIIFL signs pact with JBIC to boost Japanese investments in India

 The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to promote and
enhance Japanese investments in India.
 The MoU sets a framework for collaboration between NIIFL and JBIC, which is considering the
creation of a bilateral India-Japan Fund (IJF).
Key Highlights :
 JBIC and the Government of India will invest in the India-Japan Fund, which will make equity
investments in environmental preservation and low carbon emission strategies
 The fund will also enhance cooperation between the two countries by investing in strategic
partnerships between Japanese and Indian companies and promoting business collaboration
across multiple sectors in India.
 JBIC will consider providing debt financing under their Global action for Reconciling Economic
growth and Environmental preservation (GREEN) initiative to investee companies of funds
managed by NIIFL.
Objective :
 To maximize economic impact mainly through infrastructure investment in commercially viable
projects, both greenfield, and brownfield.
 NIIFL is an active investor in sustainable and climate-friendly technologies and solutions

through its investments in Ayana Renewable Power, IntelliSmart Infrastructure, Ather Energy, and
the Green Growth Equity Fund.
SEBI receives lesser complaints on average till Oct FY23 - SCORES data
 According to data shared by SCORES, the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board
of India (SEBI) received an average of 3,011 complaints every month so far in the financial year
2022-23 (FY23).
 Further analysis shows that there is a 15.4% decline over the 3,558 average monthly
complaints in FY21-22.
ICICI Lombard launches a range of health insurance products
 General Insurance company ICICI Lombard has launched 14 new Insurance solutions across
Health, Motor, and Corporate segments.

 The offerings are propelled by the recently introduced “Use and File” framework from the
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and new types of risks emerging
in all sectors be it pandemic, climate change, or data privacy.
HDFC Bank partners with Arzooo to offer Purchase Cards to Retailers with up to Rs 1 Cr credit
● HDFC Bank (India’s largest Private sector Bank) partners with Arzooo (India’s fastest-growing Retail
Tech Platform) to launch Purchase cards that have been exclusively designed for offline retailers.
Aim :
● To roll out over one lakh such credit cards over the next 12 months.
Key features :
● The card offers interest-free credit for up to a month and a credit limit of up to Rs 1 crore.
● Also, it is integrated with the Arzooo mobile application for ease of use during checkout.
● In 2022, Arzooo disbursed Rs 100 Crore worth of credit to retailers.

Union Bank of India launches Union Vyom app & various new products on the occasion of 104th
Foundation Day
● Union Bank of India, the country’s 5th largest public sector bank, marked its 104th foundation day at
Mumbai, Maharashtra after being founded on 11 November 1919 and having its first head office
inaugurated by the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi in 1921.

● On this occasion, Bank launched a super app – the Union Vyom app& various other digital products.
About Union Vyom App :
● Union Vyom App is the super app of the Bank, is a one-stop solution for all financial products.
● It is empowered to deliver a unique experience of banking to customers where customers can do
transactions beyond traditional banking.
● Apart from online transactions, customers can avail of Retail, MSME loan, and credit card, make
investments in 5000+ mutual fund schemes, and buy insurance products without any assistance.
Other Launches :
● Union Sparsh- Touch debit card, specially designed for the visually impaired.
● Union Muskaan- Zero balance saving account for children of 0-18 years ago, having facility of term
insurance, accidental death insurance, SMS banking, NEFT, and IMPS at no cost.
● Also, avail of education loans at a concessional rate.
● Union Channel Finance- A fully automated financing solution for finance to dealers.
● Union Digi-Sahaj- An online account opening platform to open a savings account instantly.
● Union SARAS- A portal named Stressed Asset Recovery Automated Solution, developed for early
resolution and effective management of stressed assets having end-to-end processing automation
of all recovery and legal proceedings.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance launches long-term savings product - ICICI Pru Sukh Samruddhi
● ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited has launched a new participating savings product,
‘ICICI Pru Sukh Samruddhi,’ which provides customers with guaranteed benefits and growth
potential in the form of bonuses.
● Besides, the life cover continues for the entire duration of the policy, including the income period,
providing financial security to the family.
● This product also provides a higher maturity benefit to women customers to encourage them to
embark on their savings journey and achieve financial independence.
NPCI enables electricity bill payments on 123PAY for feature phone users
● The National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI) announced that electricity bill payments service for
more than 70 electricity boards has been enabled on 123PAY, an instant payment system for
feature phones.
● It is powered by Bharat Bill Payment System(BBPS), this feature will facilitate a smooth and quick
electricity bill payment service through 123PAY for users to instantly make payments directly from
their bank accounts.
Key Highlights :
● 123PAY was developed by NPCI for feature phone users to allow them to undertake digital
transactions based on four technology alternatives:

1. calling an IVR (interactive voice response) number
2. app functionality in feature phones
3. missed call-based approach,

4. proximity sound-based payments.
● With the launch of electricity bill payments on 123Pay, the need for feature phone users to conduct
a paper check or pay in cash at the utility office will be eliminated.
RBI Revokes Authorisation Certificate of Chennai-Based GI Technology

● The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revoked the certificate of authorisation (CoA) of Chennai-
based GI Technology Private Limited over governance concerns and non-compliance with
regulatory requirements.
● The company is in the business of issuance and operation of prepaid payment instruments.
● Following the revocation of the CoA, GI Technology cannot transact the business of issuance and
operation of prepaid payment instruments
● However, customers or merchants having a valid claim, if any, on the company as PSO, can
approach the company for settlement of their claims.

