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Banking, Finance & Economy PDF 2020 - February
Table of Contents
Banking, Finance & Economy News: February 2020 ................................................................................................... 3
Banking, Finance & Economy Q&A: February 2020 ................................................................................................... 62
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Banking, Finance & Economy News: February 2020

Bank of Baroda signed pact with CARE Ratings to assess the credit quality of SMEs
On January 31, 2020 State owned Bank of Baroda(BoB) has partnered with Care Ratings for assessing the
credit quality of small and medium enterprises (SME) customers. This partnership will help to grade the credit
quality of the bank’s current and prospective SME customers by processing and analyzing structured,
unstructured and new data streams.
Key Points:
i.Loan value for SMEs will be identified through 8 –Point scale. Number 1 indicates the highest
creditworthiness and 8 – poor creditworthiness.
About Bank of Baroda(BoB):
Fact- In April 2019, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank (amalgamating banks) were merged with Bank of Baroda.
Founded- 20 July 1908.
Headquarters- Alkapuri, Vadodara.
Founder- Sayajirao Gaekwad III.
Non-Executive Chairman- Dr. Hasmukh Adhia.
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Sanjiv Chadha.
Tagline- India’s International Bank.
About CARE ratings:
Founded- 1993.
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Chairman- Mr. S. B. Mainak.
Executive Director- Mehul Pandya.
NABARD approved loan worth Rs 140 crore at low interest to Punjab Agri Development Bank
On January 30, 2020 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has given
its approval for loan worth Rs 140 crore at low interest rate to Punjab State Agricultural Development Bank
(PSADB). This has been done to strengthen as well as provide financial support to PSADB.
Key Points:
i.The decision to provide Rs 140 crore was taken during a meeting between Punjab Cooperation Minister
Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa-led delegation with NABARD Chairman Harsh Kumar Banwala in Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
ii.Members present: During the meeting, Sugarfed (Sugar factories federation) Chairman Amrik Singh Aliwal;
Cooperative society registrar Vikas Garg and Sugarfed Managing Director Puneet Goyal were also present.
About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):
Fact- NABARD supervises State Cooperative Banks (StCBs), District Cooperative Central Banks (DCCBs), and
Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and conducts statutory inspections of these banks.
Founded- 12 July 1982
Chairperson- Harsh Kumar Bhanwala.
Act- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act 1981.
About Punjab State Agricultural Development Bank (PSADB)
Chairman- Mr. Kamaldeep Singh.
Managing Director(MD)- Mr. Charandev Singh Maan.
Govt data: BoM & SBI were only PSBs rated ‘good’ in digital transactions in Dec 2019
On January 30, 2020 according to data released by Government via Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY), Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and State Bank of India(SBI) were the two only Public Sector
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Banks(PSBs) rated as “good” in digital transactions for December 2019. BoM and SBI obtained a score of 77
and 68 respectively.
Govt data on digital transactions:
i.Score:The score for an individual bank was given on various parameters such as percentage of digital
transactions, merchant deployment achieved, system resilience and average percentage of technical decline for
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) or Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) transactions etc. The banks
performance will also be rated on a monthly basis.
ii.Other bank score: The score of Yes Bank, Fino Payments Bank and HDFC Bank was 76 in December.
ICICI bank and IDFC first bank scored 74 and 73 respectively whereas Axis Bank and IDBI Bank scored 71 each
as per MeitY.
• A total of 9 private banks and 2 payment banks received good ratings on digital transactions in
December 2019.
iii.BoM: During April to December the Bank of Maharashtra(BoM) achieved 102.70% of the annual target of
digital transactions according to MeitY.
• The govt has set a target of 19.7 crore digital transactions for BoM in the current fiscal.
iv.SBI: The State Bank of India (SBI) has achieved 99.09% of the annual digital transactions in the 9 months of
the current fiscal.
v.Target for digital transactions: The govt has set a target of 4000 digital transactions for the current fiscal
FY2020 (Financial year 2020).
About Bank of Maharashtra(BoM):
Founded- 1935.
Headquarters- Pune, Maharashtra.
Tagline- Ek Parivaar, Ek Bank; One Family One Bank.
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- AS Rajeev.
About State Bank of India(SBI):
Chairperson- Rajnish Kumar.
Former name- Imperial Bank of India.
Tagline- The Banker to Every Indian; With you all the way; Purely Banking Nothing Else; The Nation Banks on
Us.
Govt appoints M.Ajit kumar as chairman of CBIC

On January 30,2020 The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment
of M.Ajit Kumar as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Ajit is an IRS
(Indian Revenue Service) officer of the batch 1984.
Key points:
i.Ajit served as member of CBIC and he will replace Pranab Kumar. Das as the chairman of CBIC.
ii.The order is signed by Rajeev Lochan undersecretary, and the duly of that appointed has been given to
revenue secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
iii.The appointment comes as a part of the closure of Sabka Vishwas scheme (last date on January15,2020).
About CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Founded– 1 January 1964
Parent Agency– Ministry of Finance
Canara Bank MD & CEO R.A. Sankara Narayanan retires

On January 31,2020 Public sector lender, Canara Bank announced that its Managing Director (M.D) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) Sankara Narayanan (60) has retired, because Narayanan attains the age of
“superannuation” (which means completing the age for retirement).
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Counterpoint data: India surpassed US to become 2nd largest smartphone market globally;
China tops
On January 27, 2020 according to the recently released Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service
report, India surpassed the United States(US) for the first time to become the 2nd largest smartphone
market in the world. India recorded 158 million shipments in 2019 with 7% year-on-year growth which was
mainly due to Chinese smartphone brands that were introduced. The list was topped by China.
Counterpoint Research report:
i.Smartphone share: The combined share of top 5 smartphone brands was around 84% which is the highest
level ever recorded.
ii.Top smartphone brand: Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi topped the smartphone market for the
second consecutive year with 28% market share. Xiaomi was followed by South Korean brand Samsung in
the 2nd place with 21% market share.
iii.Fastest growing brands: Some of the fastest growing brands include Chinese smartphone brand Vivo at
16% with 76% year on year growth. Realme at 10% recorded 255% growth while Oppo at 9% recorded 28%
year on year growth.
iv.4g (4th generation) penetration among Indian subscribers were around 55%
v.Chinese brands: The brands from China hit a record 72% growth for 2019 compared to 60% in 2018.
Country ranking:
Rank Country
1 China
2 India
3 United States
Indian smartphone shipment market share rank 2019:
Rank Smartphone brand
1 Xiaomi
2 Samsung
3 Vivo
4 Realme
5 Oppo
About United States(US):
Capital- Washington, D.C.
President- Donald Trump.
Currency- United States Dollar
Fiscal deficit reached 132.4 % of budget estimate for 2019-2020 till December: CGA
On January 31, 2020, According to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal
deficit reached 132.4 % of the full fiscal target in December 2019 itself due to the slow pace of revenue
collection in the current financial year-FY 2019-2020. As per the data, in the first 9 months of the current FY,
the fiscal deficit i.e. the difference between expenses & receipts stood at Rs 9,31,725 crore.While, the
government in its Medium Term Fiscal Policy (MTFP) Statement presented with the Budget 2019-20, had set a
target of limiting the fiscal deficit to Rs 7,03,760 crore, or 3.3 % of gross domestic product (GDP), in the current
FY ending March 2020.
Key Points:
i.Previous fiscal: In the first nine months of FY 2018-19, the fiscal deficit was 112.4 % of the budget estimate
(BE).
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ii.Receipts:
Till December 2019, in the current FY 20,the government has received revenue receipts of Rs 11.46 lakh crore,
which is just 58.4 % of the budget estimate. The collection was 62. 8 % of the budget estimate in the same
period of the last financial year (2018-19).
iii.Expenditure:
According to the data, the total expenditure in the current financial year during the reporting period was Rs
21.09 lakh crore, ie 75.7 % of the budget estimate.
This was 75 % of the budget estimate for the same period in the previous fiscal (2018-19).
Capital expenditure:Out of the total spending in the first three quarters of the current financial year, capital
expenditure accounted for 75.6 %of the budget estimates. It was 70.6 % of the budget estimate in the same
period of the previous fiscal.
iv.The Economic Survey estimates: The Economic Survey projectes the country’s economic growth rate to be 6-
6.5 % during the financial year 2020-21. At the same time, GDP (Gross Domestic Product ) growth can be 5 % in
the financial year 2019-20, which will be the slowest growth rate in the last 11 years.
About CGA (Controller General of Accounts (CGA):
CGA,under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, is the Principal Accounting Adviser to
Government of India and is responsible for establishing and maintaining a technically sound Management
Accounting System.
Current CGA– Smt. Soma Roy Burman.
NSO revises India’s GDP growth rate for 2018-19 to 6.1% from 6.8%
On January 31,2020, National Statistics Office (NSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI) in its 1st revised estimates for Fiscal year-FY19, has revised the India’s GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) growth rate for the FY 2018-19 to 6.1 % as against the earlier forecast of 6.8 % due to a
decrease in mining, manufacturing and agriculture.
Key Points:
i.GDP growth: According to the revised statistics, the real GDP or GDP at constant prices (base year 2011-12)
stood at Rs 139.81 lakh crore and Rs 131.75 lakh crore in 2018-19 and 2017-18 respectively. Similarly, the
growth rate was 6.1 % in 2018-19 and 7 % in 2017-18.But as per the first revision released in January 2019,
real GDP in 2017-18 stood at Rs 131.80 lakh crore, showing a growth of 7.2 %.
ii.GVA Growth: Real Gross Value Added (GVA) growth in 2018-19 was 6% , which is lower than in 2017-18
(6.6%) . The main reasons for this are lower growth in agriculture, forests and fisheries, mining and allied
activities, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services and other services.
iii.3 sector GVA growth: GVA Growth rates of primary (agriculture, forest, fishery and mining and allied
activities), secondary (manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services and construction)
& services sector at 1%, 6% and 7.7% respectively in FY 2018-19, as against 5.8%, 6.5% and 6.9%, respectively,
in the previous year.
iv.Net national income at current prices stood at Rs 167.89 lakh crore in 2018-19, up from Rs 151.50 lakh crore
in 2017-18. Thus it grew by 10.8 % in 2018-19, from 11.2 % in the previous financial year.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):
It came into existence after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme
Implementation.
Founded– 15 October 1999.
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Minister of State(MoS- independent Charge)- Rao Inderjit Singh.
Secretary– Shri Pravin Srivastava
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Fitch forecast India’s GDP growth to 4.6 % for FY20 & 5.6 % for FY 21
On February 3, 2020, Fitch Ratings Inc. , an American credit rating agency in its ‘India’s economic growth
outlook’, has estimated India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product ) growth to 5.6 % for the financial year-FY21.
For the current fiscal 2019-20 (FY 20), GDP is projected at 4.6 %.
Key Points:
i.This estimation is less than what the central government had estimated in the Economic Survey 2020,
presented just a day before the Union Budget for 2020-21.
ii.In the Economic Survey, the government has projected GDP growth of 6-6.5 % for FY 21, which is higher than
the estimate of 5 % in the current FY 20.
iii.Fitch has also estimated that in fiscal year 2022, government debt will remain 70 % of total GDP.
iv.As per Fitch, there are some such provisions in the budget, due to which GDP growth can be helped to catch
the momentum in FY 21. There will be a growth due to reduction in income tax rates, emphasis on foreign
investment, investment in infrastructure and some schemes.
About Fitch Ratings:
It is a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation.
Headquarters– New York, USA
CEO– Paul Taylor
President– Ian Linnell
Bank credit up by 7.21%, deposits up by 9.51%: RBI

On February 3, 2020, According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Bank credit and
deposits grew by 7.21 % and 9.51 % to Rs 100.05 lakh crore and Rs 131.26 lakh crore, respectively, in the
fortnight ended January 17,2020.
Key Points:
i.The banks advance was 93.32 lakh crore rupees in the same period a year ago, while deposits stood at 119.85
lakh crore rupees.
ii.There was an increase in the last fortnight too. Earlier, in the fortnight ended January 2, 2020, banks credit
increased by 7.57 % to Rs 100.44 lakh crore, while deposits increased by 9.77 % to Rs 132.10 lakh crore. Non-
food credit grew by 7 percent year-on-year in December 2019, compared to 12.8 percent in December 2018.
iii.Sector wise:
As per the RBI’s “Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit – December 2019” report, service sector advances
decreased to 6.2 % in December 2019, compared to 23.2 % in the same period a year ago.
Non-food bank credit growth decelerated to 7 % in December 2019 as against 12.8 % in December 2018.
Banks credit for agriculture and allied activities decreased to 5.3 % in December 2019, compared to 8.4 %
growth in the same month a year ago.
Personal loans growth decreased to 15.9 % in the month under review, compared to a 17 % in December 2018.
Credit to the industry declined to 1.6 % in December 2019 as compared to 4.4 % in the same month a year ago.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra)
RBI governor Shaktikanta Das wins ‘Central banker of the year 2020, Asia-Pacific’ award
On February 3, 2020, The Banker magazine, a British English-language monthly financial affairs publication
owned by The Financial Times Ltd, has named Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das as the
‘Central Banker of the Year 2020’, Asia-Pacific for encouraging growth and balancing the economy. Apart
from this, the announcement of the title of Global Central Banker award 2020 has been given to Jorgovanka
Tabakovi , the head of the National Bank of Serbia.
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Key Points:
i.The magazine made this announcement in an editorial in its issue published on 2 January,2020.
ii.As per Banker magazine, Shaktikanta Das has made many efforts to improve India’s banking system from
NPAs (non-performing assets) loans to banks struggling with fraud.
iii.Shaktikanta Das , a 1980 batch officer of Tamil Nadu (TN) cadre, took over as the 25th central bank governor
after Urjit Patel. Prior to this, he has also served as Finance Secretary, Revenue Secretary to the Central
Government.
About Banker magazine:
Editor– Brian Caplen
Founded– 1926
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom (UK).
Paytm unveils all-in-one QR, PoS device and merchant SDK

On February 4, 2020, Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company,has launched an all-in-one QR (Quick
Response), point-of-sale (POS) device for merchants across India & SDK (software development kit) for
third-party integration.
Key Points:
i.With the help of QR & POS device, businessmen will be able to get unlimited payments across the country at
zero percent fees through Paytm wallet, Rupay Cards & all UPI (Unified Payments Interface ) based apps
directly.
ii.The PoS, launched by Infosys cofounder and UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) chairman
Nandan Nilekani, with its full-size display and pre-bundled cloud-based software will enable merchants to
generate billing, dynamic QR codes, payments, GST (Goods and Services Tax)-compliant bills ,manage all
transactions and settlements through the ‘Paytm for Business’ app at a time.
iii.On the other hand, SDK will help other payment providers to promote their systems to Paytm & offer a
hassle free transaction solution for digital payments customers. It also enables SMEs(Small and medium-sized
enterprises) and shop owners to make storefronts on Paytm app, just like Google Pay.
About Paytm:
Founded- August 2010
Headquarters- Noida, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Founder & CEO– Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Owned by– One97 Communications Limited.
RBI hikes Insurance cover on bank deposits to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the Insurance cover on bank
deposits to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh effective from February 4, 2020 with a view to giving protection to
depositors.
Key Points:
i.The cover is provided by a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI, the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee
Corporation (DICGC).
The DICGC does not directly charge any premium from the depositor on this insurance. So Now Banks will pay a
premium of 12 paise against 10 paise per Rs 100 deposit.
ii.This move comes after the Budget announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who made an
important provision in the Budget 2020-2021 on the protection of bank deposits of common people.
iii.The confidence of investors has shrunk since the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC) scam
surfaced, in which millions of customers have been affected.
iv.It is believed that a guarantee of Rs 5 lakh on the deposit will help to re-establish investor confidence. Now
bank fails, then it gets an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh from DICGC.
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About Deposit insurance:

All commercial banks including branches of foreign banks functioning in India, local area banks and regional
rural banks are insured by the DICGC .
It remains the same at Rs 1 lakh since 1993.
The committee on Financial Sector Reforms headed by Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan in 2009 had
recommended to strengthen the capacity of DICGC to make a more explicit system of prompt, corrective action,
and making deposit insurance premia more risk-based.
About Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC):
Formed– 1961
Digital transactions through IMPS, UPI and BHIM at record high in January 2020
On February 03, 2020, According to the latest data from NPCI (National Payments Corporation of
India) comes against the backdrop of the decision made by government on encouraging digital
payments, Unified Payments Interface(UPI), IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) & BHIM (Bharat
Interface for Money) registered a new record in the amount of cash transaction in January 2020.
Key Highlights:
i.Record by IMPS:
It handle much of the online payments via internet banking, round the clock (24×7) & registered a total
of 25.95 crore transaction, aggregating Rs.2.16 lakh crore in the first month of the calendar year 2020.While
in previous month (i.e December 2019), it recorded 25.64 crore transaction, totaling Rs.2.10 lakh crore.
ii.Record by UPI:
It replicated its volume of transactions of 1.3 billion with value of transactions to Rs 2.16 trillion (Rs 2,16,241
crore ) in January 2020.While in December 2019 it witnessed 130.8 crore transaction, totaling to Rs. 2.02 lakh
crore.
iii.Record by BHIM:
This app also registered all time high volume of transactions with 1.85 crore transaction worth Rs.6611.22
crore in January 2020.Whereas in December 2019 it recorded 1.78 crore transaction worth Rs. 6316.37 crore.
iv.In order to promote digital payments the FM announced that no MDR (merchant discount rate) charges will
be applicable on transactions/ payments done via RuPay and UPI platforms beginning January 1, 2020.
v.FASTags in December 2019: As per NPCI, a total of 24 banks issued the FASTags, which increased by more
than 47% to 1.16 crore in December 2019 as against 79.01 lakh crore in November 2019.The amount of
payments via FASTags also doubled to Rs.6.43 crore transaction in December 2019, amounting Rs.1,256.84
crore as compared to 3.49 crore transaction worth Rs.773.95 crore in November 2019.
FASTag: It is an electronic toll collection system in India, operated by the National Highway Authority of India
(NHAI).
MDR: It is the is the rate charged to a merchant for payment processing services on debit and credit card
transactions.
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM):It is a mobile payment App developed by NPCI & is interoperable with
other UPI applications, and bank accounts for quick money transfers.
About National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):
Founded- 2008
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Dilip Asbe
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Reliance general insurance introduces comprehensive health insurance plan “Infinity”

On February 3, 2020, Reliance General Insurance Company Limited , one of the leading insurance
companies in India, has launched a comprehensive health insurance plan called “Reliance Health Infinity”.
Under the plan, the minimum sum insured will be Rs. 3 lakh while the maximum sum insured limit will be Rs.
1 crore.
Key Points:
i.Pre & post hospitalisation: Pre-hospitalisation expenses incurred for a period of 90 days and post-
hospitalisation expenses for a period of 180 days will also be covered.
ii.AYUSH coverage: The health policy will also cover expenses for hospitalisation under AYUSH (Ayurveda,
Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) treatment.
iii.Co-pay: The plan also consists co-payment for special medical treatments such as Robotic Surgery, Stem Cell
therapy, Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease.
Insured people will have access to over 5000 cashless hospital networks and can even avail up to 30 %
discount on premiums which includes voluntary co-payment, 2/3 year policy, the individual sum insured in a
family and renewal discount.
About Co-Pay: It refers to an arrangement in which the policyholder will need to pay a portion of the medical
expenses on their own and the insurance company will pay the remaining amount.
About Reliance General Insurance:
Founded– 17 August 2000
ED and CEO– Rakesh Jain
India signs 1st ever term contract with Russia for Importing Russian Crude Oil
On February 05,2020, The union cabinet Minister for the Ministry of Petroleum and natural Gas
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan signed the 1st ever term contract with Mr. Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer
(C.E.O) and Chairman of Rosneft (Russia’s largest oil producing Company). The term contract is between State-
Owned Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Rosneft for Importing 2 Million Metric Tonnes of Urals
grade crude oil to India for the year 2020.
Key points:
i.India is the 3rd largest Energy Consumer in the world, India imports globally 83% of oil to meet its oil need.
India has to enlarge its sources for oil imports away from the Middle East oil producing Countries
ii.India made a strategy to expand its oil source India’s strategy for Diversification (Importing crude oil from
non-OPEC countries) and the term contract is also under the part of the strategy.
iii.During the meeting both delegations had a talk about preparing a road-map for Indian investments in the
Eastern Cluster projects of Russia especially in Arctic region, also they reviewed energy co-operations and
strengthening hydrocarbons engagements.
About Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL):
Headquarters- New Delhi, Mumbai (Registered Office)
Founded- 1959
Chairman- Sanjiv Singh.
About Rosneft:
Headquarters- Moscow, Russia
Founded- 1993
Chairman- Gerhard Schroder
About Russia:
Capital- Moscow
Currency- Russian Ruble
President- Vladimir Putin.
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Around 38 Cr bank accounts opened under PMJDY till January 2020 : Finance ministry
On February 4, 2020, According to the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Singh
Thakur, bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have registered around
38 crore till January 2020.
Key Points:
i.Around 31 crore accounts are operative out of total 38 crore accounts & the number of these accounts has
increased every year since the launch of the scheme.
About PMJDY:
With a view to increase banking penetration, promote financial inclusion, PMJDY was launched by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on 28 August 2014 to ensure affordable access to services including Bank accounts,
remittance, credit, insurance and pension to weaker sections and low-income groups.
PMJDY accounts have “No minimum balance” requirement. It offers an overdraft (OD) limit of Rs 10,000 & free
accident insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh.
About Ministry of Finance:
Founded– October 29, 1946
Union Minister– Nirmala Sitharaman
India slips to 40th rank on GIPC’s 8th International Intellectual Property (IP) Index for 2020, US
tops
The U.S.(United States) Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) has released the 8th
edition of International Intellectual Property (IP) Index for 2020 namely ‘Art of the possible’ which was
authored by Meir Pugatch and David Torstensson. This report was conducted by Pugatch Consilum, a
consultancy that provides evidence-based research, analysis, and intelligence on the fastest growing sectors of
the economy. The 2020 index mapped the IP ecosystem in 53 global economies which included three new
economies-Greece, Dominican Republic, and Kuwait, on the basis of 50 unique indicators.
Position of India in GIPC’s IP Index:
i.In 2020 GIPC’s IP Index, India’s position has downgraded to 40th rank in comparison to 36th position out of 50
countries in 2019. The index has been topped by the United States (US) followed by UK (United Kingdom),
Sweden, France and Germany.
ii.Among Asia, India is ranked 4th which is topped by Australia and followed by Brunei (2nd) and China (3rd).
iii.Among Lower-middle-income economies, India is at 2nd position which is topped by Egypt.
Areas where India improved:
i.Implementation of the (National IP Rights) Policy has improved the speed of processing for patent and
trademark applications
ii.India joined Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements to expedite patent examination and address
backlogs.
iii.Increased awareness of IP rights among Indian innovators and creators.
iv.Provided new regulatory tools to facilitate the registration and enforcement of those rights.
Areas where India is lacking:
There are hurdles in the areas of patent eligibility and enforcement.
About Global Innovation Policy Center:
It is the principal institution of the United States Chamber of Commerce handling all issues relating to
innovation and creativity.
Initiated– 2007
President and CEO– David Hirschmann
Headquarter– Washington DC, US
11 | P a g e
About United States Chamber of Commerce

Establishment– 1912
Headquarter– Washington, D.C., USA
President– Suzanne Clark
Overview of 6th Bi-monthly monetary policy 2020 released by RBI

On February 6, 2020, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its 6th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Rates
for 2020-21 in Mumbai , Maharashtra. The three-day (February 4-6,2020) policy review meeting by the 6
members of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das with the
members Dr. Chetan Ghate, Dr. Pami Dua, Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Dr. Janak Raj, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra.
The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled during March 31, April 1 and 3, 2020.
Highlights of the meet:
The announcements were made in the meeting include:
i.All members of the MPC unanimously voted to keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.15% to continue with the
accommodative stance as long as it is necessary to revive growth, while ensuring that inflation remains within
the target.
ii.These decisions are in line with the aim of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI)
inflation of 4 % while supporting growth.
Current rates:
Policy Rates under Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF)
Repo Rate 5.15%
Reverse Repo Rate 4.90%
Marginal standing facility (MSF) Rate 5.40%
Bank Rate 5.40%
Reserve Ratios
Cash reserve Ratio (CRR) 4%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) 18.25%
GDP Prediction
GDP for 2020-21 6 % (from 5 % in FY20)
CPI Inflation
H1:2020-21 5.4-5.0 %
Note: H1 means fiscal year 1st half. GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. CPI stands for Consumer Price
Index.
GDP growth rate estimated to be 6% in FY21: RBI
The Reserve Bank has projected GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast for Fiscal Year-FY21 to 6%.It
was 5% in FY20.
i.The RBI has estimated the growth for the next financial year at the lower level of the projected economic
growth in the Economic Survey. In the Economic Survey presented on 31 January,2020 the GDP growth rate in
2020-21 has been estimated to be 6 – 6.5 %.
ii.The Monetary Policy Committee found that moderation in the economy is still intact and the pace of
economic growth remains weak from capacity.
RBI revises CPI inflation target to 6.5% for Q4 of current fiscal
The central bank has revised upward its CPI inflation target to 6.5 % for Quarter(Q4) of current fiscal year
2019-20 (January-March 2020) due to increase in input costs for milk and pulses & volatile crude oil prices.
i.The RBI also predicted an inflation target of 5.4-5.0 % for first half -H1:2020-21 (April-September 2020) and
3.2 % for third quarter (Q3)of 2020-21 (October-December).
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ii.Improvement is expected in the private consumption, especially in the rural areas in view of the better
prospects of the rabi crop. The recent rise in food prices has done the trade balance in favor of agriculture, this
is expected to support rural income. According to RBI, due to softening in the uncertainties of global trade,
exports are expected to be encouraged and investment activities will pick up.
RBI extends one-time restructuring Scheme for MSME advance to Dec 31, 2020
The Reserve of Bank has extended the One-time Restructuring Scheme for Micro Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME) by December 31, 2020.
i.This moves comes after Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting Union Budget 2020 on
1st February, stated the government has asked the RBI to extend the debt restructuring period by another year
ending March 31, 2021.
ii.The recast scheme, announced in January 2019, was to expire on March 31,2020 &the eligibility for the
scheme entails that the aggregate exposure including non-fund based facilities of banks and NBFCs (Non-
banking financial companies), to a borrower should not exceed 25 crore rupees as on January 1, 2019.
Loans to medium enterprises to be linked to external benchmark starting April1, 2020: RBI
In order to provide enough credit to productive sectors,the Reserve Bank has decided to link loans to medium
size enterprises to an external benchmark, starting April 1,2020 .
i.Earlier the RBI had linked all fresh floating-rate loans to the retail sector and to MSMEs(Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises effective from October 1, 2019.
RBI announces new liquidity management framework
The Reserve Bank has decided to revise its liquidity management framework through which it controlling
cash in the banking system, strengthening monetary transmission, strengthening regulation and supervision,
broadening and deepening financial markets.
Some key points of the revised framework:
i.The weighted average call rate (WACR) will continue to be the operating target of monetary policy & liquidity
management is remain at the same pace.
ii.The key liquidity management tool for managing frictional liquidity requirements will be a 14-day term
repo/reverse repo operation at a variable rate and undertaken to colloborate with the cash reserve ratio (CRR)
maintenance cycle.
iii.RBI has permitted standalone primary dealers (SPDs) to participate directly in all overnight liquidity
management operations.
Repos worth Rs 1 lakh cr to help better monetary transmission: RBI
As per the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das , RBI’s decision to conduct new one-year and three-year repos
worth Rs 1 lakh crore from the fortnight beginning on February 15,2020 is aimed to ensure better monetary
policy transmission that in turn will enable banks to reduce their lending rates.
i.The RBI has reduced the repo rate by 135 basis since February 2019 to a 9-year low of 5.15 %.
RBI announces incentives for loans to home, auto and MSME sector
The Reserve Bank has relaxed banks in calculating total deposits by changing the cash reserve ratio (CRR)
maintenance rules to increase the flow of credit to the vehicle and housing sector with micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSME).
i.This move will increase the loans of banks to these targeted areas as they will get a relaxation in the CRR on
the increased loans. This rebate facility will be available till July 2020.
ii.CRR:It is the percentage of total deposits that banks mandatorily park with the apex bank. At present it is
4% of the total deposits of banks.
iii.The facility will be available on the extended loan till the fortnight ending July 31, 2020.
RBI announces great relief for real estate sector
In order to give a boost to the real estate sector, the Reserve Bank has also extended the Date for
commencement of commercial operations (DCCO) of project loans for the commercial real estate sector.
This facility will be available in cases where the delay in the project is not caused by the promoters. This feature
is extended for one year without reducing the asset classification.
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RBI to create digital payments index (DPI)

