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Banking, Finance & Economy PDF 2020 - June
Table of Contents
Banking, Finance & Economy News: June 2020............................................................................................................ 4
Banking, Finance & Economy Q&A: June 2020 ........................................................................................................... 89

Banking, Finance & Economy News: June 2020

Ministry of Jal Shakti sanctions Rs. 445 crores for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Chhattisgarh
during 2020-21
On May 29,2020, Ministry of Jal Shakti, a ministry under Government of India (GoI) has approved an amount of Rs
445 crore for the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Chhattisgarh during 2020-21.
Chhattisgarh’s plan under the mission:
Under this mission that will bring change in life, Chhattisgarh state has planned 100 % Functional Household Tap
Connection (FHTC) by 2023-24.
Out of 45 lakh households in the state, there are plans to provide tap connections in 20 lakh houses, where the
priority is being given to water scarcity areas, quality affected areas, SC / ST (Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes)
dominated settlements / villages, ambitious districts, Sansad Adarsh Gramin Yojana villages.
What is the need?
–Chhattisgarh has been grappling with the problem of chemical contamination of arsenic, fluoride, iron, etc. in the
rapidly depleting groundwater for many years; Therefore, taking cognizance of the situation, the state was advised to
ensure potable water arrangements in these settlements.
How the mission will be implemented in the state?
Under the Mission, emphasis is being laid on monitoring the water quality through involvement of the community as
well as active participation of frontline workers.
School and college students are being encouraged to use field test kits to test the quality of water being provided in
rural areas.
For planning at the village level, in each gram panchayat (GPs) or their sub-committee i.e. village water and sanitation
committees have been formed & the action plans have been run for the villages, based on which the action plan has
been finalized.
About Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM):
In August 2019, the JJM was launched to provide potable water through Functional Household Tap Connection
(FHTC) with an outlay of Rs 3.60 lakh crores.
Also, aims at providing potable water at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd) to every rural household
through FHTC. The main objective of the Mission is to provide a piped water supply (Har Ghar Jal) to all rural and
urban households by 2024.
About Ministry of Jal Shakthi:
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Union Minister– Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Constituency- Jodhpur, Rajasthan).
About Chhattisgarh:
Capital– Raipur
Chief minister– Bhupesh Baghel
Governor– Anusuiya Uikey
Finance Ministry appoints PR Jaishankar as MD of IIFCL

On May 29, 2020, The Ministry of Finance appointed PR Jaishankar as the MD (Managing Director) of the India
Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) for 3 years.
Key Points:
i.The appointment comes after the recommendation of the Bank Boards Bureau (BBB) on March 15, 2020. Since the
post remained vacant for 3 years before the appointment (No one was found suitable from among the list of
applicants in 2017. Subsequently, another failed attempt was made in 2018 when Pankaj Jain was chosen).
ii.BBB is the head of state-run banks and financial institutions.
About Jaishankar:
Education:
i.Jaishankar, holds a Masters Degree in Technology (M.Tech) from IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Delhi and a
MBA- Finance (Master of Business Administration) from Delhi University.

Career:
i.He served as the executive director of the National Housing Bank (NHB). His posting as MD of IIFCL was approved
by the appointments committee of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
ii.He has over 32 years of experience in development banking and financial domains, by handling top management
and Board level roles in infrastructure, mortgage finance and capital markets.
Other appointments:
i.The Ministry also appointed Harsha Bungari as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of Exim Bank. She served as the
CGM (Chief General Manager) of the Exim Bank.
ii.VSV Rao, Executive Director (ED) of IFCI (Industrial Finance Corporation of India) has been appointed as DMD for
Small Industries Development Bank of India for 3 years.
iii.Sunil Kumar Bansal, the CGM of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), will take over as
DMD of IFCI.
About IIFCL:
IIFCL is a wholly-owned Government of India (GOI) company set up in 2006 to provide long term finance to viable
infrastructure projects through the Scheme for Financing Viable Infrastructure Projects through a Special Purpose
Vehicle called India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL), broadly referred to as SIFTI.
Mohandas Pai to chair the advisory committee on Service provider of IBBI

On 29th May 2020, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) reorganised its advisory committee on
service providers and appointed TV Mohandas Pai, Service Chairman of Manipal Global Education as its chairman to
support the 12 member panel and provide professional insights on the service providers handled by the IBBI.
Members of Advisory Committee on Service Providers:
The 12 member panel includes a representative from the Ministry of Corporate affairs and
Akhil Gupta, Chairman of Bharti Infratel,
Bimal N Patel, Director General of Raksha Shakti University,
Chinna Veerappan Rajendran, MD & CEO of CSB Bank,
J Ranganayakulu, Former ED of Sebi,
PR Ramesh, former Chairman of Deloitte India,
Sameer sharma, DG and CEO of Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.
Binoy J.Kattadiyil, MD of ICSI Institute of Insolvency Professionals
Punam Sahgal, Former Dean, Indian Institute of Management,Lucknow
Shrikrishna Kulkarni, Chairman, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
Vellayan Subbiah Murugappa, MD of Tube Investment of India Ltd.
Insolvency Professionals(IPs):
i.The appointments of the Insolvency Professionals(IPs) as administrators are provided by the Security and Exchange
Board of India Regulations. 2018.
ii.The IBBI will prepare the IPs for the panel with the requirements and regulations of the SEBI and SEBI will appoint
the IPs from the panel of Administrations in accordance with the regulations.
iii.The validity of the panel is for six months and a new panel will replace the existing panel.
About IBBI:
IBBI is the institution for implementing the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Chairperson– Dr. M.S Sahoo
Established– 1st October 2016
About SEBI:
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi
Established– 12th April, 1992
SEBI Extends Deadline for Power Of Attorney Norms till August 1, 2020
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the date for implementing norms
pertaining to power of attorney (POA) given by clients to trading members or clearing members till August 1, 2020

from June 1, 2020. The decision regarding extension has been taken due to the difficulty faced by the stock brokers
and broker associations in implementing the provisions amid the situation arising due to COVID-19.
What is POA?
It is a document allowing an individual or entity to appoint a person or organization for managing the former’s
property, financial, or medical affairs if he/she/it becomes unable to do so.
What are POA norms?
In a bid to curb the misuse of POA given by the clients to the trading member (TM) or clearing member (CM), SEBI
had prescribed that margin obligations to be given in the form of securities by client will be by the way of pledge or
re-pledge in the depository system.
Also the title transfers of securities to the client collateral demat account of the TM/ CM for margin purposes will not
be permitted.
In cases where a client has given a POA in favour of a TM / CM, such holding of POA will not be considered as
equivalent to the collection of margin by the TM/ CM in respect of securities held in the demat account of the client
with effect from June 1, 2020.
About SEBI:
Establishment- April 12, 1992, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act,
1992.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Board of BEML approved signing of MoU with MELCO as a part of Expression of Interest (EoI)
The Board of BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited) in its 362nd meeting has given its approval for signing a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MELCO (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) to study and plan for initiating
a joint venture (JV) company between BEML and MELCO. This approval is on the lines of invitation of BEML regarding
Expression of Interest (EoI) for Manufacturing, Partnerships under “Make in India” policy.
The JV will be for manufacturing of certain propulsion systems and other railway electrical equipment utilised for
electric multiple units for Indian Metro Rail Projects, Indian Railway Projects and other products.
Background:
BEML is seeking manufacturing and technology partnerships with reputed Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs) looking to establish and/or expand their supply chains in India for the manufacturing of various goods and
services business in the areas of Defence & Aerospace, Rail & Metro, Mining & Construction, Engines and aggregates
with the objective of Make in India. OEMs share their EOI to BEML Limited by e-mail at eoi@beml.co.in up to 6th June
2020.
About BEML:
BEML Limited is a leading multi-technology ‘Schedule A’ company under the Ministry of Defence. It serves India’s
core sectors like Defence, Rail, Power, Mining and Construction by offering world class products.
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– Deepak Kumar Hota
About MELCO:
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, MELCO, is the leading electrical manufacture of the railway vehicle equipment and
systems in Japan. MELCO supplies the onboard electrical equipment including propulsion systems, train control and
monitoring systems, auxiliary power supply systems, brake systems, passenger information systems, and air
conditioning systems.
President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Takeshi Sugiyama
Headquarter– Tokyo, Japan
YES Bank picks 24.19% stake in Dish TV by invoking pledged shares

On May 30, 2020, Private sector lender Yes Bank Limited has acquired a 24.19% stake in Dish TV India Ltd, a
company providing Direct to Home (DTH) television service in India, following invocation of 44.53 crore pledged
shares due to default in payment of debt by Dish TV and some other companies.
It is to be noted that as of March 31, 2019, Dish TV’s debt stood at Rs 2,758 crore.

Other share holders
Following the transaction, Dish TV promoters led by Jawahar Goel will have 30.37% stake in the company but before
as on March 31, 2020 they owned 54.56% stake in the company, out of which over 93% was pledged with the lenders.
17.0% by corporate bodies ( foreign and domestic),17.3% by others.
Key Points:
i.This is the 6th such transaction done by Yes Bank to pick majority stake in a non-banking entity after CG Power, Cox
& Kings, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Sical Logistics, due to invocation of pledge against shares of a
company that had availed loans from the bank and later failed to repay the dues.
ii.Apart from Dish TV, Essel Business Excellence Services, Essel Corporate Resources, Living Entertainment
Enterprises, Last Mile Online, Pan India Network Infravest, RPW Projects, Mumbai WTR and Pan India Infraprojects
have also defaulted in repayment of loan instalments. These companies are part of the Essel Group led by Subhash
Chandra.
About Yes Bank Limited:
MD & CEO– Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience our Expertise.
About Dish TV India Ltd:
Headquarters– Noida, Uttar Pradesh
CEO– Anil Dua
India ranked 23rd for world’s best startup ecosystems; US topped: StartupBlink Ecosystem Rankings 2020
In accordance with the “Countries Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem 2020” by global innovation mapping and
research company StartupBlink, India ranked at 23rd position, a drop of 6 places from 17th position in 2019. The
ranking has been topped by the United States (US), followed by the United Kingdom (UK), and Israel at 2nd and 3rd
position.
It should be noted that India is home to the third-largest startup ecosystem.
Rank Country
1 United States (US)
2 United Kingdom (UK)
3 Israel
23 India
Ups and Down of Indian cities; 4 Indian cities among top 100 in 2020 ranking
Among the top 100 startup cities, only four India cities were named in “2020 Cities Global Ranking of Startup
Ecosystem” while total of 38 cities made it to the world’s top 1000 cities with startup ecosystems.
Bengaluru (down by three ranks to 14th position),
New Delhi (up by three spots to 15th position)
Mumbai (improved by seven spots to 22nd position)
Hyderabad (falling 21 ranks to disappointing 96th position). Last year, seven cities were ranked in the top 100 list
versus four this year.
Note: This ranking is contrary to India’s annual Ease of Doing Business ranking, which continues to be on an
improving path.
About StartupBlink:
StartupBlink measures ecosystems based on the number of startups, their quality and business environment. The
ranking is based on data from over 60,000 startups, over 14,000 coworking spaces, 100 global influencers based in
multiple cities.
The ranking is carried out on the basis the impact startups have been able to make in the country.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Eli David
Headquarter– Zurich, Switzerland

India’s GDP to contract by 4% in fiscal 2021 & downgraded its sovereign rating to ‘Baa3’ from ‘Baa2: Moody’s
On June 1, 2020 Rating agency Moody’s expects India’s real Gross Domestic Product(GDP) to contract by 4% in
fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures. India’s foreign-currency and local-
currency long-term issuer ratings have been downgraded to Baa3 from Baa2. Meanwhile India’s local-currency senior
unsecured rating was also reduced to Baa3 from Baa2, and its short-term local currency rating to Prime(P)-3 from P-
2. The outlook remains negative.
Other projections of Moody’s
i.GDP- The rating agency expects 8.7% growth in fiscal 2022 and closer to 6% growth after that.
Note– Real GDP growth had declined from a high of 8.3% in FY17 to 4.2% in FY19.
ii.Debt burden-The pandemic to increase the debt burden about 84% of GDP in the 2020 fiscal year from 72% in
2019(this is 30% points larger than the Baa median) & the lower economic growth will diminish the government’s
ability to reduce its debt burden.
iii.Bond & deposit ceilings
Long-term foreign-currency bond lowered to Baa2 from Baa1; long-term foreign-currency bank deposit ceilings
reduced to Baa3 from Baa2; Short-term foreign-currency bank deposit ceiling declined to P-3 from P-2, short-term
foreign-currency bond ceiling remains unchanged at P-2, Long-term local currency bond and bank deposit ceilings
were lowered to A2 from A1
What does the downgrade reflect?
As per Moody’s India’s policy makers will be challenged in enacting and implementing policies that mitigate the risks
of a sustained period of relatively low growth & further deterioration in the general government fiscal position and
stress in the financial sector.
Reasons for the downgrade
The prolonged period of slow growth has started before the pandemic due to slow reform momentum and
constrained policy effectiveness.
Negative outlook
The negative outlook reflects dominant, mutually-reinforcing, downside risks from deeper stresses in the economy
and financial system which may lead to more severe and prolonged erosion in fiscal strength than Moody’s current
projects. Negative implies India could be rated down further.
Moody’s prediction
Moody’s predicts that India’s Rs 20 trillion package measures are inadequate and will not be able to prop-up growth
rates anytime soon.
Static
In November 2017, Moody’s had upgraded India’s rating to “Baa2” with a “stable” outlook.
‘Baa3’- is the lowest investment grade, just a notch above junk status; Baa2- is the investment grade rating with
moderate credit risk
P-3: The rating implies the acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations; P-2 The rating states the strong ability
to repay short-term debt obligations.
About Moody’s:
Headquarters– NewYork, United States
President & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr.
Indian Energy Exchange rolls out real time electricity market

On June 1, 2020, Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX), an electronic system based power trading exchange, has
started a real-time (electricity) market (RTM) to meet the demand for electricity. This will enable the power
companies to buy and sell electricity according to their needs only one hour before.
Who will get the Benefits?
Through this market, distribution companies (DISCOMS) and other consumers, including bulk customers consuming
energy for personal use, will be able to buy electricity from the exchange just one hour before the supply.
How the platform works?
There will be 48 auction sessions throughout the day & the power delivery will be done within one hour of the end of
the bidding session. This will help in reducing dependency in case of grid fluctuations for power companies.

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission: This market for the immediate purchase and sale of electricity is the
result of the efforts of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). This new market will make the
electricity market dynamic & will promote flexibility, competitiveness and efficiency in the power sector and the
emerging needs will be met.
This will also help the centre’s target to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022.
About Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX):
Headquarters– New Delhi
CEO & Managing Director- Rajiv Srivastava
IRCON signs MoU with NIIFL & AYANA to explore and collaborate in the solar energy sector
On June 1, 2020 Ircon International Ltd(IRCON), a Miniratna(Category-I) Schedule, public sector enterprise has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
Limited(NIIFL) and Ayana Renewable Power Private Limited(AYANA), NIIF platform company to explore and
collaborate on opportunities in the solar energy sector.
Major Highlights:
i.As per the MoU, NIIFL and IRCON have agreed in-principle to identify, bid and execute solar energy projects through
joint ventures/consortium arrangements & will evaluate strategic partnerships across infrastructure projects
ii.The partnership also considers suitable opportunities for solar energy production for Indian Railways as they
seek to increase the share of renewables in their overall energy mix.
iii.By utilizing the complementary strengths of all partners the collaboration will enable the execution of renewable
energy projects at scale
Categories of CPSEs
The Government of India had categorized Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under three categories of
Navratna, Miniratna, and Maharatna on the basis of factors namely, turnover, net worth and net profit on the annual
basis and the presence of the company in the stock exchange as per the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
rules.
About Miniratna
To grant enhanced autonomy and delegation of financial powers to some other profit making companies (other than
the Navratnas) subject to certain eligibility conditions and guidelines to make them efficient and competitive.
There are 2 categories under Miniratna namely:
Category I Eligibility- Have made profits continuously for the last three years or earned a net profit of Rs. 30 crore or
more in one of the three years
Category II Eligibility- Have made profits continuously for the last three years and should have a positive net worth.
About IRCON:
Registered Office– New Delhi, India
Chairman & Managing Director(MD)– S.K. Chaudhary
About NIIFL:
Headquarters- Mumbai , Maharashtra
Registered Office– New Delhi, India
MD & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sujoy Bose
About AYANA:
Headquarters– Bangalore, Karnataka
Chairman– S. S. Mundra
MD & CEO– Shivanand Nimbargi
Reserve Bank approves Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s MD and CEO, Subramanian Sundar extension
On June 1, 2020, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the extension of tenure for Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB)
Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Subramanian Sundar by 6 months from May 31, 2020 to
November 30, 2020.

Key Points:
i.This was the second extension given to Mr. Sundar, earlier as the MD and CEO (interim) from January 1, 2020 to
April 30, 2020, his tenure was again extended from May 31, 2020 to November 30, 2020 or till the appointment of
new CEO.
About Subramanian Sundar:
i.Sundar holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce & is a Chartered Accountant (CA). He started off as a CFO (Chief
Financial Officer) of LVB from April 2018.
ii.He has a background of working with banks like Andhra Bank, City Union Bank, LVB and has more than 40 years of
experience.
About Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB):
Lakshmi Vilas Bank was founded in 1926 by a group of seven progressive businessmen in Karur under the leadership
of Shri V.S.N. Ramalinga Chettiar.
Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Tagline– The changing face of prosperity.
MEITY launched 3 new schemes worth Rs 50,000 cr to boost electronic manufacturing in India
On June 2, 2020, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a trilogy
(group of three) of schemes namely “Electronics Manufacturing Scheme 2.0” with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore
(approximately $7 billion) to boost electronic manufacturing in India. These will contribute in achieving a USD 1
Trillion digital economy and a USD 5 Trillion GDP by 2025. The three schemes are:
Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing,
Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS)
Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme
The above schemes were already approved by the Union Cabinet in March, 2020 but were launched formally on June
2, 2020. With the three new schemes, the government aims to manufacture electronics worth Rs 8 trillion.
Target – The government aims to increase the domestic value addition for mobile phones by 35-40 per cent by 2025.
Let’s discuss about the schemes in detail:
About PLI scheme:
Instituted for mobile phones, the PLI scheme has taken the maximum portion of total outlay at approximately Rs.
41,000 crore. It offers an incentive of 4-6% over a period of 5 years for manufacturing in India. The application dates
are open from June 2 to July 31st.
This scheme will help boost growth in mobile phone manufacturing in India as well as meet exports targets assigned
under the National Policy on Electronics (NPE 2019).
Background:
The manufacturing of mobile handsets, which has been a top priority of the government, was a focus area of the NPE
2019 with a target of producing 1 billion mobile handsets by 2025, valued at $190 billion, including 600 million
mobile handsets for export.
India’s growth in mobile manufacturing:
-India’s production of electronics grew from $29 billion in 2014 to $70 billion in 2019.
-From just two mobile phone factories in 2014, India now has become the second largest mobile phone producer in
the world.
-Production of mobile handsets in 2018-19 reached 29 crore units worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore from just 6 crore units
worth Rs 19,000 crore in 2014.
About SPECS scheme:
Launched with an outlay of about Rs 3,300 crore, the objective of this scheme is to promote component
manufacturing in India by offering companies a 25% incentive on their capital expenditure. The government has set
an investment range of Rs 5 crore to Rs 1,000 crore for entities willing to set-up component plants under the
scheme.
This scheme reduces import of electronic components, which the industry currently undertakes to assemble products
here.
This will remain open for 3 years for investors to apply and for 5 years for investments.

About EMC 2.0:
The EMC 2.0 Scheme provides financial assistance for setting up of both EMC projects and Common Facility Centres
(CFCs) across the country.The outlay of the scheme is about Rs.3700 crore. The Scheme is open for receipt of
applications for a period of 3 years from the date of notification. Further period of 5 years is available for
disbursement of funds to the approved projects.
For EMC Project:Financial assistance will be restricted to 50% of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs. 70 crore
for every 100 acres of land. For larger areas, pro-rata ceiling would apply but not exceeding Rs.350 crore per project.
The remaining project cost will be borne by State Government or State Implementing Agency (SIA) or Central Public
Sector Unit (CPSU) or State Public Sector Unit (SPSU) or Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (ICDC) such as
DMICDC, etc. (as the case may be) with a minimum contribution of 50% of the project cost.
For Common Facility Centers (CFCs):Financial assistance will be restricted to 75% of the project cost subject to a
ceiling of Rs.75 crore. The remaining project cost will be borne by State Government or State Implementing Agency
(SIA) or Central Public Sector Unit (CPSU) or State Public Sector Unit (SPSU) or Industrial Corridor Development
Corporation (ICDC) such as DMICDC, etc. (as the case may be) with a minimum contribution of 25% of the project
cost.
Points to be noted:
-The government invited applications from companies looking to invest in India under these schemes, as it plans to
initially get the top five global mobile manufacturing companies, and promote five domestic companies on the
national scale.
-The above three Schemes are expected to attract substantial investments, increase production of mobile phones and
their parts/ components to around Rs.10,00,000 crore by 2025 and generate around 5 lakh direct and 15 lakh
indirect jobs.
About India’s Electronic Industry:
The electronics industry of India is one of the fastest growing sectors, expected to reach $400 billion by 2025.
It has grown from Rs. 1,90,366 crore in 2014 to Rs. 4,58,000 in 2018.
The country’s share in global manufacturing also rose from 1.3% in 2012 to 3% in 2018.
Between 2018 and 2019, exports grew by 38% year-on-year.
DBS Bank India partners with TCIL to facilitate real time payments for truck drivers by DBS RAPID solution
On June 2, 2020 DBS Bank India partnered with Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL)to facilitate real time
payments for truck drivers by DBS RAPID(Real Time Application Program Interface-APIs by DBS) solution to enable
them to receive payments instantly.
Major Highlights:
i.The bank has proposed to set up a Unified Payments Interface(UPI)-based real-time payments solution which is
available 24x7x365, considering the large volumes of transactions & round-the-clock nature of the operations.
ii.The solution has been set up under the support of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). DBS RAPID and
UPI payments provide an ideal integration with the company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
iii.By this solution, TCIL truck drivers will receive an instant credit into their bank account, which they can then
swipe at terminals or withdraw cash using ATMs.
Key Points
DBS RAPID has been adopted by companies such as Mahanagar Gas, Lykos, Herbalife, and Zolo Stays.
This solution was recognized as one of the Best Treasury & Finance Strategies in Asia-Pacific by Corporate Treasurer
About DBS Group:
Headquarters– Singapore
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Director– Piyush Gupta
About DBS Bank India Limited:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashthra
Managing Director(MD) and CEO– Surojit Shome
About TCIL:
Corporate Office– Gurgaon, Haryana
Chairman and MD– D P Agarwal

Uday Kotak Take over from Vikram Kirloskar as the new CII President
On 3rd June 2020, The Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) announced its new office bearers for 2020-2021. Uday
Kotak, Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank succeeds Vikram Kirloskar, Chairman and Managing
Director of Kirloskar System and vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor as the new President of CII.
Key Points:
i.Uday Kotak, was serving as the chairman of CII Economic Affairs Council, Financial Sector Development Council,
Service Council, Capital Markets Committee and Financial Service Committee.
ii.He was the President designated for the last two years (2018-2020).
iii.Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv is elected as the Vice President of CII.
iv.TV Narendran, CEO and Managing Director of TATA Steel Limited became the President Designated of CII
About CII:
President- Uday Kotak
Vice President- Sanjiv Bajaj
President Designated- TV Narendran
Established- 1895
Headquarters- New Delhi
IndusInd Bank rolls out India’s 1st mobile app based facility for opening current accounts
On June 04, 2020, IndusInd Bank Limited, an Indian new generation bank, has introduced a first-of-its-kind facility
for customers to open current accounts (CA) through its ‘Indus Corporate’ mobile app.
Who will get benefitted?
Current account can be opened for all types of businesses including proprietorships, partnerships and private and
public limited companies through this facility.
Faster and seamless account opening:
The process of opening a current account in the bank with the mobile app will be paperless and the account will be
opened in a few hours. Bank officials can verify details of the customer and gather information about them and
his/her business on a real-time basis.
Paperless KYC documentation:
The customer will not need physical KYC (Know your Customer) documents to open an account in this manner &
they will be given the freedom to choose his account number to open the account which they can easily remember.
The account will become operational within 24 hours of opening the account.
Validation done from various Govt platforms: IndusInd Bank’s ‘Indus Corporate’ mobile app uses several
‘Application Programme Interface’ (APIs), which enables secure validation of KYC documents from authorized
government platforms such as Goods and Service Tax (GST), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), National Securities
Depository Limited (NSDL), Import Export Code (IEC) and Aadhaar etc.
About IndusInd Bank Limited:
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Sumant Kathpalia
Chairman- Arun Tiwari
Tagline– We Make You Feel Richer
Axis Bank MasterCard and Worldline launches ‘Soft POS’, first financial payments service : Transform
SmartPhones for Merchant POS terminals
On June 4, 2020 Axis Bank Ltd, Mastercard India & Worldline India partnered to launch a digital point-of-sale(POS)
solution ‘Soft POS’, the 1st financial payments service in India to transform everyday smartphones into merchant
POS terminals. It helps offline merchants and Kirana stores accept payments using their smartphones.
Through this app merchants who traditionally accept cash payments will now have a simpler and more secure way to
manage transactions.
Key Points
i.The app allows banks to have complete visibility of a merchant’s transactions, which makes it easier for small
merchants to get business loans.

ii.The solution enables merchants to accept payments through various digital form factors which include Bharat QR,
sending payment links to customers and accepting Near Field Communication(NFC) based technology payments to
boost contactless payments in the country.
iii.The service offers features which include E-Khata for reconciliations, recording store credit transactions, a cash
register to record transactions at store & an Online Dukkan, where merchants can list their products for consumers to
make online orders for home deliveries.
iv.Soft POS provides a cost-effective card acceptance solution for all micro-merchants and SMEs in India by
eliminating the need to invest in a POS device.
v.Merchants can accept contactless payments directly by their own Android smartphones, this functionality is
called “Tap on Phone” which means a cardholder can tap his/her contactless card on the merchant Smartphone with
NFC functionality and so encourages social distancing.
vi.Mastercard provides white-label technology for this solution and aims to equip 10 million small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) in India by 2021 through various banking partnerships & plans to take this solution to other
South Asian markets including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal over the next year, through partnerships.
vii.The online registration process with the acquiring bank takes less than 30 minutes.
Other partnership of Mastercard
Mastercard has also partnered with Zoho Corp to help merchants with large turnovers to file their goods and services
tax(GST) returns, among other services.
About Axis Bank:
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer– Amitabh Chaudhry
About MasterCard:
Headquarters– New York, United States
Chief Executive Officer– Ajay Banga, Michael Miebach will succeed him by Jan1, 2021. (Please also
refer: https://affairscloud.com/current-affairs-february-26-2020/)
Chairman and Co-founder– Richard Haythornthwaite.
About Worldline:
Worldline is the parent organisation of worldline India
Headquarters– Bezons, France
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer– Gilles Grapinet
GAIL (India) Ltd & EESL signs MoU for development of Trigeneration projects in India through VC
On June 3, 2020 State-owned Natural gas company GAIL (India) Ltd (formerly known as Gas Authority of India
Ltd) and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd(EESL) signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for development
of ”trigeneration” projects in India through video conference(VC).
Aim of MoU– To build a close strategic partnership between the two companies by jointly exploring business
opportunities in the trigeneration business segment in India
Key Points
i.An equal(50:50) joint venture between the two companies will be incorporated for undertaking trigeneration
projects if the studies made by 2 companies are viable.
ii.There is a significant market potential for trigeneration projects in India, especially for small industrial &
commercial sectors and office buildings.
iii.Since the trigeneration business is at the initial stage, the collaboration will enable first movers to take advantage
in the trigeneration business like GAIL’s city gas business.
iv.The strategic partnership is an advantage for both the companies, as the trigeneration business will push gas usage
in the new applications which are in line with GAIL’s Strategy 2030.
What is Trigeneration?
Trigeneration or Combined Cooling, Heat and Power(CCHP) involves natural gas-fired generators to produce
electricity. The waste heat emitted from flue gas is recovered to produce hot water or steam which is used for heating
purposes and in absorption chillers for cooling.

Key People– MoU was signed between Santanu Roy, Executive Director (Business Development & Project
Development), GAIL and Amit Kumar Kaushik, Executive Director (Strategic Growth), EESL. GAIL Chairman &
Managing Director(MD), Manoj Jain and EESL MD Saurabh Kumar were also present.
About GAIL:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
About EESL:
It is a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises – NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation(PFC)
Limited, Rural Electrification Corporation(REC) Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID),
and was set up under the Ministry of Power. EESL is a Super Energy Service Company (ESCO).
Chairman– Rajeev Sharma
NSO released Annual Report of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2018 – 2019
In accordance with the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for [July 2018 – June 2019] of National Statistical
Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India’s unemployment rate fell between
July 2018 and June 2019 to 5.8% from 6.1% during the same period of 2017-18 while the Indian economy grew 6.1%
in 2018-19, slower than the 7% expansion recorded the year before.
For 2018-19 the survey has covered 1,01,579 households (55,812 in rural areas and 45,767 in urban areas) and
4,20,757 people (rural – 2,39,817, urban – 1,80,940).
This is the second Annual Report being brought out by NSO on the basis of PLFS.
Key Points:
-The labour force participation rate rose to 37.5% from 36.9%.
-The worker population ratio also increased, to 35.3% as against 34.7% in the 2017-18,
-The urban unemployment rate reduced to 7.7% in 2018-19 from 7.8% and in rural India to 5% from 5.3%.
-The female participation rate improved in both urban and rural India, going up to 18.6% in 2018-19 from 17.5%
the year before.
-For the quarter ended June 30, 2019, the unemployment rate slowed to 8.9% from 9.3% in January-March 2019 and
9.9% in October-December 2018.
COVID-19 effects:
Though unemployment rate has decreased as per annual PLFS report in 2018-19, but, according to the monthly data
from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, the unemployment rate in India rose significantly from 7.87% in
June 2019 to 23.48% in May 2020.
About PFLS
PLFS is India’s first computer-based survey which gives estimates of key employment and unemployment indicators
like the labour force participation rate, worker population ratio, proportion unemployed and unemployment rate in
rural households annually and on a quarterly basis for the urban households.
The Labour Force Participation Rate is the percentage of people in the labour force (those who are working or
seeking or available for work) in the population while the Worker Population Ratio is the percentage of employed
people.
The unemployment rate shows the percentage of people unemployed among the labour force.
The survey was launched in 2017 and the ministry released the first annual report (July 2017-June 2018), covering
both rural and urban areas, in May 2019.
About MoSPI:
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh
Secretary– Pravin Srivastava
Click Here for Official Report
IISC Bangalore ranked 36, 8 Indian Institutes entered top 100 in THE Asia University Ranking
In the Times Higher Education(THE) Asia University Ranking launched on 4th June 2020, Indian became
the Third most represented country with 8 institutes in the top 100.Indian Institute of Science(IISc) with 36th
position on the list retains its top position in India.

Key Points:
i.Six Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) are featured in the top 100 of list along with Institute of Chemical
Technology(ICT)
ii.In India around 489 universities were qualified for this year’s ranking with 72 additional institutes as compared to
2019.
iii.The most represented country was Japan with 110 institutes followed by China and India with 81 universities
and 72 institutes respectively.
iv.Tsinghua University, China Tops the List following Peking University, China in 2nd position and National
University of Singapore, Singapore in 3rd position.
v.The ranking is made based on the citations, industry income, international outlook, research and teaching.
Indian Institutes in Top 100:
Rank Institutes
36 IISc, Bangalore
47 IIT-Ropar
59 IIT-Kharagpur
55 IIT-Indore
67 IIT-Delhi
69 IIT-Bombay
83 IIT-Roorkee
92 Institute of Chemical technology, Mumbai
RBI creates Payments Infrastructure Development Fund with initial corpus of Rs 250 cr to boost digitization
In order to encourage the deployment of Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in smaller cities and towns, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has initiated with Rs 500-crore ($66 million) Payments Infrastructure Development
Fund (PIDF with an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore . The remaining amount will be contributed by card issuing
banks and card networks working in the country.
The fund will encourage business people from Tier-3 to Tier-6 centers and in the northeastern states to adopt Point
of Sale (POS) machines (both physical and digital modes).
Fund will continue to receive other capital at regular intervals:
PIDF will continue to receive other cash contributions from card issuing banks and card networks at regular intervals
to meet operating expenses.
RBI will also continue to meet the capital deficit on an annual basis, if required.
The PIDF will operate under the supervision of the RBI & will be run by an Advisory Council.
What is the need?
Over time many options have come up in the country’s payment ecosystem. These include bank accounts, mobile
phones, cards, etc. There is a need to promote the development of acceptance infrastructure across the country to
further promote the digitization of payment systems. So, there is an even greater need to promote it, especially in
backward areas.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, one is yet to be
appointed).

Indian economy likely to contract by 1.5% in FY21: RBI sponsored SPF survey
On June 04, 2020,The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the results of 3 survey’s namely -Consumer
Confidence Survey (CCS) – May 2020; Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) on Macroeconomic Indicators (64th
round) and Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) – May 2020.
(i) CCS survey results: According to this survey, the consumer confidence has completely shrunk in May 2020 amid
the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic & the Current Situation Index (CSI) has come down to its historical lows. In
addition, a year ahead, the Future Expectations Index (FEI) has also fallen drastically and has reached the area of
pessimism.
i.According to the survey, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI), the Current Situation Index (CSI) was at 85.6 in
March 2020 but in May 2020 it came down to 63.7 & in Future Expectations Index (FEI) it was at 115.2 in March 2020
but in May 2020 it came down to 97.9. This is the lowest level since March 2014.
(ii) SPF survey (64th round):
RBI has conducting this SPF since September 2007 & the results for the latest & 64th round were received during
May 7-28, 2020.
As per this survey, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth may contract by 1.5 % for the current fiscal year
(FY21). However, the next financial year it will return to the relief of growth and will register a growth of 7.2 %.
Key Points:
i.The survey stated that Real private final consumption expenditure (PFCE)would fall by 0.5 % in the current financial
year(FY21). However, it is expected to grow by 6.9 % in the next financial year.
ii.It added that, that real gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) would fall by 6.4 % in 2020-21. However, it will register
a growth of 5.6 % in the next financial year 2021-22.
iii.Real gross value added (GVA) is likely to decline by 1.7 % in 2020-21 However in the next fiscal, it will likely to
register 6.8 % growth due to increment in industrial and services sector activities.
(iii) Households’ Inflation Expectations Survey:
As per this survey, which is based on responses from 5,761 urban households, households’ median inflation
perception and expectations increased sharply in May 2020 as against March 2020 round of the survey.
People participating in this survey expect increasing price pressure on food products & general prices and inflation to
increase over a three-month horizon as compared to the previous round.
About the Survey:
The RBI has been regularly conducting CCS. The May 2020 round covers 5,400 respondents across 13 cities
(Ahmedabad; Bengaluru; Bhopal; Chennai; Delhi; Guwahati; Hyderabad; Jaipur; Kolkata; Lucknow; Mumbai; Patna;
and Thiruvananthapuram) & conducted through telephonic interviews due to Covid-19 during May 5-17, 2020.
The results of this survey provide useful inputs for monetary policy.
appointed).
PMO officers Rajeev Topno to be senior advisor at World Bank, Brajendra Navnit India’s permanent
representative to WTO
On June 4, 2020 Cabinet’s Appointment committee approved the appointments of Rajeev Topno, the private
secretary to the prime minister as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director(ED), World Bank & Brajendra Navnit,
the Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office(July 2014 – September 2019) as Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of India(PRI) to the World Trade Organisation(WTO) & will be posted at the Permanent Mission of
India(PMI) to the WTO, under the Department of Commerce. He replaced JS Deepak at the PMI whose two-year
extended term ended on May 31.
About Rajeev Topno & Brajendra Navnit
Rajeev Topno is the 1996 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, he joined the PMO as a deputy secretary in 2009. He
handled key portfolios such as telecom and ports at the PMO in the United Progressive Alliance(UPA)-2 government.

