Banking & Finance Awareness 2017 by AffairsCloud.pdf

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Banking & Finance Awareness January 2017 RBI Extends the Demonetized Currency Exchange Date for NRIs to June 30 i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken a relief providing decision for the Non-Resident Indian and Indian Citizens who were staying abroad since November 9 to December 31post demonetization decision. ii. As per the decision, the Indian Citizens can exchange their demonetized notes up to March 31, 2017 while the Non Resident Indian (NRIs) citizens can avail this facility up to June 30, 2017. iii. The bank informed that there would not be any limit for Indian residents while for the NRIs the maximum limit would be Rs 25,000 as per the FEMA regulations 2015. iv. They can avail this facility only once during the period on submission of valid ID documents and evidence proof of being abroad. The decision also states that third party tender will not be accepted. Govt permits 12 PSU banks to raise Rs 3,000 cr from market i. The Central government had infused a sum of Rs 25,000 crore in 19 PSBs during FY 201516.In this Rs. 22,915 crore was allocated to 13 PSBs on July 19, 2016. ii. The remaining amount Rs 2,914.038 crore will be released on assessment of performance of 12 PSBs, the Department of Finance in its year-end review for 2016 iii. The Finance Minister ArunJaitleyhas granted its approval to 12 proposals of PSBs to raise a sum of Rs 2,914.038 crore through preferential allotment and permission given to raise Rs 200 crore by United Bank of India through QIP mode. 26 crore accounts open under Jan Dhan Yojana across country i. According to latest data released by Finance Minister ArunJaitley, 26 crore three lakh accounts have been opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) across the country till date. ii. 15.86 crore accounts are opened in rural area and 10.17 crore accounts opened in urban area. iii. Over 71 thousand 500 crore rupees have been deposited in these accounts and zero balance accounts has come down to 23.86 per cent. Bank of Baroda ties up with CNX Corporation i. Public sector lender Bank of Baroda has announced a partnership with CNX Corporation (CNX) to provide collateral management services towards the loans against warehouse receipt

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sanctioned to the farmers through the network of the bank’s branches across the country. ii. This will benefit the farmers from distress sale of their commodities Banks cuts lending rates, home, corporate loans to be cheaper A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an interest subvention for home loans of up to Rs. 12 lakh and asked banks to keep the poor and middle class at the focus of their activities many PSUs and private banks reduced their benchmark lending rate by up to 1.48 percent on January 3, 2017. •

The reduction in lending rates may lead to an increase in credit taking frequency which has moderated substantially putting burden on balance sheet of banks. Housing, auto and corporate loans are all set to become cheaper.

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The three state-owned banks, State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Union Bank of India on January 1, 2017, reduced the lending rate by a good 0.9 per cent.

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While SBI reduced its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 90 basis points for all maturities, Union Bank of India reduced its MCLR by 65-90 basis points for loans of various tenures while PNB cut its MCLRs by 70 basis points for 1, 2 and 3 year tenures.

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Following the reduction, lending rate of SBI for a one-year loan, has come down to 8% from 8.90%.

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Following State Bank of India, other lenders including largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and state-owned Oriental Bank of Commerce and Andhra Bank too announced cut in marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR).

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Home loan rates for ICICI Bank will come down between 0.45% and 0.6%, depending on quantum and category.

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Oriental Bank of Commerce has reduced the one-year MCLR rate by 0.8% to 8.60%, while Andhra Bank has brought it down by a similar percentage point to 8.65%, effective January 3, 2017

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Kotak Mahindra Bank, too reduced the MCLR rate by up to 0.45%. The bank has reduced MCLR by 0.20% to 9% from 9.20% for one-year tenor. However, the MCLR for the three-month period has been reduced by 0.45 percentage points to 8.40%, while the lending rate for two and three years, has been brought down to 9% from 9.25%.

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Bandhan Bank has cut its MCLR by 1.48%, to 10.52%, effective from January 3, 2017. With this, the bank has cut its loan rate for small borrowers by almost 4 percentage points, since it started operations in August 2015.

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Dena bank has reduced the MCLR by 0.75%, to 8.55%, for 1 year tenor.

RBI Directs Banks to Supply 40 Percent Notes in Rural Areas The Reserve Bank of India on January 3, 2017, directed all the banks to supply atleast 40 percent of the notes to the rural branches since currency notes in rural areas was not adequate to meet the requirements of the population. HDFC Ties with Niki.ai to Launch OnChat to make Payments via Facebook’s Messenger i. HDFC has tied-up with artificial intelligence firm Niki.ai to launch a chatbot called OnChat on Facebook’s Messenger platform, that will allow users to recharge phones, pay utility bills, book cabs from Ola or Uber etc., through a chat. ii. The chatbot is available for non-HDFC bank users as well. The chat opens a payment gateway through which transactions can be made using any bank account. Coca-Cola India partners the State Bank of India to enable digital transactions i. Coca-Cola India and its largest bottling partner Hindustan Coca-Cola beverages have partnered the SBI to enable over 2.6 million retailers and 5000 distributors in conducting business transactions digitally. ii. SBI will educate retailers on digital transactions and will be developed a customized payment solution for retailers and distributors. Munich Re to open reinsurance branch office in Mumbai Germany based Munich Reinsurance Company is planned to open its branch office in Mumbai to provide the property-casualty, life, health reinsurance markets across India. ♦ Munich Re is one of the first foreign reinsurers to receive approval for a dedicated branch in India following the 2015 amendment of the Insurance Bill. Yes Bank ties-up with Bajaj Electricals for vendor financing using block chain i. Yes Bank has entered into a tie-up with Bajaj Electricals for vendor financing using blockchain solution. ii. There is an over 70 per cent cost reduction because of blockchain and the payback for our investments is 6-8 months. Rs 5 discount on online payment of LPG cylinder i. Cooking gas customers can now avail an upfront discount of Rs 5 on every refill booked and paid for online. ii. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum have begun offering the price discount to cooking gas customers.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Paytm Gets final approval from RBI to Start Operating as Payment Bank i. Mobile commerce and payments company, Paytm received the final approval from the Reserve Bank of India on January 3, 2017 to launch Paytm Payment Bank. ii. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd is expected to start its operation in next 30-60days with its first branch in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. iii. Paytm Payments Bank is held 51% by Sharma and 49% by One97 Communications Pvt. Ltd. It has already received investments of Rs 220 crore from One97 Communication and its Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Karnataka Bank launches group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme named KBL Suraksha i. Karnataka Bank has launched has launched a group Personal Accident Insurance Scheme for all its Saving Bank(SB) Account holders. The insurance scheme is named “KBL Suraksha” and provides insurance cover for accidental death. ii. All the SB Account holders within the age group of 18-70 years can register themselves for the insurance scheme. The KBL Suraskha Scheme comes in two variants. iii. Plan A– provides an accidental insurance of Rs 5 lakh on payment of Annual premium of Rs 50(plus service charge). Plan B – provides an accidental insurance of Rs 10 lakh on payment of Annual premium of Rs 100(plus service charge). The maximum renewal age for the policy will be 75 years. iv. Karnataka Bank has launched the insurance scheme in association with Universal Sompo General Insurance. The bank has launched a month-long campaign to promote its “KBL Suraksha” scheme. SIDBI ties up with LIC for capital support to enterprises i. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has tied up with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to give a boost to the venture capital ecosystem for MSMEs. ii. LIC and SIDBI signed Contribution Agreements with 7 Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) with an aggregate commitment of Rs 99.50 crore from LIC on January 03 in New Delhi. This is over and above commitment of Rs 162.75 crore already given to these funds by SIDBI. 16th Financial Stability and Development Council Meeting Held in New Delhi The 16th edition of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting was held on January 5, 2017 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley. Aim: The FSDC meeting was held to discuss about the obstacles faced by the economy and to bring out the solution to tackle them. Besides, it also aimed at bringing new suggestions and outcomes in order to benefit the upcoming Budget 2017-18.

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Key Discussions Held During the Meeting i.While chairing the meeting, the Union Finance Minister, ArunJaitley emphasized the significance of demonetization decision saying that the government’s measures to eliminate the shadow economy and tax evasion are expected to have a positive impact both on GDP and on fiscal consolidation in the long run. ii.The Council, which has heads of all financial sector regulators as its members, reviewed the major issues and challenges facing the economy and noted that India appears to be much better, placed today on the back of improvement in its macroeconomic fundamentals. iii.Financial regulators gave suggestions to promote financial stability and also discussed the measures and initiatives to establish and promote the financial stability. Also, the regulators offered their suggestions for the upcoming Budget for 2017-18, which were discussed by the Council. iv.In the meeting, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian made a presentation on the state of the economy. v.FSDC discussed about the various initiatives taken by the government and regulators for promoting financial inclusion/ financial literacy efforts and discussed further measures for promoting the same. Droom Partners with Axis Bank for quick sanction of loans i. Online automobile marketplace Droom has tied up with Axis Bank to provide quick sanction of loans on both new as well as used cars. ii. Loans will be provided for up to 85% of the value of the car with a tenure of 1-5 years. iii. Furthermore, loans on Used Cars can be availed on vehicles upto the age of 10 years. India’s GDP growth estimated at 7.1% this year & Per capita net national income rises by over 10% i. According to the Central Statistical Office data India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is estimated at 7.1 per cent in 2016-17 as compared to 7.6 per cent in 2015-16. ii. The CSO’s projection on the per capita net national income during 2016-17 is projected to be 1 lakh three thousand seven rupees displaying an increase of 10.4 per cent as compared to 93 thousand two hundred ninety three during 2015-16 with the growth rate of 7.4 percent. iii. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector and manufacturing sector are likely to show a growth of 4.1 per cent and 7.4 percent respectively during 2016-17, as against the previous year’s growth rate of 1.2 per cent and 9.3 percent in 2015-16.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF iv. The wholesale price index (WPI), of food articles has risen by 6.9 per cent,and the consumer price index has shown a rise of 5.0 per cent during April-November, 2016-17. SEBI eases rules for foreign fund managers & Sebi relaxes rules for angel funds to boost start-up funding i.The Market Watchdog SEBI has released rules allowing foreign fund managers to act as Portfolio Managers under a relaxed regulatory regime. ii.This new rule will make it easier for foreign fund managers to enter India also provides significance of taxation incentives for the offshore fund managers willing to relocate to India. iii. In another development the market regulator also relaxed its rules for investment by angel funds, including permitting them to invest in up to five-year old entities which will boost startup funding. iv.Consequently the lock-in condition has been cut down from 3 years to 1 year for angel funds and their minimum investment threshold has been slashed from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh. v. Angel funds are permitted to invest in overseas venture capital undertakings up to 25 per cent of their investible corpus in agreement with other Alternative Investment Funds. RBI to provide rupees 1 billion in Rs 100 notes to Nepal Rashtra Bank i. India’s central Bank RBI has decided to provide Rs 1 billion in Rs 100 denomination notes to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to ease the acute shortage of Rs 100 notes faced by the landlocked nation. ii. In the wake of demonetization RBI has asked the NRB to wait till the situation normalizes. RBI provides Rs 6 billion exchange facility to Nepal every year. iii. After the Indian government’s move to demonetize Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes the NRB had also lowered exchange limit of Indian banknotes in Nepal. iv. The NRB provides exchange facility up to Rs. 2000 and Rs. 10, 000 to those who submit a copy of air or train ticket to travel to India. This limits is likely to extend till the time the RBI is able to provide regular exchange facility. Forex reserves up by $625.5 mn to $360.296 bn : RBI i. The Reserve Bank in its press release stated that foreign exchange reserves rose by $625.5 million to $360.296 billion in the week to December 30, 2016. ii. The Central Bank also said that Foreign Currency Assets which us major component in the Forex Reserves surged by 612.4 million USD to 336.582 billion USD. However the Forex reserves had touched all-time high of USD 371.99 billion in September 30 last year. UCO Bank launches Suvidha prepaid card i. Kolkata based UCO Bank has launched its prepaid card ‘UCO Suvidha ’ by R.K. Takkar, MD

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF &CEO, UCO Bank, and Executive Directors, Charan Singh and G. Subramania Iyer. ii. The prepaid card can be used for cash withdrawals, purchase at Points of Sale (POS) or over the Internet. iii. The prepaid card offers the flexibility to load/ reload amount as and when required and is targeted at corporates, government departments, institutions and other organisations. HDFC Bank Launches Humanoid Robot IRA i. India’s second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has launched a human shaped robot named IRA at its Mumbai branch to help the assist the customers in banking activities. ii. Initially the role of the robot will be limited to that of receptionist that will greet the customers entering the bank and display the services and banking facilities like withdrawal, deposit, forex, fixed deposits and demat. The robot would also be installed with the map of the bank branch with a button “Take me there” to help the customers in easy service. iii. IRA which stands for Intelligent Robotic Assistant aims to provide smoother customer service, marketing, employee assistance and automate the banking process. Depending on customer reaction the Bank would install more such robots across its branches in the country. SBI waives MDR charges for small merchants for one year i. SBI has waived Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on debit card transactions for all small merchants with annual turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh for one year. ii. The bank has decided to waive completely, the MDR charges on debit card transactions for all small merchants for a period of one year upto December 31, 2017. Axis Bank Becomes Third Lender to Use Block Chain Solution i. Following ICICI and Yes bank, the private sector lender Axis Bank has also joined the group as the third bank to use block chain solutions in its operations. ii. Third largest Private sector bank led by Shikha Sharma has tied up with fintech firm Ripple to offer the solution. India’s GDP Growth Decelerates to 7 percent for fiscal 2016-17: World Bank i. The World Bank on January 11, 2017 cut the India’s GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal ending on March 31, 2017 to 7 percent from its previous estimate of 7.6 percent due to demonetization. ii. The bank cited the immediate withdrawal of a large volume of currency in circulation and subsequent replacement with new notes as the main reason behind the deceleration of the GDP growth rate. iii. However, the bank also asserted that India is expected to regain its momentum with GDP growth at 7.6 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19 and strengthening to 7.8 per cent in FY 2019-20.

