Economy .............................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Social ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Schemes .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Indices and reports ............................................................................................................................................................. 4

Committees ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6

International ....................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Environment........................................................................................................................................................................ 7

Health .................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Awards ................................................................................................................................................................................ 7

RBI updates ......................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Banking ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Capital market and insurance ........................................................................................................................................... 10

Economy and policy .......................................................................................................................................................... 11

Economy NBFC-P2P norms : net owned fund >= 2 crore; leverage ratio <=2; maturity of loans <=36 months; need to become

member of all Credit Info Cos (CICs)

At ISA’s formal launch, it signed agreements with AfDB, ADB, AIIB, NDB, IEA and Green Climate Fund; ISA target is to deploy 1000 GW of solar energy and mobilize 1 tn $ into solar by 2030

NSDC was set up in 2008 and NSDF in 2009

NHAI MoU with SBI for long term unsecured loan of 25k crore Rs. (largest ever to NHAI)

GST Council (has 33 members) approves 20% GST cashback on BHIM, Rupay txns

India imposes safeguard duty of 25% on solar cell imports from China, Malaysia for 2 years

RBI bards Fino bank from account opening and Paytm bank from acquiring new customers

RBI pay 50k crore dividend to govt

SBI launches MOPAD (Multi Option Payment Acceptance Device) to promote online txns

UAE top source of inward remittances in 2016-17>US>Saudi>Qatar

Axis bank introduces iris authentication for Aadhar based txns

India CAD to widen to 2.5% of GDP as per Moody’s; 2.8% GDP as per Nomura

WB launches world’s first public bond managed using only blockchain – 100mn $ Bondi

EESL+WB sign $300mn pact to boost energy efficiency program

India ADB sign $346 mn loan agreement to improve state highways in KN

PM launches India Post Payments Bank at Talkatora stadium in Delhi

Exim bank extends $500mn loan to 15 African nations via ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID)

ILO projects unemployment rate at 3.5% in 2018 according to the World Employment and Social Outlook trends – absolute figure is 18.6 mn in 2018 and 18.9 mn in 2019

NIIF commits 120 mn pounds in partnership with UK govt to launch Green Growth Equity Fund

DIPP data on FDI : FDI in 2017-18 grew only 3% to $44.85 bn

UNCTAD World Investment Report – FDI in India in 2017 decreased to $40 bn from 44 in 2016 o India’s FDI outflows doubled to $11.3 bn o Global FDI flows fell 23% to $1.43 tn o Mauritius largest source of FDI, followed by SG o UNCTAD headquarters in Geneva

NABARD sanctions Rs 735 crore for Bengal under Rural Infra Development Fund

India slashed import duties on 3142 items for China and few other Asia Pacific countries as part of its commitment to liberalise trade through Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (India has signed APTA in 1975)

ADB approves $503 mn project for lining of Son canal in Bihar – ADB to provide $352 mn

India($2.597 tn) becomes world’s 6th largest economy according to WB study, pushing France at 7th place

IIP slips to 3.2% in May

India’s trade deficit widened to USD 16.6 bn in June

WPI rises to 4 year high of 5.77%

According to IMF, global growth to be 3.9% for next 2 years

FM approves Rs. 11,336 crore capital infusion in 5 PSBs

According to EPFO data, 4.4 mn new jobs created in 9 months till May

Govt raises threshold limit for filing tax appeals by Tax Dept o Appeal in ITAT/CESTAT only if amount is >20 lakh o Appeal in HC only if amount is >50 lakh o Appeal in SC only if amount is >1 crore

India has world’s 5th largest cultivated area under GM crops at 11.4 mn ha (soyabean highest)

GDP grows at 7.7% in 4th quarter of 2017-18; 8.2% in 1st quarter of 2018-19

India and WB sign $500 mn loan agreement for PMGSY

Govt announces 8000 crore package to bail out sugar mills

Net loss of PSBs in FY18 = Rs. 87,357 crore; only Indian Bank and Vijaya Bank reported profits

NPAs in banking sector at Rs. 8.31 lakh crore as of Dec 17; 11 out of 21 PSBs under PCA

Inflation at 4.87% in May 18; WPI rose to 4.43% in May 18

According to Forbes, HDFC is 5th biggest consumer financial services company globally

Centre to merge RRBs and bring down their number from 56 to 38

FPI cap on investment in g-secs raised to 30% from 20% by RBI

India money in Swiss banks rises 50% to 1.01 bn Swiss francs

According to World Gold Council, demand in India decreased by 12% to 115.6 ton in Q1

Core sector growth slowed down to 4.1% in Mar 18 (8 core industries constitute 42.7% of total industrial production)

New telecom policy – National Digital Comm Policy aimed at creating 40 lakh new jobs by 2022, attracting $100 bn in the sector and ensuring broadband coverage at 50 mbps for every citizen; 1 gbps connectivity for all gram panchayats by 2020 and 10 gbps by 2022; 10 mn wifi hotspots by 2022; Missions – connect India, propel India and secure India

India largest remittance receiving country with $69 bn (followed by China and Philippines)

According to AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth Migration Review, India 6th wealthiest country with total wealth of $8.23 tn

Moody’s downgrades PNB– In local and foreign currency deposits to Ba1/NP (non-investment grade, non prime) from Baa3/P3 (investment grade, prime 3) and in Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA) and Adjustment to b1 from ba3

Tata steel acquires 72.65% stake in Bhushan Steel

SBI posts biggest quarterly loss of Rs. 7718 crore

NABARD planning to raise Rs. 400 bn from markets this year

SBI launched UK subsidiary with 225 mn pound capital commitment

AIIB to invest $140 mn for rural road connectivity in MP; WB to loan $210 mn for same

Govt raises NABARD’s authorized capital 6 times to Rs. 300 bn

Fitch retains India’s sovereign rating at BBB- with a stable outlook

IBRD of WB to provide $125 mn for Innovate in India for Inclusiveness project – biopharma and medical devices