The Reserve Bank has announced the creation of Digital Payments Index (DPI) to assess and capture the
extent of digitalisation of payments in better manner.
The DPI, based on multiple parameters ,will be made available after July 2020.
i.In order to promote digital payments the FM (Finance Ministry) announced that no MDR (merchant discount
rate) charges will be applicable on transactions/ payments done via RuPay and UPI (Unified Payments
Interface) platforms beginning January 1, 2020.
ii.MDR: It is the is the rate charged to a merchant for payment processing services on debit and credit card
transactions.
RBI proposes Self-Regulatory Organization for digital payment system
The Reserve Bank has proposed to create a Self Regulatory Organization (SRO) by April 2020 to protect
customers and costs related to digital payments.
i.The SRO will work as a 2-way communication channel between the players and the regulator/supervisor.
ii.According to the RBI, these SRO are expected to have a smooth growth in view of the good growth of digital
payments and the growing maturity of units linked to the payment ecosystem so that these units can operate
smoothly in the payment system.
Check truncation system (CTS) will work across the country from Sept 2020 :RBI
In order to increase the speed of check clearance, the Reserve Bank has decided to introduce Check
Truncation System (CTS) across the country from September 2020.RBI brought this system in the year 2010.
It is currently operational in major clearing houses.
i.CTS will make it much easier for customers to clear their checks and it will also save a lot of time.
ii.About CTS:It is a cheque clearing system undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for quicker cheque
clearance
Key takeaways:
i.Repo Rate: It is the rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks.
ii.Reverse Repo rate: It is the rate at which RBI borrows money from commercial banks.
iii.Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): The share of net demand and time liabilities (deposits) that banks must
maintain a cash balance with the RBI.
iv.Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): The share of net demand and time liabilities (deposits) that banks must
maintain in safe and liquid assets, such as government securities, cash, and gold.
v.Bank Rate: It is the rate at which the RBI is ready to buy or rediscount bills of exchange or other commercial
papers for the long term.
vi.Marginal Standing Facility Rate (MSF): The rate at which the scheduled banks can borrow funds from the
RBI overnight, against the approved government securities is termed as MSF.
Unemployment rate in India was 6.1% in 2017-18 as per new PLFS

As per the new Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) being conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MosPI), the labour force participation is 36.9 % and the rate of unemployment
for 2017-18 is 6.1%. The government is conducting a new PLFS with new parameters and bigger sample size,
and its results cannot be compared with previous surveys. It’s an attempt to provide authentic data.
About MoSPI:
Founded– 15 October 1999
Minister of State(MoS)– Rao Inderjit Singh
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WB chief economist Pinelopi announced resignation

On February 06, 2020 American Greek economist and Chief Economist of the World Bank(WB) Pinelopi
Koujianou Goldberg (57-years) announced her resignation. She will step down from her post on March 1,
2020 and will be teaching at Yale University in Connecticut, United States(US). WB research director Aart
Kraay will be the interim WB chief economist until the appointment of a new permanent chief economist.
Key Points:
i.Previous work: Pinelopi took over as the chief economist of WB succeeding Paul Romer at the end of April
2018.she has also served as the 1st editor in chief of the American Economic Review. Prior to joining the WB,
she taught economics at Yale University.
ii.Goldberg’s best known work includes the publishing of World Development Report 2020: Trading for
Development in the Age of Global Value Chains which is the multilateral institution’s 1st trade-focused
development report since 1980s.
About World Bank(WB):
Headquarters- Washington, D.C., United States(US).
Founded- 1944.
Motto- Working for a World Free of Poverty.
President- David Robert Malpass.
Managing Director(MD) and Chief Financial Officer(CFO)- Anshula Kant.
Financial closure of Nepal’s largest hydropower project- Arun-III hydropower project inked
b/w India and Nepal
On February 7, 2020, The Arun-3 hydropower project, the largest Indian-backed project in Nepal,
secured NPR(Nepaleses rupee) 100 Billion for the 900 MW (mega watt) hydropower project being built on
the Arun River in Nepal’s Sankhuwasabha District. India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Arun-III Power
Development Company, the developer of the Arun-III hydropower project has signed the financial closure of
the project with 7 banks in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Key Points:
i.The agreement was signed between 5 Indian Banks- State Bank of India(SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB),
Canara Bank, Exim Bank (Export-Import Bank of India) and Union Bank of India (UBI) & 2 banks from Nepal -
Everest Bank and NABIL Bank to invest 8598 Crore (NPR) , 1536 Crore (NPR) respectively for the project that
is expected to generate power by 2023.
ii.An outlay of $ 1.04 estimated for this project , which will be completed within 5 years & will produce
4,018.87 million units of electricity a year.
iii.On March 2, 2008, SJVN and the government of Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for
execution of Arun-3 that will generate 3,000 jobs.
About Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN):
Headquarters– Shimla, Himachal Pradesh
Chairman and Managing Director– Nand Lal Sharma
About Nepal:
Capital– Kathmandu.
Currency– Nepalese rupee.
President– Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
Prime Minister– Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.
Govt data: $118.3 billion received in remittances since 2018-19

On February 05, 2020 the Indian govt. has released data of remittances received in the country since April
2018- September 2019. As per the report around 13.62 million Indian nationals are staying abroad &
around $118.3 billion has been received as remittance.
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Key Points:
i.The foreign countries in which a large number of Indians were living include Nepal, the Middle East region,
the UK(United Kingdom), the US(United States), Malaysia and Germany.
ii.RBI data: As per data of the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), $76.4 billion was received as remittances during
2018-19 while $41.9 billion was received during 2019-20. Indians involved in financial irregularities with the
banks & those under criminal investigation since 2015 are 72.
iii.Indians caught in Pakistan: An estimated no. of 275 Indians including fishermen are estimated to be in
Pakistan’s custody as prisoners.There is also issue of 83 missing Indian defence personnel, including prisoners
of war.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Formation– 1 April 1935.
Act- Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
Deputy Governors– 4 (BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra).
Sum of Rs 6,717.18 crore released under Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme
between FY16 and FY20
During the period of 2015-16 to 2019-20, the Centre has released a total of Rs 6,717.18 crore under the
Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS). A total of 9,641 applications, covering employment
of 2.86 lakh persons and investment of Rs. 40026.5 crore submitted by textile units, have been issued with UIDs
(unique identification numbers) till January 2020. This information has been given by textiles minister Smriti
Irani as a part of competitiveness of the textile industry.
Key Point:
i.Indian textile sector faces competition from Bangladesh and Vietnam which enjoy duty free access to key
markets like EU while India’s exports face a duty disadvantage.
About Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme
Implementation: 13.01.2016
With Aim of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Zero Defect and Zero Effect’ in manufacturing, the government provides credit
linked capital investment subsidy. Every eligible individual entity (not the unit) will be entitled for
reimbursement of Capital Investment Subsidy (CIS) under this scheme. It is divided into four segments having
different rates for reimbursement of CIS. Only entities that fall under the following sectors are eligible to apply:
-Weaving, Weaving Preparatory and Knitting
-Processing of fibres, yarns, fabrics, garments and made up
-Handloom Sector
-Silk Sector
-Jute Sector
-Garmet/Made up manufacturing
-Texhnical textiles
Reserve Bank set to conduct Financial Literacy Week (FLW) 2020 from February 10–14
India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to conduct the Financial Literacy Week (FLW)
2020 from February 10 – February 14, 2020 based on the theme “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs)”. The RBI will also launch a centralized mass media campaign in February 2020 to broadcast
essential financial awareness messages to MSME entrepreneurs.
Key Points:
i.The FLW for 2020 aimed to create awareness among people about the formalisation, collateral free loan,
discounting of receivables, rehabilitation of stressed units and timely repayment.
ii.All the banks are asked to spread the information and create awareness among its customers and common
man.
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iii.RBI conducts FLW every year since 2016 to spread the financial education on a particular theme across
India. FLW 2018 & FLW 2019 were conducted with the theme “Consumer Protection” and “Farmers”
respectively.
ADB approved $2 million fund amount to combat nCoV

On February 08, 2020 the Asian Development Bank(ADB) has approved to sponsor $2 million as funding to
combat the outbreak of novel coronavirus (nCoV). Under the funding, regional technical assistance will be
provided in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. ADB has also partnered with the World
Health Organisation(WHO) and other regional experts to respond to the 2019 nCoV situation.
Key Points:
i.Work under funding: Improved outbreak investigation & surveillance, including in rural areas etc will be
done. Through this funding procurement of medicines and medical equipment will also be done.
About Asian Development Bank:
Founded- 19 December 1966
Headquarters- Mandaluyong, Philippines.
President- Masatsugu Asakawa.
GSTN formulates panel to improve IT system

On February 09, 2020, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN),a non-profit, non-government organization
which manages the entire IT (Information Technology) system of the GST portal has formed a consultation
committee to give feedback on new functionalities in the GST system and adoption of new information
technology (IT) platforms.
Key Points:
i.The committee will have Members including officials from selected states recommended by the GST Council,
member secretary of GSTN, representatives from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and
industry chambers such as CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and Assocham, traders body such as
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and professional bodies such as Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India, among others.
ii.Terms of Reference (ToR):The panel will provide suggestions related to policy and technology including
feedback on major changes that have been brought in the system, suggestions on new functionalities and new
paltforms needed, and, tax payers and tax consultants will provide procedures and processes.
PFRDA doubles minimum net worth for pension fund managers to Rs 50 cr from Rs 25 cr
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the regulator of the National Pension
System (NPS), has doubled the minimum net worth criterion for pension fund managers to ₹50 crore from the
₹25 crore stipulated earlier. Now, pension funds are on par with mutual funds which have to meet a minimum
net worth requirement of ₹50 crores, under SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) rules.
Other Provisions:
i.Provision has also been made for licenses to have indefinite validity. Earlier, the licenses of pension fund
managers were granted for a period of 5 years. But now, the license will remain valid until cancelled by the
regulator.
ii.A pension fund or its sponsor cannot acquire equity stake in another pension fund. Existing pension funds
that have such cross holdings can continue with the same but cannot increase them without the permission of
the regulator.
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About PFRDA
It is a pension regulator of India.
Establishment– 23 August 2003
Chairperson– Pankaj Jain
RBI grants 5-year CRR relief to banks for lending to auto, housing, MSMEs
On February 10, 2020, In a major step to boost the credit growth, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
eased Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) requirement of commercial banks for 5- years.So now the banks would not
be needed to maintain the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for 5- years on their deposits for the amount equivalent to
loans lent to automobiles, residential housing, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) between 31
Jan-31 July, 2020 from their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) for maintenance of the CRR.
Key Points:
i.The banks can get first such exemption will be started on 14 February, 2020 for 6 months till July 31, 2020.
However, the net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) will be calculated as of January 31, 2020.
ii.This move will help boost lending activities towards needy sectors & make loans cheaper to these particular
segment.
iii.Banks are also asked to report the CRR exemption availed at the end of a fortnight under
“exemptions/others” in the Section 42 return, under the provisions of the circular on CRR and SLR issued on
July 1, 2015.
About CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio):
It is the amount a bank has to reserve with the RBI as per the guidelines. At present it is 4% of the total deposits
of banks.
The CRR and funds available with banks are inversely proportional.
The higher the amount of CRR, the lower the funds available with banks to provide loans and vice versa. In
cases when the Inflation is temporarily on the constant increase, the RBI gives up CRR for incremental lending
to boost credit growth and consumption.
About NDTL:
It is the difference between the sum of demand and time liabilities (deposits) of a bank (with the public or the
other bank) and the deposits in the form of assets held by the other bank
NDTL -[ (Demand deposit+ time deposit) – deposits of bank with other bank] Demand deposits – are deposits
that can withdraw anytime on demand
Time deposits- are deposits that can not withdraw immediately
Deposits of bank with bank – bank assets with others bank( which bank get interest on it)
BSNL, Air India and MTNL saw highest losses for 3rd consecutive year, ONGC most profitable:
DPE survey
On February 11, 2020, According to “Public Enterprises Survey 2018-19”, which measures the annual
economic condition of all central PSUs(public sector undertakings), ONGC(Oil and Natural Gas Corporation),
Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) and NTPC(formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) were
the top three PSUs with profits in 2018-19. At the same time, BSNL(Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), Air
India and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) saw the highest losses for the third consecutive year.
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Key Points:
i.The survey has been prepared by Department of Public Enterprises (DPE)under the Ministry of Heavy
Industries & Public Enterprises.
ii.Th e top three profitable public sector companies i.e. ONGC, IOC and NTPT have 15.3 %, 9.68 % and 6.73 %
share in the total profits earned by all profitable central public sector companies.
iii.According to the survey, State Trading Corporation of India, MSTC ((formerly known as Metal Scrap Trade
Corporation Limited) )and Chennai Petroleum Corporation were the losers in the year 2018-19, making profit
in the year 2017-18.
iv.The total income of all Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) in the year 2018-19 has been 24,40,748
crores. It was Rs 20,32,001 crore in the year 2017-18. In this way, it has increased by 20.12 %.
v.The contribution of CPSE to exchequer from excise duty, custom duty, GST(Goods and Services Tax),
corporate tax, interest and dividend on central government loans and other duties and taxes has been Rs
3,68,803 crore in the year 2018-19.
Here’s the list of top 3 PSUs with profits& losses in 2018-19
Top 3 PSUs with profits in 2018-19
1 ONGC
2 IOC
3 NTPC
Top 3 PSUs with losses in 2018-19
1 BSNL
2 Air India
3 MTNL
About Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises:
Union Minister– Prakash Javadekar
Union Ministry of Finance has notified ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules, 2020’
On February 7, 2020, the Union Ministry of Finance has notified ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules,
2020’ which will feature bilingual signature of Shri Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, Ministry of Finance.
Features of One Rupee Note as per ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules, 2020’
i.It shall be rectangular 9.7 x 6.3 cms, with its paper made of 100% (cotton) rag content.
ii.The note will be 110 microns thick, weighing 90 GSM (Grams per Square Meter).
iii.The pink green colour note will have a design of grains, which depicts the “agricultural dominance of the
country”.
Obverse side of one rupee note:
i.It will contain the words “भारत सरकार‟ above the words “Government of India”.
ii.It has replica of New Rupee One coin with ‘₹’ symbol of 2020 issued with ‘स�मेव जयते‟ and capital Inset
letter ‘L’ in numbering panel.
Reverse side of one rupee note:
i.One rupee note contains ‘भारत सरकार’ above the words “Government of India” with the year 2020 on the
representation of the One Rupee coin with ‘₹‘ symbol having design of grains depicting the agricultural
dominance of the country.
ii.Surrounding design consist of picture of ‘Sagar Samrat’ the oil exploration platform.The rig drilled the first
offshore well in 1974 and has been in service with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) since.
Points to be noted:
-Currency notes were introduced in India in 1861, and the one-rupee note was introduced by the British on
November 30, 1917. Although printing of the note was discontinued in 1994, it was reintroduced in 2015 after
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a gap of 22 years.
-A one rupee note of 1985 signed by Finance Secretary S. Venkitaramanan was sold for Rs 2,75,000 at
Classical Numismatics Gallery on January 21, 2017. Another one, of 1944, issued by British India, signed C.E.
Jones, was sold for Rs 130,000 for a pack of 100 at Todywalla Auctions in October 2009.
RBI publishes draft framework for New Umbrella Entity (NUE) for retail payment systems
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published draft framework to set up new pan-India New Umbrella Entity
(NUE) for retail payment systems. It will be incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 and will be given
authorization by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Section 4 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act,
2007 (PSS Act). RBI has invited comments on the draft framework from all stakeholders.
Key Points:
i.Responsibility of NUE: The newly set up entity will manage and operate new payment system in the retail
space comprising of but not limited to ATMs, White Label PoS; Aadhaar based payments and remittance
services; develop new payment methods, standards and technologies; monitor related issues in the country and
internationally; take care of developmental objectives.
ii.Eligibility for NUE’s promoter: The entity eligible to apply as promoter for the NUE shall be owned and
controlled by residents with 3 years’ experience in the payments ecosystem as Payment System Operator
(PSO) / Payment Service Provider (PSP) / Technology Service Provider (TSP). Any entity holding more than
25% of the paid-up capital of the NUE shall be deemed to be a Promoter.
iii.At present, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organisation for retail
payments systems.
PSBs recover record ₹2.03 lakh crore bad loans in last one-and-half years: FM
The public sector banks’ (PSBs) bad loans trimmed to ₹7.27 lakh crore at the end of September 2019 in
comparison to ₹8.96 lakh crore at the end of March 2018. The information was provided by Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman on February 10, 2020.
Key Points:
It is a result of measures taken by the government to improve financial health of the banks in the country
through governance, underwriting, monitoring and recovery, and has leveraged technology in all aspects of
banking, resulting in reduction in their Non-performing asset (NPA).
South Indian Bank bags 6 Awards at IBA Banking Technology Awards

On February 10, 2020, Indian Bank Association’s 15th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo and
Awards 2020 held in Mumbai, Maharashtra in that South Indian Bank Has Bagged Two Awards at the
Banking Technology category.
Key points:
i.South Indian Bank emerged winner in the ‘Most Customer Centric Bank Using Technology’ category and
runner up in the ‘Best Payments Initiative’ category for Small Banks.
ii.The awards were received by Mr. Raphael T J Chief General Manager (CGM) and Chief Information Officer
(CIO) in south Indian bank and Mr. Sony A Joint General Manager (JGM) in south Indian bank on behalf of south
Indian bank and the awards presented by Rajesh Gopinath, Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Tata Consultancy Services and Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of State Bank of India.
iii.Mr. V. G. Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), Prof. N. Balakrishnan, Director,
Super Computer Education & Research Centre in Indian Institute of Science, Mr. Sunil Mehta, Chairman, Indian
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Banks’ Association (IBA), Mr. R. Sridharan, MD, CCIL-Clearing Corporation of India were also presented in the
Award Ceremony.
Other awards that bank won are,
Best Technology Bank of the Year, Best use of data and analytics for business, Best IT risk management and
cyber security initiatives, Best CIO were the awards bagged by the South Indian Bank at the event.
About South Indian Bank:
Headquarters- Thrissur, Kerala
Founded- 1929
Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- V.G. Mathew
Tagline- Experience Next Generation Banking.
About Indian Banks’ Association (IBA):
Founded- 1946
Induslnd Bank records highest growth in brand value among Top 500 Banking Brands 2020
As per the The Banker’s ‘Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report, India’s IndusInd Bank has topped the list
of ‘Highest increase in brand value’ among global banks. It’s brand value saw an increase of 122% over the
past 12 months. The bank reported total assets of Rs 3.1 lakh crore at the end of Q3 FY20.As a part of the
report, the list “Top 50 By Total Brand Value by Country” has been topped by China, followed by United
States (US) at 2nd position while Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) ranked at 3rd and 4th spots. Japan has
moved up to fifth spot.
• India ranked 8th in this list in comparison to 10th place in 2019. India’s brand value is 26,516 $m in
2020 showing an increase of 13% in comparison to 23,409 $m in 2019.
Key Points:
i.As per the report, the total global brand value of the Top 500 stands at $1327bn.
ii.The brand value of Central and south America has increased by 7.2% and the Middle East has seen a 3.2%
rise.
iii.On the other hand, Europe’s banking brand value downgraded year on year, down 7.1%, followed by Africa
(-6.8%) and North America (-5.3%). Asia-Pacific has also seen a slight decrease of 1.3%.
iv.Among climbers by Brand Value, IndusInd Bank followed by Vietnam’s Vietcombank and US’s Chemical
Bank with 99% and 88% increase.
v.The report featured the strength, risk and potential of a brand relative to its competitors.
About Induslnd Bank:
Establishment- 1994
Chatbot– IndusAssist
Tagline– We care Dile Se; We Make You Feel Richer
Managing Director & CEO– Romesh Sobti
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
About TheBanker:
It provides economic and financial intelligence for the world’s financial sector and is the trusted source of
banking information.
Editor– Brian Caplen
EIU lowers Global Growth Forecast 2020 to 2.2% from 2.3%

On February 12, 2020, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has revised its Global growth forecast for the
year 2020 to 2.2 percent from the previous 2.3 percent, and is because of the Impact in Global market created
by Novel coronavirus outbreak in China and also the virus starts spreading globally to put barrier for this, the
Chinese Authorities are taking unexpected measures like isolating the infected cites, which is likely to have
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consequences on global economy announced by EIU in a report.

Key points:
i.EIU also revised China’s growth downwards by lowering the real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) forecast for
China in 2020 to 5.4 percent from 5.9 percent earlier, further in report EIU assumed that the spread of the virus
will be under control by March-end.
ii.EIU also estimated the GDP growth for India to 6.1 percent for 2020 from 4.9 percent estimated for the year
2019, Low interest rate in India will increase the demand and Investment in 2020 and also the coronavirus
does not spread in India are the reasons for the upward GDP growth.
About Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU):
Headquarters- London, England
Founded- 1946
Managing Director (MD)- Robin Bew
About People’s Republic of China:
Capital- Beijing
Currency- Renminbi
President- Xi Jinping
Retail inflation rises to 7.59% in January 2020; industrial output declines 0.3% in December
2019: NSO data
On February 13, 2020, According to the data released by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO) of the
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Retail inflation rose to a 68-month high
of 7.59 % in January 2020 as against 7.35% in December 2019 due to prices of food items such as vegetables,
eggs, meat and fish, along with fuel became costlier.On the other hand, Index of industrial production
(IIP) can also be seen falling, with industrial production slipping 0.3 % in December 2019 as compared to 2.5
% growth in the same month a year ago.
Key Points:
i.Inflation:The retail inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) stood at 7.35 percent in December
2019. In the month of January 2019 , it was 1.97 %.
The overall food inflation was 13.63 % in January 2020 as compared to a decrease of 2.24 % in January 2019 a
year ago. However, it has come down to 14.19 % as of December 2019.
ii.IIP-sector wise growth:
Manufacturing sector : As per the data, the manufacturing sector declined by 1.2% in December 2019 as
compared to a growth of 2.9 % in December 2018. The manufacturing sector declined in December as
compared to November 2019, where it saw growth of 2.7 %.
Power generation: Electricity generation also registered a decline of 0.1 % in December 2019 as compared to
December 2018. In the same month a year ago, power generation saw a growth of 4.5 %.
Mining output: However, the mining output has seen a slight improvement over the previous month. In terms
of month to month, in November 2019, this sector saw growth of 1.7 %. It has increased to 5.4 % in December
2019.
iii.Use-based classification:
In addition, on a month-to-month basis, capital goods production fell by 8.6%, primary goods growth declined
marginally by 0.3%, intermediate goods growth increased by 17.1%, consumer durables growth declined 1.5%,
consumer non-durables growth increased 2%.
About Retail inflation: It is the increase in the price of goods sold at retail market.In India, retail price is
measured by the consumer price index (CPI),which is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the
predetermined basket of goods and averaging them.
About IIP: It is an abstract number represents the status of production in the industrial sector for a given
period of time as compared to a reference period of time. The current base year is 2011-2012.
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About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):

Founded– 15 October 1999.
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Minister of State(MoS- independent Charge)- Rao Inderjit Singh.
Secretary– Shri Pravin Srivastava
It came into existence after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme
Implementation.
Facebook launched digital literacy training to 1 lakh women in 7 Indian states

On February 11, 2020 Facebook launched “We Think Digital” Programme to provide digital literacy training to
1 lakh women across 7 states, including Uttar Pradesh (UP),West Bengal & Bihar. It has been launched in
partnership with National Commission for Women (NCW) and Cyber Peace Foundation.
Key Points:
i.The training program aims to equip women with skills & provide equal access to economic opportunities,
education & social connection through the internet.
ii.The programme will start in the state of Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow) and expand to other states including
Assam (Dispur), West Bengal (Kolkata),Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal), Gujarat (Gandhinagar), Jharkhand (Ranchi)
& Bihar (Patna).
iii.We Think Digital, Facebook’s global digital literacy programme, was announced in 2019 during the 2nd
edition of South Asia Safety Summit.
About Facebook:
Founded- February 4, 2004.
Headquarters- Menlo Park, California, United States (US).
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Mark Zuckerberg.
UP Govt. Inks MoU With eGov Foundation for State-wide Implementation of Municipal Financial
Accounting Platform
On February 12, 2020 A Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) was signed between the Uttar
Pradesh (UP) government and eGov foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka, to implement the municipal financial
accounting system. The MoU was signed by Sanjay Kumar Singh Yadav, Special Secretary, Urban Development,
Govt. of UP and Viraj Tyagi, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), e-Gov foundation.
Key Points:
i.The municipal accounting reforms covers 652 ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) of UP.
ii.The main aim is to digitize the accounting operations & efficient interactions between citizens and city
administration for the transparency in the system.
iii.eGov foundation will provide the accrual-based double-entry financial accounting application of DIGIT-
India’s largest open source platform for urban governance.
iv.DIGIT (Digital Infrastructure for Governance, Impact & Transformation) financial accounting system,
consists of expenditure & revenue management, income-expenditure tracking, financial ratios, bank
reconciliation etc.,
v.The Urban sector of the UP govt., entered into a collaboration with eGov foundation on January 31, 2020 to
reform the urban sector.
About Uttar Pradesh:
Capital- Lucknow.
Chief Minister(CM)- Yogi Adityanath.
Governor- Anandiben Patel.
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Arth-Ganga project to channelize economic activity along Ganga river bank: Shipping ministry
On February 13, 2020,According to Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping (Independent
Charge), Chemical, and Fertilizers, ‘Arth Ganga’ project implies a sustainable development model with a focus
on economic activities along its Ganga bank.
Key Points:
i.Around half of the Indian population lives around the Ganges River belt.In addition, of India’s total freight,
about 1/5th originates and 1/3rd terminates in the states around Ganges Belt. So, Inland waterway is one of
the most important key pillars of Arth Ganga project.
ii.Cargo volume under this initiative also increased from 30 lakh MT to 70 lakh MT and vessels inflow from 300
to 700.
iii.National Waterway-1 is an inland water transport route between Haldia (West Bengal) and Prayagraj (Uttar
Pradesh-UP). The Shipping Ministry is also developing Varanasi (also known as Banaras) in UP Freight Village
and Sahibganj in Jharkhand Industrial Cluster-cum-Logistics Park with a primary aim of creating cooperation
with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
iv.This project will help farmers, traders and general public in the 1400km stretch of National Waterway – 1to
engage in sustainable agriculture practices, including zero budget farming, planting of fruit trees and building
plant nurseries on the banks of Ganga & in turn they will get better return for their produce as the
transportation of goods.
Odisha MSME Dept inked MoU with HDFC Bank to boost startups
The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department of government of Odisha has signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank
Limited to provide smart banking solutions to Startups recognised by the Startup Odisha and will also extend
incubation and acceleration support to all Startups, banking with them.
About HDFC:
Digital Assistant– Eva
Managing Director– Aditya Puri
Head Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Indian imports to U.S. will face countervailing duties as India removed from USTR’s list of
subsidy preference
Recently, United States Trade Representative (USTR) has removed India, Brazil, Indonesia, Hong Kong,
South Africa and Argentina from getting special preferences under the methodology for countervailing duty
(CVD) investigations. It is a list of developing countries that are exempt from investigations into whether they
harm American industry with unfairly subsidised exports. Apart from this, in order to make imposing
of countervailing duties (CVDs) easier on goods imported from India and certain other countries, the U.S.
(United States) government has changed an administrative rule for the same.
Key Points:
i.Though India’s gross national income (GNI) is below $12,375 or ₹8.82 lakh but being a member of the G-20
and having a share of 0.5% or more of world trade, the United States considered it as a developed country.
USTR considers countries with a share of 0.5% or more of world trade as developed countries.
ii.The subsidy preference is a World Trade Organisation (WTO) regulation, which allows self-declared
developing countries to get preferential trade treatment in developed countries, to boost weaker economies.
Developing countries are permitted up to 2% of export or production subsidies. Now, India is ineligible for
the 2% de minimis standard.
What is CVD?
It is an additional import duty imposed on imported products (by the importing country) when such products
enjoy benefits like export subsidies and tax concessions in the country of their origin (ie., where it is produced
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and exported).
About USTR:
United States Trade Representative– Robert E. Lighthizer
Head Office– Washington, DC, USA
15th finance commission forms 5-member panel led by NK singh on defence & Internal security
fund
On February 13, 2020, The 15th Finance Commission has set up a five-member group led by 15th Finance
Commission Chairman , Nand Kishore (NK) Singh to investigate the need for separate arrangements
for funding defense and internal security.
The panel will comprise the following members:
i.AN Jha, member of the 15th Finance Commission
ii.Ajay Bhalla, Secretary of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
iii.Ajay Kumar, Secretary of Ministry of Defence
iv.T V Somanathan , Expenditure Secretary
Key Points:
i.This group will test whether a separate mechanism for financing defense and internal security should be put
in place, and if so, how this fund would be operationalised.
ii.The announcements were made after the commission held the 6th meeting of its advisory council to seek
views of the participants on the Commission’s report for 2020-21 and other recommendations included in the
report. Apart from this, outlook for nominal GDP growth during 2021-22 to 2025-26 and other macro-
economic parameters were also discussed.
iii.The Commission has also planned to form a committee to address issues of debt and fiscal deficit of states
and centre, which will help in formulating a legal framework for a fiscal architecture.
About 15th Finance Commission:
Formed– 27 November 2017
Minister responsible– Nirmala Sitharaman (Minister of Finance)
43rd IFAD Governing Council held in Rome, Italy: Climate Change to push 100 millions to
poverty by 2030
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s 43rd Governing Council meeting was held in
Rome, Italy on 11-12 February 2020 on the theme “Investing in sustainable food systems to end hunger by
2030”. During the meet, the IFAD stated that the sequences of climate change and it’s impacts on agriculture
will push around 100 million people to poverty by 2030.
Key Points:
i.An appeal has been made for the same to urgently spend more on rural development to avoid a catastrophic
situation arising out of the climate emergency.
ii.In 2018, 90% of 17.2 million people displaced by disasters were due to weather and climate-related events.
iii.In Africa alone, climate conflicts have risen by 36% between 2018 and 2019 which stops agricultural
production.
About IFAD:
President– Gilbert F. Houngbo
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
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SEBI constituted municipal bonds development committee headed by Sujit Prasad

