ca part 2 Flashcards
The Reserve Bank of India has barred exclusive agreements between banks and card networks
allowed customers to choose the network at the time of issue under Section 18 read with Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Authorised card networks
American Express Banking Corp, Diners Club International Ltd, MasterCard Asia/Pacific Pte Ltd, National Payments Corporation of India–Rupay, and Visa Worldwide Pte Ltd
direction on allowing users to pick the network shall not be applicable to credit card issuers
with a number of active cards issued by them being 10 lakh or less.
Card issuers who issue credit cards on their own authorised card network
are excluded from the applicability of the circular.
• The Card network choosing directions by RBI will be effective
six months from the date of circular
RBI was a net buyer of 8.7t of gold during the month of Jan 2024
making it the highest monthly purchase in eighteen months, This takes the RBI gold holdings to an all-time high of 812.3t as of end-January.
The RBI’s net gold buying in 2023 at 16.2t was notably lower than the previous years
wherein the annual net gold purchases by the central bank averaged 47t (2018 to 2022).
Despite the lower purchase in 2023, the RBI was the sixth largest buyer of gold among central banks during the year
- China
- Poland
- Singapore
- Libya
- Czech Republic
India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 5.49 crore
on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd for violating rules under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2005.
FIU-IND is the financial intelligence arm
of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) recorded its highest ever single-day transactions on February 29,
with the payment system processing 4.10 crore transactions on that day.
During the previous ten years (2014-23), NEFT and RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) systems have registered growth of 700 per cent and 200 per cent respectively in terms of
volume and 670 per cent and 104 per cent respectively in terms of value
The NEFT started functioning on a 24/7 basis for 365 days of the year from ,
December 16, 2019
RTGS 24/7 365 DAYS from
December 14, 2020
For the RTGS, the highest ever single-day volume was
at 16.25 lakh transactions on March 31, 2023.
Employment-unemployment indicators report of National Statistics Office - India’s unemployment rate
India’s unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years or above declined to 3.1 per cent in 2023, the lowest in the last three years
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the calendar year 2023 indicates a positive trend
showcasing a decline from 3.6% in 2022 and 4.2% in 2021.
Employment-unemployment indicators report of National Statistics Office - Female unemployment rate
For females, the unemployment rate declined to 3 per cent in 2023 from 3.3 per cent in 2022 and 3.4 per cent in 2021.
Employment-unemployment indicators report of National Statistics Office - Male unemployment rate
For males, it came down to 3.2 per cent in 2023 from 3.7 per cent in 2022 and 4.5 per cent in 2021.
Employment-unemployment indicators report of National Statistics Office - Urban unemployment rate
In Urban areas: The overall rate of unemployment also declined to 5.2 per cent in 2023 from 5.7 per cent in 2022 and 6.5 per cent 2021.
Employment-unemployment indicators report of National Statistics Office - Rural unemployment rate
In rural areas: It came down to 2.4 per cent in 2023 from 2.8 per cent in 2022 and 3.3 per cent in 2021.
Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Cement, Coal, Crude Oil, Electricity, Fertilizers, Natural Gas, Refinery Products and Steel.
The combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) increased by 3.6 per cent (provisional) in January 2024 as compared to the Index of January 2023. 18 MONTHS LOW
The coal sector has demonstrated highest growth of 10.2 % (provisional) among the eight core industries for the month of January 2024
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting to review the performance of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) in New Delhi.
It got operationalised with the disbursement of its first loan in December 2022,
NaBFID has made total sanctions of more than ₹86,804 crore, with projects spread across the country and in diversified subsectors of
infrastructure, such as Roads, Renewable Power, Ports, Railways, Water and Sanitation, City Gas Distribution, etc. Out of the ₹86,804 crore, 50% has been sanctioned with long tenure for 50 to 20 years.
NaBFID will sanction over ₹3 lakh crore by
NaBFID target - March 2026
NaBFID has collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
to offer Transaction Advisory Services for developing a robust pipeline of investment-ready PPP projects in the infrastructure sector across India.
The Government of India (GOI) set up NaBFID in April 2021 as India’s fifth All India Financial Institution in the country
to support the development of long-term non-recourse infrastructure financing in India.
The authorised share capital of the Institution is ₹ 1 lakh crore, and GOI has already infused
an initial capital of ₹ 20,000 crore along with a grant of ₹ 5,000 crore.