Brajendra Navnit is the 1999-batch officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, in 2019 he was given an extension as Joint
Secretary in the PMO. He was appointed as Joint Secretary in PMO in 2016, before which he was working as Director
in PMO.
Other approved appointments
i.Ravi Kota, a 1993 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre appointed as Minister (Economic) at the Indian
embassy in Washington(Joint Secretary-level post), under the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA). He is
currently serving as joint secretary in the 15th Finance Commission under the DEA.
ii.Lekhan Thakkar, a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer, appointed as Counsellor (Economic) at the Indian
Embassy in Beijing, China(director level), under the Department of Economic Affairs.
iii.H Atheli, a 2000 batch officer of the Indian Civil Accounts Service(ICAS), will be Advisor (Director level) to
ED, Asian Development Bank(ADB), Manila, Philippines, under the DEA.
iv.Anwar Hussain Shaik, a 2000 batch officer of the Indian Railway Traffic Service(IRTS) appointed under Brajendra
Navnit as the Counsellor in the PMI to the WTO. The Director-level post is under the Department of Commerce.
v.N Ashok Kumar, a 2004 batch IAS officer of Manipur cadre appointed as Advisor (Industry and Engineering) in
the Indian Embassy in Brussels. The Director-level post is under the Department of Commerce.
Note: Tenure of all appointments is 3 years.
About World Bank:
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States
President– David R. Malpass(13th president)
About WTO:
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland,
Director General(DG)– Roberto Azevedo(6th DG)
About ADB:
Headquarters– Metro Manila, Philippines
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
SEBI rearranges its Commodity derivatives advisory committee

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) rearranged the Commodity derivatives advisory committee and
appointed Ashok Dalwani, Retired IAS officer as the chairman and Aliasgar S Mithwani, Chief General Manager of
SEBI as Secretary of the 17-member committee.
Functions of Commodity derivatives advisory committee:
i.The committee examines issues related to the contract design and new products in the segment and recommend the
required risk management system and regulatory framework of commodity derivatives and governance of
commodities derivatives exchange
ii.They advise on the delivery mechanism and warehouse related matters and measures for improving market safety,
efficiency transparency and integrity and cost reduction in transaction and other matters that are considered relevant
by the committee.
Members:
i.The committee members includes Madan Sabnavis, Vijay Sardana, Chandrasekhar, Prof. Gopal Naik, S Sivakumar, R
Amalorpavanathan, C S Verma, Ashish Chaushan MD and CEO of BSE, Vikram Limaye MD and CEO of NSE, MD and
CEO of NCDEX, MCX and ICEX.
ii.Executive Directors of SEBI, Amarjeet Singh and V S Sundaresan are also the members of the committee.
iii.The representatives from
Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices(CACP)
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Family Welfare
Department of Consumer Affairs
Department of Food and Public Distribution
Department of Commerce
Warehousing Development & Regulatory Authority(WDRA)
NITI Aayog

Reserve Bank of India
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD)
Commodity Participants Association of India(CPAI)
Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation(MMTC) of India are also the members of the committee.
About SEBI:
Head Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to buy 1.85% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 9,093.6 crore
The Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, Mubadala is all set to buy 1.85% stake in jio Platforms, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), for Rs 9,093.60 crore.
The investment from Mubadala comes in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value
of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.
With this investment, the platform has raised Rs 87,655.35 crore from leading global technology and growth
investors including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala in less than six
weeks.
About Jio
Jio Platforms, a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services
across India, has more than 388 million subscribers. It is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries
Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries- Mukesh Ambani
About Mubadala Investment Company:
It is the second-biggest state investor in Abu Dhabi after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).Mubadala’s
portfolio spans advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, metals and mining, pharmaceutical and medical
technology, renewable energy and utilities, and the management of diverse financial holdings.
Managing Director and Group CEO- Khaldoon Al Mubarak
HDFC Bank launches a campaign “summer treats”

The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited(HDFC) Bank, a Mumbai based private sector bank has
launched a special campaign ‘Summer Treats’ with offers to meet the changing needs of merchants as well as
salaried and self-employed customers.
DPIIT revises public procurement order to Encourage “Make in India” and enhance employment
To encourage the Make In India initiative and to increase the income and employment generation the Department of
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) revised the public procurement order,2017 on 29th May 2019
Key Points:
i.The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals identified around 55 types of chemicals, petrochemicals, pesticides
and Dyestuff and assessed the domestic manufacturing capacity and local competition.
ii.For the 27 out of the 55 identified products, The local suppliers are eligible to bid for the estimated procurement
value between Rs.5 lakh to Rs. 50 Lakh.
iii.For the remaining 28 products irrespective of the bid amount the procuring entities shall make procurement only
from the local suppliers.
iv.The Department of Chemical and petrochemicals prescription of local content of local chemicals and petrochemical
content in public procurement:
Min 60% for 2020-21
Min 70% for 2021-23
Min 80% for 2023-25
v.Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State shipping and Chemical and Fertilizer mentioned that the mandatory public
procurement of Chemicals and Petrochemicals to boost manufacturing and production of goods, services and works
will promote Make in India Initiative and strengthen Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

SBI launches separate FI&MM vertical for agriculture and small businesses
On June 02, 2020, State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender has created a separate Financial Inclusion
and Micro Market (FI&MM) vertical within the bank with an exclusive focus to provide financial services to people
in the interior of the country. The new wing will be headed by deputy managing director (DMD) Sanjeev Nautiyal at
the national level.
FI&MM vertical:
Under this new category, the bank will mainly finance agriculture and allied activities and Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs).
Over 8000 branches in rural and semi-urban areas have been identified for this purpose.
Emphasis has been placed on improving the rural, semi urban, urban and metro areas with over 63,000 customer
service points.
Benefits: This initiative by SBI will pave the way to cater the credit flow in to the micro-finance sector as it is hardly
hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic & it will lead to better utilisation of banking correspondent (BC) model.
Credit delivery on the first day: Under the vertical, the bank has disbursed about Rs 7.17 crore to 168 eligible
MSME units under the Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL), part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package.
Points to be noted:
As we know that RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has been promoting financial inclusion under the two pronged system
namely- Horizontally Differentiated Banking System (HDBS) and Vertically Differentiated Banking System (VDBS) as
per the recommendations of the committee on ‘Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-
Income Households’ headed by Shri Nachiket Mor.
In a HDBS design, the basic design element remains a full-service bank that combines all 3 building blocks of banking
system (payments, deposits, and credit) but is differentiated primarily on the dimension of size or geography or
sectoral focus. In a VDBS design, the full-service bank is replaced by banks that specialise in one or more of the
building blocks of payments, deposits, and credit.
About State Bank of India (SBI):
Formation– 1 July 1955
Chairman– Rajnish Kumar
Tagline– The banker to every Indian; With you- all the way; A bank of the common man; Pure banking, nothing else.
Rohit Sharma becomes 1st ever brand ambassador of IIFL Finance

On 28th May 2020, Vice-Captain of Indian Cricket Team in limited-overs, Rohit Sharma became the first brand
ambassador of the IIFL Finance.
Key Points:
i.IIFL finance is one of the leading Non-Banking Finance Companies of India which manages over Rs. 36,000 crore
assets.
ii.The IIFL finance is known for the straight talk and honesty with their customers and Rohit Sharma who is popular
for his #SeedhiBaat(doing business in a straight way) attitude towards both life and game.
iii.Rohit managed the first campaign by IIFL Finance, IMG Reliance promoting and advertising the people on Safety
guidelines and rules that must be followed in the COVID-19 situation.
About Rohit Sharma:
i.Rohit Sharma is the only cricketer who made three double centuries in ODI’s and he holds the record for highest
individual score in one-day internationals(ODI).
ii.He is also the four time winning captain of the Indian Premier League(IPL).
About IIFL Finance:
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– V.K.Chopra
Executive Director& CEO – Sumit Bali

Nitin Patel presented Rs 2.17 lakh crore Gujarat budget for 2020-21
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Nitin Patel presented a Rs 2,17,287 crore budget for the financial
year 2020-21, which is higher by Rs 12,472 crore over the previous Budget in 2019-20.The Budget was prepared
keeping in focus the motto of SaunoSath, SaunoVikas and SaunoVisvas. The 8th budget of Government of Gujarat
ranks at the top among the leading States of the country.
Note: No new tax was introduced in the budget. The budget mainly focused on agriculture & education.
Focus Areas of the Budget: Gujarat has facilitated Ease of Doing Business under Business Reform Action Plan.
Government’s liberal incentive policy has been instrumental for attracting investment to the tune of `344000 cr. only
in Gujarat out of the investment of `6,79,000 cr. recorded in India through industrial entrepreneurs’ memorandum as
recently announced by Government of India. This forms 51 percent of the total investment. More than 43 percent of
the Start Ups of India have been started in Gujarat only.
Provisions made in different sectors
Agriculture
i.Rs 7,423 crore was allocated for agriculture, farmer welfare and cooperation department, out of which Rs 1,000
crore has been allocated for crop loans at 0% to the farmers.
ii.Farmers will be granted Rs 900 per month to encourage cow-based agriculture in organic farming.
iii.Mukhyamantri Pashudhan Sahay Yojna with Rs 200 crore subsidiary was also announced to provide cattle feet
at subsidized rates for newborn calves of buffalo or cow.
iv.Dinkar scheme announced a to provide electricity supply during the day time for irrigation for next 3 years.
Education & food
i.Rs 31,955 crore allocated to the education department to convert government schools into ”Schools of Excellence”.
ii.A provision of Rs 7 crore has been made to start a School of Defence Studies at Gujarat University in
collaboration with the DRDO for higher education.
iii.Rs 12 crore has been allocated to IITRAM (Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management) to
start the Department of Advanced Defence Technology in collaboration with the DRDO.
Note: ‘Mini Anganwadis” will be opened in central jails in major cities.
1st of its kind University in the country named “Gujarat Organic Agricultural University” in Halol, Panchmahal
district in central Gujarat will be set up.
Health
i.The Health and Family Welfare Department is allocated Rs 11,243 crore for focusing on malnourishment among
children, provisions were also made for the ”Mahila Suposhit Gujarat” scheme for women.
ii.The women and child development department will open ‘Rann Anganwadis’(child care centres) in desert areas
for the children of 1,500 salt pan worker families.
iii.‘Ayushman Bharat Yojna’ for 150 new ambulances.
Water
i.Rs 4,317 crore allocated for the clean drinking water .Commitment made for the ‘Nal Se Jal Tak Abhiyan’ in the
next two years.
ii.Provisioned Rs 7,220 crore for various schemes under water resources, the Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran
Irrigation (SAUNI) Scheme.
Electricity & Park
Rs 500 crore allocated to install substations & transmission line. The world’s largest hybrid energy park is to be set
up in Kutch district, which has a capacity to generate 25,000 megawatt of electricity per year at one place by
harnessing solar and wind energy.
Other allocations
i.”Madre Vatan” – government will contribute equal amount of donation given by the Gujarat donors for developing
various facilities.
ii.Climate change initiatives which include providing a subsidy of ₹40,000 to 800 beneficiaries for purchase of e-
rickshaws and 10,000 rupees to 1,000 beneficiaries for purchase of battery-operated two-wheelers.
iii.The completion of Narmada projects, Rs 8,755 crore allocated, Rs 1,084 crore is allocated to complete the Kutch
canal for Narmada waters.
For Further Information Click here to read the Over all budget Estimates of 2020-21.

About Gujarat:
Chief Minister– Vijay Rupani
Governor– Acharya Devvrat
American DFC to invest $350 million in India firms

To support multiple projects in India, The US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) is planning
to invest 350 million USD in sectors of finance, health infrastructure, renewable energy and food security space also
look to empower smallholder dairy farmers, generate solar power increase access to education. It is one of the largest
approvals made by the Board of Directors.
Note: USIDFC has approved $1 billion of investments for advance development in other countries across the
globe.60% of the investments are being made in the low to lower-middle income countries.
Investments to be made (India)
i.Food
$20 million in equity for ”FreshToHome” to deliver high-quality, affordable fish, meat, and produce to homes.
Dairy
1)$371,000 in technical assistance to support Milk Mantra, which sources milk from smallholder farmers to produce
and sell dairy products in eastern India.
2)$10 million loan will help Milk Mantra, a dairy company committed to ethical sourcing from smallholder farmers,
expand its operations in eastern India.
3)$2.7 million loan guaranty to Stellapps Technologies will advance innovative solutions that streamline the dairy
value chain in India.
Energy
1)$30 million investment in South Asia Growth Fund II will support businesses in the energy, water, and food
sectors and promote sustainable access to and the efficient use of resources.
2)$142 million loan for ReNew Power has been approved to develop, construct, and operate a 300-megawatt solar
power plant in Rajasthan. Also, $50 million loan to Sitara Solar Energy Private Ltd. has been approved to build and
operate a 100-megawatt solar power plant in Rajasthan.
3)$27.3 million loan to Paryapt Solar Energy Private Ltd. to build and operate a 50-megawatt solar power plant in
Gujarat.
iv.Finance
$50 million loan granted to Northern Arc Capital to help it extend loans to businesses that expand access to water,
sanitation, and food or advance women’s economic empowerment in India.
v.Education
1)$14.6 million loan guaranty was made towards World Business Capital to support the expansion of Avanse
Financial Services student loan program.
Note: The USIDFC also called America’s development bank partners with the private sector to find financial solutions
to the most critical challenges faced by the developing world.
Why the investment?
These projects are expected to uplift some of the most underserved communities around the world and focus on the
impact of its development in order to fight the health and economic fallout during the pandemic.
About DFC or USIDFC
CEO– Adam Boehler
Head office– Washington D.C, the United States of America
NABARD provides Rs 270 crore Special Liquidity Facility to Assam Gramin Vikash Bank
On June 5, 2020 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) provided Rs 270 crore Special
Liquidity Facility(SLF) to Assam Gramin Vikash Bank in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic to support the agricultural
activities of the farmers.
This support & separate line of credit will enable to intensify farmers crop production.

Key Points
The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has announced a Rs 50,000 crore refinance facility for 3 All-India Financial
Institutions(AIFI) namely: NABARD, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the National
Housing Bank (NHB).
From the total of Rs 50,000 crore NABARD received Rs 25,000 crore to refinance Regional Rural Banks(RRBs), co-
operative(co-op) banks and Microfinance Institutions(MFIs) to ensure credit flow to farmers for agricultural
operations during COVID-19 pandemic.
Few NABARD’s sanctions to ensure credit flow to farmers for agricultural operations during COVID-19
pandemic
i.NABARD disbursed Rs 12,767 crores to State(Co-op) Banks & Regional Rural Banks(RRBs) across the country.
ii.Sanctioned Rs 1,500 crores for Punjab, out of which Rs 1,000 crores is sanctioned to Punjab State Cooperative
Bank and Rs 500 crores to Punjab Gramin Bank.
iii.Extended Rs 1,050 crores SLF to West Bengal so far in the current fiscal year (FY 21), of the total amount, Rs 300
crore disbursed for MFIs, Rs 700 crore sanctioned for state cooperative banks and Rs 50 crore for RRBs.
iv.Extended Rs 20,500 crores SLF to co-operative banks(Rs 15,200 crores) and Regional Rural Banks(Rs 5,300
crores) in various States. This is against the Rs 5,000 crores lent during the 1st quarter of 2019.
About NABARD:
Chairman– Govinda Rajulu Chintala
US private equity firm Silver lake to invest ₹4,546.80 cr for 0.93% additional stake in Jio platforms
On June 05, 2020, Following the investment of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company in Reliance’s Jio
Platforms, US(United States) private equity company Silver Lake partners announced an investment of Rs 4,546.80
crore for an additional 0.93 % stake in Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani-controlled
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
It is to be noted that, earlier on May 04, 2020, Silver Lake had invested Rs 5,655.75 crore ($750 million) for a 1.15 %
stake.
Aggregate investment by Silver Lake: Thus, Silver Lake’s total investment in Jio platforms will increase to Rs
10,202.55 crore for 2.08 %.
Sixth major investment in six weeks: With this investment, Jio platform has raised a total of Rs 92,202.12 crore so
far, from Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala in the past nearly six
weeks.
Key Points:
i.With this investment, the equity value of Jio platform is Rs 4.91 lakh crore and the enterprise value is 5.16 lakh crore
& also represents an important component of the revival of the Indian economy as severe economic crisis caused by
the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
ii.Silver Lake is known for investing in technology companies around the world. The company has invested in some of
the biggest and successful companies around the world, including companies such as Twitter, Airbnb, Alibaba, Dell
Technologies, ANT Financials, Alphabet’s Waymo and Verily.
About Silver Lake partners:
Headquarters– California, United States
Co-CEO – Egon Durban
About Reliance Industries Ltd:
Chairman and MD– Mukesh Ambani
FSSAI State food safety index for 2019-20 released during webinar; Gujarat, Goa, Chandigarh topped
The 2nd State Food Safety Index (SFSI) for 2019-20 of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been
topped by Gujarat among larger states and by Goa among smaller states. It was announced during a webinar
conducted on the occasion of “World Food Safety Day” on June 7, 2020 on the theme “Food Safety is everyone’s
business”.

This webinar has recognized all those who ensured uninterrupted availability of safe food for everyone during
COVID-19 pandemic.
The State Food Safety Index ranks states on five parameters.The parameters are Human Resources and Institutional
Data, Compliance, Food Testing Facility, Training and Capacity Building besides Consumer Empowerment. Following
is the list of winners:
Rank Winner
Large States
1 Gujarat
2 Tamil Nadu
3 Maharashtra
Small States
1 Goa
2 Manipur
3 Meghalaya
Union Territories (UTs)
1 Chandigarh
2 Delhi
3 Andaman Islands
Key Points:
-FSSAI also released an e-handbook on “Eat Right during COVID-19” for citizens. It highlights safe food practices to
be followed diligently and tips on health and nutrition. It is available at https://fssai.gov.in/cms/coronavirus.php.
-Earlier, FSSAI released the guidance note ‘Food Hygiene and Safety Guidelines for Food Businesses during
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic’ specifying hygiene and sanitary requirements, responsibility of
management and sector specific requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the food supply chain
Participants:
The webinar was attended by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare; Ashwini Kumar
Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare; and Preeti Sudan, Secretary, MoHFW. Dignitaries from the
Health Ministry, senior officials from the State Food Safety departments, professionals in food and nutrition,
development agencies, food businesses and various partners also joined this celebration online.
Click Here for Official Link
About FSSAI:
Chairperson– Ms Rita Teaotia
CEO – Arun Singhal
Chatbot– Food Funda
Headquarter– New Delhi
India ranks 168th in Environment Performance Index 2020; Denmark tops

On June 07, 2020, According to the biennial Environment Performance Index (EPI ) 2020 released jointly by Yale
University and Columbia University, India has ranked 168 out of 180 countries with a score of 27.6 out of
100.While the Denmark has been topped the list with a score of 82.5.
In EPI 2018 , India’s rank was 177 with a score of 30.57 out of 100.
Here’s the list of top 3 nations in EPI 2020:
Rank Country Name EPI score
168 India 27.6
1 Denmark 82.5

2 Luxembourg 82.3
3 Switzerland 81.5
Key Points:
i.The EPI provides a quantitative basis for comparing, analyzing, and understanding environmental performance of
the countries based on 32 key sustainability indicators across 11 categories & also gives a snapshot of the 10-year
trends in environmental performance at the national and global levels.
Performance by South Asian region:
Among the South Asian countries, Bhutan topped in the list and Afghanistan was at the bottom.
Road ahead:
The Index stressed India to re-double national sustainability efforts on all fronts & needs to focus on key issues such
as air and water quality, biodiversity and climate change.
This can also be complemented by the proper determination of the price of more polluting fuels, such as petrol and
diesel, besides subsidizing the rapid transition to solar energy.
India’s rank in Category wise at EPI 2020:
Rank Category
35 Fisheries
93 Eco-System Service
94 Water Resources
103 Waste Management
106 climate change mitigation
108 Agriculture
139 Sanitation & Drinking water
145 Pollution Emissions
148 biodiversity and habitat
174 Heavy Metals
179 Air Quality
For more detail about other countries- click here
Recent policy efforts by the government for environmental protection:
Decision to implement Bharat Stage-6 (BS-VI) emission standards directly, leaving India Stage-5 (BS-V) with effect
from April 1, 2020.
A framework for the production and sale of electric vehicles is under construction by 2030.
To accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources, the National Solar Mission has revised the target of
installing 20 GW of solar capacity by 2021-22 to 100 GW.
About Environmental Performance Index:-
EPI index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index and it was first published in 2002.The EPI
was preceded by the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI).
This index was developed by Yale University (Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy) and Columbia
University (Center for International Earth Science Information Network) in collaboration with the World Economic
Forum and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
GGEI(Global Green Economy Index) utilizes EPI data for the environmental dimension of the index.
About Yale University:
Location– New Haven, US
President– Peter Salovey
About and Columbia University:
Location– New York, United States
President– Lee Bollinger

Tech Mahindra signs UNGC Initiative to reduce CO2 emissions; Target to raise renewable energy to 50% by
2025
Tech Mahindra Ltd, an IT subsidiary of the Mahindra Group has joined 155 global companies by inking a joint
declaration with United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) urging governments to align their COVID-19 recovery efforts
with the latest climate science.
Through this joint declaration, Tech Mahindra aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and energy
conservation by using new-age technologies like internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence and block chain.
Apart from above, Tech Mahindra set targets to increase the renewable source of energy to 50% by 2025.
It has joined the global companies in calling for policies that will build resilience against future shocks by supporting
efforts to hold global temperature rise to within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with reaching net-zero
emissions well before 2050.
Tech Mahindra also reaffirms its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions with fairer transition from
a grey to a green economy.
Efforts by tech Mahindra towards green economy:
-An internal Carbon Price of $10/ton CO2 has been implemented by the company to boost green investments
-Adopted a low emission technology path to increase the use of renewable energy from 1.7% in 2016 to 18% in 2020.
About Tech Mahindra
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Chander Prakash Gurnani
Headquarters- Pune, Maharashtra
About UNGC
It is world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. It is a call to companies to align strategies and operations with
universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal
goals.
Headquarters– New York, United States (US)
CEO & Executive Director– Ms. Lise Kingo
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invests Rs 5,683.50 cr for 1.16% stake in Jio Platforms
On June 07, 2020, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, has
invested Rs 5,683.50 crore for a 1.16 % stake in Jio platforms, a subsidiary of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani-
controlled Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
Eigth major investment in seven weeks:
With this investment, a total of Rs 97,885.65 crore has been invested for 21.06% equity in Jio platforms through 8
investments. The investment began with Facebook on April 22,2020 followed by additional investments by Silver
Lake (2 investments), Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR and Mubadala in the past nearly seven weeks.
Key Points:
i.With this latest investment, the equity value of Jio platform is Rs 4.91 lakh crore and the enterprise value is 5.16 lakh
crore & also represents an important component of the revival of the Indian economy as severe economic crisis
caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
ii.Earlier On June 05, 2020, US(United States) private equity firm Silver Lake Partners announced to invest Rs
4,546.80 crore for an additional 0.93% stake after it had invested Rs 5,655.75 crore for a 1.15% stake. On the same
day itself, Abu Dhabi-based investment company Mubadala bought 1.85 % stake for Rs 9,093.60 crore.
About Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA):
Headquarters– Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Managing Director– Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Chairman – Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
About Reliance Industries Ltd:
Chairman and MD– Mukesh Ambani

India to set up first coal trading exchange
As India is the world’s second-largest producer of coal, it has decided to set up its first coal trading platform -a sort
of ‘Coal exchange’, where a large number of sellers and buyers can get together to trade coal as a commodity.
It is to be noted that the coal ministry is likely to initiate auctions of about 50 coal blocks for commercial coal mining
on June 11, 2020.
Coal Exchange
It will be an online platform where there will be transparency in terms of price & it can be determined according to
demand and supply.
The coal exchange will actually be on the lines of commodity exchange, power bourses or the proposed gas exchange.
This exchange policy will help our country to move forward in commercial coal mining process with more coal
dealers in the market other than Coal India and also coal blocks have been allocated to the state-level PSUs(Public
Sector Undertakings) for coal sales.
Coal India Ltd to remain a dominant player:
After this exchange is formed, the round of new Fuel Supply Agreements (FSA) will end as at present, Coal India
Limited (CIL) supplies coal through this agreement to the states.
CIL will continue to be the largest company to supply coal even after actually becoming the exchanges. By the year
2024, it aims to produce 1 billion tonnes of coal. If Coal India produces more coal than its production target, it will be
able to sell it at the market price.
Purpose of Coal Exchange:-
As per the May month report India’s coal importing was fallen by 20% to 18.93 million tonnes and by 2023-24
,central plan to bring India’s ‘avoidable coal imports’ to become zero.
Background:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,while announcing reforms in the coal sector stated that the
government’s monopoly in the coal sector would be completely lifted and liberalised entries will be allowed to enable
more participation by people with the aim to increase coal production in India and reduce the dependence of
imported coal.
India, which has the third largest coal reserves in the world, is still importing coal.
About Coal India Limited (CIL):
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
Chairman-cum-Managing-Director (MD)- Pramod Agarwal
India and Denmark signed an MOU for developing cooperation in power sector
To develop strong cooperation and promote strategic intervention in the power sector, an MOU(Memorandum of
Understanding ) on the Indo-Denmark Cooperation between the Ministry of Power, Government of the Republic
of India and the Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Government of the Kingdom of Denmark was signed on
5th June 2020.
The MOU was signed by the Secretary (Power), Sanjiv Nandan Sahai and Ambassador of Denmark to
India, Freddy Svane.
Why the MOU?
To strengthen the long term co-operation between the two countries in the Power sector on the basis of equality,
reciprocity and mutual benefit with special focus on renewable energy.
Key Points
i.The MOU provides collaboration in areas like;
Offshore wind
Long term energy planning
Forecasting
Flexibility in the grid
Consolidation of grid codes to integrate and operate efficiently variable generation options
Flexibility in the power purchase agreements
Incentivize power plant flexibility
Variability in renewable energy production

This cooperation with Denmark would benefit the Indian electricity market.
Implementation:
Under the MOU to implement the agreement of the identified areas a Joint Working Group (JWG) will be established
and co-chaired by joint Secretary-level officials who will report to a Steering Committee jointly chaired by the
Secretary level officers from both the sides.
Reminisce of India-Denmark Collaboration in 2019:
The approval for this Cooperation agreement between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and
Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate of the Kingdom of Denmark on the strategic sector of power were approved
by the Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Modi in June last year.
A Letter of Intent to establish an Indo-Danish Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy in India was also signed in
this respect.
About the Ministry of Power & Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Ministry of Power started functioning independently with effect from 2nd July, 1992. Earlier it was known as the
Ministry of Energy sources.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India in New Delhi, for all
matters relating to new and renewable energy.
Minister of State (IC) (Power, New & Renewable Energy)- Raj Kumar Singh
About the Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities
The Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities was established on 28 June 2015, when the utility area was
added to the responsibilities of the Climate and Energy Ministry to ensure safety and efficiency within the areas of
energy and utilities and to promote a greener and more sustainable society.
Aim: The governmental goal is that Denmark will be independent of fossil fuels by 2050.
Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities– Dan Joergensen
World Bank grants Rs. 1,950 cr loans to West Bengal to tackle COVID – 19: Mamata Banerjee
On June 08, 2020, According to the Chief Minister (CM) of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, the World Bank (WB) has
granted loan worth of Rs. 1,950 crore to the state for tackling coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and developmental
work.
Key Points:
i.Out of the total amount, Rs. 1,100 crore will be allocated for creating Industrial infrastructures and the balance Rs.
850 crore will be spent for various Social-Welfare schemes.
About World Bank:
Headquarters– Washington D.C., United States (US).
Motto– Working for a World Free of Poverty.
President– David Malpass.
About West Bengal:
Capital– Kolkata
Governor– Jagdeep Dhankhar
Chief Minister– Mamata Banerjee
National Parks (NP)- Buxa NP, Gorumara NP, Neora Valley NP, Singalila NP, Sunderban NP, Jaldapara NP.
RBI proposed Draft Frameworks for Sale of Loan Exposures and Securitisation of Standard Assets
On June 8, 2020, after exercising the powers conferred by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) Act, 1934, RBI has proposed two draft documents titled “Draft Comprehensive Framework for Sale of
Loan Exposures” and “Draft Framework for Securitisation of Standard Assets” consisting of guidelines applicable to
all Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks); All India Financial Institutions [National
Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), National Housing Bank (NHB), EXIM (Export-Import) Bank,
and Small industrial Development Bank of India (SIDBI)]; and, all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)
including Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).
The revised guidelines include the recommendations of the Committee on Development of Housing Finance
Securitisation Market in India chaire by Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the Task Force on the Development of Secondary

Market for Corporate Loans chaired by Thothala Narayanaswamy Manoharan, which were set up by the Reserve
Bank in May, 2019.
The stakeholders can send their comments on the draft framework by June 30, 2020.
Comprehensive framework for sale of loans/Reserve Bank of India (Sale of Loans) Directions, 2020.
The draft guideline proposed by the RBI for sale of loan exposures deals with various issues like asset classification of
the loan to be transferred, nature of entity purchasing loan and mode of transfer of loans. The move is aimed at
building a robust secondary market for bank loans that could ensure proper price discovery. The directions will be
applicable to all loan sales, including sale of loans to special purpose entities for the purpose of securitization. The
directions are:
Sale of standard assets may be by assignment, novation or a loan participation contract (either funded participation
or risk participation) whereas the sale of stressed assets may be by assignment or novation.
Direct assignment transactions shall be subsumed as a special case of these guidelines.
Requirement of MRR for sale of loans has been done away with.
The price discovery process has been deregulated to be as per the lenders’ policy.
Stressed assets may be sold to any entity that is permitted to take on loan exposures by its statutory or regulatory
framework.
Some of the existing conditions for sale of NPAs have been rationalised.
RBI proposes major changes in securitisation norms/Reserve Bank of India (Securitisation of Standard
Assets) Directions, 2020
The central bank has also proposed significant changes in securitisation norms which are aimed at development of a
strong and robust market. The revision in guidelines is an attempt to align the regulatory framework with the Basel
guidelines on securitisation that have come into force effective January 1, 2018. The salient features of the draft
securitisation guidelines as compared to the existing guidelines are as follows:
Only transactions that result in multiple tranches of securities being issued reflecting different credit risks will be
treated as securitisation transactions, and accordingly covered under these guidelines;
In line with the Basel III guidelines, two capital measurement approaches have been proposed: Securitisation
External Ratings Based Approach (SEC-ERBA) and Securitisation Standardised Approach (SEC-SA).
A special case of securitisation, called Simple, Transparent and Comparable (STC) securitisations, has been prescribed
with clearly defined criteria and preferential capital treatment.
The definition of securitisation has been modified to allow single asset securitisations. Securitisation of exposures
purchased from other lenders has been allowed.
Carve outs have been provided for Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) in prescriptions regarding
minimum holding period (MHP), minimum retention requirements (MRR) and reset of credit enhancements.
For underlying loans with original maturity of 24 months or less, the MRR shall be 5% of the book value of the loans
being securitised.
For underlying loans with original maturity of more than 24 months the MRR shall be 10% of the book value of the
loans being securitised.
RBI also retained the MHP for RMBS which are issued by the special purpose entity, at six months or period covering
six instalments whichever is later. The minimum holding period is the duration for which a bank or NBFC is required
to hold the loans on its book before selling them.
A quantitative test for significant transfer of credit risk has been prescribed for derecognition for the purpose of
capital requirements, independent of the accounting derecognition.
Click Here for Official Draft Comprehensive Framework for Sale of loan exposures
Click Here for Official Draft Framework for Securitisation of Standard Assets
appointed).

PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard launches ‘first of its kind’ domestic trip travel insurance
On June 9, 2020 Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard, the non-life
insurance company launched ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance, domestic multi-trip insurance to provide a stress-
free travel experience to customers by covering risks associated with all modes of travel within the country (road,
rail and air within the country) from the time a customer leaves home, till the time of return.The cost of the insurance
is Rs 499/year.It provides 365-day protection & covers all modes of transport.
Major Highlights of the policy
i.The policy provides affordable annual insurance cover for unlimited trips. This solution eliminates the need to
insure each trip separately and will benefit both business and leisure travelers unlike other traditional travel
insurance products.
ii.It meets the customers’ needs who want to purchase domestic travel insurance every time they book a ticket or
cab.
iii.For domestic travellers– It offers a comprehensive bouquet of benefits that cover losses from trip cancellations,
home burglary while travelling, missed connecting flights and lost baggage, among others.
iv.For air travellers– There is a feature for trip cancellation due to hospitalisation and up to Rs 1,000 payout for trip
cancellation due to government lockdown. Along with this, it also provides cover against death or hospitalisation due
to an accident during the journey, with a sum of Rs 5 lakh.
v.The service is only for PhonePe users, who can purchase the policy under the “My Money” section on the PhonePe
app.
vi.The policy purchase process takes around 2 minutes and customers will be issued their policy documents instantly
on the PhonePe app.
Other launch of PhonePe:
PhonePe partnered with investment manager Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (ABSLMF) & launched Super Fund, a
solution which invests across multiple top equities, gold, and debt funds of different mutual fund companies to help
investors create long-term wealth in a safer way.
About PhonePe:
HeadQuarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sameer Nigam
About ICICI Lombard:
HeadQuarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing director(MD) & CEO– Bhargav Dasgupta
Indian economy to contract by 3.2% in FY 20-21:World Bank GEP report June 2020
The Washington based multilateral lender, World Bank in its latest edition of the Global Economic Prospect (GEP)
June 2020 analytical chapters reports states that India’s growth is contract by 3.2%(so growth is -3.2%) for FY20-
21 .It was lower from 4.2% which forecasted in FY2019-20 at the end of March 2020.
The growth forecast is 9 percentage lower than the GEP forecasts from January 2020 when the growth was projected
as 5.8%. But it also highlights that country’s growth is expected to be 3.1% for the FY 2021-22.
Acc. to the GEP report, the real impact of the Covid-19 and lockdown would be felt in the current fiscal (2020-21)
beginning April, the central bank has been purchasing government bonds to ease the financial strains.
Impact in South Asian Region
Acc. to the bank projections, the Indian economy will have a spillover impact in South Asian regional activities
despite having relatively more low-key trade linkages with the advanced economies than other EMDE (Emerging
Market and Developing Economies) regions.
The growth rate projected in the region marked with high uncertainty has registered a contraction of -2.7% in 2020.
Why the Un-certainty?
Covid-19 infections are still rising in several economies in the South Asian region, despite the relatively low number
of reported cases per capita. Across the region, the pandemic easing measures will severely curb consumption and
services activity, while high uncertainty about the pandemic will restrict private investment.

What is EMDE?
Countries classified as emerging market and Developing economies are those with some, but not all, of the
characteristics of a developed market (economy).
Indian Economy
i.The growth rate of the Indian economy in FY17 was 7% which dropped to 6.1% in FY18 and then to 4.2
% in FY20.
ii.The impact of the pandemic and lockdown is being felt in the current financial year (2020-2021 beginning April),
with a negative growth rate of 3.2%.
Other Projected contractions Globally
i.The easing measures imposed in Pakistan and Afghanistan are expected to weigh majorly on private consumption
contributing to contractions of -2.6% and -5.5% respectively, within labour-intensive export sectors like textiles to
recover slowly after experiencing a sharp contraction.
ii.In Bangladesh projected to a substantial slack in this fiscal at a slow 1.6% due to the global exports plunge and
payments fall in the sector.
iii.Nepal growth projection is to decline to 1.8% due to exports and a drop in tourism (China and India contribute to
one-third of the tourism sector).
iv.Bhutan, Srilanka and Maldives to experience a sharp decline in tourism to weigh on their economic activity.
v.The US is expected to contract by 6.1% this year.
vi.The Euro area is projected to contract at 9.1%.
vii.Japan is expected to shrink at 6.1%.
viii.China is expected to show a four-decade slow of 1%.
Also, East Asia and the Pacific will grow by 0.5%. South Asia will contract by 2.7%, Sub-Saharan Africa contract by
2.8%, Middle East and North Africa contract by 4.2%, Europe and Central Asia contract by 4.7%, and Latin America
and the Caribbean contract by 7.2%.
Note : According to Johns Hopkins University data, India is the fifth worst-hit nation by the Covid-19 pandemic
after the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK.
For further details on the report please
visithttps://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/33748/211553-Ch01.pdf
Global Economy to shrink by 5.2 % in 2020; World Bank
Acc. to the World Bank, the massive shock of the COVID-19 Pandemic and lockdown measures for its containment will
lead to a contraction of the global economy by 5.2% in 2020.
Countries most reliant on global trade, tourism, external financing and commodity exports would be most affected.
Baseline forecast
Assuming that the pandemic will recede to allow the lifting of domestic easing measures in advanced economies and
later in EMDEs.
Note : Advanced economies are projected to shrink 7 per cent.
i.Global forecast projected to rebound to 4.2% in 2021 with advanced economy growth at 3.9% and EMDE back
at 4.6% (from 2.5% this year; the first contraction in 60 years).
ii.Downside Scenario states that the global economy could shrink by 8% (i.e 5% for EMDEs) which would see a slow
and weak recovery at just above 1% growth in 2021.
Note: The vice president for equitable growth, finance and institutions at World Bank Group, and economist Ceyla
Pazarbasioglu stated that the pandemic poses a major global challenge and its main objective is to set out to
address the global health and economic emergency. In order to do so, the global community must unite and find ways
to rebuild and recover.
EMDE to be vulnerable: World Bank; Covid-19 to push 60-million into poverty in 2020
The World Bank president David Malpass stated that an estimated 60 million people could be pushed into extreme
poverty in 2020. Also, stating that this is likely to rise further with reopening of economies.
Policies for economic recovery; to limit damage and build stronger recovery
i.Debt transparency to invite new investment.
ii.Advanced Digital connectivity.
iii.Expansion of cash safety net for the poor.

iv.Faster litigation and solvency of bankruptcies
v.Resolve costly subsidies, monopolies and protected state-owned properties with slow development.
vi.G20 countries freezing loan repayments in low-income countries (starting May 1)
Other policies for long term growth (post-pandemic world):
i.Improving the environment for business.
ii.Improved governance and enhancing investments in education and public health.
Note: EDMEs that have restricted energy-intensive activities and not much monetary room to counteract the effects,
the collapsed oil prices are not likely to reduce the adverse effects of the pandemic , but, there might be a short
window of strategic recovery and support for economic activity with targeted stimulus measures.
About the World Bank Group
The World Bank is one of the largest sources of funding for developing countries. It partners with 5 private sector
institutions; The IBRD (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), IDA(The International
Development Association ), IFC( The International Finance Corporation), MIGA ( The Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency) and ICSID( The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes)
President– David Malpass
Recykal partnered with UNDP, HCCB for plastic waste management Project Prithivi
Recycling plays an important role in enhancing the circular economy. However, lack of awareness poses challenges
towards management of plastic waste and recycling. In order to overcome this situation, Recykal, a digital technology
company in the waste management space collaborated with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCB) for Project Prithvi, a joint initiative for developing sustainable
plastic waste management practices in the country.
It should be noted that in 2019, IT giant Mindtree in partnership with HCCBPL and UNDP launched Project Prithvi
under Pan-India Project which is operational in 28 cities across India and plans to roll out in 50+ cities across India by
2020.
How will Recykal boost this partnership?
As part of this partnership, Recykal will leverage its cloud applications, mobile applications to raise consumer
awareness on segregation and recycling.
It will enable collection, channelization of plastic waste from schools, colleges, corporates, RWAs, and bulk generators
to connect with recyclers closing the loop of the recycling ecosystem.
Key Points: Project Prithvi
-The initiative will also focus on informal sector inclusion activities like providing soft skills training, opening of bank
accounts, enabling digital transactions for waste pickers, kabadiwalas, aggregators, etc.
-Notably, the programme aims to collect over 5,000 metric tons of recyclable and non-recyclable plastic waste over
the next 12 months and channelize them to registered recyclers and co-processors.
About Recykal:
It is a winner of NASSCOM Emerge 50 Award 2019, FICCI Indian Circular Economy Award 2019 and ASSOCHAM Best
Digital Technology Provider for Waste Management in 2019.
Founder– Abhay Deshpande
Co-Founder– Abhishek Deshpande, Anirudha Jalan
Headquarter– Hyderabad, Telangana
About HCCB:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Christina Ruggiero
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
About UNDP:
Administrator– Achim Steiner
Headquarters– New York, United States (US)
Indian GDP to contract 5% in FY21: S&P Global Ratings

S&P Global Ratings predicted that Indian economy will shrink 5 per cent in FY21 and the fiscal stimulus worth 1.2
percent of GDP will not be enough to provide significant growth support.In a report on emerging markets titled

‘Financial Conditions Reflect Optimism, Lockdown Fatigue Emerges” highlighted that the services sectors have been
severely affected.
Rs. 4000cr allocated to State Governments under Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component of PMKSY for FY
2020-21
The Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) has allocated Rs. 4000 cr to the state
governments for the year 2020-21 for implementing Per Drop More Crop component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY- PDMC). For further allotment of funds, State Governments have identified the
beneficiaries to be covered under the programme.
About PMKSY- PDMC:
The objective of PMKSY– PDMC is to enhance the use of water effectively at farm level through Micro Irrigation
technologies viz. Drip and Sprinkler irrigation systems. Drip micro irrigation technique not only helps in water
saving but also in reducing fertilizer usage, labour expenses and other input costs.
For Micro Irrigation Fund a corpus of 5000 crore has been created with NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development). So far, the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have been allocated Rs. 616.14 crore and
for Rs.478.79 crore, respectively for micro irrigation through NABARD.
The area covered under these projects is 1.021 lakh ha. in Andhra Pradesh and 1.76 lakh hectares (ha) in Tamil Nadu.
During the last five years (2015-16 to 2019-20), an area of 46.96 lakh ha. has been covered under Micro Irrigation
through PMKSY-PDMC.
About PMKSY:
This scheme was formulated on July 1, 2015 with an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore in five years for extending the water
coverage for irrigation under focusing “Har Khet ko pani” and improving water use efficiency aiming at “More crop
per drop”.
It has been formed after the amalgamation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of
Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR), Integrated Watershed Management
Programme (IWMP) of Department of Land Resources (DoLR) and the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).
About DAC&FW:
Secretary– Sanjay Agarwal
ADB forms 8-member panel to find solutions for speedy recovery of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia
On June 10, 2020, Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank has constituted a 8-
member high-level panel of leading experts in economics, finance, and health, moderated by ADB Vice-President
Ahmed M. Saeed, to help ministers, central bank governors, and other senior officials identify solutions for Southeast
Asian economies to tap into to quickly recover after the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The 8 member panel includes,
Jane Halton, chair of the Coalition for Epidemics Preparedness Innovation and former secretary of the Australian
departments of health and finance
Rema Hanna, Harvard Kennedy School;
Karen Tay Koh, former Singapore Ministry of Finance official and former deputy CEO of SingHealth;
Ramayya Krishnan, Carnegie Mellon University;
Anup Malani, University of Chicago;
Raghuram Rajan, University of Chicago; former governor of the Reserve Bank of India and chief economist of the
International Monetary Fund;
Andrew Sheng, Asia Global Institute;
Nicholas Stern, London School of Economics; former head of the United Kingdom’s Government Economic Service
and former chief economist of the World Bank.

