Monthly Current Affairs February 2016 “BANKING AND ECONOMY” key points to Remember.
1) In order to enhance economic cooperation and strengthen financial stability, RBI has extended the USD 2 billion currency swap arrangement to SAARC nations till midNovember 2017.
2) Mastercard is launching new mobile technologies that will allow customers to authenticate their online purchases using selfies or fingerprints.
3) Banking giant SBI has taken another leap in this space with the launch of SBI e-Smart SME, a working capital loan offering for sellers on ecommerce platforms.
4) State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has declared 904 borrowers who owed it a combined Rs.10,869.71 crore as of December-end as wilful defaulters.
5) The Reserve Bank of India has announced an open market operation (OMO) purchase of government securities worth Rs 12,000 crore on March 3.
6) Ahead of the Union Budget (scheduled on 29 Feb 2016), the Economic Survey on 26 Feb 2016 termed external environment as challenging but projected a 7-7.5 per cent GDP growth rate in the next fiscal (April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017) which could accelerate to eight per cent in a couple of years.
7) Retirement fund body EPFO has tightened norms on withdrawal of provident fund as well investment of such amount in Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana for its over five crore subscribers.
8) Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said that the government will soon announce a series of major banking reforms, including lowering its stake in state-owned banks to 51 per cent.
9) UB Group holding company United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd said that Punjab National Bank has declared the company as a “willful defaulter”.
10) Banking Giant State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a new initiative called ‘Japan Desk’, a first-of-its-kind initiative to facilitate Japanese corporates looking to invest in India with banking and advisory services.
11) The World Bank has decided to lend support to the Rajasthan government on energy reforms.
12) Aditya Birla Nuvo, one of the eleven entities that have received in-principle approvals from the RBI to set up payments banks, said it has incorporated a new subsidiary for the same purpose.
13) The government is looking at providing banking services in every village of the country by leveraging technology and the network of Common Services Centres (CSCs).
14) According to Crisil Research, Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.9 per cent in the fiscal starting April, lower than earlier forecast of 8.1 per cent.
15) The Reserve Bank of India said it will actively inject additional cash into the banking system in March 2016.
16) Government of India has marginally revised downward the economic growth for 2014-15 to 7.2 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.3 per cent.
17) The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into two bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with United Kingdom.
18) The Reserve Bank of India has kept key interest rates unchanged at 6.75%.
19) The Reserve Bank of India has proposed steps to improve ease of doing business for start-ups through easier access to foreign capital and by enabling smoother transfer of ownership.
20) Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country more than doubled to about $4.5 billion (Rs 30,514.5 crore) in December 2015. In December 2014, India had received $2.16 billion.
21) Mahindra Asset Management Company has received markets regulator SEBI’s approval for setting up of theirmutual fund business.
22) The Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) will be raising the proposed Rs 10,000-crore corpus for ‘Stand Up India Fund’ from RBI, which will be disbursed to Dalit and women entrepreneurs.