SEBI Introduces Regulatory Framework to Facilitate Online Bond Platform Providers
● Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a regulatory
framework to facilitate providers of online bond platforms that are selling listed debt securities.
● The move will also enhance the confidence among investors, particularly non-institutional investors,
as the platforms would be provided by SEBI-regulated intermediaries.
Key Highlights :
● To this effect, SEBI has amended NCS (Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Securities)
Regulations.
● A person acting as an online bond platform-provider without registration certificate prior to the date
of this regulation coming into force can continue to do so for a period of three months.
● Under the new rules, no person would act as an online bond platform-provider without obtaining
registration certificate as a stockbroker from SEBI.
● The regulator has defined online bond platform as any electronic system, other than a recognised
stock exchange or an electronic book-provider platform, on which the debt securities which are
listed or proposed to be listed, are offered and transacted.
● Further, online bond platform-provider means any person operating or providing such a platform.
KVG Bank renews bancassurance pact with LIC

● Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a Dharwad-headquartered regional rural bank and Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India have renewed their agreement through a memorandum of
understanding for bancassurance (for selling life Insurance products through the branches of
KVGB) tie-up.
● The bank will market LIC’s products through its 639 branches in Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Belagavi,
Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts.

● The bank is renewing the pact with LIC mainly to increase insurance penetration in rural areas and
to provide better deal to customers on service and premium.
SEBI tweaks takeover code to facilitate disinvestment of PSUs

● The market regulator SEBI has amended its Takeover Code to facilitate transactions involving
change in control of State-owned enterprises or Public Sector Undertakings (PSus).
● Through the latest changes, the earlier requirement of calculating 60 days volume weighted
average market price (VWAMP) for determination of open offer price in case of disinvestment of
PSU Companies, wherein it results in its change in control, has been dispensed with.
● Separately, SEBI notified rules reducing the minimum holding requirement of real estate investment
trust (REITs) units by sponsors to 15% from 25% at present, a move aimed at encouraging more
companies to float REITs.
● The REIT for a period of at least three years from the date of listing of such units pursuant to initial
offer on a post-issue basis
● However, any holding of the sponsor and sponsor group exceeding the minimum holding, would be
held for at least one year from the date of listing of such units.
● In another notification, the regulator has discontinued a separate regulatory framework for unlisted
infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) & this would come into force from 1 January 2023.
State Bank of India signs €150 million solar loan agreement with Germany’s KfW
● The State Bank of India (SBI) has received an additional low-interest loan of €150 million (about
₹1,240 crore) from Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank to finance
solar projects in India.
● The two banks signed the loan agreement under the Indo-German solar energy partnership.
Key Highlights :
● The loan primarily funds innovative technologies, such as automated dry cleaning of solar modules
to reduce water consumption.
● This loan will further contribute to India’s “Panchamrit” goals announced during COP26.
● This is the second loan SBI has received from the German development bank.
● The first loan of €150 million (~$150.66 million) was granted in 2017, to enable the construction of
larger solar farms with an output between 50 and 250 MW and the infrastructure to connect them to
the electricity grid.
● After securing a Euro 150 million Credit line for solar energy finance from a German financial
institution, State Bank of India is in talks with European Investment Bank for about Euro 200 million
to fund climate finance.
● In 2015, the Government of India and the Federal Republic of Germany signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to foster the use of solar energy in India through technical as well as financial
cooperation.
IFSCA signs MoU with RBI in the field of regulation, supervision of regulated entities
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
have inked a cooperative agreement for the regulation and supervision of regulated entities in their
respective jurisdictions.
 The sharing of information and technical cooperation is made easier by this MoU.
 The agreement intends to improve the security, soundness, and stability of the respective financial
ecosystems while assuring favourable business settings and economic growth.
 The MoU creates opportunities for collaboration between the two regulators, increasing the security,
soundness, and stability of their respective financial ecologies and fostering settings that are ideal
for company development and economic progress, according to the release.
About IFSCA
 IFSCA is a statutory organisation with its headquarters in Gandhinagar's GIFT City and was
founded by the IFSCA Act 2019. Its goal is to create and oversee the financial services, financial
institutions, and financial goods in the international financial services centres (IFSCs).
ESAF Bank gets top 'Best in Class' ESG Ratings
 ESAF Small Finance Bank was awarded the “best in class” rating for the environment, social,
and governance (ESG) practices from CareEdge Ratings.
 ESAF is also the first Indian member bank of the Global Alliance on Banking on Values (GAVB).
 ESAF SFB has joined the growing tide of financial corporations worldwide in their fight against
the practice of “greenwashing” or faking ESG credentials.

Key Highlights :
 ESG practice gave 4 out of 5 points for the bank’s commitment towards ESG integration.
 ESAF Bank has been maintaining a well-defined policy towards environmental and social
sustainability and has effectively implemented it across its business verticals.
About Greenwashing :
 Greenwashing refers to a situation wherein a corporation or a firm spends more time and
money on marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimizing its environmental
impact.
 In other words, it is a marketing ploy intended to mislead consumers who prefer to buy goods
and services from environmentally conscious companies.

ICICI Venture invests 360 crores in the cello world
 ICICI Venture, the alternative investment arm of ICICI Bank, has invested ₹360 crores, or
around $44.3 million, in consumer houseware company Cello World, marking its first bet from the
fifth private equity (PE) fund.
Key Highlights :
 ICICI Venture’s fifth PE fund has raised $325 million within a few months from its launch, mainly
from existing investors - large sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, banks, funds of funds,
and family offices.
 The PE major has invested in over 60 companies across all four funds.
 Some of its marquee investments include the recently-listed Go Fashions India, Theobroma
Foods, Metropolis Health Services, Home Solutions (a subsidiary of Pantaloons Retail, owned by
Aditya Birla Group), Bharat Biotech and Epack Durable Pvt Ltd.
 Cello World is the flagship company of Cello Group, which provides consumer houseware
products across steel, plastic, glass, and opalware categories.
Max Life launches life insurance plan - Smart Wealth Advantage Guarantee
 Max Life Insurance has launched Smart Wealth Advantage Guarantee Plan, a non-linked, non-
participating individual life insurance savings plan that offers guaranteed returns, life insurance
cover, and financial protection all combined in one product.
 The product offers the receipt of the annual income on a preferred date decided by the
policyholder, and not necessarily at the anniversary of the policy issuance.
Key features :
Enhanced flexibility:
 The plan allows you to choose premium payment terms, deferment periods, and income
duration.
 It has a ‘Save the Date’ feature which allows you to receive annual income on your special date
of the year like birthdays, marriage anniversaries, etc.
Guaranteed income:
 It offers to get easy liquidity with income payout as early as the first month.
 Additionally, the policyholders can get income returns for up to 30-40 years with a lump sum at
maturity.
Comprehensive Financial Security for your loved ones:

 The plan offers a life cover if the life insured dies untimely during the policy term.
 The plan also comes with an in-built accidental death benefit that pays an additional amount if
the insured dies.

Facility to Avail Loans:
 The plan also helps you avail of loans against your policy to meet your urgent financial
requirements.
Secured Retirement:
 The plan offers you to get tax-free income for life.

 The GST is applicable on premiums as per prevailing tax laws.
 Under Selected Variants, policyholders can get returns of 50% of Total Premiums Payable at
the age of 85 years, applicable under select variants only.

Fintech Open gets RBI nod for payment aggregator license
 Open, a neo-banking fintech, has received in-principle approval from the regulatory authority,
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), for a Payment Aggregator Gateway (PA/PG) license.
 A PA provides payment services to merchants and e-commerce sites by accepting payment

instruments from customers.
 In a new set of guidelines in March 2020, the RBI mandated that all PAs be authorized by the
central bank.
 In May 2022 Open became the 100th Indian unicorn, a startup valued at $1 billion or above
after it raised $50 million led by IIFL.

NABARD sanctions Rs 220.50 crore to Odisha for flood protection projects
● The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned 57 flood
protection projects and 1 rural bridge amounting to Rs 220.50 crore for Odisha under the Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF).
● The project would be implemented by the Department of Water Resources (DOWR- Major &
Medium), Government of Odisha.
Karnataka Bank launches CASA campaign
● Karnataka Bank has launched the CASA (current account savings account) campaign of 2022-23
for 100 days towards the 100th year of its existence.

● The event was graced by the Directors of the Bank, Justice A V Chandrashekar, Dr. D S Ravindran,
Shri Kalmanje Gururaj Acharya, Chief Business Officer Shri Gokuldas Pai, General Managers and
Top Executives of the Bank.

● Under this nationwide campaign starting from 15th Nov 2022 to 24th Mar 2023, the Bank intends to
open more than 3.65 lakhs Current & Savings accounts by the active involvement of all of its
workforce in all 883 branches, across India.
Maharashtra to get $400-m ADB loan for 5,000 e-buses
● The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given in-principle approval for a $400-million loan to the
Maharashtra government to bring in 5,000 electric buses.
● This was announced by the State’s Principal Secretary (Transport & Ports), Parrag Jaiin-Nainutia.
● He was participating in a discussion at the India pavilion at the COP27 international climate
conference on decarbonising India’s transport sector using e-mobility.
InsuranceDekho partners with LIC to offer latter's products across India
● InsuranceDekho, an insurtech, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC) through which the latter’s products will be available for all customers on
its platform pan-India.
Key Highlights :
● The partnership will help provide insurance policies and establish 100% penetration in the remotest
towns of the country.
● Currently, InsuranceDekho has more than 330 products from 45 insurers on its platform.
Tata Power Solar Systems ties up with Union Bank of India to facilitate solar rooftop adoption in the
MSME sector
 Tata Power Solar Systems (TPSSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable
Energy (TPREL), has tied up with Union Bank of India (UBI) to help the MSME (Micro, Small, and
Medium Enterprises) sector switch to solar solutions.

Objective :
 To improve access to green energy and save on the cost of electricity, thus making MSMEs
more profitable.
Key Highlights :
 The association will be implemented under UBI’s solar scheme called Union Solar.
 MSMEs can avail of the dual services of Solar EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction)
by TPSSL, financed through a term loan facility by UBI, wherein industries can avail up to Rs 8
crore of the loan amount at interest rates (exclusive for Tata Power customers) with nil or minimum
collateral.
 The scheme also requires a minimum down payment of only 20% of the project cost.
Shriram Life gets PFRDA nod to become the annuity service provider
 Shriram Life Insurance Company (SLIC) is empanelled as an Annuity Service Provider by the
Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA).
 The empanelment will help the insurance major manage the annuity component of the maturity
proceeds under the National Pension System (NPS).

 SLIC’s empanelment as ASP will help it mobilize 40% of the NPS maturity amount which will be
open to investment in annuity schemes.
 The annuity premium mobilization in India is above ₹25,000 crore per year.
 MD & CEO : Casparus Kromhout

HDFC Capital & CREDAI collaborate to accelerate investments into realty projects in tier 2,3 cities
 HDFC Capital Advisors, a subsidiary of India’s largest private mortgage lender HDFC, has
entered into a collaboration with the property developers' body the Confederation of Real Estate
Developers' Association of India (CREDAI) to accelerate investments into real estate projects in tier
II and III cities.

 This announcement was made by CREDAI at the 'NATCON 2022' annual event held at YAS
Island in Abu Dhabi.
Key Highlights :
 The real estate private equity investment manager will be investing in mid-income and
affordable projects in these cities through its $3 billion fund.

