The Monthly Hindu Review|Current Affairs|May 2020
The composition of purchases will be as follows:
• almost 25% of the purchases will be done from micro
and small enterprises
• 4% of the purchases will be done from SC-ST
community enterprise
• 3% of the purchases will be done from women
entrepreneurs
World Steel Association Releases “April 2020:
Crude Steel Production Update”
World Steel Association has released the “April 2020:
Crude Steel Production Update”. For this, 64 countries
reported to the World Steel Association about the
production of steel took place in all the respective
countries. As the whole world is battling with the COVID-
19 pandemic, many of April 2020’s figures are estimates
that may be revised with next month’s production update.
Key results of the “April 2020: Crude Steel Production
Update”:
• World crude steel production for the 64 countries
reported to the World Steel Association was 137.1
million tonnes (Mt) in April 2020 which shows a
13.0% decrease as compared to April 2019.
• In April 2020, 85.0 Mt of crude steel was produced in
China citing an increase of 0.2% compared to April
2019.
• In April 2020, 3.1 Mt of crude steel production
took place in India, indicating a downfall of 65.2%
as compared to that of April 2019.
• Crude Steel production in Japan amounted to 6.6 Mt in
April 2020 i.e. down by 23.5% as compared to that of
April 2019.
• Crude Steel Production in the European Union (EU) is
estimated to be 10.7 Mt in April 2020, facing a
downfall of 22.9% on April 2019.
• In April 2020, the US produced 5.0 Mt of crude steel
which is a decrease of 32.5% as compared to that of
April 2019.
• Crude Steel Production in the Commonwealth of
Independent States (C.I.S.) is estimated to be 6.6 Mt in
April 2020, down 22.6% on April 2019.
• In April 2020, the crude steel production in Brazil was
1.8 Mt, experiencing a downfall of 39% as compared
to that of April 2019.
GoI launches initiatives towards Conservation
of Biodiversity
During the virtual celebration of the International Day
for Biological Diversity 2020, the Government of India
launched key initiatives towards Conservation of
Biodiversity. These initiatives are as follows:
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• National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
“Biodiversity Samrakshan Internship
Programme” were launched by the Union
Environment Minister. This program envisages to
engage 20 students with postgraduate degrees for a
duration of one year via an open, transparent, online
competitive process. These students will learn about
natural resource management and biodiversity
conservation. Hence they will be supporting the
projects of NBA in various State and Union
Territories. They would also be responsible to
technically help the State Biodiversity Boards/UTs
Biodiversity Council in discharge of their mandates.
• Not all Animals Migrate by Choice: UNEP Campaign
on Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Species: ‘Not all
Animals Migrate by Choice’ waas also launched during
the celebration. This campaign was launched by the
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in association with
UNEP. The launch of campaign aims to address the
environmental challenges, to raise awareness, and to
recommend solutions.
• Biodiversity Conservation and Biological Diversity
Act, 2002: A Webinar Series on ‘Biodiversity
Conservation and Biological Diversity Act, 2002’
was launched during the virtual event.
• WWF Model Conference of Parties (MCoP): An
initiative “WWF Model Conference of Parties (MCoP)”
was launched during the virtual event. This initiative
includes the younger generation so that they can
participate in conversations regarding the impact of
humanity’s footprint on biodiversity, as well as the
importance of sustenance of biodiversity for our own
survival.
• During the virtual event, an awareness campaign
was launched to highlight the crucial role played by
nature via its free ecological services offered to
humankind. This campaign was launched with the
support of WWF.
Banking and Financial Current Affairs
• Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank has launched a
loan scheme ‘Vikas Abhaya’ to provide some relief to
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME)
borrowers whose business activities are disrupted
on account of the COVID-19 pandemic in Dharwad,
Karnataka.
• HDFC Bank has released a song titled
#HumHaarNahiMaanenge to keep hopes up amidst
the ongoing national lockdown and Covid-19
pandemic. The lyrics of the song has been penned by
Prasoon Joshi and music has been composed by AR
Rahman.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review|Current Affairs|May 2020
• A customer engagement technology provider, Ameyo
has launched video KYC engagement platform for
the banking and finance sector. The newly launched
platform will eliminate the businesses’ requirement of
physical KYC in accordance with latest RBI guidelines
issued in January 2020. It is expected to decrease the
customer onboarding process from the present 5-7
days to less than 3 minutes.
• The licence of The CKP Co-operative Bank Ltd.,
Mumbai to carry on banking business has been
cancelled by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with
effect from the close of business on April 30, 2020.
• INR-USD Futures and Options contracts have been
launched on International Exchanges viz. BSE’s India
INX and National Stock Exchange, NSE’s NSE-IFSC,
at GIFT International Financial Services Centre,
Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• SBI General Insurance has launched the standard
health insurance policy “Aarogya Sanjeevani Health
Insurance Policy” which provides hospitalisation
cover anywhere in India with sums insured ranging
from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs.