India 12th largest holder of US g-secs with $144.7 bn

IREDA and European Investment Bank sign 150 mn pound loan agreement

ADB and India sign $120 mn loan agreement to improve rail infra

Gross market borrowing of the govt to be Rs. 2.88 lakh crore this year

India 3rd largest producer of electricity; 65% still thermal; 18.8% renewable; 5th largest capacity

Public issues fetched 1.77 lakh crore in 2017-18

E-way bill system effective from 1 Feb – inter-state transport of goods beyond 10 km with a value of >Rs. 50k will mandatorily require e-way bill

$375 mn loan agreement with WB for Jal Marg Vikas Project of NW1

Budget allocation to defense ministry is 1.58% of GDP

PAN made mandatory for txns above Rs. 2.5 lakh

After this year’s Finance Bill, SEBI can now impose penalties upto 5 crore on market intermediaries like stock exchanges and clearing corps; earlier could only issue warnings

PNB+IFC to bring in $800 mn for affordable housing

Cabinet approves creation of Rs. 60,000 crore National Urban Housing Fund to fund PMAY-Urban to build 1.2 crore affordable houses by 2022; fund would be under Building Materials and Tech Promotion Council

EPFO lowers rate to 8.55% for 2017-18

India 6th wealthiest country with total wealth $8,230 bn according to AfrAsia Bank

Social Affordable housing for LIG category is a housing project using at least 50% of the FAR/FSI for dwelling units with

carpet area < 60sq.m; for EWS, house area is 30 sq.m; effective GST for affordable homes is 8%

For ULB to raise Municipal bonds – it should not have –ve net worth in any of the 3 preceding years; should not have defaulted in repayment of debt secs or loan in last 1 year; need to contri at least 20% of project cost; no willful defaulter; bonds should be above investment grade rating; Pune and Hyb has listed on BSE; Indore on NSE

CII to set up multi skill center at Darjeeling

National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey – 77% households have access to toilets; 93.4% use them

MNRE to develop 60 solar cities across country

Allocation of 75k crore to Integrated Scheme on School Education

ADB approves grant of $100 mn to Bangladesh to develop basic infra and services for refugees for Rohingyas

WB to provide $480 mn aid to Rohingyas

GoI+GoMH+World Bank sign $420 mn project to help small and marginal farmers in Marathwada and Vidharba

According to WHO, 14 of world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India; 9 out of top 10 in India; Kanpur at top, Faridabad, Varanasi, Gaya, Patna, Delhi (6th)

Govt to hand deliver 11 crore Ayushmaan cards by organizing Ayushman Pakhwaras in villages

India is committed to eliminate TB by 2025

43.63% people in India speak Hindi>Bengali>Marathi; Sanskrit least spoken

Centre signs $200 mn loan agreement with WB for POSHAN Abhiyan whose goal is to reduce stunting in children upto 6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022; scheme launched at Jhunjhunu

Of 170 mn, 82% rural households have electricity connection (50% are metered)

India 4th largest country in terms of wind power capacity

India’s renewable energy target is 175 GW (100 solar, 60 wind) by 2022

Agriculture credit target for 2018-19 set to Rs. 11 lakh crore

NDB to loan $100 mn for RJ water sector restructuring project for desert areas

Greenpeace report Airpocalypse II – Delhi most polluted; Hassan least; UP most polluted state

Sex ratio at birth fall in 17 states – GJ at top (907 to 854)>HY>RJ

India 12th in new born mortality according to UNICEF – 25.4/1000 live births

NHRC retains A status with UN mandated Global Alliance of National Human Right Institutions (GANHRI)

SDG 2030 targets (current India figures) o Global maternal mortality ratio < 70 per 1,00,000 live births (130) o Neonatal mortality ratio < 12 per 1,000 live births (25.4) (India 40/52 in UNICEF report) o Under-5 mortality ratio < 25 per 1,000 live births (39)

NITI releases baseline rankings for aspirational districts – worst performing Mewat in HY, Adilabad in TG, Singrauli in MP; best is Vizianagaram in AP; Next came delta rankings in which Dahod of GJ is ranked 1, followed by West Sikkim

According to India State of Forest Report 2017, India has increased its tree and forest cover by 1% since 2015 to 802,088 sq km; India now 10th in world in terms of forest area; forest cover of 708,273 sq km, which is 21.54% of geographical area; tree cover 2.85%

UP govt launches DASTAK campaign to eradicate JE and AES(Acute Encephalitis Syndrome); together with UNICEF

Prince Charles launches education impact bond for India – 10 mn dollar Development Impact Bond

SC reduces TN’s Cauvery share from 192 TMCF to 177.25 – 10 TMCF ground water available in TN + 4.75 for Bengaluru

National Health Policy 2017 – raise public expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025; achieve global AIDS 90:90:90 target by 2020; eliminate leprosy by 2018, kala-azar and filariasis by 2017; eliminate TB by 2025

Schemes E-Aksharayan software to turn scanned docs in to editable texts

Renaming and restructuring of Multi-sectoral Development Programme as PM Jan Vikas Karyakram – to provide socio economic infra facilities to minority communities particularly in health, education and skill development

Govt approves continuation of PM Employment Generation Programme for 3 years till 2019-20 with total outlay of Rs. 5500 crore; implemented by KVIC; credit linked subsidy programme to generate self employment opportunities in non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans

1,28,000 houses sanctioned under PMAY-Urban – highest in Haryana

Cabinet allows continuation of Urea Subsidy Scheme till 2020; to cost 1,65,000 crore

TEQIP-III – Technical Education Quality Improvement Project; IIT, NIT students to teach engg grads in backward areas

KUSUM – Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan scheme – 10,000 MW solar plants on barren land and distribute 1.75 mn solar pumps; Rs. 48k crore allocated for next 10 years

