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BANKING AND ECONOMY

1. State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have acquired a 9.54% stake each in
Bengaluru-based Perfios Account Aggregation Services Private Limited (Perfios AA).

2. EasyTransfer, a leading cross-border education payment services platform, has partnered

with Cashfree Payments, one of India’s top payments and banking solutions companies.
• Purpose - to offer a faster, easier, and cheaper platform for Indian students to make
international payments to overseas educational institutions

3. Star Health and Allied Insurance has signed a corporate agency agreement with IDFC
First Bank, for distribution of its health insurance solutions.

4. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched ‘Global Health Care’, a comprehensive health
indemnity insurance product that provides cover to a policyholder for planned as well as
emergency treatment both in India and abroad.
• It is the industry-first product.

5. PYSE (an investment platform) has launched India's first fractionally-owned solar power
plant in Karnataka.
• The platform helps retail investors to invest in sustainable projects that create social and
environmental impacts from a ticket size as low as Rs 5,000.
• Fractional ownership refers to a set-up wherein groups of investors pool in funds to
purchase a property.

6. Central government has allowed to sell locally produced crude oil to any Indian refinery
for turning it into fuel, such as petrol and diesel.
• However, the ban on the export of crude oil will continue.
• The decision would allow Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India Ltd
(OIL) to sell their domestic produce to anyone offering the most price in an e-auction.

7. Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its meeting at Chandigarh, has approved a
proposal to impose a 12% tax on hotel rooms costing below Rs 1,000 per day.
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• The Council has also agreed to levy a 5% GST without input tax credit on hospital
rooms with rent above Rs 5,000, excluding intensive care units (ICUs).
• The Council will also clear levying the highest tax of 28% on online games, casinos and
horse racing.

8. Japanese chipmaker Renesas Electronics Corp and India’s Tata Motors have formed a
strategic partnership to design, develop and make semiconductor solutions.
• Renesas will work with Tata group firm Tejas Networks to make products initially destined
for India and eventually global markets.
• India expects the domestic chip market to reach $63 billion by 2026 from $15 billion in
2020.

9. ICICI Securities (I-Sec), which operates ICICIdirect, a digital platform for various financial
services, has launched a learning app for investors called ‘ICICIdirect iLearn’.
• The company is also planning to introduce ‘iCommunity’ on the platform soon that will
enable an opportunity of learning through fellow investors.

10. Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. has launched ‘Insta confirmation of insurance (Insta-
COI)’+ feature for customers buying the ‘Max Life Smart Fixed-return Digital Plan’.
• The Insta-COI feature enables the customers to enrol in the policy easily in a hassle-free
manner.
• The ‘Max Life Smart Fixed-return Digital Plan’ is a non-linked, non-participating,
individual life insurance savings plan on Max Life website or Policybazaar platform.

11. Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Axis Bank to digitise the cash collection system
in India’s tier III cities and semi-urban regions.
• Airtel Payments Bank will extend its digital-led neighbourhood banking model to support
Axis Bank with the digitization of last-mile cash collections.
• Now, Axis Bank customers will also be able to make direct EMI deposits for loan payments
at the banking points of Airtel Payments Bank.

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12. Ministry of Electronics and IT has approved a total of 314 applications with proposed
investments of Rs 86,824 crore under a modified special incentive package scheme till May
31, 2022.

13. Competition Commission of India has approved Google’s investment of nearly $1 billion
for 1.28% in Bharti Airtel.

14. Axis Bank and EazyDiner, a table reservation, food discovery and restaurant payment
platform, have launched Dining Delights, a dining experience programme for the bank’s
customers.
• The program will offer benefits such as the option to choose from over 10,000 premium
restaurants across India and Dubai, instant confirmation on table reservations, and offers
on dining reservations made through the EazyDiner app.

15. Central Government has kept interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes for the
second quarter of 2022-23.
Schemes Interest Rates
Public Provident Fund (PPF) 7.1%
National Savings Certificate (NSC) 6.8%
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana 7.6%
5-year senior citizens' savings scheme 7.4% (paid quarterly)
Kisan Vikas Patra 6.9%

16. New rates were decided in the 47th GST Council’s meeting in Chandigarh.
Items New GST Rates
Casinos, Online Gaming, Racing 28%
E-Waste 18%
Cheques, lose or in book form 18%
Hotel accommodations below Rs 1,000/- 12%
LED lamps, inks, knives, blades, power-driven 18%
pumps and dairy machinery

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Solar water heater, finished leather 12%

Specified goods for petroleum 12%
Input tax credit refund on account of inverted Disallowed
duty structure in edible oils, coal

17. Central government has transformed Banks Board Bureau (BBB) into Financial Services
Institutions Bureau (FSIB).
• The FSIB will be responsible for selecting heads of the state-owned banks and financial
institutions.

18. RBI has released its Financial Stability Report – June 2022.
• As per the report, the capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of scheduled
commercial banks (SCBs) increased to a new high of 16.7%, while their gross non-
performing asset (GNPA) ratio fell to a six-year low of 5.9% in March 2022.

19. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has released the Business Reform Action Plan
(BRAP)- 2020 report in New Delhi.
• Rankings –
o 7 states - Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana and
Tamil Nadu - have been identified as the top achievers based on implementation of
the Business Reforms Action Plan.
o Under the Achievers category, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Odisha, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are present.
o In the Aspirers category, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan
and West Bengal have been placed.
o In the Emerging Business Ecosystems category, Andaman and Nicobar, Bihar,
Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Puducherry and Tripura have been put together.
• About the report –
o BRAP 2020 includes 301 reform points that cover 15 business regulatory areas
such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment,
Sectoral Reforms and other reforms.

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o For the first time, sectoral reforms have been introduced in BRAP 2020 wherein 72
Reforms were identified across 9 sectors, namely, trade license, healthcare, legal
metrology, cinema halls, hospitality, fire NOC, telecom, movie shooting and tourism.
o Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been
publishing BRAP since 2014.
o So far, 4 editions of the assessment of States/UTs have been released, and the
latest edition is for 2020 assessment.