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Indian Standards on Gold Hallmark Revised by Bureau of Indian Standards i. Indian Standard on gold hallmarking has been revised by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on January 9, 2017 and has been made effective for implementation with effect from January 1, 2017. ii. From now the hallmarked gold jewellery will be available in three grades: 14 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat. These caratage would also be mentioned on the jewellery besides the fineness for the convience of the customers. HDFC ERGO Launches Credit Insurance Policy to Safeguard Business i. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launched a new policy, Trade Credit Insurance Policy, on January 9, 2017 to which safeguards businesses against the risks of non-payment for the goods or services delivered to the buyers. ii. India’s third largest private sector non-life insurance provider informed that the policy would offer cover against payment defaults and insolvency, apart from providing political risk cover to exporters. iii. Under the new policy, the insurer covers a portfolio of buyers and pays an agreed percentage of the invoice or receivables that remain unpaid as a result of insolvency, bankruptcy or protracted default. Citibank Launches Voice Biometrics Authentication for Phone Banking i. Citibank India has launched a Voice Biometrics Authentication for its phone banking customers on January 10, 2017 that would allow clients to use their voiceprints for authentication rather than remember multiple PINs or respond to questions through current practice of interactive voice response (IVR) used for verifying their identities. ii. The voice biometrics authentication uses unique voiceprint which is similar to fingerprint for each person. NITI Aayog Estimates the GDP Growth of 8 Percent for 2016-17 i. NITI Aayog has projected the GDP growth rate of 8 Percent for 2016-17 based on the appraisal document for the Twelfth Five-Year Plan. ii. The estimate does not take into account the impact of demonetization. iii. The policy think tank laid that overcoming the lack of reforms in land acquisition, labour, skill development and simplification of regulatory cum administrative procedures can lead to growth prospect of above 8 percent.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Airtel’s Payments Bank Starts Operation with Initial Investment of Rs. 3000 i. Airtel Payments Bank started its nationwide operations on January 12, 2017 with an initial investment of Rs 3,000 crore and offering an interest rate of 7.25 per cent for savings accounts. The bank was launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. ii. This is the first payments bank which will be opened across 29 states in India to provide financial services to the millions who are outside the banking system. SBI Signs $ 50 mn Pact with Oman’s SGRF i. State Bank of India has signed a pact with the State General Reserve Fund of Oman (SGRF), a Sovereign Wealth Fund to infuse $50 million in private equity fund Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF) while the SGRF would infuse $150 million. ii. The SBI aims at backing the private equity fund for its second offering (Fund II). Tax department, Japanese company sign advance pricing pact The tax department signed a Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (BAPA) with Indian subsidiary of a Japanese trading company to include rollback provisions to reduce litigations by providing certainty in transfer pricing on January 13, 2017 Now the total number of BAPAs entered into by the CBDT is increased to 8. Highlights : i. BAPA is an important step towards ascertaining transfer pricing matters of multinational company cases and dispute resolution. ii. Under BAPA, certainty in tax treatment is provided for the next five years while rollback provides dispute redressal for a maximum of four past years preceding APA years. SEBI Lowers Broker Fees by 25 Percent to Rs 15 Per Transaction i. The SEBI Board on January 14, 2017 announced its decision to reduce the fees payable by broker by 25 percent as a part of calibration of various other fees collected by the regulator from different market intermediaries. ii. It has decided to lower the fees from Rs 20 per crore of turnover to Rs 15 per crore of turnover to reduce the overall cost of transaction. iii. The SEBI Board has also decided to give an option to all market intermediaries and companies to make their regulatory payments in digital mode to help in speedy and easy transactions and reduce failures due to payment gateway issues. NPCI declares Rs 54.90 crore prize money for NITI Aayog’s lucky draw schemes i. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has declared Rs 54.90 crore prize money to over 3.42 lakh winners for NITI Aayog’s lucky draw schemes Lucky Grahak Yojna (LGY) and

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Digi-Dhan Vyapar Yojna (DVY). ii. There are 15,000 daily winners qualifying for total prize money of Rs. 1.5 crore and over 14,000 weekly winners qualifying for total prize money of over Rs. 8.3 crore every week. It will run till April 14, 2017 iii. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka emerged as the top five states with maximum number of winners under the age group of 21 to 30 years. BSNL Launches Aadhar Based e-KYC Project i .BSNL has launched its Customer Acquisition and Customer Communication Management (CACMS) project that aims to digitalize business process to ensure faster service, accurate customer responses and customer satisfaction. ii. The project provides an Aadhar based e-KYC (Know Your Customer) service for immediate activation of new mobile connections across the country. iii. The state-run telecom has selected Intense Technologies to deliver the CACMS project on a Pan India basis for all lines of business of BSNL as per the terms and conditions of the tender. Market Regulator SEBI Tightens Mergers & Acquisitions Norms Among Unlisted Firms The Capital market regulator of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on January 14 tightened the norms associated to Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) of Indian companies. •

Aim: The main objective behind the move is to prevent large number of unlisted company to get listed by merging with a very small company for personal motive and protect the interest of the Public shareholders in the listed companies and give them a greater say in the merger with unlisted subsidiaries.

Directives Rolled Out by SEBI SEBI directed after the unlisted company merge with listed company and gets automatically listed, the effective total public shareholding of the listed entity plus the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) of the newly listed company has to be at least 25%. •

The public shareholding of the resultant entity created by the merger of an unlisted and a listed company has to be more than 25 per cent.

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The unlisted entity can only merge with those companies that are listed on exchanges such as the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and BSE.

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The market regulator also directed companies to follow the pricing formula specified under the Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements (ICDR) regulations. This aims to prevent companies to issue shares to select group of shareholders instead of all shareholders during mergers and amalgamations between listed and unlisted entities.

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Mysuru Printing Press Breaks Record by Printing Highest No. of Currency Notes in a Month i. As per the data released by the President of Note Mudran Limited Employees Union, A Ramdass, the RBI Note Mudran printing press in Mysuru printing highest number of currency notes in December breaking all its past record. ii .It printed 10.9 million currency note in a day that even broke the world record made an American currency printing press of printing 8.7 million notes in a day.

India Signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for US$ 48 Million for “Nagaland Health Project” The Joint Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs, Mr. Raj Kumar and Acting Country Director of the World Bank Mrs. Genevieve Connors are signed s financing agreement for IDA credit of US$ 48 million for the ‘Nagaland Health Project’ on January 16, 2017. Central & SBI Card launch premium co-branded card i. Future Group’s fashion and lifestyle departmental store Central joined with SBI Card launched a second co-branded credit card to offer benefits to consumers in the premium lifestyle and fashion space on January 16, 2017 ii. The Central SBI SELECT and SELECT+ Cards will offer an accelerated reward points structure 1.20 reward points for every Rs 100 spent in Central stores. 2.10 reward points per Rs 100 spent spent in dining and entertainment 3.2 reward points per Rs 100 in other categories IRDAI forms panel to review life insurance product norms i. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a 8 member committee headed by Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company to review life insurance product regulations on January 16, 2017 ii. The committee will analysis the existing framework of IRDA-linked and non-linked insurance product regulations iii. IRDAI instructed to the committee to submit its report before March 15, 2017. Committee Members : ♦ Head : Amitabh Chaudhry, CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ♦ K S Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Aegon Religare Life Insurance, Sai Srinivas, Appointed Actuary, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance and Sandeep Bakshi, CEO, ICICI Prudential Life

Study by Oxfam Shows Richest 1% in India Holds 58% of Total Wealth i. As per a report titled ‘An economy for the 99 per cent’ released by rights group Oxfam on January 16, 2017, the richest 1 percent of the population in India holds 58 percent of the country’s total wealth which is higher than the global figure of 50 percent. ii. The report found that since 2015, the richest 1 percent population in India has continued to own more wealth than the rest of the countries. iii. Besides, it also discovered that 57 billionaires in India having collective wealth of USD 216 billion was equal to the wealth that lowest 70 percent population held. However, when taken globally only 8 billionaires have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the world population. iv. The study stated that India has 84 billionaires with a collective wealth of USD 248 billion. The total Indian wealth in the country was calculated at USD 3.1 trillion. Top 3 billionaires comprised of Mukesh Ambani (USD 19.3 billion), Dilip Shanghvi (USD 16.7 billion) and Azim Premji (USD 15 billion). iv. In contrast, the total global wealth in 2016 was USD 255.7 trillion. Of this, the top three global billionaires held about USD 6.5 trillion which comprised of Bill Gates (USD 75 billion), Amancio Ortega (USD 67 billion) and Warren Buffett (USD 60.8 billion).

IMF Lowers India’s GDP Growth Rate to 6.6% from 7.6% for FY17 i. According to the World Economic Outlook report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on January 16, 2017 has lowered the India’s GDP growth rate for the current fiscal year by one point to 6.6 percent from its previous estimate of 7.6 percent due to the effect of demonetization on consumption and expenditure. ii. IMF also cut India’s GDP forecast for 2017-18 by 0.4 points to 7.2 percent as against previous forecast of 7.6 percent. For the year 2018-19, the projected growth rate remained unchanged at 7.7 percent. iii. Besides, IMF estimated the growth rate of China at 6.7 percent for 2016-17, 6.5 percent for 2017-18 and 6 percent for 2018-19. iv. The global growth for 2016 was estimated at 3.1 percent that remained unchanged from previous forecast while for 2017 the global forecast is estimated at 3.4 percent for advanced and 3.6 percent for developing economies.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Yes Bank Launches Business Accelerator Program Yes Fintech i. Private sector lender YES BANK in collaboration with T-Hub, Anthill and Lets Talk Payments launched a unique business accelerator program “YES FINTECH” to provide start-ups a platform for creating sustainable and market ready products as well as provide innovative banking solutions to the customers. ii. YES FINTECH has invited start-ups applications from across the global community, till February 3, 2017 on its website www.yesfintech.com. It would select top 12 start-ups for 15 week dual destination program to be held in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Yes Bank Launches India’s First Customisable Savings Account i. YES Bank has launched a first of its kind unique Customizable Savings Account to enable the customers to design an account as per their convenience. ii. Mumbai based bank has become the first bank in India to launch such type of account that enables the customer to choose various features of a savings accounts that suits one’s own lifestyle. RBI Hikes Cash Withdrawal Limit from ATMs to Rs. 10,000 per Day The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from January 16, 2017 has increased the limit of cash withdrawal from ATMs to Rs 10,000 per day from the current Rs 4,500 with immediate effect Karang Island in Manipur Becomes India’s First Cashless Island i. Contributing to the Government’s Digital India Campaign, a small lake island Karang in Manipur has been declared as the country’s first cashless island by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on January 13, 2017. ii. The island fulfilled the Centre’s necessary criteria to be named as the cashless island. A campaign was organized from January 9 to 12 by the Karang Island Boat Association and Panthoibi Khoyol Standard Association in the island to promote cashless transactions. 30 More Countries to Join Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank ♦ The Foreign Ministry spokesperson of China, Hua Chunying on January 17, 2017 informed that thirty more countries have applied for joining the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) besides 57 founding members. UN Report Estimates India’s GDP to grow by 7.7% in 2017 i. Based on the United Nations report on World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2017 released on January 17, 2017, India’s economy is projected to grow by 7.7 percent in

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the fiscal 2017 because of being the fastest growing large developing economy. ii. Besides, the growth estimate for 2018 has been projected at 7.6 percent. However, it also stated that low capacity utilization and stressed balance sheets of banks and businesses will have negative effect on strong investment revival in the short term. iii. The report estimated the growth prospect of China to remain stable at 6.5 percent for fiscal years 2017 and 2018 due to favourable domestic demand and accommodative fiscal measures. iv. Earlier the International Monetary Fund cut India’s growth rate for the current fiscal year to 6.6 percent from its previous estimate of 7.6 percent while the World Bank too lowered India’s GDP growth for 2016-17 fiscal to 7 percent from its previous estimate of 7.6 percent. CBDT Clarifies No TDS or Advance Tax Credit for Income under PMGKY i. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on January 18, 2017 cleared that income declared under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY) would not be entitled to get any credit by way of advance tax paid or the tax deducted at source (TDS) or tax collected at source (TCS) ii. This is in contrast to the earlier Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) under which these credits were allowed. Lloyd’s Gets Final Approval from IRDAI to Open First Branch in India i. London’s insurance giant Lloyd has received the final approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) on January 19, 2017 to set up its first branch in India. ii. The specialist insurance and reinsurance company would open its first branch office in India before April 2017 and will be located at Mumbai. PNB and IPPB team up for technology support New Delhi based Punjab National Bank signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with India Post Payments Bank(IPPB) to provide technology platform for pilot launch of IPPB on receipt of regulatory nod from the Reserve Bank of India. World Bank Sanctions Rs 1,376 Cr For Tripura Power Upgradation i. Washington based World Bank has sanctioned Rs 1,376 crore for upgradations and improvement of the Tripura power system network on January 19, 2017. This was announced by Tripura’s power minister Manik Dey. ii. The Power Upgradation project is divided into 5 phases. SPML Infra Ltd has got the contract of the first phase with the budget of Rs 461 crore .

