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Table of Contents
Sr. No. Topic
1. Top 100 Current Affairs of February
2. Top 50 Banking Affairs of February
3. Voluntary Retention Route
4. RBI’s Handbook of Statistics on Indian States
5. Important Codes/ Numbers Used in Financial Industry and
Banking

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Top 100 Current Affairs of February

Top 100 Current Affairs of February

APPOINTMENTS

1.Sushil Chandra was recently named as Election Commissioner in the Election Commission of
India. Sunil Arora is the Chief Election Commissioner of India.

2. Supreme Court appointed Justice D K Jain as the first ombudsman for the Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI).

3. Recently Brijbhushan Sharan Singh was elected as the President of the Wrestling Federation
of India (WFI) for a third time.

4.United Nations has appointed Indian official ChandramouliRamanathan as the Controller,

Assistant Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Budget and Finance in the Department of
Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC).

5. DrG C Anupama has been elected president of the Astronomical Society of India (ASI).

6.Pramod Chandra Modi was appointed as the new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT).

7.Educationist and Author Govind Prasad Sharma has been appointed as the Chairman of National
Book Trust (NBT).

8.Rishi Kumar Shukla (IPS officer) has been appointed as the chief of the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) for a tenure of two years.

9. Former Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court Justice Uma Nath Singh took the oath as the first
Lokyukta of Nagaland.

10.IDBI Bank (Industrial Development Bank of India) has appointed Hemant Bhargava as non-
executive non-whole-time Chairman for a period of 3 years.

SCHEMES

11. Bihar government announced a Universal Old Age Pension scheme,

namedMukhyaMantriVriddha Pension Yojana (MMVPY), the scheme facilitates the amount of Rs.
400 monthly pension for all in the state above the age of 60 years.

12. The government of Assam has announced a new scheme called “Arundhati” to provide gold
at free of cost to the brides.

Under the scheme, the government of Assam aims to provide 1 Tola Gold, to brides belonging to
all such communities of Assam where it is customary to provide gold at the time of the wedding.

13.Gujaratgovernment has launched the second edition of the water conservation scheme
SujalamSufalam Jal SanchayAbhiyan. The scheme aims to deepen water bodies in the state before
monsoon to increase storage of rainwater to be used during times of scarcity.

14.Deloitte has announced the launch of its global initiative ‘WorldClass’ in India for the
empowerment of women. The initiative aims to support 10 million girls and women by 2030 through
education and skills development.

15. With focus on sustaining the open defecation free status of villages across the country Darwaza
Band- Part 2” campaign was launched by Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen. The campaign has
been supported by the World Bank. Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) is being carried by ministry of
drinking water and sanitation and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) under ministry of Urban Development.

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16. The Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the STARS (Scheme for
Translational and Advanced Research in Science to fund Science project) scheme on National Science
Day (28th February).

EVENTS

17. The second edition of the Asia LPG Summit was inaugurated by Union Minister for Petroleum &
Natural Gas at New Delhi. The event focused on ‘LPG – Energy for Life.’

18.Second edition of World Count festival 2019 was held in Pune, with an aim to bring together
speakers from several socio-political spheres and share their insights on various issues.

19.An International Conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held
in New Delhi. The conference was organised as part of events to commemorate 50-years of
formalization of diplomatic ties between India and Bhutan.

20. The fourth edition of International Spice Conference was held in the City of Pearls Hyderabad.

The theme for the conference was ‘Challenges of Change, Redefining the Value Chain’.

21.Indian army recently conducted the disaster relief exercise ‘Exercise Rahat’ in Jaipur, Kota and
Alwar in Rajasthan.

22. The Surajkund International Crafts Mela was recently held in Faridabad, Haryana.
Maharashtra was the theme state and Thailand was the partner nation country for the Surajkund
International Crafts Mela-2019.