Study in India – MHRD+MEA; 100% fee waiver to top 25%; 50% to next 25%, 25% for next 25%; instis to bear expenditure; 2 lakh foreign students is target

States under NITI’s SATH-E program are JK, MP, OD; Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education

PMSBY is for age group 18-70

PM Employment Generation Program by KVIC is a credit linked subsidy program by MoMSME; extended till 2019-20; allocation – 5500 crore; started in 2008-09 for rural as well as urban areas

NITI Aayog 3 models on MSP : o Market assurance scheme – procurement by states and compensation of losses upto certain extent of MSP

after sale of procured produce o Price deficiency procurement scheme – if sale price<modal price, farmers compensated upto 25% of MSP o Private procurement by entrepreneurs at MSP and govt to provide policy and tax incentives to them

Indices and reports Ease of doing business by WB; India 100th; NZ top; 11 indicators used

Global Innovation Index by Cornell, WIPO and Insead – India 57th, Switzerland top

Public Affairs Index by Public Affairs Centre – best governed is KL>TN

India improves its Childhood Index by 3 points to 113

Global Peace Index by IEP – India improves to 136 from 137; Iceland top

India improves 13 places to 130th in Index of Economic Freedom by Heritage Foundation

Composite Water Mgt Index by NITI Aayog

National Disaster Risk Index by MHA + UNDP– MH highest risk >WB>UP>MP>RJ

India ranked 44th in IMD competitiveness rankings

India slips to 6th place in Biz Optimism Index by Thornton

India slips 3 places to 11th in A T Kearney FDI Confidence Index

DIPP releases state rankings of Ease of Doing Business – AP>TG>HY

India falls to 138th rank in World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Sans Frontiers; Norway top

India ranks 10 in Commonwealth Innovation Index; top UK

India ranks 133 in World Happiness Report by UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; Finland top

India ranks 78 on WEF Energy Transition Index; top Sweden

India ranks 47 on Inclusive Internet Index by Economic Intelligence Unit; Sweden top

India ranks 109 in mobile download speed by Ookla; ranked 67 in fixed broadband

India ranks 33 in web borne threats according to KasperSky

India 3rd in Huron Global Rich list with 131 billionaires (China>US>India)

Mumbai 16th costliest city; Monaco most expensive

New World Wealth Report – India 6th wealthiest with $8230 bn; US top; India best performing; India – 3.3 lakh HNWI; India 3rd with 119 billionaires; Mumbai 12th richest city with $950 bn; NY top

West Bengal best performing state on MGNREGA, followed by TN

5th ASICS (Annual Survey of India’s City Systems) – Pune>Kolkata>Thiruvananthapuram; Bengaluru last; by Janaagraha

According to WMO report, climate disasters cost countries $320 bn in 2017

According to International Energy Agency, carbon emission reached historic high of 32.5 gigaton

India 4th largest automobile market in the world; China top

India 44th/50 in US Chamber’s IP Index; US top

Port Performance Index by Dun and Bradstreet handed over to Commerce Minster – compares performance of 13 major ports of India; JNPT, Kamrajar (TN) and Vishakhapatanam (AP) got Good score; others recorded average or poor

India 42nd in Global Democracy Index by EIU; Norway top

Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index by Commerce Ministry – GJ>PB>AP

Healthy states, progressive India report by NITI Aayog o KL>PB>TN among larger states o JK>J&K>UP top annual incremental performance o MZ>Manipur>GO among smaller states

India ranks 81 on Global Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International; NZ top

Logistics Performance Index by WB – 35/160

World Economic Outlook by IMF – 126

Gender Inequality Index by UNDP – 131/188

Global Gender Gap Report by WEF – 108/144

Global Competitiveness Index by WEF – 40/137

Inclusive development index by WEF – 62/74

World Investment Report by UNCTAD – 10th

Global Hunger Index by IFPRI – 100/119

India 19/73 in attracting cross border investment in property market

India 5th largest military spender in the world according to SIPRI; USA largest

According to Walk Free Foundation, Global Slavery Index estimates 40.3 mn people under slavery; India 53/167

As per Global Findex Report released by WB, no. of adult Indians with bank accounts rises to 80% o 19 crore adults don’t have bank accounts, second only to China where 22.5 crore adults o 11% of world’s unbanked adults are in India

Global Burden of Disease study by Lancet ranked India 145/195 in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare; Goa and Kerala had highest scores; Iceland at top

India climbs 13 places to 130 in Economic Freedom Index, 2018 published by Heritage Foundation (US think tank)

JLL annual report, City Momentum Index – Hyderabad and Bengaluru at top in list of 30 global short term growth cities

Committees Competition Commission of India to now have 1 Chair + 3 members only

Task force on roll out of UAV technology under Jayant Sinha

Indian Education Commission, 1962-64 aka Kothari Commission for all aspects of education in India

NITI Aayog panel on gold mkt headed by Ratan Watal

Sumit Bose Committee for better outcomes in rural development programmes; also on using SECC data for programmes of Rural Development Ministry

Ajay Tyagi committee on Financial Data Mgt Centre as a statutory body

Financial sector legislative reforms committee under B N Srikrishna

Gopalkrishna committee on capacity building in banks and non-banks to implement non-legislative recommendations of Financial sector legislative reforms committee

Anil Baijal committee on framework to assess CSR activities

Vijay Kelakr committee on revitalizing PPP model

Ashok Dalwai committee on doubling farmers’ incomes

Ramesh Chand committee on integration of commodity spot and derivatives market

Sharada Prasad committee on Sector Skill Councils

Ratan Watal committee to review autonomous bodies

FRBM review committee under N K Singh

Arbind Modi panel on overhaul of income tax laws

B N Srikrishna panel on data protection framework; also on making India hub of arbitration

Uday Kotak panel on corporate governance

R Gandhi panel to review Market Infrastructure Institutions (as recommended by Bimal Jalan)