 CREDAI also partnered with India’s first and largest integrated incubator and accelerator for
startups – Venture Catalysts & NeoVon – to set up a $100 million fund - ‘Spyre VC Proptech Fund’.
Navi Enters Into Co-Lending Partnership With Piramal For Digital Personal Loans
 Navi Group, a technology-driven financial products, and services company has partnered with
Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Ltd to offer digital personal loans in India.
About the Partnership :

 The partnership would allow the fintech startup to serve 11,000+ pin codes across India.
 Under the partnership, customers can get digital personal loans of up to INR 20 Lakh with a
tenure of up to 72 months via the startup’s app.
 Piramal Finance will fund 80% of the loans generated by the partnership, while the rest will
come from Navi Finserv, a subsidiary of Navi Technologies.

Union Bank of India Ranks Second in IBA’s EASE Reform Index
 As per the report on Enhanced Access & Service Excellence (EASE) Reforms Index for Q1 FY
2022-23 by Indian Banks' Association (IBA), Union Bank of India is the 2nd Best Bank in adopting
reforms prescribed for Public Sector Banks.
Top 5 on EASE Reforms Index :
1. State Bank of India (SBI) - 58.4
2. Union Bank of India (UBI) - 58.3

3. Bank of Baroda (BoB)- 52.3
4. Punjab National Bank (PNB) - 41.1

5. Canara Bank - 39.1
About EASE :
 EASE is an initiative by the DFS (GOI) as part of the PSB Reforms Agenda and is currently
under its fifth iteration which focuses on Enhanced Digital experience, Integrated and Inclusive
Banking.
India's economy to grow up to 6.3% in Q2 of FY23: RBI
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects India's economy to record growth between 6.1% and
6.3% for the second quarter of the financial year FY23.
 RBI stated that if these growth rates are realized then the country is on course for a growth rate
of about 7% in 2022-23.
ICICI Bank introduces deposit-linked loans and dollar bonds for NRIs
 ICICI Bank Limited has launched two new products namely Loan Against Deposits (LAD) and
Dollar Bonds for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) customers at its branch in Gujarat International Finance
Tec-City (GIFT City), the Gujarat-based emerging global financial and IT services hub.
Note :
 ICICI Bank is the first bank to offer these products in GIFT City.
About LAD :
 The loan against deposits facility is similar to a loan in foreign currency against a deposit in
India and includes non-resident external fixed deposits in rupees.

 Up to 95% of the deposit value can be availed of using this loan and customers can borrow for
flexible tenures at fixed or floating interest rates.
About dollar bonds :

 It is an alternate investment option for NRIs, where they can book dollar bonds through ICICI
Bank in GIFT City.
 For dollar bonds, ICICI Bank is offering over 50 marquee issuers and companies for such
securities.
Other key offerings at GIFT City for NRI customers are:
Global Current Account:
 This is a non-interest-bearing account that does not require any minimum balance.
 It helps NRIs to deposit money in India in foreign currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP.
Global Savings Account:

 NRIs can deposit money for the short term and earn interest in this savings account.
Term Deposits:
 They are similar to Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) deposits with a minimum lock-in
period of 7 days compared to one year for FCNR in India.
 Customers can deposit in currencies such as USD, EUR, and GBP.
Ather Energy partners with IDFC Bank for an electric 2-wheeler financing scheme
 Ather Energy, a smart electric scooter manufacturer has announced its partnership with IDFC
Bank to offer a first-in-the-industry financing option to customers.
Key Highlights :
 Customers can purchase an Ather 450X or 450 Plus electric scooter from the scheme with as
little as a 5% down payment.
 This is the first time IDFC has offered all of this in an electric two-wheeler space.
 This scheme is expected to make Ather scooters more accessible to customers by offering a
lucrative financing option to customers and driving faster adoption of electric vehicles.
 Ather is the first OEM to be granted a 48-month loan term for its scooters.
 Hero MotCorp supported start-up delivered 8,213 units in October 2022, achieving its highest
monthly sales ever.

India's GDP growth to slow to 5.9% in 2023 - Goldman Sachs
 As per Goldman Sachs, the economic growth forecast of India has been reduced to 5.9% in 2023,
from an estimated 6.9% growth in 2022

 Reason: As the boost from the post-COVID reopening fades and monetary tightening weighs on
domestic demand.
 Goldman Sachs has also expected that inflation will drop to 6.1% in 2023, from 6.8% in 2022.
 Recently, RBI has also pegged the domestic growth rate at 7% for 2022-23.
HDFC Bank partners with Flywire to offer Digitize Education Payments from India
● HDFC Bank Limited has partnered with Flywire Corporation, a global payments enablement and
software company, to help Indian payers to easily pay international education fees to higher
education institutions digitally.

● The collaboration between HDFC Bank and Flywire offers a new method to international education
payments that benefits both students and institutions.
● The connection enables a smooth and digital payment experience.

● The integration also simplifies the compliance procedure for the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised
Remittance Scheme (LRS), which allows Indian residents to transmit up to $250,000 USD overseas
per fiscal year.
● HDFC Bank works directly with Flywire’s platform, giving Indian students a fully digital checkout
experience for everything from application fees to tuition payments.
● Students can pay in Indian rupees and enjoy a safe and simple payment experience, with the
confidence that the funds will be delivered to the educational institution.
● According to the 2022 Open Doors Report, approximately 200,000 Indian students studied in the
United States during the academic year 2021-2022, a 19% increase over the previous year.
Federal Bank launches NRE deposits with higher interest rates
● Federal Bank launched a deposit scheme for Non Resident Indians (NRIs) titled ‘Deposit Plus’,
which offers higher interest than the existing Non-Residential External (NRE) NRE fixed deposits.
● The maximum interest rate offered in this scheme is 7.50 percent for a tenure of 700 days.
Bank of Baroda opens its first dedicated mid-corporate branch in Kochi

● Bank of Baroda (BoB) has opened its first mid-corporate Branch in Kerala at Kochi.
● The branch was inaugurated by Debadatta Chand, Executive Director in the presence of S.
Rengarajan, GM (Head - Mid Corporate Cluster South) and Sreejith Kottarathil, Zonal Head-
Ernakulam.
● The key focus of the mid corporate branch is to increase corporate book size and income to
improve turnaround time (TAT) for corporate proposals and provide enhanced service to corporate
customers
● The branch will cater to mid-corporate, large corporate, and PSU borrowers and provide corporate
loans, trade finance, forex, and cash management services.