Terms of reference (TOR) of the panel:
The panel discussed measures taken by the various nations to address the Covid-19’s devastating health, social,
economic, and financial impacts, and their medium- to long-term priorities. They also discussed structural reforms,
innovation in domestic resource mobilization & formula to make recovery sustainable.
ADB’s response to COVID-19:
The ADB on April 13, 2020 has allocated $20 billion financial response to its members to help fight the pandemic and
reboot its economy after months of lockdown.
Countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Georgia, India, Indonesia, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, and the
Philippines received a total of $5.52 billion from ADB interventions under the COVID-19 pandemic response option
(CPRO) from its $7.2 billion in rapid response loans and technical assistance.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Headquarters– Mandaluyong, Philippines
Membership– 68 countries
India becomes 2nd nation to have contact-free ATM cash withdrawals; Empays Payment Systems partners
with Mastercard
In order to eliminate the use of physical card or touch an ATM PIN pad, amid the spread of coronavirus from
contaminated surfaces, Empays Payment Systems has joined hands with Mastercard to launch “Cardless ATM
powered by Mastercard” in India based on the standards of EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa). With this, India
will be the first country outside the United States (US) where this product will be launched.
This cardless ATM (automated teller machine) will enable the users to withdraw their money just by scanning a
(Quick Response) code on the mobile phone, using their banking app.
It should be noted that Empays is authorised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a national payment system.
Key Points:
-Empays, which runs the Instant Money Transfer (IMT) Payment System, will upgrade the basic technology behind
the IMT Payment System to meet the requirements of Mastercard Cardless ATM.
-Notably, IMT Payment System powers the largest ATM network for cardless cash withdrawals in the world and is
available across 40,000 ATMs in India. It uses SMS (short message service) technology to enable cash withdrawals.
-Both companies are working to launch pilots with consenting banks in coming months.
How will it work?
It follows a 4 step procedure:
Open banking app
Scan QR on ATM
Authenticate withdrawal amount on banking app
Pick up cash from ATM
Point to be noted:
Earlier, AGS Transact Technologies Limited (AGSTTL) has developed ‘touchless’ (based on QR code) solution for
cash withdrawals at ATMs.
About Empays Payment Systems :
Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Ravi Rajagopalan
About AGS Transact Technologies
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Ravi B. Goyal
About Mastercard:
Headquarter– New York, U.S.
CEO– Ajaypal Singh Banga (Michael Miebach will take over Ajay Banga in Jan 2021)

ePaisa and First Alliance Bank became partners for Africa’s POS solution
POS (Point of Sale ) solution provider in India, ePaisa entered into a partnership with First Alliance Bank (Z) Ltd in
Zambia, Africa, to provide mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution to small and medium enterprises and other
businesses. ePaisa will be the solution provider for First Alliance Bank(FAB), which will further provide it to
businesses across Zambia.For ePaisa this partnership becomes first global expansion.
Why the partnership?
To help First Alliance Bank to digitalise POS payment services within Zambia.
Key Points
i.The focus of the partnership for the FAB is to empower all business with POS solution in various industries across
Zambia.
ii.The partnership initiates awareness towards digitalising payments and introducing the contactless payment
feature in Zambia with the smart mPOS as the co-branded solution.
About ePaisa
ePaisa is a free multilingual mobile-based point of sale app that transforms your smartphone or tablet into a complete
business management solution that also enables SME (Small Medium Enterprise) to accept payments via card, cash or
loyalty points but also helps SMEs to generate higher profitability through value-added services (VAS) offerings like
bill & utility payments, mobile recharge etc.
CEO-Pravinkumar Bhandari
Vice-President– Naveen Khanna
About First Alliance Bank (Z)
A commercial bank commenced in 1994 with head office in Lusaka, Zambia operates on strategic objectives to
contribute economic growth in Zambia. Their Mission statement is to make the Bank the most customer-friendly
Bank in the country.
Chairman– Sanmukh R Patel
Managing Director– Inder Mani Malik
Head office – Lusaka, Zambia
Centre approved funds for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand & West
Bengal
On the lines of the announcement made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 regarding Jal Jeevan Mission
(JJM) which aims to provide “Functional Household Tap Connection” (FHTC) to 18 Crore rural households of the
country by the year 2024, the Centre has earlier approved funds for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission for
Odisha, Meghalaya, Assam & Bihar. Click Here to Read. Now extending this scheme further for other states, Centre has
now approved funds to the following states for FY2020-2021:
Govt approves Rs 1280 cr for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Madhya Pradesh
Centre has approved implementation of Rs 1,280 Cr of JJM in Madhya Pradesh (MP) in 2020-21 on the basis of the
Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2020-21 presented by MP to National Committee chaired by Parameswaran Iyer,
Secretary, Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
With an amount of Rs 244.95 Crore as unspent balance and this year’s Central allocation and matching State share, Rs
3,093 Crore will be available with the State this year.
MP has planned to have 100% Functional Household Tap Water Connection (FHTC) by 2023-24 while for FY21 it will
provide tap connections to 26.27 lakh households in rural areas.
Priority is given to water scarce areas, quality-affected areas, SC/ ST dominated habitations/ villages, aspirational
districts and Sansad Adarsh Gramin Yojana villages, particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
Government of India approved Rs 572.23 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Jharkhand
Jharkhand presented their Annual Action Plan for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the State to the Ministry of
Jal Shakti through a virtual meet chaired by Parameswaran Iyer. Jharkhand planned to have 100% household
coverage by 2023-24 while for FY21 it will enable 12 lakh households with tap water connections consisting of 100%
coverage of 15 blocks and 4,700 villages (16%).
In this regard, Central Govt has approved fund of Rs 572.23 Crore for Jharkhand in 2020-21 in comparison to Rs.
267.69 Crore in 2019-20.

With opening balance of Rs. 201 Crore available with the State and along with this year’s allocation of Rs. 572.24
Crore, Jharkhand has assured availability of Rs.773.28 Crore as Central fund. Considering the State matching share, a
total of Rs. 1,605.31 Crore will be available under JJM.
State was asked for expeditious implementation of the programme in terms of physical outputs i.e. number of tap
connections provided and commensurate financial progress, so that the State can avail additional funds based on the
performance.
Apart from above, the state was allocated Rs 1,689 Cr under the 15th Finance Commission Grants to Panchayati Raj
Institutions (PRIs) during 2020-21. 50% of the amount has to be mandatorily spent on water and sanitation.
Central Government pushes for 100% household tap connections in rural areas of West Bengal
West Bengal is yet to present its AAP before the National Committee of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.West Bengal has 1.63
Crore rural households spread over 41,357 villages, but only 2 lakh households have a tap connection in their
premises. In 2020-21, the target fixed for providing tap connections is 64.43 lakh households including the shortfall
of about 32.19 lakh from the previous year.
In 2019-20, Rs. 993.88 Crore of Central funds were released to the State, however only Rs 421.63 Crore was utilized
and rest amount is lying unspent. Further, to provide potable water in Arsenic/ Fluoride-affected habitations, a sum
of Rs. 1,305 Crore was provided, out of which Rs. 573.36 Crore is still lying unspent. Thus, as on 1.4.2020, State has an
opening balance of Rs. 1,146.58 Crore as Central Share to provide tap water to rural households. During 2020-21,
fund allocation to West Bengal has increased to Rs. 1,610.76 Crore. With an opening balance of Rs. 1,146.58 Crore, the
State has an assured availability of Rs. 2,757.34 Crore of Central share funds. Therefore, in 2020-21, along with State
share about Rs. 5,515 Crore will be available under JJM to provide household tap connections.
State has to ensure piped water supply to all households in 2,414 Arsenic and Fluoride affected habitations before 31
December, 2020.
West Bengal would receive Rs 4,412 Crore as 15th Finance Commission Grants to PRIs, 50% of which will
mandatorily be spent on water and sanitation.
About JJM:
It aims to enable every rural household has assured availability of potable water at a service level of 55 litres per
capita per day (lpcd) on regular and long-term basis. As a mission target, all states are presenting their
implementation plans to the National level Committee headed by Secretary, Department of Drinking Water &
Sanitation, Govt. of India for approval.
The estimated outlay of the mission is Rs 3.60 Lakh Crore with Central and State share of Rs. 2.08 Lakh Crore and
Rs.1.52 Lakh Crore respectively.
HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal releases 5th edition of NIRF Rankings 2020; IIT Madras tops the list of
‘overall category’
On June 11, 2020, The Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has
virtually released 5th edition of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2020.The ranking was to be
announced in April 2020 but was postponed due to to coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis and lockdown.
Participants:
A total of 3771 unique institutions participated themselves in this ranking & 5805 applications for ranking were
made by these institutes.
NIRF Rankings 2020:
The rankings are being announced for India’s best universities and institutions in 10 categories namely- Overall,
Universities, Engineering, Colleges, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Dental Architecture, and Law.‘Dental’ category
has been included for the first time this year.Earlier there were only 9 categories.
i.In the same way last year (i.e 2019), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras (Tamil Nadu) has topped the list of
‘overall ranking’ category with a score of 85.31 followed by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (2nd with a score of
84.18) and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (3rd with a score of 81.33).
ii. IISc Bangalore has been declared as the top Indian university followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University and Banaras
Hindu University.
iii.Minister of State for HRD,Shri Sanjay Dhotre. Additional Secretary (Higher Education),ShriRakeshRanjan,
MHRD;Chairman UGC,Prof. D. P. Singh; Chairman, AICTE Anil Sahasrabudhe; Chairman NBA, Prof. K.K.

Aggarwal;Member Secretary NBA,Dr. Anil Kumar Nassa, and representatives of Higher Education Institutions
witnessed the release through video conferencing.
List of top 3 India Rankings 2020 is as follows:
Overall
Rank No. Name of Institute Score
1 Indian Institute of Technology Madras 85.31
2 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 84.18
3 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi 81.33
University
2 Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 70.16
3 Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 63.15
Engineering
3 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay 85.08
Management
1 Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad 82.75
2 Indian Institute of Management Bangalore 81.32
3 Indian Institute of Management Calcutta 80.39
Colleges
1 Miranda House, Delhi 77.23
2 Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi 72.08
3 Hindu College, Delhi 70.44
Pharmacy
1 JamiaHamdard, New Delhi 80.5
2 Panjab University, Chandigarh 79.8
3 National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Mohali 74.73
Medical
1 All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi 90.69
2 Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 80.06
3 Christian Medical College, Vellore 73.56
Architecture
1 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur 80.46
2 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 79.75
3 National Institute of Technology Calicut 69.24
Law
1 National Law School of India University, Bengaluru 78.66
2 National Law University, New Delhi 74.02
3 Nalsar University of Law, Hyderabad 73.12

Dental
1 Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, Delhi 82.51
2 Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Udupi 78.17
3 Dr. D. Y. PatilVidyapeeth, Pune 76.37
About NIRF Ranking:
This ranking is released every year since September 2015 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development,
Government of India (GoI).
The NIRF rankings are awarded to institutions based on 5 Categories viz.Teaching, Learning, and Resources (TLR),
Research and Professional Practices (RP), Graduation Outcomes (GO), Outreach and Inclusivity (OI) and Perception
(PR) with the aim to help guide to students looking for higher educational institutions in India.
Background:
NIRF has created an institution for ranking universities, engineering, management and pharmacy institutes of the
country. Earlier there was no government organization for ranking as only private institutions used to issue ranking,
which raised various questions. But now government and private institutions are ranked by the government on the
basis of different standards.
About Ministry of Human Resource Development:
Minister of State– Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre
QS ‘World University Ranking 2021’ 17th edition ; 3 Indian Institutes among top 200
QS ( Quacquarelli Symonds ) is a global education analyst that released the 17th edition of the QS World University
Rankings 2021. This year only 3 Indian Institutions were among the top two-hundred ranks 2 IIT’s and IISC.
Globally, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), USA continues to be the number one for the 9th year in a
row. For the first time more than ever, about 26 Asian Institutions have been featured in the global top 100.
The six QS rankings indicators to qualify for ranking are based on:
i. academic reputation(40% weightage)
ii. employer reputation(10% weightage)
iii. citations per faculty(20% weightage)
iv. faculty/student ratio(20%weightage)
v. international faculty ratio and international student ratio(5% weightage)
Top 5 Global ranking Institutions:
QS World University Rankings 2021 ( TOP 5)
2021 2020 Institution Country
1 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) USA
2 2 Stanford University USA
3 3 Harvard University USA
4 5 California Institute of Technology(Cal Tech) USA
5 4 University of Oxford UK
Indian Institutions
This year only 3 Institutions from India were among the top two-hundred ranks, with IIT’s dominating the list.
Indian Institutes Ranking in Top 200:
IIT Bombay with the top spot at rank 172 (152 in 2020)
IISc Bengaluru was at the 185th spot (184 in 2020)
IIT Delhi was ranked 193 in the globe (182 in 2020)
Other Indian Institutes in the Top 500:
IIT Madras at 275th rank
IIT Kharagpur at 314th rank

IIT Kanpur at 350th rank,
IIT Roorkee at 383rd rank
IIT Guwahati at 470th rank.
About QS World University Ranking:
QS World University ranking is the world’s leading provider of services, analytics and insight to the global higher
education sector it was inaugurated in 2004. It is the worlds most consulted source of comparison on University
performance.QS releases the World University Ranking of top 1000 universities every year.
Founder and CEO– Nunzio Quacquarelli
Head office- the United Kingdom
Mercer’s 26th Annual ‘Cost of Living Survey 2020 ‘: Mumbai ranks 60th globally, 19th in Asia
On June 10, 2020, Mercer released its 26th Annual Cost of Living Survey 2020. From India, Mumbai city has been
ranked 60th most expensive city globally and also 19th in Asia. Mumbai is the only Indian city ranked in the top
100. Hongkong tops the list globally.
Mercer’s 26th annual Cost of Living Survey will help employers navigate non-native packages, essential due to
uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic and consider alternate forms of international assignments to sustain
overseas operations.
The survey includes over 400 cities throughout the world; this year’s ranking includes 209 cities across five
continents.
It measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food,
clothing, household goods, and entertainment.
Note: New York City is used as the base city for all comparisons and currency movements are measured against the
US dollar.
Highlights of the survey:
Costliest cities (Top 10 Global):
The world’s most expensive city since 2019 has remained Hong Kong and the survey suggests that the least
expensive cities for emigrants are Tunis, Tunisia at 209 globally and Windhoek, Namibia at 208.
Rank Global 2019 Rank Global 2020 City Country or region
1 1 Hong Kong Hong Kong
7 2 Ashgabat Turkmenistan
2 3 Tokyo Japan
5 4 Zurich Switzerland
3 5 Singapore Singapore
Most expensive Indian cities
Mumbai tops the list at a global rank of 60 and also the 19th most expensive city in Asia. Followed by New
Delhi at 101 and Chennai at 143.
Bengaluru and Kolkata are the least expensive Indian cities with ranks (global) 171 and 185 respectively.
City Rank (Global)
Mumbai 60
New Delhi 101
Chennai 143
About Mercer:
Mercer’s is the world’s most comprehensive and widely recognized survey. It is designed to help multinational
companies and governments determine compensation strategies for their expatriate/non-native employees.
History
Established in 1937 in the United States as the employee benefits department of Marsh & McLennan, Inc. The
company took the name of “William M. Mercer” in 1959 when Marsh & McLennan acquired William M. Mercer

Limited, a Canadian firm founded by William Manson Mercer in 1945. In 1975, Mercer became a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. In 2002, the company changed its corporate name to Mercer Human
Resource Consulting. The company became “Mercer” in 2007.
President and CEO– Martine Ferland
India’s economy is predicted to -7.3% for FY 21 due to 2nd wave of COVID-19:OECD’s June 2020 EO
In accordance with the Economic Outlook (EO), June 2020 by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for FY 2020-2021 predicted at -3.7% which can
further decelerate to -7.3% in case of second Covid-19 outbreak, the lowest estimate for India’s growth so far,
overtaking Bernstein’s projected 7% contraction for India in FY21.
It should be noted that EO, June 2020 has assumed an implementation of shutdowns in the December 2020 quarter
(Q3), following another surge of the COVID-19 virus. This assumption is regarded as a double-hit scenario.
On the other hand, the single-hit scenario is the strict national lockdown (25 March – 19 April) followed by a very
gradual opening in the following six weeks (20 April – 31 May) and targeted lockdowns in June, 2020 to control the
infection rate.
Predictions with regard to Indian Economy:
-This recent FY21 prediction faced a sharp decline in comparison to the March 2020 interim EO, which had projected
5.1% growth for FY21.
-For FY21-22, a recovery to 7.9% in the “single-hit” scenario while an 8.1% rebound in the “double-hit” scenario.
–Fiscal Deficit: The fiscal deficit of the government ranged between 8.2%-8.9% in FY21 reflecting collapsing tax
revenue.
–Risk Factor: The key risk for the growth of Indian economy is instability in the financial market which is
deteriorating the balance sheets of the government, corporates and banks resulting in low investment rates by 22%
in FY 2020-21, low income up to the Q3 of FY 2021-22, and sluggish growth.
Predictions with regards to Global Economy:
–Single-hit-scenario: On the global front, the report has projected a sharp 6% contraction in FY21 followed by a
strong 5.2% rebound in FY21-22.
–Double-hit scenario: A steep contraction of 7.6% is expected for FY21 and 2.8% rebound in FY22.
–Unemployment rate– OECD unemployment climbs to 9.2% from 5.4% in 2019.
– Five years of income growth is lost by 2021.
Efforts to be taken by India for revival:
-India’s policy, Cuts in policy rates and other measures to promote liquidity provision have been timely. It is required
to make personal income tax schedules more compatible with other emerging market economies and abolishing tax
expenditures which would raise personal income tax revenue by at least 50%.
-India’s focus should be to mitigate the human and sanitary crisis by ramping up health care resources and
providing sufficient cash to those in need.
-After this, the priority is to reboot the economy and job creation focusing on manufacturing. Also an improvement
in manufacturing input services like electricity, transport, logistic and financial services required.
Overall, test, track, trace and isolate and distancing strategies to limit virus outbreaks is necessary with global
cooperation to develop and distribute a vaccine and treatments.
Click Here for official EO, June 2020
Click Here for Official EO, June 2020-India
About OECD:
Secretary-General– Jose Angel Gurria Trevino
Chief economist– Laurence Boon
Headquarters– Paris, France
Member countries– 37 (not India)
India is the Key Partner of OECD.
The OECD Economic Outlook is the OECD’s twice-yearly analysis of the major economic trends and prospects for the
next two years.

Highest allocation of Rs 1,01,500 crore in MGNREGS for FY 2020-21
The highest ever allocation of funds worth Rs. 1,01,500 made under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the current Financial Year(FY) 2020-2021. A sum of Rs. 31,493 crore has already
been released in 2020-21, which is more than 50 percent of budget estimation of current Financial Year 2020-21.
Shipping Ministry approved revised cost estimates of Rs. 123.95 cr for Ship Repair facilities in Andaman &
Nicobar Islands
Ministry of Shipping has approved the Revised Cost estimate of Rs. 123.95 crore for the project “Extension of Dry
Dock-II at a marine dockyard including supply, installation and commissioning of Dry Dock Pumps and accessories in
Port Blair, South Andaman” for augmenting Ship Repair facilities in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The project
envisages extension of existing dock length by 90 meters by August 2021.
Background of Project:
The project “Extension of Dry Dock-II” was sanctioned by the Ministry of Shipping under Central Sector Scheme with
an outlay of Rs. 96.24 crores for extending the existing dock by 90 meters in length to accommodate more and
bigger vessels. Its stipulated date of completion was 42 months during February 2016.
This was not only to double the existing capacity of ship repair facilities at Port Blair but also to generate employment
opportunities.
The project work commenced at site on 07.03.2017 but due to some technical changes in the project, there was cost
and time overrun. Now, the Ministry of Shipping has now approved the Revised Cost Estimate for an amount of Rs.
123.95 crore.
About Ministry of Shipping:
Minister of State (MoS)- Mansukh Mandaviya
Secretary– Dr. Sanjeev Ranjan
Andaman and Nicobar Island:
Lieutenant Governor– Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi
Capital– Port Blair
Madhya Pradesh becomes the top wheat procurer; pumps Rs 25,000 crores to boost farmers
Rural economy of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) was inducted with Rs 25,000 crore as the state government procured
large amount of wheat from its farmers as a result MP becomes India’s largest wheat procurer for the year 20-
21 surpassing Punjab. MP also produced the highest amount of wheat this year about 30 million tonnes.
Wheat Procurement in million tonnes
Marketing Year Punjab Madhya Pradesh
2020-2021 12.76 12.77*
2019-2020 13 6.72
2018-2019 12.69 7.28
2017-2018 11.7 6.72
*The procurement is said to reach around 13 million tonnes when the process closes in the following weeks.
Key Points:
i.Wheat purchased this year is 73% more than last year.
ii.From the usual, 1 million farmers there is a 60% rise in the number of farmers who sell wheat to the government
this year.
iii.As there was a 28% increase in procurement this year about 2,000 godowns and other facilities are being
converted into procurement centres to avoid delay in transportation.
Note: The principle secretary food and civil supplies of State, Sheo Shekhar Shukla stated that Rs 20,500 crore has
been deposited into the bank accounts of more than 1.6million farmers mostly small and marginal farmers.
Technological intervention: MP government has a computerised SMS system for e-procurement available as Govt
eProcurement System – NIC app platform or the website http://mptenders.gov.in/nicgep/app, the system was used
to educated registered farmers during the lockdown on precautions needed to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

About Madhya Pradesh:
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Cooperative Minister – Govind Singh Rajput
Principle Secretary of Food Civil Supplies-Sheo Shekhar Shukla
Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection- It is responsible for ensuring the availability of
essential commodities and checking malpractices in the supply of food grains and other notified items.
RBI bars People’s Co-operative Bank from granting fresh loans, accepting deposits for 6 months
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has restricted People’s Co-operative Bank located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
from granting fresh loans and accepting deposits for six months from June 10, 2020, due to its weak financial
position in exercise of powers vested in it under sub section (1) of Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 . The bank is barred from selling, transferring or disposing
any of its properties or assets.
Also no withdrawal of amount across all savings account or current accounts or any other account of a depositor
will be allowed from the co-operative bank.
Point to be noted:
The above restrictions are not meant for the cancellation of banking licence of the co-operative bank. It will continue
to undertake banking business with restrictions till its financial position improves.
appointed).
Global trade to decline further by 27% in Q2 after 5% decline in first quarter: UNCTAD’s report
On June 11, 2020,According to the report ‘Global Trade Update 2020’ released by the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the value of international trade in goods fell by 5% in the first quarter (Q1) of
2020 and is expected to plunge further by 27% in the ongoing second quarter (Q2) due to the unprecedented
effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
-It has also forecasted a 20% annual decline in trade for the year 2020.
Automotive and energy sectors collapse, agri-foods stabilize:
As per UNCTAD, the supply and demand in industries such as automotive (-50%) and energy (-40%) witnessed a
sharp contraction in April 2020, while the global trade in the agri-food sector has been the least volatile (grew by
about 2%) in the Q1 of 2020.
Medical products’ exports more than double: The international trade in medical goods such as ventilators,
monitors, thermometers, hand sanitizers, protective masks and garments has been decreased due to COVID-19
pandemic but then rebounded in the months of February & March 2020 and almost doubled in April 2020.
Other sectors: At the same time, the trade in textiles and apparel indicates declines by around 12%, office machinery
and automotive sectors fell around 8% & major declines are also witnessed in chemicals, machineries and precision
instruments with drops more than 10%.
Worrying scenario for developing countries:
Developing countries in South Asia & the Middle East witnessed the sharp decline in exports while those in East Asia
and the Pacific faced the least reduction in exports. In April 2020, imports of developing countries decreased by 19%
& exports fell by 18%.
China performed better:
China seems to have performed better than other major economies as its exports grew by 3% in April 2020,
However, the recovery has been short-lived as imports and exports fell by 8% in May 2020.
About United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Secretary-General- Mukhisa Kituyi

Aadhaar-based online ‘Insta Saving Bank Account’ relaunched: SBI
The State Bank of India (SBI) has relaunched ‘SBI Insta Saving Bank Account’,an Aadhaar-based instant digital savings
account for customers using the Yono platform, which will offer a complete paperless and instant digital savings
account opening with just PAN and Aadhaar number.
RBI sets up 5-member Internal working group headed by P K Mohanty to review ownership and control of
Private banks
On June 12, 2020, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a 5-member internal working
group (IWG) headed by its Central Board Director Prasanna Kumar (PK) Mohanty to review ownership guidelines
and corporate structure for private banks in light of recent developments in the banking sector. The committee is due
to submit its report by 30th September 2020.
The other 4 member of the Working Group is as follows:
Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi (Director Central Board of RBI), Smt. Lily Vadera (Executive Director of RBI), Shri S. C. Murmu
(Executive Director of RBI) and Shri Shrimohan Yadav (Chief General Manager of RBI – Convenor).
Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee:
The RBI has asked the panel to review the guidelines and licensing regulations regarding ownership, promoters’
holding, requirement of dilution, control and voting rights in private banks.
In addition, the group will examine and review the eligibility criteria for individuals or entities which/who apply for a
banking license.
Similarly, after issuance of the license at the initial/licensing stage, the Panel will look into the existing provisions
relating to the promoter’s shares and make appropriate recommendations.
The IWG will also examine the present regulations on holding of financial subsidiaries through a non-operative
financial holding company (NOFHC) and suggest solutions of migrating all banks to a uniform regulation.
Background:
The review of promoter’s stake in private sector banks is significant as the promoters of Kotak Mahindra Bank had a
stake in the out-of-court settlement between the RBI and the bank. The RBI limited the voting rights to 15 %, allowing
promoters to hold a 26 % stake in Kotak Bank.
The current rules stipulate that the promoter’s share will be reduced to 40% for the three years after the bank
commences operations, to 10% for 10 years and 15% for 15 years. IndusInd Bank promoters Hinduja Brothers have
applied to RBI to allow them to increase their stake in Kotak Bank by 26 %.
appointed).
Exim Bank sanctions $215.68 mn LoC to Malawi govt for Drinking Water Supply Schemes
On June 12, 2020, Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) , a specialized financial institution wholly owned by
Government of India (GoI),has provided a line of credit (LOC) of $215.68 million to the Malawi government.
How the assistance will be used?
This assistance will be used on drinking water supply schemes and other development projects includes supply of
irrigation network, tobacco threshing plant, cotton processing facilities, green belt initiative, sugar processing
equipment, fuel storage facility and construction of a new water supply system from Likhubula river in Mulanje to
Blantyre.
The LOC Agreement was signed between Mr. Sudatta Mandal, Chief General Manager, Exim Bank, and H.E Mr. George
Mkondiwa, High Commissioner, Malawi High Commission in India in New Delhi.
Exim Bank’s assistance to Malawi so far:
With the signing of the above LOC Agreement, five loan facilities worth $ 395.68 million have been provided by the
Exim Bank to the Government of Malawi so far.

In addition to this, Exim Bank till now has provided 260 credit facilities totaling $ 25.68 billion to 62 countries in
Africa, Asia, Latin America and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) nations such as Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
About Exim bank:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- David Rasquinha.
Act– Export-Import Bank of India Act 1981.
About Malawi:
Capital– Lilongwe
Currency– Malawian kwacha
President– Peter Mutharika
UTI Mutual Funds Appoint Imtaiyazur Rahman as CEO

On June 13, 2020,Board of Unit Trust of India(UTI )Mutual Fund had appointed Imtaiyazur Rahman as Chief Executive
Officer (CEO ) of the UTI Asset Management Company (AMC).He had been already serving as the interim CEO for the
past two years.He will succeed Leo Puri whose 5-year tenure was over in August 2018.
Why the Appointment?
The appointment will help the funding company to accelerate the process of launching its long-pending initial public
offer (IPO).
This would also address concerns of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on the position of CEO that has
been lying vacant for quite some time.
Association with the company
i.He joined the UTI group in 1998 and it with the UTI AMC since 2003.
ii.Rahman was also involved in the transformation of the company formerly known as Unit Trust of India with then
chairmen M Damodaran and SK Sinha and succeeded UK Sinha as Interim CEO from 2012-13
iii.He was the CFO(Cheif Financial officer) and headed many different functions in the company including
international business.
iv.He was appointed as the interim CEO since 2018 after the retirement of Leo Puri.
About UTI Mutual Fund
Chief Financial Officer- Surojit Saha
Company Secretary– Arvind Patkar
HeadQuarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
RBI Releases New Framework For Financial Market Infra, Retail Payment System; NPCI & NEFT classified as
FMI
On June 13, 2020, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made some changes to the monitoring
structure of Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) and Retail Payment Systems (RPSs) with the aim to ensure
the security and stability of the payment structure.
Version 2.0 of financial market structure and retail payment system:
According to the document, the Reserve Bank will monitor existing and planned systems, financial market
infrastructure and retail payment systems through assessment. It will also change it if necessary for improvement.
The new framework treats NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India ) and National Electronic Fund Transfer
(NEFT) as FMIs as well means NPCI will now have to reveal self-assessment of compliance on an annual basis and
distribute data of systems operated by it on a monthly, quarterly and hal-yearly basis with subject to increased
regulatory audits and onsite inspections of RBI.
It is to be noted that in general Systematically important FMIs till now only included Real Time Gross Settlement
(RTGS), Securities Settlement Systems (SSSs), Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) and Negotiated Dealing
System (NDS).In addition, NPCI has also been designated as a “system wide important payment system (SWIPS).
Further, the new framework also includes Retail payment systemVisa and Mastercard under increased regulatory
supervision of RBI.

Retail payment system refers to transactions through mobile phones, Internet, ATMs, POS networks, contactless
technology (card payments etc.), electronic billing and various systems and platforms used for instant payments.
Benefits of the new framework: This document will increase transparency in surveillance and disclosures and
improve regulatory compliance by payment system operators & will also increase customer awareness, which will
result in better security, stability and betterment of our payment system.
appointed).
ICICI Bank launches ‘Insta Flexicash’ an Online OD facility for its salary account customers
On June 15, 2020 ICICI Bank has launched ‘Insta Flexicash’, an online overdraft(OD) facility for its pre approved
salary account customers, by which these customers can get approval for OD instantly & in a paperless manner. The
end-to-end fully digital facility can be accessed with no documentation, using the Bank’s internet banking platform
without visiting a bank branch.
Features of ‘Insta Flexicash’
Usage- The customers can start using the approved overdraft limit within 48 hours.
Credit limit of OD– Bank offers the credit limit worth up to 3 times their net salary.
Interest payment– The Interest payment must be paid every month only on the actual OD amount utilised and can
clear the outstanding limit at their convenience
No foreclosure charges– No foreclosure charges are required to be paid by the customers when they repay their OD
amount that they availed.
Benefit of Auto renewal & Auto enhancement– There is a benefit of automated process enhancement & renewal of
OD limit every 12 months.
Auto sweep-in facility– The auto sweep-in facility enhances convenience for the customers. It automatically sweeps
in funds from the OD account to the Salary Account to meet scheduled payments, when required. Upon any credit in
Salary Account, the funds are automatically returned to the OD account and interest is charged only on the actual
amount utilised and the duration for which it was utilised.
About ICICI:
Managing Director & CEO– Sandeep Bakhshi
RBI Proposes to Set Upper Age Limit of CEOs, Whole-Time Directors of Banks to 70 Years
On June 11, 2020,India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Discussion Paper on ‘Governance in
Commercial Banks in India’ proposed to set the upper age limit of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and whole time
directors (WTDs) belonging to the promoter group of banks to 70 years and maximum tenure of 10 years. This offer
has been made to improve administration in the banking sector.
Why is it important to limit tenure?
The tenure has been limited in order to strengthen the culture of consistent governance and to adopt the principle of
separating management from ownership.
It further states that 10 years is sufficient time for the promoter / major shareholder of a bank to stabilize his work as
a WTD or CEO of a bank and transform managerial leadership into a professional management. This will not only help
in separating management from ownership, but will also promote the culture of professional management.
Who will be the WTD or CEO?
A management functionary who is not a promoter/major shareholder can be a WTD or CEO of a bank for 15
consecutive period & thereafter, the individual could be eligible for re-appointment as WTD or CEO only after the
expiration of three years,or up to the expiry of the current WTDs/CEOs tenure, during which he/she not be appointed
or associated with the bank in any capacity, either directly or indirectly, advisory or otherwise.

appointed).
IBBI restructures committee on corporate insolvency resolution & Liquidation under the chairmanship of
Uday Kotak
On June 12, 2020, In pursuance of regulation 3 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) advisory
committee regulation 2017, the IBBI board has restructured an advisory committee on Corporate Insolvency
Resolution and Liquidation process by including four new members.
The new 14 member committee, will be chaired by Uday Kotak, the Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director
of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Methil Unnikrishnan, General Manager is designated as the secretary of this Advisory Committee.
Terms of Reference (ToR): The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the panel include,
It will suggest and provide professional support on a request from the IBBI or on its own volition on any matter with
respect to the Corporate Insolvency resolution and liquidation dealt with by the Board under the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code 2016.
Apart from 3 members(Ajay Piramal, Prof Dr.Ranbir singh, R.K Nair) whose tenure will expire on 24th August, 2020
tenure of all members is of 3 years that is up to June 11, 2023.
Composition of the panel: Ashu Suyash (Crisil MD and Chief Executive Officer), Nirmal Mohanty( former chief
economist at the National Stock Exchange), R Shankar Raman (L&T Whole Time Director and Chief Financial Officer),
Rashesh Shah (Edelweiss Group Chairman and CEO) are new members of the panel which also include
-A representative of ministry of corporate affairs
-Ajay Piramal (Chairman, Piramal Group & Shriram Group)
-Ashish Kumar Chauhan (Managing Director & CEO, BSE Limited
-M.V. Nair (Chairman, Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited)
-Prof Dr.Ranbir singh (Vice chancellor of National Law University, Delhi)
– R.K Nair (Formerly whole time member, IRDAI)
– Somasekhar Sundaresan, a Legal Counsel
-Chairman of Indian Bank Association(At Present Shri Rajnish Kumar) &
-MD of Insolvency professional agency of Institute of cost accountants of India(At Present Dr. S K Gupta).
About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI):
Chairperson– M. S. Sahoo
TPG, L Catterton bought 1.32% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 6441.3 crore
The United States (US) private equity firms TPG Capital and L Catterton have become the 8th and 9th investors
respectively in the Jio Platforms, as the latter has sold 0.93% stake in TPG for Rs 4,546.80 crore and 0.39% stake
sold to L Catterton for Rs 1,894.50 crore.
With this Jio Platforms has sold a further 1.32% stake for Rs 6441.3 crore.
Also the latest selling of stake increases the Jio Platforms’ equity value at Rs 4.91 lakh crore and enterprise value at Rs
5.16 lakh crore.
Following table shows the 9 investors in Jio Platform from April 22, 2020 to June 14, 2020
Investor Country Stake Amount
Facebook US 9.99% Rs 43,573.62 cr
Silver Lake US 1.15% Rs 5,655.75
Vista Equity Partners US 2.32% Rs 11,367 cr

General Atlantic US 1.34% Rs 6,598.38 cr

KKR & Co.Inc. US 2.32% Rs 11,367 cr
Mubadala Investment United Arab Emirates (UAE) 1.85% Rs 9,093.60 cr
Silver Lake (additional investment) US 0.93% Rs 4,546.8 cr
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) UAE 1.16% Rs 5,683.50cr
TPG Capital US 0.93% Rs 4,546.80 cr
L Catterton US 0.39% Rs 1,894.50 crore
With the above 10 investments, parent Reliance Industries has sold 22.38% stake in Jio and collected Rs
104,326.95 crore in the largest continuous fundraising by a company, anywhere in the world.
Reason behind stake selling
Reliance has set its target to meet its zero net-debt by March 2021. The funds from stake sales in Jio Platforms and
the Rs 53,124 crore from a rights issue will help lower Reliance’s consolidated net debt significantly from Rs 1.61
lakh crore at the end of FY20.
About TPG Capital:
It is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $79 billion of assets under management
across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate and public equity
Co-chief executive officer (CEO)– James Coulter & Jon Winkelried
Headquarter– San Francisco in California, US
About L Catterton:
Founded in 1989, L Catterton is the investment partner for leading consumer-focused brands around the world.
Co-chief executive officer (CEO)– J. Michael Chu, and Scott A. Dahnke
Headquarter– Greenwich, Connecticut, US
Airtel Payments Bank launches ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for MSMEs

On June 15, 2020 Airtel Payments Bank launched ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for the micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs). The account will enable the MSMEs & other organisations to make cashless payments &
provide financial security to their employees.
Gist about ‘Suraksha Salary Account’:
Payroll & maintenance of records- The account will facilitate the businesses to payroll in a smooth & convenient
way and also to maintain records digitally for future references and tax processes.
Availability- The product is now only available to new bank customers. It will soon be available to existing customers
who want to operate their salary accounts with Airtel Payments Bank.
No minimum balance-The account does not require minimum balance.
Cash withdrawal at bank’s banking points– Account holders can make cash withdrawal at Airtel Payments Bank’s
500,000 banking points across India. Customers can make cash deposits and transfer money at these points.
No charge for certain amount of withdrawal & deposit– There is no charge for cash withdrawal up to Rs 50,000
and deposit up to Rs 20,000 in a month.
2 free cardless cash withdrawal– The account holder gets 2 free cardless cash withdrawal by Instant Money
Transfer(IMT) at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs )across the country.
Group accidental cover– The account holder gets free of charge group accidental cover of Rs 1 lakh, which
ensures additional financial protection for the family.
Insurance Covers– The account includes Hospicash Insurance and Personal Accidental insurance cover.
Hospicash Insurance– Upon hospitalization the account holder is given a fixed cover of Rs.400 per day for a
maximum of 10 days. The policy will cover COVID-19 & will also reduce the account holder’s impact on the loss of pay
and savings during hospitalization.
Note– India’s MSME sector has over 60 million units and accounts for 29% of India’s GDP.

