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2020 Banking & Finance

Table of Contents
2020 Banking & Finance – January ................................................................................................................................ 3
2020 Banking & Finance – February ........................................................................................................................... 12
2020 Banking & Finance – March ................................................................................................................................ 20
2020 Banking & Finance – April ................................................................................................................................... 28
2020 Banking & Finance – May .................................................................................................................................... 35
2020 Banking & Finance – June.................................................................................................................................... 40
2020 Banking & Finance – July ..................................................................................................................................... 47

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2020 Banking & Finance – January

RBI IN NEWS
CAD slips to 0.9% of GDP in July-Sept 2019 from 2.9 :RBI
According to the report “Developments in India’s Balance of Payments during the Second Quarter (July-
September) of 2019-20” released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s current account deficit
(CAD) decreased to 0.9 % of gross domestic product (GDP) or $6.3 billion in July-September 2019
quarter. It was 2.9 % of GDP or $19 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19. The reduction in
CAD is primarily due to low trade deficit of $ 38.1 billion as against the trade deficit at a high of $50
billion in 2018. The Net Foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at $ 7.4 billion in the second quarter of
2019. Read full details here: CAD slips to 0.9% of GDP in July-Sept 2019 from 2.9% :RBI
RBI allows banks to offer round-the-clock forex market operations

Inorder to reduce the rising influence of offshore trading in the currency markets, the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) has enabled AD (Authorised Dealer) Category-I Bank to offer round-the-clock (24x7)
trading in the Indian rupee to allow Indians to safeguard their foreign exchange (Forex) risks at any
time. Till now, the select banks in India offered Indian customers foreign exchange rates only in inter-
bank market hours from 9 am - 5 pm. The decision has been taken on the lines of the key
recommendations of the Task Force on Offshore Rupee Markets headed by Smt. Usha Thorat.
RBI revises supervisory action framework for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks
Inorder to better manage the stressed UCBs, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released its final
Supervisory Action Framework (SAF) tightening norms for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks
(UCBs). The revised rules include threshold limits for asset quality, profitability and Capital to Risk-
weighted Assets ratio (CRAR). All such actions are taken under section 35A of the Banking Regulation
Act, 1949 (as applicable to co-operative societies). Under the revised rules, UCBs may be placed under
the framework, if it incurs two consecutive years of losses. Read full details here: RBI revises
supervisory action framework for Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks
Shivalik Mercantile became 1st urban cooperative bank to convert to SFB

Reserve Bank of India (RBI), gave approval to Uttar Pradesh based Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative
Bank Ltd to convert to a small finance bank (SFB). With this, Shivalik Mercantile became the 1st urban
cooperative bank (UCB) to be converted into an SFB since the release of reformed RBI guidelines which
came out 2 years ago. The RBI will grant a licence to Shivalik Mercantile bank for the commencement of
banking business under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as an SFB. Read full details
here: Shivalik Mercantile became 1st urban cooperative bank to convert to SFB
India's foreign exchange reserve touches a record level of $457.46 bn: RBI
According to the “ Bulletin Weekly Statistical Supplement – Extract” released by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI), India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves rose by $ 2.520 billion to a record $ 457.468 billion
during the week ended 27 December 2019. The main reason for increase in foreign exchange reserves is
the increase in foreign exchange assets, which is the main component of forex.
 Foreign Currency Assets (FCA): Foreign currency assets rose to $ 424.936 billion.
 Gold Reserve: Country's gold reserves also increased to $ 27.392 billion.
 SDR: India’s special drawing rights (SDR) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined
by $ 2 million to $ 1.441 billion.
 Reserve Position in the IMF: India’s reserve position with the IMF Fund increased to $ 3.7 billion.
RBI curbs functions of Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank; withdraw limit set to Rs.35000
Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Chief General Manager Yogesh Dayal has issued the directive which
curbed Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara Bank, a private bank in Bengaluru, Karnataka from doing

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business,w.e.f. January 10, 2020, under Sections 35A and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. This
has been done after finding alleged irregularities in transactions. The bank’s savings and current
account customers and depositors can however withdraw cash up to Rs 35,000 only till further
notice.The directive will remain in force for 6 months.
Central govt raised India Overseas Bank's authorized capital to Rs 25,000 crore
The central govt in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)has announced an increase in the
authorized capital of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) to Rs 25,000 crores from the previous authorized
capital of Rs. 15,000 crores, thus making an increase by Rs. 10,000 crores.
RBI permits UPI transactions for recurring payments & releases framework for imposing penalties on
payment system operators
In a view of the promotion of digital payments, RBI has permitted processing of e-mandate for recurring
payments through UPI (Unified Payments Interface) under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of
Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007). It also released framework for imposing
penalties on payment system operators/banks under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
for not complying with regulatory requirements. It ensures safety and security to various stakeholders,
including customers. The monetary penalty levied for a contravention shall not exceed Rs 5 lakh or
double the amount of contravention or default, whichever is higher,Read full details here: RBI permits
UPI transactions for recurring payments & releases framework for imposing penalties on payment
system operators
RBI formulates National Strategy for Financial Inclusion for the period 2019-2024
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the aegis of Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee (FIAC) has set
up a 5 year plan of formulation of National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) for the period 2019-
2024. This has been done keeping in view the global trend of financial inclusion which acts as a key
driver of economic growth.The national strategy plan, i.e., NSFI was finalised and approved by Financial
Stability Development Council (FSDC) and the final documents were released by RBI deputy director
Mahesh Kumar Jain at the high level meeting on Financial Inclusion for the North East region at
Agartala, Tripura.Read full details here: RBI formulates National Strategy for Financial Inclusion for the
period 2019-2024
In a 1st, RBI introduced video-based identification process for KYC

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the 1st time has introduced Aadhaar-based Video Customer
Identification Process (V-CIP). This process will allow banks and other lenders to complete the KYC
(Know Your Customer) process of customers on video itself. To introduce V-CIP, RBI has amended
guidelines under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. The video
KYC will be consent based i.e, banks can complete V-CIP of KYC process only after obtaining consent
from the bank customers. This is done to adhere to the RBI’s KYC norms by leveraging digital
technology. The definition of digital KYC has been changed in section 3 of the Master Direction on KYC
dated February 25, 2016.
RBI tightens norms for debit, credit card issuance & usage to improve security
In view of the increasing cases of cyber fraud, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
framed new rules under “Enhancing Security of Card Transactions” to further protect debit, credit card
transactions. These directions are issued under Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems
Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007) & will come into effect from 16 March,2020. Under this, now transactions at
ATMs (Automated Teller Machine) and PoS (Point of Sale) will be done through domestic cards. RBI
also directed banks and other card issuing companies to allow their customers to switch on and off
their debit and credit cards. Read full details here: RBI tightens norms for debit, credit card issuance &
usage to improve security

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WGC: RBI ranked 6th among central banks in buying gold abroad;China’s central bank tops
India’s central bank i.e., the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been ranked 6th largest buyer of sovereign
gold abroad after it purchased 25.2 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2019 according to World Gold
Council(WGC) report titled “Outlook 2020: Global economic trends and their impact on gold”. The
central banks of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Poland have purchased more gold than India in
2019. RBI currently holds 625.2 tonnes of gold, that forms 6.6% of its forex reserves. The performance
of gold in market in 2019 was best Since 2010. It rose by 18.4% in United States dollar (USD)terms in
2019. Read full details here: WGC: RBI ranked 6th among central banks in buying gold abroad;China’s
central bank tops
Reserve Bank cancels certificate of authorisation of Vodafone m-pesa

India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation
(CoA) of Vodafone M-pesa Limited, a Payment System Operator (PSO), after it had voluntarily
surrendered the authorization. Now Vodafone m-Pesa cannot continue to transact the business of
issuance & will no longer have the right to provide payment facility as a prepaid instrument (PPI).
Vodafone Idea in 2019 has decided to close m-pesa vertical after the closure of Aditya Birla Idea
Payments Bank Limited (ABIPBL), with which it was being merged. However, m-Paisa customers and
merchants can claim valid under POS.
For the 1st time, RBI Releases Minutes of board meeting

For the 1st time, India central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the minutes of the
579th meeting of Central Board of Directors (BoD) held in Chandigarh on October 11, 2019 as part of
the central bank’s transparency initiative. The disclosure of the information is considered as a measure
to further enhance public awareness about the functioning of the RBI & and bring accountability to the
directors. The minutes of the meetings of the Central Board will be uploaded on the RBI’s website under
provisions of Section 4 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. Read full details here: For the 1st
time, RBI Releases Minutes of board meeting
RBI hikes short-term debt investments limit for FPI to 30% from 20%
With the aim to boost foreign inflows, India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
increased the short-term investments by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to 30 % from 20 % of
the total FPI investment in Central government securities including Treasury Bills(T-bills) / state
development loans. This rule also applies in corporate bonds. These directions are issued under
sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42 of 1999). Now FPIs can
also invest up to Rs 1,50,000 crore through voluntary retention route (VRR) as against the earlier limit
of Rs 75,000 crore. Read full details here: RBI hikes short-term debt investments limit for FPI to 30%
from 20%
UCBs hit by around 972 cases of fraud worth Rs 221 crore in past 5 fiscals: RBI
According to the India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), there have been about 972
cases of fraud in the urban cooperative banks (UCBs) of the country in the last 5 fiscal years (FY), in
which banks have incurred losses of 221 crores. As per RBI, banks need to register these cases of
rigging with legal investigating agencies. Banks should decide the responsibility of staff in such cases
and take strict action & punish the guilty. Read full details here: UCBs hit by around 972 cases of fraud
worth Rs 221 crore in past 5 fiscals: RBI
RBI increased Investment Limits Under Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) to Rs 1.5lakh crore
Based on the feedback received from the Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) scheme introduced by the
Reserve Bank of India(RBI) in 2009, the central bank(RBI) in consultation with the govt. made certain
amendments in the scheme to increase its operational flexibility. As per the amendments, the
investment limit under VRR has now been increased to Rs 1,50,000 crores (1.5lakh crores) from

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earlier Rs.75,000 crores. For fresh allotment, the investment limit will be Rs. 90,630 crores and will be
allotted under VRR- combined category.Read full details here: RBI increased Investment Limits Under
Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) to Rs 1.5lakh crore
RBI appoints Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee

Janak Raj has been appointed as the third internal member (ex officio member) of the Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during it's 581st meeting of the central
board in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He is the successor of Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra who was
appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI. ED Janak is the executive director in-charge of the monetary
policy department. MPC consists of 6 members which is headed by RBI governor.
BANKING TECHNOLOGY
APP NAME LAUNCHED BY KEY NOTES
MANI (Mobile Aided Note Identifier) Shri Shaktikanta launched a mobile app named “MANI”
Das, 25th Governor (Mobile Aided Note Identifier) that would
of Reserve Bank help visually impaired people to identify
(RBI) denomination of currency notes correctly.
Click here
myApps HDFC (Housing For the 1st time has launched ‘myApps’,
Development which is a suite of white-label apps to
Finance benefit urban local bodies, housing
Corporation) Bank, societies, local clubs and gymkhanas and
An Indian banking religious institutions. The myApps was
and financial launched at an event in Mumbai,
services company Maharashtra by Smita Bhagat, Country
Head, Government & Institutional
Business, Start-ups and E-Commerce,
HDFC Bank and Sunali Rohra, Executive
Vice President, Government and
Institutional Business, HDFC Bank.
ICICI Bank API Banking ICICI (Industrial Launched India’s largest API (application
portal’(https://developer.icicibank.com/) Credit and programming interfaces) Banking portal,
Investment which consists of 250 APIs & allows
Corporation of bank’s partner companies across the
India) bank, an globe to sign up on it, create an
Indian multinational application, select the application, test it
banking and out and get the sample code. API is a
financial services software intermediary that allows two
company applications to talk to each other. Click
here
iMobile ICICI (Industrial An Indian multinational bank has

Credit and launched Cardless cash withdrawal
Investment facility from its ATMs (Automated Teller
Corporation of Machine) with a per-day transaction limit
India) Bank of Rs 20,000. With this, customers can
withdraw cash from more than 15,000
ATMs of the bank through the bank's

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mobile banking application 'iMobile'. This
facility can be used for self-withdrawal
when ICICI customers do not wish to carry
the debit card & also enables customers to
withdraw cash securely and easily from
their mobile phone for everyday use.
Ask Lakshmi City Union Bank For the 1st time India, the City Union
(CUB) Limited Bank (CUB) Limited, one of the leading
Indian banks in India, has launched a
multilingual voice-enabled mobile
banking application. Now the CUB
customers can converse with the chat-bot
‘Ask Lakshmi’ of the app in Tamil,
English, Hindi / Telugu language for
their general banking queries including
transactions like Balance enquiry, mini
statement, fund transfer over voice/text
instructions. The chat-bot Lakshmi
operates on Artificial Intelligence (AI)
platform.
LOANS ISSUED BY BANKS

LOANS RECEIVED AMOUNT KEY NOTES
ISSUED BY BY
Export-Import Cuba $75 million Export-Import (Exim) Bank, the premier export finance
(Exim) Bank (over Rs 500 institution of India has given a $75 million (over Rs 500
crore) crore) line of credit (LoC, a soft loan/loan with low-
interest rate) to Cuba for financing 75 MW (megawatt)
Photovoltaic Solar Parks. The Agreement in this regard
between Exim Bank & Banco Exterior De Cuba, a
nominated agency of the Government of Cuba, signed on
July 16,2019 & is effective from December 12,2019.
Kfw, Germany Andhra Rs.711 crore For expanding the climate-resilient Zero-Budget Natural
Development Pradesh Farming (ZBNF) in the state for the next five years. To
bank take up the insurance scheme, Andhra Pradesh
government will spend Rs 304 crore in addition to
encourage 2.39 lakh farmers in 591 village panchayats.
The state government under takes ZBNF along with the
Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Paramparagat
Krishi Vikas Yojana’s (PKVY) of the Centre government
and technical supported by Azim Premji Philanthropic
Initiatives. Click here
World Bank Govt. of $88 million For implementation of the Assam Inland Water Transport
(WB) Assam Project (AIWTP) to modernize passenger ferry sector of
Assam which runs on rivers including the Brahmaputra
river in Assam. A loan of $88 million from WB’s

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International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD) has a final maturity of 14.5 years including a grace
period of 5 years. The loan agreement from the Indian
side was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional
Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of
Finance and by Mr Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director
(India), World Bank on behalf of the WB.
World Bank Govt of $210 million For Maharashtra's Agribusiness & rural
(WB) Maharashtra transformation project. This project will help the
farmers in Maharashtra to take part in competitive
agriculture value chains, enhance agribusiness
investments thereby increasing productivity of
commodities. All 36 districts of Maharashtra will be
implemented with the project and would benefit nearly 1
million farming households. This loan is from the WB’s
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD) has a grace period of 6 years and a maturity
period of 13.5 years.
AGREEMENTS & MoU’s SIGNED

BANKS SIGNED WITH KEY NOTES
Bank of Baroda JM Financial Home Bank of Baroda (BoB), an Indian Multinational, public sector Bank
(BoB) Loans Limited has signed a co-lending partnership agreement with JM Financial
(JMFHL) Home Loans Limited (JMFHL), the housing finance arm of JM
Financial Group, to provide retail loans to home buyers. This tie up
will boost the credit delivery to customers & also promote home
buying field in India.
Paytm Payments CSC e-Governance CSC e-Governance services India ltd has signed a Memorandum of
Bank ltd (PPBL) services India ltd Understanding (MoU) with Paytm Payments Bank ltd (PPBL) for
selling FASTags. Through this MoU, FASTags will be sold through
the last mile network of 3.6 lakh CSCs (Common Service Centres).
This will help in enhancing govt’s vision of cashless and smooth
transit at toll plazas in the country. FASTags allows toll payments
directly from prepaid or savings account linked to it. The FASTags
work on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Click
here
Indian bank Women Indian bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
Entrepreneurs with Women Entrepreneurs Welfare Association (WEWA) of
Welfare Association Tamil Nadu(TN) to provide training and credit linkage to its
(WEWA) women entrepreneurs to establish business. The Indian bank will
provide loans to the WEWA members at discounted rates.
Training will be given to the WEWA members in the INDSETIs
(Indian Bank Self Employment Training Institutes)

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State Bank of South Central For ‘doorstep banking’ under which the bank will collect earnings
India (SBI) Railway (SCR) Zone generated from all 585 stations of the zone. Till now, the railways
of Indian Railways used to send cash received at their stations to the bank in the safes
by train. There was risk in this work and it was extremely difficult.
It also consumes human labor. Click here
OTHER BANKING & FINANCE NEWS