• Canara Bank has started a special business vertical
dedicated to gold loans to meet the financial needs
of its customers 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.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes 1st bank in India to
allow video Know your customer (KYC) facility for
customers opening savings accounts on Kotak 811 –
the banks digital banking platform. The initiative is
presently being launched on a pilot basis for savings
accounts, Kotak Mahindra.
• “iTurmeric FinCloud” is a cloud-ready, API-first,
microservices-based platform which has been
launched by the Intellect Design Arena Ltd. This
platform has been launched through IBM public cloud
and will enable the new digital banks’ systems to be
tested and run in isolation or in parallel with core
legacy systems.
• An Artificial Intelligence based chatbot “PAi” has
been launched by the National Payment
Corporation of India to create awareness around
NPCI’s products such as FASTag, RuPay, UPI, AePS on
a real time basis. The chatbot has been developed by
startup CoRover Private Limited.
• Life Insurance Corporation of India has announced
the launch of the modified Pradhan Mantri Vaya
Vandana Yojana, a social security scheme for senior
citizens. LIC is solely authorised to work this
scheme, which works as a Non-Linked, Non-
Participating, Pension Scheme subsidised by the
Centre.
18 www.bankersadda.com | www.sscadda.com
Economy Current Affairs
• Moody’s cuts down India’s Gross Domestic
Product(GDP) growth to “zero” for the current fiscal
2020-21. Its previous estimate was 2.6%. In 2021-22
India’s GDP growth rate will bounce back to 6.6%.
• S&P Global Ratings has slashed India’s GDP growth
rate to 5% in the Fiscal Year 2021.
• Fitch Ratings has released its latest Global
Economic Outlook (GEO). Fitch Ratings has slashed
India’s GDP growth rate to 5% for the Fiscal Year
2021. While the Global GDP growth rate has been
forecasted to fall by 4.6% in 2020.
• India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.2%
in 2019-20, according to data released recently by the
National Statistical Office.
Business Current Affairs
• A car manufacturing corporation, Mahindra &
Mahindra Ltd. has rolled out an end to end, online
vehicle ownership solution titled ‘Own-Online’ to
offer its customers a transparent, seamless and
contactless experience from selection to the delivery
of the vehicle.
• An e-commerce major, Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz
General Insurance Company have tied-up to offer a
digital motor insurance policy to Flipkart’s
customers. The will provide seamless, accessible as
well as flexible insurance solution to the customers of
Flipkart in order to safeguard their vehicles.
• Reliance Industries Ltd has launched a “WhatsApp
chatbot” to address rights issue queries of its 2.6
million shareholders on the offering. It has been
developed by Jio Haptik Technologies.
• National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has
been penalised with amount of Rs 7 lakh by the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for
delay in disclosing half yearly financial results
between FY16 and FY19. It has been penalised on the
basis of SEBI’s listing obligation and disclosure
norms (LODR) according to which half yearly results
have to be filed within 45 days from the end of the
half year.
• Airtel Payments Bank has collaborated with
Mastercard to create customised financial products
for Indian farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises
(SMEs).
• Fintech startup Zaggle has partnered with payments
technology major “Visa” to launch innovative
payment solutions for small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) and startups.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review|Current Affairs|May 2020
International Current Affairs
• Russia has planned to launch the 1st satellite named
Arktika-M to monitor the Arctic climate and
environment by the end of 2020. The launch will take
place on Soyuz -2,1b carrier rocket with frigate
booster.
• Former intelligence chief of Iraq Mustafa al-Kadhimi
becomes new Iraqi prime minister. Former PM Adil-
Abdul Mahdi resigned in November last year.
• China has successfully launched a new rocket named
“Long March 5B” into space as it steps up Moon
landing plans. This rocket is launched in Wenchang
launch site that is located on the island of Hainan,
china.
• Government of Iran recently took a decision of
changing the name of its currency to a “Toman”.
Under the bill, Iran national currency is going to be
changed from the rial to the Toman, which is
adequate to 10,000 rials.
• Slovenia has become the 1st coronavirus-free
country in Europe.
• The Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has
developed ‘iFeel-You’ bracelet for social distancing,
and will help users respect social distancing rules.
• World Health Organization (WHO) and United
Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) have jointly
released commemorative Postage Stamp on the
40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox.
• World Health Organisation will initiate Independent
Inquiry in the handling of COVID-19 and hence it will
launch “Resolution on COVID-19 response” to put
an end to the international blame game in the origin
of COVID-19. The resolution was taken at the 73rd
World Health Assembly that was held through video
conference. India was represented by the Union
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won the
Israeli national elections, securing a record fifth term
in office, after a controversial power-sharing deal
with rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz.