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF iii. A large number of 132 KV and 33 KV substations will be constructed and upgraded under the project across Tripura. IT Department Expands Deposits & Transactions List under Scrutiny i. The Income Tax Department released its detailed guidelines on January 17, 2017 expanding the list of high end deposits and transactions made during the demonetization period to be reported by the banks, companies, post offices and businesses for scrutiny. ii. As per the guidelines, banks need to report deposits made by individuals’ upto Rs. 2.5 lakh or more in savings account during the demonetisation period. Besides, for current account holders, this limit is Rs 12.5 lakh. RBI imposes Rs 75 lakh penalty on Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank India’s central banking institution, Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 75lakhs on Bombay Mercantile Co-operative Bank for violations of norms related to KYC and anti-money laundering. RBI had issued a notice regarding this to the bank and the bank has submitted its written reply. Union Cabinet approves Excluding States /Union Terrotries from Investments of National Small Savings Fund i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval on January 18, 2017 to exclude States/Union-Territories (with Legislature) except Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh from National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) investments effective from April 1, 2016. ii. Besides, it also approved to provide a one-time loan of Rs. 45,000 crore to Food Corporation of India (FCI) from NSSF to meet its food subsidy requirements. Kerala Gramin Bank to propagate financial literacy among school children i. Kerala Gramin Bank has launched a novel programme called FI@School at Assisi Vidyanikethan Public School, Kakkanad to propagate financial literacy among school children on January 20, 2017 ii. Every branch of the bank has to tie up with nearest school to organise various programmes to literate school students iii. The bank has appointed magician Gopinath Muthukad as the brand ambassador for FI@School. GST Decides Tax Evasion Upto rs. 2 Cr Bailable Offence i. The Centre and State Government has in a meeting decided to reduce some of the penal provisions of the GST regime in order to make it less burdensome.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ii. The GST Council has decided that tax evasion of upto than Rs. 2 crore would be bailable offense to ensure that the trader gets immediate bail while the non-bailable offenses would be limited to ‘forgery and non- deposit of collected taxes with the exchequer within the stipulated time frame. Cooperative Banks Barred From Accepting Deposits under PMGKDS i. The Cooperative banks have been barred by the Government on January 20, 2017 from accepting deposits under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme (PMGKDS) to stop any misuse of the deposited amount. ii. The decision comes after the income tax department revealed that a large number of cooperative banks were manipulating and laundering undisclosed money after the government scrapped the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes on November 8, 2016. Kwality Ltd Signs MoU with Bank of Baroda for Rs 4000 Cr Loan to Farmers i. Mumbai based dairy firm Kwality Ltd has signed an MoU with Bank of Baroda on January 20, 2017 to provide Rs. 4000 crore loans to one lakh farmers out of the established networks from whom the company procures milk. ii. The MoU aims to provide financial assistance to improve socio-economic lives of farmers and encourage them towards digitisation. Punjab National Bank Launches Contactless Credit Card i. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a Contactless Credit Card named PNB Wave N Pay on January 21, 2017 in New Delhi to further enhance its digitalization initiative. ii. The new card was launched by the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of PNB, Usha Ananthasubramanian and is developed on Visa Platinum platform. Utkarsh Micro Finance Launches its Small Finance Bank i. Varanasi-based Utkarsh Micro Finance started operating its banking business as Utkarsh Small Finance Bank on January 23, 2017 to cater to the needs of the poor mainly in the northern belt. UK’s Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) has infused Rs. 150 crore in the tier II capital in the company. ii. Utkarsh Small Finance Bank has started its operation with five full-fledged branches. It has removed the 1 percent processing fees for new borrowers and looks forward to reducing the lending rates to capture the market. At present, it lends at 15-25 percent annually. iii. The bank will offer 6% interest on savings bank accounts while deposit rates for one year would be 8.25-8.50% which is about 150 basis points higher than State Bank of India.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF

Rescheduled Education Loan will not be Considered for Computing NPAs:RBI i. In a bid to encourage banks to provide loans for education, the Reserve Bank of Indiahas declared that rescheduling the period of payment of education loans due to the inability of the borrower because of unemployment will not be treated as restructured accounts for computing NPAs. ii. Banks can allow three rounds of extension periods, each not more than 6 months, during the entire lifecycle of the education loan, to be applicable only on unemployment/underemployment borrowers. IRDAI okays Swiss Re move to open Mumbai branch i. Wholesale reinsurance provider Swiss Re has received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to open a branch in the city. ii. With the composite branch license, Swiss Re will be able to operate in India and it can offer both non-life and life and health reinsurance solutions directly to clients and brokers in the country. iii. Swiss Reinsurance Company, India Branch, will begin its operation from February 1. BCSBI Launches ‘Know Your Rights’ Programme i. The Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) has announced an initiative as per which it would organise “Know Your Rights” programme in select urban and rural areas of the country to enhance awareness on Banking Codes at the grassroot level among the people. ii. The move aims to create awareness among the people about the commitment of the banks towards their customers. iii. The programme would be conducted at three levels including Tier II cities, metros and other backward areas. iv. The CEO of BCSBI, Anand Aras informed that the first such programme was organized by BCSBI in Kochi on January 23, 2017 in association with Kudumbashree for less privileged women in Kerala. v. The programme, ‘interalia’ involved skit and a puppet show to describe the banking codes to over 100 participating women in simple language. It also addressed about 300 educated section of the society to increase their awareness about bank’s commitment towards them. Cabinet Permits NABARD to Raise Rs. 20,000 crore for on-lending to Co-Op Banks i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its post-facto approval on January 24, 2017 allowing National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) to raise approx. Rs. 20,000 crore from the market for on-lending to Cooperative Banks.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ii. It permitted the bank to make the short term borrowing at the prevailing market rate and lend to Co-op Banks at 4.5 Percent rate of interest. The move will support the famers by providing them loans to boost agricultural production. France Issues First ‘Green Bonds’ With Record Sale of 7 Billion Euro i. France on January 24, 2017 issued its first “Green Bonds” with a record sale of worth seven billion euro (USD 7.5 billion) thus leading a significant way towards establishment of a genuine market in renewable energy bonds. ii. The proceeds from the bonds will be used by France to finance projects to address climate change. iii. The 22-year bonds’ coupon has been set at 1.75 percent which is same as the interest rate on conventional borrowing for the same time frame. This will enable France to finance expenditure on green projects at the same price as traditional borrowing.

RBI Prohibits FDI in Non-Cooperative Countries i. The Reserve Bank of India has prohibited the Indian entities on January 25, 2017 from making direct overseas investments in any entity that is located in 'non co-operative countries and territories', as identified by the inter-governmental body Financial Action Task Force (FATF). ii. The move aims to bring down the global terror financing and thus prevent, detect and prohibit money laundering SBI Launches Wealth Management Product “SBI Exclusif” in Kochi i. The State Bank of India has launched a new wealth management product named “SBI Exclusif” in Kochi, Kerala. Later it will be rolled out in other cities of the state during the course of the year. ii. The product was launched by Chief General Manager, SBI, Kerala Circle, S Venkataraman on January 24, 2017. iii. SBI Exclusif is targeted at fast growing affluent and high net worth customer segments of the bank. Karnataka Bank Signs MoU with Tirth Agro Technology Mangaluru based private sector bank Karnataka Bank Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the leading agricultural equipment/implements manufacturer Tirth Agro Technology Pvt Ltd, Rajkot, on January 25, 2017 in to finance farmers for agri mechanisation. Aim of the MoU i. To establish a platform for co-operation between the two in identifying farmers in need of buying agricultural implements/equipment and financing them by the bank on its terms.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ii. To promote agriculture mechanization in India by utilizing bank’s experience in agricultural finance through its branches across India. Government to Launch Aadhar Pay for Cashless Transactions through Biometrics i. The Government on January 27, 2017 informed about its plan to launch the biometric based Aadhaar Pay payment platform in few weeks for BHIM App. ii. Aadhaar Pay service will enable people to make and receive payments using their Aadhaar number and biometrics. iii. The government enabled the Bharat Interface for Mobile (BHIM) app with Aadhaar number on January 26, 2017. CASHe integrates Paytm Wallet for direct cash transfers i. India’s fastest loan giving app for young salaried professionals, CASHe has partnered with Paytm on January 27, 2017 to allow its users to deposit cash transfers from CASHe to their Paytm wallets. ii. With this integration, users of CASHe will have an option to transfer their loan amounts into their Paytm Wallets in part or in full and credit the rest of the amount into their bank accounts. This is an industry-first innovation from CASHe. iii. CASHe offers multiple loan options ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 payable over 15, 30 and 90 days. India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves Rises by $ 932.4 million to $ 360.775 billion i. The Reserve Bank of India on January 29, 2017 informed that the Foreign Exchange Reserves of India rose by 932.4 million dollars to 360.775 billion dollars for the second consecutive week ended January 20. ii. In the previous week, India’s forex reserve increased by 687.9 million dollars to 359.843 billion dollars. FGII Enters Into Bancassurance Tie-Up With Bank Of Maharashtra i. Future Generali India Insurance Company (FGII) announced an agency tie-up with Pune based Bank of Maharashtra on January 30, 2017. ii. Aim: To immensely benefit our customers by providing them an ease of access while choosing from a diverse range of non-life insurance products, all under one roof iii. It has tie-up with over 100 banks in India for bancassurance.Now it accounts for 5 per cent of Future Generali’s total busines.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Presented Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley presented the Economic Survey 2016-17 in the Parliament on January 31, 2017 that provides a base for the government to prepare the annual Budget. •

The survey has been authored by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.The Economic Survey depicts the state of the economy and is generally presented in Parliament a day before the presentation of the annual Budget.

Important Highlights of the Economic Survey 2016-17 GDP Growth The Economic Survey has estimated that the GDP growth rate for FY18 will be in the range of 6.75 percent to 7.5 percent. •

Demonetization and rising oil prices have been identified as the major risk to the growth rate. However, remonetization and sufficient circulation of currency notes may return the growth rate to normal position.

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The growth rate for the current fiscal has been estimated at 7.1 percent from the previous 7.6 percent by the Central Statistics Office. This estimate does not take into account the effect of demonetization.

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Fixed investment (gross fixed capital formation) to GDP ratio (at current prices) is estimated to be 26.6 per cent in 2016-17 as compared to previous 29.3 percent.

Government Revenues The survey stated that the indirect taxes grew by 26.9 percent during April-November 2016. •

Besides, the revenue expenditure experienced a boost in the same period due to increase in the salaries of government employees by 23.2 percent with the Seventh Pay Commission and 39.5 percent increase in the grants for creation of capital assets.

Inflation As per the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation remained under control for the third successive financial year. The average CPI inflation was 5.9 percent in 2014-15, 4.9 percent in 2015-16 and 4.8 percent during April-December 2016. •

Based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI), inflation was 2.0 per cent in 2014-15 and lowered to (-)2.5 percent in 2015-16. During April-December 2016 it averaged to 2.9 percent. As per the report pulses contributed major risk to food inflation.

Trade Growth

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF The survey stated that the growth in export was increased by 0.7 percent during April-December of 2016-17 amounting to USD 198.8 billion. •

Similarly, during April-December of 2016-17, imports declined by 7.4 per cent to USD 275.4 billion.

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Besides, trade deficit declined to USD 76.5 billion in 2016-17 (April-December) compared to USD 100.1 billion in the previous year.

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The current account deficit (CAD) too lowered in the first half (H1) of 2016-17 to 0.3 percent of GDP from 1.5 percent in H1 of 2015-16 and 1.1 percent in 2015-16 full year.

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In the first half of 2016-17, India’s Foreign Exchange Reserves increased by USD 15.5 billion.

External Debt India’s external debt declined from March 2016 by USD 0.8 billion to USD 484.3 billion in September 2016. •

The short-term debt that contributed major share in total external debt declined to 16.8 percent at end-September 2016 and foreign exchange reserves provided a cover of 76.8 percent to the total external debt stock.

Agriculture Sector Growth As per the survey, the agriculture sector is estimated to grow at 4.1 percent in the current fiscal as compared to 1.2 percent in 2015-16 due to better monsoon. •

The total area coverage under Rabi crops was recorded to be 616.2 lakh hectare on January 13, 2017 which is 5.9 percent higher than previous year.

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Similarly the area coverage under wheat as on January 13, 2017 is 7.1 percent higher while the area coverage under gram is 10.6 percent higher than that in the corresponding week of last year.

Industrial Growth The survey estimates a growth rate of the industrial sector to be moderate at 5.2 percent in 2016-17 from 7.4 percent in 2015-16. Services Sector The Service sector has been estimated to grow at 8.9 percent in 2016-17 which is almost similar to that in 2015-16. Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development The survey highlighted that the Parliament has passed the “Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016” to enhance the rights and entitlements of Persons with Disabilities. It envisages increasing the reservation in vacancies in government establishments from 3 percent to 4 percent for those persons with disability. •

The Survey says Apparel and Leather industry have immense opportunity for job creation for the weaker sections, especially for women and can lead to social transformation in the country.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF •

It points out that the capacity of the State to provide essential services such as health and education to weaker section of the society is weak due to low capacity, with high levels of corruption, clientelism, rules and red tapism.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Partners with Fisdom for Mission FINFIT i. The private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank in partnership with Bangalore based fin-tech startup firm Fisdom, has launched a mobile application “Mission FINFIT” to offer the customers of the bank financial planning and personal wealth management services based on Robo advisory. ii. The mobile app would enable the customer of the bank to plan their finances in an effective manner using the online platform for wealth management thus encouraging them to invest smarter. Reserve Bank Lifts ATM Withdrawal Limits Effective From February 1 i. As per the announcement by Reserve Bank of India on January 30, 2017, the daily withdrawal limit from ATM will be removed with effect from February 1, 2017. However the weekly limit to withdraw Rs. 24000 from savings account will still continue. ii. Earlier, the RBI had hiked the daily withdrawal limit from savings account on January 16, 2017 to Rs. 10000. iii. Besides, the Central bank has also removed the cash withdrawal limit from current accounts/ cash credit accounts/ overdraft accounts with immediate effect. India Post Payment Bank Begins Pilot Service in Ranchi & Raipur i. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) started its operations on January 30, 2017 with the pilot services launched in Raipur and Ranchi. ii .The total paid up capital of the bank is Rs. 800 crore and the government has already infused Rs. 275 crore. iii. IPPB will offer an interest rate of 4.5 percent on deposits up to Rs.25,000; 5 percent on deposits of Rs.25,000-50,000 and 5.5 percent on Rs.50,000-1 lakh. iv. The main of IPPB is to encourage financial inclusion rather than promoting commercial interests. It would work jointly with the Department of Post to offer the benefits of the government schemes and financial services which is not easily available to rural people and marginal population of urban area. v. IPPB would enable 3 lakh postmen to aid in bank functions. Besides, 1000 ATMs of India Post will be transferred to IPPB. The bank has made plans to launch 650 branches across the country by September 2017.

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FICCI’s Economic Outlook Survey Projects GDP to grow 6.8 Percent in FY 17 i. Based on the latest Economic Outlook Survey report released by FICCI on January 30, 2017, the India’s GDP is projected to grow 6.8 percent this fiscal which is 0.5 percent points less than FICCI’s previous estimate of 7.3 percent. ii. FICCI conducted the last round of survey between December 2016 and January 2017 and collected responses from leading economists representing industry, banking and financial services sectors. iii. A slowdown in the estimate is due to the decrease in services and infrastructure sectors post demonetization. ICRA Estimates Banks Credit Growth to Remain Subdued at 5-6 percent in FY17 As per the report of the rating agency, ICRA, the bank credit growth rate is likely to float between 5-6 percent in the current fiscal year.The reason cited includes weak loan demand as the rate of return offered by debt market is better in comparison to banks. ♦ Besides, the deposit rate was also projected to drop to 12 percent from the current 14.7 percent this fiscal ending March 2017 due to better cash flow in the system and cut in the deposit rate by the banks.