RevFin partners with PNB MetLife to provide life insurance to its customers
India's leading Digital lending startup, RevFin Services Private Limited has joined hands with PNB
MetLife India Insurance Company to offer protection to the RevFin’s customers by bundling life
insurance cover on their loans. The collaboration will help PNB MetLife to reach out to unbanked areas
& drive greater financial inclusion in the country by securing the families of the borrowers against loan
repayment in case of unfortunate death of the borrower.
PayPal India launches adoption assistance programme for employees

In order to promote parental support benefits for employees, online digital payments player, PayPal
India Private Limited has launched a new Adoption Assistance Program w.e.f. December 2019, where it
will be offering financial assistance of up to Rs 1 lakh per adoption for the parents. The company
provides paid adoption leave of 16 weeks for female employees, maternity leave of 26 weeks, paternity
leave of 2 weeks, along with Childcare@PayPal, where children can be enrolled in a nearby daycare
centre.
IRDAI: Health insurance cover in the name 'Arogya Sanjeevani' mandatory for insurance companies
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has mandated all the health and
General Insurance Companies (GICs) to offer 1st of its kind standardised health insurance products
(SHIP) namley “Arogya Sanjeevani” policy with effect from April 1, 2020.
 Insurance limit: Minimum sum insured will be Rs. 1 lakh while the maximum sum insured limit
will be Rs. 5 lakhs. The health insurance plan should be offered with a policy term of one year.
 Eligibility: Any person aged between 18-65 (inclusive of 18 & 65 years of age) eligible for the
Arogya Sanjeevani policy
Read full details here: IRDAI: 1st Health insurance cover in the name ‘Arogya Sanjeevani’ mandatory for
insurance companies
NSE arm launches AI-powered ‘knowledge hub’ to serve financial sector

National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched ‘NSE Knowledge Hub’ an Artificial Intelligence-powered
learning platform for BFSI (Banking, Financial services and Insurance) sectors to enhance skills for
their employees, during an event in New Delhi. The function was inaugurated by Piyush Goyal, Union
Minister of Railways & Commerce and Industries. It has been developed by NSE Academy, a wholly-
owned subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The modules in the hub will help in
understanding the stock exchange and their functionalities.
SEBI extends April 2022 deadline for separation of chairman & MD posts for top 500 listed entities
firms
Stock market regulator SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has extended the deadline for the
separation of the posts of Chairman and MD (Managing Director) or chief executive officer (CEO) for
500 listed companies by 2 years. Now this rule has to be followed by April 1, 2022. Its aim is to
separate the board and the management of the top companies.The rules to separate the post of
Chairman-MD are part of the recommendations of the Uday Kotak (MD of Kotak Mahindra Bank)
Committee appointed by SEBI on Corporate Governance.

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SBI announces new 'RBBG' scheme; SBI & Sunteck Realty Limited signed MoU on RBBG scheme
State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a new scheme named Residential Builder Finance with Buyer
Guarantee (RBBG) to safeguard home buyers financially by issuing guarantee for completion of projects
to customers availing SBI Home Loans. The ongoing home projects of SBI customers will be financed by
the bank itself. Under the scheme, all reputed builders fulfilling the bank criteria can avail loan ranging
between Rs 50 crores and Rs 400 crores. SBI and real estate development company Sunteck Realty
Limited (SRL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost the residential housing sector
under the public sector lender’s RBBG scheme with tagine “Sapna Aapka – Bharosa SBI Ka” to the home
buyers. Read full details here: SBI announces new ‘RBBG’ scheme; SBI & Sunteck Realty Limited signed
MoU on RBBG scheme
Digital payments body NPCI launches blockchain-based 'Vajra platform' to make payments fast &
secure
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments
has launched blockchain technology/ Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) based “Vajra Platform” to
make payments fast & secure. It aims to offer automatic clearing and settlement of payments on NPCI
products such as unified payments interface (UPI) and Rupay card & will significantly reduce the need
for manual reconciliation. All the transactions undertaken by Vajra Platform using DLT follow real-time
clearing and settlement and will also help in Aadhaar authentication by the Unique Identification
Authority of India (UIDAI).Read full details here: Digital payments body NPCI launches blockchain-
based ‘Vajra platform’ to make payments fast & secure
Airtel joins hands with Bharti AXA to provide Rs 179 prepaid plan with life insurance of Rs 2 lakh
Bharti Airtel Limited (also known as Airtel), an Indian global telecommunications services company has
partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company Limited to offer Rs 2 lakh insurance cover to Airtel
users with every recharge of Rs 179 prepaid bundle. The new plan will be accessible at any Airtel retail
store or on the Airtel Thanks app. In case of insurance cover, the users taking this plan should be
between 18 and 54 years old.
NICL board approves its merger proposal with OICL & UIIC
The Board of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) has approved its merger with Oriental
Insurance Company Ltd (OICL) and United India Insurance Company Ltd (UIIC). The merger would help
cut down costs and achieve economies of scale. In the General Budget for the financial year 2018-19, the
then Finance Minister (FM) Arun Jaitley announced the proposal for merger of the three government
general insurance companies. But the merger of these companies was not done due to poor financial
health. In December 2019, the government has infused Rs 2,500 crore in three insurers through the
supplementary demand for the first grant for 2019-20, to add Rs 2,500 crore.
Bajaj Finserv partners with Apollo Hospitals to launch health EMI cards to patients
Apollo Hospitals Group in collaboration with Bajaj Finserv has launched digitized “Health EMI Card”
which will be provided to patients and will be offered a credit limit of Rs.4 Lakhs. Nearly 600
procedures for patients will be covered. This partnership between Apollo and Bajaj Finserv has been
done to enable EMI (Equated monthly installments) financing for healthcare. The card will be accepted
in all the Apollo hospitals through India. It provides personal accident insurance cover of Rs. 1 lakh.
ICICI Lombard gets IRDAI approval to pilot 5 projects under Regulatory Sandbox
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, one of the leading private sector general
insurance companies in India,has received Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDAI) approval for 5 innovative applications and programs in its health and motor portfolio under
the Sandbox Project. This is the largest approval by IRDAI in terms of numbers given to a company
under the project. ICICI Lombard has got the approval for APP Monitored Diabetes Mellitus Wellness

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Program, APP Monitored Dyslipidaemia Management Program under the health insurance portfolio,
Pay As You Use (PAYU) policies for Private Car, Pay How You Use (PHYU) policies for Private Car and
Single owner multiple vehicle (Motor floater policy).
Exim Bank extends $35.80 mn LoC to Suriname for rural electrification

Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM bank) has extended $35.80 million (nearly Rs 250 crore) Line of
Credit (LoC) to South American country Suriname to fund its rural electrification programme through
solar Diesel Generator (DG) hybrid Photo-Voltaic(PV) systems in Suriname’s 50 remote villages. Under
the LoC, the projects covered include power, water supply, purchase of helicopters, and rehabilitation
and upgradation of milk processing plant.
New India Co-operative Bank (NICB) to be converted as Small Finance Bank

New India Co-operative Bank (NICB) has decided to convert into a Small Finance Bank (SFB) after
being agreed by its shareholders under Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks
(UCBs) into SFB. NICB will now approach the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central Registrar of
Societies for further action. The decision for conversion comes after RBI made regulatory changes
following the Rs 4500 crore PMC (Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank) bank scam and to
ensure enhanced regulations to lenders. A minimum of Rs.200 crore is needed to set up an SFB.
IndusInd Bank launches asset management platform "PIONEER"

IndusInd Bank Limited, one of the leading Private Sector Banks of the country , has launched the asset
management platform under the name ‘PIONEER' Banking. Through this, specially tailored banking
services will be provided to high net-worth customers of IndusInd bank. They can avail free doorstep
banking of up to Rs. 4 Lakh per day at no extra cost. They will not be charged for transactions taken
through the NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) or RTGS (Real-time gross settlement) platforms,
and also no charges for Non-Maintenance of Minimum Balance.
Western Union joins hands with Airtel payments bank & Airtel Africa for money transfer service
Western Union Company has partnered with India’s largest integrated telecommunications services
company, Bharti Airtel’s 2 arms- Airtel Payments Bank & Airtel Africa Plc, to enable millions of
latter’s customers in India to receive international remittances in their bank accounts & and Mobile
Wallets across 14 countries in Africa. Airtel Payments Bank customers will be able to direct a Western
Union money transfer into their bank accounts 24/7 via their app in real-time. In collaboration with
Airtel Africa, this will enable over 15 million Airtel Money mobile wallet users to simply get any money
transfer received from across the world into their wallets.
NABARD predicts Rs 90,395cr credit potential for Odisha in FY21

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), an Apex Development Financial
Institution in India, in its State Focus Paper for Odisha, has estimated Odisha's credit potential at Rs
90,395.69 crore for Financial year FY- 2020-21 with a hike of around 20% over credit projection of
2019-20.
No charge on UPI, RuPay transactions if MDR is zero: Banks to NPCI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail
payments and settlement systems, has approved part of the banks request to remove interchange fees
on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay card transactions as long as the merchant discount
rate (MDR) remains zero. In contrast, it still reviewing other fees like payments service provider (PSP)
fee and switching fees as it is concerned that the decision will obstruct its revenues. If NPCI provides a
complete waiver on charges, NPCI as well as banks, networks and PSPs will not earn anything from UPI
and RuPay transactions.

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ICICI Bank launches first-of-its-kind 24x7 self-service delivery facility , 'iBox’
ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank has launched first-of-its-kind
24x7 self-service delivery tool for customers called “iBox” at one of its branches in Mumbai,
Maharashtra. The bank has started it in over 50 branches in 17 cities. Under this facility, customers will
now be able to take their debit, credit card, check book and return check from the branch close to their
home or office. The iBox terminals are installed outside the premises of the bank's branches, which can
be used even after the bank closes.
Indian Bank launches credit products 'Corporate Loan' & 'Ind Surya Shakthi' for textile sector
Indian Bank has announced the launch of two tailor made credit products i.e., Corporate Loan and Ind
Surya Shakthi/ Indian Bank Solar which will be available across the country for the benefit of the
textile sector. The products were launched during a meeting with high officials of the textile industry
under the Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF), in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
 Corporate Loan: Under it, the loans will be offered at affordable interest rates.
 Surya Shakthi: It is a term loan to set up roof-top solar power plants for captive consumption
to boost the renewable energy utilisation culture in the textile sector.
2020 Banking & Finance – February

RBI IN NEWS
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. 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. Read full details here: RBI hikes Insurance cover on bank deposits to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh
Overview of 6th Bi-monthly monetary policy 2020 released by RBI

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

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. 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. Read full details here: Bank credit up by 7.21%, deposits up by
9.51%: RBI
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)”. RBI will also launch a centralized mass media campaign in February 2020 to
broadcast essential financial awareness messages to MSME entrepreneurs. RBI conducts FLW every

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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.
RBI grants 5-year CRR relief to banks for lending to auto, housing, MSMEs
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. 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. RBI
grants 5-year CRR relief to banks for lending to auto, housing, MSMEs
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). At present, National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI) is an umbrella organisation for retail payments systems. Read full details here: RBI publishes
draft framework for New Umbrella Entity (NUE) for retail payment systems
RBI board recommends aligning accounting year with fiscal year from 2020-21
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.
RBI conducts 3- year Long Term Repo Operations (LTRO)’s for Rs.25,000 crore
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. LTROs aimed at providing cheaper
money to banks at the repo rate so that it can be used to boost credit growth. 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. Read full details here: RBI conducts 3- year Long Term Repo Operations
(LTRO)’s for Rs.25,000 crore
Kotak Mahindra Bank gets RBI’s approval for reducing the promoter’s stake to 26%
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%. 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. 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).
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

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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. Read full details here: RBI unveils 5 year National
Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI): 2019-2024
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.
 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.
 On the other hand 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.
Read full details here: CIC increased 10.2% over the past 5 years despite growing digitization:
RBI report
RBI allows Bandhan Bank to open new branches without prior approval
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.
RBI introduced 12 indicators for calculating India’s growth by paper titled “Nowcasting Indian
GDP growth using a Dynamic Factor Model”
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.
 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, and
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). Read full details here: RBI
introduced 12 indicators for calculating India’s growth by paper titled “Nowcasting Indian GDP
growth using a Dynamic Factor Model”
RBI mandates banks to link all new floating rate loans to medium enterprises with external
benchmark from April 1,2020
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. The external benchmarks will include Reserve

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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.
BANKING TECHNOLOGY
All-in-one QR (Quick Paytm Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company,has

Response), point-of-sale launched an all-in-one QR (Quick Response), point-of-sale
(POS) device (POS) device for merchants across India & SDK (software
development kit) for third-party integration. 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.
Baroda Startup Banking Shri Rajiv Kumar, Finance Secretary Shri Rajiv Kumar has inaugurated
Finance Secretary 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. 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.
Ka-ching HDFC with IndiGo 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. The co-branded cards are
available in 2 variants. It includes 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.

LOANS ISSUED BY RECEIVED BY AMOUNT KEY NOTES
National Bank for Punjab State Rs 140 crore The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Agriculture and Agricultural Development (NABARD) has given its approval
Rural Development Development for loan worth Rs 140 crore at low interest rate
(NABARD) Bank (PSADB) to Punjab State Agricultural Development Bank
(PSADB). This has been done to strengthen as
well as provide financial support to PSADB.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.

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World Bank(WB) Government of $ 450 Loan agreement to support Atal Bhujal Yojana
India (GoI) million (mn) (ABHY) – National Groundwater Management
Improvement Program that will be
implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in the 7
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. 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.
National Bank for Jammu and Rs 400.64 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Agriculture and Kashmir(J&K) crore Development (NABARD), an Apex Development
Rural Development Financial Institution in India, has granted a sum
(NABARD) 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). 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. Also, an amount of 47.11 crore
rupees will be provided to improve the Animal
and Sheep Husbandry sectors of the UT.

Housing Development The Micro Small and To provide smart banking solutions to Startups
Finance Corporation Medium Enterprises recognised by the Startup Odisha and will also
(HDFC) Bank (MSME) Department of extend incubation and acceleration support to all
government of Odisha Startups, banking with them.
State Bank of India Government of Gujarat In order to provide enough credit to entrepreneurs
(SBI) 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. 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.

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OTHER BANKING NEWS
Bank of Baroda signed pact with CARE Ratings to assess the credit quality of SMEs
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. Loan value for SMEs will be identified through 8 –Point scale.
Number 1 indicates the highest creditworthiness and 8 – poor creditworthiness.
Govt data: BoM & SBI were only PSBs rated ‘good’ in digital transactions in Dec 2019
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
Banks(PSBs) rated as “good” in digital transactions for December 2019. BoM and SBI obtained a score
of 77 and 68 respectively. He score for an individual bank was given by Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY) based on various parameters. The banks performance will also be
rated on a monthly basis. Read full details here: Govt data: BoM & SBI were only PSBs rated ‘good’ in
digital transactions in Dec 2019
Digital transactions through IMPS, UPI and BHIM at record high in January 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.
 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.
 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.
 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.
Read full details here: Digital transactions through IMPS, UPI and BHIM at record high in January 2020
Canara Bank MD & CEO R.A. Sankara Narayanan retires

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).
ADB approved $2 million fund amount to combat nCoV

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.
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. 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).

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HDFC, MasterCard and SAP concur partnered to manage spending in corporate sector
HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation), MasterCard and SAP concur collaborated to
manage the spending of the corporate sector. HDFC Bank will offer a corporate credit card for business
travellers, providing a one-stop solution for payment and expense management during business
trips. SAP Concur offers credit for travel, expense, and invoice management solutions and the corporate
credit card is supported by MasterCard.
SBI Card join hands with Landmark group to launch 3 new retail co-branded credit cards
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. The co-branded cards
are available in three variants. It includes, Base, SELECT and PRIME and caters to the needs of
consumers ranging from Value for Money to Premium and Super Premium.
Microsoft, SBI join hands to train differently-abled for employment in BFSI sector
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. 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.
ADB raises $118 mn through offshore India rupee linked 10-year bonds
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%. This is the 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.
Government to include non-scheduled urban, district cooperative banks in 3 schemes for

MSME
Government 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. It will spread the outreach & easy
access to credit. Read full details here: Government to include non-scheduled urban, district
cooperative banks in 3 schemes for MSME
FINANCE NEWS
Reliance general insurance introduces comprehensive health insurance plan “Infinity”
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.
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

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have to meet a minimum net worth requirement of ₹50 crores, under SEBI (Securities and Exchange
Board of India) rules. 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.
Union Ministry of Finance has notified ‘Printing of One Rupee Currency Notes Rules, 2020’
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 pink green colour
note will have a design of grains, which depicts the “agricultural dominance of the country”. The note
will be 110 microns thick, weighing 90 GSM (Grams per Square Meter).
SEBI to tighten eligibility criteria for investment advisors

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. SEBI has also approved rules for
regulatory sandboxes (RS), which will enable live-testing of new financial products / services in a
controlled ecosystem.
Securities market regulator SEBI redefines ‘pledge’ to protect client securities

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. 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.
Sweden’s Riksbank begun testing world’s 1st digital version of currency, e-krona
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). 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.
IRDAI forms 9-member panel led by Srinivasan to examine the possibility of allowing life
insurers offer indemnity based health policies
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 (NIA) to examine the possibility of allowing them
again and extant statutory provisions that are applicable in this regard. The committee, co-chaired by
Mr MR Kumar, Chairman of LIC of India, will have to submit its recommendations within 2- months.
Bharti AXA General Insurance becomes the 1st non-life insurer in India to use Whatsapp for
deliver policy & renewal documents
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.