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• China has announced to provide USD 2 billion over
two years to fight the coronavirus pandemic at WHO
assembly.
• Lesotho Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane has
formally resigned from the post. Lesotho’s Finance
Minister Moeketsi Majoro has been named by
parliament as the interim PM of the country.
• UNICEF and Airtel Africa has partnered to support
children & families affected in 13 countries across
sub-Saharan Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It aims to provide children with access to remote
learning and enable access to cash assistance for their
families through mobile cash transfers.
• European Union proposed 750 billion Euros as
COVID-19 recovery fund to help the countries to
recover from deep recession caused by the COVID-19.
The money would be divided in the following manner:
500 billion euros given to EU countries as grants
while the remaining 250 billion euros would be
available as loans.
National News
• Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) has been launched
by the Ministry of Coal (MoC) to facilitate early
operationalisation of coal mines which have been
allocated by the Central Government.
• National Council for Science & Technology
Communication and Department of Science &
Technology has launched a programme on health and
risk communication ‘Year of Awareness on Science
& Health (YASH)’ with focus on COVID-19.
• Government of India has increased the Minimum
Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP)
of 49 items. The increase in MSP across various items
of minor forest produce varies from 16% to 66%.
• CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CSIR-CRRI) has
developed “Kisan Sabha App” to connect farmers to
supply chain and freight transportation management
system.
• Nation celebrates 480th birth anniversary of
Maharana Pratap on 9 May. He was Born on 9 May,
1540.
• National e-commerce marketplace ‘bharatmarket’
will be launched by the traders’ body Confederation of
All India Traders (CAIT). ‘Bharatmarket’ will be
launched for all retail traders, by CAIT in
collaboration with several technology partners.
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under
the Ministry of Jal Shakti has jointly organised an
IDEAthon on “The future of River Management’
with the National Institute of Urban Affairs
(NIUA).
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 The Monthly Hindu Review |Current Affairs | June 2020
About the Interest Subvention Scheme:
The Scheme for Interest Subvention of 2% would be
applicable on all Shishu loan accounts given under
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) to the eligible
borrowers. The interest subvention would be applicable
for a period of 12 months. The scheme would be
applicable to loans which are outstanding as on 31st
March, 2020; and not in Non-Performing Asset (NPA)
category, in line with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
guidelines, on 31st March 2020 and during the period of
operation of the Scheme. According to the scheme, people
who will make regular repayments of loans would be
eligible to avail the benefits of the interest subvention
which would be payable for the months in which the
accounts are not in NPA category, and the months in
which the account becomes a performing asset again,
after turning NPA. The estimated cost of the interest
subvention scheme would be approximately Rs 1,542
crore which would be borne by the Government of
India.
Implementation of the scheme:
The Interest Subvention Scheme will be implemented
through the Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI). The scheme would be in operation for a period of
12 months. For borrowers, who have been allowed a
moratorium by their respective lenders, as permitted by
RBI under the ‘COVID 19 Regulatory Package’, the Scheme
would begin after the completion of the moratorium
period till a period of 12 months i.e. from September 01,
2020 till August 31, 2021. While, for other borrowers, it
would begin with effect from June 01, 2020 till May 31,
2021.
THE Young University Ranking 2020 released
Times education (THE) has released the world’s young
university ranking for the relatively newer generation of
universities, which are 50 years old or younger. The 2020
ranking includes 414 universities, up from 351 in 2019.
As many as two Indian universities made it into the
highest 100, while none could enter the ’50 under 50′
category.
THE Young University Rankings 2020: Indian
Universities
Rank University
62nd rank IIT-Ropar
64th rank IIT Indore
101-150 band IISER Pune
101-150 band IIT-Gandhinagar
151-200 band Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
151-200 band IIT-Bhubaneswar
151-200 band IIT-Guwahati
151-200 band IIT-Hyderabad
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THE Young University Rankings 2020: the top 10
Rank University
The Hong Kong University of Science
1.
and Technology, Hong Kong
Nanyang Technological University,
2.
Singapore
Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL
3.
Research University, Paris, France
Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies
4.
– Pisa, Italy
Korea Advanced Institute of Science
5.
and Technology (KAIST), South Korea
6. Maastricht University (Netherlands)
7. City University of Hong Kong
Pohang University of Science and
8.
Technology (POSTECH), South Korea
9. Sorbonne University, France
10. Pompeu Fabra University, Spain
Banking and Financial Current Affairs
• The IndusInd Bank has launched a mobile
application based facility where customer can open
the current bank account in a paperless manner in
just a few hours. Now IndusInd is the first bank in
India to introduce this assisted mobile application
based facility.
• Payments Infrastructure Development Fund
(PIDF) has been created by the Reserve Bank of India.