Banking & Finance Awareness February 2017 India’s fiscal deficit reaches 94% of the budget estimate in December i. Fiscal deficit in the first nine months of 2016-17 touched 93.9 per cent of the Budget target against 87.9 per cent for the same period a year ago. ii.In value terms, the April-December fiscal deficit stood at Rs 5.01 lakh crore, or 93.9 per cent, of 2016-17 Budget estimates (BE). iii. The fiscal deficit stood at 87.9 per cent in the corresponding nine months a year ago, as per 2015-16 Budget estimates. HSBC Estimates India’s GDP Growth at 7.1% in 2017-18 i. HSBC has estimated the GDP growth rate of India at 7.1 percent for the year 201718 which is up from the 6.3 percent in the year 2016-17. ii. The main reason for this increase is cited to sufficient remonetization by April end, thus boosting the consumption level in the country to normal. Besides, the schemes announced in Budget 2017-18 are also seen to play major role in the growth rate. iii. Besides, the investment is projected to remain weak within a range of 7.5-8 percent.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF NABARD Sanctions Rs 157 crore Loan to Haryana for Drinking Water Project i. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on February 2, 2017 sanctioned a loan amount of Rs. 157 crore to the Government of Haryana to undertake drinking water project. ii. Under the project, the government would undertake drinking water supply scheme in 84 villages of districts Palwal and Faridabad. iii. As per the project, portable drinking water would be supplied in selected villages in blocks Prithla, Palwal and Ballabhgarh from Yamuna flood plain by constructing ranney wells and deep tubewells. iv .The project is likely to benefit 3,06,814 persons. The loan amount has been sanctioned from the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). v. Till date NABARD has provided Rs 5,794 crore assistance to Harayana government under RIDF since its inception in 1995-96. India and World Bank signs Financing Agreement Worth US$ 201.50 Million for TEQIP III i. The Government of India has signed a USD 201.50 million credit agreement with the World Bank on February 1, 2017 to improve the quality and equity of engineering education across several states in India. ii. The agreement was signed by Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India and Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank India, on behalf of the World Bank. iii. The agreement signed was for the third phase of the Technical Education Quality Improvement Project (TEQIP III). iv. The project aims to strengthen engineering education in low-income group, hill states and states of the North East. TEQIP III will support nearly 200 engineering education institutes across India to produce higher quality engineers. Gross NPA of PSBs Strikes 9.83% in FY16 and 11.82% by September 2016 i. As per the data released by the Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar in the Lok Sabha on February 3, 2017, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) witnessed a bad loan at 9.83percent of the gross advances in the financial year (FY) 2015-16, while the bad loans for Private sector banks were capped at 2.70 percent of the advances. ii. For the FY16, PSBs had gross advances of Rs. 51,04,915 crore. Out of this Rs 5,02,068 crore was categorized as gross non-performing assets (GNPA) which accounts for 9.83 percent iii. In case of the Private sector bank of the total Rs 17,91,681 crore gross advances made in FY16, only Rs 48,380 crore were gross NPA means only 2.70 percent. iv. Further, till September 2016, PSBs gross NPA hiked to Rs 5,89,502 crore which is 11.82

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF percent of the total advances made till date. Besides, when the gross NPAs were combined with the restructured advances, they rose to 15.88 percent as on September 30, 2016. Reserve Bank of India Allows NRIs access to ETCD market i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on February 2, 2017 permitted the NRIs to have access to the exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) market. This will enable the NRIs to hedge the currency risk due to making investment in India. ii. Till date NRIs were allowed to hedge their currency risk through Over-The-Counter (OTC) transaction with the Authorized Dealer (AD) banks. iii. Access to ETCD market will provide them an additional hedging option though subjected to certain conditions. iv .Firstly NRIs would have to nominate a bank that will monitor and report the position of the NRI concerned in the OTC and ETCD segments. RBI Directs Banks to Waive off Transactions Charges and Decrease Interest Rate for Credit Cards i. The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks on February 3, 2017 to waive off transaction charges and lower interest rates on credit cards as a move to encourage digital transaction. ii. RBI has decided that customers would not be levied any charges by banks and prepaid payment instrument issuers for transactions up to Rs. 1,000 settled on Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) till March 3, 2017. iii. It has also directed banks to lower the interest on credit card dues. Interest rates are determined by banks with the approval of their respective Board of Directors subject to regulatory guidelines on the interest rate on advances issued by RBI from time to time. iv. Transaction settled on IMPS and UPI above Rs. 1000 would not be levied any fee charge however the service tax will be charged at actual. For USSD transactions above Rs. 1,000 a further 50 paise discount is provided. HDFC Bank Hikes Cash Transaction Fees on Savings Accounts i. India’s second largest private sector bank, HDFC, has planned to increase the fee for savings account holders doing cash transaction in order to encourage digital mode of payment. ii. The bank on has reduced the third party transaction limit to Rs. 25000 a day. Earlier this limit was Rs. 50000. Besides, it has also reduced the number of free transactions at branches from 5 to 4. iii. The fee for non free transaction has been increased to Rs. 150. For the free transaction, the bank has limited the cash transaction to Rs. 2 lakh, above which customers will have to pay a minimum of Rs. 150 or Rs. 5 per thousand.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF

iv. The free transaction for non-home branches is only Rs. 25,000 after which fees set in at the same level would be levied.The applicable restrictions would come into effect from March 1, 2017. Bank of Maharashtra ties up with Cigna TTK i. Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra has partnered with insurance company Cigna TTK Health to market the insurer’s products in the bank’s branches across the entire country ii. Under the agreement, the bank will offer the all of Cigna TTK’s superior health insurance products to its 2 crore customers through its network of over 1,896 branches, its 14,000 bank employees across the country as well as through its digital platforms. Axis Bank ties up with Earthport i. India’s third largest private bank, Axis Bank has tied up with Earthport Plc, a cross-border payment network, to enable faster outbound cross-border payments for its customers through Earthport’s state-of-the-art global payments network. ii. Axis Bank has become the first bank in India to connect with Earthport’s global payments network, which spans over 60 countries. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Starts Pilot Operation in Bengaluru i. The Ujjivan Small Finance Bank officially started its operation on February 6, 2017 with 5 pilot branches in Bengaluru. Samit Ghosh is the MD and CEO of the Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. ii. The five pilot branches of the Ujjivan SFB would offer full services to its customers. The Small Finance Bank will test its technology, channels, people and processes for a period of one month as a part of its pilot launch. iii. The Bank aims to launch about 14 branches by March 2017 and extend services across 457 branches in 24 states in a planned and phased manner over the next few months. PNB Housing Finance limited & CREDAI-West Bengal Signs MoU to train construction workers in West Bengal i. The PNB Housing Finance Limited (PNBHFL) and CREDAI West Bengal, has signed an MoU on February 6, 2017, wherein CREDAI-Bengal would train 1000 construction workers in Kolkata and nearby villages. ii. The MoU aims to address the need to speed up the construction pace for quicker delivery and hand-overs. iii. For providing the training CREDAI-Bengal would set up permanent skill development centres in Medinipur and Murshidabad. These places have huge concentration of construction workers.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF iv. Half of the training cost would be borne by the West Bengal State Government and PNBHFL while remaining half would be borne by the developer of the construction site from where workers would be trained. v. CREDAI would provide training that would include both ‘Classroom’ and On the job training’. It will provide training in collaboration with National Skill Development council Bengal. IDFC Bank, IndiaLends tie-up for loan services to 1st timers i. Private sector lender IDFC Bank has collaborated with fintech startup IndiaLends to enable first time borrowers who do not have a credit history to take loans. ii. Loan requests by salaried applicants without credit history will now be processed on a real time basis. The unique solution is being offered through a tie-up with IndiaLends, a financial technology startup. Sixth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Review of RBI for 2016-17 The Reserve Bank of India announced its sixth bimonthly monetary policy review for 2016-17, on February 8, 2017 and has maintained its status quo with key policy rate unchanged. •

On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation in the country, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the key rates unchanged.

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The RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 6-0 in favor of the key rates, which is the third unanimous decision in a row since it was first set up in September 2016.

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The next meeting of the MPC under the chairmanship of RBI governor Urjit Patel is scheduled on April 5 and 6, 2017.

Key Policy Rates 1. Repo Rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF):6.25 percent (Unchanged) 2. Reverse Repo Rate under the LAF: 5.75 percent (Unchanged) 3. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF): 6.75 percent (Unchanged) 4. Bank Rate: 6.75 percent (Unchanged) 5. Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4 percent (Unchanged) 6. Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): 20.50 percent (Unchanged) RBI Key Projection Inflation RBI had projected the headline inflation at 5 percent in Q4 of 2016-17 in December. •

In sixth bimonthly monetary policy review, RBI has projected the inflation to be in the range of 4% to 4.5% in the first half of 2017-18 and in the range of 4% to 4.5% in the second half of 2017-18.

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The MPC aims to achieve consumer price index (CPI) inflation at 5 percent by Q4 of 2016-17.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF GDP Growth The RBI has projected GDP growth in the current fiscal at 6.9 percent. It expects the growth to recover sharply in 2017-18 and reach 7.4 percent. GVA Growth •

RBI has projected the GVA growth for 2016-17 at 6.9 percent from the existing 7.1 percent.

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Growth is expected to recover sharply in 2017-18 and accordingly, GVA growth for 2017-18 is projected at 7.4 percent.

Current Account Deficit RBI has proposed the current account deficit (CAD) to remain below 1 percent of GDP in 2016-17. Cash withdrawal Limit •

RBI has announced that from March 13, 2017, there would be no limit on cash withdrawal.

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Besides, with effect from February 20, the withdrawal limit from savaing accounts will increase from Rs 24,000 a week to Rs 50,000 a week.

RBI to Set up Enforcement Department to Monitor Bank The Reserve Bank of India on February 8, 2017 informed about its decision to set up a separate Enforcement Department to effectively monitor bank in case they violate regulations. The Enforcement Department will start operations from April 1, 2017. •

Presently, each department of RBI takes action against banks for violations of rules. With Enforcement Department, a centralized department would be set up to deal with the issue.

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Besides, RBI has also proposed to set up a separate committee on cyber security. The committee has been set up based on the recommendations of the expert panel on information technology examination and cyber security headed by Meena Hemachandra

Federal Bank Inks Pact with Commodity Online for Loans Against Warehouse Receipts i. Private sector lender Federal Bank Limited has partnered with Commodity Online, a leading online data and information portal for the distribution of loans against warehouse receipts and collateral management services across the country. ii. Commodity Online will launch an agri-commodity financing platform through its portal www.commodityonline.com. iii. The partnership will enable Federal Bank to digitally provide financing for agri-commodities with collateral management across India. iv .The farmers and traders with the help of the portal can track commodity markets and warehouses online as per their convenience and eventually get financing for their commodities quickly.

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HDFC & Kotak Mahindra Bank Goes Live on Bharat Bill Payment System i. The Private sector lenders HDFC Bank started operating its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) on February 7, 2017 to ease the bill payment service for the customers. ii .Along with HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank also went live with the BBPS service. iii. BBPS was introduced by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is a centralized payment platform that offers speed and convenience to pay all types of bills. iv .A customer can pay multiple bills from a single platform without the need of visiting multiple websites or issuing individual cheques, or also registering billers with her bank for standard instructions for debit. v. The BBPS offers integrated and interoperable bill payment service with security, certainty and reliability of transactions. vi. The service is available in multiple payment modes, online and through a network of agents. An instant confirmation is generated for the bill payments. The BBPS will transform the society from cash to electronic payment system, making it less dependent on cash. Bank of Baroda & IFFCO Signs Pact to Launch Co-Branded Debit Card i. Fertiliser major IFFCO and Bank of Baroda have signed an MoU on February 7, 2017 to launch co-branded debit cards for farmers in a bid to promote cashless transactions in the rural area. ii. The MoU was signed by Yogendra Kumar, General Manager (Marketing), IFFCO and GB Panda, General Manager (government relationships), Bank of Baroda. iii .Under the MoU, Bank of Baroda will open Aadhaar-enabled accounts of farmers and issue co-branded debits card to the specified farmers with overdraft facility of Rs 2,500 per card. iv. Besides, IFFCO would take the guarantee of the total outstanding amount of any of the farmers default due to various reasons. v. The MoU aims to issue 2 lakh co-branded debit cards to selected farmers on the basis of the recommendation of its authorised representative. Initially, the co-branded cards will be given to the farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh after which rest of the states would be covered. Bank of America opens Automated Branches in Select Markets i. Bank of America Corp has opened three completely automated branches over the past month with no working employee wherein customers can use ATMs and have video conferences with employees at other branches. ii. Many US banks are making efforts to reduce its overall branches number to cut costs even as it opens new branches in select markets.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Government Sells 2% stake in ITC to Raise Rs. 6,690 Crore i. As a part of its disinvestment plan for 2016-17, the central government sold 2 percent of its stake in ITC to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on February 7, 2017 and earned Rs 6,690 crore. ii. Held under the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), the stake was sold at Rs 275.85 per share through block deals. Cabinet approves Acquisition of Subsidiary Banks by State Bank of India The Union Cabinet approved the merger of the State Bank of India with its 5 subsidiary banks namely State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur; State Bank of Hyderabad; State Bank of Mysore; State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore. •

Besides, the Cabinet has also approved the introduction of a Bill in Parliament to abolish the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 and the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956.