On February 14, 2020, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has constituted Municipal Bonds
Development Committee headed by Shri Sujit Prasad, Executive Director, SEBI in order to get
recommendations on policy matters pertaining to development of municipal debt securities market. The
members of the committee include representatives from ministry, Municipal Corporation, lawyers,
professionals and market practitioners.
Responsibilities of committee:
i.To advise SEBI on issues related to regulation and development of primary and secondary market of
municipal debt securities.
ii.To make recommendation for introducing simplification and transparency in systems and procedures in
the primary and secondary market.
iii.To ensure investor protection in the primary and secondary market.
iv.To direct SEBI on measures to facilitate issuers (i.e. municipalities) for issuance of municipal debt securities.
About SEBI:
Establishment– April 12, 1992
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
RBI board recommends aligning accounting year with fiscal year from 2020-21
On February 15, 2020, the Central Board of Directors of the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) at its 582nd
meeting recommended aligning the financial year of RBI, currently July-June, with the government’s fiscal
year (April-March) from the year 2020-21. Now, the proposal is sent to the government for its approval.
Key Points:
i.The meeting reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and various areas of
operations of the Reserve Bank.
ii.The meeting was addressed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She was accompanied by Minister of
State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar and Expenditure Secretary T V
Somanathan, among other senior officials.
Moody’s lowers India’s GDP growth estimate for 2020 to 5.4% from 6.6%
On February 17, 2020, Moody’s Investors Service, an American credit rating agency,has lowered India’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimate for the current financial year (2019-20) to 5.4% from 6.6%
and the next financial year (2020-21) growth rate estimate to 5.8% from 6.7% .
Key Points:
i.According to Moody’s , due to the spread of novel coronavirus outbreak in China, worldwide growth will be
affected and hence India’s economic growth recovery will be slow.
ii.It also estimate that G20 (Group of 20) economies will grow at a rate of 2.4 % in 2020, a sluggish move from
2019 & will be 2.8 per cent in 2021.China’s GDP growth estimated at 5.2 % in 2020 & expected to achieve GDP
growth at a rate of 5.7 % in 2021.
About Moody’s:
Founded– 1909
Founder– John Moody
Headquarters– New York, United States
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)- Raymond W. McDaniel Jr.
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RBI conducts 3- year Long Term Repo Operations (LTRO)’s for Rs.25,000 crore
On February 17, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started the first tranche of Long Term Repo
Operation (LTROs) by conducting a three-year issue worth Rs 25,000 crore for which it received bids of more
than Rs 1.944 lakh crore. The central bank has accepted bids of ₹25,035 crore. The RBI will conduct the
second issue for Rs 25,000 crore on February 24 which will have one-year tenor.
What is LTRO?
On February 6, 2020, the RBI released “Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies” which stated
about Long Term Repo Operations (LTROs) for improving monetary transmission. It is aimed at providing
cheaper money to banks at the repo rate so that it can be used to boost credit growth. RBI decided to conduct
Long Term Repo Operations (LTROs) for one-year and three-year tenors for up to a total amount of ₹ 1,00,000
crores at the policy repo rate. Simply, RBI is injecting Rs 1 lakh crore into the banking system through auctions
with long term maturity periods (compared to one day repos) of 1 year and 3 year. LTRO is in addition to the
existing LAF (Liquidity adjustment facility) and MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) operations. The current repo
rate is 5.15%.
Features of LTRO
i.LTROs will be conducted on CBS (E-KUBER) platform.
ii.The operations would be conducted at a fixed rate. Bids below or above policy rate will be rejected.
iii.In case of over-subscription, the allotment will be done on pro-rata basis. RBI will, however, reserve the
right to inject marginally higher amount than the notified amount due to rounding effects.
iv.The minimum bid amount would be Rupees one crore and multiples thereof. The allotment would be in
multiples of Rupees one crore. There will be no restriction on the maximum amount of bidding by individual
bidders.
How LTRO work?
Funds through LTRO will be provided at the repo rate. This means that banks can avail one year and three-year
loans at the same interest rate of one day repo. Usually, loans with higher maturity period (here like 1 year and
3 year) will have higher interest rate compared to short term (repo) loans. If the RBI is ready to give one-year
and three year loans at the low repo rate, then it will put pressure on banks to reduce their lending rates.
Hence, there will be a decline in short term lending rates of banks.
Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY): World Bank inks $ 450 mn loan with India for groundwater
management in select states
On February 17, 2020, The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank(WB) have inked a $ 450
million (mn) loan agreement to support Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management
Improvement Program that will be implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the states of Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh (UP) and cover 78 districts.
The main aim of this agreement is to stop the decreasing level of ground water in India and strengthen the
institutions related to ground water.
Key Points:
i.The loan agreement was signed by Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic
Affairs, on behalf of the Government of India and Mr Junaid Ahmad, Country Director, India on behalf of the
World Bank.
ii.This new project to Improve Groundwater Management will promote the recharge of aquifers, initiate steps
related to water conservation, enhance the action related to water harvesting, water management and crop
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conformity& also will create an institutional structure for sustainable groundwater management and
communities for sustainable management of ground water.
iii.The use of modern technology related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Space Technology will further aid in
better implementation of this program. This program will also help rural people to strengthen the rural
economy in the context of climate change.
iv.The $450 million loan, from World bank’s arm International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 18 years.
About Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY):
ABHY(or, Atal Jal), a Rs.6,000 Crore Central Sector Scheme, is a groundwater management scheme launched by
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on the 95th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, on 25 December 2019 with the aim to improve groundwater management in 7 states of India.
Nodal Agency: Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal
Shakti. Under this scheme 78 districts, 193 blocks and 8350 gram panchayats of these states have been
included.
World Population Review Report: India becomes 2019’s 5th largest economy; US tops
In accordance with the US-based think tank World Population Review, India has become the fifth-largest in the
world with a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $2.94 trillion overtaking the UK (United Kingdom) and France
in 2019. The size of the UK economy is $2.83 trillion and that of France is $2.71 trillion. The list has been
topped by the United states (US) with $21.44 trillion GDP.
Key Points:
i.In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), India’s GDP is $10.51 trillion, exceeding that of Japan and
Germany. Due to India’s high population, India’s GDP per capita is $2,170.
ii.India’s service sector is the fast-growing sector in the world accounting for 60% of the economy and 28%
of employment.
iii.Though India’s real GDP growth expected to weaken for the third straight year from 7.5% to 5% but still it is
positioned as world’s 5th largest economy.
Table showing Top 5 Largest Economies of World:
Rank Country GDP
1 United States (US) $21.44 trillion
2 China $14.14 trillion
3 Japan $5.15 trillion
4 Germany $4 trillion
5 India $2.94 trillion
The US-based World Population Review is an independent organization without any political affiliations.
15th Finance commission constitutes 8-member panel headed by ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri to
boost agri exports
On February 17, 2020, The 15th Finance Commission has set up a 8-member group led by ITC chairman and
managing director (MD) Sanjiv Puri to recommend measurable performance incentives for the states, so as
to promote exports & also to encourage the concerned crops to ensure replacement of more imports.
The committee will submit its recommendations within 3 months.
Key Points:
i.This expert group consists of members including (i) Ms. Radha Singh, Former Agriculture Secretary (ii)
Representative of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (iii) Chairman, Agricultural and Processed Food
Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry (iv) Shri Suresh
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Narayanan, CMD, NESTLE India (v) Mr. Jay Shroff, CEO-UPL Limited. (vi) Shri Sanjay Sacheti, Country Head
India-Olam Agro India Ltd. (vii) Dr. Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, RIS.
ii.Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committee:
The group will assess export and import substitution opportunities for Indian agricultural products
(commodities, semi-processed and processed) in the changing situation of international trade and suggest
steps to boost exports and reduce imports. It will recommend different measures to enhance agricultural
productivity, ensure wastage reduction, strengthen Indian logistics-related infrastructure, etc. and enhance the
competitiveness of this sector globally. It will identify bottlenecks in the path of private sector investment in
the agricultural value chain and suggest ways and reforms that will help in attracting necessary investments.
It will also suggests appropriate performance-based incentives to the States for the period from 2021-22 to
2025-26 to speed up reforms in the agricultural field.
About 15th Finance Commission:
Formed– 27 November 2017
Minister responsible– Nirmala Sitharaman (Minister of Finance)
India & Norway signs LoI for collaboration on blue economy for sustainable development in
New Delhi, India
On February 18, 2020, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh
Vardhan along with Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment, H.E. Mr Sveinung Rotevatn have
jointly inaugurated the ‘India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development’ at the
3rd meeting of the Task Force in New Delhi, India. The 2 countries also signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) & agreed
to support and work together on Integrated Ocean Management & Research.
Key Points:
i.The LoI was signed in the presence of Mr. Ratan P. Watal, Member Secretary, EAC to PM & Mr. M. Rajeevan,
Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India among others.
ii.The Task Force on Blue Economy:
It was launched jointly by the Indian Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi, and the Norwegian Prime Minister
(PM) Ms Erna Solberg, during her visit to India in January 2019.
It primarily aims to promote and undertake joint initiatives between the two nations. It enables respective
stakeholders from both the countries at the highest level. It will also ensure continued commitment and
progress across ministries and agencies.
About Norway:
Capital– Oslo
Currency– Norwegian krone
Prime Minister– Erna Solberg
India ranked 35th in Worldwide Education for The Future Index (WEFFI) 2019, Finland tops
On February 18, 2020 The Worldwide Education for The Future Index (WEFFI) 2019 ranked India in
35th position, whereas in 2018 it was ranked 40th position. The WEFFI report is created by The Economist
Intelligence unit and commissioned by Yidan Prize foundation. The index is topped by Finland, followed by
Sweden in second place and New Zealand in third place.
Index Formation
Index is based on 3 categories
• Policy environment
• Teaching environment
• Socio economic environment
Highlights
i.India ranked 35th with a score of 53.
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ii.Finland is positioned 1st in all categories including overall score, followed by Sweden.
iii.World’s giant economies like US, UK, France & Russia fell in the index, while China, India & Indonesia
performed better.
Overall Ranking
Rank Economy
35 India
1 Finland
2 Sweden
3 New Zealand
Performance of India in WEFFI
Category 2019 2018
Overall 53 41.2
Policy environment 56.3 61.5
Teaching environment 52.2 32.2
Socio economic environment 50.1 33.3
Policy alteration in India
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam in the union budget 2020 spotted a new education policy to be declared
under the title “Aspirational India” and also promised to allocate Rs. 99300 crore for education and Rs.3000
crore for skills.
About Economist Intelligence Unit
Founded- 1946
Headquarter- London United Kingdom
Parent- Economist Group
Subsidiary- Bazian, Clearstate, Canback Consulting
THE’s emerging economies university rankings 2020: India has 11 institutes among world’s
top 100 universities, IISC at No. 16th
On February 19, 2020, According to the Times Higher Education’s (THE) Emerging Economies University
Rankings 2020, which ranks a total of 533 universities from 47 countries, India has 11 institutes among
world’s top 100 universities where Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore (Karnataka) emerged as
India’s top-ranked institution by getting the rank 16th with the score 48.4. Tsinghua University in China has
topped the list with the score of 83.8.
Key Points:
i.A total of 56 Indian universities appear in the full ranking of a total of 533 universities across emerging
economies of the world. China is ahead of India in the top 100, which includes 30 universities.
ii.Talking about other Indian universities in the top 100, IIT(Indian Institute of Technology) Kharagpur jumped
23 places to 32nd in the ranking. IIT Delhi improved by 28 places to 38th and IIT Madras climbed 12 places to
63rd . Indian Institute of Technology Ropar and Institute of Chemical Technology have been ranked in the
ranking for the first time and both are in the top 100.
Here’s the list of Top 3& Indian Universities in the ranking:
Rank University Name Country Scores
1 Tsinghua University China 83.8
2 Peking University China 83
3 Zhejiang University China 65.5
Rank of Indian Universities in top 100
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16 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 48.4

32 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur 42.9
34 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay 42.4
38 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi 41.9
58 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 38.4
61 Indian Institute of Technology Indore 38.2
63 Indian Institute of Technology Madras 37.7
63 Indian Institute of Technology Ropar 37.7
73 Institute of Chemical Technology 37.3
77 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur 37.1
90 Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham 35.3
The Emerging Economies University Rankings:
i.It is an annual publication of university rankings by Times Higher Education magazine.
ii.It includes only institutions in countries classified by the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE (Financial Times
Stock Exchange) Group as “advanced emerging”, “secondary emerging” or “frontier”.
iii.The Rankings is based on the same 13 performance indicators. The main parameters that are taken into
account include ,FTE Students, students per staff International Students, Female:Male Ratio.
First issue– 2010
Country– United Kingdom
SEBI to tighten eligibility criteria for investment advisors

On February 17, 2020, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulator for the securities market
in India, has decided to tighten the eligibility rules for investment advisors with the intention of protecting
the interests of investors. It has also decided to set a upper limit on their fees & proposed a fee of 2.25% of
assets under management (AUM) / an amount of ₹75,000 per annum. The fee can be charged for up to 2
quarters at a time and cannot be fully charged upfront.
Key Points:
i.SEBI has raised the eligibility criteria for registration as investment advisor. This includes enhanced net worth
and qualification requirements. The old provisions will remain for the existing personal advisers.
Also, an agreement will be signed between the adviser and the client to bring transparency. It will include all
the terms and conditions.
ii.SEBI has barred investment advisers from simultaneously selling financial products and advisory services &
also banned the use of words such as independent financial advisors or wealth advisors by those involved in
the distribution of securities. However, if such people are also registered as investment advisors, they will be
able to use these words.
iii.Companies will need to differentiate advisory and delivery activities at the client level.
iv.SEBI has also approved rules for regulatory sandboxes(RS), which will enable live-testing of new financial
products / services in a controlled ecosystem. Exchanges and market infrastructure institutes have already
implemented their own sandboxes.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Formed- April 12, 1992
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Gujarat govt signs MoU with SBI to facilitate MSME loans

On February 19, 2020, In order to provide enough credit to entrepreneurs in the MSME (Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises) sector, the state Government of Gujarat has signed an MoU (memorandum of
understanding ) with State Bank of India (SBI), through which the bank will provide working capital to
entrepreneurs aims to start new MSME within 15 days of making an application.
Key Points:
i.The agreement was signed between principal secretary M K Das and SBI Ahmedabad circle general manager
Ramesh Kumar Agarwal in the presence of Gujarat Chief Minister(CM) Vijay Rupani,.
ii.The new MSME Start-ups of the state can submit an application on either the MSME portal or to the local
nodal agencies.
iii.In October 2019, The Gujarat state announced that MSME units will no longer be required to take various
approvals to start operations for the initial 3 years period.They can start operations after getting an
acknowledgment certificate from the state nodal agency by submitting ‘declaration of intent.’
About Gujarat:
Capital– Gandhinagar
Governor– Acharya Devvrat
About State Bank of India(SBI):
Chairperson– Rajnish Kumar.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Former name– Imperial Bank of India.
Tagline– The Banker to Every Indian; With you all the way; Purely Banking Nothing Else; The Nation Banks on
Us.
India’s foodgrain production to hit a record high of 291.95 million tonnes for crop year 2019-
20
In accordance with the Second Advance Estimates for crop year 2019-20 by the Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, the total foodgrain production in the country is estimated at record
291.95 million tonnes as compared to the production of foodgrain of 285.21 million tonnes in 2018-19. It
should be noted that the 2019-20 production is also higher by 26.20 million tonnes than the previous five
years’ (2013-14 to 2017-18) average production of foodgrain. India’s crop year is July-June
Reason Behind the increase
The cumulative rainfall in the country during the monsoon season (June to September, 2019) has been 10%
higher than Long Period Average (LPA), resulting in a boost in foodgrain production.
Key Points:
i.Production of rice– It is increased by 9.67 million tonnes in 2019-20 at record 117.47 million tonnes as
compared to five years’ average production of 107.80 million tonnes.
ii.Production of wheat– Estimated at record 106.21 million tonnes for 2019-20, it is higher by 2.61 million
tonnes as compared to wheat production during 2018-19 and is higher by 11.60 million tonnes than the
average wheat production of 94.61 million tonnes.
iii.Production of Nutri / Coarse Cereals– It has been increased to 45.24 million tonnes, a 2.18 million tonnes
increase as compared to 43.06 million tonnes achieved during 2018-19. It is also higher by 2.16 million tonnes
than the average production.
iv.Production of Pulses– Total Pulses production during 2019-20 is estimated at 23.02 million tonnes which is
higher by 2.76 million tonnes than the Five years’ average production of 20.26 million tonnes.
v.Production of oilseeds– For 2019-20 it is estimated at 34.19 million tonnes which is higher by 2.67 million
tonnes than the production of 31.52 million tonnes during 2018-19.
2019-20 is higher by 4.54 million tonnes than the previous 5 years average oilseeds production.
vi.Production of Sugarcane– During 2019-20, it is estimated at 353.85 million, a 4.07 million tonnes than the
average sugarcane production of 349.78 million tonnes.
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vii.Production of Cotton– It is estimated at 34.89 million bales (of 170 kg each) is higher by 6.85 million bales
than the production of 28.04 million bales during 2018-19.
viii.Production of Jute & Mesta– It is estimated at 9.81 million bales (of 180 kg each).
ix.Other Productions– Maize – 28.08 million tonnes, Tur – 3.69 million tonnes, Gram – 11.22 million tonnes,
Soyabean – 13.63 million tonnes, Rapeseed and Mustard – 9.11 million tonnes, and Groundnut – 8.24 million
tonnes
About Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW):
It functions under the Ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare
Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare– Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State– Parshottam Rupala, Kailash Choudhary
India ranks 77th in terms of sustainability & 131st in flourishing index:UN report
On February 20, 2020, According to the report, “A future for the world’s children?” commissioned by the
World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet medical
journal, India ranks 77th in terms of Sustainability Index and 131st in the Flourishing Index of Children’s
Survival, health,education and Well-being. Sustainability index is associated with per capita carbon emissions
and ability of children in a nation to live healthy lives.
Key Points:
i.Norway tops the list of Child Flourishing Index followed by Republic of Korea (2nd) and the
Netherlands(3rd ). In Sustainability Index, Burundi secures top spot followed by Chad (2nd ) and
Somalai(3rd )as these are lowest emitters.While United States of America (USA), Australia and Saudi Arabia are
among the 10 worst emitters of CO2.Each Norway, Korea and Netherlands releases 210% more than the per
capita CO2 than its target of 2030.
ii.A commission of more than 40 child and adolescent health experts funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation (BMGF) from around the world has released the report ,where the capacity of 180 countries has
been assessed whether they are able to ensure that their children grow and prosper.
iii.As per the report, due to the problem of stunting(low height for age) and poverty, about 250 million children
under five years old in low- and middle-income nations are at risk of not reaching their developmental
potential.
iv.Chance of survival: The index shows that children in Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the Netherlands
have the best chance at survival, but children in Central African Republic, Chad, Somalia, Niger and Mali face the
worst chance of survival rate.
v.In some countries children watch more than 30,000 advertisements on television alone in a single year, while
youth exposure to vaping (e-cigarette) advertisements to 24 million young people ,up by more than 250 % in
the US over 2 years.
vi.The number of obese children and adolescents increased to 124 million in 2016 from 11 million in 1975 , an
11-fold increment, with serious social costs.
List of Top 3 & Bottom 3 countries on Sustainability & Child flourishing Index
Rank Sustainability Index Child flourishing Index
1 Burundi Norway
2 Chad Republic of Korea
3 Somalia Netherlands
178 Kuwait Somalia
179 Trinidad and Tobago Chad
180 Qatar Central African Republic
About World Health Organization(WHO):
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Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

Director-General– Tedros Adhanom
About United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):
Formation– 11 December 1946 (as United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund)
Headquarters– New York City, USA
Executive Director– Henrietta H. Fore
HDFC, MasterCard and SAP concur partnered to manage spending in corporate sector
On February 18,2020 HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation), MasterCard and SAP
concur collaborated to manage the spending of the corporate sector.
Key points:
i.HDFC Bank will offer a corporate credit card for business travellers, providing a one-stop solution for
payment and expense management during business trips. The card will enable seamless integration of all
business-related spend into SAP Concur offerings, enhancing employee experience, increasing visibility, saving
money, and improving efficiency.
ii.Interest free Credit period for the card is upto 50 days and it will enhance employee experience, accurate
view on their spending’s and gives protection against fraud invoice.
iii.SAP Concur offers credit for travel, expense, and invoice management solutions and the corporate credit
card is supported by MasterCard.
About HDFC(Housing Development Finance Corporation):
Founded- 1994
Managing Director- Aditya Puri
Tagline- We Understand your World
SAP Concur India:
Founded- 1999
Managing Director (MD)- Mankiran Chowhan
Mastercard south Asia
President- Porush Singh
Kotak Mahindra Bank gets RBI’s approval for reducing the promoter’s stake to 26%
On February 19, 2020, Kotak Mahindra Bank,an Indian private sector bank has received final approval from
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to reduce the promoter’s stake to 26 %.
Key Points:
i.Earlier on January 30, the bank had conveyed in-principle approval of the RBI to reduce the promoters’ stake
to 26 % of the paid-up voting equity share capital (PUVESC) within 6 months of the final approval.
RBI had asked the bank to reduce the stake of the promoters to 20 % of the paid-up share capital by 31 March
2018 and 15 % by 31 March 2020.
ii.Along with this, the bank is moving towards bringing back the case filed against RBI in the Bombay High
Court (HC) for reducing the stake of promoters.
iii.Background: Uday Kotak, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Kotak Mahindra
Bank, is also the promoter. It is noteworthy that in August 2018, the bank proposed to issue preferential shares
to reduce promoter’s stake to 19.70%, which was rejected by RBI. The bank then challenged the RBI decision in
the Bombay High Court (HC).
iv.According to RBI’s regulations related to bank licensing, promoters of private sector banks have to reduce
their shareholding to 40 % within 3 years. Under this rule, shareholding has to be brought down to 20 % within
10 years and 15 % within 15 years.
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About Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd:

Founded– February 2003
Founder– Uday Kotak
Tagline– Let’s Make Money Simple.
Women entrepreneurship can create 170 million jobs: ‘Women Entrepreneurship in India—
Powering the economy’ report
In accordance with the report titled ‘Women Entrepreneurship in India – Powering the economy with her’
by Bain & Company and Google, Indian women entrepreneurs can generate transformational employment in
India with 150–170 million job opportunities, which is more than 25% of the new jobs required for the entire
working age population by 2030. The lead author of the report was Meghna Chawla, a Bain & Company
partner.
• The report is based on responses from more than 60 female entrepreneurs and a granular survey
with more than 1,100 women across rural, semi-urban and urban India.
Key Points:
-The report identifies six dominant segments of female entrepreneurs and estimates India to have 13.5–15.7
million enterprises owned by women, representing about 20% of all enterprises.
-Of all women-owned enterprises, a majority are singleperson enterprises, with the largest group represented
by rural non-farm home-based business owners at 38%, followed by urban self-employed solopreneurs at 31%,
who usually work from home.
-The other dominant segments include rural agripreneurs who are farm-based business owners at 18% and
small business owners at 14%. Finally, there are the scalers, who employ more than 10 people and account for
less than 1%. In total, these female entrepreneurs provide direct employment to an estimated 22-27 million
people
-The report projects an opportunity to accelerate both quantity and quality of entrepreneurship to create over
30 million women-owned enterprises out of which 12 million can create employment.
About Bain and Company
Establishment- 1973
Headquarters- Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Worldwide Managing Partner- Manny Maceda
Former FICCI president & Executive Chairman of KCP Group V L Dutt passed away at 82
On February 18, 2020 Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt, former FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce & Industry) President & Executive Chairman of KCP Group passed away at the age of 82 in Chennai,
Tamil Nadu. Dutt was born on December 27, 1937 and was educated in London.
Key Points:
i.About V L Dutt: Dr. Dutt served as the past president of All India Organisation of Employers, ICC India, Indian
Sugar Mills Association, Cement Manufacturers Association & Andhra Chamber of Commerce. He also served as
the past vice-chairman of ICC’s (International Chamber of Commerce) Commission on International Trade and
Investment Policy, Paris.
ii.He also served on the boards of various public sector companies such as Air India Limited (Ltd), Indian
Airlines Ltd., DCM Shriram Industries Ltd., Salora International Ltd.
iii.Awards & honours: He was awarded honorary degree of Doctor by Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh
(AP), for his contribution in the areas of education, industry, rural development & medical care.He was the
honorary Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Chennai for TN, Kerala, Karnataka, AP and Puducherry.
iv.Dr. Dutt was awarded the Medal of Friendship by Mr. Tran Dai Quang, President of the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, in 2017.
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Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Delhi, tops in Nature Ranking Index 2020
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) ranked first in the Nature Ranking Index 2020. All the
institutions are ranked on the basis of total research output from december 01, 2018 to 30th November , 2019.
Numbers in research output
Numbers in research output are designated by total citations in numbers and shares which indicates the
sharing percentage per article.
Subjects related with research
• Earth and Environmental Science
• Physical Science
• Chemistry
• Life Science
Rank, Share & Count
Rank Institution Count Share Percentage (SP)
1 Council of Scientific and industrial Research(CSIR) 142 87.74
2 Indian Institute of science (IISC) 211 83.61
3 Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) 232 62.18
Ideas given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
To research on topics like 5G, artificial intelligence, water conservation, malnutrition, use science and
technology for betterment of farmers and manufacture of low cost and durable batteries for renewable energy
storage.
Gist of CSIR
It consists of 4600 scientists, 38 laboratories and about 8000 scientific and technical personnel across the
country. On a yearly average it files about 200 Indian patents and 250 foreign patents.
About CSIR
Director General- Dr Shekhar Mande
President- Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi
Location- New Delhi
SBI Card join hands with Landmark group to launch 3 new retail co-branded credit cards
On February 20, 2020, SBI (State Bank of India) Cards & Payments Services Ltd( previously known as SBI
Cards and Payment Services Private Limited), a payment solutions provider in India, has entered into the
partnership with Landmark Group, one of the largest retail and hospitality organizations, to launch 3 new
retail co-branded credit cards namely Lifestyle Home Centre SBI Card, Max SBI Card and Spar SBI Card —
with 4 Landmark Group brands – Lifestyle, Home Centre, Max and Spar .
Key Points:
i.The co-branded cards are available in three variants. It includes, Base, SELECT and PRIME and cater to the
needs of consumers ranging from Value for Money to Premium and Super Premium.
ii.Cardholders of any of the above said cards can enjoy the same benefits across all participating Landmark
brands. In this way, they can get many other benefits along with saving in many categories through the same
card.
iii.From all variants, customers can earn SBI Card reward Points that can be redeemed across all brands of
Landmark in India thereby rewarding loyal customers.
About SBI card:
Founded– 1998
Headquarters– Gurgaon, Haryana
CEO– Hardayal Prasad
It has a credit card customer base of over 9 million.
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About Landmark Group:

Founded– 1973
Headquarters– Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
In 1999, the Landmark Group entered India, to revolutionize retailing in the country. It now operates more
than 350 stores in India and employs more than 15,000 people in the business of Lifestyle, Home, CentreMax
Hypermarkets,Citymax Citymax (a hospitality division).
RBI appointed Sunil Gurbaxani as Dhanlaxmi Bank MD & CEO

On February 20, 2020 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Sunil Gurbaxani as MD (Managing Director) and
CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Dhanlaxmi Bank for a period of 3 years. Sunil was the successor of T.Latha.
Key Points:
i.Sunil Gurbaxani served as the Executive Vice President of Axis Bank.
ii.Dhanlaxmi bank was removed from the RBI PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) framework, as the bank is found
to be not breaching any of the risk thresholds of the framework.
iii.During the end of the third quarter in December 2019, the bank reported a 26% rise in a net profit to Rs
21.28 crore & registered a net profit of Rs 16.90 crore during the year 2019.
iv.Total income of the bank raised to Rs 285.85 crore from Rs 272.16 crore in October to December 2018-19.
About Dhanlaxmi Bank:
Headquarters- Thrissur, Kerala.
Tagline- Tann.Mann.Dhan.
Chairman- Mr. Sajeev Krishnan.
RBI unveils 5 year National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI): 2019-2024
In order to promote financial literacy among customers and to provide access to formal financial services in an
affordable manner, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a National Strategy for Financial Inclusion
(NSFI) 2019-24. The strategy has been prepared by Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC) of the
RBI in consultation with the Centre, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (IRDAI), and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India
(PFRDA).
• NSFI has been finalized and approved by the Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC).
The document was formally released by Mahesh Kumar Jain, Deputy Governor, RBI at the High
Level Meeting on Financial Inclusion for the North East region convened at Agartala, Tripura.
Here are the key recommendations:
-There should be universal access to financial services wherein every village should have access to a formal
financial services provider within a 5-km radius.
-The banking outlets of commercial banks to be increased to provide easy and hassle-free digital process.
-The strengthening of digital financial services in all tier-II to tier-VI centres is required to facilitate a less-cash
society by March 2022.
-Every eligible adult should be provided with basic financial services like savings account, credit, micro-life and
non-life insurance products, pension product, and a suitable investment product.
-By March 2020, every adult enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) should be
enrolled under an insurance scheme and pension scheme.
-The Public Credit Registry(PCR) has to be made fully operational by March 2022.
-The committee has recommended new entrants to the financial system. The entrants should be given the
relevant information regarding government livelihood programmes to help them augment their skills.
-Customers have to be made aware of the recourses available for grievance resolution through customer
grievance portal or mobile application, by March 2021.
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Securities market regulator SEBI redefines ‘pledge’ to protect client securities

On February 17, 2020, Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) ,the regulator for the securities market
in India, has amended the SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations,2018 by including an extra
explanation that states that ‘pledge’ would also refer to ‘re-pledge of securities for margin or settlement
obligations.’ The decision was approved by the SEBI Board meet in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Key Points:
i.Changes:With this SEBI’s amendment, now the depository will have the liability of the bonafide pledge ,which
is created from the margin account of a stock broker
ii.Benefit: This move will reduce the instances where stock brokers misuse client securities by pledging such
shares for their own benefit in terms of meeting their margin requirements.
iii.Background: It is being seen the brokers pledge shares without telling owner.In the recent past, the Karvy
Stock Broking Limited, Hyderabad (Telangana) pledged shares of customers & took loan from firms such as
Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank & owners of the share were not aware of it.
Pledged share: It means taking loan against the shares one holds. It can be done by both investors and
promoters.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Formed– April 12, 1988
Sweden’s Riksbank begun testing world’s 1st digital version of currency, e-krona
On February 2020, Sveriges Riksbank (or simply the Riksbank), the central bank of Sweden, had begun
testing its digital version of currency, e-krona. If this year-long pilot project successful, this would lead to the
creation of world’s 1st central bank digital currency(CBDC).
Key Points:
i.The pilot project, will be in operation for one year, until February 2021, will use distributed ledger technology
inspired by the blockchains that operates cryptocurrencies.
ii.The digital currency e-krona will be used to simulate day-to-day banking functions like payments from a
digital wallet such as a mobile phone application.
About Sveriges Riksbank:
Headquarters– Stockholm, Sweden
Established– 1668
Governor– Stefan Ingves
Currency– Swedish krona
India’s GDP growth to be 4.9% in 2019-20: NCAER

On February 21, 2020, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER),a New Delhi based non-
profit think tank of economics, has estimated India’s economic growth rate to be 4.9 % for the current
Financial year-FY 2019-20, which is lower than the 5 % estimation by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Key Points:
i.At the same time, NCAER has expressed the hope that in the year 2020-21, the country’s growth rate can be up
to 5.6%.
ii.In the quarterly review of the economy, the institute has predicted the growth rate could be 4.9 % in the third
quarter of the current financial year (Q3: 2019-20) and it is expected to increase to 5.1 % in the fourth quarter
(Q4: 2019-20).
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iii.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also predicted a growth rate of 5% for 2019-20.
iv.Food inflation will come down: As per NCAER, due to monsoon and subsequent good rains, the water
reserves in the major water sources of the country have increased, due to which the prospects of the
agricultural sector are looking good. So,this year agricultural production is estimated to be better than in 2019.
About National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER):
Founded– 1956
President– Nandan M Nilekani
Dharampal Satyapal Limited won Best In-House direct tax Team of the Year award in BRICS
CCI’s 2nd edition of Annual Direct Tax Summit & Awards 2020
On February 21,2020 in New Delhi BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI) organised the 2nd edition
of Annual Direct Tax Summit & Awards 2020 in union with Achromic Point an international consulting firm.The
Award aimed to resolve the issues related to direct tax and its implications. Dharampal Satyapal Limited won
the award for Best In-house Direct Tax Team of the year.
Key Highlights
i.The key topics discussed includes key amendments vide Budget 2020, India’s tax litigation scenario and way
forward, penalty and prosecution provisions under Income tax law, India’s take on taxation of digital economy,
cross border investments, structuring and transactions (key provisions), Black Money Act, Benami Law and
Money Laundering laws – Government tightening the rope.
ii.The knowledge partner of the event is Aourakii Legal, Litigation partner is Chilana & Chilana Law Offices and
Corporate partners were The Corporate Partners.
About BRICS:
Headquarter– Shanghai, China
Members– Brazil, Russia, India, China, South africa
Formation– 2009
Odisha government presented Rs 1.5 Lakh crore paperless budget 2020-21

On February 18,2020 Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik
presented the annual budget 2020-21 for Rs 1.5 Lakh crore, in 2019-20 for Rs 1.39 lakh crore.
Key points:-
i.The Odisha government has switched to a paperless budget for the first time and is the second state in India
after Himachal Pradesh.
ii.The budget is termed as ‘Green Budget’, an initiative under 5T action plan to reduce printing of 75Lakhs
pages hence to save around 1000 trees.
Budget Allocation
• Rs 65,655 crore for administrative expenditure.
• Rs 74000 crore for Programme expenditure.
• Rs 3200 crore for disaster response fund.
• Rs 7145 crore for transfers from state.
The budget includes 12 crore for water conservation over 5 years, Rs 7700 crore for the health sector, Rs
19408 crore for agriculture, Rs 3195 crore for KALIA scheme, Rs 12,000 for construction of in stream storage
structure in all major rivers.
Key Highlights
i.To increase the income of farmers ‘Samruddha Krishi Niti-2020’ has been proposed.
ii.Odisha is the 1st state to introduce the Nutrition budget, Strategic budget and Climate code budget while
presenting the budget 2020-21.
iii.Budget outlay to be financed through revenue receipt of Rs 1,24,300 crore, borrowing and other receipt of
Rs 25,700 crore.
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iv.The fiscal deficit estimated to be 3% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)

v.The capital outlay is Rs 26,513 crore that is 4.5% of GSDP.
vi.When compared to the national average of 6.9% the Odisha Government remains 8% for the last 7
years.Niranjan Pujari said that Odisha’s growth rate is expected to be 7-7.5 per cent in FY 20-21. Last fiscal, the
growth rate was at 6.16 per cent.
About Odisha:
Capital– Bhubaneswar
Governor– Ganeshi Lal
Chief Minister– Naveen Patnaik
Centre paid Rs 50,850 crore to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
scheme
On February 24, 2020 the centre has stated that it has paid Rs 50,850 crore to farmers under Pradhan
Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme from the total budget of Rs.75,000 crore allocated for current
Financial Year for the PM-KISAN scheme. The date also marked the 1st Anniversary of PM- KISAN scheme,
which was launched on February 24,2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
The scheme is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The objective of the scheme is to enable
farmers to meet farm input cost and domestic expenses. The Prime Minister has set the target of doubling
farmers’ income by the year 2022.
Key Points:
i.PM KISAN mobile App launched: Union Ministry of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar launched PM KISAN
mobile application,which is aimed at broadening the reach of the scheme. By using this app farmers can know
their payment status, correct their name besides knowing their eligibility for the scheme and other information.
ii.Under the scheme, Rs 6000 annually is transferred by the centre in 3 equal instalments to the farmers
directly into their bank accounts.
iii.About 14 crore beneficiaries are covered in the scheme, based on Agriculture Census 2015-16 estimates.
8.46 crore families are benefited as on February 20, 2020.
iv.Initially the scheme was applicable to the families holding cultivable land up to 2 hectares, later the scheme
covered all farmer families.
v.Instalments are paid on the basis of Aadhar authenticated bank data from December 1, 2019.
Saudi Arabia,1st Arab Nation that hosts G20 finance ministers and central bank governors
meeting 2020 from Feb 22-23
The G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 22-23
February 2020 on the theme “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”. The meet was chaired by
the Saudi Arabia’s finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan and central bank governor Ahmed al-Kholifey.
Key Points:
i.The objective of the meet was to enhance economic growth through financial mechanisms and to discuss the
risks from the coronavirus epidemic.
ii.It should be noted that Saudi Arabia is the first Arab nation to hold the G20 presidency and will hold the
fifteenth meeting of Group of Twenty (G20) i.e. G20 Leaders Summit 2020 from 21-22 November 2020, in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
About G20 countries:
• The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the EU.
• The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia,
Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK
and the US.
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Central Excise Day was observed on feb 24, 2020

Central Excise Day was celebrated every year on February 24 across India to encourage the employees of the
excise department to carry out the central excise duty in a better way and to prevent corruption. The Central
Excise Day is celebrated to commemorate the Central Excise and Salt Act, which was enacted on February 24,
1944.
Key Points:
i.Numerous programs, seminars, workshops were conducted to spread awareness among the buyers and the
sellers regarding the new exercise rules and regulations for easy implementations & maximum benefit.
ii.In India, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is responsible for administering Customs,
Central Excise, Service Tax, Goods and Service Tax (GST), and Narcotics in India.
iii.Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) was renamed as Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs
(CBIC), which functions under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance.
Haryana tops in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payouts rating for 2019-20; West Bengal worst
On February 22, 2020, According to the recent ratings regarding Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payouts,
prepared for the 1st time by the Central Government, Small state Haryana has emerged as the best state in DBT
payouts (Rs.4782 crore in over 4 crore transactions) in 2019-20.It was followed by Uttarakhand at 2nd position
with the DBT payout of Rs.1060 cr. While, West Bengal has emerged as the worst performer in DBT payouts
(8793 cr through 5 crore transactions) and ranked 36th position. The rating, which ranked 36 states and UTs
(Union Territories) according to DBT payouts compared to their population.
Key Points:
i.The UTs of J&K & Ladakh altogether get 8th rank & reported DBT payouts worth Rs 1,190 crore through over
80 lakh transactions.
ii.As per the central Government, it supported around Rs 28,700 crore in the first 9 months in 2019-20, by
transferring a stock of subsidies directly into the beneficiaries bank accounts.Due to the DBT-linked public
distribution system (PDS),a total of Rs 19,263 crore of these savings till end-December 2019 have collected.
iii.After the abrogation of Article 370 from J&K,the Centre was working at expanding the DBT framework in
terms of a wider coverage of beneficiaries and extending the number of central schemes applicable to the
erstwhile state in September 2019, to ensure subsidies reach the people without fail.
Till then by August 2019, the DBT payout in J&K in 2019-20 recorded at just Rs 44 crore.
DBT performance ranking 2019-20:
Rank State DBT payout
1 Haryana Rs.4782 crore
2 Uttarakhand Rs. 1060 cr
36th West Bengal Rs. 8793 cr
About DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer)scheme:
It was launched by Government of India to transfer the benefits and subsidies of various social welfare
schemes,under which it covers as many as 439 schemes run by 56 ministries and departments. In the present
financial year 2019-20,more than Rs 2.25 lakh crore has been paid out in the country.
1 in 3 payments for maternity benefit scheme ‘PMMVY’ credited to wrong account: NITI Aayog
report
On February 23, 2020, According to “Transforming Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyan”, a 2nd progress
report on Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan (Nutrition
Mission) until September 2019, released by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog,
worryingly 1 in 3 of Aadhaar-based payments for Centre’s maternity benefit scheme/ Pradhan Mantri
Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) was credited to a wrong bank account. As per the report, 28% of 31.29
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lakh of all Aadhaar-based payments are going to different bank accounts than what had been provided by the
beneficiaries.
Key Points:
i.As per the data gathered until March 31, 2019, the report notes that 66% of the direct benefit transfers for the
PMMVY were based on Aadhaar.
ii.According to a telephone survey of 5,525 beneficiaries, undertaken by the Ministry of Women and Child
Development (WCD), showed that just 60% of beneficiaries under the scheme were aware of the receipt of the
benefits and the bank accounts to which the money was remitted.
iii.Background: There have been records of long term delays with some beneficiaries having to wait for 2
years period to get the benefit. They also facing problems in filling up the 32-page application form and
providing nine identity documents.
iv.Ranking of the states:
The report also ranked states & Union Territories to measure their readiness to execute the programme across
4 themes: governance and institutional mechanism; strategy and planning; service delivery and capacities; and
programme activities and intervention coverage. The States were classified into large and small categories for a
better comparison.
Among the 19 large States, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh scored the top 3 ranks with the
scheme implementation score of over 70%. While, Among the 8 small States, Mizoram and Sikkim scored above
75%. Similarly, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, and Daman and Diu scored above 75% & got top 3 spot
among 7 Union Territories list.
Top 3 states in the ranking
Rank Large States (19) Small States (8) Union Territories (7)
1 Andhra Pradesh Mizoram Dadra and Nagar Haveli
2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh
3 Madhya Pradesh Nagaland Daman and Diu
Bottom 3 states in the ranking
Karnataka- 17th Tripura-6th Andaman and Nicobar Islands-5th
Assam-18th Manipur-7th Delhi-6th
Kerala -19th Goa-8th Lakshadweep-7th
v.Way forward: The report stressed to simplify the documentation and operational rules to avoid delays in
money transfer & also proposed to rationalize the mandatory waiting period of 180 days before the second
installment is released as well as the compulsory birth certificate for the release of the 3rd installment.
About PMMVY:
It is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from
1st January, 2017.
Under this, pregnant women and lactating mothers get ₹5,000 for their 1st child in 3 instalments (of Rs1,000,
Rs2,000 and Rs2,000) on fulfilling some conditions including early registration of pregnancy, Ante-natal check-
up, and Registration of the birth of the child and completion of first cycle of vaccination for the first living child
of the family.
The amount is meant to compensate women for the loss of wages and is aimed at ensuring a healthy nutritional
development of the newborn baby.
NABARD grants Rs 400.64 cr for UT of J&K to boost infrastructure

On February 25, 2020, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD),an Apex
Development Financial Institution in India, has granted a sum of Rs 400.64 crore to the Union Territory (UT)
of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K). The amount has been sanctioned under its ‘Rural Infrastructure Development
Fund (RIDF) – Trench XXV’for boosting rural infrastructure during the current financial year-FY(2019-20).
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Key Points:
i.Benefit: Out of the total amount, Rs. 209.87 crore will be provided for the construction of 82 rural roads
length of 291 kms & 3 bridges. This will benefit 9.15 lakh people in 19 districts of UT of J&K & they get all
weather improved connectivity to 461 remote villages. An outlay of Rs.143.66 crore rupees has been approved
for implementation of 38 water supply schemes, which will benefit over 3.54 lakh people across 86 villages in
17 districts of UT of J&K. Also, an amount of 47.11 crore rupees will be provided to improve the Animal and
Sheep Husbandry sectors of the UT.
About National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD):
Formation– July 12, 1982
Chairman– Dr. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
Microsoft, SBI join hands to train differently-abled for employment in BFSI sector
On February 24, global tech giant Microsoft has collaborated with the Centre run State Bank of India (SBI) to
train differently-abled people to find jobs in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. In
the first year of partnership 500 differently-abled youths will be upskilled.
Key Point:
i. As a part of this partnership, SBI Foundation and Microsoft will develop an artificial intelligence powered
market so that BFSI industry can connect more easily with differently-abled people for employment
opportunities.
About Microsoft:
Headquarters– Redmond, Washington, United States (US)
Founders– Bill Gates & Paul Allen
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Satya Nadella
Microsoft India President– Anant Maheswari
About SBI:
Formed– July 1955 as SBI
Headquarter– Mumabi, Maharashtra
Chairman– Rajnish Kumar
Digital banking platform– Yono
Tagline– The Banker to Every Indian
CCI approves NTPC to acquire 100% of the issued & paid-up share capital of NEEPCO & 74.5%
stake of THDC India
On February 24,2020 the Competition commision of India(CCI) has given approval to state owned NTPC
under Section 31(1)of the competition act,2002 to acquire 100% of the issued and paid-up share capital of
North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) & 74.5% stake of Tehri Hydro development Corporation
limited (THDC), the rest 25.5% stake to be held by Uttar Pradesh government.
Highlights
i.NTPC to spend close to Rs 15,000 crore to buy NEEPCO & THDC.
ii.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in November 2019 stated that the government will sell the stake of
THDC India and NEEPCO to NTPC LTd.
iii.NTPC’s main business activity is electric power generation through coal based thermal power plants, it also
generates electricity from hydro and renewable energy sources.
About NTPC LTD:
NTPC is previously known as National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd.,
Headquarter– New Delhi, India
Chairman & MD– Gurdeep Singh
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About NEEPCO:
Headquarter– Shillong,Meghalaya,India
Chairman & MD– Shri Vinod Kumar Singh
About THDC:
Headquarter– Rishikesh,Uttarakhand,India
Chairman & MD– Shri Dhirendra Veer Singh
India is 5th most polluted country with Ghaziabad as the most polluted city, globally: IQAir
AirVisual Report
In accordance with the “2019 World Air Quality Report-Region & City PM2.5 Ranking” compiled by IQAir
AirVisual, India ranked 5th as the most polluted country in the world and topped in an annual list of
cities with the worst air quality in the world. The report has been prepared by monitoring the real time data to
tackle the urgent issue of air pollution.
• Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted country for PM2.5 exposure. It is followed
by Pakistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and India at 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th place respectively.
• Of the world’s top 30 most polluted cities during 2019, 21 are located in India, 27 in South Asia, and
all the top 30 cities are within greater Asia. Ghaziabad, India is the most polluted city in the world.
• Bahamas ranked 98th as the cleanest country with an average of 3 µg/m³.
• World most Polluted Countries 2019 (PM2.5): India – 5th Rank
• World most Polluted Cities 2019 (PM2.5): Ghaziabad, India – 1st Rank
• World Most Polluted Capital Cities 2019 (PM2.5): Delhi, India – 1st Rank
Reason behind this report:
IQAir strives to raise awareness of air pollution, allowing people to take action to improve air quality and
protect their health.
Key Points:
i.Air Pollution estimated to contribute toward 7 million premature deaths a year, while 92% of the world’s
population are estimated to breathe toxic air quality (WHO, 2016).
ii.In less developed countries, 98% of children under five breathe toxic air. As a result, air pollution is the main
cause of death for children under the age of 15, killing 600,000 every year (WHO, 2018).
iii.In financial terms, premature deaths due to air pollution cost about $5 trillion in welfare losses worldwide
(The World Bank, 2016).
What is PM2.5?
This focus of the report is PM2.5 concentrations- a pollutant measuring up to 2.5 microns in size, widely
regarded as most harmful to human health. The microscopic size allows the particles to enter the blood
stream via the respiratory system, causing far-reaching health effects, including asthma, lung cancer and heart
disease.
Let’s go through the top 5 rankings under different categories of report in tabular format.
World most Polluted Countries 2019 (PM2.5)
Rank Country Average PM2.5 concentration (µg/m³)
1 Bangladesh 83.3
2 Pakistan 65.8
3 Mongolia 62
4 Afghanistan 58.8
5 India 58.1
98 Bahamas 3.3
Click here to read the full list of World most Polluted Countries 2019 (PM2.5)
World most Polluted Cities 2019 (PM2.5)
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1 Ghaziabad, India 110.2
2 Hotan, China 110.1
3 Gujranwala, Pakistan 105.3
4 Faisalabad, Pakistan 104.6
5 Delhi, India 98.6
4661 Nassau, Bahamas 3.3
World Most Polluted Capital Cities 2019 (PM2.5)
1 Delhi, India 98.6
2 Dhaka, Bangladesh 83.3
3 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 62
4 Kabul, Afghanistan 58.8
5 Jakarta, Indonesia 49.4
Story of India:
Progress:
-2019 marked the launch of India’s first National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to tackle air pollution. It aims
to reduce PM2.5 and PM10 air pollution in 102 cities by 20-30% by 2024 compared to 2017 levels.
-In July 2019, India additionally joined the UN’s Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) as the 65th member to
collaborate with global leaders on air pollution solutions.
-Every city in India with PM2.5 data in 2018 and 2019, except for Nagpur, Maharashtra saw a decrease in
PM2.5 levels in 2019.
-On the whole, air pollution in India decreased by 20% in 2019 from 2018, with 98% of cities experiencing
improvements though on average, India exceed the World Health Organisation (WHO) target for annual PM2.5
exposure by 500%.
Challenges:
-Despite improvements, India still faces serious air pollution challenges.
-Report’s ranking of annual PM2.5 levels by city showed half of the 50 most polluted cities being in India.
–No Indian cities included in this report met the WHO target for annual pollution exposure (10ug/m3) during
2019.
About IQAir AirVisual:
IQAir AirVisual is a global air quality information platform operated by the IQAir Group. By aggregating and
validating air quality data from governments, private individuals and non-governmental organizations, IQAir
AirVisual aims to provide global and hyper-local air quality information that allows individuals, organizations
and governments to take steps that improve air quality in communities, cities and countries all over the world.
Digital payments rising sharply but cash remains the king;CIC increased 10.2% over the past 5
years despite growing digitization: RBI Report
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) study titled “Assessment of the progress of digitisation from
cash to electronic” cash payments are still the essence of transactions but digital payment are also increasing
rapidly. The parameters used for this assessment are the value of Currency in Circulation (CIC) versus Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), and the value of ATM withdrawals that take place across the country.
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Key Points:
-The CIC across the country increased at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.2% over the past 5
years, i.e., between the financial years (FY) 2014-15 and 2018-19.
-The notes in circulation– NIC (CIC minus coins in circulation) increased at an average rate of 14% between
October 2014 and October 2016.
-India’s CIC levels reduced in 2018 as compared to 2014, other countries, with the exception of Argentina,
China, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, Sweden and Turkey, had increasing cash levels.
-The cash withdrawals from ATMs increased over the past 5 years. India is next only to China in terms of the
cash withdrawals from ATMs.
-The number of deposit accounts has grown to 217.40 crore as at end March 2019. As on October 30, 2019
there were 37.36 crore Basic Savings Bank Deposit (BSBD) accounts. The availability of bank accounts plays a
key role in initiating digital payments from / to such accounts… Click here to Read RBI Report
How Indian economy is moving towards digital payments?
i.Due to demonetisation and active growth in the gross domestic product (GDP), the cash in circulation has
decreased as a percentage of GDP to 8.70% in 2016-17. This increased to 10.7% in 2017-18 and to 11.2% in
2018-19. This increase is indicating a shift from cash to digital payments.
ii.NEFT, which drives the retail payments value, operationalised on a 24x7x365 basis (with half-hourly
settlements. Also Immediate Payment Systems (IMPS) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) are also the fast
digital payment instruments.
iii.The value of digital payments to GDP increased from 660% in 2014-15 to 862% in 2018-19.
iv.Overall, the digital payments in the country have witnessed a CAGR of 61% and 19% in terms of volume and
value, respectively over the past 5 years.
AffairsCloud Recommends to use BHIM APP – MAKING INDIA CASHLESS
Why Cash is still ruling?
i.It is being stored as economic asset rather than to make payments.
ii.In rural areas due to lack of facilities like vending machines and bank branches, cash is still used as bedrock
of daily existence.
RBI allows Bandhan Bank to open new branches without prior approval
On February 26, 2020,India’s central Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the ban on Bandhan
Bank & allowed it to open new branches without prior permission. However, the RBI came up with some
regulatory conditions & directed the bank to order about 25 % of the total banking outlets to be opened
in rural areas where banking facilities are not available.
Key Points:
i.Background: Bandhan Bank was banned from opening a new branch on September 28, 2018 on behalf of the
Supreme Court (SC) and the court ordered to freeze the salary of Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, the founder-cum
managing director (MD) of the bank, after not fulfilling the shareholding rules.
ii.As per the RBI Licensing Guideline, Bandhan Financial Holdings Ltd, the bank promoter was to reduce the
company’s share from 82 % to 40 % in 3 years.The deadline for the Bank was August 23,2019 which it failed to
meet.
iii.As part of the agreement, Uday Kotak will now have to cut his stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank by only 4% over
the next six months, against the 15% that the regulator wanted him to reduce by March, but the Reserve Bank
will cap his voting rights—first at 20% till 31 March, which will then drop overnight to 15% even if his actual
shareholding is higher.
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About Bandhan Bank:

Founded– 23 August 2015
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
MD & CEO – Chandra Shekhar Ghosh
Tagline– Aapka Bhala, Sabki Bhalai
IRDAI forms 9-member panel led by Srinivasan to examine the possibility of allowing life
insurers offer indemnity based health policies
On February 25, 2020, After banning life insurers from selling indemnity-based health policies a few years
back in July 2016, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), an autonomous body
tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance,has formed a 9-member committee led by Mr. G.
Srinivasan, Director of National Insurance Academy to examine the possibility of allowing them again and
extant statutory provisions that are applicable in this regard.
Key Points:
i.The committee, co-chaired by Mr MR Kumar, Chairman of LIC of India, will have to submit its
recommendations within 2- months.
ii.The IRDAI (Health Insurance) Regulations 2016 enables Life Insurance firms to provide only the benefit-
based health insurance plans.However, IRDAI gets representations from those firms to allow them to offer
indemnity products also.
iii.Health insurance is a key element which plays an important role in health care and health insurance
premiums have recorded a better CAGR(Compound annual growth rate) of around 20% in the preceding 10
years in India.So, It is in this regard that IRDAI is forming a feasibility study.
iv.The other members of the committee include, Mr M N Sarma (Secretary General of GI Council), S N
Bhattacharya (Secretary General of LI Council), Mr. A V Girija Kumar (CMD of Oriental Insurance), Ms. Vibha
Padalkar (MD & CEO of HDFC Life Insurance), Mr. Ritesh Kumar (MD & CEO of HDFC Ergo General
Insurance),Dr S Prakash (MD of Star Health and Allied Insurance Company), Mrs Jayashree Sridhar (Faculty
Member of NIA, Pune).
About Indemnity-based health plan:
It is a health insurance plan that reimburses the policyholder the cost of medical expenses. These plans will
reimburse the policyholder with the actual amount incurred as expenses during a hospitalisation stay up to the
sum insured under the policy.
About Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India(IRDAI):
Founded– 1999.
Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana.
Chairman– Subhash Chandra Khuntia
ADB raises $118 mn through offshore India rupee linked 10-year bonds
On 25 February 2020, Asian Development Bank (ADB) ,a regional development bank,has secured Rs 850
crore ( about $118 million) from a new issue of offshore Indian rupee-linked 10-year bonds, with the bonds
bearing a semi-annual coupon of 6.15% and priced to yield 6.19%.
Key Points:
i.This is the such 1st maturity secured in Indian rupees since the year 2017, and gives an established yield curve
that starts from 2021 through 2030 with Rs 72.4 billion ($1 billion) of outstanding bonds.
ii.JP Morgan has underwritten the long term bonds, which are denominated in Indian rupees but settled in US
dollars. It also distributed to investors in the Americas (21%) and Europe (79%). By investor type, 28% of the
bonds were placed with banks and 72% with fund managers.
iii.Earlier in 2019, the ADB had issued the local currency bonds in Georgian lari, Indian rupee, Indonesian
rupiah, Kazakhstan tenge, and Philippine peso.
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About Asian Development Bank (ADB):

Motto– Fighting Poverty in Asia and the Pacific
Formation– 19 December 1966
Headquarters– Manila, Philippines
Membership– 68 countries
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Hurun Global Rich List 2020: India ranked 3rd among countries;Jeff Bezos retains 1st rank,
Mukesh Ambani at 9th position
On February 26, 2020 The Hurun Global Rich List 2020 was jointly released by Shanghai-based Hurun
Research Institute and Shenzhen-based Shimao Shenkong International Center. Jeff Bezos retains 1st rank for
the third running year and Mukesh Ambani is positioned at 9th.
Gist of Hurun Global Rich List 2020:
• It is a ranking of US-Dollar billionaires in the world.
• Ranking is based on the wealth calculation as of 31 January 2020.
• It is the 9th year of ranking.
• The Title sponsor of the list is Shimao Shenkong International Center,a real estate development in
Shenzhen.
Key Findings of Hurun Global Rich List 2020:
i.The list ranks 2,816 billionaires from 71 countries and from 2,182 companies.
ii.Total Wealth rises to 16% to US $11.2 trillion, 479 were new to the list & 130 dropped off.
iii.Women made up 15.7% of the list, Alice Walton (Walmart) is the richest woman with US $ 59 Billion and
ranked 12th in the list.
iv.China tops the country’s list with 799 billionaires,US with 626 billionaires at 2nd place & India is spotted 3rd
in list with 137 billionaires(added 39 new faces).
v.4 Indians in total were listed in top 100- Mukesh Ambani in 9th rank, Gautam Adani & Shiv Nadar(& Family)
tie in 68th rank, & Banker Uday Kotak is listed as The World’s Richest self-made banker.
vi.Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal has been named the youngest Indian in the rich list with a networth of $1.1
billion (Rs 7,800 crore).He was World’s 2nd youngest self-made billionaire.Kylie Jenner was the World’s 1st
youngest self-made billionaire.
vii.India’s Richest new erant of 2020 is Jay Chaudhry (Zscalar) ranked 762 with US $3.5 Billion.
Hurun GLobal List 2020:
Wealth
Rank Name in Billion Main company(for wealth) Country
9 Mukesh Ambani USD 67 Reliance India
2476 Ritesh Agarwal USD 1.1 Oravel Stays India
1 Jeff Bezos USD 140 Amazon USA
2 Bernard Arnault USD 107 LVMH France
3 Bill Gates USD 106 Microsoft USA
Michael Miebach named as Mastercard’s new President & CEO, Ajay Banga moves to Executive
Chairman
On February 25, 2020, Mastercard named Michael Miebach as its new President and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO). He will replace Ajaypal Singh Banga, who assumes charge as Executive Chairman of the Board of
Directors.
Key points:
i.Miebach currently serving as the Chief Product Officer(CPO) in Mastercard and will become the President
from March 1, 2020. He will also assume charge as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors from January 1,
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2021.
ii.Ajay Banga, who assumes charge as the new Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors from January 1,
2021 will replace Richard Haythornthwaite who is going to retire.
About Mastercard:
Headquarters- New York, United States (Global Headquarters in Purchase)
RBI introduced 12 indicators for calculating India’s growth by paper titled “Nowcasting Indian
GDP growth using a Dynamic Factor Model”
On February 25, 2020, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has came up with a new method of calculating India’s
growth through a Working Paper titled “Nowcasting Indian GDP growth using a Dynamic Factor
Model” under the RBI Working Paper Series, introduced in March 2011.The Paper is co-authored by Soumya
Bhadury, Saurabh Ghosh and Pankaj Kumar. The paper introduces the Dynamic Factor Model of calculating
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), using 12 indicators.
How 12 indicators represent key sectors?
i.Industry and construction block is represented through Index of industrial production (IIP)-core industries.
ii.Personal income and consumption block is represented by indicators such as IIP-consumer goods and
auto sales.
iii.External sector block is represented through Exports, non-oil and non-gold imports and foreign tourist
arrivals.
iv.Rail freight, air cargo and government revenue receipts represent services and miscellaneous economic
activity, respectively.
Here are the 12 indicators:
• Index of industrial production (IIP) –consumer goods
• IIP- core sectors
• Automobile sales
• Non-oil non-gold imports
• Exports
• Rail freight
• Air cargo
• Foreign tourist inflows
• Government tax receipts
• Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER)
• Sensex
• Bank Credit
It should be noted that the above indicators are similar but not the same as the dynamic factor models (DFMs)
of Stock and Watson (1989).
Need of New Indicators:
India’s GDP grew at 5% in the first quarter of FY20, the slowest pace in six years. Also, Nominal GDP growth, a
measure of GDP without adjusting for inflation, rose just 8%, the lowest in the last 7 years, indicating a deep
slowdown. So, in order to tackle this situation and to get more wholesome picture of the state of the economy,
such indicators are required.
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Bharti AXA General Insurance becomes the India’s 1st non-life insurer to use Whatsapp for
deliver policy & renewal documents
On February 26, 2020 Bharti AXA General Insurance becomes the 1st non-life insurer in India to
use Whatsapp chatbot for entire services such as policy documents delivery, renewal notices & claim
intimation for its customers. It will soon start to sell private cars, 2 wheelers & Travel insurance through
Whatsapp.
Features of Whatsapp chatbot
i.It is an Instant Messaging platform to be connected with the policyholders anytime,anywhere.
ii.It is a user- friendly chat structure where the customers could raise requests through numeric inputs, which
reduces the difficulty of the customers.
iii.It provides instant & additional customer service options, & assistance for various queries for the
policyholders other than the company’s multiple channels, which includes its vast network of branches,strong
customer care & contact center & its dynamic portal.
iv.By providing the pin code of the city/town in the chatbot it helps to locate the nearest cashless network of
garages & hospitals.
v.Customers can register motor claims & check claim status & a branch locator feature is also available.
vi.With the use of Whatsapp chatbot the time is reduced from 8-9 minutes for call to immediate & instant
closures.
vii.To initiate Whatsapp support & updates, customers should give a missed call to the company on its specific
number.
About Bharti AXA General:
Headquarter– Mumbai, India
MD & CEO– Sanjeev Srinivasan
Government to include non-scheduled urban, district cooperative banks in 3 schemes for

MSME
On February26, 2020 the Governmentof India(GOI) has decided to include non-scheduled urban & district
central cooperative banks in 3 schemes namely Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small
Enterprises (CGTMSE),Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) & Interest Subvention Scheme to make
easy access to finance for the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises MSME sector.
Key Points:
• The Non Banking Financial Company(NBFCs) has about 13% of share in MSME lending & extends
hassle-free credit to MSME sector, mainly in the remote areas.
• The Insertion of NBFCs ,scheduled and non-scheduled urban cooperative banks and district central
cooperative banks in 3 schemes will spread the outreach & easy access to credit.
• After the insertion the borrower will have the option to choose the lender according to their
convenience & approach which creates uniformity & competitiveness among the lenders in the
financial sector.
Brief on 3 schemes
i.Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE):
On August 30, 2000 the scheme was launched by GOI.The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, GOI
& Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), established a Trust named Credit Guarantee Fund Trust
for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to implement the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and
Small Enterprises. The corpus of CGTMSE is given by GOI and SIDBI. 75% of the loan amount to the bank is
guaranteed by the Trust Fund.
ii.Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS):
In October 2000 the scheme was launched by the GOI for technology upgradation.Scheme provides an upfront
capital subsidy for upgrading technology for new or existing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.The
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Objective is-to provide technologically advanced equipment to MSMEs, enhance latest technology by upgrading
MSMEs plant & machinery & aid in their expansion if needed.
iii.Interest subvention scheme:
With effect from Kharif 2006-07 the policy came into effect . The scheme is introduced by GOI & aims to provide
short term credit to farmers at subsidized interest rate. The interest subvention is given to Public Sector Banks
(PSBs), Private Sector Banks, Cooperative Banks & Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) on use of own funds & to
NABARD for refinance to RRBs & Cooperative Banks.
RBI mandates banks to link all new floating rate loans to medium enterprises with external
benchmark from April 1,2020
On February 26, 2020, In a bid to strengthen monetary policy transmission, India’s central bank, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has ordered banks to link all their new floating rate loans to medium enterprises with
an external benchmark effective from April 1, 2020.
Key Points:
i.The external benchmarks will include Reserve bank’s repo rate, Treasury bill (T-bill) yields of 3 months or 6
months /any other benchmark published by the Financial Benchmark India Private Ltd (FBIL). The banks will
have to reset the external benchmark every 3 months.
ii.The RBI had linked all new floating rate personal / retail loans including housing, auto, etc. & floating rate
loans to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) extended by banks with effect from October 1, 2019, to external
benchmarks.
iii.RBI has cut the repo rate by 135 basis points(bps) since February 2019.
About floating rate loan: It is a loan with a floating interest rate,which means any debt instrument such as
loan, mortgage, credit or bond that does not have a fixed rate of interest.
Finance Minister unveils EASE Roadmap for Banking of the Future EASE 3.0, and PSB EASE
Reforms Annual Report 2019-20
On 26th Feb. 2020 ,Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman had revealed the
following reforms and index on a launching event which organized by Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) at
New Delhi.
1.‘EASE 3.0(Enhanced Access and Service Excellence 3.0)’ – Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda
2020-21 for smart, tech-enabled banking
2.PSB EASE Reforms Annual Report 2019-20
EASE 3.0 and its action reforms: –
PSB Reforms EASE Agenda is a common reform agenda for PSBs aimed at institutionalizing clear and smart
banking. It was launched in January 2018.
Objective of EASE 3.0 :- EASE 3.0 sets the agenda and roadmap for FY21 for their transformation into digital
and data-driven NextGen Banking of the Future India. Finance Minister also insisted Public Sector Banks
(PSBs) to have one to one interface with their customers through leveraging technology.
• She advised the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to make their customers friendly by using the local
language at the bank branch.
Reforms of EASE 3.0: –
• Dial-a-loan: Digitally-enabled doorstep facilitation for initiation for all customer loans.
• Customer-need driven credit offers by larger PSBs to existing customers through analytics.
• Partnerships with FinTechs and E-commerce companies for customer-need driven credit offers .
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• Credit@click: End-to-end digitalised, time-bound retail and MSME lending by larger PSBs,
leveraging Account Aggregators, FinTechs and PSBloansin59minutes.com.
• Cash-flow-based MSME credit by larger PSBs, using FinTech, Account Aggregator and other third-
party data and transactions-based underwriting models.
• Tech-enabled agriculture lendin.
• Palm banking: End-to-end digitalized delivery of financial services in regional languages and with
industry-best service quality.
• EASE Banking Outlets: On-the-spot banking at frequently visited places such as train stations, bus
stands, malls, hospitals, etc. through paperless and digitally-enabled banking outlets and stalls.
Some of the PSBs upcoming plans:-
The following upcoming plans were unveiled by some of an important PSBs during launching function.
i.State Bank of India :-
• Shishu e-Mudraapp-based lending – instant sanction of working capital up to Rs. 50,000 for
existing small business customers and also announced its plan to scale up sanctioning through the
app to Rs.1 lakh in branch-assist mode.
• YONO Krishi – app-based, which enables credit including agricultural gold loan, estimation
and purchase of agricultural inputs, and information needed for agricultural operations.
• SAFAL for pre-approved agricultural loan along with multipurpose insurance cover.
ii.UCO Bank(United Commercial Bank ):-
• It unveiled its plans for customers to obtain via app, portal or call centre, Doorstep Banking
Servicesoffered collectively by PSBs as “PSB Alliance”, for services such as pick-up of cheques
and income-tax exemption certificates and delivery of income-tax challan, drafts and account
statements in major cities across India.
iii.Union Bank of India:-
• It presented a preview of its app for end-to-end digitalized lending to MSMEs of up to Rs. 50
crore.
iv.Bank of Baroda:-
• It showcased its tablet-based Tab Banking services for doorstep account-opening, including in
villages and for migrant laborers in industrial units, and has created capacity for opening about
10,000 accounts per day.
• Also showed a preview of its tab-based doorstep loan application, disbursement and collection
for informal enterprises in partnership with NBFCs, including in rural areas.
v.Syndicate Bank:-
• It presented micro ATM and tablet based doorstep micro-financing of women entrepreneurs.
Performance of EASE Reforms 1.0 and 2.0:-
Public Sector Banks have shown important enhancement in the Action Points of the EASE Reforms Agenda
since its introduction. The improved financial condition of PSBs reflects in many parameters such as
• Gross NPAs(Non-performing asset )reduced from Rs 96 lakh crore(14.6%) in March-2018 to
Rs 7.17 lakh crore (11.3%) in December-2019;
• A sharp decline in fraud occurrence from 65%of advances during FY10-FY14 to 0.20% in FY18-
FY20; due to fraud prevention reforms and proactive checking of legacy NPA
• Record recovery of Rs 2.04 lakh crorein FY19-9MFY20 driven by newly setup dedicated stressed
account management verticals in PSBs that have recovered Rs 1.21 lakh crore in the same period;
• Number of PSBs under Prompt corrective action (PCA) down to four;
• 12 PSBs reporting profits in 9MFY20;
• Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) 340 bpsabove the regulatory minimum; and
• The highest provision coverage ratio of 5%in nearly eight years.
PSB EASE Reforms Annual Report 2019-20 or EASE 2.0 index :-
Index measures the performance of each PSB on 100+ objective metrics across six themes such as
• Responsible Banking
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• Customer Responsiveness
• Credit off-take
• UdyamiMitra for MSMEs
• Deepening FI & Digitalisation
• Governance and HR
Significant progress is seen across six themes of the Reforms Agenda, with the highest improvement seen in the
themes of ‘Responsible Banking’ and ‘PSBs as Udyamimitra for MSMEs’.
Top 3 performing banks in EASE 2.0 index – State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Oriental Bank of
Commerce.
Top 3 banks in improvement from March Baseline – Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bank of Maharashtra and
Syndicate Bank.
Progress in overall and theme wise scores:-
PSBs have shown a good improvement in their performance over three quarters since the launch of EASE 2.0
Reforms Agenda. The overall score of PSBs increased by 35% between March-2019 and December-2019,
with the average EASE index score improving from 49.1 to 66.3 out of 100.
Themes Score in March 2019 Score in December 2019 Improved score in %
Responsible Banking 45.7 68.4 50
Customer Responsiveness 62.1 67.4 9
Credit off-take 48.2 58.5 21
UdyamiMitra for MSMEs 39.3 59.2 51
Deepening FI & Digitalisation 58 69.9 21
Governance and HR 48.5 67 38
The final EASE 2.0 index will be published after declaration of bank results for the financial year.
Participants
Minister of State (MoS) for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur was the guest of honour for the
event. Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar, Secretary Designate cum Special Secretary (Financial
Services) Debashish Panda and Chairman IBA, Rajnish Kumar also attended the event.
About Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) – Representative body of Bank Administration in India, operating in
India.
• Chairman of IBA – State Bank of India’s Chairman Mr. Rajnish Kumar .
• CEO – G. Kannan
Click here to read full coverage.
Finance secretary Rajiv kumar launches ”Baroda Startup Banking” initiative for start-ups in 15
cities
On February 26, 2020, Finance Secretary Shri Rajiv Kumar has inaugurated the ‘Baroda Startup
Banking’ service with the objective of making Bank of Baroda (BoB) a preferred ally of startup companies and
connecting more than 2,000 startups over the next 2- years. The initiative was launched simultaneously in 15
cities across India.
Key Points:
i.A total of 15 Baroda startup branches will be opened under this initiative. It will provide banking products
and services as per the needs of startup companies.
ii.Along with existing banking products, startup companies at these branches have special facilities like current
accounts(CA), state-of-the-art payment gateway facilities, corporate credit cards, Corporate salary account and
loan facility etc. will be made available. It will also help start-ups by way of cloud credits, mentorship, co-
working space, legal/accounting services and other support services.
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About Bank of Baroda(BoB):

Founded– 20 July 1908
Headquarters– Vadodara, Gujarat
MD and CEO– Sanjiv Chadha
Chairman– Hasmukh Adhia
Tagline– India’s International Bank
The bank currently have more than 400 start-ups as its customers.
Capri Global Capital Ltd launched UDAAN new SME lending scheme for Women Entrepreneurs
On February 26,2020, The Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) Capri Global Capital Limited (CGCL) has
launched an SME(Small and medium-sized enterprises) lending product “UDAAN” for women entrepreneurs to
provide secured loans upto Rs.40 lakhs only for Business purpose with the loan repayment period of 10years
to 15 years at a competitive interest rate after conducting due diligence.
Eligibility criteria for UDAAN:
i.Women borrower has to be the primary applicant, within the age group of 18-45 years and must not be more
than 60 years of age at the end of their loan repayment period.
ii.The applicant must be the owner or co-owner of the Enterprises and must be involved in the business activity
for more than 12 months.
iii.In India, the annual requirement for financial support to women-owned enterprises is USD 29.16 billion, but
can meet only USD 9 billion from all the sources of MSME.
iv.To encourage the women borrowers, CGCL has introduced a special offer of EMI waivers at various stages of
the loan who maintains an excellent track record (ETR) for the entire tenure with pre-defined criteria: 3 EMIs
waived off at the end of the third year of the regular payment of EMIs. 5 EMIs waived off at the end of the fifth
year of the regular payment of EMIs. (3+2) 10 EMIs waived off at the end of the tenth year of the regular
payment of EMIs. (5+5).
AboutCapri Global Capital Limited (CGCL):
Managing Director- Rajesh Sharma
DPIIT amended FDI Policy to allow 100% FDI for insurance intermediaries
On February 26, 2020, the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy has been amended by Department for
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to allow 100% FDI for insurance intermediaries, which
includes insurance brooking, insurance companies, third party administrators, surveyors and loss assessors.
The decision has been taken on the lines of last year’s Union budget (2019-2020) which had proposed 100%
FDI for insurance intermediaries. The FDI policy earlier allowed 49% foreign investment in the insurance
sector, which includes insurance intermediaries.
• Insurance intermediaries are brokers or agents who act as an interface between insurance
companies and customers.
Key Points:
i.100% FDI is allowed in insurance intermediaries under automatic approval route. This will enable foreign
brokerage companies to buy stake in Indian companies which led to new insurance products and selling
strategy.
ii.According to the policy, the insurance intermediary with majority shareholding of foreign investors will have
to be incorporated as a limited company under the provisions of the Companies Act 2013.
iii.At least one from among the chairman of the board of directors or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or
principal officer or MD of the company shall be a resident Indian citizen.
iv.Any non-insurance company, for instance, a bank with more than 50% revenue from non-insurance business
will have adhere to respective FDI limit.
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About DPIIT:
It is under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Minister of Commerce and Industry– Piyush Goyal
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry– Hardeep Singh Puri & Som Parkash
Government approves Rs 162 crore under Operation Green Scheme

On February 26,2020 The government approved Rs 162 crore under Operations Green(OG) Scheme which
was announced in 2018-19 budget with an outlay of 500 crore to stable the supply of TOP crops( Tomato,
Onion & Potato) & to confirm their availability throughout the year without price volatility.The scheme works
under Ministry of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI).The aim of the scheme is to enhance TOP Crops value
chain & promote Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs), agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional
management.
Key Points
• Totally 5 projects have been sanctioned under OG scheme with a total cost of Rs 426(425.83) crore
& the grant to be given is Rs 162(161.17) crore.
• The sanctioned 5 projects are-Andhra Pradesh(AP)Food Processing Society(Chittor, Anantapur,AP),
Nedspice Dehydration India (Bhavnagar, Gujarat), Hindustan Agro Co-op Ltd &, Khemanand Dudh &
Krishi Producer Company Ltd (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra), Banaskantha District Coop Milk
Producers Union LTd (Banaskantha, Gujarat).
• The Sanctioned projects will benefit more than 50,000 farmers & create 10,000 jobs, daily
processing capacity of over 3.64 Lakh tonne & storage of over 90,000 will also be created.
Strategies of OG Scheme
There are two strategies which are decided by MoFPI namely;
i.Short term Price Stabilisation Measures
The NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India) is a nodal agency to implement
price stabilisation measures.MoFPI will provide 50% of the subsidy to transportation of TOP Crops from
production to storage & hiring of appropriate storage facilities.The grants- in-aid will be given at the rate of
50% of the eligible project cost in all areas, & eligible to maximum Rs 50 crore per project.
ii.Long Term Integrated value chain development projects
For long term the government will assist in capacity building of Farmer Producer Organisation(FPOs), quality
production, post-harvest processing facilities, agri-logistics, development of markets & creation & management
of e-platform for demand and supply management of TOP crops.
About NAFED:
Headquarter– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Dr. Bijender Singh
NCAER releases India’s 1st NCAER land records and services index 2020: MP emerges as top
performer, Ladakh at bottom
On February 27, 2020, According to the 1st edition of NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI
2019-20) released by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) , Madhya Pradesh
(MP) emerged as the best performing state in terms of digitising land records with the score of 74.9.It
was followed by Odisha (67.5points) and Maharashtra (65.3 points). While Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh
ranked at bottom at 33rd position with a score of 2.0.
Key Points:
i.The Index has been released during a half-day programme held in New Delhi by NCAER under the aegis of the
NCAER Land Policy Initiative (NLPI), supported by the Omidyar Network, India.
ii.The Index ranked 33 states and Union Territories (UT) based on data collected over 2019-20 on 2 tools of the
supply of land records-the extent of digitisation of land records and the quality of these land records.
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The 1st tool aims to ensure all state has made all its land records digitally available to people & oversees 3 main
areas namely-the text of the land records (also called the record of rights), the official map associated with a
land record (also called cadastral maps), and the property registration process.
The 2nd tool aims to ensure all the land records are comprehensive ,reliable and type of land use, land area on
the record and on the map, landlords details are updated as soon as a sale happened, etc.
NCAER Land Record Services Index (N-LRSI) 2019-20 ranking:
State/Union
Rank Score
Territory
1 Madhya Pradesh 74.9
2 Odisha 67.5
3 Maharashtra 65.3
33 rd Ladakh 2
About NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research):
Formation– 1956
It is India’s oldest and largest independent, non-profit, economic policy research institute working on many
sectors, including growth, macro, trade, infrastructure, logistics, labour, urban, agriculture and rural
development, human development, poverty, and consumers.
Govt approved 32 projects under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)
On February 27, 2020 Government approved a total of 32 projects under ‘unit’ scheme of Pradhan Mantri
Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) [scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro Processing
Clusters] in the meeting of Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) presided over by Union Minister of
Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The project covers about 17 states, leveraging an
investment worth of Rs 406 crores. The projects approved are running across quadrilaterals of the country
covering over 100 agro-climatic zones.
Objective: The main objective of the scheme is creation of processing and preservation capacities &
modernisation of existing food processing units to increase the level of processing and value addition leading to
reduction of wastage.
Key Points:
i.Food processing plays an important role in linking Indian farmers to consumers in the domestic and
international markets.
ii.This project promotes the employment opportunities for around 15,000 people in rural areas.
iii.According to CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) the food sector has emerged high-growth of
approximately 8% over the last 5 years due to immense potential of value addition within the food processing
industry.
iv.The processed food market is expected to grow to $ 543 billion by 2020 from $ 322 billion in 2016, at a CAGR
of 14.6%.
About Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana [PMKSY]:
Ministry of Food Processing Industries [MoFPI] is implementing PMKSY and the period of implementation is
2016-20 with a total outlay of Rs 6000 crore.
The scheme not only boosts the growth of the food processing sector in the country but also doubles the
farmers income and enhancing the export of the processed foods.
The 7 schemes under the PMKSY are:
• Mega Food Parks.
• Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure.
• Creation/Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (unit schemes)
• Infrastructure for Agro-processing clusters
• Creation of forward and backward linkages
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• Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure

• Human Resources and Institutions
The scheme expected to leverage investment of Rs. 31,400 crore for handling of 334 lakh MT (metric ton) agro
product valued at Rs. 1,04,125 crore benefiting 20 lakh farmers and generating 5,30,500 direct & indirect
employment in the country by the year 2019-20.
HDFC bank ties-up with IndiGo to launch co-branded credit card ‘Ka-ching, powered by
Mastercard
On February 27, 2020, HDFC(Housing Development Finance Corporation) bank,an Indian banking and
financial services company, has entered into a partnership with IndiGo airlines to launch its first travel credit
card named ‘Ka-ching’- powered by Mastercard.
Key Points:
i.The co-branded cards are available in 2 variants. It includes basic ‘6E Rewards’ and the premium card ‘6E
Rewards XL’ & annual membership fee of ‘6E Rewards’ will be Rs 750 while that of ‘6E Rewards XL’ will be Rs
3,000.
ii.The credit card customers can get complimentary air tickets on activation worth between Rs 1,500 and Rs
3,000 as per the variant, 14 travel and lifestyle benefits which include cashback of 5 % or reward points on
Indigo bookings, and 3 % on dining, grocery, entertainment.They can also enjoy rich travel experience with
varied benefits and unmatched rewards on domestic / international travel.
About HDFC(Housing Development Finance Corporation):
Managing Director– Aditya Puri
Country Head, Payment Solutions and Marketing– Parag Rao
Tagline– We understand your world.
About IndiGo airlines:
Founded– 2005
Headquarters– Gurugram, Haryana
Whole Time Director & CEO– Mr. Ronojoy Dutta
About Mastercard:
Founded– 1966 (as Interbank Card Association) &1979 (as Mastercard)
Headquarters– New York,U.S.
President & CEO– Michael Miebach (effective from March 1, 2020)
ONGC & HPCL acquires 34.56 % of bankers’ stake in Petronet MHB for Rs 371 crore
On February 27, 2020 State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and its subsidiary Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) acquired 17.28% stake each from 34.56 % of bankers’ stake in
Petronet MHB, the firm that owns a petroleum product pipeline in Mangalore, Karnataka for about Rs 371
crore.
Key Points:
i.A consortium of 8 public sector banks held 34.56 % while HPCL and its subsidiary ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation) presently hold 32.72% stake each in PMHBL.
ii.The acquisition is expected to be completed by March 31, 2020 and the acquisition will promote
opportunities for synergy, better cost economics and revenue maximization.
iii.The share-holding of HPCL in Petronet MHB will be about 49.996 % after acquisition and ONGC owns 51.11
% stake in HPCL.
iv.About Petronet MHB: Petronet MHB limited had a networth of Rs 793.60 crore as of March 31, 2019.
v.Petronet MHB was founded on July 31, 1998 to provide petroleum product transportation facility from
Mangalore refinery to the oil marketing company terminals at Hassan & Devangonthi (Karnataka).
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vi.Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) is also a subsidiary of ONGC. MRPL uses the pipeline of
Petronet MHB for moving fuel.
vii.Petronet MHB had revenue from operation of Rs 128.33 crore in 2016-17, which rose to Rs 130.89 crore in
2017-18 and Rs 158.44 crore in the year 2019-20.
About HPCL:
Chairman & Managing Director (MD)- Shri Mukesh Kumar Surana.
Haryana CM Manohar lal khattar presents Rs 1,42,343-crore budget for 2020-21