In PIDF, an initial contribution of Rs 250 crores will
be made by the Reserve Bank of India i.e. covering
half the fund, while the remaining contribution will be
from card issuing banks and card networks operating
in the country.
• “Summer Treats” campaign has been launched by
the HDFC Bank. The special campaign has been
launched by the bank with the easing of the lockdown
restrictions in order to provide offers to both
merchants and, salaried and self-employed
customers.
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) has extended a Special Liquidity Facility
(SLF) of Rs 270 crore to Assam Gramin Vikash
Bank to support the agricultural activities of the
farmers amid COVID-19 pandemic.
• ICICI Bank has introduced an online overdraft (OD)
facility ‘Insta FlexiCash’ for its salary account
customers. This facility will guard ICICI Bank Salary
Account customers against missing their Equated
Monthly Instalments (EMIs) or cheque bounces
thanks to insufficient funds by providing short-term
instant credit.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review |Current Affairs | June 2020
• Airtel Payments Bank has launched ‘Suraksha
Salary Account’ for Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSME).
• ICICI Home Finance has launched a special
affordable housing loan scheme “SARAL” to fund
homes in urban and rural areas. The scheme has been
developed especially for women, lower, middle
income customers and economically weaker
sections having maximum household income up to Rs
6 lakh annually. It provides affordable housing loans
up to Rs 35 lakh at an interest rate starting from
7.98% for a maximum tenure of 20 years.
• The Reserve Bank of India has enhanced the
withdrawal limit for depositors of Punjab and
Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Limited, Mumbai to
Rs 1 Lakh per depositor. The withdrawal limit was
earlier set at Rs 50,000.
• Yes Bank has partnered with fintech startup
“Affordplan” to launch ‘Swasth Card’, a co-branded
healthcare card, under Swasth program.
• UCO Bank has tied up with four insurers to offer
various insurance products to its customers through
its network of branches across the country. The
lender teamed up with SBI Life Insurance Company,
the Oriental insurance company and Religare
insurance Company, Star Health and Allied
insurance company for selling their products.
• Karnataka Bank has rolled out a new product titled
“KBL Micro Mitra” for the Micro entrepreneurs.
Under this, the Micro manufacturing and service
enterprises will be offered a financial assistance of up
to Rs 10 lakhs.
• Yes Bank has partnered with UDMA Technologies to
launch its digital wallet solution ‘Yuva Pay’ mobile
app. Through this app, the bank enables contactless
payments for its customers.
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Economy Current Affairs
• The sovereign rating of India has been downgraded
by the Moody’s Investors Service to “Baa3”. Moody’s
Investors Service has also expected contraction by
4% in the India’s real GDP in fiscal 2021, while a
growth of 8.7% in fiscal 2022.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development has forecasted Indian Economy to
contract to 3.7% in the fiscal year 2020-21. It also
stated that if there is a second COVID-19 outbreak in
the country, then its growth will drop further to -
7.3%.
• OECD’s Economic Outlook has forecasted India’s
growth to recover to 7.9% in the ‘single-hit’
scenario while it expects an 8.1% rebound in the
‘double-hit’ Covid-19 scenario in the fiscal year 2021-
22.
• The rating agency “S&P” has kept India’s sovereign
rating at “BBB-” along with a stable outlook.
• S&P Global Ratings has forecasted Indian economy
to shrink by 5% in fiscal year 2020-21. The S&P
Global Ratings also expects India’s growth to rebound
to 8.5% in the fiscal year 2021-22. It has also
projected India’s growth to be 6.5% in the fiscal year
2022-23.
• The Asian Development Bank has projected Indian
economy to contract by 4% in Fiscal Year 2021.
• The Asian Development Bank expects India’s
economy to recover in Fiscal Year 2022 with growth
rate of 5%, as economic activity will get to its normal
state gradually.
• Fitch Ratings has retained India’s sovereign rating at
the lowest investment grade of “BBB-“, while the
rating agency has revised downward its rating
outlook for India to negative from stable. Although,
the rating agency expects India’s economic activity to
contract by 5% in the fiscal year 2021 before
rebounding by 9.5% in fiscal year 2022.
• Moody’s Investors Service has released its June
update to Global Macro Outlook (2020-21). In its
latest release, the rating agency projected the Indian
economy to shrink 3.1% in the fiscal year 2020. It
also forecasts Indian economy to register 6.9%
growth in fiscal year 2021.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected
that Indian economy will experience a sharp
contraction of 4.55% in Fiscal Year 2021, as
compared to that of 1.9% expansion projected in the
month of April 2020. IMF has forecasted that Indian
economy will recover in the fiscal year 2022 with a
growth rate of 6%. These projections has been stated
by IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook titled “A
Crisis like No Other, An Uncertain Outlook“.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review |Current Affairs | June 2020
Business Current Affairs
• Yes Bank Limited has acquired a 24.19% stake in
Dish TV India Ltd, a corporation providing Direct to
Home (DTH) television service in India, following
invocation of 44.53 crores pledged shares thanks to
default in payment of the debt by Dish TV and a few
other companies.