20. RBI has released the report on Benchmarking India’s Payment Systems – Follow-on
Exercise for providing a comparative position of the payments ecosystem in India relative to
other major countries.
• India was categorized as a ‘leader’ or ‘strong’ in respect of 25 (21 in the previous
exercise) out of 40 indicators and categorized as ‘weak’ in respect of 8 (12 in the previous
exercise) indicators.
• As per the report, there is scope for improvement in acceptance infrastructure i.e. ATMs
and PoS terminals.

21. Central government has increased the basic import duty (BCD) on gold to 15%, from
10.75%, to check the current account deficit and the rising import of the yellow metal.

22. RBI has launched the 58th round of order books, inventories and capacity utilisation
survey (OBICUS) of manufacturing companies for the period of April - June 2022.
• The results of this survey provides valuable inputs for monetary policy formulation.

23. Central govt has completed the disinvestment of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited in Odisha
by selling its 93.71% shares to Tata Steel Long Products Limited.

24. RBI has imposed penalties of about Rs 1 crore each on Kotak Mahindra Bank and
IndusInd Bank for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
• Besides, the RBI has also imposed penalties on four co-operative banks - Nav Jeevan
Co-operative Bank (Maharashtra), Balangir District Central Cooperative Bank Limited
(Odisha), Dhakuria Cooperative Bank Ltd (Kolkata), and The Palani Co-operative Urban
Bank Limited (Tamil Nadu).
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o The penalty ranges between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh.

• Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) will pay the eligible
depositors of Shankarrao Pujari Nutan Sahakari Bank (Maharashtra), and Harihareshwar
Sahakari Bank (Maharashtra).
o The deposit insurance limit is Rs 5 lakh per deposit per bank.

25. Edelweiss General Insurance has launched Switch - India’s first on-demand
comprehensive motor insurance product, under the IRDAI’s Sandbox initiative.
• Switch is a fully digital, mobile-based motor policy that detects motion and automatically
activates insurance when the vehicle is driven, making it convenient and hassle-free for
customers.

26. SBI General Insurance has launched the Cyber VaultEdge insurance plan, a
comprehensive cyber insurance cover for individuals that provides protection against financial
losses arising from cyber risks and attacks.

27. RBI has released new guidelines under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007.
• Now, the non-bank payment system operators (fintech or NBFCs) will require prior
approval of the RBI before any takeover or acquisition.
• They would also require prior approval of the RBI for sale or transfer of payment activity to
an entity not authorised for undertaking such any payment activity.
• The non-bank PSOs shall inform the RBI within 15 calendar days in the following cases:
change in management or directors and sale or transfer of payment activity to an entity
authorised for undertaking similar activity.
• RBI will respond in 45 days after receiving the application.

28. Google has announced to launch of Startup School India (SSI) as part of the Google for
Startups initiative to provide learning opportunities to the startups from the smaller cities.
• Google aims to reach out to at least 10,000 startups with this programme.

29. RBI has temporarily increased the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) for companies
from $750 million to $1.5 billion till December 31, 2022.
• Purpose – to increase the forex inflow
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30. Cognizant Technology Solutions has been selected as a technology provider by National
Insurance Company Ltd (NICL) to accelerate and help manage its digital transformation.

31. State Bank of India (SBI) has renewed its MOU with the Indian Air Force for the Defence
Salary Package (DSP) scheme.
• Under Defence Salary Package (DSP) scheme, banking and other facilities are provided
to all serving and retired Air Force personnel and their families.
• Similar MOUs have also been signed by IAF with Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bank of
Baroda (BoB).
o PNB through its flagship scheme -- PNB Rakshak Plus -- will offer personal
accidental (death) cover of Rs 50 lakh and air accidental insurance of Rs 100 lakh,
personal accidental (permanent total disability) cover of Rs 50 lakh to Air Force
personnel.
o BoB will offer Baroda Military Salary Package with benefits like free
comprehensive personal accident insurance cover up to Rs 105 lakh for serving
personnel and up to Rs 70 lakh for veterans, air accident insurance cover up to Rs
100 lakh for serving personnel.

32. SBI has entered into a co-lending agreement with the Samunnati (open agri-network) to
expand its outreach to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs).
• Initially, under this partnership, the lending amount would be Rs 100 crore.

33. US-based Salesforce has announced a grant of USD 2 million (about Rs 15.85 crore) to
over 22 non-profit organizations across India, as part of commitment to education and
workforce development in the country.
• HDFC Ltd has partnered with software firm Salesforce to strengthen HDFC’s digital
capacities.

34. Bengaluru-based neobank Fi Money has launched ‘The Ally Annexure’ to help LGBTQ
customers gain better access to financial services.
• The initiative aims to educate institutions about being more accessible to queer customers’
financial needs.
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• The initiative was launched in partnership with Pride Circle, a diversity and inclusion firm.
• It will be supported by Fi Money’s banking partner – Kochi-based Federal Bank.

35. According to FICCI’s “Rebuilding Tourism for the Future” report, India’s tourism sector
can grow to $125 billion by 2026-27.
• Job potential of this sector would increase to 53 million.
• International Tourist Arrivals are expected to reach to 30.5 billion by 2028.

36. Central govt has allocated ₹80,000 crore as interest-free loans for States undertaking
capital works in the 2022-23.
• In her 2022-23 Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the
‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’ scheme under which total
financial assistance of ₹1 lakh crore would be given to States in the form of 50-year,
interest-free loans for capital investment projects.

37. GE Healthcare, a global medical technology, diagnostics and digital solutions innovator, has
established its first 5G Innovation Lab in India at Bengaluru.

38. GODI India has become the first company in India to receive Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS) certification for its 21700 cylindrical NMC811 lithium-ion cells.

39. Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. has launched Smart Capital Guarantee Solution, a life
insurance product solution that combines three benefits.
• The new plan merges the benefits of ‘Max Life Smart Wealth Plan’ and ‘Max Life Flexi
Wealth Advantage Plan’ and the life insurance.

40. Bank of Baroda has partnered with Women's World Banking (WWB) to launch the third and
broader phase of the 'Baroda Jan Dhan Plus' programme across 25 districts of Uttar
Pradesh and all 13 districts of Uttarakhand.
• WWB is a global non-profit, headquartered in US, committed to giving low-income women
access to financial tools for long-term financial security and prosperity.