BoB to Finance MSME in Diamond Sector at Concessional Rates i. Bank of Baroda is planning to launch a supply chain financing product for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the diamond industry to boost their existence in the sector. ii .The bank will begin the supply chain financing on pilot basis in Surat. Cutting and polishing units, which procure roughs from large companies and supply finished products back, will be provided finance at a competitive rate of interest. iii. This move is expected to give a boost to MSMEs as well as the corporate segment within the diamond industry. Government to launch Indradhanush 2.0 for Recapitalization of PSBs i. Union Government has decided to launch ‘Indradhanush 2.0’ for recapitalisation of public sector lenders so that the banks remain solvent and fully comply with the global capital adequacy norms namely Basel-III. ii. The Indradhanush 2.0 programme will be finalised by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after completion of Asset Quality Review (AQR) being undertaken and is likely to be completed by Centre Allocates Rs. 500 crore to India Post Payments Bank for FY18 i. Government has allocated an amount of Rs 500 crore to India Post Payments Bank for the financial year 2017-18 to help it in setting up 650 branches across country by September 2017. ii. As per Output-Outcome Framework for Schemes 2017-18 for the Department of Posts released on February 13, 2017, out of the allocated amount, Rs. 125 crore has been allocated as

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“capital infusion into corporate entity for India Post Payments Bank” and Rs 375 crore as “grant in aid to India Post Payments Bank (IPPB)”. Nomura Projects India’s GDP at 5.7 % in January-March quarter i. According to the global financial services major Nomura, the GDP growth of India is estimated to remain low at 5.7 percent in the January-March quarter due to the effect of demonetization of high value currency. ii. Nomura expects the economic growth to slow from 7.3 per cent GDP growth in the JulySeptember 2016 to 6 percent in the October-December 2016 quarter and further to 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 ending March 2017. World Bank Group, IFC to Conduct Training Programmes for NBFCs i. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a part of the World Bank Group has partnered with Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) to conduct training programmes for Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs). ii. For this two engagement letters have been signed between IFC and FIDC on February 13, 2017 in New Delhi between Jun Zhang, IFC India Country Head and Raman Aggarwal, Chairman of FIDC, a representative body for NBFCs, especially those engaged in asset financing. iii. The training programmes will focus on ‘movable asset financing’ and ‘commercial credit reporting’. It would be held at various centres across the country under the guidance of leading consultants from the World Bank Group. IDFC Asset Management Company launches Open-Ended Fixed Income Fund i. IDFC Asset Management Company launched an open-ended fixed income fund named Credit Opportunities Fund on February 13 in Mumbai which is expected to raise the revenue of the company in the range of Rs 300 crore-500 crore within the NFO period itself. ii. A new fund offer (NFO) is the first time subscription offer for a new scheme launched by the asset management companies (AMCs). A new fund offer is launched in the market to raise capital from the public in order to buy securities like shares, govt. bonds etc. from the market. iii. The Credit Opportunities Fund will open for subscription on February 14 and close on February 27. It will reopen for continuous sale and repurchase from March 6, 2017. HDFC Life Launches ‘Pragati’ Plan For Low Income Group i. Life insurance firm, HDFC life launched a traditional life insurance plan, Pragati, on February 15, 2017 for low income group people. ii. The plan has been designed especially to empower low income families by making the plan

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF available at affordable rate to every person who has the desire to secure his family. iii. Pragati will offer dual benefit. Firstly a systematic savings with guaranteed premium returns and secondly a wholesome life protection making it an ideal financial product for every Indian household. RBI will Reimburse Banks MDR Charges Effective January 1, 2017 i. The Reserve Bank of India has decided to reimburse banks Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges on debit cards used by citizens for payment with effect from January 1, 2017. ii .In December 2016, the government had decided to absorb the merchant discount rate (MDR) charges in respect of debit card transactions for making payments to it to encourage people to use digital payments post demonetisation. iii. RBI has directed the banks to forward their claim for reimbursement of MDR along with statutory auditor’s certificate to RBI’s Nagpur office on a quarterly basis. iv .For the quarter ending March 2017, the banks have been asked to file claim by April 30. Citi Bank launches instant chat service for customers i. Mumbai based Citi Bank has launched instant chat services for customers named Citibank Online (CBOL) on February 16, 2017. With this India become the first country in Asia Pacific within the Citi network to have this kind of service. ii. CBOL will focuses on resolving queries instantly regarding cards,loans, domestic and nonresident accounts, and online transactions. RBI Doubles Gold Loan Limit for Regional Rural Banks to Rs. 2 lakhs i. The Reserve Bank of India increased the gold loan limit for RRBs (Regional Rural Banks) to Rs 2 lakh from the current Rs 1 lakh on February 16, 2017 to help the farmers and artisans have access to credit who are willing to pledge gold as collateral. ii. The limit has been doubled for the loans not exceeding 12 months from the date of sanction. Name and Shame Campaign of Catholic Syrian Bank Starts Paying Dividends i. The Name and Shame Campaign initiated by Catholic Syrian Bank Employees and Retirees against willful Defaulters in Kerala have started paying dividends. ii. As per the bank, of the 30 defaulters identified with dues of more than Rs. 50 lakh each, about 10 borrowers have approached the bank with settlement proposals and the bank has also received firm assurance for payments worth Rs. 25 crore from defaulters. Government Increases the Cash Credit Limit For MSMEs To 30 % i. The Union government has increased the Cash Credit (CC) limit for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to 30 percent of turnover from the existing 20 percent to encourage them to conduct businesses digitally.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ii. Through digital means of conducting the business, the balance sheet of companies would be clean and this would help MSMEs to get loans from banks and promote Ease of Doing Business. iii.Presently the taxes for MSMes are calculated at 8 percent for revenue of up to Rs 2 crore. With digital transaction, tax liability will be reduced from 8 percent to 6 percent. Canara Bank Inks MoU with HRD Ministry to Start Higher Education Financing Agency i. Bangalore based Public sector Canara Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on February 17, 2017 to operationalize the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). ii. The establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2016. iii. Through this MoU, HRD Ministry and Canara Bank will jointly promote the HEFA with an authorised capital of Rs. 2,000 crore. Mastercard to Provide Payments Processing Solution for Airtel Payment Bank i. Leading global payments and technology firm, Mastercard is set to provide payments processing solution to Airtel Payments Bank. ii. The payment processing platform will enable the Airtel Payment Bank in providing various payment services like switching, card management along with support for reconciliation and dispute management processes. iii. As per the announcement by Mastercard on February 17, 2017, Mastercard and Airtel Payments bank have also launched India’s first online debit card along with a prepaid card, both of which is accessible through the Myairtel App. Karnataka Bank Launches National Pension System in Mangaluru i. Mangaluru based private sector lender Karnataka Bank Ltd launched National Pension System (NPS) at its corporate office in Mangaluru on February 16, 2017. ii. Aim: To provide financial security at old age by giving regular income in the form of pension. iii. Under the scheme, one can contribute to NPS while earning and eventually start receiving pension on his/her attaining the age of 60 years to meet their financial needs. iv .To avail the benefit, any individual between the ages 18-60 years can register their name with the bank branch to contribute and to get pension benefit. SBI ties up with Greenply to offer financial services to its dealers i. Mumbai based State Bank of India(SBI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with India’s largest interior infrastructure company Greenply Industries to grow its channel financing business of Greenply Industries on electronic platformon February 18, 2017. ii. SBI will extend financial services to Greenply dealers to grow further on a very competitive

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pricing. iii. It has also taken initiative to stop use of paper from its branches for end-to-end digitisation. RBI Permits Multilateral Financial Institutions to Invest in Masala Bonds i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted Multilateral Financial Institutions (FIs) to invest in rupee denominated bonds commonly known as ‘Masala Bonds’ issued by Indian entities. ii. As per the notification by RBI on February 16, 2017, the move will enable the Indian entities issuing rupee denominated bonds abroad to have wider choice of investors. OMA Emirates Enters Indian Market, Acquires MobiSwipe i. In an effort to extend the services to neighboring countries and enhance market share, leading United Arab Emirates (UAE) payments solutions provider OMA Emirates has entered the Indian Market, beginning with the acquisition of mobile point of sale (mPOS) firm MobiSwipe. ii. MobiSwipe allows merchants to accept payments via Credit and Debit card by using the mobile application. The acquisition will help MobiSwipe to be offered in countries outside India also. iii. As per the announcement made by OMA Emirates on February 17, 2017, the company will begins the Indian operations from Mumbai and eventually plans to open offices in other parts of the country beginning with Metros and Tier 1 cities. iv. Presently, OMA Emirates have presence in Middle East, Europe and select parts of Asia. In India, the firm will begin with providing services like business development, sales and marketing. v. The aim of OMA Emirates is to increase its sales and market share in by extending its operations to neighboring countries. It will also help to increase the product line of the firm by way of partnerships, alliances and investments. Oriental Bank of Commerce Launches Mobile Wallet ‘Batuaa’ i. The Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) launched a series of digital offerings for its customers on February 19, 2017 which also marks the 75th Foundation Day of the bank. ii. The OBC bank introduced a new version of mobile banking in the form of mobile app under the name ‘Oriental Batuaa’ to provide banking services through app. iii. Besides, OBC also launched two new RuPay cards, Oriental Premium card and Oriental Prepaid Card. iv. Oriental Premium card is a RuPay based Platinum international debit card with airport lounge access. Oriental Prepaid Card is a RuPay card for individuals and corporates’. v. The bank also launched two MSME schemes ‘Oriental Sanjeevani’ and ‘Oriental Budget Hotels and Restaurants’.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF vi. Oriental Sanjeevani is a specialised scheme for doctors for setting up new hospitals and clinics. The Oriental Budget Hotels and Restaurants scheme is for individuals, proprietors, companies etc for setting up new hotels, restaurants, lodges, motels etc. GST Council Approves Law to Compensate States for Revenue Loss i .The GST Council approved a law to compensate states for any loss of revenue from the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) in the first five years, on February 18, 2017 at the 10th GST Council Meet at Udaipur. ii. The compensation bill will be taken to Parliament in 2nd half of Budget Session to be held from March 9, 2017. iii. The next meeting of the council will be held on March 4-5, 2017 at New Delhi and will aim to approve the draft laws on Central GST, Inter State GST as well as State GST. SBI Rebrands Corporate Website as bank.sbi i. The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) rebranded its corporate website as “bank.sbi” from the earlier “sbi.co.in” on February 19, 2017. ii. Now bank.sbi is the highest domain protocol commonly known as generic top level domain (gTLD). iii. With this, SBI has become the first banking organization in India to adopt gTLD for its internet presence. iv .The adoption of gTLD will enable SBI to use its corporate name .sbi as their website’s top-level identifier instead of using “.com” or “.co.in” as domains. SEBI Approves IRB InvIT Fund to Raise Fund Through IPO i. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given its approval to IRB InvIT Fund, to raise Rs 4,300 crore through an initial public offering (IPO). ii. IRB InvIT Fund is an investment trust sponsored by IRB Infrastructure Developers Limited, an Indian highway construction company headquartered in Mumbai. iii .Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are like mutual fund schemes which pool in money from individual investors for investing in infrastructure initiatives. Karnataka Bank Signs MoU with Daimler India i. Magaluru based Karnataka Bank Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) on February 20, 2017 to extend finance to customers for the purchase of commercial vehicles manufactured by the company. ii .The deal will benefit the customers belonging to sectors such as MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) to purchase commercial vehicles.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF EPFO introduces Single Page Composite Claim Form i. Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), the retirement body of India introduced single page composite claim form that enable its subscribers to withdraw money from their PF account at an ease. ii. The form does not require employers’ attestation, but the facility can be availed only for those subscribers whose Aadhaar number and bank account details are seeded with their Universal Account Number (UAN). iii. The new single-page form can be submitted with the attestation of employers. In this new form, no revenue stamp of Re 1 is required in both the cases whether you are filling Aadhaarbased composite form or the non-Aadhaar based composite form. Bharat Financial Launches Instant Microloan Facility i. Hyderabad based non-banking finance company Microfinance institution Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd launched an instant loan approval at a village near Bassi in Jaipur district, Rajasthan ii. The objective of this initiative to help rural areas embrace cashless transactions. The loan amount will be deposited directly to the loanees bank account. iii. The loan facility based on a three-step verification process of Aadhar-based eKYC, credit bureau authentication and eSign and non collateral loans up to Rs 60,000 for one year to rural women. iv. It will be rolled out by June 2017 in all microfinance companys nationwide network with several being in Rajasthan, Bihar and Delhi. SIDBI, Vijaya Bank combine to provide concessional loans to micro, small units i. Lucknow based Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bengaluru based Vijaya Bank for providing concessional finance to micro and small enterprises (MSEs). ii. Aim: To promote and strengthen the units in the MSE segment iii. The MoU also expect joint financing/co-financing of MSMEs for meeting capital expenditure under the ‘SIDBI Make in India Soft Loan Fund for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises’ scheme at concessional rate of 9.60 per cent, along with working capital from Vijaya Bank. ICRA says GVA growth to decline by 70 bps to 6.2% in Q3 i. Guragon based Domestic rating agency ICRA reported that the gross value added (GVA) is set to slip to 6.2 per cent in the third quarter from 6.9 per cent and GDP growth will decline to 6.5 per cent from 7.2 per cent. ii. Services sector is expected to ease to 8 per cent from 9.1 per cent in line with moderation in fuel demand following the note ban.