About Airtel Payments Bank:
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Anubrata Biswas
CBIC Chairman, M. Ajit Kumar launched ‘e-Office’ Application in all CGST

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Chairman M. Ajit Kumar launched the ‘e-Office’
application in over 500 Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and customs offices across India, on 15th June at New
Delhi. The e-Office is a Mission Mode Project(MMP) under the e-Governance of India.
e-Office has been developed by the National Informatics Center(NIC), and supported by the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
Objective:
E-Office aims to improve governance by automating the internal processes of handling files and taking decisions
within Government.
‘e-office’:
i.Its main module, e-File, enables on-line file related work, operating a file, preparing draft letters, its approval/
signature and dispatch of the signed letter.
ii.An inbuilt monitoring mechanism would identify where the files are held up enabling quick disposal and fastener
decision making & it also ensures enhanced security as no file or document can be altered or destroyed or backdated.
Highlights:
i.CBIC has become one of the largest Government departments, to automate its internal office procedures because
over 50000 officers and staff will use this application .
ii.It will provide a ‘Faceless, Contactless and Paperless’ indirect Tax administration.
About CBIC:
Chairman- M. Ajit Kumar
Headquarter- New Delhi
About NIC:
Director General- Neeta Verma
Headquarter- New Delhi
India’s foreign exchange reserves cross $500 bn for the first time
In accordance with the weekly statistical data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s foreign reserves
crossed the $500 billion mark as the nation had forex reserves of $501.7 billion as of June 5, 2020 a rise of $8.22
billion in a week.
India’s forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs), and
India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Key Points:
-The FCAs, the largest component of the forex reserves, increased by $8.422 billion to $463.630 billion.
-The value of India’s gold reserves decreased by $329 million to $32.352 billion.
-SDR value climbed by $10 million to $1.442 billion, the reserve position of the country with the IMF rose by $120
million to $4.278 billion.
Maharashtra signs 12 MoU’s with domestic and foreign companies for FDI worth over Rs 16,000 crores:
Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0
On June 15, 2020 Maharashtra signed 12 Memorandum of Understanding(MoUs) with 12 domestic and foreign
companies for Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) worth over Rs 16,000 crores. It is a part of the Magnetic
Maharashtra 2.0 initiative.
About MoU
The MoU was signed by the global companies in the field of engineering, car and spare parts manufacturing,
information technology, logistics, chemicals, and food processing.
It was signed by Industries Minister Subhash Desai on behalf of the state government in the presence of
Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Purpose of the MoU– The MoU is expected to encourage economic activities in the state which has fallen due to
COVID-19 pandemic.
List of companies signed MoU:
i.US-based ExxonMobil which is engaged in the Oil and Gas sector to invest Rs 760 crores in Isambe in Raigad
district.
ii.Engineering firm Hengli from China to invest Rs 250 crores in Talegaon Phase No. 2 in Pune and create 150 jobs.
iii.Singapore-based logistics firm Ascendas to invest Rs 560 crores in Chakan, Talegaon, Pune, Bhiwandi, and Thane
district.
iv.Varun Beverages, India which is into food processing will invest Rs 820 crores in Supa, Ahmednagar.
v.Hiranandani Group, India to invest Rs 150 crores in setting up logistics businesses in Bhiwandi, Chakan and
Talegaon & is expected to create 2500 jobs in the state.
vi.APG DC Infra, Singapore, which is in the business of creating data centres, to invest Rs 1,100 crores in Thane and
Mahape near Mumbai & is expected to create around 200 jobs.
vii.South Korea based EastEC Electronics System Design to invest Rs 120 crores in Ranjangaon, Pune and create
1100 jobs.
viii.Automobiles firm PMI Electro Mobility Solutions (in Joint Venture with China-based Foton) to invest Rs 1,000
crores in Talegaon, creating employment for 1500.
ix.Singapore-based Rack Bank Data Center to invest Rs 1500 crores in Thane and Hinjewadi in Pune.
x.Isambe Logistics, Singapore to invest Rs 1,000 crore to create logistics facilities in Raigad district.
xi.UPL Chemical to invest Rs 5,000 crores in Shahapur, Raigad and create employment for at least 3000 people.
xii.China-based Great Wall Motors to invest Rs 3,770 crores in creating an automobile facility in Talegaon, Pune
which will create jobs for over 2000 people in the state.
Note– The officials expect that the investment will materialise & the manufacturing will commence in 2 years.
Key Points
The state expects to sign FDI agreements worth Rs 10,000 crores.
3 more investment projects worth Rs 8000 crores in the steel, pulp and paper, and electronic system design sectors
are in the pipeline
About Maharashtra:
Capital– Mumbai
Governor– Bhagat Singh Koshyari
India to construct Rs 2.33 cr sanitation facility at Nepal’s iconic Pashupatinath Temple

India has extended its financial aid by NR (Nepalese rupee) 37.23 million(i.e. Equivalent of Rs.2.33 cr INR) for the
construction of the sanitation facility for the pilgrims at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, under
the Nepal-Bharat Maitri: Development Partnership as a high impact community development scheme by India.
In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been inked between the Indian Embassy, Nepal’s Ministry
of Federal Affairs and General Administration and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Currently the Ambassador of
India to Nepal is Vinay Mohan Kwatra.
Notably, Pashupatinath Temple is also listed under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site.
Key Points:
-This infrastructure improvement project of the temple will be implemented by the Kathmandu Metropolitan City in
accordance with the norms laid out by the Government of Nepal in 15 months.
-Pashupatinath Temple is the largest temple complex in Nepal and stretches on both sides of the Bagmati River and
sees thousands of worshippers from Nepal and India every day.
Point to be noted: Bagmati River crosses into India at Bairgania, Bihar. It flows across Bihar districts Darbhanga,
Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur and Khagaria.
About Nepal:
Capital– Kathmandu
Currency– Nepalese rupee

Prime Minister– Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
President– Bidhya Devi Bhandari
India is 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019 with $51 billion; US topped: UN-World Investment Report 2020
In accordance with the “World Investment Report 2020” by United Nation’s (UN) trade body, the UN Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India has become the 9th largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in
2019 after receiving $51 billion last year.
This is an increase of 20% from the 42 billion dollars of FDI received in 2018, when India ranked 12 among the top 20
host economies in the world.
India is the largest South Asian recipient of FDI in 2019.
Following table shows the top recipients of FDI:
Rank Country Amount
1 United States (US) $246 bn
2 China $141 bn
3 Singapore $92 bn
9 India $51 bn
India
-The number of greenfield investment announcements declined by 4% in the first quarter, and Merger & Acquisitions
(M&A) contracted by 58.
-Investors concluded deals worth over $650 million in the first quarter of 2020, mostly in the digital sector in India.
-There is lower but positive economic growth in India in the post-COVID19 pandemic period and the country’s large
market will continue to attract market-seeking investments.
Developing Asia; Largest FDI recipient region
In the developing Asia region, India was among the top five host economies for FDI viz. China, Hong Kong (China),
Singapore, India and Indonesia.
In 2019, FDI flows into developing Asia declined by 5% to $474 billion
Despite the decline, it remained the largest FDI recipient region, hosting more than 30% of global FDI flows.
In 2020, FDI is projected to decline by 30 to 45%.
South Asia
FDI flows to South Asia increased by 10% to $57 billion in 2019, the growth driven largely by a rise in investment in
India. However, FDI is expected to contract sharply in 2020.
Global
The global FDI flows are forecast to decrease by up to 40% in 2020, from their 2019 value of $1.54 trillion. This
would be for the first time since 2005 that global FDI falls below the $1 trillion mark.
FDI is projected to decrease by a further 5 to 10% in 2021 and will initiate a recovery in 2022.
Outflows
-Outward FDI flows from Asia declined by 19% to $328 billion due to a 52% drop in Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
purchases by Asian companies in 2019.
-Investment from South-East Asia declined from $63 billion in 2018 to $56 billion
-Outflows from South Asia grew 6%, driven by investment from India. Companies in India are the sub region’s largest
investors, with more than 90% of outflows in 2019.
-Investments from India are expected to decline in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic
-The overall share of developed economies in world FDI outflows is 70% in 2019 from 54% in 2018.
About World Investment Report:
It has been published annually since 1991 focusing on trends FDI worldwide, at the regional and country levels and
emerging measures to improve its contribution to development.

About UNCTAD:
Secretary-General– Dr.Mukhisa Kituyi
India Stands at 43rd Position in IMD’s Competitive Ranking 2020, Singapore Tops
On June 16, 2020, According to the World Competitiveness Index 2020, prepared by Switzerland-based Institute
for Management and Development (IMD)’s World Competitiveness Center (WCC), the Indian economy remained
at 43rd position. While Singapore continues to occupy the first place in the list due to its strong economic
performance comes from robust international trade and investment, employment and labor market measures.
It includes 235 indicators and ranks among 63 countries every year.MD’s World Competitiveness Index has marked
its 30th anniversary in 2019.
Here’s the list of top three countries in IMD’s competitive ranking 2020:
Rank Country Name
43rd India
1 Singapore
2 Denmark
3 Switzerland
India in the ranking:
Some of India’s traditional weaknesses in terms of competitive power, such as weak infrastructure and inadequate
investment in education, still persist.
India ranks next to China (20th rank) in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations, where
Russia ranks 50th , Brazil 56th and South Africa 59th.
Even though India’s Position remains unchanged in the 2020 list, it’s performance has improved in areas such as
long-term employment growth, current account balances, long-term employment growth, high technology exports,
foreign exchange reserves, public spending on education, political stability and total productivity.
At the same time, India’s performance in areas like stability of foreign currency exchange rate, real gross domestic
product (GDP) growth, competition law and taxes has been poor.
India’s rank in different categories:
Overall rank 43
Economic Performance 37
Government Efficiency 50
Business Efficiency 32
Infrastructure 49
Setbacks for some:
In 2019, Denmark was ranked eighth and now it come in second place. Switzerland has climbed one place to third
place. At the same time, America has also slipped from 3rd to 10th place.
Of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries polled, only Singapore and Thailand have performed
positively in Healthcare Infrastructure.
About World Competitiveness Ranking:
This ranking has been given every year since 1989 by business schools in Switzerland and Singapore.
It takes into account a wide range of statistics such as unemployment, GDP and government spending on health and
education.
About Institute for Management Development (IMD):
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland
Chairman– Michel Demaré
Head of Competitiveness Center at IMD Business School– Arturo Bris

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Approves 2nd Loan of USD 750 Million under COVID-19 CRF to India
On June 17, 2020 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) approved a 2nd loan of USD 750 million to India
under the bank’s USD 10 billion COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility(CRF); this loan is co-financed by the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) to assist India to fight against COVID-19 & its impact on poor. The loan aims to strengthen
India’s economic aid for businesses, expand social safety nets for the needy & the health care systems.
Key Points
The 1st loan under this facility of USD 500 million, co-financed by the World Bank was approved on May 8.
The COVID-19 CRF was set up with a USD 5 billion investment but now it was doubled to USD 10 billion
AIIB’s loan to India
i.Till now India has received USD 1.25 billion dollar under the COVID-19 CRF.
ii.The bank has approved a total USD 3.06 billion since it began operations in 2016.
AIIB’s loan to its other members
The member countries that received loans from AIIB under this facility are as follows: China received USD 355
million, Pakistan received USD 500 million, Bangladesh received USD 250 million and Indonesia and the Philippines
received USD 750 million each.
About AIIB’s COVID-19 CRF
It was created as part of international response to the pandemic to support its members’ immediate economic,
financial, and public health needs and quick recovery from the crisis
About AIIB:
Headquarters- Beijing, China
President– Jin Liqun
HDFC Ergo & Tech firm Tropogo Jointly Launches India’s 1st ‘pay as you fly’ Insurance For Drones
On June 15, 2020, HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, the country’s third-largest non-life insurance provider
has joined hands with UK based tech firm TropoGo Limited to launch India’s 1st ‘Pay as you Fly’ insurance for
drone-owners in India.
‘Pay as you Fly’ insurance:
This policy, which will be offered on-demand to commercial drone owners and operators, give life insurance for Third
Party Liability Claims cover for property damage and bodily injuries that may be happened while conducting
activities like survey, mapping, monitoring, disaster relief initiatives, civil administration services, use during festivals
& events, property management and travel & tourism purposes among others.
Members of this policy can claim an insurance cover of up to Rs 10 lakh on TropoGo mobile app & they can opt for 4
hours, one-day, or a one-month cover to insure themselves against third-party liabilities.
Why this cover needed?
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being considered or actively used by the state
government and the central government in the war against coronavirus (covid-19) in the epidemic as it proving to be
very efficient to deliver essential materials like medicines & used for public surveillance, crowd tracking.
Despite the benefits offered by drones to their commercial users, the protection of third-party assets is still
unanswered. To meet this need, the new policy has been introduced.
About HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd:
MD & CEO– Mr. Ritesh Kumar
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
About TropoGo Limited:
Headquarters– South glamorgan, United Kingdom
Founder– Sandipan Sen
SEBI panel headed by Anil Dave suggested measures to strengthen enforcement of SEBI
In order to strengthen the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBIs) enforcement mechanism and also to
improve its system of recovery of siphoned off money, the SEBI committee headed by former Supreme Court
Judge Anil Dave has proposed a method of quantification of profit made by the defaulter and loss caused to investors
in a 424-page exhaustive report.

The committee also examined the insolvency, recovery and securities laws jurisprudence of India and abroad and
suggested suitable changes in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 to ensure that insolvency law is not used
as a protection, 2020 by defaulters, thereby protecting the interest of investors.
The regulator has invited public comments till July 7, 2020 on the suggestions made by the committee.
Key Points:
-The panel recommended amendment in Intermediaries Regulations to the SEBI. It has suggested that a two-tier
enquiry process of registration for intermediaries should be replaced with an enquiry process for early completion of
the enquiry proceedings.
-It has been proposed that the opportunity of personal hearing to be given by the designated authority (DA) and not
by the designated member (DM).
-With regard to recovery of money, Sebi should be given power to impound and retain the proceeds or securities or
money not exceeding the value of the proceeds in respect of any transaction, which is under investigation.
About SEBI:
Infosys becomes 1st Indian Company to sign Climate Pledge with Amazon and Global Optimism to Become
Net-Zero Carbon
On 16th June 2020,Infosys becomes the second major signatory and first Indian company to sign The Climate
Pledge, of Amazon and Global Optimism,an initiative by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Christiana Figueres,
founder of Global Optimism and former United Nations Climate chief to become net-zero carbon by 2040, ten years
ahead of the Paris Agreement.
Climate Pledge:
Under the Climate Pledge the companies agreed to,
The company, which has initially set 2018 for its transition to 100 per cent renewable energy, has now set 2035 to
complete the transition to RE.
Measure and report the emission of greenhouse gases on a regular basis.
Implement decarbonization strategies through changes in business and innovations through renewable energy,
materials reductions etc.
Neutralize the remaining emissions with additional, real, permanent and socially beneficial offsets to achieve zero
carbon emission by 2040.
Key Points:
i.Infosys committed to become carbon neutral in 2011 way before the Paris Agreement.
ii.Infosys became the first Indian Company to sign the RE100 in May 2015 and committed to use renewable energy
for its electricity requirements.
iii.The company had reduced the per-capita electricity consumption by 55% since 2008.
iv.They have invested in community based emission reduction projects to achieve net zero carbon goal.
v.US telecommunication conglomerate Verizon and British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser also signed
the agreement along with Infosys.
About Infosys:
CEO & MD– Salil Parekh
Headquarters-Bengaluru, Karnataka
About Amazon:
Founder & CEO– Jeff Bezos
Headquarters-Washington D.C., United States
AP, 1st Indian State presented its Budget amid COVID-19: Rs 2.24 lakh cr Budget publicized by Buggana
Rajendranath for FY21
On June 16, 2020, Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Buggana Rajendranath presented the AP state budget for
Rs 2.24 lakh crore for the FY20-21. With this, AP became the first Indian state to convene its Legislative Assembly and

Council which will adopt a budget for FY21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from this, AP Governor Biswabhusan
Harichandan addressed the Assembly through video conference, which is also another first for the country.
The budget amount stated a decrease of 1.4% over FY19-20 due to major economic slowdown caused by Covid-19.
The revenue deficit estimated at Rs 18,434 crore and a fiscal deficit estimated at Rs 48,295 crore.
A revenue receipts of Rs 1.61 lakh cr projected in FY2020-21 while revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs
1,80,392.65 crore.
The capital expenditure, including loan repayments and other disbursements, is estimated at Rs 44,396.54 crore.
The budget projected a further rise in the state’s debt to Rs 3,48,998 crore in the 2020-21 which was increased to Rs
3.02 lakh crore at the end of March 2020.
Key Points from budget:
-In addition to the direct money transfer schemes implemented in the last fiscal, at least seven others will be
launched this year under the government’s flagship “Navaratnalu” programme.
-A sum of Rs 37,659 crore will be spent under the head Direct Benefit Transfer for schemes like YSR Pension
Kanuka, YSR Aasara, Jagananna Amma Vodi, Jagananna Vidya Deevena, YSR Kapu Nestham, YSR Jagananna Chedodu,
Jagananna Thodu, YSR Cheyuta.
The same schemes, with a total outlay of Rs 37,618 crore, will also be implemented under various sub-components
like SC, ST, BC, Minority and Kapu welfare for the respective communities
The allocation for Kapu welfare is Rs 2,845 crore and Rs 23,406 crore for BC welfare. The government allocated Rs
1,998 crore for minority welfare.
–Allocation to the agriculture sector stands at Rs 11,891 crore
Rs 3,615 crore will be distributed to farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme towards inputs and another Rs 1,100
crore towards interest-free farm loans.
–Allocation to education sector
Rs 22,604.01 crore for secondary and Intermediate education for 2020-21.
The Higher Education department received Rs 2,276.97 crore
A sum of Rs 348.31 crore was earmarked for technical education,
While Jagananna Vidya Deevena (RTF) received Rs 3,009 crore, Jagananna Vasathi Deevena (MTF) got Rs 2,000 crore.
A sum of Rs 3,000 crore was allocated for the Nadu-Nedu scheme under which 15,715 schools have been identified in
the first phase for taking up works in nine components to improve basic infrastructure.
Jagananna Goru Muddha scheme got Rs 974.86 crore.
-Allocation to the health sector is pegged at Rs 11,419 crore.
-For women members of self-help groups (SHGs) in rural and urban areas, a sum of Rs 1,365 crore has been
earmarked under the interest-free loan scheme.
Bill Introduced:
State government introduced and passed two Bills — the Decentralisation Bill and the AP Capital Region
Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bill.The Bill enables the setting up of three capitals, with Amaravati being the
Legislative capital, Visakhapatnam the Executive capital and Kurnool the Judicial capital.
Background:
The AP state government could not hold a regular budget session owing to the nationwide lockdown earlier. It had
obtained approval for a three-month budget of Rs 71,000 crore for the April-June period through an Ordinance in
the last week of March, 2020.
About AP:
Chief Minister– Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy
Capital– Amaravati
Formal Jobs in India Increases by 28.6% to 78.58 Lakh in 2019-20: EPFO

According to the payroll data of EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation), an organization tasked to assist
the Central Board of Trustees, Employees’ Provident Fund, the formal employment in India saw an 28.6 % increase
at 78.58 lakh in 2019-20 as compared to only 61.12 lakh added in 2018-19.
The main reason for this is the low withdrawal by EPFO subscribers due to the government’s policy reforms such as
implementing GST, allowing fixed income contracts as well as better returns on PF (Provident Fund) deposits.

Highest Increment: Sectors such as Hospitality and Financial Institutions have experienced a 50% growth, while the
formalities of the workforce in the textile sector have increased by 20 %.
Key Highlights:
i.Payroll data showed an increase in informal jobs and a more than 16 % CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
increase in organized contract employment over the same period.
ii.According to EPFO, during the fiscal 2019-20 (or 2019) , there has been a substantial increase in the number of
individuals who opt out and then join the membership.
iii.GST (Goods and Services Tax) is acting as an incentive for companies that are part of the formal tax framework to
derive the benefits that have facilitated job formalization. Other than this, the rate of return on provident fund
deposits in the year 2019-20 was 8.5 % and is higher than many social security instruments with fixed deposits.
iv.The Indian Staffing Federation has credited the proactive measures taken by the government in the last two years
including GST across all sectors, fixed-term contracts and introduction of Prime Minister’s Employment
Scheme- Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana.
About EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation):
Central Provident Fund Commissioner– Sunil Barthwal
RBI Proposes New Rules for Housing Finance Companies; Increases Min NOF to Rs 20cr
In August, 2019, the government has exercised the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019 (23 of 2019) for amending the National
Housing Bank Act, 1987 resulting in transfer of regulation of housing finance companies (HFCs) to Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) from the National Housing Bank (NHB). After this, Part VII of Chapter VI of the Finance (No.2) Act, 2019
(23 of 2019 came into effect, stating an issue of revised regulations.
In this regard, on June 17, 2020, RBI being a new regulator has proposed changes to be prescribed for HFCs with an
aim to increase their efficiency and address concerns of liquidity and double financing.
Following are the key proposals:
Minimum net owned funds (NOF) requirement proposed to Rs 20 cr
In exercise of powers conferred under Section 29A (1) (b) of NHB Act, 1987, RBI proposes to increase the minimum
NOF for HFCs from the current requirement of Rs10 crore to Rs 20 crore in order to strengthen their capital base.
Existing HFCs will get one year to reach the level of Rs 15 crore and two years to increase it to Rs 20 crore.
Increase in CRAR
For HFCs, the minimum capital risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) is currently at 12%, which will be increased to 14%
by 31 March 2021 and 15% by 31 March 2022.
Classifying HFCs into systemically important and non-systemically important entities
Presently HFC regulations are common for all HFCs irrespective of their asset size and ownership. It is proposed to
issue HFC regulations by classifying them as systemically important and non-systemically important, so as to
introduce a graded approach. Therefore it is proposed that,
Non-deposit (ND) taking HFCs (HFC-ND) with asset size of Rs 500 crore & above; and all deposit taking HFCs (HFC-
D), irrespective of asset size, will be treated as systemically important HFCs. HFCs with asset size below Rs 500 crore
will be treated as non-systemically important HFCs (HFC-non-SI).
Defining of term ‘housing finance’
Under the NHB regulations, there was no formal definition of housing finance. In the draft framework released on its
website, RBI said housing finance will now mean “financing, for purchase/construction/reconstruction/ renovation/
repairs of residential dwelling unit” and some other activities, including giving loans to corporate and government
agencies for employee housing projects.
Definition of qualifying assets for housing finance companies (HFCs)
In another proposal, housing loans must account for at least 50% of HFCs’ assets of which at least 75% should be
towards individual housing loans. HFCs which do not fulfil this criterion will be treated as NBFC – Investment and
Credit Companies (NBFC-ICCs) and will be required to approach the RBI for conversion of their Certificate of
Registration from HFC to NBFC-ICC.

In order to remain working as HFC, they would have to follow a roadmap to make 75% of their assets individual
housing loans. The target has been set at 60% by March 31, 2022, 70% by March 31, 2023, and 75% by March 31,
2024.
HFCs to be treated as NBFC in case of more financial assets
A housing finance company is considered a non-banking financial company (NBFC) under the RBI’s regulations. A
company is treated as an NBFC if its financial assets are more than 50% of its total assets and income from financial
assets is more than 50% of the gross income.
Addressing Double Financing
The regulator also sought to address concerns on “double financing” due to lending by an HFC to construction
companies and also to individuals purchasing flats from the same companies. As per proposal, HFC can now either
lend to a real estate company or to homebuyers in the projects of group entities, but not to both.
Also, HFCs cannot take exposure of more than 15% of owned funds to one company in a group and more
than 25% across all companies of the same group.
Other Proposals:
-To bring all HFCs under the ambit of guidelines on securitisation transactions as applicable to non-banking finance
companies (NBFCs).
-Loans for furnishing a house, loans against mortgage of property for any purpose other than for buying, construction
or renovation of a house will be treated as non-housing loans.
Click Here for Official Notification
appointed).
SEBI amends SEBI (SAST) Regulations, 2011 to enhance promoter’s shareholding

After exercising the powers conferred under section 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of
1992), the board of SEBI has amended the regulation 3, in sub-regulation (2) of Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (SEBI-SAST) to enhance the acquisition
limit for promoters of a listed company.
These will be called as Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers)
(Amendment) Regulations, 2020 when official notification will be issued.
Amendments:
-The amendment allows promoters owning 25% or more of the shares or voting rights in a company to increase his
shareholding by upto 10% in a year in comparison to the earlier 5% limit. This limit is permitted only through
preferential issue of equity shares and valid only for FY20-21.
-The regulator has relaxed the condition of time gap between two qualified institutional placements (QIPs) to 2
weeks from earlier 6 months.
-Now, promoters have been exempted from making an open offer if they acquire more than 5 per cent stake following
preferential issuance of shares by a company. The temporary relaxation would be in place till March 31, 2021 and
applicable for purchase of stake less than 10 per cent.
Who is a Promoter?
A promoter is a firm or person who does the preliminary work incidental to the formation of a company, including its
promotion, incorporation, and flotation, and solicits people to invest money in the company, usually when it is being
formed.
What is QIP?
Introduced by SEBI in 2006, QIP is a method under which a listed company can issue equity shares, fully and partly
convertible debentures, or any securities other than warrants which are convertible to equity shares to a Qualified
Institutional Buyer (QIB).
It was launched to prevent listed companies in India from developing an excessive dependence on foreign capital.

About SEBI:
Establishment– 1992
ICICI Home Finance Launches SARAL, Affordable Housing Loan Scheme

On June 18, 2020 ICICI Home Finance Company Limited(HFC) launched SARAL, a special affordable housing loan
scheme to finance homes in urban and rural areas. The beneficiaries are women, lower, middle income customers and
economically weaker sections, with a maximum household income up to Rs 6 lakh per annum.
Gist about SARAL:
Loan requirement– The loan requires compulsory ownership of a woman in the country’s rural areas from Rs 3
lakh to Rs 6 lakh.
Maximum limit– The maximum limit of the loan is Rs 35 lakh.
Interest rate– The interest rate of the loan starts from 7.98%.
Maximum Tenure– The maximum tenure of the loan is 20 years.
Transfer of loans– Customers with pre-existing loans can also transfer their loans.
Note: ICICI HFC offers interest subsidy of up to Rs 2.67 lakh per house for SARAL loan applicants up to the end of this
financial year, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)
About ICICI HFC:
ICICI HFC is a Housing Finance Company regulated by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) and is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of ICICI Bank Ltd.
Chairman– Anup Bagchi
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Anirudh Kamani
Karnataka Bank Launches Health Insurance Policy to Cover COVID-19 in Partnership with Universal Sompo
General Insurance Company
On June 17, 2020 Karnataka Bank in partnership with Universal Sompo General Insurance Company has
launched a health insurance policy. The policy aims to cover the individuals’ COVID-19 pandemic related health
expenses.
Gist about the health cover
Price– The health cover can be availed at a nominal premium(current price without taking inflation or other factors
into account) of Rs 399, inclusive of all taxes.
Expenses covered
It will cover-in-patient hospital expenses up to Rs 3 lakh, outpatient treatment expenses of Rs 3000.
The policy will provide Rs 1000 per day against the expenses incurred towards 14 days of quarantine in a
government or military hospital.
Validity– The validity period of the policy is 120 days.
Availability– The policy is available to all customers of the bank, between the ages of 18-65.
Eligibility for nonexistent customers– The nonexistent customers of the bank will be also be eligible to buy this
policy as soon as they establish a banking relationship with the bank.
About Karnataka Bank:
Headquarters– Mangaluru(Mangalore), Karnataka
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Mahabaleshwara M.S.,
About Universal Sompo General Insurance Company:
Headquarters– Mumbai,
MD & CEO– Sharad Mathur

Tata AIA Life Insurance Partners with East Consultancy Services to Offer Aadhaar-Based Paperless Offline e-
KYC Service
On June 17, 2020 Tata AIA Life Insurance partnered with East Consultancy Services to offer Aadhaar-based
paperless offline e-Know Your Customer(KYC) service. This tie up helps to service the customer during the COVID-
19 pandemic crisis.
Key Points
i.The e-KYC service will offer uninterrupted service to customers during the online application process for the
company’s life insurance solutions.
ii.It will create Tata AIA Life’s End-to-End Digital Sales System, enabling remote purchase of its life insurance
solutions.
Tata AIA Life Insurance’s other measures
Bank KYC, Digital pre-submission calling, Tele and video medical examination report, Online Permanent Account
Number and Bank account validation, Robotic process automation and Optical character recognition which has made
the process of buying life insurance simple, convenient and paperless.
Note: Tata AIA Life Insurance will soon extend the service for verification of agents as part of ”Know Your
Agent”(KYA) requirement.
About Tata AIA Life Insurance:
Headquarters– Mumbai,Maharashtra
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) & Managing Director(MD)– Rishi Srivastava
Chairman– Saurabh Agrawal
About East Consultancy Services
Head Office – Bengaluru, Karnataka
Bank of Baroda to Fully Digitize Lending Operations

India’s 3rd largest lender, Bank of Baroda is set to fully digitise its lending operations including home,
agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME), personal and auto loans.
Verification and issuance of new loans will take place through this digital platform & past loans will also be digitized
to reduce costs and improve profitability.
The bank plans to digitize a large part of its retail and MSME processes in the next 6 months.
Gist about Digital Lending Department (new vertical):
i.The bank has set up a new vertical, digital lending department at the corporate office, which will have substantial
overlap with various credit verticals including Retail, MSME, Agri & service verticals like Analytics centre, Risk
Management, Marketing.
ii.According to the Bank’s 18-month Action Plan, it aims to set up and operate the digital lending department within
two months.
iii.The later phase of the plan includes consolidating the bank’s ongoing digital initiatives into this set up. The
department will then be integrated across the bank’s systems.
iv.To set up this digital lending department the bank has reached out to the Big Four and some white shoe
consultants like McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group.
Note– The bank has recently completed its merger with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank.
Key Point
State Bank of India(SBI), has also created a separate Financial Inclusion and Micro Market (FI&MM) vertical within
the bank with an exclusive focus to provide financial services to people in the interior of the country.
About Bank of Baroda:
Headquarters– Vadodara, Gujarat
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sanjiv Chadha
Former Lok Sabha MP and Banker Madhavrao Patil passes away at 80

On 14th June 2020, Madhavrao Balwant Patil, Former Lok Sabha Member and the founder of Janalaxmi Cooperative
Bank passed away due to short illness at the age of 80 in Nashik, Maharashtra.He was born on 21st January 1940 in
Nashik, Maharashtra.

About Madhavrao Patil:
i.He was an Agriculturalist, Management consultant, Industrialist and a Banker.
ii.He became a member of Congress in 1964.
iii.He was elected as a member of the 12th Lok Sabha from the Nashik constituency as the candidate of Congress in
1998.
iv.He was a supporter of Sharad Pawar and joined his Nationalish Congress Party in 1999.
Telangana Govt Issues Ordinance to Defer Payment of Employees, Pensioners

On June 17, 2020, Amid the ongoing fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19), the state Government of Telangana has
promulgated the Telangana Disaster and Public Health Emergency (Special Provisions) Ordinance 2020 which
allowed it to defer salaries and pensions of its employees, pensioner, institution, any person (ready contract or
outsourcing employees) and other dues in the event of disaster and public health emergency in the State.
What the Ordinance will bring about?
The ordinance, promulgated by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, considered effective from 24 March 2020 & will
be in force for six months.
It enables the government to defer payment of government employees to the extent not exceeding half (50 %) the
total monthly payment. While, All India Service officers’ salaries have been cut by 60%. Similarly, elected
representatives including CM (chief minister), ministers, MLAs (Member of the Legislative Assembly), MLCs (Member
of the State Legislative Council) and even local bodies representatives such as mayors have seen a 75% cut.
Why the Ordinance has been promulgated?
The state government implemented the pay cut decision for government employees in the last week of March 2020 in
view of declining revenue during the lockdown.
About Telangana:
Capital– Hyderabad
Chief minister– K. Chandrashekar Rao
State Flower– Senna auriculata
State Fruit– Mango
UP provided employment to 57 lakh 12975 migrant workers under MGNREGA; Highest in India
In accordance with the official government data, on June 15, 2020, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has provided employment to
57 lakh 12975 workers in 56,981 village panchayats of the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), making it the top Indian state to provide highest employment under
MGNREGS.
This employment is 18% of the total work generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the country.
UP is followed by Rajasthan, which has engaged 53.45 lakh workers, Andhra Pradesh (AP) with 36 lakh
workers, West Bengal (WB) with 26 lakh and Madhya Pradesh (MP) with 23.95 lakh workers.
Key Points:
-The maximum number of workers in UP have been engaged in Sitapur district (about 1.91 lakh), followed by Basti
(1.60 lakh).
-UP has generated 7.93 crore man-days and will provide jobs to 10 lakh more workers in the coming days.
-A total of 18 lakh construction workers have returned to the state, of them, 6.71 lakh are in rural areas and 8.86 lakh
in urban areas. Those in urban areas are being given financial assistance of Rs 1,000 every month. Of them, about
41,000 workers are engaged in 3,000 projects of the Public Workers Department and another 20,000 in 926 projects
of the Housing Development Board. This has provided a major relief to more than 30 lakh migrant labourers who
have returned from other states to UP amid COVID-19.
Point to be noted: In FY19-20, the highest single-day engagement of labourers stood at 14 lakh, and around the same
time last year, an average of about 9 lakh workers were engaged under the MGNREGS.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act 2005, later renamed as the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act”(MGNREGA) was passed in September 2005.It is an Indian labour law that aims to
guarantee the ‘right to work’.
Objective – “enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work”.
The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao but it was finally introduced by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh,
Former Cabinet Minister of Rural Development.MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats.
About UP:
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Capital– Lucknow
Governor– Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel
Indian Economy to contract by 4% in 2020-21: ADB Forecast

In accordance with the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) by Asian Development Bank (ADB), for FY20-21, Indian
economy is projected to contract by 4% in fiscal year (FY) 2020, ending on 31 March 2021, before growing 5.0% in
FY2021.
For Countries in ‘Developing Asia’, ADB forecasted growth of 0.1% in 2020. Excluding the newly industrialised
economies of Hong Kong, China; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; and Taipei, China, Developing Asia’s growth
predicted at 0.4% this year and 6.6% in 2021.
‘Developing Asia’ refers to a group of over 40 countries that are members of the ADB.
The growth of South-Asia is predicted to contract by 3% in 2020, in comparison to 4.1% growth predicted in April,
2020. For FY21-22, growth prospects revised down to 4.9% from 6%.
The reason behind the slow growth is the containment measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic which are
hampering economic activity and weaken external demand.
Growth of India by other rating agencies:
-World Bank projected India’s economy to shrink by 3.2% in the FY20-21.
-Moody’s Investors Service, Fitch Rating and S&P Global Ratings have all predicted a 4-5% contraction in India’s
economic growth rate in the FY20-21.
About ADB:
Headquarters– Mandaluyong, Philippines
Members– 68
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund Buys 2.32% Stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 Crores
On June 18, 2020 Reliance Industries Limited(RIL)’s Jio Platforms stepped into 11th deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public
Investment Fund(PIF), who bought 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crores. With this investment, Jio
Platforms has raised Rs 115,693.95 crores(1.15 lakh crores) from leading global investors since April 22, which is
the largest continuous fund raised by a company in the world.
This investment estimates the equity value of Jio Platforms at Rs 4.91 lakh crore & its enterprise value at Rs 5.16 lakh
crore.
With this investment, RIL holds 75.3% stake in Jio while 24.7% by the investors.
Previous global investors who bought stake in Jio Platforms:
i.Facebook(US) bought 9.99% stake for Rs 43,573.62 crores on April 22.
ii.Silver Lake(US) bought 1.15% stake for Rs 5,655.75 crores on May 4. In addition to this it bought 0.93% stake for
Rs 4,546.80 crores on June 5, which increased its total holding to 2.08%.
iii.Vista Equity Partners(US) bought 2.32% stake for Rs 11,367 crores on May 8.
iv.General Atlantic(US) bought 1.34% stake for Rs 6,598.38 crores on May 17
v.KKR(US) bought 2.32% stake for Rs 11,367 crores on May 22.
vi.Mubadala Investment(United Arab Emirates- UAE) bought 1.85% stake for Rs 9,093.60 crores on June 5.
vii.UAE’s Abu Dhabi Investment Authority(ADIA) bought 1.16% for Rs 5,683.50crores on June 7

viii.TPG Capital(US) bought 0.93% for Rs 4,546.80 crores & L Catterton(US) bought 0.39% for Rs 1,894.50 crores
on June 13.
Note: All these investments and the rights issue of Rs 53,124 crore will enable RIL to pay off the net debt target of Rs
1.61 trillion by the end of 2020.
About PIF:
Headquarters– Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Chairman– Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
About RIL:
Chairman & Managing Director– Mukesh D. Ambani
Veteran economist & Member of the 10th Finance Commission B.P.R. Vithal Baru passed away at 93
On June 19, 2020 Veteran economist & member of the 10th Finance Commission,IAS B.P.R. Vithal Baru passed away
at 93 in Hyderabad due to old age-related ailments. He was born in 1926.
Gist about B.P.R. Vithal Baru’s:
Education– He was educated at Madrasa-e-Aliya high school, Hyderabad & graduated from Madras Christian
College(MCC) and joined the Hyderabad Civil Service.
Various posts held
i.B.P.R. Vithal Baru served as a Secretary, Finance and Planning, government of Andhra Pradesh, from 1972 to 1982.
He was a Deputy Chairman, State Planning Board.
ii.He was also Chairman, Expenditure Commission, government of Kerala. For a short period he was the Fiscal
Advisor to the governments of Sudan and Malawi at the International Monetary Fund.
iii.He was deputed as Registrar of the Osmania University in 1960. He established the Centre for Economic and Social
Studies(CESS), Hyderabad.
Essay- He was influential in shaping the demand for Telangana state through his essay titled “The Telangana
Surpluses: A Case Study”.
Facts about B.P.R. Vithal Baru
i.He attended the Quit India session of the Indian National Congress in Mumbai and involved himself in the national
movement.
ii.He was the 1st Indian president of the MCC students’ union to fly the Indian tricolor.
iii.After his retirement, he was involved with many social organizations and causes, including the Nizam’s trust,
Hyderabad Literary Society and Jana Vignana Vedika.
About CESS:
Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana
Chairman– Prof. R. Radhakrishna
MoHUA Signs MoU to Engage SIDBI as Implementation Agency for PM SVANidhi

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to make latter as the implementation Agency for Prime Minister Street
Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) – a Special Micro-Credit Facility for Street Vendors.
The MoU was signed by Sanjay Kumar, Joint Secretary on behalf of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
and Shri V. Satya Venkata Rao, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI, in the presence of Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of
State (Independent Charge) MoHUA during a meet in New Delhi.
Terms of MoU:
-SIDBI will implement the PM SVANidhi Scheme under the guidance of MoHUA.
-It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and
Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
-It will develop and maintain a customized and integrated IT Platform providing end-to-end solutions through a
Portal and a Mobile App, to ensure engagement and information flow between Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), Lending
Institutions, Digital Payment Aggregators and other stakeholders.

-It will leverage the network of lending Institutions like Scheduled Commercials Banks (SCBs), Non-Bank Finance
Companies (NBFCs), Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), Co-operative Banks, Small Finance Banks (SFBs), Regional
Rural Banks (RRBs), etc. for the Scheme implementation.
-SIDBI will also provide a Project Management Unit (PMU), comprising of domain experts in training/ capacity
building, project and platform management, Information Education and Communication (IEC), banking, NBFC and
MFI sectors etc., for the period of PM SVANidhi i.e. upto March 2022.
About PM SVANidhi:
It was launched by the MoHUA, on June 01, 2020 for providing affordable Working Capital loan to 50 lakh street
vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to Covid-19 lockdown. Under the Scheme,
the vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the
tenure of one year.
On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy @ 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of
beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on quarterly basis. There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.
The scheme promotes digital transactions through cash back incentives up to an amount of Rs. 100 per month.
In the first phase, 108 cities have been selected, in consultation with States/Uts, for saturation by September 2020.
Disbursement of loan is planned to commence in July, 2020.
About SIDBI:
Headquarter– Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)– Mohammad Mustafa
France commits 200 Million Euros to Support India’s Covid Response

On 19th June 2020, France and India signed a credit financing agreement promising 200 million euros (Rs. 1709
crore) to support the social welfare system and India’s covid response. The fund will be provided to India through
the AFD, French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement).
Credit Financing Agreement:
The agreement was signed in India by C.S. Mohapatra, Additional Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs,
and Bruno Bosle, Director of AFD,French Development Agency(Agence Française de Développement) in the virtual
presence of Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India.
Application of the Loan:
i.This will be used to increase the capacity of the state and central government to support the people who are prone
to illness amid the corona pandemic.
ii.To increase the current social protection measures by the Government of India, this programme design was
developed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Indian authorities.
iii.The programme focuses on the “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana” to benefit the low income families and to
ensure their social, health and economic wellbeing and their contribution towards the nation’s economic growth
amid covid pandemic.
iv.This provides health insurance to the frontline workers like, healthcare, sanitation and security workers.
v.For the migrant workers and others who could not seek PMGKY for compensation will be assisted through a social
assistance programme.
About AFD:
President of the Board– Laurence Tubiana
Director General– Rémy Rioux
Headquarters– Paris, France
Nearly 1% of world’s population, “79.5 mn” forcibly displaced globally at the end of 2019: UNHCR
In accordance with the annual report on displacement titled “Global Trends- Forced Displacement in
2019″ released by UN refugee agency- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2019, additional
11 million people were displaced where 2.4 million sought protection outside their country, and 8.6 million were
newly displaced within the borders of their countries.
On the Global front, the displacement number is 79.5 million or one in every 97 people on the planet at the end of
2019. This number of forced displacement has almost doubled since 2010 (41 million).