BillBox unveils wearable device for contactless payments
● BillBox, one of the leading customized solution providers in the payments & merchant ecosystem in
India has launched a disruptive product – TapTap – in association with NSDL Payments Bank &
Visa.
Aim:
● To simplify payments and offer users convenience.

● It has been launched with silicon band, silicon strap and silicon loop which will be available in white,
black and blue colors

Airtel Payments Bank rolls-out e-KYC based on face authentication for opening savings account
● Airtel Payments Bank, a fintech subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, has launched a Face Authentication-
based savings bank account opening for customers.
● Airtel Payments Bank is the first Payments Bank in the country to offer this facility.
● The Business Correspondents (BCs) of the bank would be able to open an account for the user just
by undertaking the face authentication e-KYC (Know Your Customer).
● The facility will further ease the account opening process making it seamless & convenient for
customers.
● The authentication is processed using a newly developed mobile application by the Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Recent News :
● Airtel Payments Bank integrated with the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) -
National Financial Switch (NFS) to facilitate Micro ATM transactions for debit card users residing
beyond the metro and tier 1 cities in India.
SEBI frames guidelines for AIFs for declaring first close of a scheme
● Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with guidelines for
alternative investment funds (AIFs) for declaring the first close of a scheme.
● It has also specified the manner of calculating the tenure of a close-ended scheme of an AIF and
prescribed a fee for change in control of the manager or sponsor.

About the guidelines :
● The first close of a scheme is required to be declared not later than 12 months from the date of the
capital markets regulator's communication for taking the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) of
the scheme on record.
● In the case of open-ended schemes of Category III AIFs, the first close would refer to the close of
their Initial Offer Period.
● The fee would be paid within 15 days of effecting the proposed change in manager/sponsor or
change in control of manager/sponsor.

OECD - Global growth to slow to 3.1% in 2022, 2.2% in 2023
● According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Economic
Outlook Nov 2022, Global gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slide from 3.1 % in
2022 to 2.2% in 2023.
Reason :
● Tighter monetary policy, higher real interest rates, soaring energy prices, weak real household
income growth
Key Highlights :
● The United States economy would only grow by 0.5% in 2023, compared with 1.8% in 2022.
● India which is projected to have the world’s second-highest growth rate in 2022, after Saudi Arabia
with a 6.6% but may face a slowdown next year with an estimated 5.7% growth.
● Meanwhile, China is projected to grow just 3.3% in 2022 and 4.6% in 2023.
IDFC First Bank launches India’s 1st sticker-based debit card - FIRSTAP
 IDFC First Bank in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has
introduced FIRSTAP, India's first sticker-based debit card.
Aim :
 To permit transactions by simply tapping the sticker on a point-of-sale terminal that supports
Near Field Communication (NFC).
About FIRSTAP :
 This IDFC FIRST Bank Sticker debit card has a complimentary personal accidental cover,
round-the-clock concierge services, and a variety of RuPay offers.

 The debit card is one-third the size of a regular debit card.
 Customers can affix the Sticker-based Debit Card on any surface of their choice, such as cell
phones, identity cards, wallets, tabs, AirPods cases, etc.
 The touch-free way to pay enables payments in seconds for transactions up to Rs 5,000 without
a pin, and those beyond that, with a tap and PIN.
Flipkart & Axis Bank partner to launch ‘Flipkart Axis Bank Super Elite’ Credit Card
 Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, and Axis Bank, the third largest private
sector bank in India, have partnered to launch the ‘Super Elite Credit Card.
Purpose :
 To scale the Flipkart SuperCoins reward program and enhance the customer shopping
experience.
Key Highlights :
 With the new credit card, customers on Flipkart can earn a total of eight SuperCoins for every
Rs100 spent.
 The customers can earn a maximum of 200 SuperCoins on every successful transaction.
 The Card bears a fee of 500 rupees per month.

 Flipkart Plus customers earn a total of 16 SuperCoins for every Rs 100 spent and they can earn
a maximum of 400 SuperCoins on every successful transaction on Flipkart.
 For all other transactions outside of Flipkart, customers will earn two SuperCoins with no upper
limit for every Rs 100 spent on all eligible spends.
Federal Bank Partners With JCB India To Finance Heavy Equipment Buyers
 Federal Bank has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JCB India, a leading
manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment to finance the prospective buyers of
heavy construction equipment and boost its loan portfolio.

 Under the arrangement, Federal Bank is the preferred finance partner of the construction
equipment manufacturer, where JCB's customers can avail of loans from the lender at competitive
interest rates.
 This arrangement will boost the financing options for JCB's customers in India
India's GDP growth may average 6.3% between 2021 and 2030: S&P report
 The S&P Global Market Intelligence projected India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth
to average 6.3% annually between financial years 2021 and 2030 in FY 2021-30.
 India will overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy in nominal
US dollar terms.
 Real income per capita is projected to achieve significant average growth of 5.3%, with Indian
households becoming the greatest spenders among G20 economies.

 The government was banking on production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes as tools to make
the Indian economy more export-driven and more interlinked in global supply chains.
 India’s manufacturing exports have struggled to gain global market share, while the share of
manufacturing in India’s GDP declined from 17% in FY09 to 14% in FY21.