• The “Real-Time Electricity Market (RTM)” has been
launched by the Indian Energy Exchange on its
platform and it will be effective from 01st June 2020.
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)
envisages to make the power market dynamic via the
recently launched real time market. The RTM will
make the power market dynamic by enabling trade in
electricity through half-hourly auctions, totaling 48
auction sessions per day.
• The merger of Peugeot S.A (PSA) and Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles N.V. (FCA) has been approved by the
Competition Commission of India (CCI).
• Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited
(IL&FS) has completed the sale of its 50% stake in
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City. These
stakes were bought by the Gujarat Urban
Development Company Ltd (GUDCL), on behalf of the
Gujarat government, at an amount of Rs 32.71 crore.
• Jio Platforms has received investment of Rs 5683.50
crore from a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu
Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). ADIA has
bought 1.16% stake in Jio Platforms.
• Acquisition by MacRitchie Investments Pte. Ltd.
(MacRitchie) in Ascent Health and Wellness
Solutions Private Limited (Ascent), API Holdings
Private Limited (API) & 91Streets Media
Technologies Private Limited (91Streets) has
received the approval from the Competition
Commission of India (CCI). The acquisition by
MacRitchie in three companies will be executed under
Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• HDFC ERGO General insurance firm has partnered
with UK based tech firm TropoGo Limited to launch
India’s 1st ‘Pay as you Fly’ insurance for drone-
owners in India. This policy, which can be offered on-
demand to commercial drone owners and operators,
give life assurance for Third Party Liability Claims.
• Competition Commission of India has approved the
acquisition of Metso Oyj’s minerals business by
Outotec Oyj. The acquisition will be done under
Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• United Kingdom oil major “British Petroleum” is
going to set up Global Business Service Centre in
Pune, Maharashtra to support its global businesses.
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• Special health insurance policy has been launched by
the Karnataka Bank in association with Universal
Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd to cover
the uncertainties posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
• Reliance Industries Limited has reached $150-
billion mark in term of market capitalisation and
has become India’s first $150-billion company in
terms of market capitalisation.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has
approved the acquisition of stake in Jio Platforms
Limited by Jaadhu Holdings LLC. Jaadhu Holdings
LLC will acquire approximately 9.99% stake in Jio
Platforms.
• PhonePe has partnered with ICICI Bank on UPI
multi-bank model. With this partnership Phonepe will
offer its users the option to create and use multiple
UPI IDs with ICICI and Yes Bank”s handles on the
PhonePe app.
International Current Affairs
• World Health Organisation has launched the
‘COVID-19 Technology Access Pool’ for equitable
access to life-saving tech. This comes after at least 37
countries jointly appealed to the WHO for common
ownership of vaccines, medicines and other
diagnostic tools to combat the global health crisis.
• Lazarus Chakwera becomes the new President of
Malawi. He defeated incumbent Peter Mutharika with
58.57% of votes.
• Bangladesh has launched an initiative named
‘Shohojodha’, which is an online network to facilitate
plasma exchange between recovered patients of
COVID-19 treatment.
• Myanmar military “Tatmadaw” has decided to use
Facebook again to provide ‘accurate’ news to people.
• New Zealand has declared itself free from
“Coronavirus”. New Zealand achieved this milestone
after 75 days of restrictions.
• Member countries of the Group of 20 (G20) has
pledged more than $21 billion to improve the global
health and hence supporting the fight against the
COVID-19 pandemic.
• Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, Mukhammedkalyi
Abylgaziev has resigned from the post.
• Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has affirmed a
USD 750 million (around Rs 5,714 crore) loan to
India to enable the legislature to fortify its fight
against the antagonistic effect of COVID-19 on poor
and vulnerable households.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review|Current Affairs|July 2020
• Fino Payments Bank Limitedhas launched
MoES National Awards for excellence in Earth
‘Bhavishya’ savings account for minors aged
System Science between 10-18 years. There is not any minimum
account balance requirement to open the ‘Bhavishya’
• The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has
savings account.
announced the winners of “MoES National Awards
for excellence in Earth System Science“.
• SBM Bank (India) Ltd has partnered with
Mastercard to revolutionize domestic and cross-
border payments and remittances services. The SBM
Here is the complete list of winners:
Bank India customers will be able to make real-time
Sr.No. Award Winner domestic business-to-consumer transfers quickly and
Professor Ashok efficiently using ‘Mastercard Send’.