It should be noted that this figure is the highest since these statistics have been systematically collected. It is
approximately 1% of the world’s population.
Key Points:
– Of the 79.5 mn people cited in the report, 29.6 million were refugees, 4.2 million asylum seekers and 45.7 million
internally displaced people (IDPs) – those who fled to other parts of their own country.
-30 to 34 million of the world’s 79.5 million forcibly displaced, are children.
-Five countries account for two-thirds (68%) of people displaced across
borders: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar.
– For the first time, Venezuela’s 3.5 million displaced people feature in the UNHCR report, accounting for a significant
rise, compared with the 2018-19 data.
– Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees, 3.9 million people (3.6 million were refugees & 0.3 million were
Asylum seekers) while Developing countries hosted 85% of the world’s refugees.
-Only 317,200 refugees able to return to their country of origin and only 107,800 resettled in third countries.
-More than three-quarters of the world’s refugees (77 per cent) are caught up in situations of long-term displacement
– for example the situation in Afghanistan, now in its fifth decade.
-More than eight of every 10 refugees (85 per cent) are in developing countries, generally a country neighbouring the
one they fled.
-Global Trends Report counts all major displaced and refugee populations, including the 5.6 million Palestine
refugees who fall under the care of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine.
-The 2030 Sustainable Development commitment of “leaving no one behind” now explicitly includes refugees, thanks
to a new indicator on refugees approved by the UN Statistical Commission in March, 2020.
How COVID-19 impacted the displaced population?
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the refugee community and internally displaced people the hardest due to the
health risks, loss of income and greater exposure to gender-based violence.
The border closures and travel restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus have also caused delays in the asylum-
seeking process.
About UNHCR:
High Commissioner– Filippo Grandi
RBI doubles withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh for PMC Bank depositors; 4 other banks withdrawal limit increased
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the withdrawal limit from Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank
to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 but extended the moratorium on the bank for another six months.
The moratorium was earlier imposed till June 23, 2020 will now be applicable until December 22, 2020.
The decision has been taken after reviewing bank’s liquidity position, its ability to pay the depositors and to help
depositors mitigate the difficulties faced during the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
With this relaxation, over 84% of the bank’s depositors will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.
Background
PMC is under All-Inclusive Directions under sub-section (1) of Section 35 A read with Section 56 of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949 with effect from September 23, 2019. The restrictions have been placed due to the financial
irregularities and fraudulent operations.
RBI also superseded the board and the management of PMCbank and appointed an ex-RBI official JB Bhoria as the
administrator at the bank.
Increased withdrawal limit for 4 other banks
The RBI also raised the withdrawal limit of four other banks on whom curbs had earlier been put in place, namely
Kerala Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Kozhikode, Kerala: The withdrawal limit increased to Rs 50000
from Rs 2000.With the above relaxation, more than 89% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their
entire account balance.

Hindu Cooperative Bank Limited, Pathankot, Punjab: The limit has been increased to Rs 50,000 from Rs
25,000.With the above relaxation, more than 79% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire
account balance.
Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank Niyamitha, Bengaluru, Karnataka: The withdrawal limit increased to Rs
1,00,000 from Rs 35,000.With the above relaxation, more than 54% of the depositors of the bank will be able to
withdraw their entire account balance.
Youth Development Cooperative Bank Limited, Kolhapur, Maharashtra: The withdrawal limit per depositor
under the existing directions is Rs 5000 which has now enhanced to Rs 20,000.With the above relaxation, more than
76% of the depositors of the bank will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.
It should be noted that the RBI has no powers to enforce reconstruction schemes for cooperative banks unlike “Yes
Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020”.Regulation of urban cooperative banks is divided between the RBI and the
Registrar of Co-operative Societies (RCS), while for smaller co-operative banks it is divided between National Bank
for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and RCS.
appointed).
EXIM Bank Extends Line of Credit of USD 20.10 Million to Nicaragua Govt
On June 19, 2020 Export-Import(EXIM) Bank on behalf of the Indian Government, extended a Line of
Credit(LOC) of USD 20.10 million to the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua for the reconstruction of Aldo
Chavarria Hospital.
Agreement
The agreement was signed by Tarun Sharma, General Manager, EXIM bank & José Adrián Chavarria, General Vice
minister, Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, Government of Nicaragua.
Key Points
Total LOC extended to Nicaragua– Till now, with this agreement EXIM bank has extended 4 LOCs to Nicaragua, on
behalf of Indian Government, with a total value of USD 87.63 million.
Projects covered under the LOCs– The projects under the LOCs include the following; The supply of equipment for
the construction of two sub-stations, construction of transmission lines, building new substation, expanding the
existing substations and reconstructing a hospital.
Key Info of LOC
i.After signing this LOC agreement the bank now holds 261 LOCs which cover 62 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin
America & Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS), with approximately USD 25.70 billion of credit commitments
available to finance exports from India.
ii.In addition to promoting India’s exports, EXIM bank’s LOC helps India demonstrate expertise and project execution
capabilities in emerging markets.
What is LOC?
It is a credit facility extended by a bank or other financial institution to a government, business or individual
customer. The borrower can take the money as needed until the reached limit & as the money is repaid, it can be
again borrowed if it is an open LOC
About EXIM Bank:
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– David Rasquinha
About Nicaragua:
Capital – Managua
Currency – Nicaraguan córdoba

Hyundai Motor India Ltd Partners with HDFC Bank offers 1st Online Auto Retail Financing : ‘Click to Buy’
Platform
On June 19, 2020 Hyundai Motor India Limited(HMIL) partnered with HDFC Bank to offer industry 1st online auto
retail financing on its end-to-end online automotive retail platform, ‘Click to Buy’ to the customers.
Key Points
i.Under this collaboration, HMIL will provide customised car financing solutions to its customers from HDFC bank
through its online car buying platform.
ii.This partnership enables the customers to choose loans and get the funds they need to buy their favorite Hyundai
car without visiting HDFC Bank branch
About Click to Buy
HMIL launched ‘Click to Buy’, an upgraded version of end-to-end online automotive retail platform to provide a safe,
contactless & convenient purchasing experience to its consumers after the COVID times.
About HMIL:
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC)
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Seon Seob Kim
About HDFC Bank:
Chairman– Deepak S. Parekh
RIL Becomes India’s 1st Firm to Hit Rs 11 Tn Market Cap on June 11, 2020 after Valuing at Rs 11.15 tn;
Mukesh Ambani became world’s 9th richest
On June 19, 2020, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian company to reach a market capitalisation of
Rs 11 trillion, as the company was valued at Rs 11.15 trillion. With this, RIL accounts for nearly 9% of the country’s
total m-cap of Rs 138 trillion. Its stock on Bombay stock exchange (BSE) was record high at Rs 1,738.95. Notably the
company’s share doubled since mid-March 2020.
In dollar terms, RIL’s m-cap translates into $155 billion, making it the 54th largest company globally.
If the value of RIL’s partly paid shares of Rs 67,500 crore is added, then the company’s m-cap adds up to almost Rs
11.83 trillion.
Importantly, RIL is the most valued firm followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which is valued at Rs 7.7
trillion.
Reason behind this Jump
The reason behind this jump is the net-debt free status of RIL which has been attained through the fundraising to
the tune of Rs 115,693.95 crore through the sale of 24.71% stake in its digital services arm, Jio Platforms Ltd (JPL), to
10 global investors in 11 investments.
RIL also raised Rs 53,124.20 crore through rights issue. Its net debt was at ₹1.61 trillion as of 31 March, 2020.
RIL first hit Rs 1 trillion in market cap in August 2005. It took the company 12 years to reach Rs 5 trillion in market
cap in July 2017.
Mukesh Ambani became 9th richest in the world: Bloomberg Billionaires Index
The net worth of Mukesh Ambani, chairman has jumped to $64.5 billion, making him the only Asian tycoon in the
exclusive club of the world’s top 10 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He overtook Larry
Ellison of Oracle Corp. and France’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the wealthiest woman, to reach the No. 9 spot.
About RIL:
Founder Chairman– Dhirubhai Ambani
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)- Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani

Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel Appointed as the Chairman of NIPFP
On 19th June 2020, The former governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Urjit Patel was appointed as the Chairman of
National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). He will start his 4year tenure on 22nd June 2020 succeeding
Vijay Laxman Kelkar, former chairman of NIPFP.
Roles of NIPFP Chairman:
i.The role is advisory in nature and he does not interfere in the daily function of the institution.
ii.He heads the board meeting of NIPFP which will be held 3 to 4 times a year.
Governing body of NIPFP:
The governing body of the NIPFP consists of,
Three representatives of the Ministry of Finance
Three representatives of sponsoring state governments
One representative of Niti Aayog
One representative of RBI
Three economists
Three heads of sister research institutions
Members of other sponsoring agencies and invitees.
About Urjit Patel:
i.He hails from a business family in Nairobi and until 2013 he was holding the nationality of Kenya.
ii.He went to the London School of Economics, Oxford University and Yale University.
iii.He was appointed as the deputy Governor of RBI, shortly after acquiring Indian Nationality in January 2013.
iv.He was appointed as the Governor of RBI in September 2016 succeeding Raghuram Rajan.
v.Patel resigned nine months prior to the end of his tenure as the Governor of RBI due to personal reasons, he was the
first governor since 1990 to resign before the end of his term.
vi.He was involved in the autonomy and independence of the central bank.
About NIPFP:
The centre undertakes research, policy advocacy and capacity building in areas related to public economics and the
institute assists the central, state and local government in formulating policies by providing an analytical base.
Chairman– Vijay Laxman Kelkar (Urjit Patel, will take office on 22nd June 2020)
About RBI:
PM Modi launched Rs 50,000 cr Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan to boost employment and livelihood for
migrant workers
An employment -cum- rural public works Campaign for 67 lakh migrant workers titled “Garib Kalyan Rojgar
Abhiyaan (GKRA)” has been launched for 6 states viz. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan,
Jharkhand and Odisha, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the lines of the announcement made in Rs 20 Lakh crore
Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The outlay of this campaign is Rs 50,000 Crores and the Ministry of Rural
Development (MoRD) is the nodal Ministry for its implementation.
GKRA was launched via video conference from village Telihar, Block Beldaur, district Khagariab Bihar in the
presence of Chief Ministers (CMs) of five states viz. Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh),
Yogi Adityanth (Uttar Pradesh), Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Hemant Soren (Jharkhand) and a minister from Odisha,
among others.
About GKRA- Public works to be implemented in 125 days in 116 Districts of 6 States
GKRA, the mission mode campaign of 125 days will cover 116 districts comprising more than 25,000 returnee
migrant workers each across 6 states. Under this 25 public work areas of Rs 50,000 Cr have been identified for
employment in villages. Public works means building durable rural infrastructure
The 116 districts consist of 32 from Bihar, 31 from UP, 24 from MP, 22 from Rajasthan, 4 from Odisha, and 3 from
Jharkhand. Apart from 116 districts, there are aspirational districts too including 12 in Bihar, 5 in UP, 4 in MP, 2 in
Rajasthan, 1 in Odisha, and 3 in Jharkhand.

Objective– To empower and provide livelihood opportunities in areas/ villages witnessing large numbers of returnee
migrant workers affected by the devastating COVID-19.
The Program will also prepare for expansion and development of livelihoods over a longer term.
Work identified for employment in villages: It includes rural housing for the poor, Plantations, provision of
drinking water through Jal Jeevan mission, Panchayat Bhavans, community toilets, rural mandis, rural roads, other
infrastructure like Cattle Sheds, Anganwadi Bhavans etc.
Notably, lying of fibre cable and provision of internet are also made a part of the GKRA as it is for the first time that
the rural areas are using more internet than the urban areas therefore it is necessary to provide high speed and cheap
internet in every rural household to help the youth and children.
Ministries included in GKRA: The Abhiyaan will be a convergent effort between 12 different
Ministries/Departments where MoRD is the nodal Ministry and its implementation will be done in collaboration with
Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Drinking Water &
Sanitation, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Petroleum &
Natural Gas, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Border Roads, Telecom and Agriculture, along with state
governments.
Difference between MGNREGS and GKRA
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) ensures 100 days of employment
per household in a year whereas GKRA is a one-time scheme of 125 days for providing employment to migrant
workers who returned during the lockdown near their villages.
About MoRD:
Union Minister– Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State (MoS)– Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti
Secretary– Nagendra Nath Sinha
Centre sanctions Rs 190 cr for augmentation of healthcare facilities in North Eastern States
Union Minister of State (MoS) of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh has sanctioned
Rs.190 crore for augmentation of healthcare facility in the eight North Eastern (NE) States viz. of Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura for developing infrastructure for
management of infectious diseases.
The decision has been taken during a virtual meeting to review the COVID-19 status and healthcare facility in
Aspirational districts with special focus on North East. It was attended by attended by the Health secretaries as well
as Deputy Commissioners and Health officials of the 14 Aspirational districts of North East
Ministry of DoNER has also given the NE States the option to send proposals for health related projects to be funded
up to over Rs 500 crore from North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS). Proposals have been
received from 7 states except Tripura.
About NESIDS:
Launched in 2017, NESIDS is a 100% centrally funded scheme to provide financial aid to the State Governments of NE
Region for the projects of physical infrastructure relating to water supply, power and connectivity enhancing tourism
and Social infrastructure relating to primary and secondary sectors of education and health.
15th Finance Commission Grants First installment of Rs.15187.50 cr to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs)
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) has submitted its interim report for the period FY 2020-21 and the
Government of India has accepted its recommendations in respect of the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs). The commission
has recommended the grant of Rs.60,750 cr for the period FY 2020-21 for RLBs and Shri Narendra Singh
Tomar, Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj had insisted that this is the highest ever allocation
made by the Finance Commission in any single year.
On 17th June, 2020, Ministry of Finance (FinMin) released the first installment of Rs.15187.50 crore, as grants-in-
aid, in respect of 2.63 lakh RLBs located in 28 States of the country. This grants-in-aid forms part of the Untied Grant
as recommended by XV-FC for the period FY 2020-21 and is to be used by RLBs for the location-specific felt needs.

The other installment of Rs.15187.50 crore for RLBs as tied Grants is expected to be released shortly by the Ministry
of Finance.
About RLB Grants- Basic & Tied:
From the overall grant 50% of the grant will be Basic Grant and 50 % will be the Tied Grant.
The basic grants are untied and can be used by RLBs for location-specific felt needs, except for salary or other
establishment expenditure.
The Tied Grants are to be used for the basic services of (a) sanitation and maintenance of open-defecation free (ODF)
status and (b) supply of drinking water, rain water harvesting and water recycling.
Distribution of RLB grants:
The Centre allocated the grant to the State Governments which will be further distributing the XV FC Grants to all the
tiers of panchayats in the following manner:
70-85 % for village/gram panchayats
10-25 % for block/intermediate panchayats
5-15 % for district/zilla panchayats
In states having two-tier system with only village and district panchayats, the distribution will be in the bands of 70-
85 % for village/gram panchayats and 15-30% for district/zilla panchayats
About 15th Finance Commission:
The Fifteenth Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India on November 27, 2017 in pursuance of
clause (1) of Article 280 of the Constitution and Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951. The
Commission had to submit its Report on the basis of its Terms of Reference (ToR) by October 30, 2019 covering a
period of five years commencing from 1st April, 2020.
Chairman – N.K. Singh(Nand Kishore Singh)
Static Info:
Union Minister– Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of State (MoS)– Anurag Singh Thakur
Departments– 5: Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure, Department of Revenue, Department
of Investment and Public Asset Management, and Department of Financial Services.
Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj – Shri Narendra Singh Tomar
Yes Bank & Affordplan Jointly Launches Co-Branded Healthcare Card Called ‘Swasth Card’
On June 21, 2020, Yes Bank Limited, an Indian public bank, has joined hands with Delhi-based fintech
startup Affordplan, to launch co-branded healthcare card called ‘Swasth Card’ under Swasth program with the aim
to enable families plan and manage their finances for their healthcare needs.
Besides, yes bank’s wallet has also been integrated on Affordplan Swasth to pave the way for wallet QR (Quick
Response) scan for making payments to merchant partners enlisted on the Affordplan Swasth app.
Key features of ‘Swasth Card’:
– It will have affordable recharges from Rs 100 up to a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh.
-Yes bank customers can get goal-based savings projection chart for medical treatment based on provided treatment
& they will be given healthcare services and treatments at a discounted price.
– People don’t need to provide any documents while applying to the card & full KYC (Know Your Customer) will be
done within 24 months period.
– The card also have Insurance cover, Cashback benefits, access to loan facilities for IPD(In Patient Department)
treatments so as they can save on expenses related to OPD (Out Patient Department) consultation, diagnostics,
medicines & IPD treatments.
How to apply?
People need to activate the YES BANK integrated wallet on the Affordplan Swasth to apply for the card.
About Yes Bank Limited:
MD & CEO– Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience our Expertise.

About Affordplan:
Location– New Delhi
CEO– Tejbir Singh
UCO Bank Ties Up with 4 Insurers to Offer Various Insurance Products

On June 21, 2020 United Commercial Bank(UCO Bank) partnered with four insurers namely, SBI Life Insurance
Company, the Oriental Insurance Company and Religare Health Insurance Company, Star Health and Allied
Insurance Company to offer various insurance products for its customers.
After this collaboration with 4 insurance firm, the total number of insurance company partnered with UCO bank
increases to 6 from 2 insurance company.
About the tie up
This tie up will help to re-establish the bank’s commitment to its customers for their financial well being.
With this tie up the bank will offer a broad range of insurance products.
Note-The customer interface will be digitized to avail these features
UCO Bank signs ‘bancassurance’ pact with SBI Life Insurance
UCO Bank signs a ‘bancassurance’ pact with SBI Life Insurance to provide insurance solutions to the customers of
UCO bank at its 3,086 branches spread across the country.
Agreement
The agreement was signed by Nidhu Saxena, General Manager-Retail Banking, Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises(MSME) & Bancassurance Business, UCO Bank & Ashwani Kumar Shukla, Regional Director-Kolkata
region, SBI Life Insurance.
What is bancassurance?
Bancassurance is a partnership between a bank and an insurance company, where the bank sells the tied insurance
company’s insurance products to its clients.
About UCO bank:
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Atul Kumar Goel
About SBI Life Insurance Company:
MD & CEO– Mahesh Kumar Sharma
Tata’s Natarajan Chandrasekaran Re-nominated as a Part-Time Non-Official Director on RBI Central board
On June 21, 2020 As per Reserve Bank of India(RBI)’s notification, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons(since
January 2017), Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been re-nominated as a Part-Time Non-Official Director on RBI
Central board for 2 years from 3rd March 2020 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
The government had 1st nominated him as the Director on RBI Central board for 4 years from March 4, 2016.
Various positions held by Natarajan Chandrasekaran:
i.The Natarajan Chandrasekaran joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in 1987, he became its Chief Executive
Officer from 2009-17 , prior to which he was Chief Operating Officer (COO) and executive director of TCS
ii.He served as the chairman of Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages(TGB). He has also served as the Chairperson
of the Information and Communication Technology Industry Governors at the World Economic Forum, Davos in
2015-16.
iii. He served as the chairman of The National Association of Software and Service Companies(NASSCOM), the apex
trade body for IT services firms in India in 2012-13.
RBI’s central board
i.The Reserve Bank’s affairs is governed by a central board of directors(BoD). The board is appointed by the
Government of India in line with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
ii.The central BoD consists of 21 members. Currently RBI’s central board has 15 directors, including the Governor and
three Deputy Governors.

About RBI:
IFTAS Appoints T.Rabi Sankar as Chairman and N. Rajendran as CEO

On 22nd June 2020, The Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve
Bank of India appoints T Rabi Sankar as the Chairman and Dr. N Rajendran as the Chief Executive
Officer(CEO) effective from 15th May 2020 and 27th May 2020 respectively.
Tavarna Rabi Sankar:
i.He is currently serving as the Executive Director of Payment Systems, Information Technology(IT), Risk
Management and Fintech in the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).
ii.He is a member of important committees including Expert Committee on Integration of Commodity Spot and
Derivative Markets (established by the Government of India), Working Group on Establishing Viable Capital Markets
and Working Group on Dollar Funding Markets (established by the Bank for International Settlements(BIS))
iii.He was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) consultant to the Government and Central Bank of Bangladesh.
iv.On deputation he worked with the Ministry of Finance from 2008 to 2014.
Rajendran:
i.He holds a PhD in Computer Science and experience in technology management, cybersecurity, strategizing, people
and technology management.
ii.He worked as the chief architect in the creation and implementation of Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
iii.Ideas and implementations:
National Financial Switch (NFS) and Cheque Truncation System (CTS)
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)
National Automated Clearing House (NACH)
Aadhar Enabled Payment System (AEPS)
Services of IFTAS to Banking and Financial sector:
i.Indian Financial Network (INFINET) – Over 290 banks and financial institutions of India are members of INFINET
for secure IT network and communication.
ii.Structured Financial Messaging System (SFMS) – Over 220 banks and financial institutions use this platform for
inter-bank financial and non-financial messaging for Real-Time Gross Settlement(RTGS), National Electronic Funds
Transfer(NEFT), Letters of Credit (LC), Bank Guarantee (BG), etc.
iii.Mobility Platform – 5 Banks use this digital payment tool to provide secure and low cost services for poor people
and support services like savings and easy payment of bills.
Products: Wallet, Mobile Banking and Agent lead transactions with FIBC
iv.Global Interchange for Financial Transactions (GIFT) – this digital solution of IFTAS targets central and small
banks for Centralized Payment & Settlement System.
This provides end-to-end straight-through processing (STP) of payment messages between the source & destination
banks through the central bank, supporting batched, gross & bulk settlement modes
About IFTAS:
Chairman– T. Rabi Sankar
CEO– N. Rajendran
Centre to allocate Rs 3,000 crore from PM CARES for ventilator supply & migrants welfare
The Central Government is all set to allocate Rs 3,000 crore from the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and
Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES) Fund for supply of ventilators and for the welfare of migrant
labourers.

Allocation towards supply of ventilators: Rs 2000 cr
Centre will spent Rs 2,000 crore in the procurement of 50,000 Made-in-India ventilators to Government-run Covid
hospitals in all States/Union Territories (UTs).
Of the 50,000 ventilators, 30,000 are being manufactured by Bharat Electronics Ltd. The remaining 20,000 ventilators
are being manufactured by AgVa Healthcare (10,000), AMTZ Basic (5,650), AMTZ High End (4,000) and Allied
Medical (350).
The prominent recipients include Maharashtra (275), Delhi (275), Gujarat (175), Bihar (100), Karnataka (90) and
Rajasthan (75). By June-end, an additional 14,000 ventilators will be delivered to all States/UTs.
Allocation towards Migrants support: Rs 1000 cr
On the other hand, Rs 1,000 crore has already been released to States/UTs for the welfare of migrant labourers. The
distribution of the fund is based on the formula of 50% weightage for the population as per 2011 census, 40%
weightage for number of positive Covid-19 cases and 10% for equal distribution among all the States/UTs.
This assistance is to be used for arranging accommodation, food, medical treatment and transportation of the
migrants.
The main recipients of the grant are Maharashtra (Rs181 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs103 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 83
crore), Gujarat (Rs 66 crore), Delhi (Rs 55 crore), West Bengal (Rs 53 crore), Bihar (Rs 51 crore), Madhya Pradesh (RS
50 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 50 crore) and Karnataka (Rs 34 crore).
About PM-CARES:
In March 2020, the Centre set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund
(PM-CARES) as a public charitable trust with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress
situation, like COVID-19 and to provide relief to the affected.
This public charitable trust has PM Narendra Modi as the chairman and defence minister (Rajnath Singh), home
minister (Amit Shah) and the finance minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) as its members.
Central Govt Approved Rs. 412.19 Crore for Implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Telangana
On the lines of the announcement made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 regarding Jal Jeevan Mission
(JJM) which aims to provide “Functional Household Tap Connection” (FHTC) to 18 Crore rural households of the
country by the year 2024, the Centre has earlier approved funds for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission for
Odisha, Meghalaya, Assam & Bihar. Click Here to Read. After that Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand & West Bengal received
fund allocations for the same. Click Here to Read and then to Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tripura. Click Here to
Read. Now extending this scheme further for other states, Centre has now approved funds to the following states for
FY 2020-2021:
Central Govt allocated Rs. 412.19 Crore for Telangana under Jal Jeevan Mission in 2020-21
The Union government has allocated Rs 412.19 Crore for the effective implementation of JJM in Telangana for FY
2020-21. The funding has been increased in comparison in FY19-20 when it was Rs 259.14 Cr.
Thus, with an opening balance of Rs 30.89 Crore along with this year’s allocation, Telangana has assured availability
of Rs 443.29 Crore under JJM as Central funds.
Though the state has not presented the Annual Action Plan (AAP) (2020-21), the Centre is hopeful that the state will
provide 100% tap connections to all rural households in the year 2020-21 itself and become the first State to achieve
the feat of ‘Har Ghar Jal Rajya’.
About JJM:
It aims to enable every rural household to have assured availability of potable water at a service level of 55 litres per
capita per day (lpcd) on a regular and long-term basis. As a mission target, all states are presenting their
implementation plans to the National level Committee headed by Secretary, Department of Drinking Water &
Sanitation, Govt. of India for approval.
The estimated outlay of the mission is Rs 3.60 Lakh Crore with Central and State share of Rs. 2.08 Lakh Crore and
Rs.1.52 Lakh Crore respectively.
Karnataka Bank launches ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ for MSMEs

On June 22, 2020 Karnataka Bank launched a new product ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises(MSMEs). This product will provide financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakhs to the Micro manufacturing

and service enterprises for working capital or for investment purposes.
Key Points
i.The facility has simplified procedure and competitive rate of interest.
ii.The product will be available across all branches of the bank & will be soon available in digital version.
About Karnataka Bank:
Headquarters– Mangaluru(Mangalore), Karnataka
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer– Mahabaleshwara M S
RBI Extends Rs 50,000 Crores Special Liquidity Window for YES Bank by 3 months
The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) extended a special liquidity window for Rs 50,000 crores to Yes Bank for three
months, to help private lenders cover for shortfall in deposits.
Key Points:
i.The Yes bank was first provided with a special liquidity window for 3 months in March, which ended in June. The
bank has requested for the same facility for one year, against which the RBI has extended for another 3 months.
ii.The RBI has made the emergency credit line of nearly Rs 600 billion available when the bank was under a
moratorium that restricted deposit withdrawals at 50,000 rupees.
iii.The capital infusion will help Yes Bank diversify its ownership, meet the regulatory requirement and fund its
growth.
Yes Bank:
MD and CEO– Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience Our Expertise
India’s GDP to Fall 3.1% in 2020; Geo-Political Tensions Will Increase Risk: Moody’s Global Macro Outlook
report 2020
On June 22, 2020, According to the Moody’s Global Macro Outlook report for June 2020, there will be a
contraction of 3.1 % in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 & expects a change in geographical conditions
in Asia due to tensions at the border between India and China.
Earlier Estimates:
Previously in April 2020, Moody’s had forecasted a 0.2 % increase in India’s GDP in 2020. The agency has now revised
its estimate of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.
Expect better GDP in 2021:
The slight relief for India is that GDP will reach the level of 6.9% in 2021. Till then, there will be a slow recovery in the
Indian economy, which will start from the second half (H2) of this year.
China will be the only country to register growth in the G20 group:
On a larger scale, in this report, it has been said about the economy of the G20 (Group of 20) countries for 2020 that a
contraction of 4.6 % will be seen. But, in 2021, these economies will grow at a rate of 5.2 %.
China will be the only G-20 country to record growth in 2020 with a growth rate of 1 % and 7.1 % in 2021 thereafter.
Effect of geopolitical tension:
Moody’s has also been feared that geo-political tension will also determine how accurate the current growth
projections are for India and the global economy &the effect of geopolitical tension is likely to be the biggest on Asian
countries.
China’s skirmishes with neighboring countries from the South China Sea and geopolitical risk with India will be
important for the entire region.
About Moody’s:
Headquarters– NewYork, United States
President & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr.
India Retains its Position as 3rd-largest Economy on PPP basis for 2017; China Tops: World Bank Data
In accordance with the World Bank Data under the International Comparison Program (ICP), revealed by India’s
National Statistical Office (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India has retained its

position as the third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017 as it accounted for 6.7%
or $8,051 billion out of world total of $119,547 billion of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
India has followed China (16.4%) and the United States-US (16.3%) which ranked 1st and 2nd respectively.
On the other hand India is followed by Japan, Germany, and the Russian Federation at 4th, 5th and 6th position
respectively.
Other Ranking of India
–Global: India is the 3rd largest economy in terms of its PPP-based share in global actual individual
consumption (AIC) and global gross capital formation (GCF).
–Asia Pacific Region: India is also the second-largest economy accounted for 20.83% in terms of its PPP-based share
in regional AIC and regional GCF where China was at 50.76 per cent (first) and Indonesia at 7.49 per cent (third).
Factors behind India’s 3rd ranking in terms of PPP
– The PPPs of Indian Rupee per US$ at GDP level is now 20.65 in 2017 from 15.55 in 2011.
-The exchange rate of a dollar to a rupee rose to 65.12 from 46.67 during the period of 2011-2017.
–Price Level Index (PLI), the ratio of a PPP to its corresponding market exchange rate, which is used to compare the
price levels of economies, improved to 47.55 in 2017 from 42.99 in 2011.
What is PPP?
It states that exchange rates between currencies are in equilibrium when their purchasing power is the same in each
of the two countries. For example- How much milk that Rs 75 can purchase in India and One Dollar can purchase in
the US. On this basis (PPP) the GDP of India is measured.
Point to be noted:
Overall 19 economies, representing nearly 64% of the global population, contributed three-quarters of global GDP.
Three of these economies (India, Indonesia, and the Arab Republic of Egypt) were classified as lower-middle-income
economies and six (China, the Russian Federation, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and the Islamic Republic of Iran) were
classified as upper-middle-income economies, with the remainder classified as high income economies.
About ICP:
The World Bank released new PPPs for the reference year 2017, under the International Comparison Program (ICP)
that adjust for differences in the cost of living across economies of the world. Globally, 176 economies participated in
the 2017 cycle of ICP.
The ICP is the largest worldwide data collection initiative, under the guidance of United Nations Statistical
Commission (UNSC).
The next ICP comparison will be conducted for the reference year 2021.
About World Bank:
Member Countries– 189
President– David Robert Malpass
About MoSPI:
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh
Covid-19 to Push Additional 120 Million Children into Poverty in South Asian Region : UNICEF Report
On 23rd June 2020, The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released its first report titled “Lives Upended How
COVID-19 threatens the futures of 600 million South Asian children” focusing on the South Asian region on the
impacts of COVID-19 on children states that around 240 million children are classified as poor and the current
COVID-19 situation will affect an additional 120 million children, a total of 360 million children will be pushed into
poverty and food insecurity in the next 6 months.
About the Report:
i.The report focuses on both the immediate and long-term consequences of the COVID-19 situation in the South Asia
region.
ii.The report covers the 8 South Asian Countries Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the
Maldives and Sri Lanka.
iii.The report also states about the inequality of electricity and internet access required to support the 430 million
children depending on the remote learning and the disadvantaged children.

iv.South Asia is home to over 600 million children under 18 years of age, with nearly six out of every 10 of them likely
to become poor and food insecure in South Asia.
COVID-19 Effects on children:
i.Immunization, nutrition and other vital health services are disrupted due to pandemic situations.
ii.In the worst-case scenario, South Asia could see the additional deaths of as many as 881,000 children aged 5 or
under and that of 36,000 mothers over the next twelve months. The bulk of these deaths would occur in India and
Pakistan, although Bangladesh and Afghanistan could also see significant levels of additional mortality.
iii.Around 1.5 million children in Uttar Pradesh have missed the vaccination dose amid the COVID-19 lockdown in
India.
Food Insecurity:
i.More than 30% families in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other South Asian regions have reduced their food
consumption or couldn’t afford three meals a day.
ii.More than a billion people of the South Asian region are categorised as “Food Insecure”.
What should be done?
i.The KidsRights Index 2020 states that many countries including the South Asian countries do not allocate sufficient
budget for the children’s rights.
ii.Schools should reopen as soon as possible with proper sanitation and physical distancing.
iii.The UN outlined a strategic plan for 2021 the response to COVID-19 towards sustainable, climate-resilient
development interventions that safeguard the region’s most vulnerable children.
About UNICEF:
Executive Director– Henrietta Fore
Headquarters– New York, United States of America
About UN:
Secretary General– António Guterres
Headquarters– New York, United States of America
India Became 12th Largest Holder of US govt Securities with Holdings of $157.4 bn in April end 2020; Japan
tops
In accordance with the data from the United States (US) Treasury Department, India became the 12th largest holder
of US government securities at the end of April, 2020 with holdings of worth $157.4 billion, which has increased
marginally by $0.9 billion in comparison to March month’s $156.5 billion.
Notably, the holding touched a record high of $177.5 billion in February, 2020 which was drastically reduced in
March.
The country with maximum exposure to US government securities is Japan at US$1.266 trillion followed by China and
the United Kingdom (UK) at the second and third positions, respectively at the end of April 2020.
Following are top 5 holders of US Government Securities:
Rank Country US Govt Securities Holdings US$
12 India 157.4 billion
1 Japan 1.266 trillion
2 China 1.073 trillion
3 UK 368.5 billion
4 Ireland 300.2 billion
5 Luxembourg 265.5 billion
Reason behind rise in India’s rank
India was at 13th place in March 2020 climbed to the 12th position in April due to the decrease of exposure in US govt
securities by Saudi Arabia to $125.3 billion. The latter has been ranked at 15th spot for April end 2020 in comparison
to 12th position at March end 2020 with holdings of $159.1 billion.

About US govt Securities:
The US dollar/ Treasury Securities (Bills, Notes, Bonds, Inflation-Protected Securities) backed by the US treasury
department are one of the safest asset class for any central bank with regards to investment, despite getting the
lowest returns.
These American securities are held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as it invests in foreign assets as part of its
prudential liquidity management.
About US:
Capital– Washington, D.C.
President– Donald John Trump
World’s First Gold-backed US Digital Gold Currency Launched in India, GCC, Middle East and Africa by IBMC
IBMC Financial Professionals Group in partnership with US Gold Currency Inc and Blockfills introduced the
world’s first monetary gold-backed US Gold digital currency in India, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East and
Africa. It was launched from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) at a specially designed IBMC Hybrid Event in the
virtual presence of officials from the US Gold Currency, Asia-Africa Development Council, GSEF and Blockfills USA.
Each US Gold digital currency is backed by a US American Eagle one ounce (33.931 gram) gold coin, minted by the
US Federal Agency, US Mint.
The holders of the currency can redeem their digital assets as physical gold coin or in US dollars anywhere in the
world.
Key Points:
-This digital currency is available to customers ranging from retail and corporate investors, banks, financial
institutions and sovereign wealth funds to treasuries and asset management companies.
-It can also support corporates in reducing the cost of business transaction and settle their inter-country company
transactions to address business risks
About IBMC Financial Professionals Group:
Chairman– Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Hamed and
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Managing Director (MD)– Mr Sajith Kumar PK
About US Gold Currency Inc:
US Gold Currency, Inc. provides the American Gold Eagle coin in a Digital Blockchain Receipt – the “US Gold Token”,
each one fully collateralized 1:1 with a 1oz American Gold Eagle coin. Referred to as “USG” – for the US Gold Dollar.
Headquarter– United States.
About Blockfills:
Blockfills is a global digital financial service technology & trading firm which provides liquidity, execution and
clearing of digital assets across time zones and geographies.
Headquarter– Chicago, US
India’s GDP to contract by 5.3% in FY21, bounce back in FY22: Ind-Ra

In accordance with the India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), India’s Gross domestic Product (GDP) is likely to shrink
by 5.3% in FY20-21, the lowest GDP growth in the Indian history. It will contract in each quarter in FY21 (April 2020
to March 2021). For FY21-22, it is expected that GDP growth would bounce back in the range of 5-6%.
Key Points with regard to FY21:
-Private final consumption expenditure (PFCE) will contract by 5.1%.
-Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) will contract 17.6%.
-Merchandise exports to decline 9.4%.
-Merchandise imports are expected to decline 17.4%.
-Trade deficit is estimated to decline to a four-year low of USD 97.7 billion (3.9 per cent of GDP) and current account
deficit to USD 3.3 billion (0.1 per cent of GDP).
-Agricultural gross value added (GVA) is expected to grow 3.5%.
-The retail and wholesale inflation to come in at 3.6% and 1.2%, respectively, in FY21.
-Fiscal deficit of the central government in FY21 is expected to more than double (7.6% of GDP) the budgeted amount
(3.5% of GDP).

Reason behind this downfall:
The reason behind the downfall of Indian Economy in FY21 is COVID-19 pandemic which has disrupted the
production, breakdown of supply chains/trade channels and total wash out of activities in aviation (some activities
have started now), tourism, hotels and hospitality sectors.
Point to be noted:
This will be the lowest GDP growth in the Indian history (Indian GDP data is available from FY51) and sixth instance
of economic contraction, others being in FY58, FY66, FY67, FY73 and FY80; the previous low was negative 5.2% in
FY80.
About Ind-Ra:
It is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Managing Director (MD)– Rohit Karan Sawhney
Adani Power to Acquire US-based AES Corporation’s 49% Equity Stake in Odisha Power Generation
Corporation for USD 135 million
On June 23, 2020 Adani Power Ltd (APL) has signed an agreement to acquire the 49% of stake(a total of 89,30,237
equity shares) in Odisha Power Generation Corporation(OPGC) from the affiliates of the US-based global energy
company, AES Corporation(AES) for USD 135 million (around Rs 1,019 crore).
The remaining 51% stake in OPGC is held by the Government of Odisha.
The 49% stake includes the total issued, paid-up and subscribed equity share capital.
About the acquisition
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals, including compliance with applicable requirements
related to the Government of Odisha & bills from the regulatory approvals like Competition Commission of India(CCI)
and Reserve Bank of India(RBI).
OPGC’s plant
OPGC operates a 1,740 Megawatt(MW)thermal power plant at Banharpalli in Jharsuguda district, Odisha, which is
one of the lowest-cost power generated in the state.
A 1,320 MW modern plant with a low carbon footprint is commissioned. The plant has a long-term Power Purchase
Agreement(PPA), with a validity of 25 years with Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and sources the fuel from
the nearby captive mine.
Adani Group’s acquisitions
i.The Adani Group has announced over 20 acquisitions and strategic partnership, with a total of Rs 68,000 crore since
2014.
ii.This includes Reliance Energy’s Mumbai electricity distribution for Rs 14,200 crore and 75% stake in
Krishnapatnam Port for Rs 13,500 crore.
About OPGC:
Headquarters- Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Chairman– Nikunja Bihari Dhal, IAS
Managing Director– Indranil Dutta
About APL:
Headquarters– Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Vneet S. Jaain
About AES:
Headquarters– Virginia, United States
President & CEO– Andrés Gluski
Indian Economy will Shrink by 4.5% in 2020, Global Economy will Come Down to -4.9%: IMF
On June 25, 2020,The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the June 2020 update “A Crisis Like No Other, An
Uncertain Recovery” of its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO), has predicted that the Indian economy will
have a big 4.5 % contraction in 2020 and it will come down to a historic low.