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It will soon start to sell private cars, 2 wheelers & Travel insurance through Whatsapp. It is an Instant
Messaging platform to be connected with the policyholders anytime, anywhere.
Capri Global Capital Ltd launched UDAAN new SME lending scheme for Women Entrepreneurs
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.
2020 Banking & Finance – March

RBI IN NEWS
SC allows trade in cryptocurrency by rejecting RBI 2018 circular
Supreme Court (SC) has lifted ban on trading in virtual currency, cryptocurrency and bitcoins by
cancelling the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 2018 circular that barred banks from serving companies
dealing in cryptocurrency exchanges. The decision in this regard has been taken by the three-judge
Bench of headed by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and 2 other members are Justice Shripathi
Ravindra Bhat, and Justice V Ramasubramanian.The plea was filed by Internet and Mobile
Association of India (IAMAI) challenging RBI’s 2018 circular because the members of IAMAI also
include cryptocurrency exchanges. Read full details here: SC allows trade in cryptocurrency by rejecting
RBI 2018 circular
RBI announced draft scheme “Yes Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020” for Yes Bank’s
revival; SBI willing to invest
A day after Yes Bank Ltd. placed under moratorium which will be effective upto April 3, 2020, on March
6, 2020, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after exercising its powers conferred under sub-section (4) of
section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, has issued a draft scheme of reconstruction of the Yes
Bank. It should be noted that State Bank of India (SBI) wants to invest in Yes Bank and also to
participate in its reconstruction scheme. SBI can invest for up to 49% stake for nearly Rs 2,450 crore.
Read full details here: RBI announced draft scheme “Yes Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020” for
Yes Bank’s revival; SBI willing to invest
India’s current account deficit narrows dramatically to $ 1.4 bn in October-December 2019

quarter: RBI
According to the report “Developments in India’s Balance of Payments during the third quarter
(October-December) of 2019-20”, released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s current account
deficit (CAD) fell sharply to $ 1.4 billion, or 0.2 % of GDP (gross domestic product), for the October-
December 2019 quarter of the current financial year (FY 2019-20) due to the lower trade deficit and an
increase in net services revenue. This figure was 2.7 % of GDP (or $ 17.7 billion) in the same period of
last fiscal and 0.9 % of GDP (or $ 6.5 billion) in the previous quarter of the current financial year. Read
full details here: India’s current account deficit narrows dramatically to $ 1.4 bn in October-December
2019 quarter: RBI
RBI issues guidelines for Ind AS implementation by NBFCs, ARCs

The RBI has framed regulatory guidance on Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) to be applicable on
Ind AS implementing Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) and Asset Reconstruction Companies
(ARCs) for preparation of their financial statements (FS) from financial year (FY) 2019-20 onwards. The
guidance has been framed to promote a high quality, consistent implementation, and better supervision
of FS. As per the guidance, all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) covered by Rule 4 of the

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Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015 are required to comply with Ind AS for the
preparation of their FS.
RBI revises exposure limits for urban cooperative banks to single, group borrowers
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised exposure limits for urban cooperative banks (UCBs) of tier-
1 capital to a single borrower to 15% and a group of borrowers to 25%. The revised exposure limits
shall be applicable to all types of fresh exposures taken by UCBs. The RBI earlier permitted UCBs to
have exposures up to 15% and 40% of their capital funds to a single borrower and a group of
borrowers, respectively. The RBI also revised the priority sector lending (PSL) target for UCBs from
40% to 75% of the adjusted net bank credit (ANBC), or credit equivalent amount of off-balance sheet
exposure (CEOBSE). These norms will also have to be fulfilled by 31 March 2024.
RBI issued new guidelines for payment aggregators; MCR reduced for new PAs to Rs 15 crore
from Rs 100 crore
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new guidelines for the payment aggregators (PAs) to provide an
ease for payments industry players with effect from April 1, 2020. The guidelines are issued under
Section 18 read with Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. PA is a company
incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956 / 2013. RBI has reduced the minimum capital
requirements (MCR) for PAs at the time of application for the license to Rs 15 crore from Rs 100 crore.
Read Full Details Here: RBI issued new guidelines for payment aggregators; MCR reduced for new PAs
to Rs 15 crore from Rs 100 crore
RBI opens dollar-swap window along with infusion of Rs 1,00,000 crore through LTRO
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opened a six-month dollar sell-buy swap window and will also inject Rs
1,00,000 crore additional Long Term Repo Operations (LTROs) at the policy repo rate. These measures
taken by RBI are to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market of India and will serve the
requirement of U.S. dollars in the market. RBI will undertake second 6-month dollar/rupee sell/buy
swap auction on 23 March 2020. Under this, RBI will provide $2 billion to the banks that need it
through a swap. Read Full Details Here: RBI opens dollar-swap window along with infusion of Rs
1,00,000 crore through LTRO
RBI extended authorisation to Vakrangee Ltd for white label ATMs till Mar 31, 2021
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the validity of Authorization to Vakrangee Limited till March
31, 2021 to set up, own and operates the White Label ATMs (WLA) Business in India. In this regard,
Renewal of Authorization has been granted to Vakrangee Limited. As per the renewal, Vakrangee Ltd
must deploy minimum 1,000 ATMs for every calendar year starting 2020 for an initial period of three
years in the ratio of 1:2:3 for Metro & Urban, Semi-Urban and Rural regions respectively. As per the
recent report on “Financial Inclusion and Rural India – Banking & ATM sector in India” by Grant
Thornton (GT), Vakrangee is the fastest-growing WLA player as well as 3rd largest ATM operator in
rural India.
RBI to infuse ₹10,000 crores via OMO to maintain liquidity in the banking system
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is set to infuse ₹10,000 crore liquidity in the banking system by buying
government securities through open market operations (OMO) on March 20, 2020. The securities will
be purchased through a multi-security auction using the multiple price method with tenure between
two and five years. RBI will offer to buy four set of sovereign papers maturing between February 2022
and May 2025.

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RBI outlined Business Continuity Plan for smooth functioning national payment systems
The RBI for the first time, shared its Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to ensure zero disruptions in the
national payments systems (NPS) due to the coronavirus outbreak. The NPS includes National
Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), e-Kuber for government
transactions, etc. BCP is basically a recovery plan or process to prepare for anticipated disruptions,
ensure smooth flow of operations and staffing, and form crisis management groups. The current BCP is
also focused on keeping the banking staff insulated from exposure to the virus.
Read Full Details Here: RBI outlined Business Continuity Plan for smooth functioning national
payment systems
RBI extends regulatory restrictions on PMC Bank for 3 more months till June 22, 2020
The RBI has extended the 6-month regulatory restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative
(PMC) bank which was posed on September 23, 2019 due to financial irregularities, hiding and
misreporting of loans given to HDIL (Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited). Now, the
restriction is extended for three more months i.e. from March 23, 2020 to June 22, 2020 to work out a
revival scheme. The restriction has been imposed under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act,
1949 on withdrawal and lending. RBI also take over the board and the management of PMC bank and
appointed an ex-RBI official JB Bhoria as the administrator at the bank.
RBI to inject Rs 30k cr into market for financial stability amid Covid-19
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is all set to inject liquidity of Rs 30,000 crore through open market
operations (OMOs) on March 24 and March 30, 2020 to maintain financial stability and liquidity in all
markets segments during coronavirus outbreak The RBI will purchase government securities under
OMOs in two tranches of Rs 15,000 crore each. OMO is the sale and purchase of government securities
and treasury bills by the central bank of the country.
RBI: On lending by banks to NBFCs is classified as a priority sector in FY21

To boost credit disbursement in the targeted segment like agriculture, Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises (MSME) and housing sector, RBI has extended the priority sector classification for bank
loans to Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) for on-lending for Fiscal year 2020-21. As per the
revised norms, on-lending by NBFCs for ‘term lending’ component under agriculture will be allowed up
to Rs 10 lakh per borrower, for MSME sector the limit is upto 20 Lakh per borrower & for housing
sector the limit is enhanced from 10 Lakh to 20 Lakh per borrower.
RBI opens Rs 59000cr emergency credit line for Yes Bank; a move after 16 years
Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) after its reconstruction plan for Yes Bank, has resumed its standard
operations. Now, to keep the liquidity of the bank for paying back to its depositors stable, it has opened
an emergency line of credit of Rs 59,000 crore. This liquidity support to Yes Bank is an additional
liquidity arsenal provided under Section 17 (4) of the RBI Act, 1934 as the bank has no solvency
problem or any other issue except liquidity. 16 years before a similar credit line was opened for Global
Trust Bank in 2004 but later the bank was merged with Oriental Bank of Commerce.
RBI advances its Rs 25000 cr repo auction to March 26, 2020; SPDs to participate in auction
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advanced its first of the two Rs 25,000 crore variable rate repo auctions
to March 26, 2020 from March 30. It will provide flexibility to the banking system in year-end liquidity
management. It should be noted that RBI was going to make two such auctions of Rs 25,000 crore each
on March 30 and March 31 to address the additional demand for liquidity. There is no change in the
auction scheduled for March 31, 2020. Apart from eligible participants. RBI now has also allowed
standalone primary dealers (SPDs) to participate in this auction.

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Highlights of Seventh Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement -2019-20; EMIs on hold for three
months
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the Seventh Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2019-20
Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), RBI under which MPC has decided rate changes
with immediate effect due to the current and evolving macroeconomic situation impacted by COVID-19.
Policy rate New Rate Previous Rate Change in Basis points (bps)
Policy Repo Rate 4.40 % 5.15% 75
Reverse Repo Rate 4% 4.90% 90
Marginal Standing Facility Rate 4.65% 5.40% 75
Bank Rate 4.65% 5.40% 75
CRR 3% 4% 100
SLR 18.25% 18.25% -
Read More Details Here: Highlights of Seventh Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement -2019-20; EMIs
on hold for three months
RBI increased March 26, 2020 repo auction amount to Rs 50,000 cr from Rs 25,000 cr
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased the March 26, 2020, variable rate term repo auction amount
to Rs 50,000 crore from Rs 25,000 crore due to the disruptive impact of Covid-19 for the financial
sector. Also, the nation has locked down for 21 days and to keep the liquidity in the market stable this
decision has been taken.
RBI announces liquidity boost of Rs 3.74 lakh crore amid coronavirus outbreak
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared an infusion of Rs 3.74 lakh crore into the banking system through
three measures viz. targeted long-term repo operation (TLTRO – auctions conducted for term repos
upto 3yrs amounting to 1 lakh crore), Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR – reduced from 4% to 3% 1st time after
Feb 2013, which could release liquidity of 1.37 lakh crore) and marginal standing facility (MSF - limit
under MSF increased to 3 % from 2% which can add an additional Rs 1.37 lakh core of liquidity.). RBI
has already injected liquidity of Rs 2.8 lakh crore in the financial markets through various instruments,
which equal to 1.4% of GDP.
Merger of 10 state-run banks into 4 to come into force from April 1: RBI
The amalgamation plan ( 10 PSBs to 4 PSBs) of banks is all set to come into force from April 1, 2020.
The branches of merging banks will operate as of the banks in which these have been amalgamated &
the customers of merging banks will be treated as customers of the banks in which these banks have
been merged with effect from April 1, 2020. As per the scheme, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United
Bank of India amalgamated into Punjab National Bank; Syndicate Bank into Canara Bank; Allahabad
Bank into Indian Bank; and Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank into Union Bank of India.

National Bank for Rural Banking Rs 1.46 lakh According to the National Bank for Agriculture
Agriculture and Rural System crore and Rural Development (NABARD), an Apex
Development (NABARD) Development Financial Institution in India, it
has granted Rs 1.46 lakh crore in the rural
banking system during the current fiscal-FY
(2019-20) with the aim to help them get their

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resources effectively for handling the credit
needs of rural people, including farmers. Of
the total amount, it had infused Rs 87,069
crore to rural cooperative banks and regional
rural banks (RRB) in short-term refinance.
Click here
World Bank Government of US$80 To improve water management practices &

Himachal million (about also to increase agricultural productivity in
Pradesh(HP) Rs 600 crore) selected Gram Panchayats (Village Councils)
in HP. The Integrated Project for Source
Sustainability & Climate Resilient Rain-Fed
Agriculture to be implemented in 428 Gram
Panchayats in 10 districts which will benefit
over 400,000 smallholder farmers, women &
pastoral communities. Click here
OTHER BANKING NEWS

SBI switched to Cash Budget Based Assessment (CBBA) method of assessment for corporates
State Bank of India (SBI) has switched to “Cash Budget Based Assessment (CBBA)” from “Projected
Balance Sheet (PBS)” method of Fund Based Working Capital (FBWC) limits for assessment of the
working capital requirement for corporates or large advances. CBBA of limits has been initiated for
assessment of the FBWC limits for units with total FBWC exposure of more than ₹50 crore from the
banking system. Due to increase in the number of the digital transactions, the monitoring of
transactions/assets of the borrowers has become a major challenge; therefore, CBBA will provide of
the borrower’s cash requirements and enforce financial discipline. SBI has also started Risk Intel, an
email service, advising the business units of rating actions in respect of units it has funded. Read full
details here: SBI switched to Cash Budget Based Assessment (CBBA) method of assessment for
corporates
IIT Mandi, EWOK Society sign tripartite deal with NABARD for setting up 3 FPOs in Himachal
The IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) along with Enabling Women of
Kamand (EWOK) Society have signed a tripartite agreement with the National Bank For Agriculture
And Rural Development (NABARD) for collaboration on setting up 3 Farmer Producer Organisation
(FPOs) in Himachal Pradesh’s(HP) Mandi district in the next 3 years. NABARD has approved an amount
of Rs 35 lakhs in this regard to IIT Mandi and EWOK Society for establishing FPOs, which is a group of
farm producers, with members as shareholders in an organisation.
ICICI Prudential AMC inks pact with Saraswat co-op bank to tap rural market
ICICI Prudential AMC (Asset Management Company), one of the leading mutual fund investment
companies in India, has entered into the partnership with Saraswat Co-operative Bank,an urban co-
operative banking institution, to distribute its products with the latter’s customers base spread across
its 280 branches in 6 states. This partnership will help ICICI Prudential to increase its outreach,
especially in smaller villages and cities and also boost the bank’s over 100-year presence in the country.
Centre imposed moratorium on Yes Bank; withdrawals restricted to Rs 50,000/- till April 3,
2020; Prashant Kumar named as its administrator
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949
(10 of 1949), the Central Government, through the Ministry of Finance has imposed moratorium on Yes