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iii. Industrial growth is set to more than halve to 4 per cent from 8.6 per cent, led by manufacturing, construction and mining and quarrying. iv. The annual growth of systemic deposits improved to 15.2 per cent as of December 23, 2016 from 10.2 per cent. Oriental Bank Ties Up With Chola MS To Sell Insurance Products i. Haryana based Oriental Bank of Commerce has signed a corporate agency agreement with Chennai based general insurance provider Cholamandalam General Insurance Company for distribution of insurance products on February 22, 2017 ii.The partnership will benefit our customers and through this ties up iii. The insurance products includes motor, health, home and travel India’s GDP projected to slow to 6.6% post-demonetisation, says IMF i .International Monetary Fund come up with India’s growth projection which predicted slow 6.6 per cent in 2016-17 fiscal due to “temporary disruptions” caused by demonetisation. ii. The IMF has noted that demonetisation would have only short term impact on the economy and it would bounce back to its expected growth of more than 8% in the next few years. iii. The IMF said in its annual country report on India mentioned that growth is projected to slow to 6.6 per cent in FY2016/17, then rebound to 7.2 per cent in FY2017/18, due to temporary disruptions, primarily to private consumption as a result of cash shortage India Signs $375 Mn Loan Pact with ADB for Industrial Corridor i. The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a 375-milliondollar loans and grants on February 23, 2017 in New Delhi to develop 800-km Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor. ii. The project is the first phase of a planned 2,500–kilometer long East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) having total cost of 846 million dollars. iii. The MoU was signed between LB Sondjaja, Deputy Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission on behalf of ADB and Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), in the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of Government of India. Government to Provide Rs. 3000 crore Bailout Package to IDBI Bank i. The government has announced to bailout IDBI Bank with Rs. 3,000-crore capital infusion to enable the bank to have better capital-adequacy ratio and further enhance credit growth. ii. The financial assistance will help the bank to maintain stability.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF iii. IDBI Bank’s lending portfolio is mostly in corporate segment and that is one of the major reasons for increase in its bad loans. Dena Bank Unveils RFID-Enabled Cards For Better Customer Service i. Dena Bank has unveiled a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enabled banking card on February 23, 2017 at its Mumbai branch. ii. The RFID card will help the branch manager to identify a valued customer entering the bank having RFID card by displaying the complete information about that customer on the managers desktop. iii .The facility will help the bank branch to take better care of the client’s requirement and offer the services promptly. iv. The RFID card is being introduced in select branches of Dena bank with the first branch with RFID enabled technology has been launched at the Dena Bank JVPD branch, Mumbai. UBI ties up with IRCTC to launch railway booking facility i. Public sector banks United Bank of India (UBI) has signed agreement with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IRCTC) for railway ticket booking facility. ii. This new facility was available from February 21 2017 iii. Now UBI customers can now book railway tickets seamlessly through IRCTC website using the bank’s debit card. NCAER Lowers India’s GDP Growth Forecast to 6.9 per cent for FY17 i. An economic think-tank, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has lowered India’s GDP growth to 6.9 percent for the fiscal 2016-17 compared to previous estimation of 7.6 percent. ii. The decline in the growth forecast is based on the demonetization effect. iii. According to NCAER, the growth rate would rebound to 7.3 percent for 2017-18. iv .Besides, it also predicted the Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic price would grow at 6.3 percent in 2016-17 and 7 percent in 2017-18. v .Real Agriculture GVA is estimated to grow at 3.7 percent, Real Industry GVA at 5.5 percent and Real Services GVA at 7.3 percent in 2016-17. vi. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation is projected at 3.6 percent for 2016-17. However, the inflation is projected to accelerate in 2017-18 due to rising crude oil inflation. India To Remain Fastest Growing Economy Among G-20 Nations Despite Demonetization: Moody’s i. Moody’s Investors Service report released on February 23, 2017 states that despite the currency demonetisation drive by Government of India, the country will continue to be

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF the fastest growing economy among G-20 countries in 2017. ii. As per the report titled ‘Modest Acceleration in the Global Economy, but Shifting US Policies Inject Uncertainty’, India is expected to have the fastest-growing economy among all G-20 countries with growth rate at 7.1% for 2017, though lower as compared to previous expectation of 7.5%. iii. With respect to the global growth, G-20 countries is expected to have a growth rate of 3 percent in 2017 and 2018 from 2.6 percent in 2016. DIPP Reports FDI Inflow Grows by 18% to USD 46 billion in 2016 i. According to the data by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India grew 18 percent during 2016 to attract $46 billion as compared to $39.32 billion in 2015. ii. The main sectors which attracted the maximum foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. iii. Besides, the major FDI contributing countries were Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands and Japan. Foxconn and SoftBank Forms $1.2B Joint Venture i. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (SBG) on February 24, 2017 entered into a definitive agreement with Foxconn Technology Group (Foxconn) of Taiwan to establish a joint venture through Softbank Group Capital Apac Pte Ltd at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. ii. Softbank Group Capital Apac Pte Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of SBG. The deal is expected to take effect on March 1. iii. Under the agreement, Foxconn would buy 54.5% stake in SoftBank Group Capital Apac Pte Ltd for $600 million while the remaining would be controlled by SBG. iv. Under the partnership, investments would be made in initiatives that will integrate SoftBank’s expertise in investments and the Foxconn’s manufacturing and technology services to maximize the profitability of the venture. Foxconn will also be responsible for management of the operation as a whole Government Issues Sovereign Gold Bonds 2016-17-Series IV The Government of India launched the 7th tranche of the Sovereign Gold Bonds on February 27, 2017 and it will be the last offering for 2016-17.The Sovereign Gold Bonds 2016-17–Series IV will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of Government of India. ♦ Applications for the bond will be accepted from February 27, 2017 to March 03, 2017 and the Bonds will be issued on March 17, 2017. Features of the Bond i. The bonds will be issued in denominations of one gram of gold and multiples thereof and be

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available in both demat and paper form. ii .Minimum investment in the bonds shall be 1 gram per person while maximum limit of 500 grams per person per fiscal year. iii. Price of the bonds shall be fixed in Indian rupees on the basis of simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity as published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Limited (IBJA) for the week preceding the subscription period. The issue price shall be Rs 50 per gram less than the nominal value. iv. The bonds shall bear a fixed interest rate of 2.50 percent per annum on the amount of initial investment. v. Payment shall be accepted in Indian rupees through cash up to a maximum of Rs 20,000 or demand drafts or cheque or electronic banking. vi .The holding period of the bond has been fixed for a period of 8 years. Pre-mature redemption of the bond is also permitted from 5th year of the date of issue on the interest payment dates. SIDBI sanctions Rs.1,112 crore this Fiscal to Startups i. An expert committee set up by SIDBI, Venture Capital Investment Committee (VCIC) has sanctioned Rs 300 crore to fund managers who would invest in startups, thus taking the total sanctions in 2016-17 to over Rs 1,100 crore. ii. In its 7th meeting on the February 11, VCIC examined requests from 11 fund managers and cleared sanction requests from 9 Funds aggregating Rs 300 crores. iii .SIDBI’s VCIC comprises of former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, former Nasscom chief Kiran Karnik, Indian Angel Network Founder Saurabh Srivastava, Founder ofInfo EdgeSanjeev Bikhchandani, among others.. iv. During fiscal year 2014-15 sanctions were made to 11 funds (Rs 314 crores) while in 2015-16 sanctions were made to 16 funds (Rs 607 crores). v. During the current financial year, till date Rs 1,112 crores has already been sanctioned to 30 funds Apollo Munich and Dena Bank Enters Into Bancassurance Tie-Up i. In order to expand its business across the country, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company has tied up with Mumbai-based Dena Bank on February 27, 2017 to provide its insurance product to the large customer base of the bank. ii .Under the tie-up the bank will distribute customised Apollo Munich Health insurance and personal accident policies to the bank’s 20 million customers across India.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF iii. Apollo Munich Health has also developed specialised health insurance solutions with distinctive benefits exclusively for Dena Bank customers. iv .The health insurance policies will be available in the form of individual, as well as family floater plans beginning with Rs. 2 lakh up to a limit of Rs. 10 lakhs. RBI Establishes Committee To Review Cyber Threats i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an 11 member Inter-disciplinary Standing Committee on Cyber Security on February 28, 2017. ii. The committee will be chaired by RBI Executive Director Meena Hemchandra. iii .The panel has the freedom to co-opt more experts in future and also operate through a framework of sub-committees to examine specific issues. iv. The committee will be responsible to review the threats emerging from the use of technology, study adoption of new technology standards and suggest appropriate policy interventions to strengthen cyber security and resilience. SIDBI, CSFB pact to help MSMEs avail loans at cheaper rate i. Lucknow based Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and India’s first small finance bank Capital Small Finance Bank (CSFB) signed Memorandum of Understandingto enable it to provide loans at a concessional rate to MSMEs. ii. Aim: To promote and strengthen the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) iii. Th MoU will envisages joint financing/co-financing of MSMEs for capital expenditure under ‘SIDBI Make in India Soft Loan Fund for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises’, popularly known as SMILE at a concessional rate of 9.60 per cent by SIDBI Lakshmi Vilas Bank Signs MoU with Centrum for its HNI Clients i. Chennai-based private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has tied up with Centrum Group on February 27, 2017 in which the bank will refer its High Net Worth Individuals (HNI) to Centrum for wealth management and family office services. ii. Centrum will conduct the business through its wealth management arm, Centrum Wealth Management and will offer its existing portfolio of wealth management services to the bank’s HNI clients. iii. The agreement was signed between Parthasarathi Mukherjee, managing director & CEO, LVB and Jaspal Bindra, executive chairman, Centrum Group. American Express Launches ‘Buyer Initiated Payments’ to Avoid Cheque, Draft Payments i. American Express, a global leader in payment solutions has launched an electronic payment platform linked to corporate card, Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP) on February 27, 2017 to

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF eliminate payment through cheques or drafts. ii. The BIP card will help organizations and their vendors by reducing the processing cost and offer extended payment terms compared to traditional invoice payments. iii. BIP enables companies to increase the Days Payable Outstanding (DPO) while still paying vendors on time. OECD Predicts India’s GDP Growth at 7% for 2016-17 i. The Economic Survey Report by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated the India’s GDP growth at 7 percent for 2016-17 on February 28, 2017. ii. Besides, the global think tank has also estimated the growth rate of 7.3 percent for the 201718 and 7.7 percent for 2018-19. iii. As per the report, though demonetisation may have impacted short term growth in 2016-17, but the long term effects would see gains going upward.

Canara, HSBC and OBC Banks launched iSelect Term Plan i. Canara, HSBC and Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launched iSelect term plan to expand its online product suit ii. iSelect term plan provides enhanced protection cover for the family at an affordable premium. iii. It will cover insured person’s spouse as well as family’s future income with an option to automatically increase insurance coverage as per changing life stage needed

Banking & Finance Awareness March 2017 India & World Bank Signs USD 63 Million Financing Agreement for Tejaswini: SocioEconomic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women Project i. India has signed a financing agreement of USD 63 million(equivalent) with World Bank on 23rd February, 2017 in Jharkhand for its Socio-Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women Project named “Tejaswini”. ii. The World Bank will finance the project through its arm International Development Association (IDA). iii. The Financing Agreement was signed between Mr. Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

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Government Notifies Law to Make Possession of Demonetized Note as Punishable Offence i. The Government of India has officially notified the law that makes holding of more than 10 scrapped notes punishable with a minimum fine of Rs 10,000. The law was signed by President Pranab Mukherjee on February 27, 2017. ii .It also provides for a minimum fine Rs 50,000 for false declaration by persons who were abroad during the demonetisation period (November 9-December 30, 2016). Besides, a further time limit has been given to deposit such scrapped notes with RBI till March 31. Reliance General Insurance, Catholic Syrian Bank announced tie up i. Reliance General Insurance is one of the leading private general insurance companies of India has announced a bancassurance tie-up with Catholic Syrian Bank on March 1, 2017 ii. Now RGI will offer its insurance products to Catholic Syrian Bank’s customers across its branches in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra HDFC, ICICI, Axis to charge Rs 150 after 4 free transactions i. India’s leading private banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI, and Axis they will charge a minimum of Rs 150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals at bank branches beyond four free transactions in a month. ii. The new charges aimed at reducing cash transactions at banks at the rate of Rs 5 for every Rs 1,000 transacted or Rs 150, whichever is higher. HDFC Life Partners with ET Money to Launch Data-Led Policy i. Long-term life insurance provider HDFC Life has launched of an exclusive Data-Led Group Term Insurance Plan in partnership with personal finance app“ET Money” of Times Internet on February 27, 2017. ii .The plan offered as ET Money benefit is first such term insurance plan which is based on the spend pattern of the users and can be exclusively availed by 1 million users of the ET MONEY app. iii. The group term life insurance coverage ranges from Rs 25-50 lakh and users can also save upto 30% of the premium paid as a tax benefit under section 80C of the Income Tax Act. SIT Unearths Rs. 70,000 crore Black Money i. The Vice-Chairman of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) on black money, Justice Arijit Pasayat on March 2, 2017 announced that an amount of Rs. 70,000 crore of black money has been so far detected through different schemes of the government.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ii .Out of the unearthed amount, over Rs 16,000 crore was detected after an investigation was made regarding the transfer of fund abroad by Indians. Govt Directs All Banks to Provide M-Banking Facility to all Customers by March 31 i. The Government of India has directed all the banks to provide mobile banking facility to all customers by March 31, 2017. ii. The decision is an effort of the government to boost the digital payment system. SBI slaps charges on cash deposits, breaching balances i. India’s largest lender has State bank of India has revised service charges various transactions, as well as cash deposits and for failing to maintain monthly average balance in their savings accounts. ii. This move follows the leading private sectors banks announced similar charges in this week. The charges will be applicable from April 1, 2017. Population Minimum Balance Penalty Center Metropolitan Rs 5,000 MAB Rs 50 charge for 50 per cent shortfall, Rs 75 for shortfall between 50-75 per cent and Rs 100 for 75 per cent or more Urban Rs 3,000 MAB Rs 40 service charge, Rs 60 for 50-75 per cent shortfall and Rs 80 for 75 per cent or more. Semi-Urban Rs 2,000 MAB Penalty for non-maintenance of minimum balance ranges from Rs 20-50 plus service tax Rural Rs 1,000 MAB Rs 10000 penalty for bank branches refusing to exchange soiled notes The Reserve Bank of India has clarified that currency notes which have messages scribbled on it are legal tender bank branches that refuse to exchange soiled notes from people will have to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000. IRDAI Proposes 50% Hike In Motor Insurance Premium From April 1 i. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed to increase the insurance premium to 50 percent for cars, motor cycles as well as commercial vehicles from April 1. ii. The proposed hike would be applicable for mid-segment cars (1,000 – 1,500 cc) as well as bigger cars and SUVs. The insurance premium would be raise to Rs 3,355 for cars up to 1,000 cc and Rs 9,246 for bigger ones. iii. However, the third party motor insurance premium for small cars (up to 1,000 cc) would remain same at Rs 2,055. iv. The regulator has also not proposed any increase for two-wheelers having engines up to 75 cc. However, the insurance premium for sports bikes and super bikes (more than 350 cc) has been increased to Rs 1,194 from the present Rs 796. v. The proposal has been made to increase the premium for tractors up to 6 HP from Rs 510 to Rs 765.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF SBI to Impose Penalty on Non-Maintenance of Monthly Average Balance in Accounts from April 1 The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to reintroduce penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance in accounts to be effective from April 1, 2017. •

In case of failing to maintain Monthly Average Balance (MAB) in saving accounts, penalty of up to Rs. 100 plus service tax would be levied.

Monthly Average Balance in Different Areas Area Monthly Average Balance Penalty Metropolitan Area Rs. 5000 Rs. 50+service tax= Shortfall 50-75 %. Rs. 100+service tax= Shortfall > 75% Urban Area Rs. 3000 Rs. 40+service tax= Shortfall 50-75 %. Rs. 80+service tax= Shortfall > 75% Semi-Urban Area Rs. 2000 Rs. 25+service tax= Shortfall 50-75 %. Rs. 75+service tax= Shortfall > 75% Rural Area Rs. 1000 Rs. 20+service tax= Shortfall 50-75 %. Rs. 50+service tax= Shortfall > 75% Other Transaction Charges Cash Deposit •

Savings Banks Account holders can deposit cash 3 times a month free of charge. Beyond that, Rs. 50+ST would be levied on every transaction beyond that.