This historical decline will be the lowest level since 1961 due to the Coronavirus (covid-19) epidemic, its prevention
measures and slowdown of economic activity.
Expects a Silverline:
However, it is predicted that in 2021 the country will return to the fast track and that year it may see a strong
economic growth of 6.0 %.
Global Growth:
At the same time, the IMF has reported a global growth rate of negative 4.9 % in 2020,which is 1.9 % points lower
than the estimate made in April 2020 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast. For 2021, growth rate is expected to
be 5.4 %.
China only country to see positive growth:
The coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has had more negative effects in the first half of 2020. In China, where
recovery continues from the first quarter’s decline, the growth rate is estimated at 1 % in 2020.
Previous Estimates:
Let us know that in the year 2019, India’s growth rate was 4.2 % & 2020 IMF’s latest estimate of India’s 2020
estimate is -6.4% less than it’s the April forecast. The projected growth rate of 6% in 2021 is -1.4% less than its April
forecast.
About International Monetary Fund (IMF):
Headquarters– Washington, D.C., United States(US).
Managing Director (MD)- Kristalina Georgieva
Chief Economist– Gita Gopinath.
Republic of Mali Grant the Project Management Consultancy Contract of 500 MW Solar Park to NTPC
On 24th June 2020, The Republic of Mali awarded the Project Management Consultancy (PMC) contract for the
development of a 500 MW solar park in Mali to NTPC Limited (formerly known as National Thermal Power
Corporation Limited). In the event chaired by RK Singh, Minister of State for Power and President of International
Solar Alliance (ISA), Sekou Kasse, Ambassador of Mali handed the award letter to Gurdeep Singh, Chairman &
Managing Director (CMD) of NTPC.
Note:
The event was hosted by the ISA in the Ministry of Renewable Energy, New Delhi in the presence of Director General
ISA- H.E Upendra Thripathy, Secretary (Power)- Sh. Sanjeev Nandan Sahai and Secretary(MNRE)- Sh. Indu Shekhar
Chaturvedi and Secretary (Economic Relations) Sh. Rahul Chhabra
Initiatives by Republic of Mali:
i.To support the electricity requirements of their citizens, the Republic of Mali has taken various initiatives with more
focus on Solar power and its applications.
ii.This development of solar projects is expected to boost the socio-economic growth of Mali.
Related works of NTPC:
i.The ISA endorsed NTPC as a PMC in 2019 through a competitive process for member countries to get the services of
NTPC.
ii.The Republic of Togo awarded NTPC with a similar PMC for the development of 285 MW Solar Park in Tago.
iii.The NTPC has the installed capacity of around 62,110 MW and is experienced in setting up Solar projects and
handling solar programs like National Solar Mission in India.
iv.In the next 2 years the NTPC plans to establish 10,000 MW of Solar parks in ISA countries.
About International Solar Alliance (ISA):
Director General– Upendra Tripathy
Headquarters– Gurugram, Haryana
About NTPC:
CMD– Gurdeep Singh
About Republic of Mali:
Capital– Bamako
President– Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta

Prime Minister– Boubou Cisse
Currency– West African CFA franc
Union Government Granted Rs 500 cr Emergency Funds to Armed Forces for War Preparedness
The Central Government has granted special financial powers of Rs 500 crore as emergency funds to armed forces for
war preparedness amid ongoing border tensions with China. Under this financial aid, the three defence services
(Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force) can buy any weapon system or any in inventory upto Rs 500 cr in
consultation with the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
Key Points:
-As a part of financial power, the armed forces can procure weapons and military hardware at short notice to enhance
their operational preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a 3,500 km de-facto border between India
and China.
-The government has also decided to relax certain rules to reduce delays in military purchases such as allowing
procurement of required weapons and equipment from a single vendor.
Background:
The decision regarding this is taken, as the Indian and Chinese armies have been on a six-week standoff in several
areas of eastern Ladakh. The ties between the two countries came under severe strain after the Chinese military
killed 20 Indian Army personnel and injured around 76 in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15, 2020.
About Indian Army:
Commander-in-Chief– President Ram Nath Kovind
Chief of the Army Staff (CoAS)– General Manoj Mukund Naravane
About Department of Military Affairs (DMA)
Parent department– Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)– General Bipin Rawat
India Ranks 77th in Terms of Money Deposited in Swiss Banks, UK tops: SNB Statistics 2019
On June 25, 2020, According to the ‘Annual banking statistics, 2019’ released by Switzerland’s central bank Swiss
National Bank (SNB), India is at the 77th position in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with
Swiss banks at the end of the year 2019,compared to 74th the previous year i.e 2018. Indians account for only 0.06 %
of the money deposited by foreigners in Swiss banks.
While, Britain holds the first place in this list with a share of 27 % of the total deposits.
Here’s the list top three countries in the statistics:
Rank Country Name
77 India
2 United States(US)
3 West Indies
Indian money in Swiss bank:
The deposits of Indian citizens and companies (including deposits through branches located in India) in Swiss banks
declined by 5.8 % to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs 6,625 crore) in 2019.
This is Swiss banks’ total liability to Indian customers. These include all types of accounts of Indian customers, banks
and companies & non-deposit liabilities as well.
BRICS Nations:
Talking of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries, India is at the bottom of the list while Russia
ranks highest at 20th among BRICS countries (same place in 2018) followed by China at 22nd position like last year,
South Africa 56th place(climbed two places ), Brazil is at 62nd ( In 2018, it was ranked 65th ).
However, many neighboring countries are below India in the list. Among them, Pakistan is ranked 99th, Bangladesh
85th, Nepal 118th, Sri Lanka 148th, Myanmar 186th and Bhutan 196th.

Country’s share in Swiss banks:
The top 5 countries account for more than 50 % of the total money deposited in Swiss banks. At the same time, the
share of the top ten countries is more than 66% & top 15 countries account for 75 % of the list and the top 30
countries account for about 90 %.
About Swiss National Bank (SNB):
Headquarters– Zurich, Switzerland
Chairman– Thomas Jordan
Yes Bank Launches Digital Wallet Solution ‘Yuva Pay’ in Partnership with UDMA Technologies to Enable
Contactless Payments
Yes Bank launches a digital wallet solution(app)‘Yuva Pay’ in partnership with UDMA Technologies Pvt Ltd to
enable contactless payments for its customers. The wallet is issued under minimum Know Your Client
(KYC) regulations.
The solution aims to help the low income group to access the digital and contactless transactions, which will enable
broad access to secure electronic payment services.
Features of Yuva Pay
Multi-Payment Option
i.Through this wallet utility bills like municipal, house, water tax, electricity, Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG), Direct to
Home(DTH), mobile phone bill, licence fee, windmill and solar park fee, building sanction fees and billboard taxes can
be paid through Bharat Bill Pay and Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
ii.In addition to this , insurance renewal, FASTag recharge, Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) payment, school fee
payment & retail outlets payment can be made.
Accessibility– The solution can be accessed on Smart & Feature phones. It also can be with & without Internet, where
users need not depend on Internet Bandwidth (2G/3G/4G) for Digital Payment.
Flexibility– It is User-Friendly, Multilingual, Single Click, Hassle Free & enable seamless transactions
Security– The solution has End to End Encryption with Multi-factor authentication which prevents hacking and
Enables Privacy Protection
Implementation
1st phase– 1st live programme of the solution will be implemented by the Rural Development & Panchayat Raj
Department, Karnataka, which will cover 158 gram panchayats with 238 villages.
2nd phase– The 2nd phase of the programme will be implemented in 6,200 gram panchayats, which covers 12
million households across 29,000 villages.
About UDMA Technologies Pvt Ltd:
Headquarters– Karnataka
Founder & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Prashanth B
About Yes Bank:
Managing Director(MD) & CEO– Prashant Kumar
Lt Governor G C Murmu Launches Two Customized Loan Schemes of J&K Bank For Business Communities
On June 25, 2020, Girish Chandra Murmu, the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and
Kashmir (J&K), has rolled out 2 customized loan schemes of J&K Bank namely ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan
Scheme 2019-20’ and ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20 for Hotels and Guest Houses’ with the
aim to overcome business challenges that have stemmed up due to the prevailing conditions.
J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20:
Valid up to October 31, 2020, this loan scheme offers 10% enhancement in existing working capital limit in the form
of a 3 year working capital term loan (including one year moratorium on principal) with a maximum limit of Rs 5 cr
for SMA2 (special mention accounts 2) borrowers and Rs 20 cr for other standard loans including SMA1 (special
mention accounts 1).

J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20 for Hotels and Guest Houses:
Valid up to October 31, 2020, this loan scheme has been disbursed with an interest rate of just 8.80% per annum
which has been linked with 3 year MCLR (Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate- means an internal reference
rate for banks fixed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with a markup of only 50 bps (basis points).
The quantum of finance of this scheme has been linked with recurring fixed expenses for preceding 9 months of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with an upper cap of Rs. 2.00 cr (including one year initial moratorium on
principal) with a maximum allowed repayment period of 36 months.
All J&K bank customers i.e. Government recognized/registered hotels and guest houses are eligible under this scheme
including the SMA1 and SMA2 borrowers.
Static points:
The SMA-1 refers to those accounts where the principal or interest payment remains overdue between 31-60 days,
while SMA-2 pertains to those where the overdue period is between 61-90 days.
About Jammu & Kashmir Bank:
Headquarters– Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)- R K Chhibber
IRDAI Forms 9-Member Working Group Headed by Anjan Dey to Look Into Drone Insurance
On June 24, 2020, India’s insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
(IRDAI) has formulated a 9-member working group(WG) headed by Anjan Dey, general manager of the New India
Assurance, to suggest insurance products covering various risks involved in the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft
System(RPAS)/ Drones.
The panel shall need to submit its report within six weeks.
Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Working Group are as follows:
-IRDAI has tasked the group to make recommendations related to product design and development to meet the
needs of RPAS owners and operators, including third party liability.
-The group will also make recommendations related to the underwriting of such risks, including re-insurance
aspects.
-Investigation of an insurance perspective and any other relevant matter related to the subject is included.
Other members of the panel:
Arthi Mathur, general manager, Oriental Insurance Company (Member)
Savio Fernandes, deputy general manager, General Insurance Corporation of India (Member)
S Vishwanathan, head of commercial lines underwriting, SBI General Insurance (Member)
Diptanshookumar, deputy Vice President, Tata AIG (Member)
TA Ramalingam, chief technical officer, Bajaj Allianz (Member)
C Latha, IRDAI (Member)
Mukesh Kewalramani, IRDAI (Member)
Ajay Kumar, IRDAI (Convenor)
Background:
The Civil Aviation Ministry had earlier on June 5, 2020 issued draft rules for making and using drones in India. It
proposed that an authorized manufacturer or importer could sell his equipment only to such person or entity as
approved by the aviation regulator DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation).
Why this cover needed?
Drones are increasingly being considered or actively used by the state government and the central government in the
war against coronavirus (covid-19) in the epidemic as it proving to be very efficient to deliver essential materials like
medicines & used for public surveillance, crowd tracking.
About the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI):
Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana
Chairman– Dr. Subhash Chandra Khuntia

Centre Allocates Rs 4125 cr to Rejuvenate Small, Medium & Tiny Industries Sector in Tamil Nadu
The Central Government has allocated 4125 crore rupees to Tamil Nadu for rejuvenating the Small, Medium and Tiny
industries sector.
It forms 10% of the total allocation of the scheme, and the scheme is being effectively implemented in the state.
Various implementation for smart city schemes:
TN Chief Minister Edapadi K. Palanisamy has laid the foundation stone for 166 crore rupees Pilloor joint water supply
scheme.
The newly redesigned Ukkadam pond and pedestrian amenities built at a cost of 39 crore rupees are opened to the
public.
About Tamil Nadu:
Capital: Chennai
Governor: Shri Banwarilal Purohit
India’s PCI to decline by 5.4% during 2020-21 to Rs 1.43 lakh: SBI report
As per the report by the economic wing of State Bank of India (SBI), Covid-19 pandemic is likely to bring down India’s
per capita income(PCI) by 5.4% in the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) to Rs 1.43 lakh from Rs 1.52 lakh in FY20. Delhi,
Chandigarh, and Gujarat will be the worst hit with PCI falling 15.4%, 13.9% and 11.6% respectively in FY21 among
states.
President Promulgates Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 amending Banking Regulation
Act, 1949
On June 26, 2020, the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind in exercising the powers conferred under clause (1) of
article 123 of the Constitution has promulgated the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which will
amend section 45, and 56 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as applicable to Cooperative Banks. This promulgation
followed the Cabinet approval on June 24, 2020 regarding an ordinance to bring nearly 1,482 urban and 58 multi
state cooperative banks under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) supervision. Therefore, RBI’s power applied to
scheduled banks, will now apply for cooperative banks as well.
It was introduced in Lok Sabha (House of the People) on March 3, 2020.
Its objective is to protect the interests of depositors and strengthen cooperative banks by improving governance for
sound banking regulation, and by ensuring professionalism and enabling their access to capital.
Key Points:
-The amendments do not affect existing powers of the State Registrars of Co-operative Societies under state co-
operative laws.
-These will also not apply to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies whose primary
object and principal business is long-term finance for agricultural development, and which do not use the word
“bank” or “banker” or “banking” and do not act as drawees of cheques.
Current Scenario:
-Currently, co-operative banks come under dual regulation of the RBI and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies
(RCS). The above move has been taken after several instances of fraud and serious financial irregularities, including
the major scam at the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank in 2019.
Click here to read the detailed information about the ordinance.
appointed).
Government Introduced New Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) Scheme w.e.f July 1, 2020
On June 26, 2020, the Government has notified the new Floating Rate Savings Bonds (FRSB), 2020 (Taxable) Scheme
in place of 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018, with effect from July 1, 2020. The 7.75% Savings (Taxable)

Bonds, 2018 Scheme was ceased for subscription from the close of banking business on May 28, 2020. Click Here to
Read: Government withdrew 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds scheme due to declining interest rates
The Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) Scheme is going to issue a floating rate, taxable savings bond for an
initial coupon of 7.15%, payable on January 1, 2021.
These bonds will be issued by Reserve Bank India (RBI) on behalf of the Government of India (GoI).
The key difference in both schemes is that the earlier one was fixed, and now this is going to be floating. This will
work as an inflation hedge while saving the government from higher cost when rates are low.
Following table listed the key features of scheme:
Item Details
The bonds will be available only for resident Indians, or to a Hindu undivided family
Eligibility (HUF), not for Non Resident Indians (NRI)
The bond will be available at State Bank of India (SBI) and other nationalised banks, as
well as four private sector banks viz. Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) Bank
Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation ) Bank Ltd and
Receiving Offices Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) Bank Ltd.
Limit Minimum Amount: Rs 1000/- with no maximum limit
The Bonds will be issued only in the electronic form and held at the credit of the holder in
Form of the Bonds an account called Bond Ledger Account (BLA), opened with the Receiving Office.
The interest on the bonds is payable semi-annually on 1st Jan and 1st July every year.
There is no option to pay interest on a cumulative basis.The coupon/interest of the bond
would be reset half yearly starting with Jan 1st, 2021 and thereafter every July 1st and
Interest Rate Jan 1st. The coupon rate for first coupon period, payable on January 1, 2021 is fixed at
(Floating) 7.15%.
The Bonds shall be repayable on the expiration of 7 years from the date of issue.
Repayment/Tenor Premature redemption shall be allowed for specified categories of senior citizens.
Interest on the Bonds will be taxable under the Income-tax Act, 1961 as amended from
Tax treatment time to time.
Points to be noted:
-Subscription to the bonds will be in the form of cash (up to Rs 20,000), drafts, cheques or any electronic mode.
-The bonds won’t be transferable, except to a nominee or legal heir in case of death of the holder of the bonds.
Click Here for Official Link-PIB
Click Here for Official Link-RBI
appointed).
At 26th position, Bengaluru Becomes India’s Only City in Top 30 Global Startup Ecosystems Ranking 2020
Released by Startup Genome
On June 25, 2020, According to the report, ‘Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2020; the New Normal for
the Global Startup Economy and the Impact of COVID-19’ released by Startup Genome, Bangalore, popularly
known as the startup capital of India, has added another milestone as it become the only city in the country to be
included in the world’s top-30 startup ecosystem ranking & placed 26th position. At the same time, the nation’s
capital Delhi has been ranked 36th in the list.
While California’s Silicon Valley topped the list, which ranks the top ecosystems by a number of metrics including
performance, funding, connectedness, talent and knowledge.

Here’s the list of top 3 Global Startup Ecosystems ranking:
Rank City Name
26 Bangalore
36 Delhi
1 Silicon Valley
New York City
2 (tie) London
Financial activity like Paris & Singapore in Bengaluru:
As per the report, Startup companies in Bangalore city get good facilities and financial activities like Paris and
Singapore.
While, Delhi ranked well for the volume and complexity of patent creation in the analysis.
Key Highlights:
i.As per the report, 30% of the top ecosystems comes from Asia-Pacific region region, compared to 20% in 2012. Out
of the 11 new ecosystems that included into the top ecosystems list, 6 are from the Asia-Pacific region.
ii.Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, startup firms have found themselves in a stock of shockwaves
including capital shock and demand.
Around 72% of startups witnessed their revenue drop since the beginning of the crisis, with the average startup
facing a decline of 32%.
Mumbai tops the list of parallel top 100 emerging startup ecosystem ranking:
Mumbai ranked first in a parallel “100 emerging ecosystem rankings 2020” followed by Jakarta, Zurich.
Other Indian cities that made it to the list include Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.
Here’s the list of top 3 cities in Emerging Ecosystem Ranking:
Rank City name Country Continent
1 Mumbai India Asia-Pacific
2 Jakarta Indonesia Asia-Pacific
3 Zurich Switzerland Europe
51-60 Chennai India Asia-Pacific
71-80 Hyderabad India Asia-Pacific
71-80 Pune India Asia-Pacific
About the ranking:
Startup Genome collected data and information from Google Trends, GitHub and Meetup & also considered the impact
of coronavirus crisis on startups and public policy actions taken by governments to support startup ecosystems.
About Startup Genome:
Founder & CEO– J.F. Gauthier
It is a California-headquartered innovation policy advisory and research firm.
THE Young University Ranking 2020:HKUST topped;IIT Ropar ranked 62nd & topped among Indian Institutes
On 24th June 2020, The Times Higher Education(THE) released THE Young University Rankings 2020 for the
universities which are 50 years old or younger.
Two Indian Institutes secured their ranks in the top 100 with IIT Ropar, the best 12 year old institute of India
at 62nd rank and IIT Indore at 64th rank.
Key Points:
i.The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) (Pune) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Gandhinagar ranked 101-150.
ii.Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, IIT-Bhubaneswar, IIT Guwahati and IIT Hyderabad secured 151-200th rank.

iii.Pondicherry University ranks 201-250th Rank in the list.
The Parameter of judging:
Teaching(30%)
Research(30%)
Citation (30%)
International Outlook(7.5%)
Industrial Income(2.5%)
Top 5 Universities:
Rank Name Country
1 The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) Hong Kong
2 Nanyang Technological University Singapore
3 Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University France
4 Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Italy
5 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) South Korea
About THE:
Editor– John Gill
Location– London, United Kingdom
PhonePe Partnered with ICICI Bank on UPI multi-bank model

Flipkart-owned PhonePe announced that it has partnered with ICICI Bank on the Unified Payments Interface(UPI)
multi-bank model, to provide its users the option to create and use multiple UPI IDs with ICICI Bank’s “@ibl” handle
and YES Bank’s ‘@ybl’ handle on the PhonePe app.
Through this partnership ICICI Bank has become the second official UPI partner of PhonePe after Yes Bank.
Key Points
i.PhonePe has over 200 million registered users. It gives the option to use multiple UPI IDs to ensure a seamless
transaction for the customers even if any one bank’s handle is temporarily out of service as was the case when the Yes
Bank’s handle was suspended in March.
ii.PhonePe users can access the ICICI Bank’s handle through a new version of the app. The update will be available in
the Google Play Store and Apple App Store soon.
iii.Through this partnership, ICICI Bank and PhonePe will be able to use their immense domain strengths to empower
customers to a seamless and simple digital payment experience.
Note:
i.ICICI Bank is also the UPI partner for Google Pay, MakeMyTrip, Mi Pay and TrueCaller.
ii.PhonePe in partnership with ICICI Lombard, announced the launch of a comprehensive, industry-first domestic
multi-trip insurance cover, which is only available for PhonePe users.
About PhonePe:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sameer Nigam
About ICICI:
Managing Director & CEO– Sandeep Bakhshi
SIDBI Set Up ‘Swavalamban Crisis Responsive Fund’ to Facilitate Free Onboarding of MSMEs on TReDS
platform
On June 26, 2020 Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI) has informed that it has set up ‘Swavalamban
Crisis Responsive Fund’(SCRF), an open-ended fund to facilitate free onboarding of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises(MSMEs) on Trade Receivables Discounting System(TReDS) platform.

Key info
i.The SCRF is under Swavalamban Resource Facility, where SIDBI partners with the Department for International
Development (DFID), United Kingdom.
ii.The free onboarding of MSMEs will be available till September 30, 2020. SIDBI targets to onboard 10,000 MSME
during the period.
iii.Generally, an MSME must pay a fee of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to register on a TReDS platform. Now, this fund will be
utilised to offset the cost of registration fee.
About TReDS
i.TReDS is an electronic platform where receivables of MSMEs are drawn against buyers like large corporates, public
sector undertakings and government departments among others. They are financed by multiple financiers at
competitive rates through an auction mechanism.
ii.The 3 TReDS platforms are Receivables Exchange of India Ltd.(RXIL), M1xchange and Invoicemart. It enables
MSMEs to access the working capital through invoice discounting via multiple financiers.
About SIDBI:
Headquarters– Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Chairman & Managing Director– Mohammad Mustafa
SOLV partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to Launch Credit Card for MSMEs
SOLV, a B2B (business to business) digital platform for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), has launched
a tailor-made credit card in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, India. SOLV MSME Credit Card provides
MSME clients with a ready means to meet ongoing business expenses including supplier payments, fuel, logistics,
purchase of raw material, utility payments and working capital outlays.
Importantly, SOLV, registered as Standard Chartered Research & Technology India Pvt. Ltd., is a fully-owned entity of
the London-headquartered Standard Chartered Group.
Key Points:
-MSMEs clients would not be charged any credit card joining fee, and the card comes with cashback, including 5%
cashback on fuel transactions, which would effectively make more than two litres of petrol free on a fuel spend of Rs.
4000 every month.
-The SOLV platform will help small businesses trade goods with each other and expand their customer base across
India. SOLV’s mission is to enable MSMEs digitally and find innovative solutions for their challenges.
About SOLV:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Nitin Mittal
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
About Standard Chartered Bank:
Chairman– Jose Maria Vinals Iniguez
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
World Bank Grants $500 Million to Bangladesh For Cross Country Road Projects
On June 23, 2020, World Bank (WB), an international financial institution, has sanctioned $ 500 million for
“Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement (WeCARE) Phase I project” to improve road
connectivity in Bangladesh’s Jashore-Jhenaidah corridor, which consists of four western districts to connect with the
capital Dhaka as well as with India and Bhutan.
WeCARE Phase I project:
It is a $1.4bn programme to convert the 110km long two-lane road, Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron & Jahore-Jhenaidah, to
a four-lane highway in western Bangladesh.
In the first phase of the project, a 48km section of the N7 highway between Jashore and Jhenaidah will be upgraded &
Rehabilitation of around 600km of rural roads and 32 rural markets / growth centres are also part of the work
package.
Besides, In order to help achieve the goal of Digital Bangladesh, the project will also include fiber optic cable on the
side of the highway, so that people can get internet facility at a lower cost.

Overall, the project will support the Bangladesh government’s plan to develop a 260-km economic corridor in the
western part of the country and benefit more than two crore people in the area, accelerate the economy of the
districts, connect farms to markets, connect the western region as well as Dhaka with neighboring countries.
Benefits: The project will create employment for local communities through connecting rural roads to the market
and civil work for national highways.
Background: The World Bank is one of the first development partners to support Bangladesh after independence.
Bangladesh currently has the largest World Bank IDA (International Development Association) program of over $13.5
billion. Since Bangladesh gained independence, the WB has shown commitment to repay over 31 billion dollars in
grants, interest-free and concessional loans.
About World Bank:
President– David Malpass
About Bangladesh:
Capital– Dhaka
Currency– Bangladeshi taka
President– Abdul Hamid
Prime Minister– Sheikh Hasina
India’s economy to contract by 5% in 2020: S&P Global Ratings

According to the S&P Global Ratings report titled ‘Asia-Pacific losses near USD 3 trillion as balance sheet recession
looms’, India’s economy is expected to contract by 5% in 2020 before rebounding in 2021 and Asia-Pacific’s economy
will contract by 1.3% in 2020 but show 6.9% growth in 2021.
Centre Sanctions Additional Rs 1,691 crore For Road Construction in J&K, Uttarakhand
On June 28, 2020, In a major development, the central Government has sanctioned an additional Rs 1,691 crore for
the construction of highways by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and
Uttarakhand during 2020-21 in the wake of clashes with China in Ladakh.
Of this amount, Rs 1,351.10 crore has been allocated for the construction of BRO roads in the border areas of J&K.
While, Rs 340 crore have been sanctioned for road-building in Uttarakhand.
Additional Assistance:
-In addition to these, an additional Rs 71 crore has been allocated for road works in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh,
Sikkim and Tamil Nadu under the State Public Works Department.
-It has been said in the dialogue that the limit of approval for Nagaland under Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) has been
increased from 1,081 crore to 1,955 crore.
Key Points:
i.The current sanction for national highways work for state PWDs (Public Works Department) was Rs 2,269 crore,
which has been increased to Rs 2,340 crore. In addition, Rs 1,691 crore ceiling was approved for BRO, taking the
additional ceiling of Rs 4,081 crore for national highways in these areas.
ii.The approval comes after National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL)
which is working on building, maintenance and upgradation of national highways and strategic roads had announced
an increase in remuneration of its personnel working in tough terrains.
About Border Roads Organisation (BRO):
Director General- Lt. Gen.Harpal Singh
About Jammu and Kashmir (union territory):
Capitals– Jammu (Winter), Srinagar (Summer)
Lieutenant Governor– Girish Chandra Murmu
Folk dances– Rauf, Hikat, Mandjas, Kud Dandi Nach, Damali
About Uttarakhand:
Capital– Dehradun (winter capital), Gairsain (summer capital).

Chief Minister (CM)- Trivendra Singh Rawat
Governor– Baby Rani Maurya.
India named in Switzerland’s top-3 partners for info exchange on tax matters: OECD’s Global Forum study
In accordance with the latest study by OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Global
Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes, referring to the period from July 2015 to
June 2018, India was named among the top-three countries as EOI (Exchange of Information) partners along
with France and Germany. Means, India is getting detailed information on request, from Switzerland about bank
accounts and beneficiary ownership of entities established by its residents.
India is also rated as ‘largely compliant’ by this OECD’s review.
It has also named Italy, Netherlands and Spain among other significant EOI partners for Switzerland.
Key Points:
-Switzerland has been trying hard to get rid of the perception about its financial institutions being used to hide
undeclared wealth by people from various countries.
-To present itself as a clean global financial centre, Switzerland has entered into pacts with more than 100 countries,
including India, for automatic exchange of information on tax matters.
Notably, the issue of alleged black money parked by Indians in Swiss banks has been a political hot potato in India for
many years. The first set of data under the new automatic information exchange framework was shared by
Switzerland with India in September 2019 and the second round would take place in September 2020.
Under the exchange of information on request, important details have been shared related to legal ownership
information, information on deceased persons and stolen data with different nations helping the latter to launch
prosecution against a large number of alleged tax evaders.
In the referred time period, Switzerland received 3,252 individual requests for information. These requests related to
legal ownership information (128 cases), beneficial ownership information (100 cases), accounting information (318
cases), and banking information (1,748 cases).
A number of trusts set up in overseas tax havens using a complex maze of entities have come under the scanner of
Indian and Swiss authorities for suspected tax evasion by parking of illicit funds in Switzerland-based banks and their
details have also been shared.
About OECD Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes:
Head of the Global Forum Secretariat– Ms Zayda Manatta from Brazil.
Secretariat Location– Paris, France
Member Nations– 161
About Switzerland:
Capital– Bern
Currency– Swiss Franc
World Bank Approves $500 mn Under ‘STARS’ Project to Improve Education Quality in 6 Indian States
On June 28, 2020, The board of executives of the World Bank (WB) has approved loan of $ 500 million (about Rs
3,700 crore) under ‘Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS)’project to improve
the quality and governance of school education across six states (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan) in India.
The new project will be executed through flagship central scheme, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
The Loan has a final maturity of 14.5 years including a grace period of five years.
Right to education:
A total of 250 million students in the age group of 6 to 17 years studying in 15 lakh schools and more than one crore
teachers will be benefited from this program by improving learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom
instruction, and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized
management.

Key Points:
i.STARS program has been built on the solid foundation of the India-World Bank relationship since 1994 to
strengthen education in government schools and make education available to everyone.
ii.STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better
prepare for the jobs of the future – through a series of reform initiatives.They are,
Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district and sub district levels
Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusion
Equipping teachers to manage this transformation
Investing more in developing India’s human capital.
iii.Prior to the STARS program, World Bank had assisted $3 billion in this direction.
iv.As per WB, India has made better improvement in access to education across the country from 2004-05 to 2018-
19, where the number of children going to school hiked from 21.9 crore to 24.8 crore.
However, the learning results of students continue at below level. STARS program will help improve assessment
systems at the national level through education as a whole and in partnership with states.
About World Bank:
Headquarters– Washington D.C., United States (US).
Motto– Working for a World Free of Poverty.
President– David Malpass.
World Bank Enhances the financial Support for Ganga rejuvenation with $400 million through SNGRBP
The World bank enhanced the support to India’s programme to rejuvenate the Ganga with $400
million through Second National Ganga River Basin Project (SNGRBP), for the development of infrastructure
projects Under the National Ganga River Basin Project.
Note – The Namami Gange Programme is an integrated conservation mission, approved by Union Government in
2014 with a budget outlay of Rs 20000 crore.
Key Points:-
The world bank and the National Mission of Clean Ganga(NMCG) discussed on the components of second national
Ganga river basin Project which comprises spillovers of Ganga-I and take up new projects on tributaries like yamuna
and Kali
The two parts of the SNGRBP loan consists of USD381 million of loan amount and guarantee upto USD19 million as
payment security mechanism.
This is the 1st Indian Project to get the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Guarantee in
the water sector in India
The loan is for a period of five years upto 2026.
Namami Ganga Programme:-
The Vision: to restore the wholesomeness of the Ganga River by ensuring ‘Aviral Dhara and ‘Nirmal Dhara’ and
maintaining the geological and ecological integrity of the river.
On 12th August 2011, National Mission for Ganga (NMCG) was registered as a society under the Societies Registration
Act 1860.
Till March 2020, 313 projects have been sanctioned under the Namami Gange Programme at Rs 24,966 crores.
About World Bank:
Headquarters: Washington D.C., United States
President: David Malpass
Director General NMCG: Rajiv Ranjan Mishra
Reserve Bank Extends Enhanced Borrowing Limit to Banks Under MSF Till Sept 30, 2020
On June 26, 2020, In exercise of power conferred under the Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, India’s
central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend the enhanced borrowing facility provided to
banks till September 30, 2020 to meet the liquidity shortage in the midst of the economic crisis caused by the
coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.

Discount was earlier up to June 30:
Under MSF (marginal standing facility), banks can borrow funds with a maturity of one day by reducing investment in
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) securities from the central bank.The MSF rate currently stands at 4.25 %.
The Reserve Bank had earlier given this exemption to notified banks till June 30, 2020. Now it has been extended till
30 September 2020.
The borrowing limit of banks increased:
The RBI had raised the limit of borrowing for notified banks under the MSF as a temporary measure with effect from
27 March 2020. So, following the extension in relaxation, banks can avail loans equal to 3% (2% earlier) of their net
demand and time liability (NDTL) from the Reserve Bank.
RBI extends CRR relaxations For Three More Months till September 25, 2020
In exercise of power conferred under the Section 42(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the RBI has extended
the minimum daily cash reserve ratio (CRR) maintenance of 80% by three months until 25 September 2020.
On 27 March 2020, the central bank, in its Developmental and Regulatory Policies Statement, had reduced it from 90
% to 80 % for upto 26 June 2020.
About SLR:
Banks have to invest certain percentage of their deposits in specified financial securities like Central Government or
State Government securities. This percentage is known as SLR. This money is predominantly invested in government
securities which mean the banks can earn some amount as ‘interest’ on these investments as against CRR where they
do not earn anything.
Currently, SLR is 18 % of a bank’s deposits.
About CRR:
It is the ratio of Deposits which banks have to keep with RBI. Under CRR a certain percentage of the total bank
deposits have to be kept in the current account with RBI. Currently, the CRR is at 3 % of a bank’s deposits.
appointed).
Gujarat Govt’s Online Aid ”At One Click” Initiative of Rs 1,369 Crore for MSMEs, Textile Industry
On June 26, The Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani launched the online aid initiative ‘At One Click’ with Rs 1,369
crore for around 13000 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) (i.e. MSMEs and textile industries) in Gujarat.
Key Points:-
The initiative has been started with Rs 768 crore in bank accounts of 12,247 MSME units and Rs 601 crore aids to
industrial units including textile industry in Gujarat.
After the entire process of framing the government resolution the package will be implemented in a week.
The MSMEs in the state also get the utmost benefits under the Prime Ministers ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ package.
Under this package, in just two weeks Rs 8,200 crore has been sanctioned by accepting loan applications of 1.3 lakh
units in Gujarat.
The government of Gujarat is committed to restore the former vibrancy of the state with an aim ‘Jaan hai to Jahaan
Hai’.
About Gujarat:
Capital: Gandhinagar
Governor: Acharya Devvrat

Banking, Finance & Economy Q&A: June 2020

1. Ministry of Jal Shakti has approved the grant of Rs. 445 crores for the implementation of the Jal Jeevan
Mission (JJM) to which state?
1) Punjab
2) Chhattisgarh
3) Haryana
4) Goa
5) Maharashtra
Answer-2) Chhattisgarh
Explanation:
Ministry of Jal Shakti, a ministry under Government of India (GoI) has approved an amount of Rs 445 crore for the
implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Chhattisgarh during 2020-21.
2. Who was appointed as the Managing Director of India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited for 3years
by Finance ministry?
1) PR Jaishankar
2) Harsha Bungari
3) VSV Rao
4) Sunil Kumar Bansal
5) Pankaj Jain
Answer-1) PR Jaishankar
Explanation:
The Ministry of Finance appointed PR Jaishankar as the MD (Managing Director) of the India Infrastructure Finance
Company Limited (IIFCL) for 3 years.
3. Who is the current chairperson of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)?
1) Akhil Gupta
2) Ajay Tyagi
3) Bimal N Patel
4) Shrikrishna Kulkarni
5) M.S Sahoo
Answer-5) M.S Sahoo
Explanation:
Sahoo. Dr. M. S. Sahoo, an acclaimed thought leader in the area of securities markets and a distinguished public
servant, currently serves as Chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
4. Name the person who has been appointed as the chairman of the advisory committee on Service provider
of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
1) PR Ramesh
2) TV Mohandas Pai
3) Shrikrishna Kulkarni
4) Binoy J.Kattadiyil
5) Vellayan Subbiah Murugappa
Answer-2) TV Mohandas Pai
Explanation:
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) reorganised its advisory committee on service providers and
appointed TV Mohandas Pai, Service Chairman of Manipal Global Education as its chairman to support the 12-
member panel and provide professional insights on the service providers handled by the IBBI.

5. The Mumbai based SEBI has extended the deadline for POA norms till August 1, 2020. POA is abbreviated
as _______ of Attorney.
1) Process
2) Protect
3) Power
4) Proper
5) Provision
Answer-3) Power
Explanation:
Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the date for implementing norms
pertaining to power of attorney (POA) given by clients to trading members or clearing members till August 1, 2020
from June 1, 2020. The decision regarding extension has been taken due to the difficulty faced by the stock brokers
and broker associations in implementing the provisions amid the situation arising due to COVID-19.
6. The board of which PSU has approved to sign the MoU with Japan based MELCO recently?
1) PFC
2) REC
3) BHEL
4) OIL
5) BEML
Answer-5) BEML
Explanation:
The Board of BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited) in its 362nd meeting has given its approval for signing a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MELCO to study and planning for initiating a joint venture (JV) company
between BEML and MELCO. This approval is on the lines of invitation of BEML regarding Expression of Interest (EoI)
for Manufacturing, Partnerships under “Make in India” policy.
7. Which private sector bank has acquired a 24.19% stake in Dish TV India Ltd?
1) YES Bank
2) RBL Bank
3) IndusInd Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) ICICI Bank
Answer-1) YES Bank
Explanation:
Private sector lender Yes Bank Limited has acquired a 24.19% stake in Dish TV India Ltd, a company providing Direct
to Home (DTH) television service in India, following invocation of 44.53 crore pledged shares due to default in
payment of debt by Dish TV and some other companies.
8. YES bank partnered with which company/app to launch contactless travel card?
1) Abhibus
2) Cleartrip
3) Red bus
4) Make my trip
5) Chalo
Answer-5) Chalo
Explanation:
YES Bank has partnered with Chalo to launch of a co-branded contactless travel card in Mangalore and Udupi, which
would enable users to load money on the card to make ‘tap to pay’ payments across buses.

9. What is the rank of India in “Countries Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem 2020” report released by
StartupBlink (topped by United States)?
1) 23
2) 17
3) 6
4) 35
5) 41
Answer-1) 23
Explanation:
In accordance with the “Countries Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem 2020” by global innovation mapping and
research company StartupBlink, India ranked at 23rd position, a drop of 6 places from 17th position in 2019. The
ranking has been topped by the United States (US), followed by the United Kingdom (UK), and Israel at 2nd and 3rd
position.
Rank Country
3 Israel
23 India
10. Find the city which has topped among Indian cities in “2020 Cities Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem”
report.
1) Chennai
2) Bengaluru
3) Mumbai
4) New Delhi
5) Hyderabad
Answer-2) Bengaluru
Explanation:
Among the top 100 startup cities, only four India cities were named in “2020 Cities Global Ranking of Startup
Ecosystem” while total of 38 cities made it to the world’s top 1000 cities with startup ecosystems. Bengaluru (down
by three ranks to 14th position), New Delhi (up by three spots to 15th position) Mumbai (improved by seven spots to
22nd position) Hyderabad (falling 21 ranks to disappointing 96th position). Last year, seven cities were ranked in the
top 100 list versus four this year.
11. The credit rating agency Moody’s has predicted India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to contract by
_______ in fiscal 2021.
1) 4.5%
2) 3.5%
3) 5%
4) 3%
5) 4%
Answer-5) 4%
Explanation:
Rating agency Moody’s expects India’s real Gross Domestic Product(GDP) to contract by 4% in fiscal 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures. India’s foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer
ratings have been downgraded to Baa3 from Baa2. Meanwhile India’s local-currency senior unsecured rating was also
reduced to Baa3 from Baa2, and its short-term local currency rating to Prime(P)-3 from P-2. The outlook remains
negative.

12. Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX) has started a Real-Time Market (RTM) to meet the demand for
electricity. Where is IEX located?
1) Gurugram
2) Patna
3) New Delhi
4) Mumbai
5) Hyderabad
Answer-3) New Delhi
Explanation:
Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX), an electronic system based power trading exchange, has started a real-time
market (RTM) to meet the demand for electricity. This will enable the power companies to buy and sell electricity
according to their needs only one hour before.About Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX): Headquarters– New
Delhi.
13. Which miniratna company has signed MoU with NIIFL and AYANA to explore and collaborate on
opportunities in the solar energy sector recently.
1) Bharat Coking Coal Limited
2) Airports Authority of India
3) Gail (India) Limited
4) NTPC Limited
5) Ircon International Ltd
Answer-5) Ircon International Ltd
Explanation:
Ircon International Ltd(IRCON), a Miniratna(Category-I) Schedule, public sector enterprise has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited(NIIFL) and Ayana
Renewable Power Private Limited(AYANA), NIIF platform company to explore and collaborate on opportunities in
the solar energy sector.
14. RBI has extended the tenure of Subramanian Sundar as MD & CEO of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) recently.
Where is the HQ of LVB located?
1) Cochin
2) Chennai
3) Bengaluru
4) New Delhi
5) Mumbai
Answer-2) Chennai
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the extension of tenure for Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) Managing Director
(MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Subramanian Sundar by 6 months from May 31, 2020 to November 30, 2020
or till the appointment of new person for the post whichever is earlier.Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB): Headquarters–
Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
15. Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a trilogy of schemes
namely “Electronics Manufacturing Scheme 2.0” recently. What is the outlay of the scheme?
1) Rs 10,000 crore
2) Rs 50,000 crore
3) Rs 20,000 crore
4) Rs 25,000 crore
5) Rs 70,000 crore
Answer-2) Rs 50,000 crore

Explanation:
Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a trilogy (group of three)
of schemes namely “Electronics Manufacturing Scheme 2.0” with an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore (approximately $7
billion) to boost electronic manufacturing in India. These will contribute in achieving a USD 1 Trillion digital economy
and a USD 5 Trillion GDP by 2025.Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics
Manufacturing, Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS)
Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme.
16. Name the bank which has partnered with Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL) to facilitate real
time payments for truck drivers.
1) DBS bank
2) OCBC Bank
3) Standard Chartered
4) Citibank
5) None of these
Answer-1) DBS bank
Explanation:
DBS Bank India partnered with Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL)to facilitate real time payments for
truck drivers by DBS RAPID(Real Time Application Program Interface-APIs by DBS) solution to enable them to
receive payments instantly.
17. Who has been appointed as the new president of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)?
1) VikramKirloskar
2) Uday Kotak
3) Sangita Reddy
4) Sanjiv Mehta
5) Pawan Kr Agarwal
Answer-2) Uday Kotak
Explanation:
The Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) announced its new office bearers for 2020-2021. Uday Kotak, Managing
Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank succeeds VikramKirloskar, Chairman and Managing Director of Kirloskar
System and vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor as the new President of CII.
18. Which private sector bank has introduced the 1st of its kind app to open current accounts?
1) YES Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) RBL Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) IndusInd Bank
Answer-5) IndusInd Bank
Explanation:
IndusInd Bank Limited, an Indian new generation bank, has introduced a first-of-its-kind facility for customers to
open current accounts (CA) through its ‘Indus Corporate’ mobile app.
19. Find the private bank which partnered with Mastercard India &Worldline India to launch ‘Soft POS’.
1) DBS Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) City Union Bank

Answer-3) Axis Bank
Explanation:
Axis Bank Ltd, Mastercard India &Worldline India partnered to launch a digital point-of-sale(POS) solution ‘Soft POS’,
the 1st financial payments service in India to transform everyday smartphones into merchant POS terminals. It helps
offline merchants and Kirana stores accept payments using their smartphones.
20. GAIL (India) Ltd signed MoU with EESL for development of Trigeneration projects in India. The GAIL
(India) functions under which ministry?
1) Ministry of Corporate Affairs
2) Ministry of Commerce and Industry
3) Ministry of Law and Justice
4) Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
5) Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Answer-4) Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
Explanation:
State-owned Natural gas company GAIL (India) Ltd (formerly known as Gas Authority of India Ltd) and Energy
Efficiency Services Ltd(EESL) signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for development of”trigeneration”
projects in India through video conference(VC).GAIL (India) Ltd was incorporated in August 1984 as a Central Public
Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG).
21. Central government approved Rs. 812 Crores to which state for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission?
1) Jharkhand
2) Odisha
3) Tamil Nadu
4) Goa
5) Telangana
Answer-2) Odisha
Explanation:
Centre has approved a higher allocation of Rs 812 crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha during
2020-21 (100% connections by 2024).The Centre has approved 175 crore rupees for implementation of JJM in
Meghalaya during 2020-21 (100% connections by December 2022) &Rs. 1407 crore to Assam &Rs 1,832.66 crore to
Bihar (100% target by 2020-21) &Rs 255 Crore to Arunachal Pradesh (100% target by March 2023) also, Puducherry
has set the plan to achieve the target by 2020-21.
22. Where is the HQ of IndusInd bank located?