Sunil Mehta panel on NPAs – presented project Sashakt to FM

Baba Kalyani group to suggest changes to SEZ policy

RRBs set up on recommendations of Narasimhan Committee

N Chandrashekharan task force on using AI in defense

IRDAI sets up committee under Suresh Mathur to review governance regulations for Insurance Marketing Firms

Advisory Council to 15th FC under Arvind Virmani

Think tank to encourage home grown e-commerce players led by Suresh Prabhu

Committee under Subhash Chandra Garg to study issues in FinTech space

Central task force on AI under V Kamakoti

Y H Malegam panel to examine rising incidence of fraud and its remedy, divergence in asset classification (NPAs) as reported by banks and auditors

K Kasturirangan panel on New National Education Policy

N Gopalaswami Committee to select 20 Institutes of Eminence

Y M Deosthalee Committee on Public Credit Registry

Janak Raj panel to review working of MCLR system

Sudarshan Sen Committee on inter-regulatory working group on FinTech and Digital Banking

Chandan Sinha committee to review guidelines for hedging of commodity price risk by residents in overseas markets

Tarun Ramadorai committee on Household Finance Committee

H R Khan committee on development of corporate bond market in India

Deepak Mohanty Committee on medium term path on financial inclusion

R Gandhi committee on Urban co-operative banks; Y H Malegam also headed a committee on this

P J Nayak committee to review governance of board of banks in India

Urjit Patel Committee on strengthening Monetary Policy Framework

Nachiket Mor committee on comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low income households

Injeti Srinivas committee by MCA to review Companies Act 2013 to examine decriminalization of certain offences

Committee for Sub National Accounts will be headed by Ravindra Dholakia to review concepts, definitions etc for preparation of State Domestic Product and District Domestic Product

CWC Chairman S Masood Hussain is also heading the Cauvery Water Mgt Authority

Commission on sub-categorization of OBCs headed by Justice G Rohini

Panel to review CSR enforcement under Companies Act – initiated by MCA; headed by Manmohan Juneja

Tarapore Committee on Capital Account Convertibility

Insolvency Law Committee that recommended IBC was headed by Injeti Srinivas

International UNGA elects 5 countries as non-permanent UNSC members : SA, ID, Dominican Republic, Germany, Belgium

Venezuela to eliminate 5 zeroes from its currency Bolivar in midst of hyperinflation and economic crisis

Venezuela, Libya lose UNGA voting rights for third year in a row over unpaid dues

Environment NITI Aayog proposes 15 point action plan to combat air pollution in 10 most polluted cities, titled Breathe India

National Board for Wildlife has approved inclusion of 4 species in the recovery programme for critically endangered species – Northern River Terrapin, Red Panda, Clouded Leopard, Arabian Sea Humpback Whale

Uttarakhand to ban use of polythene from 31st July

MoEarth Sciences launches Ensemble Prediction System developed by IMD + IITM, Pune + NCMRWF – weather forecast with spatial resolution down from 23 m to 12 m

Environment Ministry gives nod to Neutrino project to be set up in Bodi West Hills in TN

Global Carbon Emissions rose to a historic high of 32.5 gigatons in 2017, according to IEA

Health AP has decided to be the first state to make use of Auto Disable syringes only

Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode district of Kerala – natural host is fruit bat (Pteropodidae family Pteropus genus)

IIT Kanpur develops molecules that can potentially treat chikungunya

New organ called Interstitium discovered in human body – 80th organ, acts as shock absorber

Awards RIL wins Golden Peacock award for success of its CSR initiatives

Repco Micro Finance awarded NABARD 2018 award for its service to SHG linkage in TN

Ajay Singh, Chairman of SpiceJet received USISPF leadership award at first Annual Leadership Summit of US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in Washington DC; theme was Strengthening of strategic partnership

MP awarded for reducing maternal mortality under PM Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan

World Food Prize to Lawrence Haddad and Dr. David Nabarro for alleviating maternal and child undernutrition

Indian smart cities award o Surat selected for City Award o Bhopal(Integrated Command and Control Centre) and Ahd(safe and secure Ahd) for Innovative Idea Award o Governance – PMC Care from Pune

Bindeshwar pathak awarded Japan’s Nikkei Asia Prize – founded of Sulabh

Arunachal’s Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve, an NGO, won National Biodiversity Award 2018 for conserving a bird species Bugun Liocichla

INSV Tarini team conferred Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017

Prez presented Santokbaa Humanitarian Award to Kailash Satyarthi and A S Kiran Kumar of ISRO

ICMR awarded International Kochon Prize 2017 (from Korea) for contribution to TB

CG wins National Water Digest Award

India’s Aadhaar and Umang app win awards at World Govt Summit 2018

Tata Steel bags Most Ethical company award given by Ethisphere Institute

RBI updates RBI allows higher position limit of Rs. 5000 crore for FPIs in interest rate futures

RBI makes it compulsory to incorporate purchaser’s name on the face of DD, pay order, bank cheques etc

RBI said that housing loan limits under Priority Sector Lending will be revised to 35 lakh in metropolitan centers from 28 lakh earlier and to 25 lakh in other centers from 20 lakh earlier

RBI tightens norms for Liberalised Remittance Scheme by making quoting of PAN mandatory even for txns below $25,000 (Under Liberalised Remittance Scheme, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to USD 2,50,000 per year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both)

RBI issues draft guidelines on setting up board of mgt in addition to Board of Directors for Urban Cooperative Banks to strengthen governance in these banks; Min 3 members for UCBs having deposits upto 100 crore and min 5 members for deposits above 100 crore; recommended by Y H Malegam as well as R Gandhi Committees on UCBs

RBI names Mahesh Kumar Jain, MD and CEO of IDBI Bank as 4th Dy. Governor – a post that had been lying vacant since retirement of S S Mundra last year