23.The annual multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express was held recently, the exercise is
sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and conducted by Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF).
Exercise Cutlass Express 2019 was held in the vicinity of Djibouti, Mozambique and Seychelles.The
Indian Navy was represented in the exercise through INS Trikand.

24.Second ASEAN – India Youth Summit was held in Guwahati, it was conducted to strengthen the
mutual cooperation among ASEAN countries.The theme of the summit was ‘Connectivity: Pathway
to Shared Prosperity’.

25.Indian Army recently showcased its artillery firepower by using ultra-light Howitzers and indigenous
Swathi weapon-locating radar at theannual “Exercise Topchi” at the Nashik.

26.This year’s multinational military exercise “Cobra” involving United States and Thailand
(Capital: Bangkok, Currency: Baht) began in the northern Thai province of Phitsanulok.

27.National Productivity Council (NPC) celebrated National Productivity week from February 12th
to 18th, 2019. This year, the theme is “Circular Economy for Productivity & Sustainability”. This
theme will help NPC to meet its zero-waste goal.

28.World Corporate Social Responsibility Congress (World CSR Congress 2019) which promotes
Entrepreneurship, Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Social Development was recently held in
Mumbai.

29. 14th Agricultural Science Congress was organized by National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
(NAAS)in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Indian
Agricultural Research Institute at National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi recently.

The theme of the event was “Innovations for Agricultural Transformation”

30.4th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit was inaugurated by Union Minister for Commerce and
Industries, Suresh Prabhu recently in New Delhi. The Expo was organised by FICCI.

31.The Aero India 2019 was inaugurated by Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the
Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. The Aero India 2019 has a tagline: “The Runway to
a Billion Opportunities”.

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32.PM Modi inaugurated the PETROTECH -2019, a three-day mega event at India Expo Centre,
Greater Noida, UP. The theme of PROTECH-2019 was “Shaping the New Energy World through
Innovation & Collaboration”.

33.79th Indian History Congress (IHC) was held at Barkatullah University, Bhopal Madhya
Pradesh.

34.40th International Annual Desert Festival was recently held in Jaisalmer (Golden City),
Rajasthan.

35.Early Ed Asia 2019, the two-day event, which is Asia’s largest conference on Early Childhood,
was recently held in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The motto of the event was ‘Our Children. Our Future’.

36. Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda, inaugurated the ‘4th Global Digital
Health Partnership Summit in New Delhi recently.

37. 3rd edition of “Words in the Garden” based on the life and ideology of Mahatma Gandhi was
held at India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi. This year’s title of the event was “Bapu Ki
Dilli” as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary.

38. Civil Aviation Ministry (Minister: Suresh Prabhu) organized “Aviation Conclave 2019” in
association with AAI and CII in New Delhi. The theme of the Aviation Conclave 2019 was “Flying for
all”.

RANKS

39. ECA international survey, declared Singapore to be the most liveable location for Asian
Expatriates for the 14th consecutive year.

40. According to a survey by Transparency International, Assam tops in the ranking of best
practices followed by states in budget formulation. Assam is the only state to publish a citizen’s
budget in the public domain and also to conduct budget awareness campaign.

41. According to “2018 Global Go to Think Tank Index Report”, Observer Research Foundation
(ORF) has been marked as India’s highest ranked think tank. ORF is highest ranked in India
and ranked 118 globally. Brookings Institution is the highest ranked think tank globally.

42. Stripe, a San Francisco-based online payment processing firm placed Indian Online Companies
in the 11th position for its extensive growth and overseas expansion.

43. The Passport Index of 2019, which ranks countries in the world based on their Visa-Free Scores
and their ranking according to the UNDP human development index, ranked Indian passport at 67th
rank in 2019. UAE topped the rankings.

44. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been ranked by the Top Employers Institute as global Top
Employer for the fourth year in a row. Also, Tata Steel has beenrecognised as one of World’s
Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for 2019.

