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ARTH (21TH APRIL -30 TH APRIL)- Vol 16

1. The US and India have blocked proposal for IMF to issue new SDRs

At the recent G20 and IMF-WB Spring meetings, a proposal for the IMF to issue an

additional 500 billion of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) was blocked by the US and

India. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unprecedented collapse of global

economic activity, there had been many calls for the IMF to issue at least one trillion

SDRs.

Keypoints-

• This would be particularly important for all developing countries, since they are

currently facing the brunt of the collapse in world trade and tourism, reversals in

capital flows.

• In this context, the proposal for the immediate issue of 500 billion SDRs would

still have been a significant increase in global liquidity, because the global “flight

to safety” in financial markets has given rise to dollar shortage.

SDRs

Special drawing rights (SDR) refer to an international type of monetary reserve currency created

by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1969 that operates as a supplement to the existing

money reserves of member countries. Created in response to concerns about the limitations of

gold and dollars as the sole means of settling international accounts, SDRs augment

international liquidity by supplementing the standard reserve currencies.

An SDR is essentially an artificial currency instrument used by the IMF and is built from a basket

of important national currencies. The IMF uses SDRs for internal accounting purposes. SDRs

are allocated by the IMF to its member countries and are backed by the full faith and credit of

the member countries' governments. The makeup of the SDR is re-evaluated every five years.

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2. Renewables sector misses FY20 target due to Covid-19

The renewable energy capacity addition fell short of its target for 2019-20, adding only

about three-fourth of the target for the fiscal. As against the capacity addition target of

11,802 MW for 2019-20, the renewable energy sector added only about 8,711 MW, or

about 74 per cent. In 2018-19, the sector added 8,432 MW of new capacity to the grid.

With lower addition in FY20, the sector has missed its capacity addition target for the

fourth year in a row. Though the sector was facing many challenges during FY20, the

Covid-19 outbreak caused further damage to the capacity addition due to disruption in

the supply chain for some parts in the manufacturing of solar modules.

3. SC asks RBI to examine if banks are passing loan moratorium benefits

The Supreme Court asked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to examine if banks are indeed

passing on benefits of the three-month moratorium on fixed-term loans and EMIs to

customers. SC's direction to the central bank comes after a plea pertaining to RBI's

notification on a three-month loan moratorium.

While the court said this is not a PIL issue, it asked RBI to examine whether its policy is

being implemented by the banking sector in view of issues raised in by the petitioner.

4. Output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 6.5 % in March

The output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 6.5 percent in March

due to fall in production of crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel,

cement and electricity amid the coronavirus lockdown. The eight core sectors had

expanded by 5.8 per cent in March 2019.

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Keypoints-

• Production of crude oil dropped 5.5 percent, production of natural gas

tanked 15.2 percent, growth of refinery products slipped 0.5 percent,

fertiliser production dropped 11.9 percent, steel production declined 13

percent, cement production slumped 24.7 percent and electricity generation

plunged 7.2 percent,coal production fell 4.1 percent in March, from 9.1 per

cent in March 2019.

• During the April-March 2019-20 period, core industries recorded 0.6 percent

growth, against 4.4 percent in 2018-19.

Core Industries

The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the

Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural

gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement ande electricity.

5. RBI extends regulatory benefits under SLF-MF scheme to all banks

The Reserve Bank of India extended regulatory benefits to all banks including

those deploying their own resources to extend liquidity support to the mutual funds

under the Special Liquidity Facility for Mutual Funds SLF-MF scheme.

Keypoints-

• The Reserve Bank had announced Rs 50,000-crore SLF-MF scheme to

bailout the mutual funds facing redemption pressure.

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• The scheme was announced in the backdrop of Franklin Templeton

Mutual Fund deciding to shut several schemes.

• RBI said in a release that based on requests received from banks, it has

now been decided that the regulatory benefits announced under the SLF-

MF scheme will be extended to all banks, irrespective of whether they

avail funding from the Reserve Bank or deploy their own resources under

the SLF-MF scheme.

• The RBI further said banks meeting the liquidity requirements of MFs by

extending loans and undertaking outright purchase of and/or repos

against the collateral of investment grade corporate bonds, commercial

paper , debentures and certificates of deposit held by MFs, will be eligible

to claim all the regulatory benefits available under the scheme.

6. Govt notifies International Financial Services Centres Authority

The finance ministry has established the International Financial Services Centres

Authority (IFSCA) through a notification.The body will be headquartered in Gandhinagar

in Gujarat.

Keypoints-

• The notification brings into effect certain provisions of the IFSCA Act, 2019,

related to its functioning.

• The centre refrained from fully enabling the authority with all its powers as

envisaged in the Act.

• While allowing for the appointment of its members and other employees, setting

up of funds and exemption from taxes, the government has not effected

provisions pertaining to the regulation of financial products, financial services and

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financial institutions in IFSCs and its abilities to transact in foreign currencies and

make rules.