On February 28, 2020 ,Haryana Chief Minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar ,who also holds the charge of the
state Finance Ministry,has presented a budget of Rs 1,42,343 crore in the state assembly for 2020-21 for the
1st time.
Key Highlights:
i.The Haryana state’s debt will increase from Rs 1.76 lakh crore in the current financial year-FY (2019-20) to Rs
1.98 lakh crore in 2020-21. The expenditure would increase by 7.7 % to Rs 1,42,343 crore. While, the Revenue
receipts are estimated to increase by 15.96 % to Rs 89,964 crore in 2020-21.
ii.Allocation: The state government has provided Rs 5,474.25 crore for agriculture, Rs 19,343 crore for
education and sports and culture, Rs 6,533 crore for health and medical education, Rs 6,294 crore for rural
development and panchayat, Rs 349 crore for industry and for pension 9,000 crore has been allocated.
iii.Under special category ‘Agriculture Dependent Activities’ ,the farmers have been given relief in electricity
rates as they will be given Rs 4.75 instead of Rs 7.50 per unit.
iv.Allocation of Rs 50 crore for free coaching to soldiers and their dependents, quality education and fellowship
scheme for those doing M Phil and PhD , free coaching for 5,000 EWS students, increment of daily diet
allowance to sports person from Rs 150 to Rs 200, launching Atal Bhujal Yojana in 36 water-scarcity blocks for
water conservation
v.Affordable housing for all by 2022, drinking water connection to all households by 2022 with a total outlay of
Rs 1,926.45 crore, setting up old-age homes,setting up 3 new medical colleges at Yamunanagar, Kaithal and
Sirsa districts.
vi.Some of the new initiatives announced in budget are:
• 28% increase in state’s budget for education sector.
• All colleges in Haryana will be under CCTV coverage.
• Driving licences will be issued to students in their first year of degree course.
• Digital libraries to be opened in rural areas of the state.
• Khattar announces that board examination for class VIII students will be re-started. ROs will be
installed in all government schools of Haryana.
• Haryana govt will open 116 new model schools.
• Govt also plans open English-medium schools in rural areas.
• Government to open 550 new creches.
• Govt announces Rs 50 crore annual grant for Haryana Gau Sewa Ayog.
• Haryana govt to provide sex-sorted semen to ensure female calves on subsidised rates.
About Haryana:
Capital– Chandigarh
Governor– Satyadev Narayan Arya
State Flower– Lotus
State Tree– Peepul
Folk dances– Jhumar, Phag, Daph, Dhamal, Loor, Gugga, Khor, Gagor.
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76% of Jan Dhan account holders have RuPay debit cards: Govt Data
In accordance with the government data, by February 19, 2020, the issuance of RuPay debit cards under the
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) reached an all-time-high of 29.14 crore. The data states that three
out of four Jan Dhan account holders have a RuPay debit card but it is not clear how many use it.
Key Points:
-The PMJDY has 38.13 crore beneficiaries, with total deposits at ₹1,16,152.12 crore.
-Public sector banks (PSBs) are the top issuers of RuPay debit cards, at 24.42 crore, followed by regional rural
banks (RRBs) at 3.57 crore cards, and Private banks handed out 1.15 crore cards.
About Rupay card:
Rupay is a card scheme, conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on 26
March 2012 to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system
of payments.As part of the government’s financial inclusion initiative, every PMJDY account holder is issued a
RuPay debit card which can be used at all ATMs, PoS (point of sale) terminals and e-commerce websites. It
comes with an added personal accident and permanent total disability insurance cover of ₹1 lakh.
Fiscal deficit reached 128.5% of budget estimate at end-January 2020:Govt data

On February 28, 2020, According to the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of Department of Expenditure,
Ministry of Finance, fiscal deficit of the country reached 128.5 % of the estimate for the whole year at the end
of January 2020.The deficit stood at Rs 9,85,472 crore ($137.05 billion).The deficit was 121.5 % of the
revised budget estimate (RBE) for the same period of the previous financial year-FY 2018-19.
Key Points:
i.Expenditure and receipts: According to CGA, the total expenditure till the end of January 2020 was Rs 22.68
lakh crore, which is 84.1 % of the revised estimate. It was 81.5 % in the same period a year ago. While, the net
tax receipts in the April-January period were Rs 9.98 lakh crore.
ii.Fiscal deficit estimated at 3.8 %in the budget: The government has set a budget estimate of Rs 7,66,846
crore for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020. In the budget presented in Parliament earlier in February 2020,
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the fiscal deficit estimate for the current fiscal from 3.3 %to 3.8 %.
The reason for this is stated to be a decrease in revenue collection.
iii.According to the monthly accounting data of the CGA,the revenue receipts stood at Rs 12.5 lakh crore in
April-January. This is 67.6 % of the revised estimate of the current financial year-FY 2019-20 & was 68.3 % of
the revised estimate a year ago. Total receipts for the same period stood at 66.4 % of the revised estimate
compared to 67.5 % in the same period a year ago.
Fiscal Deficit:
It happens when the total expenditure of government is greater than the total revenue generated.
The borrowings of the government are not added in the revenue, but Fiscal deficit indicates government’s
borrowings only.
Hence Fiscal deficit = Total expenditure – Total revenue excluding borrowings
About CGA (Controller General of Accounts (CGA):
CGA,under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, is the Principal Accounting Adviser to
Government of India and is responsible for establishing and maintaining a technically sound Management
Accounting System.
Current CGA– Smt. Soma Roy Burman.
Bengaluru recorded highest number of digital transactions among cities while MH topped
among states in 2019: Report by Worldline India
In accordance with the report by online payment processor Worldline India titled “Wordline India Digital
Payments 2019”, Bengaluru (Karnataka) accounted for the highest number of digital transactions in India in
2019, followed by Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra.
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• Among states, Maharashtra (MH) has topped with the highest number of digital transactions.It is
followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi.
• The most preferred mode of payment was United Payments Interface (UPI). It was followed by
debit cards, immediate payment service (IMPS), and credit cards, in terms of volume share of digital
transactions. UPI is also the fastest payment mode to hit 1 billion monthly transactions.
Key Points:
-In 2019, payment modes recorded a combined transaction volume of over 20 trillion and a combined value of
over Rs54 trillion.
-UPI recorded around 10.8 billion transactions in 2019, a 188% year-on-year (YoY). In terms of value, UPI
facilitated transactions worth Rs 18.36 trillion in 2019, up 214% YoY compared to 2018.
-On the other hand, the transaction value of debit cards stood at Rs 6.8 trillion in 2019 while transaction value
of credit cards stood at Rs7.1 trillion, registering YoY growth of 21% and 33% respectively.
-Number of debit cards transactions at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals stood at 4.9 trillion in 2019, a 16% growth
as compared with previous the year. While the number of credit card transactions at PoS machines stood at 2
trillion in 2019, achieving a 20% YoY growth.
-Merchants in grocery, restaurants, fuel stations, apparel stores, and specialty retail recorded the highest
volume share of transactions in 2019.
About UPI
Established– 2016
Owner– National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
Ajay Tyagi Chairman of SEBI gets 6 month extension

Chairman of Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI)Ajay Tyagi gets a 6 month extension from the
government, whose tenure of 3 years (from 2017) to end on February 29, 2020. He is an Indian Administrative
Officer (IAS) of the Himachal Pradesh Cadre.
i.His chairmanship of SEBI is been extended according to Sub-Section (1)(a) and Sub-Section (4) of Section 4 of
the SEBI Act, 1992 (15 of 1992), read with Rule 3 of the SEBI (Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairman and
Members) Rules, 1992.
ii.His predecessor UK Sinha was also given multiple extensions & remained chairman for 6 years (2011-2017),
even though his appointment period is for 3 years.
iii.The post as SEBI’s Chairman has always been given to bureaucrats,especially IAS officers, except on one
occasion when former LIC chairman GN Bajpai became the chairman in 2002.
iv.The candidates for regulatory top post will be shortlisted by the Financial Sector Regulatory Appointments
Search Committee (FSRASC) & headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
About SEBI:
On April 12, 1992 SEBI was established in accordance with the provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992. Basic function
is to protect the interest of investors in securities, to promote the development of & to regulate the securities
market in India.
Headquarter– Mumbai,India
Chairperson– Mr Ajay Tyagi
Manpreet Singh Badal presented Punjab govt’s 1.54 lakh cr budget for FY20-21
On February 28, 2020, the Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal presented Punjab govt’s Rs ₹1,
54,805 crore budget for financial year 2020-21 in the state assembly. The budget proposed revenue receipts
of Rs 88,004 crore and revenue expenditure of Rs 95,716 crore for fiscal year 2020-21 while revenue deficit for
financial year 2020-21 will be Rs 7,712 crore and the fiscal deficit will be Rs 18,828 crore respectively.
Key Proposals and Allocations:
-The budget earmarked ₹100 crore for giving 10 lakh free smartphones to the youth.
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-The retirement age of state government employees has been reduced from 60 to 58. Those who have turned
59 will retire on March 31 this year and those who are 58 will retire from September 30. The financial outgo on
account of reducing the retirement age would be ₹3,500 crore.
-Apart from above, for the Punjab state govt employees, 6% dearness allowance (DA) was announced along
with the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission recommendations in 2020-21.
-For the education sector, a sum of Rs 13,092 crore allocated with a proposal of free education for all students
in government schools up to Class 12. Currently, education is free for all students up to Class 8 and it is free up
to Class 12 only for girls.
–Free transportation facility for primary schools students will also be provided and for this ₹10
crore earmarked.
-The state government has also proposed a debt waiver to landless farm labourers and Rs 520 crore has been
allocated for the same.
-Rs 4,675 crore earmarked for health sector.
-The fee levied on the sale and purchase of agriculture produce on fruits and vegetables i.e. “mandi fee” will be
reduced from 4% to 1%.
-A proposal to waive Change of Land Use (CLU) charges for two years.
-The budget projected outstanding debt of Rs 2,48,236 crore for 2020-21 as against 2019-20 revised estimates
of Rs 2,28,906 crore.
-State government proposes to set up two agriculture colleges at Gurdaspur and Balachaur.
About Punjab:
Punjab Legislative Assembly Speaker– Rana Kanwar Pal Singh
Chief Minister– Captain Amarinder Singh
State Flower– Lilium candidum or the Madonna lily
State Animal– Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra)
State Bird– Northern goshawk (Baz/Melierax poliopterus)
State Tree– Dalbergia sissoo (Shisham)
RBI approves appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as MD &CEO of IndusInd Bank

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as Managing
Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of private sector lender IndusInd Bank for three years,which is
effective from March 24, 2020, He is the successor of Romesh Sobti.The headquarters of IndusInd bank is
Mumbai,Maharashtra.
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Banking, Finance & Economy Q&A: February 2020

1. With which Credit rating agency Bank of Baroda (BoB) signed a pact for accessing credit qualities of
Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)?
1) Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL)
2) India Rating and Research Pvt. Ltd.
3) Credit Analysis and Research limited (CARE)
4) Small and Medium Enterprises Rating Agency of India (SMERA)
5) Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited (ICRA)
Answer-3) Credit Analysis and Research Limited (CARE)
Explanation:
The State owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) has partnered with Credit Analysis and Research Limited (CARE) for
assessing the credit qualities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Loan value for SMEs will be identified
through 8 –Point scale. Number 1 indicates the highest creditworthiness and 8 – poor creditworthiness.
2. NABARD approved loan to Punjab State Agricultural Development Bank (PSADB) worth ___ at low
interest rate to strengthen and providing financial support to the Bank (January 2020)?
1) 120 Crore
2) 125 Crore
3) 130 Crore
4) 135 Crore
5) 140 Crore
Answer-5) 140 Crore
Explanation:
The National bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has given approval for the loan worth of
140 Crore at lower interest rate to Punjab State Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (PSADB) to
strengthen and supporting the PSADB financially. The decision to provide Rs 140 crore was taken during a
meeting between Punjab Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa-led delegation with NABARD
Chairman Harsh Kumar Banwala in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
3. As per recently released Government Data (Scores given by MeitY) the Public Sector Banks which are
rated as ‘Good’ in Digital Transactions in December 2019 is/are?
1) State Bank of India (SBI)
2) Bank of Baroda (BoB)
3) Bank of Maharashtra (BoM)
4) Both 1) and 2)
5) Both 1) and 3)
Answer-5) Both 1) and 3)
Explanation:
According to recently released data by Government of India via Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (Meity), State Bank of India (SBI) and Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) are the only Public Sector Banks
where are rated as ‘Good’ in Digital Transactions with the score of 68 and 77 respectively. The Scores for an
individual bank are given by MeitY. A total of 9 private banks and 2 payment banks received good ratings on
digital transactions in December 2019.
4. The Government of India has appointed M. Ajit Kumar as chairman of (January 2020)?
1) National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC)
2) Competition Commission of India (CCI)
3) Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
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4) University Grants Commission (UGC)

5) Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
Answer-3) Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
Explanation:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of M. Ajit Kumar as
chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) replacing Pranab Kumar Das.
5. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) R.A. Sankara Narayanan retires in
January 2020. He worked as CEO and MD of which Indian Public Sector Bank (PSB)?
1) Syndicate Bank
2) Allahabad Bank
3) Andhra Bank
4) Canara Bank
5) UCO Bank
Answer-4) Canara Bank
Explanation:
On January 31,2020 Public sector lender, Canara Bank announced that its Managing Director (M.D) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) Sankara Narayanan (60) has retired, because Narayanan attains the age of
“superannuation” (which means completing the age for retirement).
6. What is the tagline of Canara Bank?

Answer-‘Together we Can’
7. According to the recently released Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service report (January
2020), The Rank of India among smartphone market of the world is?
1) 1
2) 2
3) 3
4) 4
5) 5
Answer-2) 2
Explanation:
According to the recently released Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor service report, India surpassed the
United States(US) for the first time to become the 2nd largest smartphone market in the world and the list was
topped by China. India recorded 158 million shipments in 2019 with 7% year-on-year growth which was
mainly due to Chinese smartphone brands that were introduced.
8. As per the report released by Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor in Jan 2020, which
smartphone brand topped the smartphone market?
1) Xiaomi
2) Samsung
3) Vivo
4) Oppo
5) Realme
Answer-1) Xiaomi
Explanation:
Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi topped the smartphone market for the second consecutive year with
28% market share. Xiaomi was followed by South Korean brand Samsung in the 2nd place with 21% market
share. Some of the fastest growing brands include Chinese smartphone brand Vivo at 16% with 76% year on
year growth. Realme at 10% recorded 255% growth while Oppo at 9% recorded 28% year on year growth.
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9. According to Comptroller General of Accounts’ (CGA) data, the fiscal deficit reached ____ in December
2019 which exceeds the full fiscal deficit target of FY20?
1) 128.8%
2) 130.4%
3) 132.4%
4) 134.8%
5) 136.6%
Answer-3) 132.4%
Explanation:
According to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit reached 132.4 % of
the full fiscal target in December 2019 itself due to the slow pace of revenue collection in the current financial
year-FY 2019-2020. Fiscal Deficit the difference between expenses & receipts stood at Rs 9,31,725 crores.
10. According to National Statistics Office’s (NSO) 1st revised estimate the Net National Income at
current prices in 2019-19 is?
1) 139.81 Lakh Crore
Answer-4) 167.89 Lakh Crore
Explanation:
According to NSO’s 1st revised estimate Net national income at current prices stood at Rs 167.89 lakh crore in
2018-19, up from Rs 151.50 lakh crore in 2017-18. Thus it grew by 10.8 % in 2018-19, from 11.2 % in the
previous financial year. NSO also revised the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast to 6.1% from 6.8%
earlier.
11. The Fitch Ratings Inc., Credit rating agency in its ‘India’s Economic growth outlook’ Forecasted
India’s GDP in Financial Year 2020 to?
1) 4.4%
2) 4.6%
3) 4.8%
4) 5%
5) 5.1%
Answer-2) 4.6%
Explanation:
Fitch Ratings Inc., an American credit rating agency in its ‘India’s economic growth outlook’, has estimated
India’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth to 5.6 % for the financial year-FY21. For the current fiscal 2019-
20 (FY 20), GDP is projected at 4.6 %.
12. According to lastest RBI data (as on Jan 17, 2020) the Bank deposits grew by 9.51% amounting to
131.26 lakh crore. Whereas Bank credit grew by ______ which amounts to 100.05 lakh crore ?
1) 6.15%
2) 5.77%
3) 6.71%
4) 7.21%
5) 9.43%
Answer-4) 7.21%
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Explanation:
According to the latest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, Bank credit and deposits grew by 7.21 % and 9.51 %
to Rs 100.05 lakh crore and Rs 131.26 lakh crore, respectively, in the fortnight ended January 17,2020.
13. Who has won the Banker Magazines’ Central Banker of the Year 2020’, Asia-Pacific?
1) Urjit Patel
2) Shaktikanta Das
3) N S Vishwanathan
4) B P Kanungo
5) Krishnamurthy Subramanian
Answer-2) Shaktikanta Das
Explanation:
The Banker magazine, a British English-language monthly financial affairs publication owned by The Financial
Times Ltd, has named Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das as the ‘Central Banker of the Year
2020’, Asia-Pacific for encouraging growth and balancing the economy.
14. Which Indian digital payments company has launched all in one Quick response (QR), Point of Sale
(Pos) device and merchant Software Development Kit (SDK) for third party integration (February
2020)?
1) PayMate
2) Paytm
3) Airtel
4) PhonePe
5) Mobikwik
Answer-2) Paytm
Explanation:
Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company,has launched an all-in-one QR (Quick Response), point-of-sale
(POS) device for merchants across India & SDK (software development kit) for third-party integration. The PoS,
launched by Infosys cofounder and UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) chairman Nandan Nilekani.
15. To give protection to depositors, The Reserve Bank of India has increased (in effective from
February 4, 2020) the Insurance cover on Bank deposits from 1 Lakh to?
1) 2 Lakh
2) 4 Lakh
3) 5 Lakh
4) 10 Lakh
5) 15 Lakh
Answer-3) 5 Lakh
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the Insurance cover on bank deposits to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh
effective from February 4, 2020 with a view to giving protection to depositors.
16. The Bank has to pay Insurance premium of ___ per Rs. 100 deposits to Deposit Insurance and Credit
Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) in effective from Feb 4, 2020 for protection of depositors?
1) 10 paise
2) 12 paise
3) 15 paise
4) 8 paise
5) 20 paise
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Answer-2) 12 Paise
Explanation:
The DICGC does not directly charge any premium from the depositor on this insurance. So Now Banks will pay a
premium of 12 paise against 10 paise per Rs 100 deposit. This move comes after the Budget announcement by
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who made an important provision in the Budget 2020-2021 on the
protection of bank deposits of common people.
17. Which Indian digital payments company has launched all in one Quick response (QR), Point of Sale
(Pos) device and merchant Software Development Kit (SDK) for third party integration (February
2020)?
1) PayMate
2) Paytm
3) Airtel
4) PhonePe
5) Mobikwik
Answer-2) Paytm
Explanation:
Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company,has launched an all-in-one QR (Quick Response), point-of-sale
(POS) device for merchants across India & SDK (software development kit) for third-party integration. The PoS,
launched by Infosys cofounder and UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) chairman Nandan Nilekani.
18. Which Insurance company has launched comprehensive health insurance scheme “Infinity” (Feb
2020) with insurance limit of 3 lakhs to 1 crore?
1) Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
2) HDFC General Insurance
3) Reliance General Insurance
4) Tata AIG Insurance
5) SBI General Insurance Company Ltd
Answer-3) Reliance General Insurance
Explanation:
Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, one of the leading insurance companies in India, has launched a
comprehensive health insurance plan called “Reliance Health Infinity”. Under the plan, the minimum sum
insured will be Rs. 3 lakhs while the maximum sum insured limit will be Rs. 1 crore.
19. With which country India has signed 1st ever term contract for importing 2 Million Metric Tonnes of
Urals grade crude oil to India for the year 2020?
1) Oman
2) UAE
3) USA
4) Russia
5) Iran
Answer-4) Russia
Explanation:
The union cabinet Minister for the Ministry of Petroleum and natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan signed the
1st ever term contract with Mr. Igor Sechin, Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) and Chairman of Rosneft (Russia’s
largest oil producing Company). The term contract is between State-Owned Indian Oil Corporation Limited
(IOCL) and Rosneft for Importing 2 Million Metric Tonnes of Urals grade crude oil to India for the year 2020.
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20. As per Finance Ministry, the number of bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana (PMJDY) till January 2020 is/are?
1) 27 Crore
2) 31 Crore
3) 36 Crore
4) 38 Crore
5) 41 Crore
Answer-4) 38 Crore
Explanation:
According to the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Anurag Singh Thakur, bank accounts
opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) have registered around 38 crores till January
2020. Around 31 crore accounts are operative out of total 38 crores accounts & the number of these accounts
has increased every year since the launch of the scheme.
21. What is India’s Rank in the 8th edition of Intellectual Property Index named ‘Art of the Possible’
released by Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) (Feb 2020)?
1) 36
2) 38
3) 40
4) 42
5) 34
Answer-3) 40
Explanation:
In 2020 GIPC’s IP Index, India’s position has downgraded to 40th rank in comparison to 36th position out of 50
countries in 2019.
Among Asia, India is ranked 4th which is topped by Australia and followed by Brunei (2nd) and China (3rd).
Among Lower-middle-income economies, India is at 2nd position which is topped by Egypt.
22. Which country has topped 2020 Global Innovation Policy Center’s (GIPC) Intellectual Property
Index (8th edition)?
1) China
2) United States of America
3) Australia
4) Norway
5) Germany
Answer-2) United States of America
Explanation:
In 2020 GIPC’s IP Index, India’s position has downgraded to 40th rank in comparison to 36th position out of 50
countries in 2019. The index has been topped by the United States (US) followed by UK (United Kingdom),
Sweden, France and Germany.
23. Where is the headquarters of World Intellectual Property organization (WIPO) located at?
Answer-Geneva, Switzerland
24. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate
for Financial Year 21 (FY21) is?
1) 5%
2) 5.6%
3) 7.1%
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4) 6%
5) 6.5%
Answer-4) 6%
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank has projected GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast for Fiscal Year-FY21 to 6%. It
was 5% in FY20. In the Economic Survey presented on 31 January,2020 the GDP growth rate in 2020-21 has
been estimated to be 6 – 6.5 %.
25. As per Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (M0SPI) the rate of labour force participation is 36.9 % and the unemployment rate in
India in 2017-18 was ____%?
1) 4.1
2) 4.6
3) 5.3
4) 6.1
5) 7.6
Answer-4) 6.1
Explanation:
As per the new Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) being conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MosPI), the labour force participation is 36.9 % and the rate of unemployment for
2017-18 is 6.1%.
26. The American economist Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg recently (Feb 2020) resigns her post ‘Chief
Economist’. She held the post in?
1) World Bank (WB)
2) International Monetary Fund (IMF)
3) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
4) International Finance Corporation (IFC)
5) New Development Bank (NDB)
Answer-1) World Bank (WB)
Explanation:
American Greek economist and Chief Economist of the World Bank(WB) Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg (57-
years) announced her resignation. She will step down from her post on March 1, 2020 and will be teaching at
Yale University in Connecticut, United States(US). WB research director Aart Kraay will be the interim WB chief
economist until the appointment of a new permanent chief economist.
27. The Arun-III hydro project is backed by India and secured NPR 100 Billion for 900MW project built
on the river Arun. Where is river Arun located at?
1) Maldives
2) Sri Lanka
3) Bhutan
4) Nepal
5) Myanmar
Answer-4) Nepal
Explanation:
The Arun-3 hydropower project, the largest Indian-backed project in Nepal, secured NPR (Nepalese rupee) 100
Billion for the 900 MW (megawatt) hydropower project being built on the Arun River in Nepal’s
Sankhuwasabha District. India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Arun-III Power Development Company, the
developer of the Arun-III hydropower project has signed the financial closure of the project with 7 banks in
Kathmandu, Nepal.
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28. As per Data released by Government of India, 13.62 million Indian nationals are staying abroad and
_____ received as remittance between April 2018 – September 2019?
1) $118.3 Billion
2) $114.7 Billion
3) $119.3 Billion
4) $127.6 Billion
5) $113.3 Billion
Answer-1) $118.3 Billion
Explanation:
The Indian govt. has released data of remittances received in the country since April 2018- September 2019. As
per the report around 13.62 million Indian nationals are staying abroad & around $118.3 billion has been
received as remittance. As per data of the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), $76.4 billion was received as remittances
during 2018-19 while $41.9 billion was received during 2019-20.
29. The Fund released for Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) between FY 16 to
20 as per Ministry of Textiles, Smriti Irani is/are _______?
1) 6717.18 crore
2) 6171.81 crore
3) 7161.10 crore
4) 7611.81 crore
5) 8176.11 crore
Answer-1) 6717.18 crore
Explanation:
During the period of 2015-16 to 2019-20, the Centre has released a total of Rs 6,717.18 crore under the
Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS). A total of 9,641 applications, covering employment
of 2.86 lakh persons and investment of Rs. 40026.5 crore submitted by textile units, have been issued with UIDs
(unique identification numbers) till January 2020. This information has been given by textiles minister Smriti
Irani as a part of competitiveness of the textile industry.
30. The Reserve Bank of India set to conduct Financial Literacy Week (FLW) from February 10 to 14,
2020. The Theme of FLW is?
1) Theme: “Consumer Protection”
2) Theme: “Farmers”
3) Theme: “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”
4) Theme: “Priority Sector Lending (PSL)”
5) Theme: “Educate the Customers”
Answer-3) Theme: “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is going to conduct the Financial Literacy Week (FLW) 2020 from February 10
– February 14, 2020 based on the theme “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)”. The RBI will also
launch a centralized mass media campaign in February 2020 to broadcast essential financial awareness
messages to MSME entrepreneurs.
31. Which Bank/Organization has approved to sponsor $2 million to combat the outbreak of novel
Coronavirus (nCoV) (Feb 2020)?
1) Work Bank
2) New Development Bank
3) Asian Development Bank
4) International Monetary Fund
5) EXIM Bank
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Answer-3) Asian Development Bank

Explanation:
The Asian Development Bank(ADB) has approved to sponsor $2 million as funding to combat the outbreak of
novel coronavirus (nCoV). Under the funding, regional technical assistance will be provided in Cambodia, China,
Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
32. Where is Headquarters of Asian Development Bank (ADB) located at?