1 Life Time Excellence Award
Sahni • Karur Vysya Bank has signed an agreement with
National Award for Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance to offer life insurance
Dr. S. Suresh solutions to its customers.
2 Atmospheric Science &
Babu • NABARD has announced Rs 5,000 crore of
technology
refinance scheme for banks and financial institutions
National award for N. V. Chalapathi to offer finance to the beneficiaries of its 2,150
3
Geoscience & technology Rao watershed development projects.
National Award for Ocean Dr. M. A. • NABARD has assigned Rs 5,000 crore to transform
4
Technology Atmanand Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) into
Anna Mani award for Dr. Lidita D. S. multi service centres.
5 • Visa, a global leader in payments technology has tied-
woman scientist Khandeparker
up with Federal Bank to launch “Visa Secure” to the
Dr. Indra Sekhar bank’s cardholders. “Visa Secure” is a modernized
6 Young Researcher Awards
Sen technology which is built on EMVCo 3DS (3D Secure)
National Award for Ocean Dr. V. V. S. S. 2.0 protocol, and provides a quicker and frictionless
7
Science & technology Sarma checkout experience to the consumers.
• UPI AutoPay facility for recurring payment has been
Banking and Financial Current Affairs launched by the National Payment Corporation of
India. The new facility will enable recurring e-
• YES Bank has launched a digital solution, “Loan in mandate with the help of any Unified Payments
Seconds” for instant disbursement of retail loans. Interface (UPI) application for recurring payments
• Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has entered into a like mobile bills, electricity bills, EMI payments etc
upto Rs. 2000.
partnership with Star Health and Allied Insurance
Co to provide a wide range of health insurance • Bank of Barodahas launched ‘Insta Click Savings
Account’, a 100% paperless digital self-assisted
options to its customers.
online savings account.
• Reserve Bank of India has signed an agreement for
extending a $400-million currency swap facility to
Sri Lanka in order to boost the foreign reserves and
ensure the financial stability of the country, which is
badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economy Current Affairs

• Fitch has slashed India’s GDP growth forecast from
9.5% to 8% for the Fiscal Year 2021-22, in its June
update of Global Economic Outlook report. Fitch has
retained its projection of Indian economy contracting
by 5% in the FY 2020-21. It has also projected the
Indian economy to grow by 5.5% in FY 2022-23.

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 The Monthly Hindu Review|Current Affairs|July 2020
• Google has announced a $10 billion for
“GoogleForIndia Digitisation Fund”. Under the
fund, Google will invest roughly Rs 75,000 crore in
India over the next 5-7 years.
• Global Bharat program has been launched by the
German technology firm SAP India to equip Indian
micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with
digital technologies in order to make them globally
competitive.
Business Current Affairs
• HDFC Bank launches ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ app for
farmers, enabling them to access the services, both
banking and agriculture through their mobile phones.
It will provide value-added services such as mandi
prices, latest farming news, weather forecast, e-
pashuhaat, Kisan TV, and more. It will also help with
traditional banking services like apply for loans, Fixed
Deposits, Recurring Deposits, and Savings Accounts.
• HDFC Bank offers instant car loans to existing
customers through an initiative called “ZipDrive”.
This solution gives the customer with a pre-approved
loan offer to avail an auto loan through net banking or
via assistance from the bank’s phone banking team
• Qualcomm Ventures has acquired 0.15% stakes in
Jio Platforms. The transaction costed Rs 730 crores
to the Qualcomm Ventures.
• Google to buy 7.73% stake in Reliance Industries
Limited(RIL)’s Jio Platforms for Rs 33,737 crores.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved
acquisition by Aceso Company Pte. Ltd. (Aceso) in
HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG)
under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
• India’s first Neobank for teenagers, FamPay has
launched India’s first numberless card, “FamCard”.
Teenagers can now use FamCard like a debit card to
make payments independently, without asking
parents for physical cash or their debit/credit card.
• Mobility platform, Ola is rolling out its enterprise
mobility solution ‘Ola Corporate’ across global
markets. It will be rolling out the enterprise offering
to customers across Australia, New Zealand, and the
United Kingdom.
• Acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited
(KPCL) by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone
Limited (Adani Ports) has been approved by the
Competition Commission of India.
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• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
(IRCTC) and SBI Card has launched a new Co-
branded Contactless CreditCard on RuPay Platform
to ensure a safe, convenient and improved travel
experience for the rail passengers.
• Bharti AXA General Insurance has launched a crop
insurance campaign titled ‘Bohot Zaroori Hai’ for
farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka to
encourage them about their yield protection and
financial security. It will also ensure the farmers for a
period of 3-years under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Yojna (PMFBY).
• MobiKwik has launched “mpay.me” UPI link service
that allows users to send and receive money from any
UPI payment app.
International Current Affairs
• Micheal Martin has been elected as new Prime
Minister of Ireland.