• The main function of the authority will be to regulate financial products such as

securities, deposits or contracts of insurance, financial services, and financial

institutions which have been previously approved by any appropriate regulator in

an IFSC.

• As per the Act, the regulators include SEBI, RBI, IRDAI and the The Pension

Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.

• The IFSCA will comprise a chairperson, and one member each nominated by the

regulators.There will also be two members from the central government and full-

time or part-time members.

7. IIFL Wealth Finance buys L&T Capital Markets for Rs 230 crore

L&T Finance Holdings said it has sold its wholly-owned subsidiary L&T Capital Markets

(LTCM) to IIFL Wealth Finance for Rs 230 crore. IIFL Wealth Finance caters to the

financing needs of corporate and high net worth customers with product offerings

including loans against securities, capital market and IPO financing, and loans against

property. It is a systemically important non-deposit accepting NBFC registered with the

Reserve Bank.

8. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund Bharat-22 ETF picks shares worth Rs 59 crore in

NALCO

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund Bharat-22 ETF picked up shares worth nearly Rs 59 crore

in National Aluminium Company (NALCO) through an open market transaction.

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9. India ranks 142nd on global press freedom index

According to the annual Reporters Without Borders analysis, India has dropped two

places on a global press freedom index to be ranked 142nd out of 180 countries .The

‘World Press Freedom Index 2020' said that with no murders of journalists in India in

2019, as against six in 2018, the security situation for the country's media has been

improved. However, in India constant press freedom violations still remain, including

police violence against journalists, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals

instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.

Keypoints-

• South Asia in general features poorly on the index, with Pakistan dropping three

places to 145 and Bangladesh dropping one place to 151.

• Norway is ranked first with a score of 7.84 in the Index for the fourth year

running.

• China at 177th position is just three places above North Korea, which is at 180th.

Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, is a non-

profit organisation that works to document and combat attacks on journalists around the

world.

10. ICICI Bank launches voice banking services on Amazon Alexa and Google

Assistant

ICICI Bank announced that it has integrated its AI powered multi-channel chatbot,

‘iPal’, with the world’s two most popular voice assistant apps--Amazon Alexa and

Google Assistant-- to enable its retail banking customers to undertake an array of

banking services with just a simple voice command. This novel facility offers customers

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yet another way to connect with their Bank from home at a time when they are advised

to stay indoors in the wake of the nationwide lockdown.

ICICI Bank

HQ- Mumbai

Tagline- Hum Hai Na, Khyal Apka.

The advisory council of the 15th Finance Commission has strongly favoured a state-

funded support mechanism for the sector to restart activity and improve cash flows

affected by lockdown due to Covid-19 outbreak.

In its virtual meeting with the chair and members of the Commission, the advisory council

also suggested institution of partial loan guarantee scheme to keep country's NBFCs

well capitalised while it also advocated new funding options to finance deficits of the

state that may rise because of additional expenditure on Coronavirus relief measures.

Finance Commission

The Finance Commission was established by the President of India in 1951 under Article

280 of the Indian Constitution. It was formed to define the financial relations between the

central government of India and the individual state governments.

11. 15th FC advisory council for support mechanism for MSMEs

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12. Weak credit pushes cash in hand to highest level since 2007-08

The first fortnight of the lockdown seems to have pushed the country more towards a

cash-driven economy.The share of money held in the form of currency, both by the public

and as cash with banks, has hit the highest level since 2007-08.

Keypoints-

• The increase is being attributed to weak credit-cum-deposit creation by banks in a

slowing economy as well as the public’s greater desire to remain liquid amid the

lockdown and the looming economic distress.

• The total currency in circulation (CIC) — the outstanding value of notes and coins

issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — stood at Rs 25.06 lakh crore.

• Not only was this 14.5 per cent higher than a year ago, but also 39.4 per cent more

than the Rs 17.97 lakh crore level of November 4, 2016.

Currency with the public is arrived at after deducting cash with banks from total currency

in circulation.

Currency in circulation refers to cash or currency within a country that is physically used

to conduct transactions between consumers and businesses.

13. Most commodity prices will drop substantially in 2020: World Bank

The World Bank in its ‘April commodity Markets Outlook’ is projected that COVID-19 is

potrayed to bring most commodity prices down substantially in 2020. While there has

been only a moderate impact on the agricultural commodities outlook, supply chain

disruptions and export restrictions and stockpiling by governments have raised food

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security concerns.

Keypoints-

• The outlooks are “exceptionally uncertain” and depend on the severity and duration

of the pandemic and when mitigation measures are unwound.

• Energy prices, which fell 18.4% quarter-on-quarter in 2020 Q1, are expected to

average at 40% lower in 2020 than in 2019.

• With crude benchmarks trading at below zero, the bank projects oil prices to

average at $35 per barrel in 2020.

• The recovery is expected to be very gradual and to a lower level than before. Non-

energy prices are expected to fall 5% in 2020 and stabilise next year. Metal prices

are expected to fall 13% and rebound modestly next year.