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Bank Limited w.e.f. 6PM of March 5, 2020 till April 3, 2020. The decision has been taken on the
recommendations of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under sub-section (1) of section 45.
 During the period of moratorium, withdrawal from Yes Bank is restricted to Rs 50,000 per
account per month.
 In exercise of the powers conferred under 36ACA of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, RBI has
also superseded (replaced) YES bank borad by appointing ex- Deputy Managing Director (DMD)
& Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of SBI Prashant Kumar as its administrator for a period of 30
days.
Read full details here: Centre imposed moratorium on Yes Bank; withdrawals restricted to Rs 50,000/-
till April 3, 2020; Prashant Kumar named as its administrator
SBI cuts interest rate on SB accounts to 3%; one year MCLR reduced to 7.75%; min balance
criteria removed
State Bank of India (SBI) has reduced its interest rate on savings bank (SB) accounts to 3% along with
waiving off of average monthly balance (AMB) for all SB accounts on the basis of ‘Customers First’
approach. Also, to make home and auto loans cheaper SBI reduced its one-year marginal cost of fund-
based lending rate (MCLR) to 7.75% from 7.85%. All these changes are with effect from March 10, 2020.
iSelect+ Term Plan launched by Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited launched iSelect+ Term
Plan to provide shield against all uncertainties of life at an affordable premium which includes
Whole Life Cover, Return of Premium, Multiple Payout Options, Increase Coverage Option & Tax
Benefits. It also offers an option to avail return of premium benefit wherein all your premiums will be
returned once you outlive the policy tenure.
SBI Board approved Rs 7,250 cr fund infusion into Yes Bank, Stake remains under 49%
The executive committee of the central board of State Bank of India (SBI) has approved an investment
of Rs 7,250 crore in Yes Bank Ltd. as a part of RBI formulated rescue plan titled “Yes Bank Ltd.
Reconstruction Scheme, 2020” for the revival of Yes Bank. The SBI has not specified its shareholding the
bank but it will remain under 49% of the paid-up capital of the Yes Bank. The investment has been
made by purchasing 725 crore equity shares of Yes Bank at a price of Rs 10 per share. Read full details
here: SBI Board approved Rs 7,250 cr fund infusion into Yes Bank, Stake remains under 49%
Paytm Bank to issue virtual debit cards to customers

The Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) has announced to issue Visa virtual debit cards to its
customers, earlier they issued Rupay debit cards. It targets to issue over 10 million new digital debit
cards in 2020-21 and International transactions can also be made by using the new card.
DBS Bank India ties up with Bharti AXA to roll out insurance plan covering COVID-19
DBS Bank India Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS (Development Bank of Singapore) Bank Ltd,
has entered into the partnership with Bharti AXA General Insurance Company Ltd to launch a
complimentary insurance for customers of DBS treasures. The plan covers all medical conditions
including Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), under which a cover of Rs 5000 per day is available for a
period of 30 days if DBS customers are hospitalized for 10 days. The bank has also launched a special
program called ‘Emergency Global Medical Assist Program’ to help non-resident Indians (NRIs) to take
care of their close ones in India, which provides 24*7 medical support.
In a first, Karur Vysya Bank introduces pre-paid card ‘Enkasu’ in Karur, TN

In a bid to promote digital India initiative of the central Government, Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), a
Scheduled Commercial Bank in India, has launched India’s 1st prepaid wallet card ‘Enkasu’ (My cash in

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Tamil) in Karur, Tamil Nadu (TN) under its Quit cash movement. The Card works in Near Field
Technology (NFT) in closed loop. Also, the card can be accepted both in ‘offline’ and ‘online’ mode.
Covid-19: SBI becomes the 1st bank to launch emergency credit facility
The Indian Public Sector Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has became the 1st bank to launch COVID 19
emergency credit line (CECL) to provide funds to businesses affected by the coronavirus. Under this
emergency credit line, loan will be given at a fixed interest rate of 7.25 % for a period of 12 months.
Maximum loan amount of up to Rs 200 crore or 10 % of the existing fund-based working capital limits
(FBWC) will be provided and such facility will be available by 30 June 2020.
NABARD provides Rs 42,313 crore for building rural infrastructure

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provides financial support of Rs
42,313 crore in the Financial Year (FY) 2019-20 for building rural infrastructure - Rs 20,869 crore for
irrigation related projects, Rs 5,686 crore for rural connectivity, Rs 10,935 crore for Pradhan Mantri
Aawas Yojana Gramin (PMAYG) to provide “housing for all by 2022” & remaining for Swachh Bharat
Mission to provide clean water and sanitation facilities.
Jana SFB along with NPCI launches UPI QR-based loan installment payment facility
Jana Small Finance Bank (SFB) in partnership with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), has
launched a UPI QR-based loan installment payment facility to its existing 40 lakh plus customers & 5
crore micro finance agencies. The UPI QR-based payment mode is available for P2P (person to person)
and P2M (person to merchant) payments.
Indian Bank launched 5 special emergency loans for COVID 19-affected customers
Indian Bank launched five special emergency loans for large corporates, medium enterprises, MSMEs,
salaried and pensioners as a support to its customers affected through economic slump and lockdown
because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Special emergency loans are IND- COVID Emergency Credit
Line (IBCECL), IND- MSE COVID Emergency Loan (INDMSE-CEL), SHG-COVID – SAHAYA LOAN, IND-
COVID Emergency Salary Loan, IND COVID- Emergency Pension Loan.
Read More Details Here: Indian Bank launched 5 special emergency loans for COVID 19-affected
customers
YES Bank reconstitutes its BOD with 8 members

The YES Bank reconstituted its Board of Directors (BOD) with 8 members as per ‘Yes Bank Limited
Reconstruction Scheme, 2020′ notified by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The 8-member
board comprise of Prashant Kumar- Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sunil Mehta-
Non-Executive Chairman, Mahesh Krishnamurti & Atul Bheda (Non-Executive Directors), R Gandhi &
Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan - Additional Directors appointed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI),
Partha Pratim Sengupta & Swaminathan Janakiraman - Directors nominated by State Bank of India
(SBI).
ADB commits $ 100 million in Indian infrastructure sector through NIIF

Multilateral Institution Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest $100 million into the National
Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India Fund of Funds (FoF). With this, the FoF has now
received a total of $700 million in commitments. FoF of NIIF was created in 2018 with the aim to invest
in a variety of sectors and strategies through third-party managed funds. Till now, it has secured
commitments to 3 Funds totalling to over Rs. 2,600 crore ($350 million).

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SFBs can provide risk-free simple financial services without seeking RBI’s nod
The Reserve Bank has allowed Small Finance Banks (SFBs) to carry out simple financial activities
without seeking a prior approval from it. This will be applicable to those SFBs who have completed
three years of operations. The Central Bank has also allowed for general permission to all existing SFBs
to open banking outlets subject to adherence to Unbanked Rural Centre norms.
PNB releases new logo ahead of merger with UBI & OBC on April 1, 2020
The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a new logo before the merger of the bank with the
United Bank of India (UBI) and the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) which comes into force from April
1, 2020. The new logo will have signages of all the 3 banks. With the merger, PNB will be the 2nd largest
bank in the country with a total business and size of Rs 17.94 lakh crore only behind State Bank of India
(SBI) (largest bank if India) whose total business is about 52 lakh crore rupees.
FINANCE NEWS
Paytm Insurance Broking secures brokerage licence from IRDAI
Indian digital payments platform Paytm’s subsidiary, Paytm Insurance Broking, has received
the brokerage licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Authority of India (IRDAI). Paytm will now
offer insurance in various categories namely automotive, health and life. In addition to this, Paytm
customers can also get policy management and claim settlement at select merchant points.
EPFO cuts interest rate to 8.5% for 2019-20 from 8.65%; restored pension commutation under
EPS
EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) has declined interest rate on EPF deposits for 2019-20
to seven years low by 0.15% or 15 basis points fom 8.65% to 8.5%. The decision has been taken during
the meeting of EPFO’s apex decision making body, Central Board of Trustees (CBT) chaired by Minister
of State (MoS) for Labour and Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar in New Delhi.
 EPFO also decided to restore pension commutation under the Employees’ Pension Scheme
(EPS). This move is applicable for those who opted for commutation of their pension on or
before September 25, 2008 under the erstwhile paragraph 12A of this scheme.
Read full details here: EPFO cuts interest rate to 8.5% for 2019-20 from 8.65%; restored pension
commutation under EPS
Tata AIA Life Insurance to provide football coaching to under-privileged girls under its
‘Bachhpan Ka Rakshakaran’ program
In order to create interest in education for the under-privileged girls aged 12-16 years, by using football
coaching as a medium, Tata AIA Life Insurance, a joint venture company formed by Tata Sons Ltd and
AIA Group Ltd(AIA), has launched a ‘Bachhpan Ka Rakshakaran’ program in association with Mumbai
based Non-profit ‘Oscar Foundation’. This initiative will help reduce stock of issues including school
dropouts, child labour, child marriage, drug abuse and vulnerability to minor crime.
Flipkart teamed up with Aegon life insurance to sell quick-access life insurance policies
The e-Commerce company Flipkart has partnered with Aegon Life Insurance to sell comprehensive
insurance solutions to customers seeking instant digital policies with an assured sum up to Rs 10 lakh.
The life insurance policies have diverse offerings- sums assured ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh,
premiums starting from Rs 129 for Rs 1 lakh sum insured and policies available to the existing
customers of Flipkart between the age of 18 & 65 years.
ICICI Lombard introduced ‘COVID-19 Protection cover’ for Coronavirus positive case
ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Lombard, a private sector non-life
insurance company has introduced a 1 year long “COVID-19 Protection Cover” at a premium of Rs. 149.

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Launched in group insurance mode, this policy will pay 100% of the sum insured to the COVID-19
positive individual, irrespective of hospitalization expenses. The age group of 18-75 years is eligible for
COVID-19 protection cover.
Star health unveils ‘Star novel coronavirus policy’ for corona victims
Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd. has launched ‘Star Novel Coronavirus Insurance Policy’ that
provides coverage for hospitalized patients who test positive for the current pandemic COVID-19. The
company has set a premium of Rs 459 plus GST for a sum insured of Rs. 21,000 and a premium of Rs
918 plus GST for a sum insured of Rs 42,000. People who aged between 18-65 yrs can avail this policy.
2020 Banking & Finance – April

RBI IN NEWS
FPI limit in corporate bonds enhanced to 15% from 9% for FY21; FAR initiated for investment
in G-Secs by non-residents
To strengthen the segment of the corporate bonds the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the
foreign portfolio investment (FPI) limit in corporate bonds from 9% to 15% for FY21 (2020-2021), The
changes were made under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (42
of 1999). At present an investor can invest Rs 3.17 lakh crore in Indian corporate bonds through FPI now
due to the hike investor can hold Rs 4.29 lakh crore of corporate bonds for the half year ended September
2020, and Rs 5.41 lakh crore for the half year ending March 2021.
Read More Details Here: FPI limit in corporate bonds enhanced to 15% from 9% for FY21; FAR initiated
for investment in G-Secs by non-residents
RBI increases WMA limit to Rs 1.2 lakh crore for the first half of FY21
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the Government of India (GoI), has hiked the limit
of Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the centre to Rs 1.2 lakh crore for the first half of the financial
year 2020-21(FY21), up from Rs 75,000 crore in the first half of FY20, and Rs 35,000 crore for the second
half of 2019-20.
Read More Details Here: RBI increases WMA limit to Rs 1.2 lakh crore for the first half of FY21
RBI has revised norms for appointment & reappointment of MD & CEO
Reserve of Bank (RBI) has revised the norms for appointment and reappointment of Managing Director
(MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of private sector & foreign banks. As per new norms, Proposal of
re-appointment should be submitted 6 months in advance instead 4 months (earlier) and the proposal
for appointment of new MD & CEO or CEO should consist of a panel of at least 2 names in the order of
preference (earlier was 3 names) & the proposal to be submitted at least 4 months before the expiry of
the term of present incumbent office.
RBI announced additional measures to tackle the economic fallout of COVID-19

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced additional measures namely- relax the export norms,
increase in Ways & Means (WMA) limit & implement the counter cyclical capital buffer (CCyB) to tackle
the economic fallout due to COVID-19.
Read More Details Here: RBI announced additional measures to tackle the economic fallout of COVID-19
RBI relaxed the norms of State/UT to avail overdraft

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to increase the number of days that a State/UT can continue
to overdraft to 21 working days (current period is 14 days). In addition, the number of days that a
State/UT can overdraft in a quarter has also been increased to 50 working days from the current

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stipulation of 36 working days. The new arrangement is effective immediately and is valid until
September 30, 2020. If the WMA exceeds 90 days, it would be treated as overdraft. RBI has now extended
this overdraft facility by 7 days.
RBI to put 200 bps penalty on banks if failed to invest TLTRO funds in 30 days
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has instructed banks that they need to invest the mandated 50% of the
funds raised through targeted long-term repo operations (TLTRO) route, under the first tranche
conducted on March 27, 2020, in corporate bonds or specified securities within a month or 30 working
days. If failed, the interest rate on un-deployed funds will increase to prevailing policy repo rate (4.40%
at present) plus 200 bps (basis points) additional penal interests will have to be paid for the number of
days such funds remain un-deployed.
Read More Details Here: RBI to put 200 bps penalty on banks if failed to invest TLTRO funds in 30 days
RBI to launch Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme 2020-21 in H1 FY21 on behalf of GoI
The Central government after exercising its power conferred under clause (iii) of section 3 of Government
securities Act 2006 has launched a new series of the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme namely
“Sovereign Gold Bond 2020-21” which is to be issued by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in six tranches from
April 2020 to September 2020 i.e. in first half of FY 20-21. These bonds will fetch a fixed interest rate of
2.50% per annum which will be taxable under Income Tax Act, 1961.
Read More Details Here: RBI to launch Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme 2020-21 in H1 FY21 on behalf of
GoI
OBICUS Q4: 2019-20: 49th round of quarterly survey on manufacturing sector launched by RBI
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the 49th round of quarterly order books, inventories and
capacity utilization survey (OBICUS) of the manufacturing sector which will provide important figures
and input for monetary policy formulation. The reference period for this survey is January-March 2020
(Q4: 2019-20).
Read More Details Here: OBICUS Q4: 2019-20: 49th round of quarterly survey on manufacturing sector
launched by RBI
RBI Governor announced relief measures for liquidity in system; Reverse Repo Rate slashed to
3.75% from 4%
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced relief measures for small and medium-
sized financial organisations which have been struggling to operate due to Covid-19. The important
among them is reduction of fixed reverse repo rate from 4% to 3.75% with immediate effect to maintain
more liquidity in the banking system. Also, RBI to conduct a second round (TLTRO 2.0) of targeted long-
term repo operations (TLTRO) for an initial amount of Rs 50,000. A special refinance facility for an
amount of Rs 50,000 crores will be provided to NABARD, NHB and SIDBI.
Read More Details Here: RBI Governor announced relief measures for liquidity in system; Reverse Repo
Rate slashed to 3.75% from 4%
RBI’s 1st auction under TLTRO 2.0 for Rs 25,000 cr on Apr 23; final tranche of Rs 1 lakh crore
TLTRO concluded
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has announced a Targeted Long-Term Repo
Operations 2.0 (TLTRO) window of Rs 50,000 crore during press conference (concluded 1st phase of
TLTRO of Rs. 1 lakh crore on April 17, 2020). Now as a part of it, RBI is all set to conduct the first auction
under the TLTRO 2.0 for an amount of Rs 25,000 crore on April 23, 2020. The funds availed under TLTRO
2.0 shall be deployed in investment grade bonds, commercial paper (CPs) and non-convertible
debentures (NCDs) of NBFCs.