Sudha Balakrishnana starts as RBI’s first Chief Financial Officer – former VP of NSDL; duties are – o Timely reporting of RBI’s financial performance and oversee its budgetary process o In charge of corporate strategy functions like deciding Provident Fund rate o In charge of govt and bank account dept which processes govt txns o Oversee RBI’s investments in India and abroad

RBI puts Dena Bank under Prompt Corrective Action in view of high NPAs, restricting the bank from giving new loans and new hiring – 11 out of 21 PSBs are under PCA

RBI issues final norms on Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) which emerged after GFC 2008 and was proposed by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

o NSFR is defined as ratio of Available Stable Funding to Required Stable Funding (and should be >= 100% according to RBI; however, some banks may be made to follow stricter guidelines)

o Apart from NSFR, the Basel Committee had also prescribed a liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) to ensure banks can respond to potential liquidity distortions promptly

Food credit is credit provided by banks to FCI for procurement of food grains

Norms for IFSC Banking Units (IBUs) – parent bank will be required to provide and maintain min of $20 mn to its IBU

RBI allows FPIs to invest in treasury bills issued by the central govt, subject to their exposure in these + corporate bonds of < 1 yr maturity remaining below 20%

RBI liberalizes ECB norms by including more sectors in the window o raise ECB Liability-Equity ratio for ECB raised from direct foreign equity holder under automatic route to 7:1 o Permit Housing Finance Companies and port trusts to avail ECBs under all tracks o Restricts ECB fund to be invested in share market and equity investment

Aadhar seeding must for bank accounts under new KYC norms by RBI – also, use of officially valid docs to establish address and ID proof of customers have been restricted to cases where enrolment for Aadhaar is not possible

RBI drops Axis bank from list of bullion(gold and silver) importers for current FY

RBI switches back to GDP model to measure economy – earlier used GVA methodology; GVA gives picture from producers’ side whereas GDP gives picture from consumers’ side; switch is to conform to international standards

RBI raises FPI limit for Indian bonds (both govt and corporate) o Limit for FPIs would be increased to 5.5% of outstanding stock of securities in 2018-19 and 6% in 2019-20 o For buying govt bonds under general category, revised limit stands at Rs. 2.07 tn for first half of fiscal 2019

and Rs. 2.23 tn for 2nd half (current limit is 1.91 tn)

RBI allows banks to spread out provisioning for bond market losses over 4 quarters – Banks have to revalue their bond portfolio every quarter. In case the value of securities is lower than the market rate, they are mandated to keep aside funds as mark-to-market(MTM) provisioning. Bond portfolio is divided into 3 categories – available for sale (AFS), held for trading (HFT) and held to maturity (HTM). HTM only category where quarterly MTM provisioning not applicable

New RBI framework for bad loans has replaced all other existing schemes such as strategic debt restructuring (SDR), 5/25 refinancing and Scheme for sustainable structuring of stressed assets (S4A). New rules are

o Starting 1s March 2018, lenders must implement a resolution plan within 180 days for loan accounts at least Rs. 2000 crore, failing which the defaulting borrowers must be referred to insolvency courts

o Banks mandated to report defaults weekly to RBI, even if loan payments are delayed by a day

RBI discontinues issuance of LoUs and LoCs for importers with immediate effect following PNB scam

RBI creates sub tgts of 8% of ANBC for foreign banks(20+ branches) to lend to S&M farmers from 2018-19

RBI report states that 1 in every 5 bank borrower now is a woman

RBI disallows hedging of price risk in gold, gems and precious stones

Banking Regulation Act allows RBI to regulate all commercial banks in the country but Sec 51 of the amended Act does not allow RBI to remove the Chairman, directors or mgt of PSU banks, does not allow RBI to move ahead with liquidation of PSU banks or to order forced mergers

RBI and IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) sign MoU on data sharing for better implementation of IBC

RBI to link base rate with MCLR from 1st April

RBI comes up with revised guidelines to deal with bad loans o Decided to do away with JLF as an institutional mechanism o Banks will be required to identify incipient stress in loan accounts by classifying stressed assets as Special

Mention Accounts (SMAs) depending upon the period of default o Laid down timelines for resolution of stressed assets o If resolution plan not implemented as per timeline, lenders to file insolvency application under IBC 2016 o All lenders will be required to submit Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) – Main

Report to RBI on a monthly basis from April 1 o Lenders shall report to CRILC all borrower entities in default on a weekly basis every Friday

RBI issues new KYC norms for payments banks – has asked payments banks to get their customers’ information verified by third parties – done to curb Airtel’s method of verifying customers using its own telecom business

RBI to have additional instrument for liquidity mgt – Standing Deposit Facility Scheme – as announced by FM in Budget speech. FM proposed to amend RBI Act to add this (MSS is no more)

o SDF will be used particularly when money market liquidity is in excess to deal with post-demonetisation like scenario where RBI ran out of securities to offer as collateral and had to temporarily hike CRR

o SDF was first proposed by Urjit Patel Committee report in 2014

RBI to scrap subsidies for installation of ATM and cash recycler machines given to banks, to promote digital economy

Banking Banks collected Rs. 5k crore as min balance non-maintenance penalty in 2018; SBI highest at 2433 crore

Recapitalization of PSBs announced in Oct 2017 – capital infusion for 2017-18 includes 80k crore through Recap bonds and 8,139 crore as Budgetary support. This recap would be accompanied by a strong reforms agenda with overarching framework of ‘Responsive and responsible PSBs’. Reforms agenda is aimed at EASE (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) focusing on 6 themes –

o Customer responsiveness; Responsible banking; Credit off take; PSBs as Udyami Mitra; Deepening financial inclusion; Digitalisation and developing personnel for brand PSB

SBI to launch a Kisan Mela outreach programme to impart financial literacy and issue KCCs

RBI cancels license of Alwar Urban Cooperative Bank

Federal Bank obtains regulatory approval to open branches in Bahrain, Kuwait and SG