45. India was ranked 36th in the recent International IP Index 2019 released by U.S. Chamber
of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC). India has taken several noteworthy steps to
improve its IP system in 2018. United States topped the rankings.

46.JioSaavn an India-based global audio and music application was ranked first among Indian
companies and 28th rank globally in the 2019 list of “50 Most Innovative Companies”.

47. MukeshAmbani ranked first in Hurun India Philanthropy list 2018 with donation amount of
437 crores.

48.India ranked 47th in the ‘Inclusive Internet Index 2019’ which was prepared by the ‘Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) for Facebook. Sweden(Capital: Stockholm, Currency: Krone) topped the
rankings.

AWARDS

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49. Dr Divya Karnad, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Ashoka University has been
awarded the prestigious Global Future for Nature Award 2019 for her work on marine
conservation.

50. President Ram NathKovind presented the “Gandhi Peace Prize” for the years 2015, 2016, 2017
and 2018.

2015:Vivekanand Kendra, Kanyakumari

2016:Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh International (jointly)

2017:EkalAbhiyan Trust

2018:YoheiSasakawa (Japan).

51.The 91st Academy Awards or Oscars ceremony was recently held in Los Angeles, California. Important
awards are:

Best Film: Green Book

Best Actor: Rami Malik, Bohemian Rhapsody

Best Actress: Olivia Coleman, The Favourite

Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma

Best Foreign Film: Roma

52. Indian historianSanjay Subrahmanyam has won prestigious Dan David Prize of Israel for
the year 2019 for his work on inter-cultural encounters Asians, Europeans and people of North and South
America during the early modern era.

53. 5th edition of Digital India Awards was given recently in New Delhi. Tripura and Kurukshetra
won the Web Ratna-Platinum award in the state and district category respectively. “UMANG” app
won the jury’s choice award.

54. 61stGrammy Awards were recently given in Los Angeles. Following is the list of important
winners:

Record of the Year and Song of the Year: This is America. Album of the Year: Golden Hour. Best
New Artist:DuaLipa. Best Pop Solo Performance: JOANNE (Where do you think you’re goin’?) Best
Pop Duo/Group Performance: SHALLOW Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: My Way.

55. Seoul Peace Prize Committee conferred 2018 Seoul Peace Prize on Prime Minister Narendra
Modi. The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic
Games held in Seoul.

56. BAFTA awards were recently presented by British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
to honour the best British and international contributions to film. Important awardees are listed below:

Best Film: Roma, Outstanding British Film: The Favourite, Best Actress: Olivia Colman (for the
Favourite), Best Actor: Rami Malek (for Bohemian Rhapsody), Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron: Roma,
British Short Film: 73 Cows.

57. Azim Premji Chairman of Wipro Ltd has been chosen for the Ernst & Young (EY) Lifetime
Achievement Award and CEO and Managing director of Eicher Motors, Siddhartha Lal has been
named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year for 2018 in Mumbai.
STATES
58.6th edition of BioAsia 2019 -Asia’s largest biotechnology and life-sciences forum was conducted in
Hyderabad, Telangana. The theme of the conference was “Life Sciences 4.0 – Disrupt the
Disruption.

59.Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma inaugurated India’s first ‘Fulldome 3D Digital Theatre’
in Kolkata, West Bengal.

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60. The Union Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the Cremica Food
Park in Una which is the first mega food park of Himachal Pradesh.

61.Bandicoot, a drainage-cleaning robot, was recently launched in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

62.Goa government announced that “Ghumot”, an indigenous earthen drum will be notified as a
heritage instrument of Goa.

63. The government of Meghalaya has decided to rename the Dikkibandi stadium after P
ASangma.

64. International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will set up a “World Heritage Centre”
at Mayapur in Nadia district of West Bengal.

65.India’s First District cooling system will come up in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh.

66. Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park,first aqua mega food park was recently inaugurated in West
Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.

67.30th Road Safety Week was recently held from 04th February – 10th February.The theme of the
week is “Sadak Suraksha-Jeevan Raksha”.