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RBI reduces FPI investment limits in G-secs for FY21; Rises for SDL
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the investment limit for general category foreign portfolio
investors’ (FPI) in central government securities (G-secs) to Rs 2.34 lakh crore for FY21 from the existing
limit of Rs 2.46 lakh crore. The limits have been brought down by almost $1.5 billion to just above $31
billion. On the other hand, RBI has increased the general category FPI investment limits in state
development loans (SDL) by Rs 3,215 crore to Rs 64,415 crore for the H1 of FY21 & a rise of Rs 3,215
crore to Rs 67,630 crore for the H2 of FY21. The limits for FPI investment in G-secs and SDLs remained
unchanged at 6% and 2%, respectively, of outstanding stocks of securities for FY21.
RBI increases WMA limit for Central Government to Rs 2 lakh cr from 1.2 Lakh cr for H1 FY21
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with Indian Government has increased the limit for Ways and
Means Advances (WMA) by 66% for Central Government to Rs 2,00,000 crore from Rs 1,20,000 crore for
the remaining part of first half of the financial year 2020-21 i.e H1 FY21 (April 2020 to September 2020)
to tackle the financial crisis arisen due to COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, RBI increased the WMA limit
of state governments by 60%.
Read More Details Here: RBI increases WMA limit for States/UTs to Rs 2 lakh cr from 1.2 Lakh cr for H1
FY21
RBI instructed its regulated entities to carry out money laundering risk assessment periodically
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) instructed its regulated entities (REs) to carry out money laundering (ML)
and terrorist financing (TF) risk assessment exercise periodically. In this regard the central bank has
added a new section in the Master Directions on KYC (know your customer), which has come into force
with immediate effect. The entities regulated by the RBI include, banks, All India Financial Institutions,
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and all payment system providers.
RBI cancels license of Goa’s oldest bank, Mapusa urban co-operative bank of Goa Ltd.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the license granted to the Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank of
Goa Ltd., Goa to conduct banking business which includes acceptance of deposits and repayment of
deposits as defined in Section 5 (b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 with
immediate effect. The order came into effect from the close of business on 16 April 2020.
Read More Details Here: RBI cancels license of Goa’s oldest bank, Mapusa urban co-operative bank of Goa
Ltd.
RBI opened Rs 50,000 cr Special Liquidity Facility for MFs from Apr 27-May 11,2020
To ease the liquidity pressures on mutual funds, impacted by Covid-19 crisis, Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
has initiated a special liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore namely “Special Liquidity Facility-Mutual Funds
(SLF-MF)”under which RBI will conduct repo operations of 90 days tenor at the fixed repo rate. The
timeline of the scheme is from April 27, 2020 to May 11, 2020 or up to utilization of the allocated amount,
whichever is earlier. Under this facility, the RBI will provide funds to banks at lower rates.
BANKING TECHNOLOGY
DigiGen Jana Small Finance Jana Small Finance Bank (HQ – Bengaluru, Karnataka), a
Bank scheduled commercial bank, has launched DigiGen, a digital
banking platform which enables the customers to open
digitally a savings account & fixed deposit instantly anytime
& anywhere. It is a 3-step process to open an account, where
the customers are eligible for 4.5% interest rates on savings

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accounts with no minimum balance and up to 7.5% interest
on fixed deposits.
Bharat InstaPay Bharat Sanchar Government Telecom company - Bharat Sanchar Nigam
Nigam Limited Limited (BSNL) in partnership with India’s largest public
(BSNL) & State sector bank - State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a
Bank of India (SBI) Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based payment platform,
“Bharat InstaPay” to enable all types of channel partners of
BSNL to digitize their payment transactions on a round the
clock basis/ real- time basis.
Selfe Fixed Deposits (FD) Equitas Small Chennai based private sector bank, Equitas Small Finance
and Selfe savings Finance Bank Bank (ESFB) has launched Selfe Fixed Deposits (FD) and
accounts (ESFB) Selfe savings accounts to expand its digital banking services
so as to help its customers to avoid visiting the branches as
the lockdown is extended till May 3. Selfe FD: Min invest –
Rs. 5,000; Max invest – Rs. 90,000; Interest rate upto 7.75%
for 1 year. Selfe savings accounts: No minimum balance
requirement; Interest rate upto 7.5% p.a.
Voice assistance-based ICICI bank The Mumbai based ICICI bank has launched voice
banking services assistance-based banking services on its integrated
artificial intelligence (AI) powered multi-channel chatbot
“iPal” with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for its retail
banking customers by which they can access a wide range
of banking services like check balance, seek credit card
details & ask queries through voice commands.

Asian Development Aavas $60 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a
Bank (ADB) Financiers Ltd loan agreement worth of $60 million with
Aavas Financiers Ltd (an affordable housing
loan provider) to provide housing finance to
women in low-income communities either as
primary borrowers or co-borrowers. Earlier
the ADB announced to invest $100 million in
Indian infrastructure sector through National
Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
World Bank India USD 1 billion The World Bank has offered USD 1 billion to
India for the proposed a 4-year COVID-19
emergency response & health systems
preparedness project which aims to develop
the preparedness of India’s health care systems
in the time of the pandemic & also to respond
and mitigate the pandemic.
World Bank (WB) Himachal US$82 million For the upgradation of major roads and
Pradesh State (Rs 585 modernization of the Public Works
Roads crore) Department (PWD) in Himachal Pradesh (HP).
Transformation

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Project
(HPSRTP)
Asian Development India 1.5 Billion The Asian Development Bank (ADB –
Bank USD headquarters at Mandaluyong, Manila,
(Rs.11,400 Philippines) approved the loan of 1.5 Billion
crore) USD (Rs.11,400 crore) to India to fund the
actions to take against the novel coronavirus
pandemic to support disease containment and
prevention and social protection for the poor
and working-class population who are in
vulnerable economic condition.
Asian Development Maharashtra $346 million For to provide reliable power connection in
Bank (ADB) (around Rs rural areas of the state, where the labour force
2,616 crore) is mostly engaged in agriculture and related
activities. In addition to the above said
amount, the ADB will also provide $1 million
as technical assistance.

The Punjab National Japan International The Punjab National Bank Housing Finance
Bank Housing Finance Cooperation Agency (JICA) (PNBHF) has signed an agreement with Japan
(PNBHF) International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to raise
USD 75 million (about Rs 566 crore) [It is JICA’s 1st
funding in India in Housing Finance sector] & with
Citibank for USD 25 million (about Rs 188 crore) to
provide loans to affordable housing segment so as to
improve the lives of low-income households & to
promote sustainable economic growth in India.
OTHER BANKING NEWS

ICICI Bank launches banking services on WhatsApp
Private sector bank, ICICI has launched its banking operations in WhatsApp to provide banking service
to its customers through Whataspp during the lockdown. The customers need to save ICICI Bank’s
Verified WhatsApp profile number, 9324953001 to their contacts and send ‘Hi’ to this number using the
mobile number registered with the bank.
SBI lists green bonds of USD 100 million on India INX

State Bank of India (SBI) has listed green bonds of USD 100 million (about Rs 750 crore) under its USD
10 billion global medium term note programme on India International Exchange Limited’s (INX) Global
Securities Market Green Platform (GSM).
Govt nominated IOB & HDFC Bank for collecting donations of PM CARES Fund
State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and private lender Housing Development Finance Corporation
(HDFC) Bank have been nominated for the collection of donations for Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance
and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) – Earlier State Bank of India (SBI) was

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announced as the Banking partner of PM-CARES fund. The contributions can be made by RTGS, NEFT,
IMPS, cheques and demand drafts were drawn in favour of PM-CAR Fund.
Airtel Payments Bank joined hands with Bharti AXA to offer COVID-19 insurance plans
Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharti AXA General Insurance to offer financial protection for
COVID-19 via two different health insurance plans. The plan named “Bharti AXA Group Health Assure
Policy” offers a lump sum benefit of Rs 25,000 and the other plan “Group Hospital Cash” will offer a daily
benefit of Rs 500 or Rs 1000 upto 10days. It should be noted that both are ‘Need-Based Insurance’ covers
with a validity of one year and there is no mention about the minimum and maximum age limit.
Bank of Baroda initiated four schemes for agri sector to tackle COVID-19 impact
The Bank of Baroda (BoB) has initiated four agro schemes for Women Self Help Groups (SHGs), Farmer
Producer Organizations (FPO/FPC) and farming community. It should be noted only the existing
borrowers of BoB whether individual or FPO or SHG are eligible for the schemes. Following are the four
schemes launched by bank: Additional Assurance to SHGs- COVID19, Baroda Emergency Credit Line for
Farmer Producer Organization (FPO/FPC), Baroda Special Scheme for existing Agriculture Investment
Credit borrowers, Baroda Special Scheme for existing BKCC borrowers impacted by COVID-19
Read More Details Here: Bank of Baroda initiated four schemes for agri sector to tackle COVID-19 impact
SIDBI offers emergency working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to SMEs

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has announced that it will provide emergency
working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The SIDBI Assistance to
Facilitate Emergency response against coronavirus (SAFE) loan limit has been increased to 2 crores from
Rs 50 lakhs. SAFE is the financial program for MSME that engage in manufacturing of products.
Read More Details Here: SIDBI offers emergency working capital of up to Rs 1 crore to SMEs
MaxLifeIns, YES Bank extended bancassurance tie-up for 5 years; Dedicated FY21 as “Year of
the Customer”
New Delhi based Max Life Insurance and Mumbai based YES Bank have extended their 15 years strategic
bancassurance partnership (Since Feb 2005) for five more years. In this regard, the both companies
dedicated the current financial year i.e. FY 2020-21 as the “Year of the Customer”.
HDFC Bank launches Safety Grid campaign for social distancing

The HDFC Bank (Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank) has launched “Safety Grid campaign”
which was conceptualized by Leo Burnett India to help people maintain social distancing as prescribed
by the World Health Organization (WHO) while waiting at shops during Lockdown.
Paytm Payments Bank partnered with Mastercard to issue virtual and physical debit cards
Noida based Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) has collaborated with Mastercard to issue virtual and
physical debit cards to enable its customers to perform secure online transactions, make payment in
stores as well as withdraw cash from ATMs. PPBL will issue Mastercard virtual debit cards to its new
customers to perform secure online transactions for everyday purchases.
IOB launches Working Capital Demand Loan for agriculture sector: COVID-19
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) headquartered at chenai, TN has launched Working Capital demand Loan for
agriculture sector (WCDL-Agri), a special credit facility for the agriculture sector & allied activities as a
relief measure to fight COVID-19 pandemic. It has also launched the “COVID 19 Line of Support Scheme”
for all MSME customers.

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Special Liquidity Scheme for MSMEs launched: SIDBI
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched special liquidity schemes to
support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) due to lockdown because of the COVID-19
pandemic outbreak.
Read More Details Here: Special Liquidity Scheme for MSMEs launched: SIDBI
Transcorp becomes the 1st non-bank company to receive RBI nod to enter into co-branding
arrangements
The Leading forex and payment solutions provider Transcorp International Limited (TIL), has become
the 1st non-bank company to receive Reserve Bank of India (RBI) nod to enter into co-branding
arrangements for prepaid Instruments to be used in over 35 lakh stores and online gateways due to the
current outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. It is the 1st non-bank player in India to issue National Common
Mobility Cards (NCMC/One Nation One Card) by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
certification to be used in Transit Systems and Smart Cities.
COVID-19: Indian Overseas Bank introduces special borrowing programme for self-help groups
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched a special borrowing programme for Self Help Groups (SHGs) to
help them in difficult situations arising out of COVID-19. Under this scheme, a member of SHG will be
given a maximum loan of Rs 5,000 & the limit for the group has been fixed at Rs 1 lakh. This loan will be
sanctioned with an interest rate of 9.4 % for 1 year. The loan will have to be repaid in 30 Equated Monthly
Instalments (EMIs).
FINANCE NEWS
In a 1st, BhartPe partners with ICICI lombard to launch ‘COVID-19 protection insurance cover’ for
shopkeepers
Delhi based payment transaction business company ‘BharatPe’ has entered into partnership with general
Insurance company ‘ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited’ to introduce ‘COVID-19
Protection Insurance Cover’ for shopkeepers, who are most affected financially due to Coronavirus
(COVID-19) outbreak. The premium starts from Rs 199 with a sum assured of Rs 25,000 and value-added
benefits and people aged between 18-65 can avail this insurance cover.
Centre reduced small savings schemes interest rates for Q1FY20-21; PPF interest lowered to
7.1%
The Centre government has decreased the Interest rates on small savings schemes for the first quarter
(Q1-April to June) of FY 2020-21 by exercising the powers conferred under Rule 9(1) of the Government
Saving Promotion General Rules, 2018. Important among them is Interest rate on public provident fund
(PPF) scheme has been lowered to 1% (revised to 7.1%) for Q1FY 20-21 (April-June) which is the lowest
interest rate offered since 1977 or lowest in 43 years.
Read More Details Here: Centre reduced small savingsschemes interest rates for Q1FY20-21; PPF
interest lowered to 7.1%
Corona Care: India’s first coronavirus hospitalization insurance by PhonePe for Covid-19
treatment
Digital payments company PhonePe has launched India’s first COVID-19 hospitalization insurance policy
called Corona Care in collaboration with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for people who have been
infected and hospitalised for covid-19 treatment. The policy will provide an insurance cover of 50,000 on
a one-time payment with the premium of Rs 156 for people who are under 55 years of age.

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All standard health insurance policies to cover COVID-19 hospitalization treatment including
“Arogya Sanjeevani”: IRDAI
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made the coverage of
hospitalization treatment costs of COVID-19 mandatory under standard health insurance product
“Arogya Sanjeevani” [Policy Coverage between 1 Lakh to 5 Lakh in multiples of 50,000 for age group of
18-65]. Apart from this, Indemnity based health insurance products offered by all general and health
insurance companies will also cover the costs of hospitalization treatment because of covid-19.
‘Force majeure’ not applicable to COVID-19 death claims in life insurance policies
The Life Insurance Council of India has confirmed that the clause of ‘Force Majeure’ will not apply in case
of COVID-19 death claims and it is applicable for both state-run and private life insurance players. Force
Majeure states that in the event of any force majeure or disaster that affects the normal functioning of the
life insurer then it can temporarily suspend the claims by making the contract null or invalid.
Flipkart partners with ICICI lombard & Go Digit to offer two COVID-19 health insurance policies
E-Commerce company Flipkart Private Limited joined in partnership with ICICI Lombard General
Insurance Company Limited and Go Digit General Insurance & launched two health insurance policies
namely – ‘Covid-19 Protection Cover’ – Premium Rs 159 and amount of Rs 25000 & ‘Digit Illness Group
Insurance’ - upto Rs 1 Lakh with annual premium of Rs 511, that specifically cover coronavirus (COVID-
19) on its platform.
Tata AIA becomes the 1st Life Insurance company in India to announce additional benefits:
COVID-19
Tata AIA becomes the 1st Life Insurance company in India to announce additional benefits for its
policyholders & agents so as to support them during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The
Additional benefits are, All policyholders will get additional benefit equal to the base sum assured or Rs
5,00,000 (no additional cost) whichever is lower, it is applicable for all valid death claims with a date of
death on or before June 30th 2020 & All ‘active’ agents with their spouse and children are entitled upto
Rs 25,000 hospitalization cover if diagnosed with COVID-19 within the period as mentioned for the
policyholders.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance in partnership with GOQii launches ‘BAGIC GOQii Co-pay Option’
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launched a preventive healthcare platform ‘BAGIC GOQii Co-pay Option’
in partnership with a smart health company GOQii under the regulatory sandbox approval from
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The Objective of the product is to
reward the customers with a healthy lifestyle in the form of co-pay deduction in their health insurance
policy named Health Ensure policy.
2020 Banking & Finance – May

RBI IN NEWS
RBI extends regulatory benefits under SLF-MF scheme dated 27.4.2020 to all banks
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the regulatory benefits under the Special liquidity facility for
mutual funds (SLF-MF) to all banks, irrespective of whether they avail funding from the Reserve Bank or
deploy their own resources under SLF-MF scheme. This decision has been taken on the lines of request
made by banks to RBI.
Read More Details Here: RBI extends regulatory benefits under SLF-MF scheme dated 27.4.2020 to
all banks

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Reserve Bank extends interest subsidy scheme for exporters till 31 March 2021
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the interest subsidy period by one year to 31 March 2021
on export credit received before and after shipment of goods to exporters. Exporters get the subsidy
under the ‘Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre and post shipment Rupee Export Credit’, which was
ended on March 31, 2020.
Overview of Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21 released by RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released its Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21 in Mumbai,
Maharashtra. The three-day (May 20 to 22,2020) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) virtual meeting by
the 6 members was headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
 All members of the MPC unanimously voted to reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity
adjustment facility (LAF) to 4.0 % from 4.40%.
 RBI extends moratorium on loans for another 3 months till August 2020
 India’s 2020-21 GDP growth rate expected to be negative
 Reserve Bank infuses Rs 15,000-crore line of credit to EXIM Bank
 Reserve bank grants Rs 15,000-crore refinance facility for SIDBI
 Industrial production decrease by 17 % in March with manufacturing activity down by 21%: RBI
Read More Details Here: Overview of Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21 released by RBI

LOANS ISSUED RECEIVED BY AMOUNT KEY NOTES
BY
Asian India $500 million Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has
Infrastructure approved a loan worth of $500 million for India’s
Investment Bank ‘COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health
(AIIB) Systems Preparedness Project’ to assist nation’s
efforts to stop the risk posed by COVID-19. This is
the first-ever health sector support from AIIB to
India.
Asian Development India USD 177 The Manila based Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Bank (ADB) million and the Government of India signed a USD 177
million loan to upgrade 11 state highways & 2
major district roads with a combined length of 450
km to a 2-lane standard across seven districts of
Maharashtra.