RBI issues license to Bank of China to launch operations in India

AI – SBI’s Innovation Center, BoB’s Digital Lab and Allahabad Bank’s empower App

SBI card, India’s 2nd largest credit card issuer after HDFC, announced ELA (Electronic Live Assistant), for cust support

ATM density – Delhi > TN > KN

CVC has imposed new monetary limits on PSBs to report frauds to CBI o Frauds of 3 crore to 25 crore (up from 15 crore) to be reported to CBI’s ACB (employee involvement) or

Economic Offences Wing (no employee involvement) o Fraud cases from 25 to 50 crore to be given to CBI’s Banking Security and Fraud Cell o Cases >50 crore to be lodged with Jt Dir, CBI

SBI biggest beneficiary of Bhushan steel sale to Tata

Moody’s downgrades PNB rating from Baa3 to Ba1

UIDAI has asked banks to open Aadhaar enrolment centers in 10% of their branches o Enrolment/updation target per branch per day has been relaxed to 8 for now o So far target was 16; set to 12 from Oct 1 and again to 16 from Jan 1, 2019

Indian currency paper made of cotton pulp by Bank Note Paper Mill India which has received green signal from MoEFCC to increase production from 12000 tonner per annum to 16000 TPA

PM launches 3 Indian digital payment apps in SG – Rupay, BHIM and SBI app o Rupay linked to Network for Electronic Transfer (NETS) – Rupay users can now make payments at all NETS

acceptance points and vice versa

Walmart buys 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 bn

Aadhaar Virtual ID o Feature aimed at giving users the option of not sharing their Aadhar number at the time of authentication o Compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept VID from users from 1st July 2018 o VID is a random 16 digit number mapped to 12 digit Aadhar

Currently RBI holds 100% stake in National Housing Bank (NHB). Finance Bill 2018 has amended NHB Act 1987 for transferring RBI’s stake to the govt and process to transfer stake has been initiated

o Govt has earlier on already acquired RBI’s stake in SBI (59.7%) and NABARD in 2007 and 2010 resp o All being done on recommendations of Narasimhan Committee

YES Bank receives approval to open offices in SG and London; it had opened its first representative office in Abu Dhabi in April 2015 and also launched IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City

Total currency in circulation as on April 2018 was Rs. 18.43 trillion, was Rs. 17.98 trillion before demonetization

ICICI launches digital form for opening current accounts – account can now be opened at customer’s premises

1.55 lakh post offices to be empowered as Payments Banks – by Indian Post Payments Bank which had launched pilot services in Ranchi and Raipur

SBI launches UK subsidiary with 225 mn pounds capital

Jio Payments Bank begins operation (first Bharti Airtel, then Paytm, then FINO, then Birla Idea)

SBI to invest Rs. 80 bn in Arun III hydropower project of Nepal

Kotak Mahindra Bank pips SBI in market capitalization

RBI bars banks from links to cryptocurrencies

ICICI launches social media based remittance service for NRIs – using Whatsapp and email; named ‘SocialPay’; available on Money2India (ICICI remittance app)

Finance Ministry has approved linking of savings bank accounts in Post Offices with IPPB

Dimension Data powers 60 digital branches for SBI – sbiINTOUCH

ICICI first Indian bank to go live with an improved version of SWIFT cross border payment

PSBs wrote off Rs 81,683 crore loans in FY17

Gross bank NPAs on Dec 17 were 8.41 lakh crore

Citi launches first of its kind treasury bills linked home loans

Govt infuses 9,502 crore in BoB and IOB – IDBI and BoI which have been placed under PCA of RBI to receive highest capital infusion from GoI at Rs. 10,610 crore and Rs. 9,232 crore resp

Bandhan Bank’s bumper listing makes it India’s 8th most valued bank

Highest number of branches of Indian banks in UK, followed by HK

Govt asks banks to name and shame willful defaulters by publishing their photos in newspapers

HDFC blocks usage of all its cards for purchase or trading of cryptocurrencies

ICICI launches online overdraft facility for MSME customers – called InstaOD

Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank starts operation – 5th payments bank. RBI had issued in-principle approval to 11 applicants in 2015. License issued under Banking Regulation Act, 1949

BoB to shut operations in South Africa

Capital market and insurance SEBI proposes using UPI to reduce public issue timeline from T+6 to T+3

HDFC securities announces launch of mutual funds transactional capabilities on FB through its virtual assistant Arya

BSE enters into agreement with Bombay Metal Exchange

IRDAI approves LIC’s proposal to hike its stake to 51% in IDBI from 10.8%; LIC expected to infuse 13k crore

NSE signs agreement with NASDAQ for a suitable platform and tech backbone

IIFL is India’s top investment bank for IPO issuance by private sector companies

WB group member IFC invests $100 mn in M&M Financial Service Ltd for tractor finance

SEBI extends trade timings for futures and options from current 3.30 pm to 11.55 in the night from 1st Oct, 2018

BSE first Indian stock exchange to get US SEC (Securities and exchange commission) certification o Help US investors invest in India as they can invest through BSE without registering these securities with SEC

NSE first Indian stock exchange to get an exemption from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that will allow members of NSE to trade in derivatives for US clients without the members having to register with CFTC

MCX launches India’s first Copper options contracts (futures); also launches first silver options contract; launched world’s first brass futures contract – first non-ferrous contract with compulsory delivery option

o MCX is country’s first listed commodity futures exchange that facilitates online trading and clearing and settlement of commodity futures transactions

o MCX offers futures trading in bullion, ferrous and non ferrous metals, energy, agri commodities like menthe oil, cardamom, potatoes, palm oil etc

Telanga approves Rs. 5 lakh insurance cover (death and accident) for farmers through LIC – govt to pay premium for all farmers between 18 and 60