68. Kerala became the first state to set up price monitoring and research unit (PMRU) to track
violation of prices of essential drugs and medical devices.

69.PM Narendra Modi laid Foundation Stone for the Sela Tunnel Project in Arunachal Pradesh.
Sela Pass is a high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between the Tawang and West
Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The pass connects Tawang for rest of India.

70.Delhi Government has launched Zero Fatality Corridor with an aim to curb the number of
accidents. The announcement was made by during the opening ceremony of the Road Safety Week.

NATIONAL

71. PM Modi recently dedicated to the nation the National War Memorial (NWM) near India Gate
in New Delhi. It comprises of four concentric circles, namely- Amar Chakra, Veerta Chakra, Tyag
Chakra and Rakshak Chakra in between these chakras is a central obelisk and an eternal flame.

72.Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) launched a new portal called 'LADIS' – Least
Available Depth Information System in to ensure optimum use of national waterways.

73.Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh along with Bihar Governor LaljiTandon inaugurated
the 3-day long KrishiKumbhMela in Motihari, Bihar to promoting modern techniques and
diversification in agriculture to help in doubling farmer’s income.

74. Flight Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal created history by becoming the first woman flight engineer of
Indian Air Force (IAF).

75.The Union Government has announced the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) as the mascot for
the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the UN Convention on the conservation of migratory species
(CMS) to be held in Gujarat next year. The Great Indian Bustard has been fondly known as “Gibi”.

76. PM Modi launched the Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme in Gorakhpur,
Uttar Pradesh.

77.Former Vice President Hamid Ansari recently, launched the new book of former Finance
Minister P Chidambaram named “Undaunted: Saving the Idea of India” at Nehru Memorial
Museum, New Delhi.

78.An expert committee led by AnoopSatpathsuggested Rs. 9,750 per month or Rs. 375 per day
as National Minimum Wage (NMW) for a worker. At present the NMW is Rs. 4,576.

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79. Spotted Cheetahs which are being translocated from Namibia (Capital: Windhoek, Currency:
Rand, Namibian Dollar) would be kept at Nauradehi sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

INTERNATIONAL

80. The International Labour Organization(Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland) released World

Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2019 report which says unemployment rates will fall to
4.9% in 2019 and remains steady in 2020.

81. The first batch of four Chinook military helicoptersmanufactured by the American aerospace
major Boeing recently arrived at the Mundra port in Gujarat.

82. Chinese news agency Xinhua unveiled the world’s first female AI news anchor Xin
Xiaomeng.

83. Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) is a project of the three governments of
UK, France and Germany, the objective of the project is to bypass US sanctions on Iran.

It is a is a special payment system which will help to save the Iran nuclear deal by allowing Tehran to
keep trading with EU companies despite the sanctions

84. Saudi’s Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud was recently on a
visit to India. Saudi Arabia became the 73rd country to sign the FrameworkAgreement of the
International Solar Alliance (ISA).

85. India for the first time, attended the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
(Headquarter: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) Foreign Ministers Meet held in Abu Dhabi.

86. Multinational maritime exercise ‘AMAN-19’ was recently held at Pakistan Navy Dockyard,
Karachi.

87. Abu Dhabi has included Hindi as the third official language to be used in its courts, alongside
Arabic and English. It is part of the efforts of Abu Dhabi to improve access to justice.

88.Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri was recently on a state visit to India. Argentina (Capital:
Buenos Aires, Currency: Peso) became the 72nd country to sign the Framework Agreement of
the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

SPORTS

89. Chennai Spartans won the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League (PVL) by defeating
Calicut Heroes in Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai.

90. Indian batsman Suresh Raina became the first Indian to score 8000 runs in First Class T20
cricket.

91. Laureus World Sports Awards 2019 were given recently. The winners are:

Sportsman of the Year: Novak Djokovic, (Serbia) Tennis.