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In case of current account, the levy could go as high as Rs. 20,000.

Cash Withdrawal •

If the number of cash withdrawal from other banks ATMs in a month is more than three times then a charge of Rs. 20 would be levied per transaction.

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If the withdrawal is more than 5 times from SBI ATMs in a month then Rs. 10 would be levied per transaction.

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SBI will not levy any charge on withdrawals from its own ATMs if the balance exceeds Rs.25,000.

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In case of other banks’ ATM, no charge would be levied by SBI if the balance exceeds Rs. 1 lakh.

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Rs. 15 would be charged for SMS alerts per quarter from debit card holders who maintain an average quarterly balance of up to Rs. 25,000 during the three-month period.

Term Deposit Among other things, SBI has reduced the interest rates on term deposits maturing between 180 days and 1year and between 456 days and 3 years with effect from March 1.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF •

SBI will now pay an interest of 6.5% on deposits with maturities between 180 days and less than one year and 6.75% on maturities between 456 days and less than three years.

Finance Ministry Gives in-principle Approval to ESOPs by PSU banks i. The Union Finance Ministry has given its in-principle nod to allow Public Sector Banks (PSUs) to offer stock options to their employees from 2017-18. ii .However, the Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) can only be given by those banks which have earned substantial profit as well as made remarkable improvement in managing NPAs. iii .The proposal of ESOP by the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) will help to motivate employees to work towards strengthening the financial status of their banks and hence increase its share value. Vijaya Bank opens its 2,000th branch in Tirupati i. Bengaluru based Vijaya Bank has recently opened it’s 2000th Branch in Tirupati by Sri Chadalawada Krishna Murthy, Chairman, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. ii. This branch is the region’s 65th branch and the second in Tirupati city. HDFC Bank launches chatbot Eva for customer services i. Mumbai headquartered HDFC Bank has launched India’s first AI(artificial intelligence) based banking chatbot Electronic Virtual Assistant (EVA) for customer services . ii. It can assimilate knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple language in less than 0.4 seconds HDFC Life brings country’s first life insurance Chatbot with Haptik Mumbai based HDFC Life has launched India’s first life insurance chatbot to help users choose the most suitable life insurance plans and solutions on March 7, 2017 ♦ The chatbot was launched in collaboration with India’s largest chatbot platform Haptik, India’s largest chatbot platform. Chatbot features : i. This chatbot will assist the customers with insurance advice – ranging from Health to Tax Planning & Retirement, based on a simple 60-second quiz which enables it to compute their Insurance Quotient. ii. The chatbot not only works as a personal financial advisor but also brings to the forefront the universal need for life insurance Fitch Estimates Indian Economy to Grow 7.1% in 2016-17 i. The US based global rating agency Fitch on March 7, 2017 estimated India’s GDP to grow by 7.1 percent in the fiscal 2016-17.

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ii. However, the rating agency also projected the growth to see upward trend at 7.7 percent in both 2017-18 and 2018-19. ESAF Microfinance Issues Commercial Paper Worth Rs 330 crore i. ESAF Microfinance Company has issued Commercial Papers (CP) worth Rs.330 crore. Private Sector Banks and NBFCs can subscribe for the CP. ii. The papers are rated A1 by CARE ratings. The proceeds from CP will be used for short term funding needs of the organization. IDFC Launches Biometric Based Payment System Aadhaar Pay i. IDFC Bank has launched India’s first biometric-based payment system “Aadhaar Pay” on March 7, 2017 in New Delhi. ii. The Aadhaar Pay app has been developed by IDFC Bank under the guidance of the Ministry of IT, NITI Aayog, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). iii. Initially, the biometric reader is available for Rs 2,000. Karur Vysya Bank launches 3 technology services Karur based Karur Vysya Bank’ s Chief Executive K. Venkataraman has rolled-out of three technology services FASTag, UPI and BBPS on March 8, 2017. i. FASTag : ♦ The FASTag service has been launched in association with the Indian Highways Management Company, a subsidiary of National Highways Authority of India. ♦ The preloaded tags affixed on vehicles are valid at all toll plazas throughout the country. ii. UPI app : United Payments Interface (UPI) is a mobile app that enables inter-bank transfer of funds. The transfer is effected through the IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) platform of NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India). iii. BBPS : BBPS (Bharat Bill Payment System) will make utility bill payments such as electricity bills, water charges and gas cylinders, among others, at a single site instead of accessing multiple sites. SBI launches ‘Work from Home’ facility for employees i. Mumbai based State Bank of India has launched a new facility ‘Work from Home’ to enable

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF its employees to work from home on March 7, 2017 ii. Aim: To enable its employees to work while at home using mobile devices to address any urgent requirement they may have, that prevents their travelling to work. iii. This facility was launched after ‘Work from Home’ policy was recently approved by the Board of the bank. EPFO extends Digital Life Certificate submission through Jeevan Pramaan Patra by March 31 The the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has extended the last date of submission of Digital Life Certificate through Jeevan Pramaan Patra up to 31st March 2017 from 28th February 2017. SBI says minimum balance penalty needed to offset Jan Dhan account costs i. SBI recently announced that penalty for non-maintenance of Minimum Average Balance (MAB) from April 1, 2017. Government asked SBI to reconsider charges. ii. Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI chief clarify that the condition of maintaining minimum balance will not be applicable to the Jan Dhan accounts RBI Will Soon Introduce New Rs 10 Notes with More Security Features The Reserve Bank of India on March 9, 2017 notified that it is soon going to issue Rs. 10 denomination notes with enhanced security features for circulation. Salient Feature of the Note i. The note will be in the Mahatma Gandhi series-2005 and carry inset letter ‘L’ on both number panels. ii. It will have the signature of Governor Urjit Patel. iii. The year of printing, 2017, will be on the reverse of the note. Government Issues Draft Rules For Digital Wallet Companies The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a draft rule titled Information Technology (Security of Prepaid Payment Instruments) Rules 2017 on March 8, 2017 for digital wallet firms like Paytm, FreeCharge and Mobikwik. •

The MeitY has formulated the draft rules for security of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) under provisions of IT Act 2000.

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Aim: To ensure adequate integrity, security and confidentiality of electronic payments made via digital wallet and strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism for consumers

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Salient Features of the IT (Security of Prepaid Payment Instruments) Rules 2017 The Rules mandate that each Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) company or wallet firm will have in place and publish on its website and mobile applications the privacy policy and the terms and conditions for use of the payment systems operated by it in simple language, capable of being understood by a reasonable person. •

Companies will also have to appoint a chief grievance officer whose contact details will have to be displayed on the website.

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Companies should also have enough technological safeguards to avoid any hacking attacks of their platform and in case of any such event, it is to be swiftly reported to the government agencies like CERT-In.

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The draft rule also specifies that the e-PPI issuers should also follow adequate due diligence procedures and identification of users prior to on boarding them on their respective platforms.

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The companies will also have to establish a mechanism for monitoring, handling and follow-up of cyber incidents and breaches.

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The security policies should also be reviewed once a year by the firms and in case of any breach, the company will have to revamp its policies.

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The companies will also have to adopt a two-factor authentication process for transactions. The government may by notification exempt digital wallets from requiring two-factor authentication in specific use cases.

Paytm Withdraws Levying 2% fee on Recharging Wallet via Credit Card Indian payment and commerce company Paytm has withdrawn the 2 percent fee on adding money to mobile wallets using credit cards on March 10, 2017, just two days after imposing the fees. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank opens 6 new branches in Bengaluru i. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan SFB) has opened its six new branches at the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru on March 9, 2017 said by Samit Ghosh, MD & CEO, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank ii. Six new branches are located at Magadi Road, Chandra Layout, Chamarajpet, Uttarahalli, Devaiah Park and Nelamangala. RBI Restricts Cash Loan Against Gold by NBFC to Rs 25,000 The Reserve Bank of India has amended the provision for disbursement of loan by NBFC against the gold on March 9, 2017 in line with the provisions of the Income Tax Act. ♦ As per the new provision, the Non-banking Financial Company (NBFC) cannot lend more

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than Rs 25,000 in cash against gold as against the earlier Rs 1 lakh. ♦ The earlier provision for NBFC was that high value loans against gold of Rs 1 lakh and above must only be disbursed by cheque. Germany’s KfW signed loan agreement with EESL and SBI i. The German Development Bank (KfW) and Uttar Pradesh based Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has signed a loan agreement for €200 million with a four year moratorium and a 12-year repayment period. ii. Mumbai based State Bank of India(SBI) also signed an agreement with German KfW Development Bank for USD 274 million loan facility a maturity of 15 years to finance affordable housing segment in India. Karnataka Bank, BAGICL sign MoU on general insurance business i. Mangalore based Karnataka Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pune based Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company for General Insurance business on March 10, 2017 ii. With this, Karnataka bank would be able to provide vast choice of non-life insurance products to its customers. SBI incorporates wholly owned subsidiary for premises and estate matters of SBI i. The State Bank of India on March 11, 2017 has legally incorporated SBI Infra Management Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (SBIIMS Pvt. Ltd.) as a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI. SBIIMS Pvt. Ltd. will now manage the premises and estate related matters of SBI. ii. The new subsidiary will save the time of bank employees who earlier performed these non-core functions. Now these employees can handle the core functions of the bank and increase the efficiency. YES Bank signs 3 projects of smart city for payments-related solutions i. Private sector lender Yes Bank has signed three projects to provide payments-related solutions to smart cities. The bank finds it as a good business opportunity. ii. Yes Bank has currently ties up with Udaipur, Nashik and Puducherry for the introduction of digital payment systems under the smart city initiative. RBI Removes Limit on Cash Withdrawal from Savings Banks Accounts i. In order to comply with the pace of remonetization, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to remove the restrictions on cash withdrawals from Saving Bank accounts (including

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF accounts opened under PMJDY) in a two step process. ii. Besides, effective from March 13, 2017, there will be no limits on cash withdrawals from Savings Bank accounts. Madhya Pradesh Rewa solar plant to receive loan from World Bank i. An international financial institution, World Bank has agreed to provide loan to develop internal transmission arrangements of the upcoming Rewa Ultra Mega Solar (RUMS) project in Madhya Pradesh. ii. RUMS become India’s first solar power project of the country to receive a loan under CTF iii. It will provide 75% of the loan amount with an interest rate of only 0.25% and remaining 25 % of the loan amount under its Clean Technology Fund (CTF), money will be provided at an interest rate of only 0.25 per cent,” a state Public Relations Department official said SBI Announces One Time Settlement Scheme Worth Rs 6,000 cr for Tractor Loan i. The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India announced a One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme worth Rs 6,000 crore on March 14, 2017 for tractor and farm mechanization loans to improve the loan recovery. ii. Under the scheme, the loans disbursed before 2011 and falling in the doubtful or loss assets category as of September 30, 2016 would be considered. iii. Proposals submitted till March 31, 2017 will be considered under the scheme. India’s contribution to UN increases to Rs 244 crore i. India’s contribution to the United Nations has increased to Rs 244 crore from Rs 157 crore during the fiscal year 2016-16 said by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ii. Indian government had also made voluntary contributions to the tune of Rs 22 crore to international organisations, including UN agencies. iii. For the period 2016-18, India’s Scale of Assessment for the UN’s Regular and Peacekeeping budgets has been fixed at 0.737 per cent and 0.1474 per cent, respectively. HDFC Bank Launches India’s First Digital Loans Against Securities HDFC Bank in collaboration with National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) has launched an instant Digital Loan against Securities (LAS) product on March 15, 2017. ♦ LAS will reduced the time to disburse the overdraft facility in just 3 minutes rather than several days previously. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India and probably the first in the world as well. UCO Bank, Future Generali tie up i. Private insurer Future Generali India Insurance Company (FGII) has announced tie-up with

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Kolkata based UCO Bank for its products on March 15, 2017 ii. Target : To achieve a growth of 80 per cent by FY18.. SEBI Issues Guidelines for Celebrities to Endorse Mutual Fund Products At Industry Level i. The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) reviewed advertisement guidelines for mutual funds on March 15, 2017, with regard to disclosing performance-related information about such products. ii. SEBI also issued new advertising code that will require fund houses to communicate simply and effectively with the public. iii. As per the new guidelines, SEBI has permitted celebrities to endorse mutual fund products at the industry level for the purpose of increasing awareness of mutual funds as a financial product category. State Bank of India and CREDAI sign MoU related to real estate sector i. India’s public sector banking and financial services company State Bank of India(SBI) and real estate developers’ body CREDAI have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which is valid for a period of 3 years. ii. Aim of MoU : 1.To jointly conduct various initiatives towards development of the realty sector. 2.To promote housing for all World Bank Approves $175 million loan for India’s National Hydrology Project i. The World Bank has approved a $175 million loan on March 15, 2017 to India for the National Hydrology Project to improve India’s ability to forecast floods and reduce the recurring chances of floods and droughts. ii. The loan would be disbursed by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The loan has a six-year grace period in which no interest payments will be due and will mature in 23 years. ESAF Small Finance Bank launched in Thrissur Kerala’s first private sector bank ESAF Small Finance Bank was launched by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thrissur, Kerala on March 17, 2017 ♦ This bank is promoted by ESAF Microfinance and Investments (P) Ltd and it is targeted to open 85 branches in unbanked rural centres in first year. ♦ Target of the bank: Rs 20,000 crore by 2020. Interest Rates : i. For term deposits of varying maturities – 5.75 per cent to 9 per cent