Kin of people dying in road accidents to get Rs. 5 lakh compensation

New India Assurance to offer cover for Indian ships

Vistara (TATA + SIA) joins International Air Transport Association (IATA) – earlier only Air India and Jet were members

Malaysia announced to lower GST to 0% - now going to introduce sale and service tax to make up for shortfall

Patanjali + BSNL = Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards

TVS motors to assemble vehicles in Bangladesh (currently only in ID outside of IN)

Britannia launches first exports only facility in GJ at Mundra

NCLT allows Vedanta’s bid to acquire bankrupt Electrosteel (one of the first 12 cases referred by RBI under IBC)

IRDAI : though Aadhaar not mandatory at the time of buying new insurance policy, to be submitted within 6 months

LIC’s first year premium income jumps 13.5% to record Rs. 1.34 lakh crore in FY18

NSE IFSC launches debt securities – lists IREDA’s Rs1950 crore green masala bond;(first issued in London and then SG)

SEBI accepts around half of the 80 suggestions made by Uday Kotak led panel on corporate governance

P K Malhotra, former SAT member, assigned duty of reviewing norms for buyback of secs by listed companies, by SEBI

SEBI doubles the investment limit by angel funds in venture capital undertakings to Rs. 10 crores by amending Alternate Investment Funds (AIF) regulations wrt angel funds; SEBI to also halve the min corpus size for an angel fund to register with it to Rs. 5 crore; SEBI to raise max period of accepting funds from an angel investor to 5 years from current 3 years

SEBI exempts govt from open offer for 6 PSBs(PNB, Canara, Syndicate, Vijaya, BoB, UBI) post capital infusion

IRDAI bars issuers from rejecting claims based on genetic disorders – ruled by Delhi HC

New India Assurance to offer medical covers for treatment of ailments like cancer, neurosurgery, heart surgery, organ transplant and bone marrow transplant outside India

Airtel-Telenor merger approved by NCLT

BARC to use Airtel Digital TV to measure viewership by using Return Path Data (RPD)

Suzlon installs India’s largest wind turbine generator with rotor dia of 128 m

Bharat Dynamics and IREDA get SEBI nod for IPO

Under SEBI norms, every listed company is mandated to maintain a public shareholding of 25%

Govt ropes in Nandan Nilekani to develop IT infra for National Health Protection Scheme

Economy and policy SBI authorized to issue and encash electoral bonds initially at 4 authorized branches – first sale to commence from 1

Mar for 10 days; bonds valid for 15 days from date of issue; only Parties under RPA that secured >1% of the votes polled in last elections to LS or LA shall be eligible to receive bonds

Govt reconstitutes Financial Stability and Development Council to also include MoS for Dept of Economic Affairs (P Radhakrishan), Secy of Meity, Chairperson of IBBI and revenue secy

TCS first company to cross Rs. 7 tn (7 lakh crore) capitalization mark; Reliance was first to cross 6 tn mark

Cabinet approves accession to 2 WIPO treaties – WIPO Copyright and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaties

BSE building, Phirozjee Jijibhoy Towers, at Dalal Street gets trademark under Trade Marks Act

FB + NSDC to train youth and entrepreneurs on digital skills

Govt cuts min annual deposit requirement in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana Account from 1000 to 250 Rs. o Max deposit 1.5 lakh; Current interest rate 8.1%

Google announces Launchpad Accelerator India – mentorship program for startups in Machine learning/AI

BSNL launches India’s first internet telephone service Wings

NTPC 250 MW solar plant in Suwasra, Mandsaur – will use domestically manufactured solar cells

India becomes 69th shareholder of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

India becomes 6th largest economy in the world, overtaking France, according to WB data on GDP o US – 19.39 tn USD; China – 12.24 tn USD; Japan – 4.87 tn USD; Germany – 3.68 tn USD; UK – 2.62 tn USD;

India – 2.597 tn USD; France – 2.582 tn USD

Manappuram Finance to buy 85% stake in Indian School Finance Company (ISFC), an NBFC

Tata Steel for 50-50 JV with Germany’s Thyssenkrupp to create Europe’s 2nd largest steel company after Arcelor Mittal

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd in Assam to become first oil PSU to adopt an online legal compliance system Legatrix

Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd commissions 2 solar projects of 50 MW each in Ananthapuramu Solar Park in AP

Govt increases MSP on paddy by a record Rs 200 per quintal taking it to Rs 1750 per quintal

WHO most polluted cities – Delhi, Greater Cairo, Dhaka, Mumbai, Beijing

Indore, Bhopal, Chandigarh top 3 cleanest cities; NDMC cleanest among Municipalities with <3 lakh population; Greater Mumbai cleanest among all state capitals; JK best performing state; Vijaywada and Mysuru cleanest in their resp categories

CBDT exempts angel investors from income tax on investments in start-ups with share premium <10 crore)

TG govt launches Rhythu Bandhu Scheme (friends of farmers), an investment support scheme to support livelihood of farmers; farmers will directly get financial support twice every year; Investment support of Rs. 8000 per acre per year

Horticulture production estimated at 307 mn tonnes in 2017-18 and foodgrain production at 279.5 mn tonnes

Target of 283.7 mn tonnes of foodgrain in 2018-19

Pulses production estimated at record 24 mn tonnes in 2017-18 – India caps imports of green gram (moong) and black matpe (urad) at 3 lakh tonnes and that of pigeon peas (arhar) at 2 lakh tonnes

India’s global trade rises 16% to $767.9 bn in 2017-18

MP launches India’s first integrated control and command center for its smart cities

TN cancels allocation of land to Sterlite’s expansion plans in Thoothukudi

China bank Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) launched China’s first India dedicated publicly offered investment fund (ICBC + Credit Suisse)

NITI Ayog seeks WB help to prevent fraud in Ayushman Bharat scheme

Indian IT corridors in China : Dalian – first – focus on IoT; Guiyang – recent – focus on Big Data

