| Sr. No. | Current Affairs | Sr. No. | Banking Awareness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | From April through November of current fiscal year, exports of agricultural and processed food goods rose by 15.68% to $17.43 billion. | 7. | For industrial employees, the rate of retail inflation decreased from 6.08% in October 2022 to 5.41% in November 2022. |
| 2. | Under Utkarsh 2.0, the RBI intends to promote the internationalization of the rupee (2023-25). | 8. | Up until September 2023, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has permitted virtual Annual General Meetings (AGMs). |
| 3. | The RBI’s announcement on Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit shows that in November 2022, non-food credit grew by 17.6%. | 9. | In the second quarter, India’s current account deficit increased to 4.4% of GDP. |
| 4. | The Asian Development Bank has provided Shriram Finance Limited with an ECB of $100 million. | 10. | The interest rate for five-year National Savings Certificates has been raised by the government from 6.8% to 7%. |
| 5. | According to the Financial Stability Report, banks’ credit growth reached a decadal high level of 17.4% as of 16 December 2022. | 11. | In November, the output growth rate for the core sector improved to 5.4%. |
| 6. | Due to increasing capital expenditures, the fiscal deficit expanded to 59% of the budget estimate between April and November 2022. | 12. | Praveen Kumar Srivastava has been named as the CVC in temporary capacity. |
| Sr. | Current Affairs | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | From April through November of current fiscal year, exports of agricultural and processed food goods rose by 15.68% to $17.43 billion. | From $15.07 billion a year earlier, exports had climbed to $17.43 billion. APEDA products had an all-time high value of $24.76 billion in FY22. This exceeds the goal for the current fiscal year. $23.56 billion has been set as the aim for the current fiscal year. Eight months into the current fiscal year, 74% of the goal has already been reached. April through November of this fiscal year saw a rise in wheat exports of 29.29% to $1.50 billion from $ 1.17 billion. To reach $ 2.87 billion, basmati rice exports have surged by 39.26%. A moderate 5% rise was recorded for non-basmati rice. From $206 million to $392 million, the export of pulses surged by 90.49%. 88.45% more poultry products were exported. APEDA’s mandate includes the promotion of all agricultural products, with the exception of tea, coffee, spices, and marine products. Over 50% of all agricultural and related exports were attributable to APEDA. In the years 2021–2022, the value of total exports from the agriculture and related sectors was $50.21 billion. Under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) operates. It was created in accordance with the APEDA Act of 1985. The Processed Food Export Promotion Council was superseded by it (PFEPC). |
| 2. | Under Utkarsh 2.0, the RBI intends to promote the internationalization of the rupee (2023-25). | Under Utkarsh 2.0, the RBI intends to make sure that best-in-class, environmentally friendly digital and physical infrastructure is developed (2023-25). The RBI’s medium-term strategic framework is called Utkarsh 2.0 (2023–25). According to the RBI, Utkarsh’s goal is to advance the economic and financial stability and well-being of the Indian people. The RBI announced that it would evaluate the 1999 Foreign Exchange Management Act’s (FEMA) regulatory framework. To promote company efficiency and streamline regulatory compliance, RBI will evaluate the FEMA, 1999 regulatory architecture. The RBI wants to guarantee its presence in every state. On December 30, 2022, Governor of the RBI Shaktikanta Das unveiled the framework for the RBI’s medium-term plan for the years 2023–2025 (Utkarsh 2.0). In July 2019, the first strategic framework (Utkarsh 2022) was released. It spanned the years 2019 through 2022. |
| 3. | The RBI’s announcement on Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit shows that in November 2022, non-food credit grew by 17.6%. | Credit to the services sector has increased by 21.3%. This is primarily because NBFCs, commercial real estate, and trade sectors are now receiving more financing. In November 2022, credit growth to industry grew to 13.1% year over year. According to a statement from the RBI, credit to major industries climbed by 10.5%. In November 2022, credit to medium-sized businesses climbed by 29.7%. In November 2022, credit to micro and small businesses climbed by 19.6%. In November 2022, personal loans rose 19.7% year over year. They were mostly fueled by car and house loans. In November 2022, credit to agriculture and related industries climbed by 13.8% year over year. |
| 4. | The Asian Development Bank has provided Shriram Finance Limited with an ECB of $100 million. | The external commercial borrowing (ECB) of $100 million is a five-year loan. It is under the Social Finance programme of retail NBFC Shriram Finance Limited (SFL), a unit of the Shriram Group. SFL would be able to offer loans for the purchase of new and old vehicles across India with the aid of the finances. The money raised will be used to fund BS VI compliant cars, electric cars, women business owners, etc. With help from the US Development Finance Corporation, SFL has raised $250 million. Through a 144A Bond, it will raise $475 million from the global market in 2022. |
| 5. | According to the Financial Stability Report, banks’ credit growth reached a decadal high level of 17.4% as of 16 December 2022. | However, according to FSR, the total amount of bank deposits increased by 9.4% as of 16 December 2022. Demand experienced a de-growth of 57,332 crore and time deposits experienced a de-growth of 1,14,137 crore, respectively. The last time growth of 17.4% was noted was in 2011. The 26th edition of FSR was released by RBI on December 29, 2022. Every two years, RBI publishes the FSR. According to the study, the scheduled commercial banks’ (SCBs’) gross non-performing asset (GNPA) ratio decreased to a seven-year low of 5.0%. According to the study, in September 2022, net non-performing assets (NNPA) had dropped to a ten-year low of 1.3%. The system-level capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) is anticipated to reach 14.9%, 14.0%, and 13.1%, respectively, in September 2023 under the baseline, medium, and severe stress scenarios. According to the report, the combined solvency ratio of life and non-life insurance businesses was higher than the required minimum. |