• Gudni Th. Johannesson has been re-elected as the
President of Iceland.
• Pakistan Army has appointed Major General Nigar
Johar as 1st female lieutenant general. She has been
appointed as 1st female Surgeon General of Pak Army.
• French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has
resigned from his post ahead of a government
reshuffle.
• President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has recorded a
victory in the recently held Presidential polls and he is
set to stay in power until 2036.
• The Central Banks and Supervisors Network for
Greening the Financial System (NGFS) has been
joined by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as an
observer.
• Jean Castex has been appointed as the new Prime
Minister of France. He has replaced the former french
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who resigned from
the post ahead of a government reshuffle.
• United States has formalized to withdraw from the
World Health Organization (WHO) on July 6, 2021.
• Israel Defence Ministry has announced the
successful launch of a new “Ofek 16”spy satellite
into orbit by using a locally-developed Shavit rocket
from a launch pad at Palmachim airbase in central
Israel. This was the first launch of an Israeli spy
satellite into space since the Ofek-11 which entered
orbit in September 2016.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review|Current Affairs|July 2020
• According to the World Health Organisation’s • World Trade Organization General Council has
(WHO),South-East Asian Region (SEAR) office, granted the “Observer” status to the central Asian
Maldives and Sri Lanka are the first two countries in country Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan has become
the WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve measles the 25th observer of the organization.
and rubella elimination ahead of the 2023 target. • Russia has conducted a successful flight test of an
• Lee Hsien Loong has become the Prime Minister of MGTD-20 gas turbine 3D-printed aircraft engine.
Singapore after the ruling People’s Action Party won The flight tests were held at Kazanbash aviation
the General Elections held in the country. centre in Tatarstan.
• India has become the second-largest source of • The human trial of COVID-19 vaccine “AZD1222”
foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United developed by the University of Oxford and backed
Kingdom. India invested in 120 projects and created by AstraZeneca Plc has shown a positive result.
5,429 new jobs in the UK. United States remains the Oxford’s vaccine is designed to reduce disease and
number one source of FDI for the UK. transmission.
• Andrzej Duda has been re-elected as the President • International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved
of Poland. USD 4.3 billion to South Africa in emergency funding
to help the country in its fight against the COVID-19
• China has successfully launched “APSTAR-6D”
pandemic.
telecommunication satellite via a Long March 3B
• Hichem Mechichi has been appointed as the new
carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. It
Prime Minister of Tunisia.
has been developed by China Academy of Space
Technology.
National Current Affairs
• Prime Minister of Tunisia,Elyes Fakhfakh has
submitted his resignation. • World Bank has approved a $750 million MSME
• Indian-origin, Chandrikapersad ‘Chan’ Santokhi has Emergency Response program for MSMEs in India
been elected the president of South American to support increased flow of finance in Micro, Small,
country “Suriname”. and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which have been
• Pakistan and China have signed an agreement for the severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
700 MW Azad Pattan hydel power project on the • First edition of the Fisheries and Aquaculture
Jhelum river in Sudhoti district of Pakistan Occupied Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA”, published by the
Kashmir (PoK). Department of Fisheries, Ministry for Fisheries,
Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of
• Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda has been
India and the Operational Guidelines of the Pradhan
appointed as the first woman prime minister of
Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), has been
Gabon. She will succeed Julien Nkoghe Bekale.
launched. It would be published on a quarterly basis
• A mission titled as “Hope” has been launched to
starting from the first quarter of the year 2020-21.
“Mars” by the United Arab Emirates. It will provide a
complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the
first time, studying daily and seasonal changes.
• SpaceX has successfully launched South Korea’s first
military satellite “ANASIS-II”. The satellite was
deployed into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO)
by a Falcon 9 rocket. It was launched from the Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station in the US of Florida.
• China has successfully launched “Tianwen-1” its first
independent mission to Mars. A Long March 5 rocket
carrying the spacecraft was launched from the
Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China’s
tropical Hainan province.

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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | August 2020
 It identifies the challenges and opportunities;
improve the effectiveness of government policies; and
promote a facilitative regulatory framework. Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupied the top three
ranks in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020.
The structure of Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020
comprises of 4 pillars:
 Policy
 Business Ecosystem
 Export Ecosystem
 Export Performance
According to the report, India faces the following three
fundamental challenges in the export promotion:
i) intra- and inter-regional disparities in export
infrastructure
ii) poor trade support and growth orientation among
states
iii) poor R&D infrastructure to promote complex and
unique exports.
GoI enhances prize money in National Sports
Awards
The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren
Rijiju has announced an enhancement in the prize money
in four of the seven categories of the National Sports and
Adventure Awards. He made this announcement on the
occasion of the National Sports Day 2020. The prize
money for the Sports Awards was last reviewed in 2008.