Index of Industrial Production
composite indicator that
measures the short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial
products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period (2011-12)
Periodicity of Index of Industrial Production
compiled
and published monthly by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) with a time lag of six weeks
from the reference month.
Category Classification of IIP
• Mining
• Manufacturing
• Electricity
8 Core industries weight in IIP
Petroleum Refinery (weight: 28.04 per cent),
Crude Oil (weight: 8.98 per cent),
Electricity (weight: 19.85 per cent),
Fertilizer (weight: 2.63 per cent),
Natural Gas (weight: 6.88 per cent),
Steel (weight: 17.92 per cent)
Cement ( 5.37%)
Coal (10.33%)
Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare has integrated pension seva portals of SBI, PNB, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank
to provide seamless banking services to pensioners from a single portal.
BHAVISHYA is a Portal for Pension Payment and Tracking System
being integrated with Pension Seva portal of SBI and will enable Pensioners to get all information and services at one place with single login
On completion of all phases of BHAVISHYA’s integration the retirees can choose a Bank and Branch
for opening an online Pension Account, check their monthly pension slips, Form 16, Status of Life Certificate as well as change their Pension Disbursing Bank
BHAVISHYA has recently been rated as the 3rd best portal among
among all Government of India service portals by National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA).
following portals have been merged with BHAVISHYA window
CPENGRAMS, ANUBHAV, ANUDAAN, SANKALP & Pension DASHBOARD
Anubhav Portal
platform created by the Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare
to provide retiring Central Government employees with a way to document their experiences, valuable insights, and suggestions for improvement within the government system
Anudaan - Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare
supports grants to identified Pensioners Associations for welfare activities and outreach to Central Government pensioners
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved Go Digit’s initial public offering (IPO),
which is backed by cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma.
also backed by Canada-based Fairfax Group.
Go Digit’s proposed IPO comprises fresh issuance of shares worth
worth ₹1,250 crore and an Offer For Sale (OFS) of 10.94 crore shares by promoter Go Digit Infoworks Services and existing shareholders.
Go Digit is one of India’s first non-life insurers to be fully operated on the cloud
has developed Application Programming Interface (API) integrations with several channel partners
Bloomberg Index Services said it would include 34 Indian government bonds eligible for investment via the country’s fully accessible route (FAR)
in its Emerging Market Local Currency Index (EMLC) from Jan. 31, 2025.
Bloomberg index inclusion will be phased in over a 10-month period ending October 2025, with the weight of
weight of India FAR bonds increased in increments of 10 per cent of their full market value every month during the period
In September, JPMorgan announced the inclusion Indian bonds in its emerging market debt index from
from June 2025 with traders anticipating inflows of around $25 billion to $30 billion from it.
Bloomberg index inclusion, on the other hand, is expected bring in around $2.5 billion to $4 billion.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced the ‘Fully Accessible Route’ (FAR)
from April 1, 2020.
FAR (Fully Accessible Route)
• No Investment Ceilings: FPIs can invest in specified government securities (G-Secs) without any restrictions or limits.
• Ease of Investment: This route aims to simplify the process and encourage increased inflows of foreign investment into the Indian debt market.
• Specified Securities: The RBI designates certain G-Secs as eligible for FAR investments. These are often newer issuances with longer tenors (like 7-year and 14-year bonds).
MTF (Medium Term Framework)
• investment Limits: The RBI sets limits for FPI investments in both government and corporate debt under MTF. These limits are adjusted periodically.
• Balance: MTF aims to balance the need for foreign capital with potential risks of sudden outflows of investments.
• Monitoring: The RBI closely monitors FPI activity within the MTF framework.
VRR (Voluntary Retention Route)
• Minimum Retention Period: FPIs choosing VRR must commit to holding their investments in Indian debt for a minimum of three years.
• Incentives: VRR offers some exemptions from regulatory requirements, making it attractive for long-term investors.
• Stability: VRR promotes a more stable form of foreign investment compared to ‘hot money’ that can exit the market quickly.
NPCI International Payments (NIPL), the international business strategy arm of payments settlement provider NPCI, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Greek bank Eurobank
to process foreign inward remittance from that country through UPI (Unified Payments Interface).
two entities will manage fund settlement, reconciliation and dispute resolutions in their respective jurisdictions.
Through NIPL, NPCI has established relationships with multiple countries including Bhutan, Sri Lanka, China, and Singapore
UPI went live in France. Indian tourists can buy tickets to the Eiffel Tower by paying via UPI.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) said its unique registered investors have surpassed nine crore
with the latest one crore additions taking place in just five months.