Sportswoman of the Year: Simone Biles (USA) Gymnastics.

Team of the Year: France World Cup Team (France) Football

Lifetime Achievement Award: Arsene Wenger, France.

Spirit for Sport Award: Lindsey Vonn, (USA).

Sport for Good Award: Yuwa NGO (Jharkhand, India)

92. 83rd Yonex Sunrise Senior Badminton Nationals was recently held at Guwahati, Assam.
SaniaNehwal defeated PV Sindhu to lift the women National championship and SourabhVerma
defeated Lakshya Sen to win the men’s singles title.

93. Harmanpreet Singh was awarded the 2018 Player of the Year award while women’s team
member Lalremsiami was awarded the Rising Player of The Year by the Asian Hockey Federation.

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94. Domestic teamVidarbha, recently won the 2018 Ranji Trophy defeating Saurashtra. Vidarbha
also defeated Rest of India (RoI) to win the Irani Cup title as well.

95. India’s One-day International (ODI) captain Mithali Raj has become the first woman to
play 200 ODI matches. She created the record against New Zealand.

96.Qatar (Capital: Doha Currency: Riyal) won AFC Asian Cup held in United Arab Emirates (Capital:
Abu Dhabi, Currency: Dirham) (UAE) by beating four-time champion Japan.

OBITUARIES

98. Former cricket Umpire Dara Doti Walla, who officiated the famous tied test match between India
and Australia passed away.

99. One of the world’s most famous football goalkeeper Gordon Banks (from England) passed away
recently.

100. Mr. Namwar Singh from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh a famous Hindi author known for his satirical
approach in Hindi literature passed away recently.

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Top 50 Banking and Business Affairs of February

1. A first-of-its kind ‘Trip Protector’ insurance policy was launched by HDFC ERGO General
Insurance Company for non-life insurance segment in India. The policy aims for safeguarding holders
financially against the cost of cancellation levied during cancellation of Air, hotel etc bookings.

2.The government has announced new norms under the definition of Start-Ups. The new norms
are:

i. Increasing the investment limit to Rs. 25 crores from Rs. 10 crores.

ii. Nowanentity shall be considered a start-up up to 10 years from its date of

incorporation/registration instead of the previous period of 7 years.

iii. Entity would be considered as a start-up up to a turnover of Rs 100 crores as against the
earlier limit of Rs 25 crore.

3. Finance Ministry announced a capital infusion of Rs 48,239 crores in 12 public sector banks
(PSBs).

4. Zimbabwe’s central bank announced the discontinuation of its official currency, U.S. dollar and
launched a new currency called RTGS dollars, to resolve a long-term monetary crisis.

5.Merger of Bank of Baroda, with Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will come into force from 1st April
2019. This scheme has been named as ‘Amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of
Baroda Scheme, 2019’.

6.State Bank of India’s UK chief Shri Sanjiv Chadha has been honoured with the ‘Freedom of
the City of London’ by city of London Corporation.

7.RBI, has announced to create a single category for the NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies)
by bundling their present three-tier structure.

8.Paytm acquired the Noida-based last-minute hotel booking app, Night Stay.

9. Anirban Mukherjee, has been appointed as the CEO of PayU India.

10. In an advisory, RBI has said that mobile application called ‘AnyDesk’ was allegedly being
used by fraudsters to access data on mobile devices. Once the app is installed on customer phones,
it seeks permission to access controls of the phone, like all other applications.

11. Srei Equipment Finance, has collaborated with Syndicate Bank (Headquarters:Manipal,
Karnataka) to provide equipment financing under co-lending arrangement for various
equipments.

12. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recommended to increase the interest
rate on Employees’ Provident Fund for 2018-19 to 8.65% from 8.55% benefitting 6 crore EPFO
subscribers.

13. “The Future of Indian Banking” conference was co-hosted by NITI Aayog along with the
Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare (EGROW Foundation) in New Delhi.