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ii. For savings deposits – 6 per cent to 7 per cent iii. Senior citizens term deposits – .05 per cent Bandhan Bank ties up with Avenues India i. Kolkata based Bandhan Bank has signed an agreement with a payment solution provider Avenues India Pvt Ltd on March 16, 2017 ii. Aim: To provide merchants with seamless access to point-of-sales (POS) and payment gateway products. 29 Lakh Debit Cards Subjected To Malware Attack Through ATM i. As per a data presented by Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar in the Parliament on March 17, 2017, in 2016 a total of 29 lakh debit cards were subjected to malware attack through ATMs that were connected with the switch of Hitachi. ii. A report by Commercial bank stated that 2.9 million cards that were used at ATMs connected to switch of Hitachi were subjected to malware attack in 2016 but the data of only 3,291 cards faced unauthorized use. RBI Gets Centre’s Nod to Print Rs 10 Plastic Notes i. The Reserve Bank of India has got the approval from the Central Government to conduct the field trial of plastic banknotes of Rs. 10 denomination prior to introducing it as legal tender. ii. RBI got the approval to go ahead with the procurement of the requisite plastic substrate material for printing of Rs. 10 denomination notes. Substrate refers to the underlying substance or layer on which currency is printed. UBI gets Rs. 418-cr capital infusion From Centre State run United Bank of India on March 16, 2017 received a capital infusion of Rs 418 crore from the Centre as a part of its turnaround-linked capital infusion plan. Aeries Financial Tech Announces Strategic Tie-up with Rubique i. CASHe, a fin-tech product promoted by Aeries Financial Technologies has entered into a strategic partnership with Rubique, an online marketplace for financial products on March 16, 2017. ii. Under the partnership, Rubique will enlist CASHe on its online platform for borrowers to avail viable short-term loan products from CASHe.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF FinMin Approves Capital Infusion Plan for 10 PSU Banks i. The Union Ministry of Finance has given the green signal to the turnaround-linked Rs.8,586crore capital infusion plan to support 10 weak and non-performing public sector banks (PSBs). ii .The 10 Banks Include: Allahabad Bank (Rs.418 crore); Andhra Bank (Rs.1,100 crore); Bank of India (Rs.1,500 crore); Bank of Maharashtra (Rs.300 crore); Central Bank of India (Rs.100 crore); Dena Bank (Rs.600 crore); IDBI Bank (Rs.1,900 crore); Indian Overseas Bank (Rs.1,100 crore); UCO Bank (Rs.1,150 crore) and United Bank of India (Rs.418 crore). Hazira's first private sector township to go cashless i. Essar Steel's Nand Niketan township at Hazira, Gujarat has become the first private township to go cashless with the help of Mumbai-based financial technology company, The Mobile Wallet (TMW). ii. TMW will provide smartphone based application for mastercard-enabled mobile wallets and the wallet is powered by RBL Bank Ltd. ICICI Bank launches new app ‘Mera iMobile’,for rural customers i. Mumbai based ICICI Bank launched first banking mobile application ‘Mera iMobile’ to provide agricultural information in 11 Indian languages for rural people without internet connection. ii. Purpose: To access banking services and get information on agricultural services iii. Mera iMobile app provide services include Kisan Credit Card, Gold Loan, Farm Equipment Loan and loans to Self-Help Groups (SHGs). RBI Proposes To Fix Upper Limit in PPIs At Rs 1 Lakh The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to cap the upper limit for Pre-paid Payment Instruments at Rs 1 lakh on March 20, 2017 due to the growing usage of PPIs for purchase of goods and services as well as funds transfer. ♦ The decision was taken by RBI after receiving requests from stakeholders and other entities for relaxations in certain areas while strengthening the norms for safety and security, risk mitigation and customer protection aspects related to usage of PPIs. ♦ The RBI sought comment of stakeholders on draft circular on Master Directions on Issuance and Operation of Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) in India till March 31. Centre Approves Merging Bharatiya Mahila Bank With SBI The Government of India has decided to merge Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with India’s largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI) to ensure greater banking services outreach to larger number of women at a faster pace. ♦ All the 103 branches of BMB and business of approximately Rs. 2,000 crore would be merged with SBI.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Mobile Payment Service ‘Samsung Pay’ Officially Launched In India i. Samsung Electronics officially launched the mobile payment service, Samsung Pay in India on March 22, 2017. ii. With this, Samsung becomes the first company to launch a mobile payment service in India, ahead of Apple Pay or Android Pay. iii. The first commercial transaction of the new payments service in India was carried out in the presence of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Samsung Southwest Asia President and CEO HC Hong. Government Lowers Cash Transaction Limit to Rs 2 lakh i .The Government of India has proposed to lower the limit of cash transaction from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh per month to further tighten and discourage payments by cash as well as curb black money. ii .The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed 40 amendments to the Finance Bill 2017 which was cleared by the Lok Sabha on March 21, 2017. iii. The new limit will be effective from April 1, 2017. Any violations to the norms would be subjected to a fine equivalent to the amount of transaction. For example, if a cash transaction of Rs 4 lakh is uncovered, the penalty will be Rs 4 lakh. Russian VTB Bank to Shut Its Only Office Branch in India i. The Russian VTB Bank has announced its intention to close its only office in India as part of its ongoing cost optimisation strategy. ii .However, the bank will continue operations in the country and further develop their partner and client network in the country. India and ADB Sign $350 Million Loan for Upgrading 1,500 kms of District Roads in State of Madhya Pradesh i. Philippines headquartered Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Deputy Country Director L. B. Sondjaja and Joint Secretary (Multilateral Institutions), Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance, Raj Kumar have signed a $350 million loan agreement in New Delhi on March 22, 2017. ii. This loan amount will be used to improve 1,500 kilometers of major district roads in India's second-largest State Madhya Pradesh. iii. The state government of Madhya pradesh also will allocate $150 million for this project Assam govt, SBI sign MoU over housing, educational loan at subsidized interest rates The state government of Assam has signed two MoUs with Mumbai based State Bank of India(SBI) to provide housing loan and education loan for its employees on March 23, 2017

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♦ Devajyoti Hazarika, state additional secretary of finance and Om Prakash Mishra General Manager of SBI of NE Circle have signed MoU for loan facility at subsidized interest rates. Highlights : i. Housing loan at the interest rates of 5% for women employees ii. Housing loan at the interest rates of 5.5 % for men and iii. Education loan for higher education for their children at 4% interest rate iv. The maximum limit of the housing loan is Rs 15 lakh and Education loan is Rs.10 lakh South Indian Bank introduces Aadhar-based payment app Kerala based South Indian Bank has introduced Aadhar-based UPI mobile application SIB M-Pay on March 23, 2017. Aim: To promote cashless digital transactions Features : SIB M-Pay will enables all bank account holders to send and receive money from their Smartphone without bank account information.It required only Aadhar number of the beneficiary IOB to get Rs.1,100-crore capital infusion Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) will get Rs 1,100 crore capital infusion from the Government . This was confirmed by Finance Ministry on March 22, 2017. World Bank Signs USD 100 million Credit Agreement with Centre & Uttarakhand i .The World Bank signed US dollar 100 million credit agreement with the Centre and the state government of Uttarakhand on March 23, 2017 in New Delhi to improve quality of health care services in all 13 districts of the state. ii .The aim of the agreement is to make available affordable, quality health care to all citizens and also reduce the financial risk for its citizens. iii. The agreement was signed between Joint Secretary in Ministry of Finance Raj Kumar on behalf of the Centre, Additional Secretary Health and Project Director for the Uttarakhand Health Systems Development Project Neeraj Kharwal on behalf of Uttarakhand and World Bank India Operations Manager and Acting Country Director Hisham Abdo Kahin on behalf of the World Bank. Tata Capital Launches Mobile App To Offer Personal Loans i. The Financial services company Tata Capital has launched a mobile application ‘myLoan’ to offer personal loans to young and mobile savvy audience.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF ii. The maximum limit of the loan is Rs.13 lakh. iii. The app is a social profile like Facebook and Linkedin based personal loan mobile application. Office of the Insurance Ombudsman, Delhi Receives ISO 9001:2015 (QMS) Certification The Office of the Insurance Ombudsman, Delhi was awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification by Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification (STOC), under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, for Quality Management Standard (QMS) on March 24, 2017 in New Delhi. Karnataka Bank Launches Rupay International Platinum Debit Card Mangaluru based Karnataka Bank has launched a new card option for its premium and HNI (high net worth individual) customers in line with the bank's digital banking initiative.The novel card named ‘MoneyPlantTM RuPay International Platinum Debit Card’ can be used for domestic and international cash withdrawals and purchases. Features of MoneyPlant TM RuPay Card i. Withdrawal limit of Rs. 75,000 and purchase limit of Rs 2 lakh a day at point-of-sales terminals and e-commerce sites. ii .Two free accesses to airport lounges per quarter across above 30 airports in India and 300 plus airports worldwide. iii. Personal accident insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh. iv .Fuel surcharge waiver besides other merchant offers. IREDA to sanction Rs 13K crore loans for renewables in FY18 i. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will sanction a loan worth 13K Crore Rupees for clean energy projects in FY18, which plays the major role in reducing the pollution in India. ii. The government of India is aiming at adding around 15 to 16 GW of clean energy projects, including solar and wind. Repco Inks Pact with NHB for Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for Middle Income Groups i. On December 31, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an interest subsidy scheme named as ‘Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for Middle Income Groups, CLSS-(MIG) for the tax-paying middle class population, aspiring to have their own pucca house. ii. The scheme has been made operational from January 1, 2017 for which the effective guidelines were released by Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu on March 22, 2017. iii .Besides, for the implementation of the scheme, Repco Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) signed an agreement with National Housing Bank.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Vijaya Bank Signs MoU with Piaggio Vehicles Bengaluru based Vijaya Bank has inked an Mou with Italian vehicles manufacturer Piaggio Vehicles, on March 27, 2017 for providing financial support for the purchase of vehicles under Small Road Transport Operators (SRTO) scheme in Bengaluru. Karnataka Bank Installs Landmark 10,000 PoS Terminals i. Mangaluru based private sector lender, Karnataka Bank achieved a landmark installation of 10,000 Point of Sales (PoS) terminals on March 27, 2017. ii. The 10,000th POS terminal was handed over by the Bank’s Managing Director and CEO, P Jayarama Bhat to Dr. Ravichandar, Chairman and Managing Director of Nandana Group of Hotels, Bengaluru, one of its valued customers at the function held at Bank’s Bengaluru Regional Office. Odisha becomes first state to bring banking to remote rural areas through SHG In what can be considered as a path breaking development on financial inclusion front, Odisha became the first Indian state to extend banking facilities to masses in unbanked areas through Self- Help Groups (SHGs). •

To implement this initiative, Odisha State Government has signed an agreement with State Bank of India (SBI) – the largest public sector bank of India. Odisha Govt.’s Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM) is the main party (corporate agent) in this agreement with SBI. Around three lakh SHGs, currently operating under OLM will take up the role of Banking Correspondents (BCs).

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Jyoti Nath, Director of OLM Pranab and Srikant Hota signed the agreement, Assistant General Manager, SBI have signed the agreement on March 27, 2017

Phase Wise Implementation Plan: 1. First Phase: SHGs in the role of Banking Correspondents will reach out to 1000 Gram Panchayats in Odisha which do not have any banking facilities as of now. 2. Second Phase: Another 4000 Non-Banked gram Panchayats will be covered. 3. Final Phase: Full state will be covered, and this system will function as a supplementary banking service. 40 Ananya branches opened by Syndicate Bank Manipal headquartered Syndicate bank opens 40 ‘Ananya’ transformed branches, digitally on March 27, 2017. The branches were inaugurated in the presence of Arun Shrivastava, its Managing Director and CEO. ♦ In addition to that, bank also launched its first micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) hub in Bangalore.

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF

ICICI Bank & Truecaller Partners to Launch UPI-based ‘Truecaller Pay’ Mumbai based private sector lender, ICICI Bank partnered with Truecaller app on March 28, 2017 to launch a (Unified Payments Interface) UPI-based mobile payment service called ‘Truecaller Pay’. ♦ True Pay aims to provide quick and easy payment methods to mobile phone users in India. Key Features of Truecaller Pay i. Truecaller Pay will allow users of the Truecaller app to instantly create a UPI id, send money to any UPI id or a mobile number registered with the BHIM app. ii. It will also allow users to recharge their mobile number using the app. Use of Bitcoin, other virtual currencies not authorised by RBI, says Govt. i. In backdrop of demontisation, a question was raised in Rajya Sabha asking the Govt. to clear its stand on status of virtual currencies including Bitcoin in India. Written reply to this question was provided by Arjun Ram Meghwal - Minister of State for Finance. ii. As on 30th March 2017, approximate value of 1 Bitcoin = INR 67300/Tata AIA Launches m-Insurance Jointly with Tata Telecom i. Tata AIA Life Insurance have partnered with Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) to launch m-Insurance for the prepaid customers of the Telecom Company. ii. Beginning with, the pilot launch has been made in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana and eventually would cover other states. iii .The m-Insurance is a term life plan with two options for the sum assured- Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 1 Lakh. 'Unnati' credit card launched by SBI India’s largest Public Sector Lender State Bank of India has launched a unique credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ on March 28, 2017. This new brand credit card targets at all SBI customers, including Jan Dhan account-holders across the country. Criteria and Regulations i. SBI Card Unnati will be issued to the customers with a minimum balance of 25000. ii. There is no need for any past history in credit card withdrawal or underwriting. iii. This card is provided on issue of valid KYC (Know Your Customer) documents and the application form. iv. The annual fee of Rs.499 is waived off for the first 4 years.(i.e., no charges are to be paid)

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Current Affairs Sectionwise PDF Axis Bank Partners with Wells Fargo for Inward Remittances i. Mumbai based Axis Bank has signed an agreement with Wells Fargo, America’s third largest bank by asset, to offer real time remittances by Indian Diaspora in US back to their relatives in India. ii. Under the agreement, any Indian Diaspora customer of Wells Fargo can transfer money to their relatives in India without any transaction cost. Kotak Mahindra Bank Launches 8-11 App to Double Customer Base i. Private sector lender, Kotak Mahindra bank has launched an innovative account opening system on March 29, 2017 under the name 8-11 which can be used from anywhere and anytime. ii. The aim of launching the 8-11 app is to increase the customer base of the bank within 18 months from existing 8 million. Features of 8-11 App ♦ The users can open the account within five minutes using the Kotak Mahindra's mobile banking system. ♦ It will allow users to open a zero-balance, zero-charge account even at midnight to offer free digital services. ♦ Only Aadhaar card and PAN card is needed for opening the account. ♦ 8-11 will offer customers up to 6 percent interest on their savings account balances. ♦ KMB is the first lender in the country to use the Aadhar-based OTP for the account opening. India Inks $350 mn loan agreement with NDB for Roads Projects in MP The Government of India has signed USD 350 million loan agreement with the New Development Bank (NDB) on March 30, 2017. ♦ Aim: Development and up gradation of road project in Madhya Pradesh to improve transport connectivity in the interior regions of the state and boost economic activity. ♦ The loan agreement was signed between Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs on behalf of GOI and Xian Zhu, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NDB. Key Features of the Agreement i. The MP road development project is the first NDB assisted project in India. ii.The project is to be implemented over a period of 5 years.

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