Federal Bank MoneyGram Payment MoneyGram Payment System, a subsidiary of
System MoneyGram International, global leader in P2P
payments tied up with Federal Bank Limited, a
private bank in India to provide the customers a
cost-effective way to receive deposits directly in
their bank accounts in India. The World Bank has
mentioned that India is one of the world’s top
recipients of remittance who has received around
82 billion USD in 2019.
Asian Infrastructure India and West Bengal The Government of India and West Bengal
Investment Bank Government have inked two loan agreements with

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(AIIB) and World Bank Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and
(WB) World Bank (WB) each $145 million ($290 million
cumulative) for the “West Bengal Major Irrigation
and Flood Management Project” to improve
irrigation services and flood management in the
Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) of West
Bengal. The total outlay of the project is $413.8
million. The Government of West Bengal has infused
$123.8 million for this project.
OTHER BANKING NEWS

‘Vikas Abhaya’ loan scheme launched: KVGB
Dharwad Headquartered - Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), a regional rural has launched ‘Vikas
Abhaya’ a loan scheme to provide some relief to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) borrowers
whose business activities are disrupted on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan will be provided
for the existing MSME customers who have been regular as on February 29, a maximum loan of up to Rs
1 lakh will be provided and is repayable within 36 months. Chairman of KVGB – P Gopi Krishna.
USD 400 million multi-year financial support to India: World Bank

The World Bank ‘s Board of Executive Directors has approved a USD 400 million multi-year financial
support to help India enhance its coastal & marine resources, protect marine resources & coastal
populations from pollution, erosion, sea-level rise, and improve livelihood opportunities for coastal
communities over the next decade. The loan from the international bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD) has a final maturity of 14.5 years including a grace period of 5 years. The 1st phase
covers 8 coastal States and 3 coastal Union Territories, with USD 180 million in funding, for Enhancing
Coastal and Ocean Resource Efficiency (ENCORE).
Reserve bank cancels Mumbai’s 105-year-old CKP co-op bank license

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the license granted to the 105-year-old CKP Co-operative Bank
Ltd located in Mumbai, Maharashtra to conduct banking business which includes acceptance of deposits
and repayment of deposits as defined in Section 5 (b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act,
1949 with immediate effect. In the sequence of cancellation of license and commencement of liquidation
work, the process of payment of amount will be initiated to depositors of CKP bank under Deposit
Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) Act, 1961, around 99.2 % depositors of the bank
will be entitled to deposit up to Rs. 5 lakhs from the DICGC subject to the general terms and conditions.
‘India SME Services Platform’ to be launched: SIDBI

The Lucknow based Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) informed that it will launch a
digital platform named ‘India SME Services Platform’ to educate stakeholders in the small and medium
enterprises (SME) ecosystem and have information on coronavirus-related initiatives for the sector.
NABARD disburses Rs 12,767 crore to State Co-op Banks & RRBs to extend credit to farmers
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) disburses Rs 12,767 crore to State
Co-operative (Co-op) Banks & Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) across the country to increase their resources
for extending credit to farmers during the lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The
loans are being offered for one year at an interest rate of 4.8 per cent.

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World Bank approves 1 billion USD to support India’s combat against COVID-19
World Bank approves Rs 7500 crore (1 billion USD) to ‘Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection
Response Program’ to increase India’s COVID-19 Social Protection response Program to help the nation’s
efforts in providing assistance for the poor and needy who are affected by the pandemic. This makes the
total commitment from the World Bank to India for the COVID-19 response to Rs.15000 crore (USD 2
billion).
Rs 1,500 crores sanctioned for Punjab to ensure continuous credit flow to farmers: NABARD
The Mumbai based National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs
1,500 crores for Punjab to ensure continuous credit flow to farmers, through state cooperative banks,
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of the total amount Rs 1,000 crores is sanctioned to Punjab State
Cooperative Bank and Rs 500 crores to Punjab Gramin Bank.
Canara Bank launches special gold loan business vertical

The Bengaluru headquartered Canara Bank has launched a special business vertical dedicated for gold
loans to meet the financial needs of its customers as they are in need of immediate credit support to meet
their emergency needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank has launched a gold loan campaign till
30th June, 2020 with an interest rate as low as 7.85% per annum. The MD & CEO of Canara bank is LV
Prabhakar.
NABARD extends Rs 20,500 crores special liquidity facility to co-op banks & RRBs
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has informed that it has extended
Rs 20,500 crores special liquidity facility to co-operative banks (co-op– Rs 15,200 crores) and Regional
Rural Banks (RRB’s– Rs 5,300 crores) in various States. This amount is part of the Rs 25,000 crores of
special refinance facility provided by the RBI to NABARD for refinancing RRBs, cooperative banks and
Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs).
Kotak Mahindra becomes 1st bank in India to introduce video-KYC facility for SA customers
The Mumbai based Kotak Mahindra Bank has become the 1st bank in India to allow video Know your
customer (KYC) facility for its customers opening savings account (SA) on Kotak 811 platform.
Franklin Templeton appoints Kotak Bank as an advisor to assist in monetising assets of 6 Wind-
up Schemes
Franklin Templeton Trustee Services Pvt. Ltd. has appointed Mumbai based Kotak Mahindra Bank as an
independent advisor to work together with Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd (the
AMC), to assist the Trustees in monetizing portfolios of the 6 schemes that are being wound up & make
pay-outs to the affected investors.
World Bank announces $160 billion assistance to 100 countries

The World Bank announced emergency operations worth USD 160 billion to 100 developing countries
over a 15-month period to fight the deadly Coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown were
expected to put over 60 million into extreme poverty globally.
ICICI introduced ‘ICICI Bank Golden Years FD’ a special FD with interest rate of 6.55% p.a. for
senior citizens
The Private sector ICICI bank has introduced a special fixed deposit (FD) scheme for senior citizens called
‘ICICI Bank Golden Years FD’ which offers an interest rate of 6.55% per annum (p.a) for deposits up to
Rs. 2 crores with a tenure of more than 5 years (5 years and 1 day) to 10 years. Similarly, SBI has launched
‘SBI Wecare Deposit’ scheme which offers an additional 30 bps interest to senior citizens on their term

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deposits & HDFC has launched ‘Senior Citizen Care FD’ which offers an additional 75bps for deposits with
more than 5-year tenors with investments up to Rs 5 crore.
Airtel Payments Bank joined hands with Mastercard to develop customised payment solutions
for farmers, SMEs
The Airtel Payments Bank (APBL) has joined hands with Mastercard to develop a special type of payment
solutions such as contact less payments via NFC (Near Field Communication), credit facility and other
neighbourhood banking services for Indian farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
NABARD grants Rs 1,050 crore to West Bengal during FY 21 for the benefit of farmers & poor
people
The Mumbai based National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has extended Rs.
1,050 crores special liquidity facility (SLF) to West Bengal (WB) in the current fiscal year (FY 21) for the
welfare of farmers and poor people in the state. Of the 1050 crores, Rs 300 crores disbursed for MFIs
(micro-finance institutions), Rs 700 crores sanctioned for state cooperative banks and Rs 50 crorse for
regional rural banks (RRBs).
FINANCE NEWS
Flipkart ties up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for digital motor insurance policy
E-commerce company Flipkart partnered with Pune based Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company to
offer digital motor insurance policy to customers of e-commerce major. This enables consumers to
purchase the motor-insurance policy using the Flipkart mobile application.
IBM ties up with Intellect Design Arena to launch iTurmeric FinCloud platform for cloud services
of banks, financial institutions
IBM (International Business Machines) ties up with the Intellect Design Arena Limited, a full spectrum
banking and insurance products company, has launched iTurmeric FinCloud platform through IBM public
cloud targeting financial institutions which are looking to switch to the latest tools and technologies.
Maruti Suzuki ties-up with Cholamandalam Investment & Finance to launch ‘Buy Now Pay Later’
offer
Maruti Suzuki India Limited, an automobile manufacturer in India, has partnered with the
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited (CIFCL) to launch ‘Buy Now Pay Later’
financing scheme to make the purchase of its cars even more convenient. Under the scheme, customers
have the option to avail a 60-day surcharge on their EMI. Apart from Maruti, Tata Motors and Mahindra
have also rolled out similar finance schemes this week.
Edelweiss General Insurance launched app-based OD floater policy

Edelweiss General Insurance launched ‘Edelweiss SWITCH’, an app-based motor insurance own damage
(OD) floater policy under IRDAI’s sandbox regulations. This driver-based motor insurance allows the
owners of the vehicles to cover multiple vehicles under a single policy. Edelweiss SWITCH is approved
under the ‘Pay as you use’ model, expected to change the standard of determining the premium of Motor
OD based on the age, make and model of vehicle to usage of vehicle and experience of driver.
LIC launches modified PM Vaya Vandana Yojana pension scheme

The Mumbai headquartered Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) announced the launch of the
Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana-PMVVY (Modified- 2020) Scheme for those over and above 60
years. The sale will be available from May 26 for 3 financial years (up to March 31, 2023). This scheme
can be purchased offline as well as online from LIC website.

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Maruti Suzuki partners with ICICI Bank to provide retail financing schemes to customers
Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) announced its partnership with ICICI Bank to offer retail financing
schemes to its customers. ICICI bank offers a flexible EMI scheme allowing the customers to pay minimum
EMI initially to support them in the liquidity stress during COVID-19 situation.
Annual listing fee reduced by 25% for SMEs: BSE & NSE
The BSE (formerly known as The Bombay Stock Exchange) and NSE (National Stock Exchange)
announced that they will reduce the annual listing fee by 25% for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
companies to lower the compliance costs for companies. NSE will provide the rebate to all its existing
listed companies currently listed on its EMERGE platform. BSE will provide the rebate to its currently-
listed companies & for all the firms waiting to be listed on the exchange.
2020 Banking & Finance – June

RBI IN NEWS
RBI creates Payments Infrastructure Development Fund with initial corpus of Rs 250 cr to boost
digitization
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated with Rs 500-crore ($66 million) Payments Infrastructure
Development Fund (PIDF) with an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore to encourage the deployment of
Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in smaller cities and towns. The vision document had envisaged that
the usage of debit cards at PoS transactions will be around 44 per cent of total debit card transactions by
2021. Also, there will be around 5 million active PoS by 2021.
RBI proposed Draft Frameworks for Sale of Loan Exposures and Securitisation of Standard
Assets
The RBI has proposed two draft documents titled “Draft Comprehensive Framework for Sale of Loan
Exposures” and “Draft Framework for Securitisation of Standard Assets” consisting of guidelines
applicable to all Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs); All India Financial Institutions
(NABARD, NHB, EXIM Bank, and SIDBI); and, all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) including
Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).
Read More Details Here: RBI proposed Draft Frameworks for Sale of Loan Exposures and Securitisation
of Standard Assets
RBI bars People’s Co-operative Bank from granting fresh loans, accepting deposits for 6 months
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has restricted People’s Co-operative Bank located in Kanpur, Uttar
Pradesh (UP) from granting fresh loans and accepting deposits for six months from June 10, 2020, due to
its weak financial position in exercise of powers vested in it under sub section (1) of Section 35 A of the
Banking Regulation Act, 1949 read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The bank is
barred from selling, transferring or disposing any of its properties or assets.
RBI sets up 5-member Internal working group headed by P K Mohanty to review ownership and
control of Private banks
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a 5-member Internal Working Group (IWG) headed by Prasanna
Kumar (PK) Mohanty to review ownership guidelines and corporate structure for private banks in light
of recent developments in the banking sector.

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RBI Releases New Framework for Financial Market Infra, Retail Payment System; NPCI & NEFT
classified as FMI
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made some changes to the monitoring structure of Financial Markets
Infrastructure (FMI) and Retail Payment Systems (RPSs) with the aim to ensure the security and stability
of the payment structure.
Read More Details Here: RBI Releases New Framework for Financial Market Infra, Retail Payment
System; NPCI & NEFT classified as FMI
RBI Proposes to Set Upper Age Limit of CEOs, Whole-Time Directors of Banks to 70 Years
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Discussion Paper on ‘Governance in Commercial Banks in India’
proposed to set the upper age limit of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and whole-time directors (WTDs)
belonging to the promoter group of banks to 70 years and maximum tenure of 10 years.
RBI Proposes New Rules for Housing Finance Companies; Increases Min NOF to Rs 20cr
RBI being a new regulator has proposed changes to be prescribed for HFCs with an aim to increase their
efficiency and address concerns of liquidity and double financing. In exercise of powers conferred under
Section 29A (1) (b) of NHB Act, 1987, RBI proposes to increase the minimum NOF for HFCs from the
current requirement of Rs10 crore to Rs 20 crore. Also, housing loans must account for at least 50% of
HFCs’ assets of which at least 75% should be towards individual housing loans. HFCs which do not fulfil
this criterion will be treated as NBFC – Investment and Credit Companies (NBFC-ICCs).
Read More Details Here: RBI Proposes New Rules for Housing Finance Companies; Increases Min NOF to
Rs 20cr
RBI doubles withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh for PMC Bank depositors; 4 other banks withdrawal
limit increased
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the withdrawal limit from Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative
(PMC) Bank to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000 but extended the moratorium on the bank for another six months.
With this relaxation, over 84% of the bank’s depositors will be able to withdraw their entire account
balance. In addition to that, RBI has increased withdrawal limit of 4 more banks namely, Kerala
Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited, Hindu Cooperative Bank Limited, Sri Guru Raghavendra Sahakara
Bank Niyamitha, Youth Development Cooperative Bank Limited.
RBI Extends Rs 50,000 Crores Special Liquidity Window for YES Bank by 3 months
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended a special liquidity window for Rs 50,000 crores to Yes Bank for
three months, to help private lenders cover for shortfall in deposits. The Yes bank was first provided with
a special liquidity window for 3 months in March, which ended in June. The bank has requested for the
same facility for one year, against which the RBI has extended for another 3 months.
Reserve Bank Extends Enhanced Borrowing Limit to Banks Under MSF Till Sept 30, 2020
In exercise of power conferred under the Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has decided to extend the enhanced borrowing facility provided to banks under MSF
till September 30, 2020 to meet the liquidity shortage in the midst of the economic crisis caused by the
COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, RBI has also extended the minimum daily cash reserve ratio (CRR)
maintenance of 80% by three months until 25 September 2020.
Read More Details Here: Reserve Bank Extends Enhanced Borrowing Limit to Banks Under MSF Till Sept
30, 2020

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BANKING TECHNOLOGY
IndusInd Bank rolls out India’s 1st mobile app based facility for opening current accounts
The Pune based IndusInd Bank Limited has introduced a first-of-its-kind facility for customers to open
current accounts (CA) through its ‘Indus Corporate’ mobile app. The customer will not need physical KYC
(Know your Customer) documents to open an account in this manner. The account will become
operational within 24 hours of opening the account.
ICICI Bank launches ‘Insta Flexicash’ an Online OD facility for its salary account customers
The Mumbai based ICICI Bank has launched ‘Insta Flexicash’, an online overdraft (OD) facility for its pre-
approved salary account customers, by which these customers can get approval for OD instantly & in a
paperless manner.
HDFC Ergo & Tech firm Tropogo Jointly Launches India’s 1st ‘pay as you fly’ Insurance for Drones
The Mumbai headquartered HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company has joined hands with UK based
tech firm TropoGo Limited to launch India’s 1st ‘Pay as you Fly’ insurance for drone-owners in India.
Yes Bank & Affordplan Jointly Launches Co-Branded Healthcare Card Called ‘Swasth Card’
YES Bank Limited has joined hands with Delhi-based fintech start-up Affordplan, to launch a first of its
kind co-branded healthcare card called ‘Swasth Card’ under Swasth program with the aim to enable
families plan and manage their finances for their healthcare needs.
PhonePe Partnered with ICICI Bank on UPI multi-bank model

The Bengaluru based Flipkart-owned PhonePe announced that it has partnered with Mumbai
headquartered ICICI Bank on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) multi-bank model. To provide its users
the option to create and use multiple UPI IDs with ICICI Bank’s “@ibl” handle and YES Bank’s ‘@ybl’
handle on the PhonePe app. Through this ICICI Bank has become the second official UPI partner of
PhonePe after Yes Bank.

LOANS ISSUED RECEIVED BY AMOUNT KEY NOTES
BY
World Bank (WB) West Bengal Rs. 1,950 According to the Chief Minister (CM) of West
crores Bengal Mamata Banerjee, the World Bank (WB)
has granted loan worth of Rs. 1,950 crores to the
state for tackling COVID-19 situation and
developmental work. Out of the total amount, Rs.
1,100 crores will be allocated for creating
Industrial infrastructures and the balance Rs. 850
crores will be spent for various Social-Welfare
schemes.
Asian India USD 750 The Beijing based Asian Infrastructure
Infrastructure million Investment Bank (AIIB) approved a 2nd loan of
Investment Bank USD 750 million to India under the bank’s USD 10
billion COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility (CRF);
this loan is co-financed by the Asian Development
Bank (ADB). Earlier, the 1st loan under this
facility of USD 500 million, co-financed by the
World Bank was approved on May 8.