14. RBI announces ₹50,000 crore lifeline for mutual funds

To ease liquidity pressures on mutual funds, Reserve Bank of India announced a special

liquidity facility of ₹50,000 crore for mutual funds. Mutual fund investors had received a

jolt when Franklin Templeton fund house halted withdrawals from six debt mutual fund

mutual schemes with large exposures to higher-yielding, lower-rated credit securities,

citing lack of liquidity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Keypoints-

• Under this facility, the RBI will provide funds to banks at lower rates and banks can

avail funds for exclusively meeting the liquidity requirements of mutual funds.

• Banks can extend loans to mutual funds, undertaking outright purchase of and/or

repos against the collateral of investment grade corporate bonds, commercial

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papers (CPs), debentures and certificates of deposit (CDs) held by mutual funds.

• The RBI shall conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate.

• This liquidity facility is on-tap and open-ended, and banks can submit their bids to

avail funding on any day from Monday to Friday (excluding holidays).

15. India replaces Russia as third biggest military spender-SIPRI

According to data released by global think-tank Stockholm International Peace

Research Institute (SIPRI), India has now become the third largest military spender in

the world, behind the United States and China.

Keypoints-

• India's military expenditure stood at $71.1 billion in 2019, a 6.8 per cent increase

compared with 2018.

• India's tensions and rivalry with both Pakistan and China are among the major

drivers for its increased military spending.

• In the Union Budget 2020-21, defence budget is allotted to Rs 4,71,378 crore ($

66.9 billion) which is equivalent to 15.49 per cent of the total central government

expenditure.

• Meanwhile, total global military expenditure rose by 3.6 per cent to $1.917 trillion

in 2019, which was the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.

• The world's military spending in 2019 was equivalent to 2.2 per cent of the global

gross domestic product (GDP), which equates to approximately $249 per person.

• The five largest spenders in 2019, which accounted for 62 per cent of

expenditure, were the United States, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

• This was the first time that two Asian states had featured among the top three

military spenders.

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• In 2019, China was the second largest military spender in the world, with its

expenditure reaching $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 per cent increase compared with

2018.

• Germany led military expenditure increases in Europe, with 10 per cent growth to

$49.3 billion in 2019.

• At the same time, military spending by France and the United Kingdom remained

relatively stable.

16. SVAMITVA scheme announced on Panchayati Raj Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a scheme that has the potential to change

the dynamics of rural areas. The announcement of SVAMITVA scheme on 24th April,

Panchayati Raj Day. The SVAMITVA scheme aims to provide an integrated property

validation solution for rural India, according to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Keypoints-

• According to the panchayati raj ministry, SVAMITVA, or Survey of Villages and

Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas, is a scheme for surveying

the land parcels in rural inhabited area using drone technology and Continuously

Operating Reference Station (CORS).

• The survey will be done across the country in a phase-wise manner over a period

of four years - from 2020 to 2024.

• The projected outlay of the project is Rs 79.65 crore for the pilot phase (2020-

21).

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• The scheme will bring financial stability to people living in rural areas by enabling

them to use their property as financial asset for taking loans and other financial

benefits.

• It will also lead to creation of accurate land records for rural planning and

determination property tax.

• Through the SVAMITVA scheme, the government hopes that property disputes

and legal cases will be reduced.

• This would facilitate monetisation of rural residential assets for credit and other

financial services. Further, this would also pave the way for clear determination

of property tax.

• The SVAMITA scheme will also enable updation of property and asset register to

strengthen tax collection and demand assessment process of gram panchayats.

• Other gram panchayat and community assets like village roads, ponds, canals,

open spaces, school, anganwadi, health sub-centres etc will also be surveyed

and GIS maps will be created. These maps can be used to prepare better quality

gram panchayat development plan.

• About 6.62 lakh villages in the country will be eventually covered in the

SVAMITVA scheme.

• The pilot phase will extend to six states - Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand covering approximately one lakh

villages.

17. Task force on NIP submits final report to Nirmala Sitharaman

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The Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) submitted its final report

for FY 2019-25 to Finance Minister.The report contains recommendations on

general and sector reforms relating to key Infrastructure sectors for implementation

by the Centre and States in India. The task force has projected a total infrastructure

investment of above Rs 111 lakh crore during the period FY 2019-25 to make India

a $5 trillion economy.

Keypoints-

• During the fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as Energy (24 per cent), Roads

(19per cent), Urban (16 per cent), and Railways (13 per cent) account for 70

per cent of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure in India.

• Out of the total expected capital expenditure, projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh

crore (42 per cent) are under implementation, projects worth Rs 32.7 lakh

crore (32 per cent) are in conceptualisation stage and rest are under

development.