| 6. | Due to increasing capital expenditures, the fiscal deficit expanded to 59% of the budget estimate between April and November 2022. | The center’s capital expenditure increased by 63.4% between April 2022 and November 2022. The amount spent on capital projects from April to November 2022 jumped to nearly Rs 4.47 lakh crore from over Rs 2.73 lakh crore the previous year. For the current fiscal year, the government has set a capital spending target of more than 7.50 billion rupees. The road ministry spent the most over the first nine months of the current fiscal year (1.58 lakh crore), compared to more than 80,000 crore during the same time last year. Over Rs 1.42 lakh crore was spent by Railways. In comparison to April through November of 2021, when it was only 6.95 lakh, the fiscal deficit increased to almost 9.78 lakh. |
| 7. | For industrial employees, the rate of retail inflation decreased from 6.08% in October 2022 to 5.41% in November 2022. | It dropped mostly as a result of lower food item prices. At the end of November 2021, it was 4.84%. Food inflation in November 2022 was 4.30%. In October 2022, it was 6.52%, and in November 2021, it was 3.40%. When compared to October 2022, the All-India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) stayed constant at 132.5 points in November 2022. The group of unrelated securities exerted the greatest upward pressure on the present index. It made a total change contribution of 0.21 percentage points. At the centre level, Chhindwara and Korba both saw increases of up to 4.4 points (3.0 points). Coonor and Solapur had the biggest drops. The Ministry of Labor & Employment has an affiliated office called the Labour Bureau. Every month, it has been putting together the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers. It is constructed using retail prices gathered from 317 markets dispersed over 88 industrially significant centres. It is made public on the final business day of the next month. |
| 8. | Up until September 2023, the Corporate Affairs Ministry has permitted virtual Annual General Meetings (AGMs). | Company AGMs that are due in 2023 may be held by video conference up to September 30, 2023. Up until the end of September 2023, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has also given firms permission to conduct their extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) by video conference. Up to the end of September 2023, businesses may also conduct business via postal ballot. Companies whose fiscal years finish on December 31, 2022, and March 31, 2023, would be eligible for the relaxation. For the first time, starting on April 8, 2020, the MCA permitted businesses to conduct EGMs through virtual mode until June 30, 2020. Later, this was repeated multiple times. |
| 9. | In the second quarter, India’s current account deficit increased to 4.4% of GDP. | From 2.2% of GDP in the April to June period to 4.4% of GDP in the quarter that ended in September, India’s current account deficit worsened. The Reserve Bank of India published the information on December 29. From USD 18.2 billion (2.2%) in Q1:2022-23 to USD 36.4 billion (4.4%) in Q2:2022-23, India’s current account deficit increased. India’s current account balance was in deficit last year, or Q2: 2021–2022, by US$9.7 billion (1.3 percent of GDP). On a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis, exports of services had a gain of 30.2 percent, driven mostly by rising exports of software, commerce, and travel services. There were $6.5 billion in net foreign portfolio investment inflows, up from $3.9 billion in the second quarter of 2021–22. The foreign exchange reserves fell short by $25.8 billion in the first half of 2022–2023. (on BoP basis). Compared to the same quarter last year, the currency reserves fell by $30.4 billion in the July-September 2022–23 period. |
| 10. | The interest rate for five-year National Savings Certificates has been raised by the government from 6.8% to 7%. | In order to encourage small deposits, the government has increased interest rates for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year (starting from 1st January 2023). The senior citizen savings plan’s interest rate has increased from 7.6% to 8%. From 7% to 7.2%, the interest rate on the Kisan Vikas Patra has gone up. It will now mature in 120 months as opposed to 123 months in the past. A one-year small savings deposit now carries an interest rate of 6.6% instead of the previous 5.5%. The interest rates for the Savings Deposit, Sukanya Samriddhi Account, and Public Provident Fund schemes have not altered. |
| 11. | In November, the output growth rate for the core sector improved to 5.4%. | In the same month last year, the growth rate in the output of eight core industries was 3.2%. (November 2021). The increase in output for the core sector in October 2022 was 0.9%. Between April and October of current fiscal year, eight infrastructure sectors had an increase in production of 8%. 13.9% was where it was a year ago. The Index of Eight Core Industries’ (ICI) final growth rate for August 2022 has been changed from a tentative level of 3.3% to 4.2%. In comparison to the same period in the previous year, the Index of Eight Core Industries’ cumulative growth rate from April to November 2022 was 8% (provisional). According to the data, production of coal (up 12.3%), fertilisers (up 6.4%), steel (up 10.8%), cement (up 28.6%), and power (up 12.1%) all grew in November. In November, there was a fall in the production of crude oil (down 1.1%), natural gas (down 0.7%), and petroleum refinery products (down 9.3%). |
| 12. | Praveen Kumar Srivastava has been named as the CVC in temporary capacity. | The position of acting Central Vigilance Commissioner was given to Vigilance Commissioner Praveen Kumar Srivastava on December 28. (CVC). He took over from Suresh N. Patel, whose term ended on December 24. Srivastava left his position as Secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat, on January 31, 2022. The other Vigilance Commissioner is former Intelligence Bureau (IB) director Arvind Kumar. |