1) Mumbai
2) Pune
3) Kolkata
4) New Delhi
5) Gurugram
Answer-2) Pune
Explanation:
The HQ of IndusInd bank is located at Pune, Maharashtra.
23. What is the unemployment rate of India in accordance with annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
of National Statistical Office between July 2018 – June 2019?
1) 6.1%
2) 5.8%
3) 5.5%
4) 5.1%
5) 4.8%

Answer-2) 5.8%
Explanation:
In accordance with the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for [July 2018 – June 2019] of National Statistical
Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India’s unemployment rate fell between
July 2018 and June 2019 to 5.8% from 6.1% during the same period of 2017-18 while the Indian economy grew 6.1%
in 2018-19, slower than the 7% expansion recorded the year before.
24. Which Institute ranked top among the Indian institutes in THE Asia university ranking (Tsinghua
University topped the overall ranking)?
1) Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi
2) Indian Institute of Technology – Kanpur
3) Indian Institute of Science
4) Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay
5) Institute of Chemical technology
Answer-3) Indian Institute of Science
Explanation:
In the Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Ranking launched on 4th June 2020, Indian became the Third
most represented country with 8 institutes in the top 100. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) with 36th position on the
list retains its top position in India.
25. RBI has created Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) of worth _____ to boost digitalization.
1) 1000 Crore
2) 750 Crore
3) 500 Crore
4) 1250 Crore
5) 1500 Crore
Answer-3) 500 Crore
Explanation:
To encourage the deployment of Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in smaller cities and towns, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has created a Rs 500-crore ($66 million) Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), in which it
will start with an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore & the remaining half of the amount will be installed by card
issuing banks and card networks working in the country.
26. What will be the India’s growth in the year FY21 as per Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF)
sponsored by RBI?
1) -2%
2) -2.5%
2) -3%
4) -1.5%
5) -3.5%
Answer-4) -1.5%
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the results of 3 surveys’ namely -Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) –
May 2020; Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) on Macroeconomic Indicators (64th round) and Inflation
Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) – May 2020. As per this survey, India’s gross domestic product (GDP)
growth may contract by 1.5 % for the current fiscal year (FY21).
27. Name the Indian who has been appointed as the senior advisor at World Bank recently.
1) Brajendra Navnit
2) Ravi Kota
3) Lekhan Thakkar

4) Rajeev Topno
5) H Atheli
Answer-4) Rajeev Topno
Explanation:
Cabinet’s Appointment committee approved the appointments of Rajeev Topno, the private secretary to the prime
minister as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director (ED), World Bank & Brajendra Navnit, the Joint Secretary in the
Prime Minister’s Office (July 2014 – September 2019) as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India (PRI) to
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) & will be posted at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the WTO, under the
Department of Commerce. He replaced JS Deepak at the PMI whose two-year extended term ended on May 31.
28. SEBI has rearranged the commodity derivatives advisory committee recently. Who Chairs the committee?
1) Aliasgar S Mithwani
2) Vijay Sardana
3) S Sivakumar
4) Madan Sabnavis
5) Ashok Dalwani
Answer-5) Ashok Dalwani
Explanation:
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) rearranged the Commodity derivatives advisory committee and
appointed Ashok Dalwani, Retired IAS officer as the chairman and Aliasgar S Mithwani, Chief General Manager of SEBI
as Secretary of the 17-member committee.
29. Abu Dhabi based Mubadala is going to buy _____% stake in Jio platforms.
1) 2.11
2) 1.85
3) 1.21
4) 2.32
5) 5.31
Answer-2) 1.85
Explanation:
The Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, Mubadala is all set to buy 1.85% stake in jio Platforms, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Reliance Industries (RIL), for Rs 9,093.60 crore. The investment from Mubadala comes in Jio Platforms
at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.
30. Which private sector bank launched “summer treats” campaign recently?
1) HDFC Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) AXIS Bank
4) YES Bank
5) RBL Bank
Answer-1) HDFC Bank
Explanation:
The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) Bank, a Mumbai based private sector bank has
launched a special campaign ‘Summer Treats’ with offers to meet the changing needs of merchants as well as salaried
and self-employed customers.
31. The 51st annual Davos meeting will be conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in January 2021.
What is the theme for the event?
1) Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World
2) The Great Reset
3) Responsive and Responsible Leadership

4) Globalization 4.0
5) Mastering the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Answer-2) The Great Reset
Explanation:
The 51st annual Davos meeting to be held in January 2021 by the World Economic Forum (WEF). WEF to adopt a new
twin-summit format by bringing together leaders from across the globe for an in-person and well as virtual dialogues
with the theme: ‘The Great Reset’.
32. Where is the HQ of World Economic Forum located?

1) Cologny
2) Rome
3) Washington DC
4) London
5) New York
Answer-1) Cologny
Explanation:
The World Economic Forum, based in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland, is an NGO, founded in 1971.
33. What is the capital and currency of Germany?

1) Bonn & Pound
2) Rome & Euro
3) Tokyo & Yen
4) Amsterdam & Pound
5) Berlin & Euro
Answer-5) Berlin & Euro
Explanation:
The capital and currency of Germany is Berlin & Euro respectively.
34. DPIIT has revised public procurement order to encourage ‘Make in India’ initiative recently. The DPIIT
functions under which ministry?
1) Rural Development ministry
2) Home Affairs ministry
3) Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries ministry
4) Commerce and Industry ministry
5) Road Transport and Highways ministry
Answer-4) Commerce and Industry ministry
Explanation:
To encourage the Make in India initiative and to increase the income and employment generation the Department of
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) revised the public procurement order,2017 on 29th May 2019. The
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is a central government department under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
35. Name the public sector bank which has created separate vertical for Financial Inclusion and Micro Market
(FI&MM) recently (The Division was headed by Sanjeev Nautiyal).
1) Punjab National Bank
2) Indian Overseas Bank
3) Allahabad Bank
4) EXIM Bank
5) State Bank of India
Answer-5) State Bank of India

Explanation:
State Bank of India (SBI) has created a separate Financial Inclusion and Micro Market (FI&MM) vertical within the
bank with an exclusive focus to provide financial services to people engaged in agriculture and allied activities and
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The new wing will be headed by deputy managing director (DMD) of
the bank Sanjeev Nautiyal at the national level.
36. Who was appointed as the 1st ever brand ambassador of IIFL Finance?
1) Rohit Sharma
2) MS Dhoni
3) KL Rahul
4) Ajinkya Rahane
5) Virat Kohli
Answer-1) Rohit Sharma
Explanation:
R. Venkataraman, Managing Director and Co-Promoter of IIFL Group announced that the Vice-Captain of Indian
Cricket Team, Rohit Sharma signed and became the first brand ambassador of the IIFL Finance.
37. Which state/UT government has proposed Dinkar yojana in the state/UT budget?
1) Maharashtra
2) Gujarat
3) Punjab
4) West Bengal
5) New Delhi
Answer-2) Gujarat
Explanation:
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Nitin Patel presented a Rs 2,17,287 crore budget for the financial
year 2020-21, which is higher by Rs 12,472 crore over the previous Budget in 2019-20. Dinkar scheme announced a
to provide electricity supply during the day time for irrigation for next 3 years.
38. Who headed the ‘Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households’
committee which recommended horizontal and vertical banking system?
1) Tapan Roy
2) Raghuram Rajan
3) Arvind Subramanian
4) Nachiket Mor
5) Usha Thorat
Answer-4) Nachiket Mor
Explanation:
As we know that RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has been promoting financial inclusion under the two pronged system
namely- Horizontally Differentiated Banking System (HDBS) and Vertically Differentiated Banking System (VDBS) as
per the recommendations of the committee on ‘Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-
Income Households’ headed by Shri Nachiket Mor.
39. The US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) is planning to invest ______ (in USD) in
Indian firms.
1) 350 million
2) 500 million
3) 250 million
4) 100 million
5) 150 million

Answer-1) 350 million
Explanation:
To support multiple projects in India, The US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC) is planning to
invest 350 million USD in sectors of finance, health infrastructure, renewable energy and food security space also
look to empower smallholder dairy farmers, generate solar power increase access to education. It is one of the largest
approvals made by the Board of Directors.
40. NABARD provided Rs. 270 crores as the Special Liquidity Facility (SLF) to which bank?
1) Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank
2) Assam Gramin Vikash Bank
3) Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank
4) Central Madhya Pradesh Gramin Bank
5) Himachal Pradesh Gramin Bank
Answer-2) Assam Gramin Vikash Bank
Explanation:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provided Rs 270 crore Special Liquidity
Facility(SLF) to Assam Gramin Vikash Bank in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic to support the agricultural activities
of the farmers. This support & separate line of credit will enable to intensify farmers crop production.
41. Which company planned to buy additional 0.93% stake (1.15% stake bought earlier) in Jio platforms
recently?
1) Mubadala
2) Silver Lake
3) Vista Equity Partners
4) General Atlantic
5) KKR
Answer-2) Silver Lake
Explanation:
Following the investment of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company in Reliance’s Jio Platforms, US (United
States) private equity company Silver Lake partners announced an investment of Rs 4,546.80 crore for an additional
0.93 % stake in Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Ltd
(RIL).
42. What is the amount that was allocated for the Jal Shakti mission in Budget 2020?
1) 11,500 Cr
2) 10,000 Cr
3) 10,500 Cr
4) 12,000 Cr
5) 12,500 Cr
Answer-1) 11,500 Cr
Explanation:
Government approves Rs 11,500 cr for Jal Jeevan Mission for FY21. The government has approved a budgetary
allocation of Rs 11,500 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission for the year 2020-21.
43. Where is the HQ of NABARD located?

1) Bhopal
2) Kolkata
3) New Delhi
4) Pune
5) Mumbai

Answer-5) Mumbai
Explanation:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has its head office at Mumbai, India.
44. Which state (among larger states) has ranked top in the State Food Safety Index for 2019-20 released by
FSSAI?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Maharashtra
3) Uttar Pradesh
4) Gujarat
5) Madhya Pradesh
Answer-4) Gujarat
Explanation:The 2nd State Food Safety Index (SFSI) for 2019-20 of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
(FSSAI) has been topped by Gujarat among larger states and by Goa among smaller states. It was announced during a
webinar conducted on the occasion of “World Food Safety Day” on June 7, 2020 on the theme “Food Safety is
everyone’s business”.
Rank Winner
Large States
1 Gujarat
2 Tamil Nadu
3 Maharashtra
45. What is India’s rank in Environment Performance Index (EPI) 2020 released jointly by Yale University
and Columbia University (1 – Denmark)?
1) 168
2) 175
3) 129
4) 87
5) 63
Answer-1) 168
Explanation:According to the biennial Environment Performance Index (EPI) 2020 released jointly by Yale
University and Columbia University, India has ranked 168 out of 180 countries with a score of 27.6 out of 100.While
the Denmark has been topped the list with a score of 82.5. Here’s the list of top 3 nations in EPI 2020:
Rank Country Name EPI score
1 Denmark 82.5
2 Luxembourg 82.3
3 Switzerland 81.5
168th India 27.6
46. Which company has signed the United Nations Global Compact’s (UNGC) initiative to reduce the CO2
emissions?
1) TCS
2) Tech Mahindra
3) CTS
4) L&T
5) Infosys

Answer-2) Tech Mahindra
Explanation:
Tech Mahindra Ltd, an IT subsidiary of the Mahindra Group has joined 155 global companies by inking a joint
declaration with United Nations (UN) Global Compact urging governments to align their COVID-19 recovery efforts
with the latest climate science.
47. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has bought ______% stake in Jio platforms for Rs 5,863.50
crores.
1) 3.21
2) 2.08
3) 0.93
4) 2.32
5) 1.16
Answer-5) 1.16
Explanation:
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds, has invested Rs 5,863.50
crore for a 1.16 % stake in Jio platforms, a subsidiary of Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance
Industries Ltd (RIL).
48. The cabinet of which state has approved to give state anthem status to “Bande Utkala Janani” poem?
1) Bihar
2) Odisha
3) West Bengal
4) Assam
5) Manipur
Answer-2) Odisha
Explanation:
The Cabinet of Odisha chaired by Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha approved the proposal to give the
status of State anthem to “Bande Utkala Janani”, a poem written by Kantakabi Laxmikanta Mohapatra in 1912.
49. India planned to launch its first coal trading platform ‘Coal exchange’. Who is the present coal minister?
1) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
2) Mahendra Nath Pandey
3) Dharmendra Pradhan
4) Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
5) Pralhad Joshi
Answer-5) Pralhad Joshi
Explanation:
As India is the world’s second-largest producer of coal, it has decided to set up its first coal trading platform -a sort of
‘Coal exchange’, where a large number of sellers and buyers can get together to trade coal as a commodity. It is to be
noted that the coal ministry is likely to initiate auctions of about 50 coal blocks for commercial coal mining on June
11, 2020. Pralhad Joshi is the present coal minister.
50. Which country has signed MoU with India to develop strong cooperation and promote strategic
intervention in the power sector?
1) Germany
2) Denmark
3) Argentina
4) Nepal
5) Japan

Answer-2) Denmark
Explanation:
To develop strong cooperation and promote strategic intervention in the power sector, an MOU (Memorandum of
Understanding) on the Indo-Denmark Cooperation between the Ministry of Power, Government of the Republic of
India and the Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Government of the Kingdom of Denmark was signed on 5th
June 2020. The MOU was signed by the Secretary (Power), Sanjiv Nandan Sahai and Ambassador of Denmark to India,
Freddy Svane.
51. What will be the growth of India in FY2020-21 as per World Bank’s Global Economic Prospect (GEP) June
2020?
1) -4.8%
2) -4%
3) -2.5%
4) -2%
5) -3.2%
Answer-5) -3.2%
Explanation:
The Washington based multilateral lender, World Bank in its latest edition of the Global Economic Prospect (GEP)
June 2020 analytical chapters reports states that India’s growth is contract by 3.2% (so growth is -3.2%) for FY20-21.
It was lower from 4.2% which forecasted in FY2019-20 at the end of March 2020.
52. According to World bank’s report, global economy will contract by ____% in 2020.
1) 5.2
2) 3.2
3) 1.2
4) 4.2
5) 2.3
Answer-1) 5.2
Explanation:
Acc. to the World Bank, the massive shock of the COVID-19 Pandemic and lockdown measures for its containment will
lead to a contraction of the global economy by 5.2% in 2020.
53. Name the digital payment platform, which has partnered with ICICI Lombard to launch first of its kind
travel insurance & domestic trip insurance.
1) PhonePe
2) PayTm
3) Google Pay
4) Freecharge
5) JioMoney
Answer-1) PhonePe
Explanation:
Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard, the non-life insurance company
launched ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance, domestic multi-trip insurance to provide a stress-free travel experience to
customers by covering risks associated with all modes of travel within the country (road, rail and air within the
country) from the time a customer leaves home, till the time of return.
54. Find the digital technology company which has partnered with UNDP, HCCB for plastic waste management
Project named ‘Prithivi’.
1) TCS
2) Infosys
3) Recykal

4) Wipro
5) HCL
Answer-3) Recykal
Explanation:
Recycling plays an important role in enhancing the circular economy. However, lack of awareness poses challenges
towards management of plastic waste and recycling. In order to overcome this situation, Recykal, a digital technology
company in the waste management space collaborated with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd (HCCB) for Project Prithvi, a joint initiative for developing sustainable plastic
waste management practices in the country.
55. World bank has granted Rs. 1950 cr to which state to combat COVID-19?
1) Punjab
2) Maharashtra
3) West Bengal
4) Arunachal Pradesh
5) Gujarat
Answer-3) West Bengal
Explanation:
According to the Chief Minister (CM) of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, the World Bank (WB) has granted loan worth
of Rs. 1,950 crores to the state for tackling coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and developmental work.
56. What is the amount that was allocated to state governments for the year 2020-21 for implementing Per
Drop More Crop component of PMKSY scheme?
1) 1000 Crore
2) 5000 Crore
3) 3000 Crore
4) 4000 crore
5) 2000 Crore
Answer-4) 4000 crore
Explanation:
The Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) has allocated Rs. 4000 cr to the state
governments for the year 2020-21 for implementing Per Drop More Crop component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY- PDMC). For further allotment of funds, State Governments have identified the
beneficiaries to be covered under the programme.
57. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has constituted 8-member panel moderated by Ahmed M. Saeed to help
south Asian economies to recover from COVID-19 effects. Where is HQ of ADB located?
1) Beijing
2) Tokyo
3) New Delhi
4) Shanghai
5) Mandaluyong
Answer-5) Mandaluyong
Explanation:
The Mandaluyong, Philippines based Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank has constituted
an 8-member high-level panel of leading experts in economics, finance, and health, moderated by ADB Vice-President
Ahmed M. Saeed, to help ministers, central bank governors, and other senior officials identify solutions for Southeast
Asian economies to tap into to quickly recover after the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

58. Who is the present president of Asian Development Bank (ADB)?
1) K. V. Kamath
2) Anil Kishora
3) Masatsugu Asakawa
4) Ahmed M. Saeed
5) Shixin Chen
Answer-3) Masatsugu Asakawa
Explanation:
Masatsugu Asakawa is the current President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
59. Name the company which has partnered with Mastercard to launch “Cardless ATM powered by
Mastercard”.
1) Empays Payment Systems
2) Instamojo Payment Gateway
3) Cashfree Payment Systems
4) PayKun Payment Gateway
5) Razorpay Payment Solutions
Answer-1) Empays Payment Systems
Explanation:
In order to eliminate the use a physical card or touch an ATM PIN pad, amid the spread of coronavirus from
contaminated surfaces, Empays Payment Systems has joined hands with Mastercard to launch “Cardless ATM
powered by Mastercard” in India based on the standards of EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa).
60. Which company has partnered with First Alliance Bank (Z) Ltd to provide mPOS solution to SME and other
businesses?
1) Ezetap
2) Posiflex
3) PayTM POS
4) ePaisa
5) WeP
Answer-4) ePaisa
Explanation:
POS (Point of Sale) solution provider in India, ePaisa entered into a partnership with First Alliance Bank (Z) Ltd in
Zambia, Africa, to provide mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution to small and medium enterprises and other
businesses. ePaisa will be the solution provider for First Alliance Bank(FAB), which will further provide it to
businesses across Zambia.For ePaisa this partnership becomes first global expansion.
61. What will be the growth rate of India in next fiscal (FY 2021-22) as per Fitch ratings?
1) 8.6%
2) 7.1%
3) 6.2%
4) 5%
5) 9.5%
Answer-5) 9.5%
Explanation:
After a contraction in the current financial year, India’s economy is forecast to bounce back with a sharp growth rate
of 9.5 percent next fiscal, Fitch Ratings has said. It has forecast a 5 percent contraction in the GDP in the ongoing
financial year.

62. What is the amount that was allocated by central government to Jharkhand for the implementation of Jal
Jeevan Mission (FY 20-21)?
1) 452 Crores
2) 748 Crores
3) 572 Crores
4) 664 Crores
5) 386 Crores
Answer-3) 572 Crores
Explanation:
Jharkhand presented their Annual Action Plan for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the State to the Ministry of
Jal Shakti through a virtual meet chaired by Parameswaran Iyer. Jharkhand planned to have 100% household
coverage by 2023-24. Central Govt has approved fund of Rs 572.23 Crore for Jharkhand in 2020-21 in comparison to
Rs. 267.69 Crore in 2019-20.
63. Which institute ranked top (overall category) in the 5th edition of National Institutional Ranking
Framework (NIRF) 2020 released by HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal?
1) IISc Bengaluru
2) Banaras Hindu University
3) IIT Delhi
4) IIM Calcutta
5) IIT Madras
Answer-5) IIT Madras
Explanation:The Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has virtually
released 5th edition of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Ranking 2020. The rankings are being
announced for India’s best universities and institutions in 10 categories namely- Overall, Universities, Engineering,
Colleges, Management, Pharmacy, Medical, Dental Architecture, and Law. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras
(Tamil Nadu) has topped the list of ‘overall ranking’ category.List of top 3 India Rankings 2020 is as
follows: Overall
Rank No. Name of Institute Score
64. Which institute/university ranked top in the QS World University Rankings 2021?
1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2) Stanford University
3) Harvard University
4) California Institute of Technology
5) University of Oxford
Answer-1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Explanation:QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) is a global education analyst that released the 17th edition of the QS World
University Rankings 2021. This year only 3 Indian Institutions were among the top two-hundred ranks 2 IIT’s and
IISC. Globally, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), USA continues to be the number one for the 9th year in a
row.
QS World University Rankings 2021 ( TOP 5)
2021 Institution Country
1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) USA
2 Stanford University USA

3 Harvard University USA

4 California Institute of Technology(Cal Tech) USA
5 University of Oxford UK
65. Which is the most expensive Indian city as per 26th Annual Cost of Living Survey 2020 released by Mercer
(Hong Kong is the most expensive city of the world)?
1) New Delhi
2) Chennai
3) Mumbai
4) Bengaluru
5) Kolkata
Answer-3) Mumbai
Explanation:
Mercer released its 26th Annual Cost of Living Survey 2020. From India, Mumbai city has been ranked 60th most
expensive city globally and also 19th in Asia. Mumbai is the only Indian city ranked in the top 100. Hongkong tops the
list globally. Hong Kong is the most expensive city of the world, followed by Ashgabat and Tokyo.
66. What will be the GDP of India in FY 2020-21 in case of 2nd COVID-19 outbreak, as per Economic Outlook,
June 2020 by OECD?
1) -5.6%
2) -5%
3) -4.7%
4) -7.3%
5) -6.7%
Answer-4) -7.3%
Explanation:
In accordance with the Economic Outlook (EO), June 2020 by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for FY 2020-2021 predicted at -3.7% which can further
decelerate to -7.3% in case of second Covid-19 outbreak, the lowest estimate for India’s growth so far, overtaking
Bernstein’s projected 7% contraction for India in FY21.
67. Where is the HQ of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) located?
1) Geneva
2) London
3) Rome
4) New York
5) Paris
Answer-5) Paris
Explanation:
The HQ of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) located at Paris, France.
68. Central government has allocated the 1 Lakh crore for which scheme in FY 2020-21 (more than 50% of
budget estimation)?
1) PMMY
2) PM-SYM
3) PMGKY
4) PM-KISAN
5) MGNREGS
Answer-5) MGNREGS

Explanation:
The highest ever allocation of funds worth Rs. 1,01,500 made under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the current Financial Year(FY) 2020-2021. A sum of Rs. 31,493 crores have already
been released in 2020-21, which is more than 50 percent of budget estimation of current Financial Year 2020-21.
69. Union shipping ministry has approved revised cost estimates of Rs. 123.95 cr for Ship Repair facilities in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Who is the present shipping minister (MoS I/C)?
1) Nitin Gadkari
2) Smriti Irani
3) Mansukh L. Mandaviya
4) Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
5) Raj Nath Singh
Answer-3) Mansukh L. Mandaviya
Explanation:
Ministry of Shipping approves Revised cost estimates Ministry of Shipping has approved the Revised Cost estimate of
Rs. 123.95 crore for the project “Extension of Dry Dock-II at a marine dockyard including supply, installation and
commissioning of Dry Dock Pumps and accessories in Port Blair, South Andaman” for augmenting Ship Repair
facilities in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Ministry of Shipping: Minister of State (MoS)- Mansukh L. Mandaviya.
70. Which state has become the largest wheat procurer in the country recently?
1) Gujarat
2) Haryana
3) Punjab
4) Maharashtra
5) Madhya Pradesh
Answer-5) Madhya Pradesh
Explanation:
The rural economy of the Madhya Pradesh (MP) state is said to get inducted with Rs 25,000 crore for the farmers as it
becomes India’s largest wheat procurer in the year 20-21 surpassing Punjab. MP also produced the highest amount of
wheat this year about 30 million tonnes.
71. RBI has banned People’s cooperative bank from granting fresh loans, accepting deposits for 6 months.
Where is the HQ of People’s Cooperative bank located?
1) Noida
2) Nagpur
3) Hardwar
4) Kanpur
5) Ranchi
Answer-4) Kanpur
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has restricted People’s Co-operative Bank located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
from granting fresh loans and accepting deposits for six months from June 10, 2020, due to its weak financial position.
The bank is barred from selling, transferring or disposing any of its properties or assets.
72. According to ‘Global Trade Update 2020’ released by UNCTAD, international trade is expected to fall by
27% in Q2 of 2020. Where is the HQ of UNCTAD located?
1) Geneva
2) New York
3) New Delhi
4) Rome
5) London

Answer-1) Geneva
Explanation:
According to the report ‘Global Trade Update 2020’ released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), the value of international trade in goods fell by 5% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 and is
expected to plunge further by 27% in the ongoing second quarter (Q2) due to the unprecedented effects of the
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It has also forecasted a 20% annual decline in trade for the year 2020. UNCTAD
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland.
73. Which public sector bank has relaunched Aadhaar-based online ‘Insta Saving Bank Account’?
1) State Bank of India
2) Punjab National Bank
3) Canara Bank
4) United Bank of India
5) Indian Bank
Answer-1) State Bank of India
Explanation:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has relaunched ‘SBI Insta Saving Bank Account’, an Aadhaar-based instant digital
savings account for customers using the Yono platform, which will offer a complete paperless and instant digital
savings account opening with just PAN and Aadhaar number.
74. Who heads the 5-member Internal working group formed by RBI to review ownership and control of
Private banks?
1) Sachin Chaturvedi
2) PK Mohanty
3) Lily Vadera
4) S. C. Murmu
5) Shrimohan Yadav
Answer-2) PK Mohanty
Explanation:
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a 5-member internal working group (IWG) headed by
its Central Board Director Prasanna Kumar (PK) Mohanty to review ownership guidelines and corporate structure for
private banks in light of recent developments in the banking sector. The committee is due to submit its report by 30th
September 2020.
75. EXIM bank has provided line of credit (LOC) of $215.68 million to the Malawi for drinking water schemes
& other development projects recently. Where is the HQ of EXIM bank located?
1) Kolkata
2) New Delhi
3) Mumbai
4) Bengaluru
5) Chennai
Answer-3) Mumbai
Explanation:
Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) has provided a line of credit (LOC) of $215.68 million to the Malawi
government for drinking water supply schemes and other development projects. Exim bank: Headquarters– Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
76. Imtaiyazur Rahman has been appointed as the CEO of which mutual fund?
1) UTI Asset Management Company
2) Canara Robeco Asset Management Company
3) BNP Paribas Asset Management India

4) Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC
5) Axis Asset Management Company
Answer-1) UTI Asset Management Company
Explanation:
UTI Asset Management Board appointed Imtaiyazur Rahman as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the UTI Asset
Management Company after two years as the interim CEO. He will succeed Leo Puri whose 5-year tenure was over in
August 2018.
77. What is the capital and currency of Malawi?

1) Dodoma & Shilling
2) Harare & RTGS Dollar
3) Lilongwe & Kwacha
4) Maputo & Metical
5) Lusaka & Pula
Answer-3) Lilongwe & Kwacha
Explanation:
The capital and currency of Malawi are Lilongwe & Malawian Kwacha respectively. Recently in June 2020 EXIM has
given $215.68 mn LoC to Malawi.
78. RBI has proposed to set the age limit of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and whole time directors (WTDs)
of Banks to ______ years.
1) 62
2) 60
3) 70
4) 65
5) 58
Answer-3) 70
Explanation:
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Discussion Paper on ‘Governance in Commercial Banks in
India’ proposed to set the age limit of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and whole time directors (WTDs) belonging to
the promoter group of banks to 70 years and maximum tenure of 10 years. This offer has been made to improve
administration in the banking sector.
79. RBI has made some changes to the monitoring structure of Financial Markets Infrastructure and Retail
Payment Systems recently. Which among the following was designated as “system wide important payment
system” (SWIPS)?
1) NPCI
2) SWITCH
3) IFSC
4) AePS
5) None of the Above
Answer-1) NPCI
Explanation:
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made some changes to the monitoring structure of Financial
Markets Infrastructure (FMI) and Retail Payment Systems (RPSs) with the aim to ensure the security and stability of
the payment structure.The new framework treats NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) and National
Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT).In addition, NPCI has also been designated as a “system wide important payment
system (SWIPS).

80. Which private sector bank has launched “InstaFlexicash” an online overdraft (OD) facility for its salary
account customers?
1) HDFC Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) IndusInd Bank
4) Kotak Mahindra Bank
5) RBL Bank
Answer-2) ICICI Bank
Explanation:
ICICI Bank has launched ‘InstaFlexicash’, an online overdraft (OD) facility for its pre- approved salary account
customers, by which these customers can get approval for OD instantly & in a paperless manner. The end-to-end fully
digital facility can be accessed with no documentation, using the Bank’s internet banking platform without visiting a
bank branch.
81. Who chairs the committee restructured by IBBI for Corporate Insolvency Resolution and Liquidation
process?
1) Uday Kotak
2) Ajay Piramal
3) Ashish Kumar
4) M.V. Nair
5) AshuSuyash
Answer-1) Uday Kotak
Explanation:
In pursuance of regulation 3 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) advisory committee regulation
2017, the IBBI board has restructured an advisory committee on Corporate Insolvency Resolution and Liquidation
process by including four new members. The new 14-member committee, formed in August 2017, will be chaired by
Uday Kotak, the Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
82. US based L Catterton has bought 0.39% stake in Jio platforms recently. What is the % stake which was
bought by TPG Capital in Jio platforms (June 2020)?
1) 3.61%
2) 0.93%
3) 0.57%
4) 2.21%
5) 1.23%
Answer-2) 0.93%
Explanation:
The United States (US) private equity firms TPG Capital and L Catterton have become the 9th and 10th investors
respectively in the Jio Platforms, as the latter has sold 0.93% stake in TPG for Rs 4,546.80 crore and 0.39% stake sold
to L Catterton for Rs 1,894.50 crore.
83. The 40th GST council meet headed by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman was held recently virtually.
Under which article of constitution GST council was formed?
1) Article 279A
2) Article 280A
3) Article 266A
4) Article 281A
5) Article 262A
Answer-1) Article 279A
Explanation:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the virtual 40th GST Council Meeting. The key outcome of this meet

was further relief on late fee and interest payable on late payments as a part of compliance burden of businesses. This
was the first meeting after COVID-19 breakout in India.GST Council is an apex member committee to modify or to
procure any law or regulation based on the context of goods and services tax in India. The council is headed by the
union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman assisted with the finance minister of all the states of India. It was
constituted on 15th September 2016 under Article 279A of the Constitution.
84. Where is the HQ of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) located?
1) New Delhi
2) Pune
3) Mumbai
4) Chennai
5) Kolkata
Answer-1) New Delhi
Explanation:
The HQ of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) located at New Delhi.
85. Who is the MD and CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)?
1) Amitha Sehgal
2) BiswamohanMahapatra
3) G. Sivakumar
4) Deepak Kumar
5) DilipAsbe
Answer-5) DilipAsbe
Explanation:
DilipAsbe is the present MD&CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
86. Which payments bank has launched ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for MSMEs recently?
1) India Post Payments Bank
2) Jio Payments Bank
3) Fino Payments Bank
4) Paytm Payments Bank
5) Airtel Payments Bank
Answer-5) Airtel Payments Bank
Explanation:
Airtel Payments Bank launched ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The
account will enable the MSMEs & other organisations to make cashless payments & provide financial security to their
employees.
87. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) launched the ‘e-Office’ application developed by
National Informatics Centre (NIC) recently. CBIC functions under which department of finance ministry?
1) Department of Economic Affairs
2) Department of Expenditure
3) Department of Revenue
4) Department of Financial Services
5) Department of Investment and Public Asset Management
Answer-3) Department of Revenue
Explanation:
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Chairman M. Ajit Kumar launched the ‘e-Office’ application
in over 500 CGST and customs offices across India, on 15th June at New Delhi. The e-Office is a Mission Mode
Project(MMP) under the e-Governance of India. e-Office has been developed by the National Informatics Center(NIC),

and supported by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). CBIC functions under
Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
88. The FOREX reserve of India crossed $________ for the 1st time as per RBI data (in June 2020).
1) 600 billion
2) 450 billion
3) 500 billion
4) 550 billion
5) 400 billion
Answer-3) 500 billion
Explanation:
In accordance with the weekly statistical data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s foreign reserves
crossed the $500 billion mark as the nation had forex reserves of $501.7 billion as of June 5, 2020 a rise of $8.22
billion in a week. India’s forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights
(SDRs), and India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
89. Which state/UT has signed 12 MoUs recently to attract the investment worth Rs 16,030 crores?
1) Gujarat
2) Tamil Nadu
3) Madhya Pradesh
4) Jammu & Kashmir
5) Maharashtra
Answer-5) Maharashtra
Explanation:
Maharashtra signed 12 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with 12 domestic and foreign companies for Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) worth Rs 16,030 crores. It is a part of the Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 initiative.
90. India’s 1st natural gas trading platform “Indian Gas Exchange (IGX)” was launched by Dharmendra
Pradhan recently. Where is the HQ of IGX located?
1) Mumbai
2) Pune
3) Bengaluru
4) New Delhi
5) Kolkata
Answer-4) New Delhi
Explanation:
India’s first nationwide online delivery-based natural gas trading platform, “Indian Gas Exchange (IGX)” has been
launched by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan during an e-ceremony (virtual). It has
been launched on the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to provide clean, affordable, sustainable and
equitable supply of energy to every citizen. Notably, IGX will work as a wholly owned subsidiary of the India Energy
Exchange (IEX), which is India’s energy market platform. Headquarters of IGX located in New Delhi.
91. Central government has infused capital of Rs 5,298 crore to which company/Organisation?
1) Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)
2) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
3) National Housing Bank (NHB)
4) Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI)
5) India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL)
Answer-5) India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL)

Explanation:
India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) announced the government infused equity share capital of Rs
5,297.60 crore in the company on March 30.
92. India extended financial aid of Rs. 2.33 Cr to construct sanitation facility in Pashupatinath temple located
in which country?
1) Tibet
2) Bhutan
3) Burma
4) Nepal
5) Sri Lanka
Answer-4) Nepal
Explanation:
India has extended its financial aid by NR (Nepalese rupee) 37.23 million for the construction of the sanitation facility
for the pilgrims at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. With this the total outlay of the project reaches Rs
2.33 crore which will be constructed under the Nepal-Bharat Maitri: Development Partnership as a high impact
community development scheme by India.
93. What is India’s rank in largest recipient of FDI in 2019 as per “World Investment Report 2020” released
by UNCTAD (US topped)?
1) 7
2) 8
3) 9
4) 6
5) 5
Answer-3) 9
Explanation:
In accordance with the “World Investment Report 2020” by United Nation’s (UN) trade body, the UN Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India has become the 9th largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in
2019 after receiving $51 billion last year.
Rank Country Amount
1 United States (US) 246 bn
2 China 141 bn
3 Singapore 92 bn
9 India 51 bn
94. Which country ranked top in World Competitiveness Index 2020 prepared by International Institute for
Management and Development (IMD) (India – 43rd)?
1) Iceland
2) Morocco
3) Switzerland
4) Denmark
5) Singapore
Answer-5) Singapore
Explanation:
According to the World Competitiveness Index 2020, which ranked performance of 63 economies across the globe,
prepared by Switzerland-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD)’s World
Competitiveness Center (WCC), the Indian economy remained at 43rd position this year.

Rank Country Name

43rd India
1 Singapore
2 Denmark
3 Switzerland
95. Which bank has approved to provide 2nd loan of $750 million to India under COVID-19 Crisis Recovery
Facility (CRF)?
1) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
2) New Development Bank (NDB)
3) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
4) World Bank (WB)
5) None of these
Answer-1) Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Explanation:
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) approved a 2nd loan of USD 750 million to India under the bank’s USD
10 billion COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility(CRF); this loan is co-financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to
assist India to fight against COVID-19 & its impact on poor. The loan aims to strengthen India’s economic aid for
businesses, expand social safety nets for the needy & the health care systems.
96. Name the Insurance company which has collaborated with tech firm TropoGo Limited to launch India’s
1st ‘Pay as you Fly’ insurance for drone-owners.
1) Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd.
2) L&T General Insurance Co. Ltd.
3) HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd.
4) Future Generali India Insurance Co. Ltd.
5) Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd.
Answer-3) HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd.
Explanation:
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, the country’s third-largest non-life insurance provider has joined hands
with UK based tech firm TropoGo Limited to launch India’s 1st ‘Pay as you Fly’ insurance for drone-owners in India.
97. Who headed the panel formed by SEBI to suggest measures to strengthen enforcement of SEBI?
1) Amit Kumar
2) Anil Dave
3) TN Manoharan
4) KD Mishra
5) Tapan Roy
Answer-2) Anil Dave
Explanation:
In order to strengthen the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBIs) enforcement mechanism and also to
improve its system of recovery of siphoned off money, the SEBI committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge
Anil Dave has proposed a method of quantification of profit made by the defaulter and loss caused to investors in a
424-page exhaustive report.
98. Which company has signed Climate pledge(initiative Amazon and Global Optimism) to become Net-Zero
carbon by 2040?
1) TCS
2) IBM

3) Infosys
4) CTS
5) Capgemini
Answer-3) Infosys
Explanation:
Infosys partnered with Amazon and Global Optimism and signed the Climate Pledge, an initiative by Jeff Bezos,
founder of Amazon and Christiana Figueres, founder of Global Optimism and former United Nations Climate chief to
become net-zero carbon by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
99. Andhra Pradesh’s (AP) finance minister has presented the state budget for Rs 2.24 lakh crore for the FY
20-21 recently. Who is the governor of AP?
1) Banwarilal Purohit
2) Ramesh Bais
3) BiswaBhusanHarichandan
4) Anandiben Patel
5) TamilisaiSoundararajan
Answer-3) BiswaBhusanHarichandan
Explanation:
Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP) BugganaRajendranath presented the AP state budget for Rs 2.24 lakh crore
for the FY20-21. With this, AP became the first Indian state to convene its Legislative Assembly and Council which
will adopt a budget for FY21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from this, AP Governor BiswabhusanHarichandan
addressed the Assembly through video conference, which is also another first for the country.
100. NABARD has made its maiden investment in Mumbai-based rural fintech startup Jai Kisan recently.
Where is the HQ of NABARD located?
1) Pune
2) Hyderabad
3) Mumbai
4) Kolkata
5) Gurugram
Answer-3) Mumbai
Explanation:
NABVENTURES Fund I, the investment arm of Mumbai based NABARD, has made its maiden investment in Mumbai-
based rural fintech startup Jai Kisan as part of a ₹30 crore funding round.
101. The HQ of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) located at?