NSE Investor base has seen more than a three-fold jump in the last five years
facilitated by rapid growth in digitisation, rising investor awareness, financial inclusion and strong market performance.
Of the new investors that have entered the market since October 2023, nearly 42 per cent hailed from North India, followed by West India (28 per cent
South India (17 per cent) and East India (13 per cent).
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra contributed the largest number of new investors during Oct 23 - Mar 24
together accounting for more than a quarter of all new additions.
Currently, the highest number of unique registered investors are from Maharashtra with , followed by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat with 81 lakh such investors.
1.6 crore
97 lakh
81 lakh
This increase in new investors has come across states, with all but 33 pin codes having at least one individual directly investing in the market
After starting 2024 on a strong note, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) saw transactions dip slightly in February
but remain above December 2023 levels.
UPI Transactions worth ₹18.28-lakh crore were processed during February
nearly 1 per cent lower than the peak of ₹18.41 lakh crore in January 2024.
The value of UPI transactions was 48 per cent higher year-on-year,
during Feb-24 as per data by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
The number of transactions on the UPI network too fell by 0.8 per cent to 1,210 crore
from the January level of 1,220 crore transactions.
On year, the volume of transactions was 61 per cent higher.
UPI transactions are expected to breach 100 crore transactions per day by FY27, as per a report by PwC India
which projects UPI to dominate the retail digital payments landscape, accounting for 90 per cent of total transaction volumes over the next five years
Central bank’s Governor Shaktikanta Das revealed that the share of UPI in digital payments reached nearly
80% in 2023.
nearly 46% of digital transactions in the world
take place in India.
The NPCI has been trying to impose a 30% cap by volume in the UPI market for third-party payment applications. While it had initially decided on implementation from January 1, 2023
the move was postponed to December 31, 2024.
UPI In January, 1.PhonePe processed , 2. Google Pay, 3.Amazon, , 4. Cred 5. Groww, the largest wealth management app in India, processed less than 9.5 million transactions.
- 5.7 billion transactions
- 4.4 billion transactions
- 59 million transactions
- 100 million transactions
- 9.5 million transactions
India collected Rs 1.68 lakh crore as goods and services tax (GST) in February
up 12.5 per cent from the year earlier, reflecting continued momentum in economic activity.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in India declined 13 per cent to $ 32.03 billion in April-December 2023, dragged down by
lower infusion in computer hardware and software, telecom, auto, and pharma sectors, according to the latest government data.
FDI inflows stood at $ 36.74 billion during
the corresponding nine months of the preceding fiscal.
FDI Inflows during the October-December quarter of the current fiscal
, however, rose by 18 per cent to $ 11.6 billion.
Maharashtra received the highest FDI inflow of
$ 12.1 billion during the nine month in FY 2023-24
Mauritius (26%), Singapore (23%), USA (9%), Netherland (7%) and Japan (6%) emerge as top
5 countries for FDI equity inflows into India FY 2022-23.
REC Limited, a Maharatna CPSE under the ministry of power, has successfully listed two significant bonds on
the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), aggregating over ₹5,375 crore.
Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) issued Asia’s first certified Green Municipal Bond for sustainable water infrastructure worth Rs 100 crore, aimed at
fostering sustainable urban development, aligned with the Paris Agreement, to enhance liquid wastewater management infrastructure, on the Electronic Bidding Platform (EBP) of Bombay Stock Exchange.
Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has decided to mobilise Rs 100 crore against its contribution of
Rs 620.6 crore for 47 projects worth Rs 1220.53 crore, approved under the AMRUT 2.0 Scheme.
In an effort to democratize future technologies and empower youth to innovate, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and Meta
have announced the launch of Frontier Technology Labs (FTLs). in schools of strategic importance to ensure that students from diverse backgrounds across India will have equal opportunities to learn and engage with frontier technologies.
AIM has established 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in
schools across 722 districts in India.
objective of ATLs is to
foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, physical computing etc.
The FTLs will be funded by Meta and
Atal Innovation Mission will be the knowledge partner.
The FTLs are a part of Meta’s Education to Entrepreneurship initiative, launched in September 2023
to seamlessly connect students, youth, workforce, and micro-entrepreneurs with futuristic technologies, taking digital skilling to the grassroots.
FTL labs will be managed by Meta’s partner
1M1B (One Million for One Billion).