Answer-Mandaluyong, Philippines
33. Who among the following will not be a member of Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN)
formulated panel to improve Information Technology (IT) system?
1) Member secretary of GSTN
2) Representatives from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
3) Minister of state, Finance
4) Representatives from Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
5) Representatives from confederation of All India Traders (CAIT)
Answer-3) Minister of state, Finance
Explanation:
Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), a non-profit, non-government organization which manages the entire
IT system of the GST portal has formed a consultation committee to give feedback on new functionalities in the
GST system and adoption of new IT platforms. The committee will have Members including officials from
selected states recommended by the GST Council, member secretary of GSTN, representatives from the Central
Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and industry chambers such as CII (Confederation of Indian
Industry) and ASSOCHAM, traders body such as Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and professional
bodies such as Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, among others.
34. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the minimum net
worth criteria for pension fund managers from 25 crores to _____?
1) 30 Crore
2) 35 Crore
3) 40 Crore
4) 45 Crore
5) 50 Crore
Answer-5) 50 Crore
Explanation:
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the regulator of the National Pension
System (NPS), has doubled the minimum net worth criterion for pension fund managers to ₹50 crores from the
₹25 crore stipulated earlier. Provision has also been made for licenses to have indefinite validity.
35. Who is the chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)?
Answer-Pankaj Jain
36. The Reserve Bank of India has eased the CRR requirement of commercial banks for 5years for
lending to automobiles, housing and MSME sector. What is ‘C’ in CRR stands for?
1) Credit
2) Cash
3) Company
4) Current
5) Capital
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Answer-2) Cash
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) requirement of commercial banks for 5-
years. So now the banks would not be needed to maintain the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for 5- years on their
deposits for the amount equivalent to loans lent to automobiles, residential housing, and micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSMEs) between 31 Jan-31 July, 2020 from their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL)
for maintenance of the CRR.
37. According to the “Public Enterprises Survey 2018-19” prepared by Department of Public
Enterprises (DPE) under Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Which Indian Public Sector
Undertaking (PSU) company is most profitable?
1) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC)
2) Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
3) Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
4) Air India
5) National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
Answer-1) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation(ONGC)
Explanation:
According to “Public Enterprises Survey 2018-19”, which measures the annual economic condition of all central
PSUs, ONGC, IOC and NTPC were the top three PSUs with profits in 2018-19. BSNL, Air India and MTNL saw the
highest losses for the third consecutive year.
38. The Union Ministry of Finance has released the notification of “Printing one-rupee currency note
rules, 2020”. The One rupee note feature will have the signature of _____?
1) Shaktikanta Das
2) Niramala Sitharaman
3) Rajiv Kumar
4) Ajay Bhusan Pandey
5) Atanu Chakraborty
Answer-5) Atanu Chakraborty
Explanation:
The Union Ministry of Finance has notified ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules, 2020’ which will
feature bilingual signature of Shri Atanu Chakraborty, Secretary, Ministry of Finance. It shall be rectangular 9.7
x 6.3 cms, with its paper made of 100% (cotton) rag content. The note will be 110 microns thick, weighing 90
GSM (Grams per Square Meter). The color of the note – pink green, the design surrounding will be of the Sagar
Samrat, which is an oil exploration rig.
39. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published draft framework to set up new Pan-India New Umbrella
Entity (NUE) for retail payment systems. It will be incorporated under which act ?
1) Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
2) The Banking Regulation Act, 1949
3) Companies Act, 2013
4) The Banking Companies (Legal Practitioner Clients’ Accounts) Act, 1949
5) Companies Act, 1956
Answer-3) Companies Act, 2013
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published draft framework to set up new Pan-India New Umbrella Entity
(NUE) for retail payment systems. It will be incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 and will be given
authorization by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Section 4 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
(PSS Act). RBI has invited comments on the draft framework from all stakeholders.
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40. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on ‘Outward Foreign Direct Investment’ (OFDI)
India’s foreign investment rose by _____% to USD 2.10 Billion in January 2020.
1) 20
2) 25
3) 30
4) 35
5) 40
Answer-5) 40
Explanation:
According to Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on RBI data on ‘Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI), India ‘s
Foreign investment rose by nearly 40 per cent to USD 2.10 billion on a yearly basis in January 2020. In Previous
year 2019, Indian companies had invested USD 1.47 billion in their overseas ventures.
41. As per Finance Minister, the Public Sector Bank(PSB) recovers record of Rs. _____ lakh crore in last
18 months (March 2018 – September 2019)?
1) 1.87
2) 1.94
3) 2.03
4) 2.16
5) 2.29
Answer-3) 2.03
Explanation:
The Finance Minister informed that bad loans of PSBs stood at ₹7.27 lakh crore at the end of September 2019,
down from ₹8.96 lakh crore at the end of March 2018. She also added Record recovery of ₹2.03 lakh crore over
the one-and-half year period ending September 2019, 12 out of 18 PSBs reporting profit in the first half of the
current financial year, and the highest provision coverage ratio in seven-and-half years.”
42. Which Indian bank has won “Most customer centric bank using technology” and “Best Payments
Initiative” awards in 15th Indian Banks’ Associations’ Banking Technology awards 2020?
1) ICICI Bank
2) South Indian Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) Axis Bank
5) Yes Bank
Answer-2) South Indian Bank
Explanation:
Indian Bank Association’s 15th Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo and Awards 2020 held in
Mumbai, Maharashtra in that South Indian Bank Has Bagged Six Awards at the Banking Technology category.
South Indian Bank emerged winner in the ‘Most Customer Centric Bank Using Technology’ category and runner
up in the ‘Best Payments Initiative’ category for Small Banks.
43. As per the world’s foremost financial site The Bakers’ ‘Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report which
Indian Bank tops the list of ‘Highest increase in brand value’ among global banks?
1) Axis Bank
2) ICICI Bank
3) IndusInd Bank
4) IDFC Bank
5) Yes Bank
Answer-3) IndusInd Bank
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Explanation:
As per the The Banker’s ‘Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report, India’s IndusInd Bank has topped the list of
‘Highest increase in brand value’ among global banks. It’s brand value saw an increase of 122% over the past 12
months. The bank reported total assets of Rs 3.1 lakh crore at the end of Q3 FY20.
44. As per the world’s foremost financial site The Bakers’ ‘Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report India’s
position in the list of ‘Top 50 By Total Brand Value by Country’ is/are ____?
1) 2
2) 5
3) 8
4) 3
5) 7
Answer-3) 8
Explanation:
As per The Bakers’ ‘Top 500 Banking Brands 2020’ report the list “Top 50 By Total Brand Value by Country”
has been topped by China, followed by United States (US) at 2nd position while Canada and the United
Kingdom (UK) ranked at 3rd and 4th spots. Japan has moved up to fifth spot. India ranked 8th in this list in
comparison to 10th place in 2019. India’s brand value is 26,516 $m in 2020 showing an increase of 13% in
comparison to 23,409 $m in 2019.
45. The Economic Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for
India in 2020 is/are _______?
1) 5%
2) 5.3%
3) 5.9%
4) 6.1%
5) 5.6%
Answer-4) 6.1%
Explanation:
Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) also estimated the GDP growth for India to 6.1 percent for 2020 from 4.9
percent estimated for the year 2019.
46. The Global growth forecast predicted by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) for the year 2020
reduced from 2.3% to _____?
1) 2.2%
2) 2.1%
3) 1.9%
4) 1.7%
5) 1.6%
Answer-1) 2.2%
Explanation:
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has revised its Global growth forecast for the year 2020 to 2.2 percent
from the previous 2.3 percent, and is because of the Impact in Global market created by Novel coronavirus
outbreak in China.
47. Where is the headquarters of Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) located at?
Answer-London, England
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48. According to the Data released by National Statistics organisation (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (M0SPI) the retail inflation rose to 68 month high to ____ in January 2020.
1) 7.35%
2) 7.59%
3) 7.92%
4) 6.78%
5) 6.98%
Answer-2) 7.59%
Explanation:
According to the data released by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Retail inflation rose to a 68-month high of 7.59 % in January 2020 as
against 7.35% in December 2019 due to prices of food items such as vegetables, eggs, meat and fish, along with
fuel became costlier.
49. According to the Data released by National Statistics organisation (NSO) of Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation (M0SPI) the Index of industrial production (IIP), the industry production
slipped to ___ in December 2019 compared to 2.5% in December 2018?
1) 0.9%
2) 0.3%
3) 1.3%
4) 0.5%
5) 1.1%
Answer-2) 0.3%
Explanation:
Index of industrial production (IIP) can also be seen falling, with industrial production slipping 0.3 % in
December 2019 as compared to 2.5 % growth in the same month a year ago.
50. Which Technological Giant company has launched “We think Digital” Programme in partnership
with National Commission for Women (NCW) and Cyber Peace Foundation to provide digital literacy
training to 1 Lakh women in 7 states (Feb 2020)?
1) Google
2) Microsoft
3) Facebook
4) Amazon
5) LinkedIn
Answer-3) Facebook
Explanation:
Facebook launched “We Think Digital” Programme to provide digital literacy training to 1 lakh women across 7
states, including Uttar Pradesh (UP), West Bengal & Bihar. It has been launched in partnership with National
Commission for Women (NCW) and Cyber Peace Foundation.
51. Which Indian state signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with eGOV foundation for state-
wide Implementation of Municipal finance accounting platform?
1) Uttar Pradesh
2) Maharashtra
3) Tamil Nadu
4) Gujarat
5) Telangana
Answer-1) Uttar Pradesh
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Explanation:
A Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) was signed between the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government and eGov
foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka, to implement the municipal financial accounting system.
52. The Union Ministry of Shipping has announced ‘Arth Ganga’ project for a sustainable development
model with a focus on economic activities along its Ganga bank. Who is the Union shipping minister?
1) Mansukh Mandaviya
2) Sadananda Gowda
3) Dharmendra Pradhan
4) Prahalad Singh Patel
5) Hardeep Singh Puri
Answer-1) Mansukh Mandaviya
Explanation:
According to Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping (Independent Charge), Chemical, and
Fertilizers, ‘Arth Ganga’ project implies a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities
along its Ganga bank.
53. Which Indian Private sector bank signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Micro Small
and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department of government of Odisha to boost startups?
1) Yes Bank
2) Axis Bank
3) ICICI Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) IndusInd Bank
Answer-4) HDFC Bank
Explanation:
The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department of government of Odisha has signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Bank
Limited to provide smart banking solutions to Startups recognised by the Startup Odisha and will also extend
incubation and acceleration support to all Startups, banking with them.
54. Which Country has put imports from India under the methodology for countervailing duty (CVD)
investigations (Feb 2020)?
1) Russia
2) China
3) United Kingdom
4) Mauritius
5) United States
Answer-5) United States
Explanation:
United States Trade Representative (USTR) has removed India, Brazil, Indonesia, Hong Kong, South Africa and
Argentina from getting special preferences under the methodology for countervailing duty (CVD)
investigations. It is a list of developing countries that are exempt from investigations into whether they harm
American industry with unfairly subsidized exports.
55. The 15th Finance Commission forms 5-member panel to investigate arrangement made for funding
defense and internal security. Who is the head of the panel?
1) AN Jha
2) Ajay Bhalla
3) NK Singh
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4) TV Somanathan
5) Ajay Kumar
Answer-3) NK Singh
Explanation:
The 15th Finance Commission has set up a five-member group led by 15th Finance Commission Chairman,
Nand Kishore (NK) Singh to investigate the need for separate arrangements for funding defense and internal
security.
56. Who is the Head of 15th Finance commission?

Answer-Nand Kishore (NK) Singh
57. What was the Theme of 43rd International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) council held
at Rome, Italy on February 2020?
1) Theme: “Rural Transformation: Key to Sustainable Development”
2) Theme: “Investing in sustainable food systems to end hunger by 2030”
3) Theme: “Rural Innovation and Entrepreneurship”
4) Theme: “Fragility to long-term resilience: investing in sustainable rural economies”
5) Theme: “Inclusive investment: Rural people, state and business in the post 2020-Agenda”
Answer-2) Theme: “Investing in sustainable food systems to end hunger by 2030”
Explanation:
The IFAD’s 43rd Governing Council meeting was held in Rome, Italy on 11-12 February 2020 on the theme
“Investing in sustainable food systems to end hunger by 2030”.
58. The 43rd International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) council held at Rome, Italy on
February 2020 stated, due to climatic change around 100 million people will be pushed to poverty by
_____?
1) 2022
2) 2025
3) 2024
4) 2027
5) 2030
Answer-5) 2030
Explanation:
The IFAD’s 43rd Governing Council meeting was held in Rome, Italy on 11-12 February 2020 on the theme
“Investing in sustainable food systems to end hunger by 2030”. During the meet, the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) stated that the sequences of climate change and it’s impacts on agriculture
will push around 100 million people to poverty by 2030.
59. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted Municipal Bonds Development
Committee to get recommendations on policy matters pertaining to development of municipal debt
securities market. Who is the Head of Committee?
1) N S Vishwanathan
2) S.K Mohanty
3) G C Chaturvedi
4) Ajay Tyagi
5) Sujit Prasad
Answer-5) Sujit Prasad
Explanation:
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has constituted Municipal Bonds Development Committee
headed by Shri Sujit Prasad, Executive Director, SEBI in order to get recommendations on policy matters
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pertaining to development of municipal debt securities market. The members of the committee include
representatives from ministry, Municipal Corporation, lawyers, professionals and market practitioners.
60. Who is the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)?
Answer-Ajay Tyagi
61. The Central Board of Directors of the RBI at 582nd meeting recommended aligning the financial
year of RBI with the government’s fiscal year (April-March) from the year 2020-21. The Current
Financial year of RBI is between?
1) January – December
2) October – September
3) July – June
4) September – August
5) March – February
Answer-3) July – June
Explanation:
The Central Board of Directors of the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) at its 582nd meeting recommended aligning
the financial year of RBI, currently July-June, with the government’s fiscal year (April-March) from the year
2020-21. Now, the proposal is sent to the government for its approval. The meeting was addressed by Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She was accompanied by Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur,
Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar and Expenditure Secretary T V Somanathan, among other senior officials.
62. American Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has lowered the India’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth estimate for Financial Year 2020 from 6.6% to ______?
1) 6%
2) 5.6%
3) 5%
4) 4.5%
5) 5.4%
Answer-5) 5.4%
Explanation:
On February 17, 2020, Moody’s Investors Service, an American credit rating agency,has lowered India’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) growth estimate for the current financial year (2019-20) to 5.4% from 6.6% and the
next financial year (2020-21) growth rate estimate to 5.8% from 6.7% .
63. As per Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) “Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies” the
central bank has decided to conduct Long Term Repo Operations (LTROs) for one-year and three-year
tenors for up to a total amount of _______?
1) 1 Lakh Crore
2) 50,000 Crore
3) 1.2 Lakh Crore
4) 25,000 Crore
5) 10,000 Crore
Answer-1) 1 Lakh Crore
Explanation:
The RBI released “Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies” which stated about Long Term Repo
Operations (LTROs) for improving monetary transmission. It is aimed at providing cheaper money to banks at
the repo rate so that it can be used to boost credit growth. RBI decided to conduct Long Term Repo Operations
(LTROs) for one-year and three-year tenors for up to a total amount of ₹ 1,00,000 crores at the policy repo rate.
Simply, RBI is injecting Rs 1 lakh crore into the banking system through auctions with long term maturity
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periods (compared to one day repos) of 1 year and 3 years. LTRO is in addition to the existing LAF (Liquidity
adjustment facility) and MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) operations. The current repo rate is 5.15%.
64. With Which Bank the Government of India (GoI) signed loan agreement worth $450 Mn to support
Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement Program in 7 Indian
states?
1) World Bank (WB)
2) International Monetary Fund (IMF)
4) Export and Import bank of India (EXIM)
Answer-1) World Bank (WB)
Explanation:
The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank(WB) have inked a $ 450 million (mn) loan agreement to
support Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management Improvement Program that will be
implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh (UP) and cover 78 districts.
65. As per the US based think tank World population review’s report, what is the India’s rank in largest
economy list 2019 with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) value of $2.94 Trillion?
1) 1
2) 2
3) 3
4) 4
5) 5
Answer-5) 5
Explanation:
In accordance with the US-based think tank World Population Review, India has become the fifth-largest in the
world with a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $2.94 trillion overtaking the UK (United Kingdom) and France in
2019. The size of the UK economy is $2.83 trillion and that of France is $2.71 trillion. The list has been topped
by the United states (US) with $21.44 trillion GDP.
Table showing Top 5 Largest Economies of World:
Rank Country GDP
1 United States (US) $21.44 trillion
2 China $14.14 trillion
3 Japan $5.15 trillion
4 Germany $4 trillion
5 India $2.94 trillion
66. As per the US based think tank World population review’s report, India’s Purchasing Power Parity
(PPP) in 2019 is _________ (in trillions)?
1) $9.71
2) $10.21
3) $10.51
4) $10.91
5) $11.31
Answer-3) $10.51
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Explanation:
In accordance with the US-based think tank World Population Review, in terms of purchasing power parity
(PPP), India’s GDP is $10.51 trillion, exceeding that of Japan and Germany.
67. As per the US based think tank World population review’s report, what is India’s per capita Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019?
1) $ 2,000
2) $ 2,090
3) $ 2,170
4) $ 2,220
5) $ 2,340
Answer-3) $ 2,170
Explanation:
In accordance with the US-based think tank World Population Review, India’s GDP per capita is $2,170.
68. The 15th Finance Commission forms 8-member panel to boost the agricultural exports. Who is the
head of the panel?
1) AN Jha
2) Ajay Bhalla
3) NK Singh
4) TV Somanathan
5) Sanjiv Puri
Answer-5) Sanjiv Puri
Explanation:
The 15th Finance Commission has set up an 8-member group led by ITC chairman and managing director (MD)
Sanjiv Puri to recommend measurable performance incentives for the states, so as to promote exports & also to
encourage the concerned crops to ensure replacement of more imports and to boost the agricultural exports.
The committee will submit its recommendations within 3 months.
69. With which country India has signed letter of intent (LoI) for collaboration on blue economy for
sustainable development (Feb 2020)?
1) Norway
2) Sri Lanka
3) Maldives
4) Australia
5) Singapore
Answer-1) Norway
Explanation:
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with Norway’s
Minister for Climate and Environment, H.E. Mr Sveinung Rotevatn have jointly inaugurated the ‘India-Norway
Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development’ at the 3rd meeting of the Task Force in New Delhi,
India. The 2 countries also signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) & agreed to support and work together on Integrated
Ocean Management & Research.
70. According to Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) ‘The Worldwide Education for the Future Index
(WEFFI) 2019 report, Finland topped the index and India’s rank in the Index is _________.
1) 35
2) 38
3) 40
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4) 47
5) 52
Answer-1) 35
Explanation:
The Worldwide Education for The Future Index (WEFFI) 2019 ranked India in 35th position, whereas in 2018
it was ranked 40th position. The WEFFI report is created by The Economist Intelligence unit and commissioned
by Yidan Prize foundation. The index is topped by Finland, followed by Sweden in second place and New
Zealand in third place.
Overall Ranking:
Rank Economy
35 India
1 Finland
2 Sweden
3 New Zealand
71. According to Times Higher Education’s (THE) emerging economies University ranking 2020 which
Indian University topped among Indian Universities in top 100?
1) Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
2) Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
3) Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
4) Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
5) Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Answer-1) Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
Explanation:
According to the Times Higher Education’s (THE) Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020, which ranks
a total of 533 universities from 47 countries, India has 11 institutes among world’s top 100 universities where
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru (Karnataka) emerged as India’s top-ranked institution by getting
the rank 16th with the score 48.4. Tsinghua University in China has topped the list with the score of 83.8.
Here’s the list of Top 3& Indian Universities in the ranking:
Rank University Name Country Scores
1 Tsinghua University China 83.8
2 Peking University China 83
3 Zhejiang University China 65.5
Rank of Indian Universities in top 100

16 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 48.4
32 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur 42.9
34 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay 42.4
38 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi 41.9
58 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee 38.4
61 Indian Institute of Technology Indore 38.2
63 Indian Institute of Technology Madras 37.7
63 Indian Institute of Technology Ropar 37.7
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73 Institute of Chemical Technology 37.3

77 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur 37.1
90 Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham 35.3
72. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to tighten the norms to whom to
protect the interest of investors with the proposed advisory capping fees of 2.25% of assets under
management (AUM) / an amount of ₹75,000 per annum?
1) Market Brokers
2) Investment advisors
3) Stock buyers
4) Stock Trader
5) Investment agents
Answer-2) Investment advisors
Explanation:
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulator for the securities market in India, has decided to
tighten the eligibility rules for investment advisors with the intention of protecting the interests of investors. It
has also decided to set an advisory capping fees & proposed a fee of 2.25% of assets under management (AUM)
/ an amount of ₹75,000 per annum. The fee can be charged for up to 2 quarters at a time and cannot be fully
charged upfront.
73. Which Public Sector Bank (PSB) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gujarat state
government to facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans?
2) Bank of Baroda (BoB)
3) Union Bank of India (UBI)
4) Bank of Maharashtra (BoM)
5) Central Bank of India (CBI)
Answer-1) State Bank of India (SBI)
Explanation:
In order to provide enough credit to entrepreneurs in the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector,
the state Government of Gujarat has signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with State Bank of India
(SBI), through which the bank will provide working capital to entrepreneurs aims to start new MSME within 15
days of making an application. In October 2019, The Gujarat state announced that MSME units will no longer be
required to take various approvals to start operations for the initial 3 years period. They can start operations
after getting an acknowledgment certificate from the state nodal agency by submitting ‘declaration of intent.’
74. What is the Tagline of State Bank of India (SBI)?

Answer-Tagline– The Banker to Every Indian; With you all the way; Purely Banking Nothing Else; The
Nation Banks on Us
75. According to the 2nd advance estimates for crop year 2019-20 by Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare the food grain production is estimated at record of _______ (in million
tonnes)?
1) 219.59
2) 258.12
3) 285.21
4) 291.95
5) 237.11
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Answer-4) 291.95
Explanation:
In accordance with the Second Advance Estimates for crop year 2019-20 by the Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, the total foodgrain production in the country is estimated at record 291.95
million tonnes as compared to the production of foodgrain of 285.21 million tonnes in 2018-19. It should be
noted that the 2019-20 production is also higher by 26.20 million tonnes than the previous five years’ (2013-14
to 2017-18) average production of foodgrain.
76. According to the report, “A future for the world’s children?” Commissioned by WHO–UNICEF–Lancet
‘Child Flourishing Index’ is topped by Norway. What is rank of India in the index?
1) 128
2) 129
3) 130
4) 131
5) 133
Answer-4) 131
Explanation:
According to the report, “A future for the world’s children?” commissioned by the World Health Organization
(WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet medical journal, India ranks 131st in the
Flourishing Index of Children’s Survival, health, education and Well-being. The Index was topped by Norway
and Central African Republic at bottom of the list.
77. According to the report, “A future for the world’s children?” commissioned by WHO–UNICEF–Lancet
‘Sustainability Index’ is topped by Burundi. What is rank of India in the index?
1) 71
2) 77
3) 69
4) 54
5) 87
Answer-2) 77
Explanation:
According to the report, “A future for the world’s children?” commissioned by the World Health Organization
(WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and The Lancet medical journal, India ranks 77th in terms of
Sustainability Index of Children’s Survival, health, education and Well-being. The Index was topped by Burundi
and Qatar at bottom.
78. Which Indian Private sector bank along with MasterCard and SAP concur jointly partnered for
corporate spending?
1) Axis Bank
2) Yes Bank
3) HDFC Bank
4) ICICI Bank
5) IndusInd Bank
Answer-3) HDFC Bank
Explanation:
HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation), MasterCard and SAP concur, jointly partnered for
corporate spending for the business travelers, it provides Integral solution for business related expenditure
(plane tickets, hotel bookings) and Invoice management services.
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79. Which Indian private sector bank gets Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval for reducing the
promotor’s stake to 26%?
1) Axis Bank
2) Kotak Mahindra Bank
3) Development Credit Bank
4) Bandhan Bank
5) IndusInd Bank
Answer-2) Kotak Mahindra Bank
Explanation:
Kotak Mahindra Bank,an Indian private sector bank has received final approval from Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) to reduce the promoter’s stake to 26 %.
80. As per the report titled ‘Women Entrepreneurship in India – Powering the economy with her’
women entrepreneurs can create around 170 million jobs in India. The report was published by which
management consultant company along with Google?
1) Accenture
2) KPMG
3) McKinsey & Company
4) Bain & Company
5) Capgemini
Answer-4) Bain & Company
Explanation:
The report titled ‘Women Entrepreneurship in India – Powering the economy with her’ by Bain & Company and
Google, Indian women entrepreneurs can generate transformational employment in India with 150–170
million job opportunities, which is more than 25% of the new jobs required for the entire working age
population by 2030. The lead author of the report was Meghna Chawla, a Bain & Company partner. The report
identifies six dominant segments of female entrepreneurs and estimates India to have 13.5–15.7 million
enterprises owned by women, representing about 20% of all enterprises.
81. Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt who passed away recently (Feb 2020) is the former president of which
Indian organization/Association?
1) Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
2) Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
3) PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
4) National Association of Software & Service Companies (NASSCOM)
5) The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
Answer-2) Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)
Explanation:
Velagapudi Lakshmana Dutt, former FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry) President
& Executive Chairman of KCP Group passed away at the age of 82 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Dutt was born on
December 27, 1937 and was educated in London.
82. Name the Indian Institute which ranked top among Indian institutions in the Nature ranking Index
2020 (Based on total research output from December 01, 2018 to 30th November, 2019)?
1) Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B)
2) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)
3) Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER)
4) Indian Institute of science (IISC)
5) Council of Scientific and industrial Research(CSIR)
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Answer-5) Council of Scientific and industrial Research(CSIR)

Explanation:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) ranked first in the Nature Ranking Index 2020. All the
institutions are ranked on the basis of total research output from december 01, 2018 to 30th November, 2019.
Rank, Share & Count
Rank Institution Count (C) Share Percentage (SP)
1 Council of Scientific and industrial Research(CSIR) 142 87.74
2 Indian Institute of science (IISC) 211 83.61
3 Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) 232 62.18
83. The SBI card joins with Landmark group to launch 3 new retail co-branded credit cards (namely
Lifestyle Home Centre SBI Card, Max SBI Card and Spar SBI Card). Where is the Headquarters of SBI card
located at?
1) Bengaluru, Karnataka
2) Mumbai, Maharashtra
3) Chennai, Tamil Nadu
4) Gurgaon, Haryana
5) Kolkata, West Bengal
Answer-4) Gurgaon, Haryana
Explanation:
SBI (State Bank of India) Cards & Payments Services Ltd (previously known as SBI Cards and Payment Services
Private Limited), a payment solutions provider in India, has entered into the partnership with Landmark
Group, one of the largest retail and hospitality organizations, to launch 3new retail co-branded credit cards
namely Lifestyle Home Centre SBI Card, Max SBI Card and Spar SBI Card —with 4 Landmark Group brands –
Lifestyle, Home Centre, Max and Spar. The Headquarters of SBI card located at Gurgaon, Haryana.
84. The Reserve Bank of India has appointed Sunil Gurbaxani as MD & CEO of which Indian private
sector bank?
1) Dhanlaxmi Bank
2) Lakshmi Vilas Bank
3) Nainital Bank
4) South Indian Bank
5) City Union Bank
Answer-1) Dhanlaxmi Bank
Explanation:
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Sunil Gurbaxani as MD (Managing Director) and CEO (Chief Executive
Officer) of Dhanlaxmi Bank for a period of 3 years. Sunil was the successor of T.Latha.
85. As per RBI’s 5-year National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2019-2024), Public credit registry
(PCR) made fully operational by _______?
1) March 2020
2) January 2021
3) April 2021
4) March 2022
5) July 2022
Answer-4) March 2022
Explanation:
In order to promote financial literacy among customers and to provide access to formal financial services in an
affordable manner, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a National Strategy for Financial Inclusion
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(NSFI) 2019-24. The strategy has been prepared by Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC) of the RBI.
As per the report, the public credit registry (PCR) has to be made fully operational by March 2022.
86. As per RBI’s 5-year National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2019-2024), Every adult enrolled
under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dan Yojana (PMJDY) should be enrolled under an insurance scheme and
pension scheme by ____?
1) June 2021
2) June 2020
3) April 2020
4) March 2020
5) March 2021
Answer-4) March 2020
Explanation:
As per RBI’s 5-year National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2019-2024), by March 2020, every adult enrolled
under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) should be enrolled under an insurance scheme and pension
scheme.
87. The Sweden’s Riksbank (Central Bank) has begun the testing of world’s 1st Central Bank Digital
Currency (CBDC) version named _________?
1) e-Rupiah
2) e-Ringgit
3) e-Krone
4) e-Krona
5) e-Won
Answer-4) e-Krona
Explanation:
Sveriges Riksbank (or simply the Riksbank), the central bank of Sweden, had begun testing its digital version of
currency, e-krona. If this year-long pilot project successful, this would lead to the creation of world’s 1st central
bank digital currency(CBDC).
88. What is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of India for the year 2019-20 as per the National Council
of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)?
1) 5%
2) 4.6%
3) 5.1%
4) 4.9%
5) 5.6%
Answer-4) 4.9%
Explanation:
National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), a New Delhi based non-profit think tank of
economics, has estimated India’s economic growth rate to be 4.9 % for the current Financial year-FY 2019-20,
which is lower than the 5 % estimation by the National Statistical Office (NSO). NCAER has expressed the hope
that in the year 2020-21, the country’s growth rate can be up to 5.6%.
89. Which Indian company/Firm has won Best In-house Direct Tax Team of the year award in BRICS
CCI’s 2nd edition of Annual Direct Tax Summit & Awards 2020?
1) Amara Raja Group
2) TVS Group
3) Dharampal Satyapal Group
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4) Avantha Group
5) Aditya Birla Group
Answer-3) Dharampal Satyapal Group
Explanation:
BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCI) organised the 2nd edition of Annual Direct Tax Summit &
Awards 2020 in union with Achromic Point an international consulting firm. The Award aimed to resolve the
issues related to direct tax and its implications. Dharampal Satyapal Limited won the award for Best In-house
Direct Tax Team of the year.
90. Which Indian state government has proposed (in state budget) ‘Samruddha Krishi Niti-2020’ to
increase the income of farmers?
1) West Bengal
2) Telangana
3) Haryana
4) Punjab
5) Odisha
Answer-5) Odisha
Explanation:
Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presented the annual
budget 2020-21 for Rs 1.5 Lakh crore, in 2019-20 for Rs 1.39 lakh crore. The budget is termed as paperless
‘Green Budget’, an initiative under 5T action plan to reduce printing of 75Lakhs pages hence to save around
1000 trees. To increase the income of farmers ‘Samruddha Krishi Niti-2020’ has been proposed.
91. Which Indian state government has launched the Atal kisan – Majdoor canteens to provide
affordable meals to the farmers (Rs. 10 per plate)?
1) Odisha
2) Haryana
3) Punjab
4) Karnataka
5) Gujarat
Answer-2) Haryana
Explanation:
According to the Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, the state Government will open Atal Kisan – Majdoor
canteens (named after former Prime minister (PM) late Atal Bihari Vajpayee) in the ‘mandis’ and sugar mills
across the state to provide affordable, cheap meals to farmers and labourers at concessional rate of Rs 10 per
plate.
92. Under which scheme the government has paid Rs. 50, 580 crores for farmers to meet farm input cost
and domestic expenses (as on Feb 2020)?
1) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
2) Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)
3) Gramin Bhandaran Yojna
4) Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
5) Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
Answer-5) Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
Explanation:
The centre stated that it has paid Rs 50,850 crore to farmers under Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
scheme (Launched on February 24, 2019). The scheme is under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare. Union Ministry of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar launched PM KISAN mobile application, which is
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aimed at broadening the reach of the scheme. Under the scheme farmers will be provided with Rs. 6000 in 3
equal installments to meet farm input cost and domestic expenses.
93. Name the Arab nation which hosted the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting
2020 on theme “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”?
1) Bahrain
2) Kuwait
3) Qatar
4) Saudi Arabia
5) Oman
Answer-4) Saudi Arabia
Explanation:
The G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Meeting was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 22-23
February 2020 on the theme “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”. Saudi Arabia is the first Arab
nation to hold the G20 presidency and will hold the 15th meeting of G20 Leaders Summit 2020 from 21-22
November 2020, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
94. The Central Exercise Day celebrated annually on _______?