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41. Power Finance Corporation, a Maharatna company, has signed a loan agreement for JPY
30 Billion with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
• JBIC provided this long term facility to PFC under JBIC's initiative titled 'Global action for
Reconciling Economic growth and Environmental preservation' ("GREEN").
• Under GREEN, JBIC provides financing for projects for effective reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions and conservation of the global environment.

42. REC Ltd has signed an agreement with Council on Energy, Environment and Water
(CEEW) for improving the operational and financial sustainability of discoms.
• REC Limited is an NBFC focusing on power sector financing and development across India.

43. City Union Bank and Shriram General Insurance has signed a bancassurance agreement
for the distribution of Shriram General Insurance products through the bank's network of 727
branches across the country.

44. Axis Bank has signed an MOU with the Indian Air Force for offering a defence service salary
package to the Air Force personnel under its "Power Salute" initiative.
• The bank will offer benefits to all ranks of Indian Air Force personnel including the veterans,
cadets/recruits.
• Benefits –
o Personal accident cover of up to ₹56 lakhs to all personnel including the veterans,
cadets/recruits
o An additional children education grant of up to ₹8 lakh
o Total permanent disability cover benefit up to ₹46 lakhs
o Permanent partial disability cover of up to ₹46 lakhs
o Air accident cover of ₹1 Crore
o Nil processing fee & 12 EMI waiver on home loans
o Additional zero balance accounts for 3 family members with no charges and
universal account number across India

45. Tata Mutual Fund has partnered with CAMSPay to introduce Unified Payments Interface
(UPI) Autopay facility for the payment of Systematic Investment Plan (SIP).

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46. RBI has imposed various restrictions on four cooperative banks, which are Ramgarhia Co-
operative Bank, New Delhi; Sahebrao Deshmukh Co-operative Bank, Mumbai; Sangli Sahakari
Bank, Mumbai; and Sharada Mahila Co-operative Bank Limited, Tumkur, Karnataka.
• The restrictions have been imposed for six months and it includes a limit on withdrawals for
the depositors.
• Upper limit on withdrawals –
o Ramgarhia Co-operative Bank and Sahebrao Deshmukh Cooperative Bank –
₹50,000 per depositor
o Sangli Sahakari Bank – ₹45,000 per depositor
o Sharada Mahila Co-operative Bank – ₹7,000 per depositor

47. RBI has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5.72 crores on Federal Bank Ltd., Rs 70 lakh on
Bank of India and Rs 7.60 lakh on Dhani Loans and Services Ltd. for violating the provisions of
its regulations.

48. RBI has given an in-principle approval to Razorpay, Pine Labs, Stripe, and 1Pay to act as
the payment aggregators.
• Payment aggregators are entities that provide a single payment platform, with varied
options, to the e-commerce sites and merchants.
• By virtue of the payment aggregators, merchants are acquitted from the obligation of
partnering with individual payment gateways (companies like Paytm, Amazon Pay etc.) and
cramming their websites with multiple payment options.

Additional Facts –
• RBI issued the guidelines for payment aggregators in 2020.
• According to RBI guidelines, payment aggregators need to have a net worth of Rs 15 crore
as on March 2021, and a net worth of Rs 25 crore by on or before March 2023. And, they
have to maintain a net worth of Rs 25 crore at all times thereafter.

49. Union Bank of India (UBI) has launched Metaverse Virtual Lounge, ‘Uni-verse’, and Open
Banking Sandbox environment.
• Uni-verse will host the bank’s product information and videos in the initial phase.
• Tech Mahindra has developed this platform.
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• The Uni-verse will provide information about the bank and Open Banking Sandbox will
provide a platform for fintechs and startups to test their innovative products.

50. Tata Power has announced to spend Rs 75,000 crore to expand capacity in its renewable
business.
• Tata Power aims to increase its generation capacity to over 30 GW by FY27 from current
13.5 GW.
• Of this, clean energy will contribute from current levels of 34% to 60% by 2027 and 80% by
2030.

51. India’s GMR Group has started operating the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan,
Indonesia.
• The company has won the contract for it in December 2021.

52. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has collaborated with Jamnalal Bajaj
Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) to co-create a Master’s in Management Studies
(MMS) program in Digital Payments for its employees.
• Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies is located at Mumbai.
• It has been launched under NPCI’s “Learn while you Earn” higher education program.
• NPCI MD& CEO - Mr. Dilip Asbe
• JBIMS Director - Srinivasan R. Iyengar

53. RBI has released its latest Systemic Risk Survey (SRS), which was conducted in May 2022
with 48 people as respondents.
• The SRS is a part of the Financial Stability Report.
• Demand for credit is expected to see an improvement in the next three months backed
by the recovery in GDP and other economic factors.

54. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has released the International Economic
Resilience (IER) 2022 report.
• The rank analysis is based on 5 lead macroeconomic indicators, for each of the years of
2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
• India is projected to improve to the IER rank of 2nd for the year 2022.
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o India’s improvement – 6th position in 2019, 4th position in 2020, and 3rd position in
2021
• Germany and Canada both have gained the 1st Rank in the International Economic
Resilience.
Rank Top 10 Countries
1 Germany and Canada
2 India
3 China
4 Italy
5 Japan and UK
6 USA and France
7 Brazil

55. State-owned Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), along with the World Resources
Institute India (WRI India), are planning to deploy 50,000 electric buses on Indian roads by
2030.

56. Wipro PARI, the industrial automation business of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering, has
signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hochrainer GmbH, based in Freilassing, Germany.

57. Agro-chemical firm GSP Crop Science Pvt Ltd (based in Ahmedabad) aims to launch a ₹500
crore initial public offering (IPO) by next year.

58. IRDAI has organized the 'Bima Manthan' at Hyderabad to further increase the insurance
penetration in India.
• At the event, two committees were formed.
o 1st - A nine-member panel, chaired by Bhargav Dasgupta, MD and CEO of ICICI
Lombard General, has been set up to sort out the issues between non-life insurers
and re-insurers.
o 2nd - A seven-member panel, chaired by Naveen Tahilyani, CEO and MD, Tata AIA
Life Insurance, has been set up to look at the life insurance segment and re-insurers.