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OTHER BANKING NEWS
DBS Bank India partners with TCIL to facilitate real time payments for truck drivers by DBS
RAPID solution
DBS Bank India partnered with Gurugram based Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL) to
facilitate real time payments for truck drivers by DBS RAPID (Real Time APIs by DBS) solution to enable
them to receive payments instantly. The solution has been set up under the support of National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI).
Axis Bank, MasterCard and Worldline launches ‘Soft POS’, first financial payments service:
Transform SmartPhones for Merchant POS terminals
The Mumbai based Axis Bank Ltd, Mastercard India & Worldline India partnered to launch a digital point-
of-sale (POS) solution ‘Soft POS’, the 1st financial payments service in India to transform everyday
smartphones into merchant POS terminals. The technology used is Near Field Communication (NFC).
SBI launches separate FI&MM vertical for agriculture and small businesses
The Mumbai based State Bank of India (SBI) has created a separate Financial Inclusion and Micro Market
(FI&MM) vertical within the bank with an exclusive focus to provide financial services to people engaged
in agriculture and allied activities and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The new wing will
be headed by Sanjeev Nautiyal at the national level.
NABARD provides Rs 270 crore Special Liquidity Facility to Assam Gramin Vikash Bank
The Mumbai based National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) provided Rs 270
crore Special Liquidity Facility(SLF) to Assam Gramin Vikash Bank in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic to
support the agricultural activities of the farmers. This support & separate line of credit will enable to
intensify farmers crop production.
POS solution in Africa promoted by the partnership between ePaisa and First Alliance Bank
The ePaisa (PoS service provider in India) has entered into a partnership with First Alliance Bank (Z) Ltd
in Zambia, Africa, to provide mobile point of sale (mPOS) solution to small and medium enterprises and
other businesses.
Exim Bank sanctions $215.68 mn LoC to Malawi govt for Drinking Water Supply Schemes
The Mumbai based Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank), a specialized financial institution wholly
owned by Government of India (GoI), has provided a line of credit (LOC) of $215.68 million to the Malawi
government. With this agreement, there are five loan facilities worth $ 395.68 million have been provided
by the EXIM Bank to the Government of Malawi so far. The capital and currency of Malawi are Lilongwe
& Malawian kwacha.
Airtel Payments Bank launches ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for MSMEs

The Airtel Payments Bank launched ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for the micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs). The account will enable the MSMEs & other organisations to make cashless
payments & provide financial security to their employees.
SEBI panel headed by Anil Dave suggested measures to strengthen enforcement of SEBI
In order to strengthen the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) enforcement mechanism and
also to improve its system of recovery of siphoned off money, the SEBI committee headed by Anil Dave
has proposed a method of quantification of profit made by the defaulter and loss caused to investors in
the report. The committee also examined the insolvency, recovery and securities laws jurisprudence of
India and abroad and suggested suitable changes in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.

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Bank of Baroda to Fully Digitize Lending Operations
India’s 3rd largest lender, Bank of Baroda is set to fully digitise its lending operations including home,
agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), personal and auto loans. The bank has set up
a new vertical, ‘Digital lending Department’ at the corporate office, which will have substantial overlap
with various credit verticals including Retail, MSME, Agri & service verticals like Analytics centre, Risk
Management, Marketing.
EXIM Bank Extends Line of Credit of USD 20.10 Million to Nicaragua Govt
The Mumbai based Export-Import (EXIM) Bank on behalf of the Indian Government, extended a Line of
Credit (LOC) of USD 20.10 million to the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua for the reconstruction
of Aldo Chavarria Hospital. The bank has extended 4 LOCs to Nicaragua, on behalf of Indian Government,
with a total value of USD 87.63 million till now.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd Partners with HDFC Bank offers 1st Online Auto Retail Financing:
‘Click to Buy’ Platform
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) partnered with HDFC Bank to offer industry 1st online auto retail
financing on its end-to-end online automotive retail platform, ‘Click to Buy’ to the customers.
UCO Bank Ties Up with 4 Insurers to Offer Various Insurance Products

The Kolkata headquartered United Commercial Bank (UCO Bank) partnered with four insurers namely,
SBI Life Insurance Company, the Oriental Insurance Company and Religare Health Insurance Company,
Star Health and Allied Insurance Company to offer various insurance products for its customers. The bank
also signs a ‘bancassurance’ pact with SBI Life Insurance to provide insurance solutions to the customers
of UCO bank at its 3,086 branches spread across the country.
Karnataka Bank launches ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ for MSMEs

The Karnataka Bank launched a new product ‘KBL Micro Mitra’ for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs). This product will provide financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakhs to the Micro manufacturing and
service enterprises for working capital or for investment purposes.
Yes Bank Launches Digital Wallet Solution ‘Yuva Pay’ in Partnership with UDMA Technologies to
Enable Contactless Payments
The Mumbai headquartered Yes Bank launches a digital wallet solution (app) ‘Yuva Pay’ in partnership
with UDMA Technologies Pvt Ltd to enable contactless payments for its customers. The wallet is issued
under minimum Know Your Client (KYC) regulations.
Lt Governor G C Murmu Launches Two Customized Loan Schemes of J&K Bank for Business
Communities
Girish Chandra Murmu, the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K),
has rolled out 2 customized loan schemes of J&K Bank namely ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme
2019-20’ and ‘J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20 for Hotels and Guest Houses’ with the
aim to overcome business challenges that have stemmed up due to the prevailing conditions. R K
Chhibber is the CMD of J&K Bank (HQ -Srinagar, J&K).
SOLV partnered with Standard Chartered Bank to Launch Credit Card for MSMEs
The Bengaluru based SOLV, a B2B (business to business) digital platform for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs), has launched a tailor-made credit card in partnership with Standard Chartered
Bank, India. SOLV MSME Credit Card provides MSME clients with a ready means to meet ongoing business

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expenses including supplier payments, fuel, logistics, purchase of raw material, utility payments and
working capital outlays.
World Bank Grants $500 Million to Bangladesh For Cross Country Road Projects
World Bank (WB) has sanctioned $ 500 million for “Western Economic Corridor and Regional
Enhancement (WeCARE) Phase I project” to improve road connectivity in Bangladesh’s Jashore -
Jhenaidah corridor, which consists of four western districts to connect with the capital Dhaka as well as
with India and Bhutan.
World Bank Approves $500 mn Under ‘STARS’ Project to Improve Education Quality in 6 Indian
States
The board of executives of the World Bank (WB) has approved loan of $ 500 million under ‘Strengthening
Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS)’ project to improve the quality and
governance of school education across six states (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan) in India. The new project will be executed through flagship central
scheme, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. As per WB, India has made better improvement in access to education
across the country from 2004-05 to 2018-19, where the number of children going to school hiked from
21.9 crore to 24.8 crore.
World Bank Enhances the financial Support for Ganga rejuvenation with $400 million through
SNGRBP
The World bank enhanced the support to India’s programme to rejuvenate the Ganga with $400 million
through Second National Ganga River Basin Project (SNGRBP), for the development of infrastructure
projects Under the National Ganga River Basin Project. This is the 1st Indian Project to get the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Guarantee in the water sector in India.
The Namami Gange Programme is an integrated conservation mission, approved by Union Government
in 2014 with a budget outlay of Rs 20000 crore.
FINANCE NEWS
SEBI Extends Deadline for Power of Attorney Norms till August 1, 2020
Mumbai based Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the date for implementing
norms pertaining to power of attorney (POA) given by clients to trading members or clearing members
till August 1, 2020 from June 1, 2020. POA is a document allowing an individual or entity to appoint a
person/organization for managing the former’s property, financial, or medical affairs if he/she/it
becomes unable to do so.
American DFC to invest $350 million in India firms

To support multiple projects in India, The US International Development Finance Corporation (USIDFC)
is planning to invest $350 million in sectors of finance, health infrastructure, renewable energy and food
security space also look to empower smallholder dairy farmers, generate solar power increase access to
education.
PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard launches ‘first of its kind’ domestic trip travel insurance
Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe along with ICICI Lombard, the non-life insurance
company launched ‘first of its kind’ travel insurance, domestic multi-trip insurance to provide a stress-
free travel experience to customers by covering risks associated with all modes of travel within the
country.

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India becomes 2nd nation to have contact-free ATM cash withdrawals; Empays Payment Systems
partners with Mastercard
The Empays Payment Systems has joined hands with Mastercard to launch “Cardless ATM powered by
Mastercard” in India based on the standards of EMV (Europay, Mastercard, and Visa). With this, India will
be the first country outside the United States (US) where this product will be launched. It uses SMS (short
message service) technology to enable cash withdrawals.
ICICI Home Finance Launches SARAL, Affordable Housing Loan Scheme

The Mumbai headquartered ICICI Home Finance Company Limited (HFCL) launched ‘SARAL’, a special
affordable housing loan scheme to finance homes in urban and rural areas. The beneficiaries are women,
lower, middle income customers and economically weaker sections, with a maximum household income
up to Rs 6 lakh per annum.
SEBI amends SEBI (SAST) Regulations, 2011 to enhance promoter’s shareholding

The board of SEBI has amended the regulation 3, in sub-regulation (2) of Securities and Exchange Board
of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (SEBI-SAST) to enhance the
acquisition limit for promoters of a listed company. The amendment allows promoters owning 25% or
more of the shares or voting rights in a company to increase his shareholding by up to 10% in a year in
comparison to the earlier 5% limit.
Karnataka Bank Launches Health Insurance Policy to Cover COVID-19 in Partnership with
Universal Sompo General Insurance Company
Karnataka Bank in partnership with Universal Sompo General Insurance Company has launched a health
insurance policy. The policy aims to cover the individuals’ COVID-19 pandemic related health expenses.
The validity period of policy is 120 days and people aged between 18-65 can avail this policy.
Tata AIA Life Insurance Partners with East Consultancy Services to Offer Aadhaar-Based
Paperless Offline e-KYC Service
The Mumbai based Tata AIA Life Insurance partnered with East Consultancy Services to offer Aadhaar-
based paperless offline e-Know Your Customer (KYC) service. Also, Tata AIA Life Insurance will soon
extend the service for verification of agents as part of” Know Your Agent” (KYA) requirement.
World’s First Gold-backed US Digital Gold Currency Launched in India, GCC, Middle East and
Africa by IBMC
IBMC Financial Professionals Group in partnership with US Gold Currency Inc and Blockfills introduced
the world’s first monetary gold-backed US Gold digital currency in India, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
Middle East and Africa. Each US Gold digital currency is backed by a US American Eagle one-ounce
(33.931 gram) gold coin, minted by the US Federal Agency, US Mint.
SIDBI Set Up ‘Swavalamban Crisis Responsive Fund’ to Facilitate Free Onboarding of MSMEs on
TReDS platform
The Lucknow based Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has informed that it has set up
‘Swavalamban Crisis Responsive Fund’ (SCRF), an open-ended fund to facilitate free onboarding of Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform.

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2020 Banking & Finance – July

RBI IN NEWS
FDI Up by $19 bn in FY20; Portfolio Investment Down by $13.7 bn: IIP Data Released by RBI
According to India’s International Investment Position (IIP) data as at end-March 2020, released by
Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country has raised by $19 billion
while portfolio investment declined by $13.7 billion during 2019-20.
Read More Details Here: FDI Up by $19 bn in FY20; Portfolio Investment Down by $13.7 bn: IIP Data
Released by RBI
RBI conducted OMO of purchase and sale of G-secs for Rs 10,000 cr each; Borrowing facility to
banks extended till Sept 30, 2020
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conducted the simultaneous purchase of Government Securities (G-Secs),
maturing between 2027 and 2033, and sale of 182 day and 364-day treasury bills (DTBs) under Open
Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crore each on July 2, 2020. This OMO is a part of “Operation
Twist” to ease pressure evolving liquidity and market conditions.
Read More Details Here: RBI conducted OMO of purchase and sale of G-secs for Rs 10,000 cr each;
Borrowing facility to banks extended till Sept 30, 2020
Tamil Nadu Tops Market Borrowings Among States in India with a Collection of ₹30,500 crores
for 2020-21: RBI
According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Tamil Nadu (TN) has topped market borrowings
among States in India with a collection of Rs. 30,500 crores in the fiscal 2020-21 (FY 21). TN, which has
accounted for 17% of the borrowings done through the issue of bonds (known as state development
loans), has been followed by Maharashtra ₹25,500 crore (14%), Andhra Pradesh ₹17,000 crore (9%),
Rajasthan ₹17,000 crore (9%).
Read More Details Here: Tamil Nadu Tops Market Borrowings Among States in India with a Collection of
₹30,500 crores for 2020-21: RBI
RBI Releases Report of Committee for Analysis of QR Code headed by Prof. Deepak B Phatak
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) publicized the “Report of the Committee for Analysis of QR (Quick Response)
Code” under the chairmanship of Prof. Deepak B. Phatak on its website for comments / suggestions of
various industry players currently involved in or associated with the use of QR codes before August 10,
2020.
RBI Signed USD 400 mn Currency Swap Facility for Sri Lanka
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to a USD 400 million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka, valid
till November 2022. This will help Sri Lanka to meet its short-term international liquidity requirements
and to boost its foreign exchange reserves following the economic crisis resulting from COVID-19. This
Currency swap agreement was made under the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) framework.
Gross NPA of banks may rise to 12.5% by March 2021: RBI Financial Stability Report
According to the 21st issue of Financial Stability Report (FSR), July 2020 by Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
released on July 24, 2020, the gross nonperforming assets (GNPA) ratio of all scheduled commercial
banks (SCBs) may increase from 8.5% in March 2020 to 12.5% by March 2021 under the baseline
scenario; the ratio may escalate to 14.7% under a very severely stressed scenario.
Read More Details Here: Gross NPA of banks may rise to 12.5% by March 2021: RBI Financial Stability
Report

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BANKING TECHNOLOGY
Swiggy in Partnership with ICICI Bank Launches an Industry- First Instant Digital Wallet, ‘Swiggy
Money’
Online food delivery and ordering platform, Swiggy has launched its own digital wallet, ‘Swiggy Money’
in partnership with ICICI Bank to enable a ‘single-click checkout experience’ on its platform. It is an
industry- first instant digital wallet. The Swiggy Money is powered by ICICI Bank’s ‘insta wallet service’
which is built on a cloud platform with Application Programming Interface (API) integration.
ICICI bank Launched a Facility, ‘Insta Loans against Mutual Funds’, in Partnership with Computer
Age Management Services
The Mumbai based ICICI Bank in partnership with Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) launched
‘Insta Loans against Mutual Funds’, a facility for retail customers to avail loans up to Rs 1 crore instantly
by pledging their holdings in both debt and equity Mutual Funds (MFs).
HDFC Bank to Offer ‘ZipDrive’, an Online Instant Auto Loans to its Customers
HDFC Bank announced that it will offer ‘ZipDrive’, an online instant auto loan to its customers in 1,000
cities. The auto loan disbursal product is only for customers with pre-approved offers. It is a technology-
enabled loan product where credit assessment is done by banking software.
YES Bank Launches a Digital Solution, ‘Loan in Seconds’ for Instant Disbursement of Retail Loans
The Mumbai headquartered YES Bank launched a digital solution, ‘Loan in Seconds’ for instant
disbursement of retail loans. It is available for the bank’s pre-approved liability account holders. The
algorithm evaluates the loan application in real-time and eliminates the need for documentation.
Bank of Baroda Launched ‘Insta Click Savings Account’, 100% Paperless Digital Self-Assisted
Online Savings Account
India’s third-largest public sector bank, Bank of Baroda (BoB) launched ‘Insta Click Savings Account’, a
100% paperless digital self-assisted online savings account. It can be activated in real-time i.e; the
customer can transact using the Baroda M Connect Plus application with the MPIN received on the mobile
number.
AGREEMENTS & MOU’S SIGNED

World Bank Government of India Signed an agreement along with the Government of Tamil
Nadu to help the low-income groups in the state of Tamil
Nadu to get access to affordable housing. The agreement
was signed for 2 projects, First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector
Strengthening Programme worth $200 million (Rs 1,510
crore) & Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development
Project worth $50 million (Rs 377 crore).
Karur Vysya Bank Star Health and Allied Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has joined hands with Star Health
(KVB) Insurance Co Ltd and Allied Insurance Co Ltd for bancassurance, through
which KVB will market wide range health insurance
products of the Star Health through its 780 branches. Note:
Bancassurance is a partnership between a bank and an
insurance company, where the bank sells the tied
insurance company’s insurance products to its clients.
Asian Development International Energy Asian Development Bank (ADB) has renewed a MOU with
Bank (ADB) Agency (IEA) Paris headquartered International Energy Agency (IEA)

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during IEA’s Clean Energy Transitions Summit 2020 with
the aim to further increase the collaboration on
sustainability with a focus on energy sector resilience in
Asia and the Pacific. ADB earlier inked a 3-year MOU with
IEA in March 2017.
Asian Development Green Climate Fund The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Green Climate
Bank (ADB) (GCF) Fund (GCF) agreed to partner toward the “Green
Recovery”. This is to help hands for the people who are
facing the harsh economic impact due to COVID-19
pandemic.
OTHER BANKING NEWS

World Bank Approves USD 750 Million MSME Emergency Response Program for India
The World Bank approved a USD 750 million (about Rs.5600 Crore) Micro, Small, and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs) Emergency Response Program to support severely impacted MSMEs in India due
to COVID-19 crisis. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide the
loan. The World bank has lent USD 5.13 billion to India in the financial year 2020. It has committed USD
2.75 billion to support India’s emergency COVID-19 response.
ADB Joins Network for Greening the Financial System as Observer

Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank, has joined the Paris (France)-based
Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as an observer. With this, ADB now joins the ranks of
the World Bank (WB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as NGFS observers.
Kotak Mahindra Bank & Innoviti Collaborates to Offer EMIs on Kotak Debit Cards Swiped on
Innoviti POS Terminals
Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd. announced that they have collaborated to
provide Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) billing options on Kotak Debit Cards which are swiped on
Innoviti Point of Sale (POS) terminals.
SBM Bank India Partnered with Mastercard to facilitate Real-time domestic & cross-border
payments & remittances through ‘Mastercard Send’
SBM Bank (sponsored by Mauritius government) India has partnered with Mastercard to enable its
customers to make real-time domestic & cross-border payments (Business to Consumer- B2C) and
remittances quickly and efficiently through ‘Mastercard Send’.
Fino Payments Bank launches ‘Bhavishya’ Savings Account for Minors Aged between 10-18 years
Fino Payments Bank Limited launched ‘Bhavishya,’ a savings account scheme for minors aged between
10-18 years. The subscription-based savings account aims to inculcate banking and saving habits in
children. The Bhavishya Savings Account can be only opened through the Electronic-Know Your
Customer(e-KYC) mode.
Deutsche Bank and Google Cloud to Enter into a Multi-Year, Strategic Partnership
The Frankfurt (Germany) headquartered Deutsche Bank and Google Cloud have proposed to enter into a
strategic, multi-year partnership. The partnership focuses on redefining how the bank develops and
offers its financial services.