1) Shanghai
2) Dhaka
3) New Delhi
4) Tokyo
5) Beijing
Answer-5) Beijing
Explanation:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank headquartered at Beijing, China.
102. What is the percent increase in formal employment in India in 2019-20 compared to 2018-19 as per
EPFO payroll data?
1) 21.8%
2) 30.7%
3) 23.4%

4) 28.6%
5) 25.2%
Answer-4) 28.6%
Explanation:
According to the payroll data of EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organization), an organization tasked to assist the
Central Board of Trustees, Employees’ Provident Fund, the formal employment in India saw a 28.6 % increase at
78.58 lakh in 2019-20 as compared to only 61.12 lakh added in 2018-19.
103. RBI proposed to increase minimum Net owned funds (NOF) of Housing finance companies from 10
Crores to _____ Crores.
1) 15
2) 25
3) 20
4) 30
5) 50
Answer-3) 20
Explanation:
In exercise of powers conferred under Section 29A (1) (b) of NHB Act, 1987, RBI proposes to increase the minimum
NOF for HFCs from the current requirement of Rs10 crore to Rs 20 crore in order to strengthen their capital base.
Existing HFCs will get one year to reach the level of Rs 15 crore and two years to increase it to Rs 20 crore.
104. As per SEBI’s recent amendment, promotors who own 25% or more and voting rights are allowed to
increase shareholding up to _______% in a year.
1) 20
2) 5
3) 15
4) 10
5) 20
Answer-4) 10
Explanation:
After exercising the powers conferred under section 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of
1992), the board of SEBI has amended the regulation 3, in sub-regulation (2) of Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (SEBI-SAST) to enhance the acquisition
limit for promoters of a listed company. The amendment allows promoters owning 25% or more of the shares or
voting rights in a company to increase his shareholding by up to 10% in a year in comparison to the earlier 5% limit.
105. Name the home finance company which launched affordable housing loan scheme named ‘SARAL’.
1) ICICI Home Finance Company Limited
2) Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited
3) REPCO Home Finance Limited
4) Aadhar Housing Finance Limited
5) Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited
Answer-1) ICICI Home Finance Company Limited
Explanation:
ICICI Home Finance Company Limited (HFCL) launched SARAL, a special affordable housing loan scheme to finance
homes in urban and rural areas. The beneficiaries are women, lower, middle income customers and economically
weaker sections, with a maximum household income up to Rs 6 lakh per annum.

106. Which company has partnered with Karnataka bank to launch a health insurance policy to cover COVID-
19?
1) United India Insurance Company Limited
2) The Oriental Insurance Company Limited
3) The New India Assurance Company Limited
4) Universal Sompo General Insurance Company
5) TATA AIG General Insurance Company Limited
Answer-4) Universal Sompo General Insurance Company
Explanation:
Karnataka Bank in partnership with Universal Sompo General Insurance Company has launched a health insurance
policy. The policy aims to cover the individuals’ COVID-19 pandemic related health expenses.
107. Find the insurance company which has collaborated with East Consultancy Services to offer Aadhaar-
based paperless offline e-KYC service.
1) Life Insurance Corporation of India
2) Max Life Insurance Company
3) HDFC Life Insurance Company
4) ICICI Prudential Life Insurance
5) Tata AIA Life Insurance Company
Answer-5) Tata AIA Life Insurance Company
Explanation:
Tata AIA Life Insurance partnered with East Consultancy Services to offer Aadhaar-based paperless offline e-Know
Your Customer (KYC) service. This tie up helps to service the customer during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
108. Bank of Baroda (BoB) planned to fully digitalize lending operations & to create a new vertical ‘digital
lending department’. Who is the MD & CEO of BoB?
1) Sanjiv Chadha
2) Hasmukh Adhia
3) Atanu Kumar Das
4) Lingam Venkat Prabhakar
5) Pallav Mahapatra
Answer-1) Sanjiv Chadha
Explanation:
Bank of Baroda, India’s 3rd largest lender to fully digitise its lending operations including home, agriculture, Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME), personal and auto loans. The bank has set up a new vertical, digital lending
department at the corporate office, which will have substantial overlap with various credit verticals including Retail,
MSME, Agri & service verticals like Analytics centre, Risk Management, Marketing. BoB MD & CEO is Sanjiv Chadha.
109. Former lok sabha MP, Madhavrao Balwant Patil who passed away recently is the founder of which bank?
1) Cosmos Cooperative Bank
2) Janalaxmi Cooperative Bank
3) Saraswath Cooperative Bank
4) Shamravu Vithal Cooperative Bank
5) Abhudyaya Cooperative Bank
Answer-2) Janalaxmi Cooperative Bank
Explanation:
Madhavrao Balwant Patil, Former Lok Sabha Member and the founder of Janalaxmi Cooperative Bank passed away
due to short illness at the age of 80 in Nashik, Maharashtra. He was born on 21st January 1940 in Nashik,
Maharashtra.

110. Name the state which issues ordinance to defer payment of employees & pensioners.
1) Telangana
2) Haryana
3) Uttar Pradesh
4) Maharashtra
5) Manipur
Answer-1) Telangana
Explanation:
The state Government of Telangana has promulgated the Telangana Disaster and Public Health Emergency (Special
Provisions) Ordinance 2020 which allowed it to defer salaries and pensions of its employees, pensioner, institution,
any person (ready contract or outsourcing employees) and other dues in the event of disaster and public health
emergency in the State.
111. The Housing Finance Company’s housing loans must account for at least 50% of HFCs’ assets of which at
least ___% should be individual housing loans. The HFCs which doesn’t follow the criterion will be treated as
NBFC – Investment and Credit Companies (NBFC-ICCs).
1) 90
2) 80
3) 25
4) 50
5) 75
Answer-5) 75
Explanation:
In another proposal, housing loans must account for at least 50% of HFCs’ assets of which at least 75% should be
towards individual housing loans. HFCs which do not fulfil this criterion will be treated as NBFC – Investment and
Credit Companies (NBFC-ICCs) and will be required to approach the RBI for conversion of their Certificate of
Registration from HFC to NBFC-ICC. In order to remain working as HFC, they would have to follow a roadmap to make
75% of their assets individual housing loans. The target has been set at 60% by March 31, 2022, 70% by March 31,
2023, and 75% by March 31, 2024.
112. Which state has provided most number of employment under MGNREGA as per government data
released on June 15, 2020?
1) Jharkhand
2) Odisha
3) Bihar
4) Rajasthan
5) Uttar Pradesh
Answer-5) Uttar Pradesh
Explanation:
In accordance with the official government data, on June 15, 2020, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has provided employment to
57,12,975 workers in 56,981 village panchayats of the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), making it the top Indian state to provide highest employment under MGNREGS. This
employment is 18% of the total work generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act (MGNREGA) in the country.
113. India’s economy will contract by _____ in 2020-21 as per estimation of Asian Development Bank in its
report titled Asian Development Outlook.
1) 4%
2) 5.5%
3) 5%

4) 4.5%
5) 6%
Answer-1) 4%
Explanation:
In accordance with the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) by Asian Development Bank (ADB), for FY20-21, Indian
economy is projected to contract by 4% in fiscal year (FY) 2020, ending on 31 March 2021, before growing 5.0% in
FY2021.
114. Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund has bought ____% stake in jio platforms for Rs 11,367 Crores
recently.
1) 1.15
2) 0.93
3) 1.85
4) 1.34
5) 2.32
Answer-5) 2.32
Explanation:
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)’s Jio Platforms stepped into 11th deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund
(PIF), who bought 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crores. With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised Rs
115,693.95 crores (1.15 lakh crores) from leading global investors since April 22, which is the largest continuous
fund raised by a company in the world.
115. B.P.R. Vithal Baru who passed away in June 2020 is a renowned _______.
1) Cricketer
2) Sand Artist
3) Photographer
4) Actor
5) Economist
Answer-5) Economist
Explanation:
Veteran economist & member of the 10th Finance Commission, IAS B.P.R. Vithal Baru passed away at 93 in
Hyderabad due to old age-related ailments. He was born in 1926. He was influential in shaping the demand for
Telangana state through his essay titled “The Telangana Surpluses: A Case Study”.
116. The central government has approved to provide fund of Rs 1,829 for implementation of Jal Jeevan
Mission for which state?
1) Telangana
2) Uttarakhand
3) Madhya Pradesh
4) Maharashtra
5) Bihar
Answer-4) Maharashtra
Explanation:
The Centre has approved funding of 1,829 crore rupees for the effective implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in
Maharashtra for 2020-21 on the basis of the Annual Action Plan (AAP) for 2020-21 presented by Maharashtra to the
Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Also Rs 1,189.40 Crore was allocated for Karnataka & 156.61 Crore
Tripura in FY 2020-21.

117. According to 69th edition of “Statistical Review of World Energy 2020” released by BP plc, what is India’s
rank based on amount of energy consumption in 2019?
1) 8
2) 6
3) 3
4) 4
5) 7
Answer-3) 3
Explanation:
According to the 69th edition of “Statistical Review of World Energy 2020”, which collects and analyses energy data
for 2019, released by UK (United Kingdom) based oil and gas company BP plc, India was the 2nd major market after
China to increase primary energy consumption in the year 2019. On the other hand, India’s energy consumption in
2019 was the 3rd largest (34.06 EJ-an increase of 2.3%) only after China (141.70 EJ) and United States (94.65 EJ).
Despite, the rate of growth in energy consumption in the year 2019 has been slower than in 2018.
118. Which city is called as financial capital of India?

1) New Delhi
2) Gurugram
3) Kolkata
4) Mumbai
5) Pune
Answer-4) Mumbai
Explanation:
Mumbai is also called as the financial capital of India.
119. Which ministry has signed MoU with SIDBI to engage SIDBI as implementation agency for PM SVANidhi?
1) Ministry of Home Affairs
2) Ministry of Finance
3) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
4) Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
5) Ministry of Minority Affairs
Answer-4) Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Explanation:
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to make latter as the implementation Agency for Prime Minister Street Vendor’s
AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) – a Special Micro-Credit Facility for Street Vendors.
120. Name the country which has committed 200 Million Euros to support India’s COVID response.
1) France
2) Spain
3) Sweden
4) Denmark
5) Germany
Answer-1) France
Explanation:
France and India signed a credit financing agreement promising 200 million euros to support the social welfare
system and India’s COVID response. The fund will be provided to India through the AFD, French Development Agency
(Agence Française de Développement).

121. Where is the HQ of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) located?
1) Rome
2) London
3) Geneva
4) Washington DC
5) Vienna
Answer-3) Geneva
Explanation:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
122. RBI has increased the withdrawal limit of Mumbai headquartered PMC bank depositors to Rs. ________
recently.
1) 1 Lakh
2) 5 Lakh
3) 75,000
4) 50,000
5) 10 Lakh
Answer-1) 1 Lakh
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the withdrawal limit from Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank
to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 but extended the moratorium on the bank for another six months. With this relaxation,
over 84% of the bank’s depositors will be able to withdraw their entire account balance.
123. EXIM bank has extended line of credit worth USD 20.10 million for construction of hospital to which
country?
1) Guatemala
2) Nicaragua
3) Salvador
4) Honduras
5) Panama
Answer-2) Nicaragua
Explanation:
Export-Import (EXIM) Bank on behalf of the Indian Government, extended a Line of Credit (LOC) of USD 20.10 million
to the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua for the reconstruction of Aldo Chavarria Hospital.
124. Which bank has partnered with Hyundai motor to launch 1st online auto retail financing platform ‘Click
to Buy’?
1) HDFC Bank
2) RBL Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) IndusInd Bank
5) ICICI Bank
Answer-1) HDFC Bank
Explanation:
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) partnered with HDFC Bank to offer industry 1st online auto retail financing on
its end-to-end online automotive retail platform, ‘Click to Buy’ to the customers.
125. What is the rank of Mukesh Ambani in world’s richest person list as per Bloomberg Billionaires Index?
1) 11
2) 8
3) 9

4) 7
5) 10
Answer-3) 9
Explanation:
The net worth of Mukesh Ambani, chairman has jumped to $64.5 billion, making him the only Asian tycoon in the
exclusive club of the world’s top 10 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He overtook Larry
Ellison of Oracle Corp. and France’s Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, the wealthiest woman, to reach the No. 9 spot.
126. Who has been appointed as the chairman of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) for 4
years with effect from June 22, 2020?
1) Vijay Laxman Kelkar
2) M. Govinda Rao
3) Urjit Patel
4) Rathin Roy
5) Sumit Bose
Answer-3) Urjit Patel
Explanation:
The former governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Urjit Patel was appointed as the Chairman of National Institute of
Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP). He will start his 4year tenure on 22nd June 2020 succeeding Vijay Laxman Kelkar,
former chairman of NIPFP.
127. Name the company which has become India’s first to hit 11 trillion rupees’ market capitalization (on
June 19, 2020).
1) Tata Consultancy Services
2) Infosys
3) ICICI Bank
4) Kotak Mahindra
5) Reliance Industries Ltd
Answer-5) Reliance Industries Ltd
Explanation:
On June 19, 2020, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian company to reach a market capitalization of
Rs 11 trillion, as the company was valued at Rs 11.15 trillion. With this, RIL accounts for nearly 9% of the country’s
total m-cap of Rs 138 trillion. Its stock on Bombay stock exchange (BSE) was record high at Rs 1,738.95. Notably the
company’s share doubled since mid-March 2020.
128. Where is the HQ of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) located?
1) New Delhi
2) Mumbai
3) Hyderabad
4) Kolkata
5) Lucknow
Answer-5) Lucknow
Explanation:
The HQ of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) located at Lucknow, UP.
129. PM Narendra Modi launched Rs 50,000 cr Garib Kalyan RojgarAbhiyaan to boost employment and
livelihood for migrant workers recently. Which is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the scheme?
1) Rural Development ministry
2) Home Affairs ministry
3) Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries ministry

4) Commerce and Industry ministry
5) Road Transport and Highways ministry
Answer-1) Rural Development ministry
Explanation:
An employment -cum- rural public works Campaign for 67 lakh migrant workers titled “Garib Kalyan RojgarAbhiyaan
(GKRA)” has been launched for 6 states viz. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, Jharkhand
and Odisha, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the lines of the announcement made in Rs 20 Lakh crore
AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The outlay of this campaign is Rs 50,000 Crores and the Ministry of Rural
Development (MoRD) is the nodal Ministry for its implementation.
130. How many rupees was sanctioned by central government for augmentation of healthcare facilities in
North Eastern States?
1) 170 crores
2) 167 crores
3) 186 crores
4) 190 crores
5) 175 crores
Answer-4) 190 crores
Explanation:
Union Minister of State (MoS) of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh has sanctioned
Rs.190 crore for augmentation of healthcare facility in the eight North Eastern (NE) States viz. of Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura for developing infrastructure for management
of infectious diseases.Ministry of DoNER has also given the NE States the option to send proposals for health related
projects to be funded up to over Rs 500 crore from North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS).
131. Ministry of Finance has released the 1st instalment of 15187.50 crore 15th Finance Commission grants
to Rural Local Bodies (RLBs) for FY21 recently. Who is the chairman of 15th finance commission?
1) Antony Cyriac
2) Ravi Kota
3) N.K.Singh
4) Arvind Mehta
5) None of these
Answer-3) N. K. Singh
Explanation:
The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) has submitted its interim report for the period FY 2020-21 and the
Government of India has accepted its recommendations in respect of the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs). The commission
has recommended the grant of Rs.60,750 cr for the period FY 2020-21 for RLBs which is the highest ever allocation
made by the Finance Commission in any single year. On 17th June, 2020, Ministry of Finance released the first
instalment of Rs.15187.50 crore, as grants-in-aid, in respect of 2.63 lakh RLBs located in 28 States of the country. NK
Singh is the chairman of 15th finance commission.
132. Name the bank which collaborated with Affordplan to launch co-branded health card called ‘Swasth
Card’.
1) Yes Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) ICICI Bank
5) IDBI Bank
Answer-1) Yes Bank
Explanation:
Yes Bank Limited has joined hands with Delhi-based fintech startupAffordplan, to launch a first of its kind co-branded

healthcare card called ‘Swasth Card’ under Swasth program with the aim to enable families plan and manage their
finances for their healthcare needs.
133. Who is the present MD&CEO of Yes Bank?

1) NeerajDhawan
2) AshishAgarwal
3) Prasanth Kumar
4) Ravi Kumar
5) Pinaki Ghose
Answer-3) Prasanth Kumar
Explanation:
The Yes Bank Limited is an Indian public bank headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The RBI later reconstructed
the board and named Prashant Kumar former Chief financial officer of SBI as new MD & CEO at Yes Bank.
134. Where is the HQ of UCO bank located?

1) Hyderabad
2) Pune
3) Mumbai
4) Kolkata
5) Gurugram
Answer-4) Kolkata
Explanation:
The HQ of UCO Bank located at Kolkata, West Bengal.
135. Kolkata based UCO bank has partnered with which insurance company to offer various insurance
products for its customers?
1) SBI Life Insurance Company
2) Oriental Insurance Company
3) Religare Health Insurance Company
4) Star Health and Allied Insurance Company
5) All the above
Answer-5) All the above
Explanation:
United Commercial Bank(UCO Bank) partnered with four insurers namely, State Bank of India(SBI) Life Insurance
Company, the Oriental Insurance Company and Religare Health Insurance Company, Star Health and Allied Insurance
Company to offer various insurance products for its customers.
136. Tata Sons Natarajan Chandrasekaran has been re-nominated as a part-time non-official director on RBI
Central board recently. RBI central board comprises of how many members?
1) 5
2) 21
3) 18
4) 12
5) 15
Answer-2) 21
Explanation:
As per Reserve Bank of India(RBI)’s notification, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons(since January 2017), Natarajan
Chandrasekaran has been re-nominated as a Part-Time Non-Official Director on RBI Central board for 2 years from
3rd March 2020 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The government had 1st nominated him as the Director
on RBI Central board for 4 years from March 4, 2016.The Reserve Bank’s affairs is governed by a central board of
directors(BoD). The board is appointed by the Government of India in line with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

The central BoD consists of 21 members. Currently RBI’s central board has 15 directors, including the Governor and
three Deputy Governors.
137. T. Rabi Sankar was appointed as the chairman of Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS)
with effect from 15 May 2020. Where is the HQ of IFTAS located?
1) Nagpur
2) Pune
3) New Delhi
4) Mumbai
5) Lucknow
Answer-4) Mumbai
Explanation:
The Mumbai based Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank
of India appoints T Rabi Sankar as the Chairman and Dr. N Rajendran as the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) effective
from 15th May 2020 and 27th May 2020 respectively.
138. Who has won 2020 peace prize of the German Book Trade?
1) Amartya Sen
2) Shobhana Narasimha
3) Sangeetha N. Bhatia
4) Jagdish Bhagwati
5) Thalappil Pradeep
Answer-1) Amartya Sen
Explanation:
Indian economist, philosopher and Nobel Laureate Amartya Kumar Sen (86) has been selected for 2020 Peace Prize
by the Board of Trustees of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for his decades-long work around issues of
global justice. He will be presented with the award by German Publishers’ and Booksellers’ Association, Borsenverein
in a ceremony that will take place on October 18, 2020, in Paulskirche (Germany) & will be broadcast live on German
public television.
139. What is the amount that was allocated by central government from PM-CARES fund for ventilator supply
& migrant labors welfare?
1) 1000 Cr
2) 500 Cr
3) 3000 Cr
4) 250 Cr
5) 2000 Cr
Answer-3) 3000 Cr
Explanation:
The Central Government is all set to allocate Rs 3,000 crore from the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in
Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES) Fund for supply of ventilators and for the welfare of migrant laborers.Centre
will be spent Rs 2,000 crore in the procurement of 50,000 Made-in-India ventilators to Government-run COVID
hospitals in all States/Union Territories (UTs).On the other hand, Rs 1,000 crore has already been released to
States/UTs for the welfare of migrant laborers.
140. The Central government has approved 412.19 Cr for FY21 to which state for the implementation of Jal
Jeevan Mission?
1) Goa
2) West Bengal
3) Assam

4) Telangana
5) Tripura
Answer-4) Telangana
Explanation:
The Union government has allocated Rs 412.19 Crore for the effective implementation of JJM in Telangana for FY
2020-21. The funding has been increased in comparison in FY19-20 when it was Rs 259.14 Cr. Thus, with an opening
balance of Rs 30.89 Crore along with this year’s allocation, Telangana has assured availability of Rs 443.29 Crore
under JJM as Central funds.Centre is hopeful that the state will provide 100% tap connections to all rural households
in the year 2020-21 itself and become the first State to achieve the feat of ‘Har Ghar Jal Rajya’.
141. The Karnataka Bank has launched a new product ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ for MSMEs recently. Who is the
MD&CEO of Karnataka Bank?
1) Mahabaleshwara M S
2) S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao
3) PolaliJayarama
4) Rakesh Makhija
5) Ajay Kumar
Answer-1) Mahabaleshwara M S
Explanation:
Karnataka Bank launched a new product ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs). This
product will provide financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakhs to the Micro manufacturing and service enterprises for
working capital or for investment purposes.About Karnataka Bank: Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer–
Mahabaleshwara M S.
142. RBI has extended special liquidity windowfor ________ to YES bank for 3 months in June 2020.
1) 10000 cr
2) 30000 cr
3) 75000 cr
4) 25000 cr
5) 50000 cr
Answer-5) 50000 cr
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) extended a special liquidity window for Rs 50,000 crores to Yes Bank for three
months, to help private lenders cover for shortfall in deposits.The Yes bank was first provided with a special liquidity
window for 3 months in March, which ended in June. The bank has requested for the same facility for one year,
against which the RBI has extended for another 3 months.
143. What will be the contraction in India’s GDP in 2020 as per estimation of Moody’s?
1) 4%
2) 4.4%
3) 3.1%
4) 5%
5) 2.9%
Answer-3) 3.1%
Explanation:
According to the Moody’s Global Macro Outlook report for June 2020, there will be a contraction of 3.1 % in India’s
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 & expects a change in geographical conditions in Asia due to tensions at the
border between India and China.

144. Where is the HQ of Credit rating agency Moody’s located?
1) Geneva
2) Beijing
3) Tokyo
4) Mumbai
5) New York
Answer-5) New York
Explanation:
Moody’s Corporation, often referred to as Moody’s, is an American business and financial services company. HQ –
New York, US.
145. What is India’s rank in largest economy countries list based the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) for 2017,
as per World Bank’s ICP (China topped)?
1) 1st
2) 3rd
3) 2nd
4) 5th
5) 4th
Answer-2) 3rd
Explanation:
In accordance with the World Bank Data under the International Comparison Program (ICP), revealed by India’s
National Statistical Office (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India has retained its
position as the third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017 as it accounted for 6.7% or
$8,051 billion out of world total of $119,547 billion of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).India has followed China
(16.4%) and the United States-US (16.3%) which ranked 1st and 2nd respectively.
146. How many children will be pushed to poverty and food insecurity in south Asian region in next 6 months
according to UNICEF report?
1) 360 million
2) 480 million
3) 150 million
4) 300 million
5) 100 million
Answer-1) 360 million
Explanation:
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released its first report focusing on the South Asian region on the
impacts of COVID-19 on children states that around 240 million children are classified as poor and the current
COVID-19 situation will affect an additional 120 million children, a total of 360 million children will be pushed into
poverty and food insecurity in the next 6 months.
147. Which company has partnered with US Gold Currency Inc and Blockfills to introduce world’s 1st
monetary gold-backed US Gold digital currency in India& few other countries.
1) JP Morgan Chase
2) Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
3) IBMC Financial Professionals Group
4) MS&AD Group
5) American International Group
Answer-3) IBMC Financial Professionals Group
Explanation:
IBMC Financial Professionals Group in partnership with US Gold Currency Inc and Blockfills introduced the world’s
first monetary gold-backed US Gold digital currency in India, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Middle East and

Africa.Each US Gold digital currency is backed by a US American Eagle one-ounce (33.931 gram) gold coin, minted by
the US Federal Agency, US Mint.
148. What will be India’s GDP in FY21 as per India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra)?
1) -3.1%
2) -4.7%
3) -3.9%
4) -5.3%
5) -2.8%
Answer-4) -5.3%
Explanation:
In accordance with the India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), India’s Gross domestic Product (GDP) is likely to shrink
by 5.3% in FY20-21, the lowest GDP growth in the Indian history. It will contract in each quarter in FY21 (April 2020
to March 2021). For FY21-22, it is expected that GDP growth would bounce back in the range of 5-6%.
149. Which company has signed agreement to acquire 49% stake in Odisha Power Generation Corporation?
1) Adani Power
2) Indane Power
3) Reliance Power
4) HP Power
5) Manikaran Power
Answer-1) Adani Power
Explanation:
Adani Power Ltd (APL) has signed an agreement to acquire the 49% of stake(a total of 89,30,237 equity shares) in
Odisha Power Generation Corporation(OPGC) from the affiliates of the US-based global energy company, AES
Corporation(AES) for USD 135 million (around Rs 1,019 crore). The remaining 51% stake in OPGC is held by the
Government of Odisha.
150. Name the Union MSME minister who has launched Credit Guarantee Scheme for Sub-ordinate debt
(CGSSD) or “Distressed Assets Fund–Sub-ordinate Debt for MSMEs” to provide Rs 20000 crore guarantee
cover to two lakh MSMEs.
1) Thawar Chand Gehlot
2) Ravi Shankar Prasad
3) Dharmendra Pradhan
4) Nitin Gadkari
5) Arjun Munda
Answer-4) Nitin Gadkari
Explanation:
Nitin Gadkari(Minister of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) launched the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Sub-
ordinate debt(CGSSD) which is also called the “Distressed Assets Fund–Sub-ordinate Debt for MSMEs” to provide Rs
20000 crore guarantee cover to two lakh MSMEs.
151. The Cabinet has also approved 2% interest subvention scheme to all Shishu loan accounts under
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY). The scheme will be implemented by which organization?
1) Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank)
2) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
3) National Housing Bank (NHB)
4) Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI)
5) India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL)
Answer-2) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

Explanation:
The Cabinet has also approved a scheme for interest subvention of 2% for a period of 12 months to all Shishu loan
accounts under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to eligible borrowers w.e.f. June 01, 2020 till May 31, 2021.
The estimated cost of the Scheme is approximately Rs 1,542 crore and will be implemented through the Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
152. Which state government has launched KapuNestham scheme to provide financial support to women of
Kapu community?
1) Tamil Nadu
2) Telangana
3) Gujarat
4) Andhra Pradesh
5) Himachal Pradesh
Answer-4) Andhra Pradesh
Explanation:
Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the KapuNestham scheme to provide financial support of Rs
75000/- (Rs 15000/- per annum) to women of Kapu community. The objective of the scheme is to financially
empower Kapu women by enhancing their livelihood and living standards with financial assistance.
153. What will be the GDP of India in 2020 as per estimation of International Monetary Fund (IMF)?
1) -4.9%
2) -5.3%
3) -3.2%
4) -4.5%
5) -3.9%
Answer-4) -4.5%
Explanation:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the June 2020 update “A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery” of
its flagship World Economic Outlook (WEO), has predicted that the Indian economy will have a big 4.5 % contraction
in 2020 and it will come down to a historic low.At the same time, the IMF has reported a global growth rate of
negative 4.9 % in 2020,which is 1.9 % points lower than the estimate made in April 2020 World Economic Outlook
(WEO) forecast. For 2021, growth rate is expected to be 5.4 %.
154. How much was the granted by central government as emergency fund to armed forces for war
preparedness?
1) 250 crores
2) 750 crores
3) 300 crores
4) 500 crores
5) 1000 crores
Answer-4) 500 crores
Explanation:
The Central Government has granted special financial powers of Rs 500 crore as emergency funds to armed forces for
war preparedness amid ongoing border tensions with China. Under this financial aid, the three defence services
(Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force) can buy any weapon system or any in inventory upto Rs 500 cr in
consultation with the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
155. Central government has allocated 4125 cr to which state for rejuvenating the Small, Medium and Tiny
industries sector?
1) Karnataka
2) Uttar Pradesh

3) Rajasthan
4) Punjab
5) Tamil Nadu
Answer-5) Tamil Nadu
Explanation:
The Central Government has allocated 4125 crore rupees to Tamil Nadu for rejuvenating the Small, Medium and Tiny
industries sector. It forms 10% of the total allocation of the scheme, and the scheme is being effectively implemented
in the state.
156. Name the bank which launched digital wallet named “Yuva Pay” in partnership with UDMA Technologies
Pvt Ltd.
1) RBL bank
2) IDBI bank
3) HDFC bank
4) ICICI bank
5) Yes bank
Answer-5) Yes bank
Explanation:
Yes Bank launches a digital wallet solution(app)‘Yuva Pay’ in partnership with UDMA Technologies Pvt Ltd to enable
contactless payments for its customers. The wallet is issued under minimum Know Your Client (KYC) regulations. The
solution aims to help the low income group to access the digital and contactless transactions, which will enable broad
access to secure electronic payment services.
157. J&K lieutenant governor GC Murmu has launched two loan schemes in J&K bank recently. Who is the
CMD of J&K bank?
1) Rana Kapoor
2) R K Chhibber
3) Shyam Srinivasan
4) Ashok Kumar Pradhan
5) Mahabaleswar MS
Answer-2) R K Chhibber
Explanation:
Girish Chandra Murmu, the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), has rolled
out 2 customized loan schemes of J&K Bank namely ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20’ and ‘J&K
Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20 for Hotels and Guest Houses’ with the aim to overcome business
challenges that have stemmed up due to the prevailing conditions.About Jammu & Kashmir Bank: Chairman and
Managing Director (CMD)- R K Chhibber.
158. What will be India’s per capita income during FY20-21 as per SBI report?
1) 1.53 lakh
2) 1.49 lakh
3) 1.43 lakhs
4) 1.21 lakh
5) 1.34 lakh
Answer-3) 1.43 lakhs
Explanation:
As per the report by the economic wing of State Bank of India (SBI), Covid-19 pandemic is likely to bring down India’s
per capita income(PCI) by 5.4% in the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) to Rs 1.43 lakh from Rs 1.52 lakh in FY20. Delhi,
Chandigarh, and Gujarat will be the worst hit with PCI falling 15.4%, 13.9% and 11.6% respectively in FY21 among
states.

159. What is India’s rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the
end of the year 2019?
1) 73rd
2) 51st
3) 77th
4) 112th
5) 86th
Answer-3) 77th
Explanation:
According to the ‘Annual banking statistics, 2019’ released by Switzerland’s central bank Swiss National Bank (SNB),
India is at the 77th position in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks at the end of
the year 2019, compared to 74th the previous year i.e 2018. Indians account for only 0.06 % of the money deposited
by foreigners in Swiss banks. While, Britain holds the first place in this list with a share of 27 % of the total deposits.
Rank Country Name
77 India
3 West Indies
160. Who become the 1st Indian to participate in USD 150,000 Chessable Masters tournament?
1) Santhosh Vidit
2) B Adhiban
3) Prithu Gupta
4) P. Harikrishna
5) Krishnan Sasikiran
Answer-4) P. Harikrishna
Explanation:
Grandmaster P. Harikrishna debuted the Magnus Carlsen Chess(MCC) Tour 2020 by joining the players in the USD
150,000 Chessable Masters. He is the 1st Indian in the tour. Harikrishna exited from the Chessable Masters with a
final-round defeat to Alexander Grischuk.
161. The government of India set a target to produce 15 million metric tonnes (MMT) of CBG from 5000
plants by __________.
1) 2021
2) 2025
3) 2024
4) 2023
5) 2022
Answer-4) 2023
Explanation:
The Government of India launched the ‘SATAT’ (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) scheme
on CBG on 1st October 2018, with a target to produce 15 million metric tonnes(MMT) of CBG from 5000 plants by
2023.
162. President Ram Nath Govind has promulgated the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020
recently, the ordinance amends which section of Banking regulation act to bring urban and multi state co-op
banks under supervision of RBI?
1) Section 45
2) Section 56

3) Section 49
4) Both 1) and 2)
5) Both 1) and 3)
Answer-4) Both 1) and 2)
Explanation:
President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind in exercising the powers conferred under clause (1) of article 123 of the
Constitution has promulgated the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which will amend section 45,
and 56 of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as applicable to Cooperative Banks. This promulgation followed the Cabinet
approval on June 24, 2020 regarding an ordinance to bring nearly 1,482 urban and 58 multi state cooperative banks
under the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) supervision.
163. Government has notified the new Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) Scheme with effect from
July 1, 2020. Which organisation will issue these bonds?
1) Forward Market Commission of India
2) Reserve Bank of India
3) Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India
4) Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
5) Securities and Exchange Board of India
Answer-2) Reserve Bank of India
Explanation:
Government has notified the new Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) Scheme in place of 7.75% Savings
(Taxable) Bonds, 2018, with effect from July 1, 2020. The 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018 Scheme was ceased
for subscription from the close of banking business on May 28, 2020.These bonds will be issued by Reserve Bank
India (RBI) on behalf of the Government of India (GoI).The Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) Scheme is
going to issue a floating rate, taxable savings bond for an initial coupon of 7.15%, payable on January 1, 2021.
164. Which bank has partnered with PhonePe on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) multi-bank model?
1) HDFC Bank
2) RBL Bank
3) Axis Bank
4) IndusInd Bank
5) ICICI Bank
Answer-5) ICICI Bank
Explanation:
Flipkart-owned PhonePe announced that it has partnered with ICICI Bank on the Unified Payments Interface(UPI)
multi-bank model, to provide its users the option to create and use multiple UPI IDs with ICICI Bank’s “@ibl” handle
and YES Bank’s ‘@ybl’ handle on the PhonePe app.
165. Name the bank which has partnered with Bengaluru based SOLV business platform to launch credit card
for MSMEs.
1) HSBC Bank
2) BNP Paribas
3) Deutsche Bank
4) Standard Chartered Bank
5) Bank of China
Answer-4) Standard Chartered Bank
Explanation:
SOLV, a B2B (business to business) digital platform for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), has launched
a tailor-made credit card in partnership with Standard Chartered Bank, India. SOLV MSME Credit Card provides
MSME clients with a ready means to meet ongoing business expenses including supplier payments, fuel, logistics,
purchase of raw material, utility payments and working capital outlays.

166. World Bank has sanctioned $500 million to which country for cross country (which includes Indian
border) road projects?
1) Pakistan
2) Nepal
3) China
4) Bhutan
5) Bangladesh
Answer-5) Bangladesh
Explanation:
World Bank (WB) has sanctioned $ 500 million for “Western Economic Corridor and Regional Enhancement
(WeCARE) Phase I project” to improve road connectivity in Bangladesh’s Jashore-Jhenaidah corridor, which consists
of four western districts to connect with the capital Dhaka as well as with India and Bhutan.
167. What will be the India’s GDP growth in 2020 as per S&P global ratings?
1) -5%
2) -4%
3) -6%
4) -3%
5) -7%
Answer-1) -5%
Explanation:
According to the S&P Global Ratings report titled ‘Asia-Pacific losses near USD 3 trillion as balance sheet recession
looms’, India’s economy is expected to contract by 5% in 2020 before rebounding in 2021 and Asia-Pacific’s economy
will contract by 1.3% in 2020 but show 6.9% growth in 2021.
168. Where is the HQ of Standard Chartered Bank located?

1) New York
2) London
3) Tokyo
4) Beijing
5) Mumbai
Answer-2) London
Explanation:
The HQ of Standard Chartered Bank located at London, United Kingdom.
169. The central government has approved additional Rs 1,691 crore for the construction of highways in
which state/UT (June 2020)?
1) Jammu & Kashmir
2) Uttarakhand
3) Arunachal Pradesh
4) Both 1) and 2)
5) Both 1) and 3)
Answer-4) Both 1) and 2)
Explanation:
In a major development, the central Government has sanctioned an additional Rs 1,691 crore for the construction of
highways by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Uttarakhand during 2020-21 in
the wake of clashes with China in Ladakh.
170. Find the organisation which released report titled “Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade”.
1) World Trade Organization (WTO)
2) World Health Organization (WHO)

3) Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
4) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
5) International Labour Organization (ILO)
Answer-3) Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Explanation:
In accordance with the first ever report on illegal wildlife trade (IWT) titled “Money Laundering and the Illegal
Wildlife Trade” report by Financial Action Task Force (FATF), illegal wildlife trade is a “global threat” which generate
estimated revenues between $7to $23 billion a year. This crime could lead to more zoonotic diseases in the future.
The report is based on the inputs of 50 jurisdictions across the FATF global network, as well as expertise from the
private sector and civil society.
171. Which among the following countries are part of Switzerland’s top 3 partners for info exchange on tax
matters according OECD’s Global Forum study?
1) India
2) France
3) Germany
4) Only 1) and 2)
5) All the 1), 2) and 3)
Answer-5) All the 1), 2) and 3)
Explanation:
In accordance with the latest study by OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Global
Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes, referring to the period from July 2015 to June
2018, India was named among the top-three countries as EOI (Exchange of Information) partners along with France
and Germany. Means, India is getting detailed information on request, from Switzerland about bank accounts and
beneficiary ownership of entities established by its residents.
172. The education improvement project ‘STARS’, which got $500 million world bank loan will be
implemented across how many states in India?
1) 5
2) 7
3) 6
4) 3
5) 9
Answer-3) 6
Explanation:
The board of executives of the World Bank (WB) has approved loan of $ 500 million (about Rs 3,700 crore) under
‘Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS)’project to improve the quality and
governance of school education across six states (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,
and Rajasthan) in India.
173. How much amount was granted by world bank to rejuvenate the Ganga through Second National Ganga
River Basin Project (SNGRBP) in June 2020?
1) $500 million
2) $350 million
3) $300 million
4) $450 million
5) $400 million
Answer-5) $400 million
Explanation:
The World bank enhanced the support to India’s programme to rejuvenate the Ganga with $400 million through

Second National Ganga River Basin Project (SNGRBP), for the development of infrastructure projects Under the
National Ganga River Basin Project.
174. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend the enhanced borrowing facilityUnder marginal
standing facility (MSF) provided to banks till ______.
1) September 30, 2020
2) August 31, 2020
3) January 1, 2021
4) March 31, 2021
5) December 31, 2020
Answer-1) September 30, 2020
Explanation:
In exercise of power conferred under the Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, India’s central bank, the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend the enhanced borrowing facility provided to banks till September
30, 2020 to meet the liquidity shortage in the midst of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19)
epidemic.
175. Under which section of RBI act 1934, RBI has extended the minimum daily CRR maintenance of 80% by
three months until 25 September 2020?
1) Section 42(2)
2) Section 41(1)
3) Section 42(1)
4) Section 41(2)
5) Section 42(3)
Answer-3) Section 42(1)
Explanation:
In exercise of power conferred under the Section 42(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the RBI has extended
the minimum daily cash reserve ratio (CRR) maintenance of 80% by three months until 25 September 2020.
176. What is the capital and currency of Ireland?

1) Berlin & Euro
2) Dublin & Euro
3) Helsinki & Pound
4) Berlin & Pound
5) Dublin & Pound
Answer-2) Dublin & Euro
Explanation:
The capital and currency of Ireland are Dublin and Euro respectively.

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Finance Ministry appoints PR Jaishankar as MD of IIFCL

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SEBI rearranges its Commodity derivatives advisory committee

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HDFC Bank launches a campaign “summer treats”

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Rohit Sharma becomes 1st ever brand ambassador of IIFL Finance

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American DFC to invest $350 million in India firms

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India ranks 168th in Environment Performance Index 2020; Denmark tops

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Indian GDP to contract 5% in FY21: S&P Global Ratings

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