18. Reserve Bank of India cancels the licence of The Mapusa Urban Co-operative

Bank of Goa Ltd.,Goa

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of The Mapusa Urban Co-

operative Bank of Goa Ltd., Goa, to carry on banking business.The Reserve Bank

cancelled the licence of the bank as the bank does not have adequate capital and

earning prospects. It does not comply with the provisions with section 56 of the Banking

Regulation Act, 1949 and public interest would be adversely affected if the bank is

allowed to carry on its banking business any further.

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19. Tech Mahindra teams up with IBM to set up innovation centres

IT services firm Tech Mahindra said it is collaborating with the United States-

headquartered IBM to help businesses transform operations and accelerate their hybrid

cloud strategies. As part of this relationship, the two companies will establish innovation

centres to address complex business problems across industries, including

telecommunication, manufacturing, financial services, insurance, retail and healthcare.

The first centre will open in Bengaluru.

20. Remittances to India likely to decline by 23% due to Covid-19: World Bank

According to the World Bank, Remittances to India are likely to drop by 23 per cent to

USD 64 billion from USD 83 billion a striking contrast with the growth of 5.5 percent last

year to USD 64 billion this year due to the coronavirus pandemic resulting in global

recession.

Keypoints-

• Globally remittances are projected to decline sharply by about 20 per cent this

year due to the economic crisis induced by the pandemic and shutdowns.

• The projected fall, which would be the sharpest decline in recent history, is

largely due to a fall in the wages and employment of migrant workers.

• Remittance flows are expected to fall across all World Bank Group regions, most

notably in Europe and Central Asia (27.5 per cent), followed by Sub-Saharan

Africa (23.1 per cent), South Asia (22.1 per cent), the Middle East and North

Africa (19.6 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (19.3 per cent), and East

Asia and the Pacific (13 per cent)

• In Pakistan, the projected decline is about 23 per cent, totalling about USD 17

billion, compared to a total of USD 22.5 billion last year, when remittances grew

by 6.2 per cent.

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• In Bangladesh, remittances are projected at USD 14 billion this year, a likely fall

of about 22 per cent.

21. RBI asks banks, NBFCs to carry out money laundering risk assessment

periodically

The RBI asked banks and NBFCs to carry out money laundering (ML) and terrorist

financing (TF) risk assessment exercise periodically. The Reserve Bank said it has

added a new section in the Master Directions on KYC. This requires its regulated

entities (REs) to carry out ML and TF risk assessment exercise periodically to identify,

assess and take effective measures to mitigate its money laundering and terrorist

financing risk for clients, countries or geographic areas, product services, and

transactions or delivery channels.

Keypoints-

• While assessing the ML/TF risk, the REs are required to take cognizance of the

overall sector-specific vulnerabilities, if any, that the regulator/supervisor may

share with REs from time to time.

• Further, the internal risk assessment carried out by the regulated entity should be

commensurate to its size, geographical presence, complexity of

activities/structure.

• Entities regulated by the RBI include, banks, All India Financial Institutions,

NBFCs, and all payment system providers.

• Also, the REs shall apply a Risk Based Approach (RBA) for mitigation and

management of the identified risk and should have Board approved policies,

controls and procedures in this regard.

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22. Chemicals,Petrochemicals industry becomes top exporting sector for 1st

time

India's chemical exports rose by 7 per cent to 2.68 lakh crore rupees during April-

January period of the last fiscal, and became the top exporting sector in the country

for the first time. During April 2019-January 2020, the export of chemicals grew by

7.43 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Total export of

chemicals during this period reached 2.68 lakh crore rupees. This constitutes 14.35

per cent of the total exports.

23. RBI extends Madhavan Menon's term as part-time Chairman of CSB Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has extended the term of appointment of Madhavan Menon

as the part-time Chairman of the CSB Bank till July 21, 2020. The private sector bank,

formerly known as The Catholic Syrian Bank, in a regulatory filing said, the extension is

in terms of Section 10B (1A)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

24. HDFC acquires 6.43% stake in Reliance Capital

Mortgage lender HDFC has acquired 6.43 per cent stake in debt-trapped Reliance

Capital by invoking pledged shares. These shares were acquired pursuant to invocation

of pledge by security trustee on behalf of the corporation, which was pledged against a

loan given by the lender in its normal course of business.

25. UNCTAD predicts $3.4 trillion debt for developing countries amid Covid-19

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According to UNCTAD,developing countries' repayments on their public

external debt alone will soar to between $2.6 trillion and $3.4 trillion in 2020 and 2021.

UNCTAD has also called for a global debt deal to prevent Covid-19 pandemic from

spreading economic disaster.

Keypoints-

• In 2020 and 2021 alone, repayments on their public external debt are estimated

to be nearly $3.4 trillion -- between $2 trillion and $2.3 trillion in high-income

developing countries and between $666 billion and $1.06 trillion in middle and

low-income countries.

• The financial turmoil from the crisis has triggered record portfolio capital outflows

from emerging economies and sharp currency devaluations in developing

countries, making servicing their debts more onerous.