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Karur Vysya Bank Enters into Bancassurance Corporate Agency Partnership with Bajaj Allianz
Life Insurance
Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), a Scheduled Commercial Bank in India has joined hands with Bajaj Allianz Life
Insurance for bancassurance. Note: Bancassurance is a partnership between a bank and an insurance
company, where the bank sells the tied insurance company’s insurance products to its clients.
ADB & EAA Foundation Collaborated in $100 million Project to Provide Quality Primary
Education for out of school children
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered into a 5-year agreement with Qatar-based Education
Above All (EAA) Foundation to work jointly for project worth of $100 million to put at least 3.2 lakh out-
of-school children, including refugees and internally displaced children into quality primary education.
The ADB will help India and 9 other Asian nations to ensure quality education for the out-of-school and
at-risk children in the primary level.
Visa Partners with Federal Bank to Deploy Visa Secure to the Bank’s Cardholders
Visa, enters into partnership with Federal Bank to deploy Visa Secure to the bank’s cardholders. Visa
Secure will provide additional authentication layers for issuers and merchants to combat online frauds.
In addition to this, the upgraded technology provides a quick and smooth checkout experience to
consumers. Visa Secure is a global authentication program that uses the latest standards of the EMV
(Europay, Mastercard, and Visa) 3DS (3D Secure) protocol.
NABARD organised a ‘digital choupal’ to mark its 39th Foundation Day; 2 schemes each of Rs
5,000 cr announced
On July 12, 2020, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has celebrated its
39th Foundation day. On July 13, 2020, NABARD has organized its first “digital choupal”, a video
conference which brought together farmers from across the country. On this occasion, NABARD has
announced Rs 5,000 crore of refinance scheme for banks and financial institutions and also earmarked
another Rs 5,000 crore for turning Primary Agricultural Credit Societies, into multi service centres.
NABARD disbursed Rs 2.51 cr grant assistance to SHGs & Rs 221.89 cr to support 298 watershed
project in Karnataka
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has disbursed Rs 2.51 crore of grant
assistance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) for promotion, skill development and digitisation of records in
Karnataka. This funding is a part of eShakti or Digitisation of SHGs an initiative of Micro Credit and
Innovations Department (mCID) of NABARD. Also, NABARD has extended a grant assistance of Rs 221.89
crore to support 298 watershed projects in over three lakh hectares benefitting 66,500 families.
CBDT launched tool for banks, co-operative societies & post offices to ascertain TDS applicability
rates on cash withdrawals
A new functionality of Income Tax Department namely “Verification of applicability u/s 194N” which is
available on www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in since July 1, 2020 has now made accessible for banks, co-
operative societies, and post offices through web-services by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
Read More Details Here: CBDT launched tool for banks, co-operative societies & post offices to ascertain
TDS applicability rates on cash withdrawals
NABARD Launched Development Projects worth Rs 44 lakhs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched development projects of Rs
44 lakhs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to strengthen the Atmanirbhar Bharat through rural
entrepreneurship. The development projects include formation and development of Self-Help Groups

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(SHGs). NABARD has also partnered with the Centre of Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) to conduct
agricultural programmes with an amount of Rs 20 lakh.
NABARD Sanctioned Rs 795 crore to West Bengal for Reconstructing Infrastructure Damaged by
Cyclone Amphan
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs 795 crore to West
Bengal to reconstruct infrastructure which was damaged by Cyclone Amphan (May 2020) under Rural
Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). NABARD has already provided Rs 145 crore under RIDF to the
state as special liquidity support to enhance rural infrastructure considering the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harsh Vardhan Launched PNB’s Nationwide CSR Campaign to Fight COVID-19 Pandemic
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan launched New Delhi based Punjab National
Bank (PNB)’s nationwide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaign to prevent the spread of
COVID-19 by distributing face masks and sanitizers. S.S. Mallikarjuna Rao is the Managing Director (MD)
and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PNB.
LIC-UBI announced corporate agency pact

The Mumbai headquartered Union Bank of India (UBI), after its amalgamation with Corporation Bank
and Andhra Bank, has announced a corporate agency agreement with Life Insurance Corporation of India
(LIC) to distribute latter’s policies. As per the pact, UBI can act as a financial supermarket by offering LIC
products of term insurance, pension, plan, children plan, ULIPs, and endowment schemes to its account
holders, whereby they can select products according to their choice.
FamPay launched India’s 1st numberless card, Famcard

FamPay, India’s first Neobank for teenagers, in partnership with IDFC First Bank launched India’s 1st
numberless card, FamCard. FamPay with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) developed this
card. This card is accepted across the RuPay payment network of merchants.
Airtel Payments Bank Partnered with NSDC to Skill Rural Youth for Financial Services Sector
Jobs
The New Delhi based Airtel Payments Bank Ltd has partnered with National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) to train and skill the youth in rural India. This will enable them to find employment
opportunities and become entrepreneurs in the financial services sector.
Bank of Maharashtra joined hands with Uniken for Omni-channel security

The Pune based Bank of Maharashtra has joined hands with Uniken, a pioneer in the field of digital
security in India to secure its Internet banking channels on mobile, card, call centres and ATMs, among
others, against cyber fraud. In this regard, the bank will use Uniken’s REL-ID technology for Omni-channel
security for its online banking app MahaSecure.
SBI provided USD 16.20 million liquidity support for local businesses in Maldives as COVID-relief
State Bank of India (SBI) provided liquidity support of USD 16.20 million as a COVID-relief for the
Government of Maldives to overcome liquidity shortage on the occasion of Independence Day of the
Maldives on July 26, 2020.
ADB Approves 3 Million USD Grant to India to Support COVID-19 Response

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved the 3 Million USD grant (about Rs.22 Crore) from the
ADB’s Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund (APDRF), financed by Japanese government to India to
support the Government’s emergency response to COVID-19.

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FINANCE NEWS
GoI approved special liquidity scheme for NBFCs and HFCs through SBICAP as SPV
Government of India (GoI) has approved a scheme for improving the short-term liquidity position of non-
banking finance companies (NBFCs)/housing finance companies (HFCs) through a Special Purpose
Vehicle (SPV) in the form of Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS) Trust set up by SBI Capital Markets Limited
(SBICAP). This SLS of Rs. 30,000 crores were announced by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate
Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on 13th March 2020.
Read More Details Here: GoI approved special liquidity scheme for NBFCs and HFCs through SBICAP as
SPV
Edelweiss AMC to Launch Second Tranche of ‘BHARAT Bond ETF’; Target to Raise Rs 14000 crore
Edelweiss Asset Management Company (AMC) has decided to bring the second instalment of the Bharat
Bond ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) with two new series having maturities of 5 years (April 2025) and 11
years (April 2031) to raise Rs 14,000 crore. The new five-year and 11-year ETFs track have yields of
5.65% and 6.76%, respectively, as on 1 July. Earlier in December 2019, in the opening series of ETF, Rs
12,400 crore was raised.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Associates with BOB Financial to Offer COVID-19 cum Hospital Cash
Cover to BOB Credit Cardholders
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited (It was promoted by Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India)
associated with BOB Financial Services Limited (BOB Financial), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of
Baroda (BOB) to offer a group insurance cover. The cover will provide financial support to the BOB credit
card customers upon their hospitalisation or on COVID-19 diagnosis.
Liberty General Insurance launches 1st of its kind innovative service ‘Liberty Assure’
The Mumbai based Liberty General Insurance launches 1st of its kind innovative service ‘Liberty Assure’.
The Motor (car) insurance customers who avail this service, are not required to pay the ‘Compulsory
Deductible’ cost for each claim. In addition to this no premium will be charged from the buyers to provide
this unique cost-effective feature at the time of raising a claim/loss. The service was provided under the
Regulatory Sandbox approval received from the Insurance regulatory agency, IRDAI.
Ola Enters into a Strategic Partnership with PhonePe to Enhance its Digital Payments Experience
for its Customers
The ridesharing Company; Ola announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Bengaluru
based PhonePe to boost its digital payments experience for its customers.
AIIB Releases USD 50 mn as 1st Tranche to L&T Infrastructure Finance for Renewable Energy
The Beijing Headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has released USD 50 million in
the first tranche of assistance to L&T Infrastructure Finance Ltd (LTIF), to fund renewable Energy
Projects in the country. The released amount is part of a sanctioned USD 100 million External Commercial
Borrowing (ECB) loan. This is the 1st loan of AIIB to a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India.
IRDAI Revised Arogya Sanjeevani Policy limit; Minimum Insurance limit Rs.50000 & Maximum
Insurance limit beyond 5 Lakh
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has allowed all general and health
insurance companies to increase the sum insured on the Standard Individual Health Insurance Product
namely “Arogya Sanjeevani” beyond Rs 5 lakh. Earlier the product had a cap of Rs 5 lakh on the sum
insured and the minimum cover for it was of Rs 1 lakh. The regulator has now allowed insurers to offer
sum insured as low as Rs 50,000 with no upper limit. The sum insured has to be in multiples of Rs 50,000.

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Mastercard to Invest Rs 250 cr to Support SMEs in India Amid COVID-19 Crisis
Mastercard has announced that it will invest Rs 250 crore (USD 33 million) to support Indian Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enable the SMEs to restart itself and help them in business recovery. SMEs
have been hit hardest during the lockdown caused by COVID-19 due to their dependence on the cash-
economy and disruption of the supply chain.
IRDAI mandated insurance companies to launch ‘Corona Kavach’ & ‘Corona Rakshak’ amid
increasing COVID-19 cases
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) made it mandatory for all general and
health insurers to launch short-term standard health policies for COVID-19 viz. Corona Kavach and
Corona Rakshak, due to increase in COVID-19 cases in India. Minimum entry age for both the policies will
be 18 years and the maximum 65. Corona Kavach – Tenure – 3.5 – 9.5 months; Max sum – 5 Lakh; Min
sum – 50,000. Corona Rakshak – Tenure - 3.5 – 9.5 months; Max sum – 2.5 Lakh; Min sum – 50,000.
World’s largest 1st Global Fintech Fest held virtually; UPI AutoPay, RuPay commercial card &
OCEN protocol launched
The 1st edition of two days long (July 22-23, 2020) world’s largest Global Fintech Fest (GFF) was held
virtually, which was organized by Payments Council of India (PCI) and Fintech Convergence Council
(FCC) at National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the theme “Fintech: With and Beyond
COVID”. The aim of the fest was to bring together the global FinTech and Banking, financial services and
insurance (BFSI) sector.
 NPCI launched UPI AutoPAy to ease online recurring payments
 NPCI launched SBM EnKash RuPay Business Card for small business
 Nandan Nilekani launched open credit protocol network
 SEBI formed committee for financial and regulatory technology
Read More Details Here: World’s largest 1st Global Fintech Fest held virtually; UPI AutoPay, RuPay
commercial card & OCEN protocol launched
Amazon Pay partnered with Acko General Insurance Ltd to offer auto insurance in India
Amazon Pay, the payments arm of Amazon India has partnered with Acko General Insurance Ltd to offer
auto insurance for two and four-wheelers in India, a 100% paperless insurance plan. Customers can avail
this auto insurance from Amazon Pay page, Amazon app or mobile website and can get a quote for their
car or bike’s insurance by providing basic details.
ICICI Lombard in partnership with PhonePe launched Hospital Daily cash benefit
ICICI Lombard in partnership with PhonePe has launched Hospital Daily cash benefit under its Group
Safeguard Insurance policy, a sachet-based group insurance product. It is a customized hospitalisation
policy that allows PhonePe users to get an assured amount if they are hospitalised due to injury or
illnesses (including COVID-19).
IRCTC and SBI Card launched a Co-Branded Contactless Credit Card on RuPay Platform
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and Gurugram based SBI Card
launched a co-branded contactless credit card, IRCTC -SBI Platinum Card on RuPay Platform to reward
the frequent railway travellers. The card is equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology
by which users can facilitate their transactions at the point of sale (POS) machines by Tap and Pay Option.
Bharti AXA General Insurance Launched Crop Insurance Campaign, ‘Bohot Zaroori Hai’ for
Farmers
Bharti AXA General Insurance has launched its crop insurance campaign,’Bohot Zaroori Hai’ for farmers
in Maharashtra and Karnataka to encourage them about their yield protection and financial security.

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Bharti AXA General Insurance had received Rs 800 crore worth crop insurance mandate from the
governments of Maharashtra and Karnataka to insure their farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima
Yojana (PMFBY).
BOB Financial Solutions Limited ropes Fiserv, Inc for Digital Transformation
BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL) has chosen Fiserv, Inc. to enable the digitization of their end-to-
end card issuance and processing cycle and support the launch of several new and high-tech products
including contactless credit cards, virtual credit cards among others. For this purpose, BFSL will utilize
Fiserv’s FirstVisionTM, an end-to-end managed services solution.
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2020 Banking & Finance

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2020 Banking & Finance – January

RBI allows banks to offer round-the-clock forex market operations

Shivalik Mercantile became 1st urban cooperative bank to convert to SFB

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In a 1st, RBI introduced video-based identification process for KYC

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Reserve Bank cancels certificate of authorisation of Vodafone m-pesa

For the 1st time, RBI Releases Minutes of board meeting

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RBI appoints Janak Raj as member of the Monetary Policy Committee

iMobile ICICI (Industrial An Indian multinational bank has

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LOANS ISSUED BY BANKS

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AGREEMENTS & MoU’s SIGNED

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OTHER BANKING & FINANCE NEWS

PayPal India launches adoption assistance programme for employees

NSE arm launches AI-powered ‘knowledge hub’ to serve financial sector

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Exim Bank extends $35.80 mn LoC to Suriname for rural electrification

New India Co-operative Bank (NICB) to be converted as Small Finance Bank

IndusInd Bank launches asset management platform "PIONEER"

NABARD predicts Rs 90,395cr credit potential for Odisha in FY21

No charge on UPI, RuPay transactions if MDR is zero: Banks to NPCI

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2020 Banking & Finance – February

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

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

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All-in-one QR (Quick Paytm Paytm, India’s leading digital payments company,has

LOANS ISSUED BY BANKS

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AGREEMENTS & MoU’s SIGNED

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

ADB approved $2 million fund amount to combat nCoV

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

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SEBI to tighten eligibility criteria for investment advisors

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

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2020 Banking & Finance – March

India’s current account deficit narrows dramatically to $ 1.4 bn in October-December 2019

RBI issues guidelines for Ind AS implementation by NBFCs, ARCs

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