Canara Bank Partners with NeSL to Launches Electronic Bank Guarantee
 Canara Bank in partnership with National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) launched an
Electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG) on its 117th Founder’s day.
About Electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG) :
 The platform offers several advantages such as greater transparency, better monitoring
triggers, and secured transmission of Bank Guarantees to the beneficiary which shall lead to a
higher degree of compliance.
 Now, Canara Bank offers an API-based digital workflow of Bank guarantees which will eliminate
physical issuance, stamping, verification, and paper-based record maintenance of Bank Guarantees
to pave the way to augment the integration of the Environmental & Social Governance (ESG)
framework into Business.
Recent News :
 Canara Bank launched Canara ai1, a mobile banking super app with more than 250 features
with the futuristic vision of “One Bank, One App” and was also ranked 1st under the Digital Payment
performance as on Mar 31, 2022 (i.e. FY 2021-22) by the Ministry of Electronics & Information
Technology (MeitY).
RBI Includes GSTN As A Financial Information Provider Under the Account Aggregator Framework
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has included the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) as
a financial information provider (FIPs) under the account aggregator (AA) frame to facilitate cash
flow-based lending to the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
 The Department of revenue shall be the regulator of GSTN for this specific purpose and GST
returns, viz. Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-3B, shall be the financial information
 As per the latest data, around 2.47 million cumulative accounts have been linked to the AA
network while 2.5 million cumulative counts of consent requests have been successfully fulfilled.
About AA :
 Launched: September 2021
 Account aggregators have licensed Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) that enable the
instant exchange of financial data between Financial Information Providers (FIP) and Financial
Information Users (FIUs).
 So far, there are 6 AAs in India with operating licenses and 9 AAs with in-principle approval
from RBI.
BOB Partners with solar start-ups ASPL & AFPL
 Bank of Baroda has allied with Aerem Solutions Pvt Ltd (ASPL) and its subsidiary, Aerem
Finance Pvt Ltd (AFPL) and its subsidiary, Aerem Finance Pvt Ltd (AFPL), for the financing of Solar
Rooftop projects for captive use by Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
 Aerem Solutions enables rooftop solar installations for MSMEs, while Aerem Finance is an
NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 Under the agreement, the public sector bank will provide collateral-free loans at affordable rates
to MSMEs for the installation of captive solar rooftop projects.
 The collaboration is expected to encourage MSMEs to adopt solar energy, significantly reducing
power bills and increasing the profitability of the business as well as supporting the development
and growth of the renewable energy market in India.
Note :
 Founder and CEO of AEREM: Anand Jain

About BoB :

 Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat, India
 MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha
Absolute & DigiSafe Jointly Launches Digifasal-DIY Insurance for Farmers

● Absolute, a plant bioscience company, in partnership with DigiSafe Insurance has launched India's
first do-it-yourself (DIY) insurance marketplace, Digifasal.
● The product is introduced on Upaj, Absolute's agcloud ecosystem.

● Adverse climatic conditions have resulted in India losing approximately 69 million hectares of crop
area in the last 6 years.

About Digifasal :
● Upaj has been developed by over 100 artificial intelligence and machine learning engineers over the
course of 7 years.
● Digifasal will supplement insurance schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana by
providing farmers with affordable insurance options.
● Insurance penetration in rural India is less than 4% due to pricing, a lack of trust, and lengthy claim
settlement processes.
● Farmers can choose parametric insurance products from several insurers available in their
respective pin codes.
● It serves a million farmers at every stage of crop production with services such as soil testing,
advisory, and now, insurance.
Sany Bharat signs MoU with Union Bank of India for Equipment Financing
● Sany Bharat signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Bank of India to make
equipment financing an easy, efficient, and simple process.

Signatories :
● Dheeraj Panda, Chief Operating Officer (Sales, Marketing & Customer Support) Sany Heavy
Industry India Pvt. Ltd.
● C.M. Minocha, Chief General Manager, Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME), Union Bank of
India.
● Union Bank of India has opened funding for the retail and construction Equipment Sector from a 10
lakhs loan to Rs. 50 Crores.
Honda Cars India signs MoU with IDBI Bank to offer finance schemes
 Honda Cars India Limited (HCIL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IDBI
Bank to offer a host of finance schemes for its customers.
Key Highlights :
● The collaboration between HCIL and IDBI Bank will allow customers to avail of hassle-free
affordable financing options and schemes for purchasing Honda Car models.
● The partnership will ensure providing a better customer experience in terms of product and
procedures.
● The benefits will include attractive interest rates, minimum processing charges, maximum loan
amount and the maximum repayment period.

VA Tech Wabag Inks Pact With ADB To Raise Rs 200 Cr Investment
 VA Tech Wabag, a leading player in India’s water industry, has signed a strategic agreement
with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to raise Rs 200 crore through unlisted non-convertible
debentures (NCDs) carrying a 5-year and 3-month tenor.
 This also marks ADB’s maiden investment in a water sector company in India.
 The NCDs will be subscribed by ADB over 12 months.
 The capital raised through this NCD issuance is within the current borrowing limits and will not
increase the company’s debt levels.

 It will help to crowd in urgently needed international and domestic financing for the sector to
ease water stress as demand increases
Note :
 This project is ADB’s first private-sector financing in India’s water sector.
Indian Overseas Bank enters into an agreement with SMC Global for the opening of 3 in 1 account
 Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has entered into an agreement with broking partner SMC Global
for the opening of 3 in 1 account (SB, demat account, and trading account).
 While the SB and demat account will be with IOB, the trading account will be with SMC Global.
 Now, as part of an expansion of services in addition to the existing full-service Brokerage Plan,
SMC Global has offered a new brokerage plan named DISCOUNT BROKERAGE for its
existing/new clients through our Bank.