• The reports called for automatic temporary standstills, debt relief and

programmes restructuring, and an international developing country debt authority

to provide macroeconomic 'breathing space' for all crisis-stricken developing

countries.

26. Indian Overseas Bank launches special scheme for SHGs

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has introduced a special borrowing programme for self

help groups to help them tide over the challenges inflicted by COVID-19. The maximum

loan amount is Rs 5,000 per member of a self help group (SHG) with a cap of Rs 1 lakh

for the group.

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27. India extends USD 150 million foreign currency swap support to Maldives

India extended a USD 150 million foreign currency swap support to the Maldives to help

Maldives mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The swap facility was

extended under USD 400 million currency swap arrangement signed between India and

the Maldives. The currency swap facility is part of the USD 1.4 billion economic package

announced by India for the Maldives during the state visit of Maldive’s President.

28. ADB gives $ 346 mn loan for power sector in rural Maharashtra

The Asian Development Bank said it has approved a USD 346 million (around Rs

2,616 crore) loan to Indian government to provide reliable power connection in rural

areas of Maharashtra. The loan will support the state government's high voltage

distribution system (HVDS) program for new grid-connected rural agricultural customers

across the state.

29. Ind-Ra cuts India's FY21 GDP growth further to 1.9%, lowest in 29 yrs

India Ratings (Ind-Ra) has further slashed its growth expectations for the economy to

1.9% for the ongoing fiscal, down from 3.6% in March.This will be the lowest GDP

growth in the last 29 years and is based on the assumption that the partial

lockdown.The ratings agency forecast a contraction of 2.1% for FY21 if the lockdown

continued beyond mid-May which would take the economy to a 41-year low and would

count as only the sixth instance of negative growth.

30. IOB launches working capital demand loan for agri sector

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has introduced special credit facilities for the agriculture

sector as a relief measure to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Under Working Capital

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demand Loan – Agri (WCDL-Agri), are available to all existing borrowers enjoying cash

credit/OD for sectors like poultry, dairy, fisheries and other allied activities and for other

infrastructure like cold storage and rural go-downs. The working capital loan is

repayable in six monthly instalments after an initial moratorium of six months.

31. Fitch Ratings sees India growth slipping to 0.8% in FY21

In its Global Economic Outlook, Fitch Ratings slashed India's economic growth

projections to 0.8 per cent in the current 2020-21 fiscal due to forthcoming unparalleled

global recession for the disruptions caused by the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic

and resultant lockdowns. Growth is expected to rebound to 6.7 per cent in 2021-22.

32. India's GDP growth likely to range up to 1.5% in FY21: CII

According to the report of CII, India's GDP is likely to range between a decline of 0.9 per

cent and a growth of 1.5 per cent in the current financial year, with the economy

undergoing a "turbulent" phase caused by the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

CII has laid out its growth expectation under three scenarios and suggested "urgent"

fiscal interventions. In the baseline scenario, the Gross Domestic Product is expected to

grow at just 0.6 per cent on an annual basis as economic activity is expected to remain

constrained . This will lead to disruption in supply chains, slow pick-up in investment

activity, labour shortages in the short-run and muted consumption demand on account

of reduced household incomes.

33. Federal Bank to acquire additional stake in IDBI Federal Life Insurance

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Federal Bank has approved in principle purchase of additional stake of up to 4 per cent

in the equity capital of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Co Ltd (IFLIC) from IDBI Bank. This

purchase is subject to price finalization and all relevant regulatory approvals, the Bank

said in a regulatory filing. The private sector bank currently holds a 26 per cent stake in

IFLIC, making it an Associate of the Bank. Post purchase, its total stake may increase

up to 30 per cent.

34. CARE Ratings expects GDP growth at 1.1 pc in current financial year

CARE Ratings said the country's GDP growth is likely to decline to 1.1 per cent in the

current financial year 2020-21 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The domestic rating

agency added that the estimate has a "downward bias", saying predicting the recovery

is very difficult at present.

35. India Approves USD 1 Million To Antigua As Project Outlay

India has approved USD 1 million to Antigua as project outlay, with immediate

assistance of USD 1,50,000 for medical equipment to combat coronavirus crisis.

36. Paytm Payments Bank begins issuing Mastercard debit cards

Paytm Payments Bank has partnered with Mastercard to issue physical and virtual

debit cards. Initially, the payment bank will issue only virtual debit cards to its beta

customers. Using virtual debit cards, customers will be able to perform secure online

transactions. To ensure ‘highest levels’ of security for digital transactions, the bank will

leverage Mastercard’s mobile and artificial intelligence platforms.

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37. RBI gives nod to Kamakodi’s reappointment as MD & CEO of City Union Bank

The Reserve Bank of India has given its approval for the re-appointment of N Kamakodi

as MD & CEO of City Union Bank (CUB) for three years with effect from May 1.