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§ The panel makes recommendations on stabilisation of reinsurance rates,

capacity constraints with reinsurers, securitisation of mortality risk and
financial reinsurance solutions, among others.

59. RBI has announced an arrangement for domestic traders to settle imports and exports in
rupees with countries including Russia and Sri Lanka.
• According to RBI, it will promote global trade growth and will support the increasing
interest of the global trading community in the domestic currency.
• This will also help India to promote exports and facilitate trade with countries under
sanctions.
• Under the mechanism, Indian importers will make payments in rupees, which will be
credited to the Vostro account of the correspondent bank of the partner country. Similarly,
Indian exporters will be paid the export proceeds in rupees from the balances in the Vostro
account of the partner country.

60. City Union Bank (CUB) has announced to partner with Care Health Insurance, Bajaj Allianz
Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Ltd. and Aditya Birla Health
Insurance for distribution of insurance products in life, health and general sectors.

61. Swedish home appliances company Electrolux has announced the launch of its first
experience centre in India at Saket, Delhi.
• The company has divested its entire stake from India in 2005.

62. According to RBI’s latest bulletin on State’s finances, the average gross fiscal deficit to
gross domestic product (GFD-GDP) ratio of states was 2.5% during 2011-2019, well below
the fiscal responsibility cap of 3%.
• There were inter-state variations — states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab and
Rajasthan had GFD-GSDP ratio of more than 3.5%.
• Currently, Punjab, Rajasthan, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have the highest debt burden and a
GFDGSDP equal to or higher than 3%.

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63. Finnish telecom company Nokia has partnered with IISc to set-up Nokia Centre of
Excellence in networked robotics at IISc Bengaluru.
• The Centre of Excellence (CoE) will promote inter-disciplinary research involving robotics
and advanced communication technologies in 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

64. SBICAP Ventures Limited (SVL) has signed an MOU with the Ministry of External Affairs
for establishing the Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund (TDC Fund) for joint projects
with global partners.
• The TDC Fund will route India’s commitment of approx. Rs.175 cr. (£17.5 million) to the
Global Innovation Development Fund (GIP Fund).
• The GIP fund is proposed to be established in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth
and Development Office (FCDO) under the India-UK Global Innovation Partnership (GIP).
• SVL will act as the administrator-cum-advisor (Investment Manager) of TDC Fund and
facilitate the GIP program for MEA.

65. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved the third power exchange of
India i.e., Hindustan Power Exchange Ltd (HPX).
• The exchange is promoted by PTC India Ltd, Bombay Stock Exchange and ICICI Bank.
• The other two power exchanges in the country are Indian Energy Exchange and Power
Exchange of India Ltd.
• Power Exchanges provide the market participants a platform for buying-selling of power
and hence manage their power portfolios efficiently.

66. India’s CPI inflation has risen to 7.01% in June 2022.

67. As per the National Statistical Office data, the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew
sharply to 19.6% in May 2022.

68. Bengaluru-based Ola Electric has unveiled India’s first indigenously developed lithium ion
cell.
• It will begin the mass production of the cell -- NMC 2170, from its Chennai-based
Gigafactory by 2023.

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69. Central Govt has appointed 29 non-official members from large and small enterprises and
different sectors in the Board of Trade, which is chaired by the commerce and industry
minister.
• The Board of Trade is the advisory body for the foreign trade policy.
• In 2019, the government had merged the Council of Trade Development and Promotion
with the Board of Trade for promoting exports and imports.
• These non-official members will help in developing a platform for encouraging states to
create their own trade policies, in line with the National Foreign Trade Policy, to promote
District Export Hub.

70. Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has launched a new mutual fund distributor
recruitment campaign “Karein Shuru?”.
• Purpose of the campaign – to make the mutual fund distributor’s job an attractive career
opportunities for the jobseekers
• The mutual fund industry has the potential to cross Rs 100 trillion in AUM before 2030 in
India.

71. NBFC-MFI Arohan Financial Services has launched a digital lending app named
“ApnaArohan” to facilitate customers to make repayments and other transactions through the
digital mode and reduce physical interaction with the loan officers of the company.

72. RBI has cancelled certificate of registration of four non-banking finance companies
(NBFCs).
• The NBFCs are Kanva Shree Credit Private Limited, Williamson Magor & Co Ltd, Galaxy
Capital Finance Limited and SRS Finance Limited.
• Reason - growing harassment complaints from borrowers who have used instant loan apps
for quick cash.
• Further, three more NBFCs – PKC Credit Pvt Ltd, Gajanand Lefin Pvt Ltd and Harita Malini
Private Limited -- surrendered their certificate of registration to the RBI without citing the
reason.

73. RBI has fined Ola Financial Services Private Ltd over Rs 1.67 crore for non-compliance of
regulations.
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74. Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. and Common Services Centres (CSC), under
the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, have partnered to provide insurance
cover to rural population.
• Over 5 lakh CSCs have got an access to a select range of Star Health insurance products.
• These products have been designed to meet the needs of rural customers across the tier-II,
tier-III cities, and rural markets pan India.

75. ReNew Power has become the first Indian renewable energy company to refinance dollar-
denominated bonds.
• ReNew issued bonds worth $525 million in 2019, which were set to mature in 2024.

76. RBI has announced that all eligible current account transactions including trade
transactions with Sri Lanka may be settled in any permitted currency outside the Asian
Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism until further notice.
• The new system will come into force with immediate effect.

About Asian Clearing Union (ACU) –

• Established – 1974
• Headquarter – Tehran, Iran
• Purpose – to facilitate payments among member countries for eligible transactions on a
multilateral basis, economising the use of foreign exchange reserves and transfer costs, as
well as promoting trade among the participating countries
• Members – Central Banks of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka
• Common Currency – Asian Monetary Unit (AMU) is the common unit of account of ACU
and is denominated as ‘ACU dollar’, ‘ACU euro’ and ‘ACU yen’, which is equivalent in value
to one US dollar, one euro and one Japanese yen respectively.
o All instruments of payments under ACU have to be denominated in AMUs.