1) January 26
2) April 15
3) February 24
4) May 12
5) July 24
Answer-3) February 24
Explanation:
Central Excise Day was celebrated every year on February 24 across India to encourage the employees of the
excise department to carry out the central excise duty in a better way and to prevent corruption. The Central
Excise Day is celebrated to commemorate the Central Excise and Salt Act, which was enacted on February 24,
1944.
95. The Name Indian State, which ranked top in the 1st Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payouts
performance rating released by central government for 2019-20?
1) Uttarakhand
2) Uttar Pradesh
3) Gujarat
4) Haryana
5) West Bengal
Answer-4) Haryana
Explanation:
According to the recent ratings regarding Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) payouts, prepared for the 1st time by
the Central Government, Small state Haryana has emerged as the best state in DBT payouts (Rs.4782 crores in
over 4 crore transactions) in 2019-20. Whereas, West Bengal has emerged as the worst performer in DBT
payouts ranked 36th position.
DBT performance ranking 2019-20:
Rank State DBT payout
1 Haryana Rs.4782 crore
2 Uttarakhand Rs. 1060 cr
36 West Bengal Rs. 8793 cr
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96. As per the report titled “Transforming Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyan” released by NITI Aayog,
Which Indian state performs better in implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
(PMMVY) scheme?
1) Madhya Pradesh
2) Odisha
3) Andhra Pradesh
4) Chhattisgarh
5) Punjab
Answer-3) Andhra Pradesh
Explanation:
The “Transforming Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyan”, is a 2nd progress report on Prime Minister’s
Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan (Nutrition Mission) until September 2019,
released by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog. The report ranked states & Union
Territories to measure their readiness to execute the programme,
Top 3 states in Ranking:
Rank Large States (19) Small States (8) Union Territories (7)
1 Andhra Pradesh Mizoram Dadra and Nagar Haveli
2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh
3 Madhya Pradesh Nagaland Daman and Diu
97. To which Indian State/UT, NABARD has granted 400.64 crore under Rural Infrastructure
Development Fund (RIDF) to boost the infrastructure (Feb 2020)?
1) Jammu & Kashmir
2) Haryana
3) Gujarat
4) Himachal Pradesh
5) Odisha
Answer-1) Jammu & Kashmir
Explanation:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), an Apex Development Financial Institution in
India, has granted a sum of Rs 400.64 crore to the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir(J&K). The
amount has been sanctioned under its ‘Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) – Trench XXV’for
boosting rural infrastructure during the current financial year-FY(2019-20).
98. Who is the Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)?
Answer-Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
99. Name the Public sector bank , which joined hands with Microsoft to train differently abled people
for the employment in Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector?
1) Indian Bank
2) IDBI Bank Ltd.
3) State Bank of India
4) Corporation Bank
5) IDBI Bank Ltd.
Answer-3) State Bank of India
Explanation:
Global tech giant Microsoft has collaborated with the State Bank of India (SBI) to train differently-abled people
to find jobs in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. As a part of this partnership, 500
differently-abled youths will be trained in 1st year and SBI Foundation & Microsoft will develop an artificial
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intelligence powered market so that BFSI industry can connect more easily with differently-abled people for
employment opportunities.
100. What is the tagline of State Bank of India?

Answer-The Banker to Every Indian
101. The Competition Commission of India approves the NTPC to acquire 100% of the issued & paid-up
share capital of NEEPCO & 74.5% stake of THDC India under which section of Competition Act, 2002?
1) Section 29(1)
2) Section 30(1)
3) Section 31(1)
4) Section 32(1)
5) Section 33(1)
Answer-3) Section 31(1)
Explanation:
The Competition Commission of India(CCI) has given approval to state owned NTPC under Section 31(1) of the
competition act,2002 to acquire 100% of the issued and paid-up share capital of North Eastern Electric Power
Corporation (NEEPCO) & 74.5% stake of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation limited (THDC), the rest 25.5%
stake to be held by Uttar Pradesh government.
102. According to IQAir AirVisual’s report titled “2019 World Air Quality Report-Region & City PM2.5
Ranking”, what is the India’s Rank in most polluted country list?
1) 7
2) 15
3) 12
4) 5
5) 9
Answer-4) 5
Explanation:
AirVisual, India ranked 5th as the most polluted country in the world. Cleanest country – Bahamas & Most
polluted country – Bangladesh.
World most Polluted Countries 2019 (PM2.5)
1 Bangladesh 83.3
2 Pakistan 65.8
3 Mongolia 62
4 Afghanistan 58.8
5 India 58.1
98 Bahamas 3.3
103. According to IQAir AirVisual’s report titled “2019 World Air Quality Report-Region & City PM2.5
Ranking”, which Indian state ranked top in the list of cities with poor air quality in the world?
1) Ghaziabad
2) New Delhi
3) Pune
4) Bengaluru
5) Kolkata
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Answer-1) Ghaziabad
Explanation:
AirVisual, Ghazhiabad, Uttar Pradesh, India topped the list of cities with poor air quality in the world. Also, New
Delhi topped in World’s most polluted capital city list 2019.
World most Polluted Cities 2019 (PM2.5)
1 Ghaziabad, India 110.2
2 Hotan, China 110.1
3 Gujranwala, Pakistan 105.3
4 Faisalabad, Pakistan 104.6
5 Delhi, India 98.6
104. As per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) report titled “Assessment of the progress of digitisation
from cash to electronic”, The value of digital payments to GDP increased from 660% in 2014-15 to _____
in 2018-19.
1) 752%
2) 796%
3) 862%
4) 698%
5) 736%
Answer-3) 862%
Explanation:
As per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) report titled “Assessment of the progress of digitisation from cash to
electronic”, The value of digital payments to GDP increased from 660% in 2014-15 to 862% in 2018-19.
from cash to electronic”, The notes in circulation (NIC) increased at average rate of ____ between
October 2014 and October 2016.
1) 22%
2) 26%
3) 19%
4) 14%
5) 36%
Answer-4) 14%
Explanation:
electronic”, The notes in circulation (NIC) [Currency in Circulation (CIC) – coins in circulation] increased at
average rate of 14% between October 2014 and October 2016.
from cash to electronic”, The CIC (Currency in Circulation) across the country increased at a
Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of _____ over the past 5 years (2014-2015 to 2018-2019).
1) 15.2%
2) 9.6%
3) 10.2%
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4) 13.2%
5) 18.6%
Answer-3) 10.2%
Explanation:
electronic”, The CIC (Currency in Circulation) across the country increased at a Compounded Annual Growth
Rate (CAGR) of 10.2% over the past 5 years (2014-2015 to 2018-2019).
107. Name the Private sector bank , which got nod from Reserve Bank of India to open new branches
without prior approval (Feb 2020).
1) Lakshmi Vilas Bank
2) Federal Bank
3) Dhanlaxmi Bank
4) City Union Bank
5) Bandhan Bank
Answer-5) Bandhan Bank
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the ban on Bandhan Bank & allowed it to open new branches without
prior permission. However, the RBI came up with some regulatory conditions & directed the bank to order
about 25 % of the total banking outlets to be opened in rural areas where banking facilities are not available.
108. Where is the Headquarters of Bandhan Bank located at?

Answer-Kolkata, West Bengal
109. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) formed a 9-members
committee to examine the possibility of allowing life insurers offer indemnity based health policies.
Who is the Head of the committee?
1) G. Srinivasan
2) M N Sharma
3) Ritesh Kumar
4) S N Bhattacharya
5) A V Girija Kumar
Answer-1) G. Srinivasan
Explanation:
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), an autonomous body tasked with
regulating and promoting the insurance, has formed a 9-member committee led by Mr. G. Srinivasan, Director
of National Insurance Academy to examine the possibility of allowing life insurers offer indemnity based health
policies.
110. Find the organization, which secured $118 Million through offshore India rupee linked 10-year
bonds (Feb 2020).
1) World Bank (WB)
4) Export–Import Bank (EXIM)
Answer-3) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Explanation:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has secured Rs 850 crore (about $118 million) from a new issue of offshore
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Indian rupee-linked 10-year bonds, with the bonds bearing a semi-annual coupon of 6.15% and priced to yield
6.19%.
111. As per the “The Hurun Global Rich List 2020” released jointly by Hurun Research Institute and
Shimao Shenkong International Center, who is the world’s richest person?
1) Larry Page
2) Bernard Arnault
3) Jeff Bezos
4) Bill Gates
5) Mark Zuckerberg
Answer-3) Jeff Bezos
Explanation:
The Hurun Global Rich List 2020 was jointly released by Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute and
Shenzhen-based Shimao Shenkong International Center. Jeff Bezos retains 1st rank (with $140 Billion wealth)
for the third running year and Mukesh Ambani is positioned at 9th with $67 billion wealth. Also Uday Kotak is
listed as The World’s Richest self-made banker.
Wealth
Rank Name in Billion Main company(for wealth) Country
9 Mukesh Ambani USD 67 Reliance India
1 Jeff Bezos USD 140 Amazon USA
2 Bernard Arnault USD 107 LVMH France
3 Bill Gates USD 106 Microsoft USA
112. Who has been appointed as the new president of multinational finance service
company, MasterCard (Feb 2020)?
1) Mark Schwartz
2) Silvio Barzi
3) Michael Miebach
4) Alfred F Kelly
5) Richard Haythornthwaite
Answer-3) Michael Miebach
Explanation:
Mastercard named Michael Miebach as its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He will replace
Ajaypal Singh Banga, who assumes charge as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors in effect from March
1, 2020.
113. The RBI has released a working paper titled “Nowcasting Indian GDP growth using a Dynamic
Factor Model” which derived a new method to calculate India’s growth (GDP) using ____ indicators.
1) 10
2) 15
3) 12
4) 7
5) 18
Answer-3) 12
Explanation:
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come up with a new method of calculating India’s growth through a Working
Paper titled “Nowcasting Indian GDP growth using a Dynamic Factor Model” under the RBI Working Paper
Series, introduced in March 2011.The Paper is co-authored by Soumya Bhadury, Saurabh Ghosh and Pankaj
Kumar. The paper introduces the Dynamic Factor Model of calculating Gross Domestic Product (GDP), using 12
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indicators. It should be noted that the indicators are similar but not the same as the dynamic factor models
(DFMs) of Stock and Watson (1989).
114. Name the company, which is the 1st non-life insurance company in India to use WhatsApp Chabot
for services like delivery policy & renewal documents?
1) Apollo Munich Health Insurance
2) Bharti AXA General Insurance
3) Edelweiss General Insurance
4) DHFL General Insurance
5) Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
Answer-2) Bharti AXA General Insurance
Explanation:
Bharti AXA General Insurance becomes the 1st non-life insurer in India to use Whatsapp chatbot for entire
services such as policy documents delivery, renewal notices & claim intimation for its customers. It will soon
start to sell private cars, 2 wheelers & Travel insurance through Whatsapp.
115. The Government of India (GoI) decided to include non-scheduled urban & District cooperative
banks under which scheme to make easy access to finance for MSME sector.
1) Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)
2) Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS)
3) Interest subvention scheme
4) only 1) and 2)
5) All the 1), 2) and 3)
Answer-5) All the 1), 2) and 3)
Explanation:
The Governmentof India(GOI) has decided to include non-scheduled urban & district central cooperative banks
in 3 schemes namely Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro & Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), Credit Linked
Capital Subsidy Scheme (CLCSS) & Interest Subvention Scheme to make easy access to finance for the Ministry
of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.
116. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ordered to link all their new floating rate loans to medium
enterprises with an external benchmark effective from __________.
1) March 31, 2020
2) January 1, 2021
3) July 1, 2020
4) April 1, 2020
5) June 30, 2020
Answer-4) April 1, 2020
Explanation:
In a bid to strengthen monetary policy transmission, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
ordered banks to link all their new floating rate loans to medium enterprises with an external benchmark
effective from April 1, 2020. The interest rate linked to an external benchmark has to be revised at least once in
3 months.
117. As per PSB Ease reform report Annual Report 2019-20 the Gross Non-Performing Assets (G-NPA)
reduced from Rs. 8.96 lakh crore in March 2018 to Rs. _______lakh crore in December 2019.
1) 6.25
2) 9.98
3) 4.65
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4) 7.17
5) 7.87
Answer-4) 7.17
Explanation:
As per PSB Ease reform report Annual Report 2019-20 the Gross Non-Performing Assets (G-NPA) reduced from
Rs. 8.96 lakh crore (14.6%) in March 2018 to Rs. 7.17 lakh crore (11.3%) in December 2019.
118. The Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar has launched ‘Baroda Startup Banking’ service to make Bank of
Baroda (BoB) preferred partner for Start-up companies. Who is the present Chairman of BoB?
1) Hasmukh Adhia
2) T. N. Manoharan
3) Rajnish Kumar
4) S. Muhnot
5) Pratap Sharma
Answer-1) Hasmukh Adhia
Explanation:
Finance Secretary Shri Rajiv Kumar has inaugurated the ‘Baroda Startup Banking’ service across 15 cities with
the objective of making Bank of Baroda (BoB) a preferred ally of startup companies and connecting more than
2,000 startups over the next 2- years.
Chairman – Hasmukh Adhia, MD&CEO – Sanjiv Chadha, Headquarters – Baroda, Gujarat.
119. Name the Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), which launched an SME (Small and medium-
sized enterprises) lending product “UDAAN” for women entrepreneurs to provide secured loans upto
Rs.40 lakhs.
1) Muthoot Finance Limited
2) Edelweiss Finance & Investments Limited
3) Capri Global Capital Limited
4) Religare Finvest Limited
5) Capital First Limited
Answer-3) Capri Global Capital Limited
Explanation:
The Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) Capri Global Capital Limited (CGCL) has launched an SME (Small
and medium-sized enterprises) lending product “UDAAN” for women entrepreneurs to provide secured loans
upto Rs.40 lakhs only for Business purpose with the loan repayment period of 10years to 15 years at a
competitive interest rate after conducting due diligence.
120. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has amended the Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) policy to allow 100% FDI for insurance Intermediators. The DPIIT comes under
which Ministry?
1) Ministry of Labour and Employment
2) Ministry of Corporate Affairs
3) Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
4) Ministry of Commerce and Industry
5) Ministry of Finance
Answer-4) Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Explanation:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) (under Ministry of Commerce and
Industry) has amended the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to allow 100% FDI (earlier it was 49%) for
insurance Intermediators like insurance brooking, insurance companies, third party administrators, surveyors
and loss assessors. 100% FDI is allowed in insurance intermediaries under automatic approval route.
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121. The Government of India (GoI) has approved Rs.162 crores for Operations Green (OG) scheme (Feb
2020). The OG scheme works under which ministry?
1) Ministry of Food Processing Industries
2) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
3) Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare
4) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
5) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Answer-1) Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Explanation:
The government approved Rs 162 crore under Operations Green (OG) Scheme which was announced in 2018-
19 budget with an outlay of 500 crores to stable the supply of TOP crops (Tomato, Onion & Potato) & to confirm
their availability throughout the year without price volatility. The scheme works under Ministry of Food
Processing Industries (MoFPI). The aim of the scheme is to enhance TOP Crops value chain & promote Farmer
Producers Organizations (FPOs), agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management.
122. As per first edition of NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) Land Records and
Services Index (N-LRSI 2019-20), which is India’s best performing state in terms of digitising land
records?
1) Punjab
2) Telangana
3) Odisha
4) Madhya Pradesh
5) Haryana
Answer-4) Madhya Pradesh
Explanation:
According to the 1st edition of NCAER Land Records and Services Index (N-LRSI 2019-20) released by the
National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) , Madhya Pradesh (MP) emerged as the best
performing state in terms of digitising land records with the score of 74.9.It was followed by Odisha
(67.5points) and Maharashtra (65.3 points). While Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh ranked at bottom at 33rd
position with a score of 2.0.
NCAER Land Record Services Index (N-LRSI) 2019-20 ranking:
State/Union
Rank Score
Territory
1 Madhya Pradesh 74.9
2 Odisha 67.5
3 Maharashtra 65.3
33rd Ladakh 2
123. The Central government has approved 32 projects (covers 17 states with the investment worth of
Rs. 406 crores) under the PMKSY scheme. The ‘S’ in PMKSY denotes?
1) Swachh
2) Sadak
3) Sampada
4) Shiksha
5) Samriddhi
Answer-3) Sampada
Explanation:
Government approved a total of 32 projects under ‘unit’ scheme of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana
(PMKSY) [scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro Processing Clusters] in the meeting of
Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) presided over by Union Minister of Food Processing Industries
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(MoFPI) Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The project covers about 17 states, leveraging an investment worth of Rs 406
crores.
124. Name the private sector bank, which partnered with IndiGo to launch co-branded credit card ‘Ka-
Ching’ powered by MasterCard?
1) Axis Bank
2) Yes Bank
3) IndusInd Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) ICICI Bank
Answer-4) HDFC Bank
Explanation:
HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation) bank, an Indian banking and financial services company,
has entered into a partnership with IndiGo airlines to launch its first travel credit card named ‘Ka-ching’-
powered by Mastercard.
125. Who is the present Managing Director (MD) of HDFC bank?

Answer-Aditya Puri
126. Which public sector company along with its subsidiary Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
(HPCL) acquired 17.28% of Bankers’ stake each in petronet MHB worth of Rs. 371 crores?
1) Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL)
2) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
3) Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL)
4) Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL)
5) Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL)
Answer-2) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
Explanation:
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and its subsidiary Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
Limited (HPCL) acquired 17.28% stake each from 34.56 % of bankers’ stake in Petronet MHB, the firm that
owns a petroleum product pipeline in Mangalore, Karnataka for about Rs 371 crore.
127. As per Government’s data, the issuance of RuPay debit cards under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dan Yojana
(PMJDY) reached all-time-high of ______ (as on 19 February 2020).
1) 38.13 Crore
2) 36.59 Crore
3) 29.14 Crore
4) 19.97 Crore
5) 25.33 Crore
Answer-3) 29.14 crore
Explanation:
In accordance with the government data, by February 19, 2020, the issuance of RuPay debit cards under the
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) reached an all-time-high of 29.14 crore. The data states that three
out of four Jan Dhan account holders (i.e 29.14 crore out of 38.13 crore – around 76%)have a RuPay debit card.
128. As per Controller General of Accounts (CGA), the fiscal deficit of the country reached ______ of the
estimate for the whole year at the end of January 2020.
1) 121.5%
2) 112.8%
3) 118.7%
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4) 128.5%
5) 132.2%
Answer-4) 128.5%
Explanation:
According to the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, fiscal
deficit of the country reached 128.5 % of the estimate for the whole year at the end of January 2020.The deficit
stood at Rs 9,85,472 crore ($137.05 billion). The deficit was 121.5% of the revised budget estimate (RBE) for
the same period of the previous financial year-FY 2018-19.
129. As per the report by online payment processor Worldline India titled “Wordline India Digital
Payments 2019”, Name the Indian city which accounted for highest number of digital transactions in
India in 2019?
1) Hyderabad
2) Kolkata
3) Bengaluru
4) Mumbai
5) Chennai
Answer-3) Bengaluru
Explanation:
Payments 2019”, Bengaluru (Karnataka) accounted for the highest number of digital transactions in India in
2019, followed by Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra.
Payments 2019”, Name the Indian state which topped the list of highest number of digital transactions?
1) Telangana
2) West Bengal
3) Karnataka
4) Maharashtra
5) Tamil Nadu
Answer-4) Maharashtra
Explanation:
Payments 2019”, Among states, Maharashtra (MH) has topped with the highest number of digital transactions.
MH is followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi.
Payments 2019”, The number of transactions recorded in United Payments Interface (UPI) in 2019 is
______ (in billions)?
1) 9.6
2) 11
3) 13.2
4) 8.4
5) 10.8
Answer-5) 10.8
Explanation:
Payments 2019”, The most preferred mode of payment was United Payments Interface (UPI). It is also the
fastest payment mode to hit 1 billion monthly transactions. It has recorded around 10.8 billion transactions in
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2019, a 188% year-on-year (YoY). In terms of value, UPI facilitated transactions worth Rs18.36 trillion in 2019,
up 214% YoY compared to 2018.
132. Who is the present Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)?
Answer-Ajay Tyagi
Explanation:
Chairman of Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Ajay Tyagi gets a 6-month extension from the
government, whose tenure of 3 years (from 2017) to end on February 29, 2020.
133. Name the Indian state, which reduced the retirement age of state government employees from 60
to 58 (Feb 2020).
1) Haryana
2) Madhya Pradesh
3) Jharkhand
4) Odisha
5) Punjab
Answer-5) Punjab
Explanation:
The Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal presented Punjab govt’s Rs ₹1, 54,805 crore budget for
financial year 2020-21 in the state assembly. The retirement age of state government employees has been
reduced from 60 to 58. Those who have turned 59 will retire on March 31 this year and those who are 58 will
retire from September 30. The financial outgo on account of reducing the retirement age would be ₹3,500
crores.
134. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approves the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as MD&CEO of
Which Private Sector Bank?
1) ICICI Bank
2) IndusInd Bank
3) Dhanlaxmi Bank
4) HDFC Bank
5) City Union Bank
Answer-2) IndusInd Bank
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved the appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as Managing Director(MD)
and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of private sector lender IndusInd Bank for three years, which is effective from
March 24, 2020, He is the successor of Romesh Sobti. The headquarters of IndusInd bank is Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
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Banking, Finance & Economy PDF 2020 - February

Banking, Finance & Economy News: February 2020

Govt appoints M.Ajit kumar as chairman of CBIC

Canara Bank MD & CEO R.A. Sankara Narayanan retires

Bank credit up by 7.21%, deposits up by 9.51%: RBI

Paytm unveils all-in-one QR, PoS device and merchant SDK

RBI hikes Insurance cover on bank deposits to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh

About Deposit insurance:

Reliance general insurance introduces comprehensive health insurance plan “Infinity”

About United States Chamber of Commerce

Overview of 6th Bi-monthly monetary policy 2020 released by RBI

RBI to create digital payments index (DPI)

Unemployment rate in India was 6.1% in 2017-18 as per new PLFS

WB chief economist Pinelopi announced resignation

Govt data: $118.3 billion received in remittances since 2018-19

ADB approved $2 million fund amount to combat nCoV

GSTN formulates panel to improve IT system

South Indian Bank bags 6 Awards at IBA Banking Technology Awards

EIU lowers Global Growth Forecast 2020 to 2.2% from 2.3%

consequences on global economy announced by EIU in a report.

About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI):

Facebook launched digital literacy training to 1 lakh women in 7 Indian states

SEBI constituted municipal bonds development committee headed by Sujit Prasad

16 Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 48.4

SEBI to tighten eligibility criteria for investment advisors

Gujarat govt signs MoU with SBI to facilitate MSME loans

Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

About Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd:

About Landmark Group:

RBI appointed Sunil Gurbaxani as Dhanlaxmi Bank MD & CEO

Formation– 1 April 1935

Securities market regulator SEBI redefines ‘pledge’ to protect client securities

India’s GDP growth to be 4.9% in 2019-20: NCAER

Odisha government presented Rs 1.5 Lakh crore paperless budget 2020-21

iv.The fiscal deficit estimated to be 3% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)

Central Excise Day was observed on feb 24, 2020

NABARD grants Rs 400.64 cr for UT of J&K to boost infrastructure

Rank Country Average PM2.5 concentration (µg/m³)

About Bandhan Bank:

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):

Government to include non-scheduled urban, district cooperative banks in 3 schemes for

About Bank of Baroda(BoB):

Government approves Rs 162 crore under Operation Green Scheme

• Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure

Haryana CM Manohar lal khattar presents Rs 1,42,343-crore budget for 2020-21

Fiscal deficit reached 128.5% of budget estimate at end-January 2020:Govt data

Ajay Tyagi Chairman of SEBI gets 6 month extension

RBI approves appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as MD &CEO of IndusInd Bank

Banking, Finance & Economy Q&A: February 2020

4) University Grants Commission (UGC)

6. What is the tagline of Canara Bank?

Answer-3) Asian Development Bank

32. Where is Headquarters of Asian Development Bank (ADB) located at?

56. Who is the Head of 15th Finance commission?