Govt launches Samagra Shiksha Scheme for school education from pre-school to senior secondary levels – focus on improving quality of education, enhancing learning outcomes and use of tech to empower children and teachers – integration of SSA, RMSA and Teacher Education

Suresh Prabhu launches Intellectual Property mascot IP Nani

Govt approves green license plates for electric vehicles – for preferential parking, free entry in congested zones, etc

NITI Aayog inks pact with IBM for crop yield prediction model using AI – to help farmers in Aspirational Districts

Govt approves Rs 5000 crore for dedicated micro irrigation fund under NABARD, whichwill then extend loans to states

Govt allows embedded SIMs (eSIMs) – installed in mobile; details of service providers can be updated when required

SIDBI to provide financial support to Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) through Common Service Centers (CSCs)

Govt to release a services Producers Price Index soon (PPI excludes taxes whereas WPI and CPI include taxes)

According to Internet Security Threat Report, most vulnerable countries to cyber threat are US>China>India

Fitch maintains India’s sovereign rating to BBB- (lowest investment grade), with a stable outlook

IMF said that India’s combined gross debt (centre + states) is set to decline by almost 9% to 61.4% of GDP by 2023-24

ITC and NITI Aayog to collaborate on strengthening agriculture systems in 25 aspirational districts

Delhi HC ruled that plant varieties and seeds cannot be patented under India law by companies like Monsanto and any royalties by GM tech will be decided by a specialized agency of agriculture ministry

KisanKraft, manufacturer of agri machinery for S&M farmers, signed 10 year licensing agreement with National Research Development Corp and National Bio-diversity Authority for marketing of aerobic rice variety developed by University of Agricultural Sciences, Begaluru

States allowed to set up their own insurance companies to implement PMFBY

Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog launches Atal New India challenge – focus on solving problems in core areas which would directly improve people’s lives

IGI Airport in world’s top 20 busiest airports

PM launches India’s first all-electric superfast train engine in Bihar – 12000 hp from Madhepura locomotive factory; launched when Modi was attending Champaran centenary events; made with help from French company Alstom under Make in India; will be used to transport coal and iron ore; 120 km/hr

India replaces Vietnam to become world’s 2nd largest mobile phone producer after China

USA adds India to currency watch list saying India increased its purchase of forex over the first 3 quarters of 2017, which does not appear necessary (China, JP, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland are already in the list)

Govt approves pacts for supply of iron ore to Japan, South Korea

UK joins ISA on eve of Modi’s visit

Van Dhan scheme to increase tribal income – M of Tribal Affairs + TRIFED; 10 SHGs of 30 tribals would be trained and provided with working capital

HRD Ministry launches 2nd edition of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan – students from higher education instis to adopt villages

PM launches Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan in MP on occasion of national Panchayati Raj day – to make rural bodies self-sustainable, financially stable and more efficient

WB launches Rupashree scheme for marriage of poor girls – one time financial assistance worth Rs. 25k to family of girl whose annual income <1.5 lakh

According to payroll data released by EPFO and NPS, 2.2 mn formal jobs got added over 6 months till Feb 2018

First wellness centre under Ayushmaan Bharat at Bijapur(CG), aspirational district program also launched same time

CSIR National Physics Lab and DoTelecom sign MoU for nationwide time stamping and time sync network

UIDAI introduces new QR code for offline Aadhaar verification. Code to contain photo of user and other non-sensitive info like name, address, birth date

HIRA acronym given by PM for Northeast – Highways, Internet ways, Railways and Airways

Think tank on e-commerce set up under India’s ambassador to WTO (Trade and Commerce Minister) – comprising of officials from Commerce min, MHA, MCA, MEITY etc and many corporates + Paytm and NPCI as well

Bengaluru 5th cheapest city in the world to live in according to Economic Intelligence Unit

India has worlds highest number of inhabitants without safe water according to WorldAid

CCEA allows bulk export of all edible oils except mustard (will continue to be exported in consumer packs up to 5 kgs)

Agriculture, allied sectors see growth of 3% in 2017-18 as compared to 6.3% in 2016-17

Govt to set up plastic park in Deoghar district in Jharkhand

India receives first LNG consignment from US at Dabhol terminal in MH through a GAIL chartered vessel

India HK sign DTAA

Iraq overtakes Saudi Arabia as India’s largest oil supplier

NDB + ISA tie up to promote solar energy

PM launches pan-India expansion of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao from Jhunjhunu on International Women’s Day + also launched National Nutrition Mission ICDS Common Application Software

Ayushman Bharat to integrate 2 ongoing centrally sponsored schemes – RSBY and Senior Citizen Health Insurance

E-way bill comes into effect on inter-state movement of goods over Rs .50k

EPFO lowers interest rate to 8.55% for 2017-18

Govt planning to change base year to 2017-18 for GDP and IIP numbers while for retail inflation

IRDAI tells issuers to transfer unclaimed deposits to Senior Citizens Welfare Fund by 1st March

All varieties of onions can now be exported without any Minimum Export Price

Indian Railways inducts first digitally enabled High Horse Power Locomotives – based on insulated gate bipolar transistor technology; collaboration with GE; made in India

PM inaugurates 4th container terminal at JNPT

Northeast’s first regional centre for agriculture in collaboration with Israel to come up in Mizoram – exclusively for processing of citrus fruits

Shahid Beheshti Port at Chabahar

India contributes additional 1 mn $ to UN Development Partnership Fund for south-south cooperation – fund is set up between India and UN Office for South South Cooperation

Petronet LNG + Japanese company to set up USD 300 mn floating LNG terminal in SL

Airtel, Huawei successfully conduct India’s first 5G network trial

UIDAI launches blue coloured Bal Aadhaar for kids below 5

Cabinet approves creation of National Urban Housing Fund of 60k crore Rs. To finance Housing for All which aims to build 12 mn affordable units by 2022; Fund to be placed under Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council