77. RBI has slapped penalties on three cooperative banks for several non-compliance issues.
The penalties totalled ₹5 lakh.

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78. Infosys has announced to acquire Denmark-based BASE life science for about €110 million
(₹875 crore) in an all-cash deal to strengthen its footprint across Europe.

79. Samsung (based in Seoul) has developed a new graphics dynamic random-access
memory (DRAM) chip with a faster speed and improved power efficiency.
• This is the world's fastest graphics DRAM chip.

80. Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Serum Institute of India (SII) to
manufacture indigenously-developed India's first Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine
(qHPV) against cervical cancer.
• Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44
years of age with a high death ratio in India.

81. The Technology Business Incubator of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
(Hyderabad) has announced to provide a lending support to ‘Abyom’, a start-up, for
developing ‘Reignition Liquid Engine’ for building India’s first reusable sounding rocket.

82. Indian cricketer, Shikhar Dhawan announced a collaboration with Web3 fintech startup,
Bliv.Club, and Web3 metaverse startup, WIOM to launch the first sports city in the
metaverse.
• The global metaverse market is anticipated to reach a market value of around $1,803 billion
by 2030, growing at an annual rate above 45.8% from 2022 to 2030.

83. Jubilant Pharma Holdings has signed an agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for a
five-year loan of USD 400 million (Rs 3,186 crore approx.)
• The majority of the amount will be used for repayment of existing term loan and debt bonds.

84. NIIT Institute of Finance, Banking and Insurance (NIIT IFBI) - a subsidiary of NIIT Limited,
has announced a strategic partnership with HDFC Bank to build new-age Digital Talent.
• Both entities will train and recruit the data engineers.
• The first learning program to be launched is the HDFC Bank Data Digits-Post Graduate
Program in Data Engineering.

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• Through this partnership, a new programme customised for HDFC Bank called 'Data
Digits', a certification program in Data Engineering, was launched.

85. Agri-tech startup nurture.farm has partnered with SBI General Insurance and Future
Generali India Insurance Company to provide insurance solutions for its 1.9 million farmers.
• nurture.farm is an open digital platform for growers, farming communities and food systems.
• With these partnerships, the company aims to offer its insurance solutions to nearly 2
million farmers in 2022-23.

86. Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has introduced Paper Import Monitoring
System (PIMS) by amending the import policy of major paper products from ‘Free’ to ‘Free
subject to compulsory registration under PIMS’.
• PIMS shall come into effect from 1st October, 2022.

87. Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced the continuation of the Scheme for
Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) with the same rates as announced
by the Ministry of Textiles for exports of apparel/garments and made-ups until March 31,
2024.
• Chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) – Naren Goenka

88. India’s wholesale inflation rate has declined marginally to 15.18% in June from the three-
decade high of 15.88% in May.

89. IRDAI has allowed general insurers to launch products for the agriculture and allied
activities without its prior approval.
• Last month, IRDAI had permitted insurers to launch health and most of the general
insurance products without prior approval from IRDAI.
• The ‘use and file’ procedure was also extended to most of the life insurance products.

90. Quantum Mutual Fund launches Quantum Nifty 50 ETF Fund of Fund (FoF), an open-ended
FoF scheme, that will be investing in the units of Quantum Nifty 50 Exchange Traded Fund.
• This is India’s first Nifty 50 FoF.

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91. Kotak Mahindra Bank has become the first private bank in India to successfully integrate
with the income tax e-filing portal – eportal.incometax.gov.in.
• This integration will allow both individuals and corporates to conveniently pay their direct
taxes online through the e-pay tax tab.

92. Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane has launched ‘Repos
Pay – a 'mobile electric charging' platform and ‘Phy-gital’ -- a Fintech platform, at ‘Fuelling
India 2022’ event in Mumbai.
• Repos Pay allow an individual to book a mobile vehicle charging kiosk on app and charge
their EVs.
• The ‘Phy-gital’ platform facilitates purchase of bulk fuel on credit.

93. Bank of India, along with pension fund regulator PFRDA, has launched a digital platform for
NPS to allow customers to open NPS accounts using mobile phones.
• The platform has launched the digital platform for NPS enrolment in association with K-
fintech.
• K-fintech provides SaaS (Software as a Service) based end-to-end transaction
management, channel management, and compliance solutions.

94. Trade deficit of India in the April-June quarter increased to a record of $70.8 billion.

95. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has announced that its Indian embedded value
(IEV) has been pegged at Rs 5.41 lakh crore, as of March 2022.

96. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has gone live on the account aggregator ecosystem as
financial information user (FIU) as well as financial information provider (FIP).
• Other than PNB, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank and Indian Bank are the three other
PSU lenders who have connected to the account aggregator system.
• State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda and UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab
and Sind Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, and Central Bank of India are in the
various stages of implementation.

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• Most of the major private sector banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank,
IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have also connected with the account
aggregator system.

About Account Aggregator –

• Under the account aggregator system, a lender who requests the data is called financial
information user (FIU) and the one that provides the data is called financial information
provider (FIP).
• The data cannot be shared without taking consumer’s permission. The entities which
facilitate the data exchange are account aggregators.

97. Google has bought 1.2% stake in Bharati Airtel for $700 million.

98. Federal Bank has partnered with the Central Board of Direct Taxes to assist taxpayers in
making their payments via the e-pay tax facility in the e-filing portal of the income tax.

99. Go Digit General Insurance has launched ‘Pay as you Drive’ (PAYD) add-on feature for
motor insurance Own Damage (OD) policies.
• This makes Digit Insurance one of India’s first insurers to introduce the add-on for its
customers.

100. RBI and the Bank Indonesia have signed an MoU, on the side lines of the G20 Finance
Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to improve mutual
cooperation between the two central banks.
• Areas of cooperation – central banking, including payment systems, digital innovation in
payments services, and regulatory and supervisory framework for Anti Money Laundering
and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT).

101. RBI conducted the 5th round of the remittances survey for 2020-21. The last round was
conducted in 2016-17.
• As per the survey, the share of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region countries in India’s
remittances has reduced during the Covid period.