14.ASCEND 2019 which is an ambitious initiative of the Kerala government to position the state
as an investment hotspot was launched recently.

15.Punjab National Bank has been ranked first among public sector banks in the implementation
of 'reforms agenda', as per the BCG-IBA’s “EASE Reforms for Public Sector Banks” report.

16. Bank of Baroda has tied up with Germany’s KfW Development Bank to refinance solar projects
at a cost of 113 million USD.

17.RBI and the Bank of Japan recently did the USD 75- billion swap agreement, which would
act as a cushion against any sharp swings in the local currency whenever the international financial
markets turn volatile.

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18.JP Morgan recently became the first US bank with cryptocurrency. The bank will be using the
cryptocurrency to see its potential in using digital coins to reduce risk and enable instant transfers.

19.Former CEO of PepsiCo IndraNooyihas been appointed to Amazon ‘s Board of Directors.

20.Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, launched SWAYATT
which is an initiative to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage through e-Transactions
on Government e Marketplace (GeM).

21.Third edition of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), CREDAI
Youth Con 2019 was held recently in New Delhi. Theme: NexGEN – Next Generation.

22.Svamaan Financial Services (a unit of Jindal group), a microlender, has launched a microfinance
venture, in two States, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

23. Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of a unified authority that would regulate all the
financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSC).

24.National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) was announced as the winner under
the Miniratna Category by Ministry of MSME in its campaign to felicitate Central Public Sector
Enterprises (CPSEs) in recognition for their work in promoting SC/ST entrepreneurs.

25.The finance ministry is expecting the GDP growth to reach 7.5% in 2019-20 from 7.2% projected
for the current fiscal.

26.Swiggy has acqui-hired a Bengaluru-based AI start up Kint.io.

Kint.io specializes in applying deep learning and computer vision for object recognition in videos.

Acqui-hiring refers to buying out a company for the skills and expertise of its staff rather than for its
products or services

27. Government e Marketplace (GeM) and Competition Commission of India (CCI)entered into a
MoU to enable a fair and competitive environment in the e-Marketplace.

28.World Bank, United Nations arm for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - UN Women
and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) launched new social impact bonds
exclusively for women, called Women’s Livelihood Bonds (WLBs), with an initial corpus of Rs 300
crores.

29.Union government has approved a three-year extension of the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy
and Technology Up-gradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS) for MSMEs with a total outlay of Rs. 2,900
crores. This scheme will from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Under this scheme, an upfront capital subsidy of 15% will be provided to the MSMEs on institutional
finance of up to Rs 1 crore.

30. Board for Financial Supervision (BFS) of the RBI has removed Corporation Bank (Headquarter:
Mangalore) and Allahabad Bank (Headquarter: Kolkata) and one private sector bank – Dhanlaxmi
Bank (Headquarter: Thrissur, Kerala) from PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) framework.

Also, RBI has lifted the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework operational curbs on Bank of
India (BoI), Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and Oriental Bank of Commerce.

31. A loan agreement of $40 million was signed between the Union Government, Government
of Himachal Pradesh and World Bank, for bringing clean and reliable drinking water to the citizens
of Greater Shimla area.

32.Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) formed a four - member committee, headed by income
tax commissioner Sanjeev Sharma, to look into the matter of taxationrelated issues.

34.Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has become the first Indian company to buy U.S. crude oil by
signing USD 1.5 billion deal for 60,000 barrels.

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35.Government of India gets Rs.10,000 crore from Bharat-22 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) by
additional offering. The government has till now accumulated approximately Rs.46000 crore by way of
disinvestment through Bharat-22 ETF.

36.A new RBI policy for overseas borrowings allows all eligible borrowers to raiseExternal
Commercial Borrowings (ECB) up to $750 million or equivalent per financial year under the
automatic Route.