 Discount Brokerage Plan facilitates the client to do trading at an attractive brokerage with a flat
rate of Rs.15/- per order for intraday trades and Rs.0 on Delivery based trades.
RIL is the first Indian business to publish an earnings call on Metaverse:

 The events of Reliance Industries Limited's (RIL) Q2 FY 2022–2023 earnings call were posted on
the metaverse.
 A company has used the metaverse to interact with its stakeholders for the first time in the history of
corporate India.
 In collaboration with GMetri, a no-code metaverse creation platform, the RIL metaverse was
created.
 It can be accessed without wearing AR/VR headgear.
 It allows analysts following the company around the world to switch between slides and graphics
displayed on various screens by the various buckets in the presentation of the results.
 Additionally, they can download the RIL Q2 22–23 media release and the media and analyst call
transcript in PDF formats.
 The RIL metaverse also includes a special section with quotes from Mukesh Ambani, the
company's chairman, and managing director.

In October, UPI transactions increased by 7.7% to $730 million:
 Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) transactions increased by 7.7 per cent in October to 730 crores
using the Unified Payments Interface BHIM-UPI (7.3 Billion).

 The total value for the month exceeded 12.11 lakh crore.
 In October, the number of instant interbank fund transfers via IMPS (Immediate Payment Service)
stood at 48.25 crores, with a value of Rs 4.66 lakh crore.
 According to monthly data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI),
transactions increased by 4.3% compared to September.
 In September, there were 678 crore UPI transactions with a total value of 11.16 lakh crore.
 According to a recent report, digital payments have reached an inflection point and are expected to
triple to $10 trillion by 2026 from $3 trillion.
 According to a joint report by the Boston Consulting Group and Phone Pe, digital payments will
account for nearly 65% of all payments by 2026 as a result of this unprecedented growth.
 According to the report, this means that two out of every three transactions will be digital.
GST revenue exceeded Rs 1.51 trillion in October, ranking second-highest ever:
 The gross GST revenue collected for October 2022 totaled Rs 1,51,718 crore, making it the second-
highest monthly collection in history, according to the ministry of finance.

 Only the revenue in April 2022 is higher in terms of monthly collections, and for the second time, the
gross GST collection has surpassed the Rs. 1.50 lakh crore threshold.
 The government broke down the October GST collections as follows:
 CGST was 26,039 crore, SGST was 33,396 crore, IGST was 81,778 crore (including 37,297 crores
collected on import of goods), and cess was Rs 10,505 crore (including 825 crores collected on
import of goods).
 The monthly GST collections have exceeded the 1.4 lakh crore mark for the ninth consecutive
month and eight months in a row.
 8.3 crore e-way bills were produced in September 2022, a number that was much higher than the
7.7 crores produced in August 2022.

Subsidy for fertilizer doubles as prices rise:
 The Center announced a doubling of the fertilizer subsidy to Rs 2.15 trillion from the planned level
for FY23 to protect farmers from the high price increases.
 The decision was made as a result of a recent substantial increase in the costs of urea, DAP, and
MoP on the global market.
 They have safeguarded the farmers from such price increases despite growing fertilizer costs
globally.
 An additional sum of Rs. 1.10 trillion is being granted to further support our farmers in addition to the
Budget's Rs. 1.05 trillion fertilizer subsidy.
 Data from the fertilizer ministry show that the cost of imported urea has increased from $380 per
tonne in April 2021 to $930 per tonne in April 2022, a jump of more than 145%.
 In a similar vein, prices for DAP and MoP increased by 66% and 116%, to $924 per tonne and $590
per tonne, respectively, in April 2022 compared to the same month the previous year.
Adani New Industries installed the largest wind turbine in India:
 Adani New Industries Ltd. has built India's tallest wind turbine in Mundra, Gujarat, as part of its
renewable energy growth goals.

 The wind turbine is taller than the Statue of Unity and has blades that are wider than the wingspan
of a jumbo jet.
 Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL) announced the installation of the largest wind turbine
generator (WTG) in the country in Mundra, Gujarat.
 Mundra Windtech Ltd (MWL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd., installed the
turbine.
 This prototype is also Adani New Industries Ltd.'s (ANIL) first addition to its portfolio, and it has
paved the path for the installation of larger wind turbine generators.
 The proto assembly took a record-breaking 19 days to complete.
 It has been built up and tested, and it will soon apply for type certification.
Morgan Stanley predicts that India would become the world's third-largest economy by 2027:
 According to Morgan Stanley, India is on track to become the world's third-largest economy by
2027, surpassing Japan and Germany, and to have the third-largest stock market by 2030, thanks
to global trends and important investments in technology and energy.
 Overall, India's GDP is expected to more than double from $3.5 trillion today to $7.5 trillion by 2031.
 Over the same period, its proportion of global exports may treble, and the Bombay Stock Exchange
could rise at an 11% annual rate, achieving a market capitalization of $10 trillion.
 "In a world that is currently ravenous for development, the opportunity in India must be on the radar
of global investors," says Chetan Ahya, Morgan Stanley's Chief Asia Economist.
 "From 2023 onwards, India will be one of just three economies in the world that can achieve more
than $400 billion in annual economic production growth, rising to more than $500 billion by 2028."
Wipro was the first company in India to establish a European Work Council:
 The IT giant Wipro announced that it has struck an agreement with employee representatives about
the creation of a European Works Council.

 The first EWC founded by a corporation with its headquarters in India is Wipro.
 The EWC's establishment improves the already fruitful partnership with employee representations in
numerous European nations.

 Wipro strives to deliver the greatest employee experience while also fostering an inclusive
atmosphere that accepts everyone and fosters a feeling of community.
 The EWC will aid us in improving since we regularly take into account employee viewpoints.
 It also shows that Wipro is implementing and embracing European employment standards as a
responsible international employer.