38. Government-appointed committee suggests GDP data revamp for states

A government-appointed committee has suggested a complete revamp of how states

collect and compile data for state-level gross domestic product (GDP) and other

estimates. The committee was constituted by the statistics and programme

implementation ministry and headed by Ravindra H Dholakia, was tasked with reviewing

the methodology of estimation of sub-national accounts .

Keypoints-

• The committee for sub-national accounts suggested that goods and services tax

(GST) be used for estimating incomes and other statistics at the state level.

• It also said that states should compile their own index of industrial production

(IIP) instead of relying on the all-India IIP data in order to come up with more

accurate estimates.

• The committee emphasised the need for a dynamic and sector-specific business

register.

• According to the databases of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), GST and

the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes can be used for more accuracy in

estimations.

• However, GST data has yet to be made available for regular use in estimation.

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39. PNB Housing appoints Neeraj Vyas as interim MD&CEO

PNB Housing Finance said it has appointed Neeraj Vyas as its interim Managing

Director and CEO. Vyas will be in the new role for a period of eight months, effective

from April 28, 2020.

40. Finance Minister attends the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of

New Development Bank through video-conference

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman attended

the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank through video-

conference in New Delhi. She appreciated NDB’s effort on fast tracking of financial

assistance of about $5 billion to BRICS countries including Emergency Assistance of $1

billion India to combat COVID-19 pandemic.

The NDB was established by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and

South Africa) in 2014. NDB has so far approved 14 projects of India for an amount of $

4,183 million. NDB’s HQ- Shanghai, China.

41. Moody's slashes India's growth estimate to 0.2% for 2020 from 2.5%

Moody’s Investors Service slashed India growth forecast for calendar year 2020 to 0.2

per cent from 2.5 per cent projected in March. The rating agency expects India’s growth

to rebound to 6.2 per cent for 2021. Only China, India, and Indonesia are projected to

witness economic growth in 2020 by Moody’s. It expects G20 advanced economies as a

bloc to see a fall in its GDP by 4 per cent in 2020.

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42. Virus-hit APEC region to post 2.7% economic contraction in 2020

The APEC region is expected to post a 2.7 percent economic contraction in 2020 due to

the impact of the novel coronavirus, the most significant fall since the near-zero growth

rate logged in 2009 during the global financial crisis. The region's unemployment rate is

projected to rise to 5.4 percent in 2020 from 3.8 percent in 2019, or an additional 23.5

million workers in the region being unemployed in 2020. An economic rebound is

forecast for 2021, with the APEC region anticipated to grow 6.3 percent, higher than the

projected global economic growth of 5.8 percent.

APEC

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member

economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific

region.

Headquarters: Singapore

43. Transcorp gets RBI nod to issue co-branded prepaid cards, wallets

Transcorp International Ltd has received RBI nod for entering into co-branding

arrangements for Prepaid Instruments that can be used in over 35 lakh stores and

online gateways. With this, Transcorp has become one of the first non-bank companies

to obtain this authorization from RBI. Transcorp will be launching API based co-branded

partnerships for Digital, Physical and Contactless cards with select marquee clients.

44. India's holding of US govt securities hits record high of $177.5 bn in Feb

India's holding of US government securities jumped by over USD 13 billion in a month to

record high of USD 177.5 billion. Latest data from the US Treasury Department showed

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that the amount of securities owned by India has also gone up by the maximum

quantum in a span of one month, amid the country slowly hiking the level since last

year. Japan was the largest holder with securities worth over USD 1.268 trillion,

followed by China with holdings to tune of USD 1.092 trillion. In terms of holdings, India

is at the 13th position.

45. ADB approves USD 1.5 bn loan to India to fight COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank unveiled a $1.5 billion Covid-19 package for India on and

is in discussions with the government on further aid for specific sectors. It’s also in

discussions with the country’s private sector to provide support. The multilateral lender

has begun consultations with India on providing support for micro, small and medium

enterprises (MSMEs) and infrastructure projects through credit guarantees.

46. China’s retail savings, investment market to witness worst year since 2008:

GlobalData report

According to GlobalData, China’s retail savings and investments market is set for the

worst year since 2008 financial crash due to the domestic disruption and impact on

trade partners due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Keypoints-

• Growth in deposits will be modest in 2020, with little government support.

Households would have to dip into savings.

• Equities will decline in 2020 by 20 per cent. This is due to Chinese stock markets

tumbling once Covid-19 became a pandemic in March.

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47. RBI allows flexibility to public sector banks on statutory branch audit

Considering the lockdown situation prevailing in the country due to the spread of

COVID-19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given public sector banks (PSBs) some

flexibility to reduce the number of branches covered under branch audit. Under the

modified guidelines pertaining to statutory branch audit of PSBs,the RBI said the same

may be carried out so as to cover 90 per cent of all funded and 90 per cent of all non-

funded exposures of the bank. As per the earlier guidelines, the RBI advised that

statutory branch audit of PSBs may be carried out for all branches with advances of ₹20

crore and above, and one-fifth of the remaining branches covering a representative

cross section of rural/semi-urban/urban and metropolitan branches, predominantly

including branches which are not subjected to concurrent audit, so as to cover 90 per

cent of advances of a bank.