37.Amazon in partnership with Axis Banklaunched ‘Amazon Pay Unified Payment Interface (UPI)’
to facilitate secure payments and financial transactions on its platform.

38. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India launched a new micro insurance plan ‘Micro Bachat’
recently. It provides a coverage of up to 2 lakhs.

39. Invest India and the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) signed a MoU to promote
foreign investments in India and Indian investments abroad.

40. To help boost liquidity particularly among small and marginal farmers in the farming sectors RBI
has announced to increase the limit on collateral-free agriculture loans to Rs.1.6 lakhs from Rs.1
lakh.

41.Infosys, has launched a next generation digital platform ‘InfyTQ’ to facilitate engineering
students with best learning experiences by imparting technical and professional skills.

42.Fino Payments Bank (FPB)(Headquarter:Navi Mumbai) has joined hands with Suryoday
Small Finance Bank (Headquarter: Navi Mumbai) in order to initiate sweep account facility.

43.State owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) signed a term loan agreement for Rs
5,000 crore with the State Bank of India (SBI).

44. RBI recently announced to raise the criteria for 'bulk deposits' for banks to Rs 2 crore from
the current Rs 1 crore, to provide more operational freedom to lenders to raise funds.

45. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Headquarter:Mandaluyong, Philippines) bought 14% stake
in micro-financier Annapurna Finance.

46. ‘KisanSuvidha loan’ for small and marginal farmers launched by Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
(Headquarter: Bangalore, Karnataka).

47. Under the sponsorship of Indian Bank, two regional rural bank – PallavanGrama Bank and
PandyanGrama Bankmerged to form a single RRB i.e. Tamil Nadu Grama Bank in Tamil Nadu. The
new bank would be headquartered at Salem, Tamil Nadu.

48. RBI recently released sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2018-19. Key points
are below:

Repo Rate under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF): 6.25%

Reverse Repo Rate Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF): 6.0%

MSF: 6.5%

Bank Rate: 6.5%

Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): 19.25%

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): 4%

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided to change the monetary policy stance from calibrated
tightening to neutral.

49. The Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp has announced Start-up India-WhatsApp
Grand Challenge to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses in India.

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50. Indian Banking Association (IBA) has recommended banks to exempt farmers from
processing, documentation, inspection, ledger folio charge and various service charges for
Kisan Credit Card loans uptoRs 3 Lakhs.

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What is Voluntary Retention Route (VRR)?

The regulatory framework for FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investment) investment has evolved over the
years. The regulatory bodies and the government have taken several measures in recent times to
facilitate FPI investment in debt. To encourage FPIs willing to undertake long-term investments,
RBI announced a separate scheme called ‘Voluntary Retention Route’ (VRR).

Under the proposed Route, FPIs will have more operational flexibility in terms of instrument choices
as well as exemptions from regulatory provisions.

Some important rules and guidelines regarding VRR scheme are as under:

• Investment under the VRR scheme shall be open for allotment from March 11, 2019.
• The aggregate investment limit shall beRs. 40,000 croresfor VRR-Government and Rs
35,000 crores for VRR Companies per annum.
• The minimum retention period shall be three years. During this period, FPIs shall maintain
a minimum of 75% of the allocated amount in India.
• FPIs desirous of investing may apply online to Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL)
through their respective custodians.
• Investment limits shall be allotted by Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) on ‘first come
first served’ basis.

How are investment through VRR be different from the regular FPI investments?

Investments through VRR will be free from the regular scrutiny and other regulatory prescriptions
applicable to FPI investments in debt markets, provided FPIs voluntarily commit to follow the guidelines.
But the minimum retention period shall be three years, or as decided by RBI.

Which all investors are eligible to participate through this Route?

Any FPI registered with SEBI are eligible to participate through this Route. Participation through this
Route shall be voluntary.

Investors can invest in which all instruments through this route?