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• The share of inward remittances from the gulf region has declined from more than 50% in
2016-17 (last surveyed period) to about 30% in 2020-21.
• On the other hand, advanced economies like the US, the UK and Singapore emerged as
important sources for the country for remittances, accounting for 36% of the total payments
in 2020-21.

• State-wise: Maharashtra has outpaced Kerala in terms of remittances inflows.

• Also, the small-sized remittances have increased in India due to the stress on income
levels.
• Reasons for fall in the value of remittances from the Gulf Region – Slow pace of
migration from India to Gulf Region, more people in the informal sector, reduced income
levels

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• Majority of the remittances continues to be routed through private sector banks, followed
by public sector banks although foreign banks have witnessed marginal increase in
remittances transactions, particularly from Singapore.
• As per the report, the global average cost of remittances remains above the SDG target at
6.3% and 5% for US$ 200 and US$ 500 respectively in Q2 2021.
o SDG 10.c aims to reduce the cost of remittance across countries to less than 3%
and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5% by 2030.
o The costs of a remittance transaction include a fee charged by the sending agent,
typically paid by the sender, and a currency-conversion fee for delivery of local
currency to the beneficiary in another country.
• International Day of Family Remittances is observed on June 16.

102. OneCard (mobile-first credit card firm) and 5ire (Blockchain platform) became the unicorn
in India.
• Now, India has 105 unicorns.

103. Indian renewable energy company GreenZo Energy has announced to set up green
hydrogen plant of 50 MW at various locations in Nepal for API Power company of Nepal.

104. Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has fined Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency
exchanges, 3.3 million euros ($3.35 million) for offering services in the Netherlands without
being registered in the country.
• Headquartered in Cayman Islands, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the
world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies.

105. Hindalco Industries Ltd has signed an MOU with Phinergy and IOP (both based in
Israel) for developing aluminium-air batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.
• IOC Phinergy Private Limited (IOP) is a joint venture between Phinergy and Indian Oil
Corporation.

106. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Ltd has announced to use AI-based
technology for automate vehicle inspection for the renewal of vehicle insurance policies.

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107. JSW Steel Ltd has partnered with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for its
decarbonization and sustainability agenda.
• The BCG will offer its proprietary CO2 AI platform and digital and analytics capabilities.

108. Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney (PW) has set up its first-ever engineering centre
of the Asia Pacific in Bengaluru.
• It is the fifth global centre of PW. It has centres in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and
Poland.

109. NTPC and Indian Oil Corporation have signed an agreement to form a joint venture firm
for meeting the electricity requirements of upcoming projects of the IOC.
• NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, will form the
JV company for supply of renewable power to Indian Oil.

110. CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) has partnered with
Hyderabad-based GODI India to set up an advanced Lithium-ion cell manufacturing unit in
Taramani, Chennai.
• Hence, GODI India becomes the first Indian company to manufacture lithium-ion cells.
• At present, India is mainly dependent on China and South Korea for imports of lithium-ion
cells.

111. Central government has declared "zero coupon zero principal instruments" as
securities that can be listed on particular exchanges, under the Securities Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1956.
• Zero coupon zero principal instrument means an instrument issued by a Not for Profit
Organisation (NPO) which will be registered with the social stock exchange segment of a
recognised stock exchange.
• These instruments will be governed by the SEBI.
• SSE will be a separate segment of the existing stock exchanges. It is set up to provide
capital to the non-profit organizations.
• It has been proposed that the issue size will need to be a minimum of Rs 1 crore and the
application size a minimum of Rs 2 lakh.
• There is no clarity yet on whether the security will be transferable.
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• These bonds are subscribed for the purpose of donations. Donors can claim a 100% tax
deduction on the donation made to the listed entity.
• Currently, the donation to private entities attract only a 50% deduction under section 80G,
whereas donation to a government-run organisation gives donors a 100% deduction.

112. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant,
signed an MOU with STPI and STIPNEXT for the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for
the promotion of start-up activities in the steel plant and industries in and around
Visakhapatnam.
• The CoE, named Kalpataru, will promote the Industry 4.0.
• This is being established with funding support from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, the
Government of India, RINL and the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

113. Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) has expanded its wings to 15 more cities.
• Snapdeal has also signed the onboarding agreement with the network. It will become the
first e-commerce platform on the ONDC.
• The network first began its pilot in Delhi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal and Shillong in
April 2022.

114. In February 2021, RBI constituted the N S Vishwanathan Committee on Urban

Cooperative Banks.
• The committee had submitted its recommendations to RBI last year. Now, RBI has adopted
the recommendations.
• RBI has decided to adopt a simple four-tiered regulatory framework to strengthen the
financial soundness of the existing UCBs.
• Tier 1 - All unit UCBs and salary earner’s UCBs (irrespective of deposit size), and all other
UCBs having deposits up to Rs.100 crore
o Salary earner’s UCBs – These banks are essentially thrift societies set up by
salaried people. The societies can be set up by the employees of governmental
departments/ PSUs/large establishments for mutual help on the principles of
cooperation.
o Unit UCBs – The UCBs which do not have branches. These are single branch
banks.
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Tier 1
Deposits upto ₹100 crore
Tier 2
Deposits ₹100-₹1,000 crore
Tier 3
Deposits ₹1,000-₹10,000 crore
Tier 4
Deposits more than ₹10,000 crore

• There is a minimum net worth of ₹2 crores for tier one UCBs operating in a single district
and ₹5 crore for all other UCBs of all tiers.
• The minimum capital adequacy ratio requirement for tier one banks will be kept at the
present level of 9%.
• For urban cooperative banks of all other tiers, the minimum capital adequacy ratio is
12, which needs to be complied in the phased manner –
o By FY 2024 – achieve CRAR of 10%
o By FY 2025 – achieve CRAR of 11%
o By FY 2026 – achieve CRAR of 12%
• Most UCBs, 1,274 of the total 1,534, have a capital adequacy ratio of over 12% as on 31
March 2021.
• 5 years’ period has been given to implement the new norms.

115. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India attracted $343.64 million
worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflow in the research and development
(R&D) sector during the calendar year 2021.
• The FDI in R&D showed a 516% growth when compared to the previous year.
• 100% FDI is permitted under automatic route in R&D sector.
• State-wise: Karnataka is the top FDI Equity recipient state in R&D during 2021 followed by
Telangana and Haryana.
• Top investors: Singapore is the top investing country in R&D during 2021 with 40% share,
followed by Germany (35%) and USA (11%).
o FDI Equity inflow from several countries like Germany, Mauritius, France, Singapore,
Oman and USA showed an increase of more than 200% as compared to 2020.
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• Top recipient company: Daimler Truck Innovation Centre (35% of total FDI equity inflow),
Aragen Life Sciences Pvt Ltd (34%) and Stelis Biopharma Pvt Ltd (21%)

116. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and DBS Bank India have partnered to offer life insurance
solutions to the bank’s customers.
• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance MD and CEO - Tarun Chugh

117. Standard Chartered Bank has launched a co-branded credit card with leading online
travel agency EaseMyTrip named as ‘EaseMyTrip Standard Chartered Credit Card’.

118. RBI Act, 1934 will be amended to implement the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC),
which the RBI is planning to introduce in a phased manner for wholesale and retail segments.

119. State Bank of India (SBI) has announced to raise up to ₹11,000 crores in bonds during
2022-23.
• SBI will raise additional tier 1 (AT-1) capital of up to ₹7,000 crore, and the remaining
₹4,000 crore would be in the form of fresh tier 2 capital.

120. IndusInd Bank has partnered with EazyDiner to launch a co-branded credit card, called
EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Credit Card.

121. New Development Bank (NDB) has approved five new projects totalling USD 875
million for water, sanitation, ecotourism and transport in Brazil, China and India to achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• In Brazil, NDB will provide USD 300 million for water supply and sewage collection in Sao
Paulo.
• In India, NDB will direct USD 79 million for the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure
Development Project.
• In China, NDB approved EUR 265 million for the expansion of the Lanzhou Zhongchuan
International Airport and RMB 805 million for the expansion of the Xi’an Xianyang
International Airport.

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122. World Bank will provide a loan of Rs 1,600 crore for the Himachal Pradesh Power
Sector Development Programme.
• The total cost of the program is Rs 2,000 crores approx. The remaining amount will be
contributed by the state govt.
• The programme duration will be of five years, starting from the year 2023 to 2028.

123. RBI has renewed its statement of commitment to the FX Global Code, which is a
compilation of best market practices formulated by central banks worldwide.
• RBI had also facilitated the formation of India Foreign Exchange Committee (IFXC) to
promote adoption and adherence of the Code among FX market participants in India.

124. Mumbai-based Upskilling platform UpGrad acquired New Delhi-based online learning
platform Harappa Education for $38 million (about ₹296 crore) in a cash-and-share swap
deal.

125. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has launched ‘Pay As You Consume’, an add-on motor
insurance cover under the IRDAI’s Sandbox Regulations.

126. Canara Bank has launched a mobile banking app – Canara ai1 – to enable customers of
all age groups to use traditional, modern and financial services through digital mode.
• “E-transactions for Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime” is the core vision of the bank.
• The app is available in 11 languages.
• MD and CEO of Canara Bank - L V Prabhakar

127. Thane-based pharmaceutical company Bajaj Healthcare Limited has become India’s first
private company to be awarded a government contract for the highly-regulated opium
processing sector.
• Now, the company can use opium to extract active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used
in medicines such as painkillers, cough syrups, and even cancer drugs.

128. Central government has extended the exemption given to masur dal, a lentil, from
agriculture and infrastructure development cess when imported into India, by another six
months, till March 2023.
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• The current exemption from the cess was to expire by the end of September 2022.

129. Tech Mahindra and Mahindra University have signed an MOU to set up a new ‘Makers
Lab’ for research and development.
• The lab will work in areas such as quantum computing and explainable artificial intelligence
(AI) that presents data in a manner that can be understood by humans, and Metaverse, a
virtual world where people can connect through their digital avatars.

130. Employee’s State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has released the “Payroll reporting in
India: An Employment Perspective- May 2022”.
• As per the report, around 14.93 lakh new members have joined the ESIC in May 2022.
• The gross new enrolments with ESIC increased to 1.49 crores in 2021-22.

131. HDFC Securities Ltd has partnered with Equitas Small Finance Bank to provide its
clients with a demat account and its broking or investment services.
• Now, Equitas SFB will be able to offer its customers a 3-in-1 account that helps them
access the services of HDFC Securities.

132. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with the
Central govt to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of about ₹6,000
crore (100 billion Japanese Yen) as the third tranche for the construction of Mumbai-
Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR).
• National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is the Executing Agency of the
Project.

133. City Union Bank has signed a bancassurance agreement with Aditya Birla Health
Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, and Royal Sundaram General Insurance
Company.
• Purpose – for selling different insurance products to bank’s customers.

134. PM Narendra Modi will launch the India’s first international bullion exchange at Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) on July 29.

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• At the launch, the prime minister will also launch NSE IFSC-SGX Connect. This platform
will allow the members of Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) to trade in the Nifty
derivatives through the Connect platform.
• RBI has already released the guidelines for the billion exchange. India and Singapore have
also signed an agreement for the Connect platform.

135. The long-awaited 5G spectrum auction is being held in various low (600 MHz, 700 MHz,
800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz), mid (3300 MHz), and high (26 GHz)
frequency bands.
• Department of Telecom's own internal estimates put the 5G auction collections at Rs
70,000 crores to Rs 1,00,000 crores.

136. Union Minister of State for Finance, Bhagwat Karad, informed the Lok Sabha that the
amount involved in frauds reported by banks and select financial institutions based on the date
of occurrence of fraud declined by 8% in the last two years.
• The amount reduced significantly from Rs 32,178 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 3,785 crore in
2021-22.
• India’s gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) have come down to a six-year low of 5.9%
as of March 2022.
o The GNPA was Rs 10,36,000 crore in 2018. It is Rs 53,735 crores in 2022.
• Countries with most NPAs –
o Russia – 8.3%
o India – 5.9%
o South Africa – 5.2%
o Indonesia – 2.6%
o China – 1.8%
o US – 1.1%

137. ONGC has signed an MOU with Greenko Group to jointly pursue opportunities in
renewable energy, green hydrogen, green ammonia and other derivatives of green hydrogen.
• Under the partnership, the companies will jointly develop a 1-MMTPA green ammonia
production and storage facility in the country for export purpose.

