11 March 2023 | Banking Awareness & Current Affairs
Through the 14-day Variable Rate Repo (VRR) auction, the RBI injected 82,650 crore into the banking system.
82,650 crore was borrowed by banks at a weighted average interest rate of 6.53%. The VRR auction’s notifiable amount was one lakh crore. The RBI governor stated that increased government spending and the anticipated return of forex inflows may increase systemic liquidity at the February 8th bimonthly monetary policy review. According to him, it would be modulated by the scheduled redemption of TLTRO (Targeted LTRO) and LTRO (Long-Term Repo Operations) funds between February and April 2023. On the basis of changing liquidity conditions, he continued, RBI will conduct operations on both sides of the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF). An auction for Variable Rate Repo (VRR) is held to remove extra liquidity from the system.
It has been authorised to sell up to 49% of Bank of Baroda’s shares in BoB Financial Solutions Ltd (BFSL).
The divestment has been approved by Bank of Baroda’s (BoB) board of directors. The board has also approved the publication of an advertisement seeking Expressions of Interest (EoI) from financiers and potential strategic partners to purchase BoB’s stake in BFSL. BoB Cards Ltd. used to be known as BFSL. It is a non-banking finance company that does not accept deposits. Credit cards were first issued by this non-banking company in India.
On March 18, Prime Ministers Modi and Hasina of Bangladesh will essentially inaugurate the first cross-border oil pipeline between the two nations.
Diesel will be shipped to Dhaka along the 130-kilometer Friendship Pipeline between India and Bangladesh. Out of 130 km, 125 km are on Bangladeshi soil and 5 km are on Indian soil. It was constructed using about 3.46 billion from the Indian Line of Credit (LoC). The pipeline runs from Siliguri in West Bengal to a Meghna oil depot in Parbatipur in Dinajpur. An agreement to export diesel to Bangladesh via the pipeline was signed in 2017.
On March 10, 2023, NITI Aayog published a task force report.
Production and Promotion of Organic and Bio Fertilizers with a Special Focus on Increasing Gaushalas’ Economic Viability is the title of the report. In the presence of the Taskforce members, Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member (Agriculture), NITI Aayog, released this report. In order to make gaushalas economically viable and to address the issue of stray and abandoned cattle, NITI Aayog established this Task Force.
Additionally, it has been established to promote the efficient use of cow dung and urine in the agriculture and energy sectors. Cattle are a crucial component of India’s traditional farming system, and gaushalas will aid in promoting organic and natural farming. The waste to wealth initiative will be strengthened by the task force report. It will encourage the use of natural and organic fertilisers. The report provides accurate estimates of the costs and investments necessary to build the PROM (Phosphate Rich Organic Manure) plant and Bio-CNG plant in Gaushalas. It offers suggestions for enhancing Gaushalas’ financial and economic viability. Making it mandatory for fertiliser companies to sell between 10 and 20 percent of organic manure is one of the task force’s recommendations.
According to Ramesh Chand, the report’s implementation will aid in achieving the goal of converting 25% of the world’s cultivable land—or its 196 million hectares of gross cropped land—to organic or natural farming by 2030. According to him, the suggestions will enable gaushalas to achieve economic viability of at least 50%. Ramesh Chand, a member of NITI Aayog, was appointed as the task force’s chairman.
In January 2023, industrial production in India increased by 5.2%.
In the previous fiscal, industrial production was 4.7% in December and 2% in January. Compared to January of last year, the manufacturing sector’s output increased by 3.7% in January 2023. In January 2023, the production of mining increased by 8.8% and that of power increased by 12.7%. The output of consumer durables decreased for the second consecutive month. In January 2023, it fell by 7.5%. Production of consumer non-durables increased 6.2% in January 2023. On an annual basis, the output of intermediate goods did not significantly change. In January 2023, the production of capital goods increased 11%. In January 2023, the production of basic goods increased 9.6%. In January 2023, the output of goods used in construction and infrastructure rose by 8.1%.
In order to provide loans to farmers who are a part of ITC’s agriculture ecosystem, Axis Bank has partnered with ITC Ltd.
Axis Bank will be able to meet the financial needs of underserved and unmet farmers in remote areas thanks to the partnership. They can choose from a variety of assets and liability products, including loans for farmers and gold. ITCMAARS (Meta Market for Advanced Agricultural Rural Services) will be used by Axis Bank to connect with farmers and meet their financial needs. A full-stack agri-tech application is ITCMAARS. The bank’s rural-urban and semi-urban (RUSU) branches will also offer goods and services to farmers. Axis Bank wants to expand its Bharat Banking strategy by adding new bank accounts through this initiative. With its headquarters in Mumbai, Axis Bank is the third-largest private sector bank in India. Amitabh Chaudhry is its MD and CEO. An Indian conglomerate company is ITC Limited. Its main office is in Kolkata.
Citi has appointed Bhanu Vohra as the country’s head of commercial banking.
For the Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) business in India, Bhanu Vohra will be in charge. He takes Tushar Vikram’s place. The position of Global Head of Healthcare for Citi Commercial Bank is now held by Tushar Vikram. Vohra will answer to Rajat Madhok, CEO of Citi Commercial Bank Asia Pacific, and Ashu Khullar, CEO of Citi India. American multinational investment bank Citi is. Its main office is in New York City.
Muthoot Finance has announced the expansion of its National Pension Scheme (NPS) services to its domestic and NRI customers.
Through its website and the iMuthoot app, Muthoot Finance has announced the expansion of NPS services. Customers who use the iMuthoot application can create their own models on their own. Users can submit the application and complete the NPS registration independently under this model. By virtue of authorization from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority(PFRDA), Muthoot Finance is a service provider for NPS . The goal of Muthoot Finance is to give its customers an additional option for long-term retirement planning by extending NPS services to them. Additionally, Muthoot Finance hopes to provide its clients with a tax break of up to 50,000 under subsection 80 CCD (1B).