FPIs (VRR-government) will be eligible to invest in Central Government dated Securities (G-Secs),
Treasury Bills (T-bills) as well as State Development Loans (SDLs), Repo transactions, and reverse repo
transactions.

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Key Banking Sector Highlights – RBI’s Handbook of

Statistics on Indian States
RBI has been releasing the Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, annually since 2016. The report
provides state-wise statistics on a wide range of socio-economic indicators of the regional economy of
India, viz., social and demographic characteristics, state domestic product, agriculture, industry,
infrastructure, banking and fiscal developments.

Here we would be focussing on Banking sector and Schedule Commercial Banks only.

The findings of the report are on the basis of the year 2018 (March).

DISTRIBUTION OF OFFICES OF SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS

• Southern Region (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry,
Telangana) have maximum offices of Schedule Commercial Banks (SCBs).Total offices in
the region are 39615.
• Central Region comes second with 28,168 offices. States in Central Region are Madhya
Pradesh, UP, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh.
• All over India there are 1,41,909 offices of the Schedule Commercial Banks.

CREDIT DEPOSIT RATIO OF SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS (according to place of sanction).

• Tamil Nadu with Credit to Ratio of 113.5% has the best/ highest Credit Deposit Ratio
among states. Chandigarh with 112.5% Credit Deposit Ratio is the highest among UTs.

DEPOSITS BY SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS

• Maharashtra with 22,928 (in billion Rs) has the highest amount as deposits in the banks,
followed by Delhi.

CREDIT (Loan given) BY SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS

Similar to the deposits, Schedule Commercial Banks in Maharashtra are also the biggest lender.

CREDIT TO AGRICULTURE BY SCHEDULED COMMERCIAL BANKS

• As far as lending to the agricultural sector is concerned, Southern region with the total
lending of 4,783 (in billion Rs) tops the list.
• Among the states Tamil Nadu with the total lending of 1,443 (in billion Rs) is the biggest
lender.

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Important Codes/ Numbers Used in Financial Industry

and Banking
Codes/ Numbers Full form of the Code Total Characters in the
Code
AADHAR Twelve (12)
CVV Card Verification Value Three (3)
Cheque Number Six (6)
IFSC Indian Financial System Code Eleven (11) Alphanumeric
ISIN International Securities Twelve (12) Alphanumeric
Identification Number
LEI Legal Entity Identifier Twenty (20) Alphanumeric
MICR Magnetic Ink Character Nine (9)
Recognition
MMID Mobile Money Identifier Seven (7)
PAN Permanent Account Number Ten (10)
SWIFT Society for Worldwide Eight or Eleven (8 or 11)
Interbank Financial
Telecommunication
TAN Tax Deduction Account Ten (10) Alphanumeric
Number
UAN Universal Account Number Twelve (12)
All You Need to Know about SWIFT Code

These days if you are transferring money anywhere around the globe, it’s almost certain that you would
be using SWIFT system. SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication.

Yawar Shah is the chairman of SWIFT.

SWIFT is an organization that was founded in Brussels in 1973 to perform financial transactions
worldwide through a standardized system of codes.

What is a SWIFT Code?

The SWIFT Code consists of 8 or 11 characters, these characters are further broken down as:

For example, this is a SWIFT code of an SBI branch: SBININBB673

I. First 4 letters (SBIN) indicate the bank’s or institution code, here in this case State Bank of India
Network.

II. Next two letters (IN) indicate the country, in this case IN for India.

III. Next two letters (BB) indicate the location code for the bank’s main office, in this case Bombay.

IV. The last 3 letters or numbers are the branch code; these characters are optional.

Generally, who all use SWIFT?

Banks are the major users of SWIFT, but it’s also used by many other businesses:

• Brokerage Institutes and Trading House.

• Securities Dealers
• Asset Management Companies
• Clearing Houses
• Depositories
• Exchanges
• Corporate Business Houses
• Treasury Market Participants and Service Providers
• Foreign Exchange and Money Brokers.

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