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138. Competition Commission of India has approved acquisition of 11.43% stake in Tata
Power Renewable Energy Ltd. by Greenforest New Energies Bidco Ltd.

139. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has partnered with fast-growing legal
education startup LawSikho for encouraging the skill development.
• LawSikho will provide digital skills to learners from tier-2, tier-3 cities, small towns and
villages across India under this program.
• The partnership will benefit over 10,000 learners over three years.

140. India Post Payments Bank has partnered with TATA AIG for providing TATA Accidental
Guard policy to IPPB customers.

141. State-run Union Bank of India has launched SARAS (Stressed Asset Recovery
Automated Solution) for resolving the stressed assets through a bad loan management
system.

142. ECGC Ltd, formerly known as Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd, has
introduced a new scheme to provide enhanced export credit risk insurance cover to the
extent of 90%, to support small exporters.
• The scheme is expected to benefit a number of small-scale exporters availing export credit
with banks.
• The enhanced cover shall be available for manufacturer-exporters availing fund-based
export credit working capital limit of up to Rs 20 crores.

143. Union Cabinet has approved the merger of telecom firm BSNL with Bharat Broadband
Network Ltd (BBNL). A revival package of Rs 1.64 lakh crores has been approved.
• The package has three elements -- to improve services, de-stress balance sheet and
expansion of fibre network.
• Govt will also allocate spectrum to BSNL, so that, it can offer 4G services.
• The government will also provide Rs 13,789 crore to BSNL as viability-gap funding for
commercially unviable rural wireline operations done during 2014-15 to 2019-20.

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144. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued a circular permitting companies to spend their
CSR funds for activities related to the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign.
• Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 details about the Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR).
• Companies having a net worth of Rs 5 crores or more, turnover of Rs 1,000 crores, or a
net profit of Rs 5 crores are required to constitute a CSR committee for undertaking CSR
activities.

145. Tata Steel has signed an MOU with Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS), a Bengaluru-
based start-up that sells end-to-end drone solutions for mine management.

146. SIDBI has launched Vyapar Credit Card for the MSMEs, which are registered on the
Udyam portal.
• The card will pool together all the credit schemes available for MSMEs, including interest
subvention, in addition to offering collateral-free loans of up to ₹1 lakh, similar to what is
provided to Kisan Credit Card (KCC) beneficiaries.
• The initial limit of the card could vary between ₹50,000 and ₹1 lakh.
• A limit of 5-10% of the credit limits of the institutions could be encouraged through the card
for bonafide business expenditure.

147. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Ltd has launched automating vehicle
inspections for vehicle insurance renewals with Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technology.

148. SEBI has released new guidelines on settlement of running accounts of clients' funds
lying with stock brokers, to be applicable from October 1.
• Running account settlement, in market parlance, is the process of transferring back the
unused funds of the clients to their accounts by stock brokers.
• Under the guidelines, the settlement of the running account of funds of the client will be
done by the trading member after considering the End of the day (EOD) obligation of funds
as on the date of settlement across all the exchanges on the first Friday of the quarter for all
the clients.
• The running account of funds will be settled on the first Friday of October 2022, January
2023, April 2023, July 2023, and so on for all the clients.
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• Stock brokers need to reverse the unutilised funds lying in the clients' trading accounts at
least once within a gap of 30 or 90 days between two settlements of running accounts as
per the preference of the client.

149. RBI has released the Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) for March 2022, with March 2018
as base year.
• Parameters - (i) Payment Enablers (weight 25%), (ii) Payment Infrastructure – Demand-
side factors (10%), (iii) Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15%), (iv) Payment
Performance (45%) and (v) Consumer Centricity (5%)

150. Bharat Forge’s subsidiary BF Infrastructure has partnered with Talgo for manufacturing
high speed trains in India.
• Talgo is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spain-based high speed passenger train
manufacturer Patentes Talgo.
• Also, the government recently floated a tender for 100 Vande Bharat trains with maximum
speed of 200 kmph.

151. Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has released the ‘Internet In India’
2022 report.
• As per the report, around 346 million Indians are engaged in online transactions including
e-commerce, and digital payments.
• This number is greater than the total US population engaged in digital transactions which is
estimated at 331 million.
• At present, there are a total of 692 million active internet users in India, including 351
million from rural India and 341 from urban Indian.
• The report estimates that there will be 900 million internet users in India by 2025.

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152. Ola Electric has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Heavy Industries for local
manufacturing of advanced battery cells under the government’s production linked
incentive (PLI) scheme.
• In March 2022, four companies—Rajesh Exports, Hyundai Global Motors Company, Ola
Electric Mobility and Reliance New Energy—were announced as eligible for receiving
benefits under PLI scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) battery storage.
• Ola Electric will begin mass production for lithium-ion cells by 2023.

153. Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL), a subsidiary of Energy Efficiency

Services Ltd (EESL), has discovered prices for setting up 810 electric vehicle charging
stations along 16 expressways and National Highways covering 10,275 km across India.

154. RBI has announced that from October 1, no entity in the card transaction/payment chain,
other than card issuers and/or card networks, can store CoF (card on file) data.
• Purpose – to implement tokenization better

GDP FORECASTS
1. Crisil’s GDP forecast for India for FY23 is 7.3%.

2. Nomura has forecasted a 4.7% GDP rate for India in 2023.

3. Morgan Stanley forecasted 7.2% GDP growth rate for India for 2022-23.
• GDP forecast for 2023-24 for India – 6.4%

4. Asian Development Bank has reduced India’s GDP forecast for 2022-23 to 7.2% from 7.5%.
• GDP forecast for India for 2023-24 - 7.8%
• Inflation forecast for India has been raised to 6.7% for FY23 from the 5.8% estimated
earlier.

5. S&P Global Ratings has informed that the non-performing loans of banks are expected to
decline to 5-5.5% of the total loans by March 2024.

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