48. Flipkart allots $28 million in fresh funding to PhonePe

Flipkart has pumped $28 million into the Walmart-owned fintech entity, PhonePe, in a

fresh funding round. The investment comes after it raised Rs 585.66 crore.The recent

infusion of funds from Flipkart takes the total funding for PhonePe to $928 million.

49. Clean energy: Gujarat, Rajasthan shine in FY20 while Karnataka retains top

slot

Amid headwinds faced by the renewable energy sector in FY20, Gujarat and Rajasthan

managed to add more capacities than others, while Karnataka retained its number one

position in total installed capacity. In terms of overall solar energy capacity addition in

FY20, the top three States were Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. In wind energy,

the top three were Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

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50. ₹43,574-crore ‘like’: Facebook picks 9.99 per cent in Jio Platforms

Global tech giant Facebook has signed a binding agreement to invest ₹43,574 crore in

Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) wholly-owned subsidiary Jio Platforms. The investment

by is in lieu of a 9.99 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms. Facebook will also get a

seat on Reliance Jio’s Board.

51. SEBI relaxes norms for fund raising from capital markets

In a bid to facilitate fund raising from capital markets in the backdrop of Covid-19

pandemic, SEBI has relaxed norms aimed at expanding the universe of listed entities

that are eligible for raising funds through fast track rights issuances by reducing the time

involved and providing greater flexibility in fund raising apart from easing compliance

requirements.

Keypoints-

• The eligibility requirement of average market capitalisation of public shareholding

of Rs 250 crores has been reduced to Rs 100 crores.

• The requirement related to period of listing of equity shares of the issuer for at

least three years has been reduced to listing for eighteen months only.

• To provide greater flexibility in fund raising, the threshold for minimum

subscription requirements for a rights issue has been reduced from existing 90

per cent to 75 per cent of the offer size, subject to certain conditions.

• To reduce the time involved in fund raising and ease compliance requirements,

listed entities raising funds upto Rs 25 crores in a rights issue will not be required

to file draft offer document. The existing threshold in this regard is Rs 10

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crores.These relaxations are applicable to right issues that open on or before

March 31, 2021.

52. SEBI disposes of insider trading charges against Kotak Mahindra Life

Insurance

The Securities and Exchange Board of India disposed of insider trading charges against

Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company in the matter of Manappuram Finance.

Insider trading

Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities based on

material, nonpublic information about the company

53. Pakistan removes thousands of names from terrorist watch list: FATF Report

According to a US-based start-up that automates watchlist compliance, Pakistan has

quietly removed around 1,800 terrorists from its watch list, including that of the 2008

Mumbai attack mastermind and LeT operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi,

ahead of a new round of assessments by the global anti-money-laundering watchdog

FATF.The so-called proscribed persons list is intended in part to help financial

institutions avoid doing business with or processing transactions of suspected terrorists.

FATF

The Financial Action Task Force is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989

on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. In 2001, its

mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.

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Headquarters: Paris, France

54. Pandemic may cost India permanent loss of 4% real GDP: Crisil

According to Crisil Research, which also warned that it could lead to a four per cent

permanent loss to real Indian GDP as it called for more fiscal stimulus. Base case GDP

growth expected at 1.8 per cent for fiscal 2021. Risks tilted towards the downside

scenario of zero GDP growth. Fiscal 2022 is likely to see a V-shaped recovery at over 7

per cent real GDP growth. Fiscal stimulus measures could end up requiring about ₹3.5

trillion. Gross non-performing assets of banks could rise to 11-11.5 per cent this fiscal

from about 9.6 per cent as on March 2020 and slippages will be high.

55. Bharti AXA General ties up with PolicyBazaar

Bharti AXA General Insurance, a private insurer, has tied up with PolicyBazaar.com to

offer ‘Pay As You Drive’ Motor Insurance policies under a regulatory sandbox project.

Regulatory sandbox

The Regulatory Sandbox usually refers to live testing of new products or services in a

controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may (or may not) permit

certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.

56. U.S. panel slams India on religious freedom

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an

independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission which has published its

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annual report, adding India to a list of countries with a worrying record on religious

freedom for minorities. India has been listed, along with China, North Korea, Pakistan,

Syria and Saudi Arabia, among 14 nations of particular concern.

In its report, the USCIRF listed policies, including CAA and NRC.The panel proposed a

range of measures against Indian officials responsible for severe violations of religious

freedom, including targeted sanctions, banning their entry into U.S. and freezing their

assets.

57. NHB provides liquidity boost through ₹10,000-cr special refinance facility

The government-owned National Housing Bank (NHB) has put together a ₹10,000-crore

special refinance facility (SRF) of up to one-year tenor for housing finance companies

(HFCs) to partially mitigate their liquidity risk and improve liquidity in the overall housing

finance system.