Ministers' Panel Could Suggest 28% GST for Online Gaming:
 The group of state finance ministers is expected to recommend a 28 per cent GST duty on internet
gambling, regardless of whether it is a game of skill or chance.
 Online gaming currently gets an 18% GST.

 The tax is levied on gross gaming income, which is the amount of money paid to online gambling
portals.
 The Group of Minister’s report is nearly complete and will be submitted to the GST Council for
consideration soon.
 However, it is likely to propose a revised formula for calculating the amount subject to the Goods
and Services Tax (GST).
 The Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, proposed a
28 per cent GST on the full value of the consideration, including the contest entry fee, paid by the
player, without distinguishing between games of skill or chance in its previous report submitted to
the Council in June.
 The Council, on the other hand, has requested that the GoM reconsider its report.
AYUSH revenue increases from US$ 3 billion to US$ 18 billion:
 According to Union Ayush Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, AYUSH revenue increased by 17%
between 2014 and 20 to reach US$18.1 billion.
 Speaking at the 'AYUR-UDYAMAH' inauguration in New Delhi, the Minister also unveiled the RIS
study titled 'AYUSH Sector in India: Prospects and Challenges.
 The All-India Institute of Ayurveda - Incubation Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIIA
ICAINE), a groundbreaking incubation facility run by the Ministry of Ayush to support startups, was
also unveiled at the event.
 The union minister for Food and Processing Industries, Shri Pashupati Paras Ji, introduced AIIA
ICAINE.
 Despite a decline in economic activity in 2020 due to the pandemic, the industry is predicted to
reach US$ 20.6 billion in 2021 and US$ 23.3 billion in 2022, according to the Research and
Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) report.
India's Current Account Deficit Is Estimated to Be 3–2.2% of GDP in FY23:

 According to Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran, the country's current account
deficit for FY23 is predicted to be between three and three and a half per cent of GDP due to strong
domestic economic growth and an increase in oil import costs.
 In contrast to a surplus of 0.9% in 2020–21, India's current account balance showed a deficit of
1.2% of GDP in 2021–22.
 The Reserve Bank of India anticipates that the CAD will have marginally increased in the first half of
2022 (April to September), but contract in the second half (October 2022-March 2023).
BSE Appoints TAC Security as a Cyber Security Partner:

 TAC Security, a risk and vulnerability management firm, declared that it is the official cyber security
partner of the BSE stock market.
 The oldest stock exchange and the cyber security firm claim to have inked a contract that will give
the BSE the best degree of cybersecurity.
 The partnership represented a significant development in the two institutions' long-standing
relationship.
 Using TAC Security's ESOF (Enterprise Security in One Framework) BSE will comprehensively
understand their risk-vulnerability management on a single platform.

 It is an honour and a joy to protect Asia's largest and most important stock exchange.
 They intend to provide the highest level of cybersecurity for an organization that defines the
country's stock market.

 It is a significant step toward equipping enterprises around the world with the next generation of
vulnerability management.
India's milk production has increased by 83 MT in the last eight years:

 India's milk production has climbed by 83 million tons in the last eight years, a massive increase.
 In 2013-14, production was 138 million tons, with a projected growth to 221 million tons in 2021-22.
 According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a thriving dairy sector is an excellent method to further
enhance Nari Shakti.

 Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, has
acknowledged the government's initiatives for a paradigm shift in the Dairy and Animal Husbandry
sector's policy perspective during the last eight years.
 India is the world's greatest milk producer, accounting for 23% of worldwide milk production.

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Interview Bundle PDF Course – Important Banking & Economy News

IMPORTANT BANKING & ECONOMY NEWS- OCTOBER

Product (GDP) for the financial year FY23.

Council (GCC) is higher in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

RBI hikes repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.9%

 The growth for Q1 of 2023-24 is projected at 7.2%.

 India’s foreign exchange reserves: $537.5 billion

About the Monetary Policy Committee:

1. Chairperson- Shaktikanta Das

2. Michael Debabrata Patra

 Established: 1 April 1935

lenders financing the purchase of electric 2- and 3-wheelers.

 Headquarters: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

 MD & CEO: Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann

enterprise finance companies in India.

safeguard the interest of investors.

SEBI lays guidelines on preferential issues for listed REIT, InvIT

estate investment trust (REIT) and infrastructure investment trust (InvIT).

Sunil Bharti Mittal at India Mobile Congress.

after the auctions were over.

meet capital and trade finance needs.

International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in western India.

provide internet banking are being rationalized.

 RRB was allowed to provide internet banking facilities in 2015.

 Governor: Shaktikanta Das

“expected loss” approach for loan provisioning.

ICICI Bank launches special account for Indian students in the UK

in rural schools in Punjab.

 Founded: 12 July 1982

cooperative banks in India.

RBI to release a discussion paper on the securitization of stressed assets framework

Assets Framework (SSAF).

Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARC) route

187 billion Indian rupees ($2.29 billion).

attract complete subscriptions in the last few weeks.

SBI launches 'Gram Seva Program' across 6 states of India

financing developmental projects.

About EXIM Bank:

 MD: Harsha Bangari

make the supervisory processes more robust.

Financial Companies (NBFC), etc.

7.5% released in June.

About World Bank:

 President: David Malpass

Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA).

HDFC Bank launches SmartHub Vyapar Merchant app for SMEs

business needs of merchants.

and quick access to pre-approved loans and credit cards.

Unity Bank introduces a special FD scheme with a lucrative interest rate

Eligibility of an internal ombudsman:

 Either a retired or a serving officer

 No reappointment for extension of term in the same CIC

RBI to launch a pilot project for the digital rupee

 It released a concept note on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

 e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.

 It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the

the most recent.

 Established: 1 April 1935

provide more headroom on the fiscal front.

IDBI Bank partners with Vayana Network on supply chain finance