NHB

HQ- New Delhi

58. Ujjivan SFB ranked 5th among ‘Best Large Workplaces’

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has been ranked 5th among ‘Best Large Workplaces in

Asia 2020’ by the Great Place To Work Institute. In 2019, Ujjivan SFB was ranked 16th

in the Best Large Workplaces in Asia. The bank was ranked based on two parameters

which includes Trust Index Score that is based on employees’ feedback in the survey

and Culture Audit Score basis .

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59. Banking industry to be public utility service for six months: Government

Government has declared banking industry as a public utility service for six months till

October 21 under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act. The notification was

issued by the labour ministry against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic which

has significantly impacted economic activities. Bringing banking services under the

provisions of this Act means that the banking sector would not see any strikes by

employees or officers during the operation of the law starting from April 21.

60. Research firm Nielsen slashes FMCG growth forecast for 2020

Nielsen has slashed its annual growth forecast for India's FMCG sector to mid-single

digits in the range of 5-6 per cent for the calendar year 2020, as the world grapples with

the Covid-19 pandemic. It had earlier predicted growth to be in the range of 9-10 per

cent for India's FMCG sector for the full year of 2020.

61. US provides additional $ 3 million to India to fight Covid-19

The US will provide an additional $3 million to India through the US Agency for

International Development (USAID) to support its efforts to fight the spread of Covid-19.

This increases the total assistance provided by the USAID to India for supporting its

efforts against the virus to $ 5.9 million. USAID is providing these funds, in coordination

with the Indian government, to the Partnerships for Affordable Healthcare Access and

Longevity (PAHAL) project.

62. 1.6 billion workers in informal sector likely to lose jobs: UN labour body

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The International Labour Organization (ILO) has said that as many as 1.6 billion

workers in the informal economy, nearly half of the global workforce, are prone to losing

their livelihoods due to the continued sharp decline in working hours because of the

Covid-19 outbreak. The findings appear in the ILO Monitor third edition: Covid-19 and

the world of work.

Keypoints-

• More than 430 million enterprises in hard-hit sectors such as retail and

manufacturing risk "serious disruption".

• According to ILO estimates, the global workforce working in the informal sector

has witnessed a 60 per cent dip in income in the first month of the crisis followed

by a prolonged lockdown.

• The economic crisis is more pronounced in Africa and the Americas as it sees

more than 80 per cent decline in the income, Europe and Central Asia 70 per

cent decline, and 21.6 per cent in Asia and the Pacific.

63. Gadkari launches portal for innovative MSME ideas

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the ‘MSME Bank of Ideas, Innovation and

Research’ portal for uploading ideas and innovations regarding the micro, small and

medium enterprises (MSME) sector. Registered users on the portal can share ideas,

innovation and research. The users can rate these ideas for crowd sourcing and venture

capitalists can also connect with the users.

64. Small businesses credit worth ₹2.32 lakh crore at highest risk of default: Cibil

In its study, TransUnion Cibil said, at present, the total outstanding amount of all

financiers to small businesses having a credit outstanding of less than ₹50 crore

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is ₹17.94 lakh crore, representing 28 per cent of the total outstanding credit.Small

business credit of ₹2.32 lakh crore is at the highest risk of default, and micro enterprises

having loan outstanding of less than ₹10 lakh are the most vulnerable because of the

Covid-19 pandemic.

65. Over 5 million people were displaced in India in 2019 reports 2020 GRID

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) which is Geneva based has released

its Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID) 2020.The reports stated that 5

million people were displaced in India in 2019, the highest in the world, due to disasters

like cyclones and monsoon floods. India reported 50,37,000 displacements in 2019

Keypoints-

• The report highlighted that the displacements were caused due to increasing

hazard intensity, high population exposure, and high levels of social and

economic vulnerability.

• As per the report Political and electoral violence, primarily in Tripura and West

Bengal accounted for more than 7,600.

• South Asia recorded a total of 9.5 million new displacements associated with

disasters in 2019.

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66. Global Report on Food Crises

A new edition of the annual Global Report on Food Crises has been released

by the Global Network Against Food Crises.It was launched by the European

Union, FAO and WFP during the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) .The

report reveals scope of food crises as COVID-19 poses new risks to vulnerable

countries.

Keypoints-

• At the close of 2019, 135 million people across 55 countries and territories

experienced acute food insecurity.

• Additionally, in 2019, 183 million people were classified in Stressed condition

at the cusp of acute hunger and at risk of slipping into Crisis or worse if

faced with a shock or stressor, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

• More than half (73 million) of the 135 million people covered by the report

live in Africa, 43 million live in the Middle East and Asia, 18.5 million live in

Latin America and the Caribbean.

• The key drivers behind the trends analysed in the report were conflict, (the

key factor that pushed 77 million people into acute food insecurity), weather

extremes (34 million people) and economic turbulence (24 million).

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