Hike in prize money of National Sports Awards:
 The prize money for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Award has been increased to 25 lakh rupees from
the previous amount of 7.5 lakh rupees.
 Arjuna Award has been enhanced to 15 lakh rupees
from 5 lakh.
 The Dhronacharya (Lifetime) awardees, who were
earlier given 5 lakh rupees will now be given 15
lakh rupees as cash prize, while Dhronacharya
(Regular) will be given 10 lakh instead of 5 lakh
rupees per awardee.
 Dhyanchand Awardees will be given 10 lakh
rupees instead of 5 lakh rupees.
Banking and Financial Current Affairs
 Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced the launch of a
two-month-long campaign called ‘Kona Kona
Umeed’ with huge offers and discounts to lift up hope
and optimism among its customers in the midst of the
Coronavirus pandemic.
9
 Axis Bank has launched an Automated Voice
Assistant ‘AXAA’. AXAA is an artificial intelligence-
powered conversational voice BOT.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an
expert committee under veteran banker KV Kamath
to suggest financial parameters for resolution of
Covid-19 related stressed assets.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced to
introduce a mechanism of ‘Positive Pay’ feature for
all cheques of value Rs 50,000 and above.
 Punjab National Bank has launched a campaign
named ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’ to encourage customers
to use digital banking channels.
 HDFC Bank has launched “Shaurya KGC Card” for
Indian armed forces personnel. The card will offer
agriculture loans for military and paramilitary
professionals.
 Fino Payments Bank has launched Jan BachatKhata
(JBK), which is an Aadhaar Authentication based
digital savings account that brings neo-banking
experience to consumers.
 ‘Loan against Securities’ is an unique digital solution
launched by the YES Bank under its loan in seconds
platform.
 Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has launched LVB
DigiGo, a digital initiative to enable the opening of
savings account instantly.
 Axis Bank has launched a new initiative named ‘Gig-
a-Opportunities’. The initiative aims to attract
skilled talent that can work with the bank remotely,
from anywhere in the country.
 ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and
Bharti AXA General Insurance Company have
announced the merger of their businesses. The
merger would result in an entity with a combined
annual premium of Rs 16,447 crore and a market
share of nearly 8.7%.
 Axis Bank has launched a new initiative named ‘Gig-
a-Opportunities’ that aims to attract skilled talent
that can work with the bank remotely, from anywhere
in the country.
 ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and
Bharti AXA General Insurance Company have
announced the merger of their businesses which
would result in an entity with a combined annual
premium of Rs 16,447 crore and a market share of
nearly 8.7%.
 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | August 2020
 SBI General Insurance has launched a first-of-its-
kind insurance product called ‘Shagun – Gift an
Insurance”, which is a unique gift of Personal
Accident policy. The policy can be gifted to anyone
and is not necessary for the policy buyer to be related
to the insured.
 ICICI Bank has become the 1st bank in India to use
satellite data to assess the creditworthiness of
farmers.
 National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development has revealed a dedicated debt and
credit guarantee product named as “Structured
Finance and Partial Guarantee Program for Non-
Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)-Micro Finance
Institutions (MFIs)”. It will offer undisturbed flow of
credit to the last mile in rural areas hit by the
pandemic.
 Axis Bank has introduced ‘Liberty Savings Account’
for the Indian Youth, to address the ever-changing
lifestyle needs of young and digitally interested
Indians.
 HDFC Bank has announced a strategic partnership
with Adobe to enhance the Digital Experiences of its
Customers. The partnership will help HDFC Bank to
deliver personalised digital experiences to existing as
well as new customers, at any time and anywhere.
Business Current Affairs
 National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has selected
Infosys Finacle to digitally transform its transaction
banking business.
 Paytm has launched India’s 1st Pocket Android POS
(Point of Sale) Device named ‘Paytm All-in-One
Portable Android Smart POS’ for contactless
ordering and payments in India.
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 A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been
signed by the Bombay Stock Exchange with Akola,
Maharashtra-based bullion trade and industry
associations namely Akola Sarafa Association and
Akola Sarafa Va Suvarnakar Yuva Sangh. The
partnership will seek to enhance cooperation
between the BSE and physical markets represented
by the two trade bodies in various areas like
knowledge sharing, education and training, events
as well as explore areas of mutual interests.
 The proposed combination filed by Keihin
Corporation, Nissin Kogyo Co., Ltd., Showa
Corporation and Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd
has received the approval from the Competition
Commission of India (CCI).
 Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) will
launch India’s first bullion index named “Bulldex”, on
August 24, 2020.
 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved
a USD 1 billion (Rs 7,485 crore) loan to construct
the modern, high-speed 82-kilometre (Delhi –
Meerut) Uttar Pradesh Regional Rapid Transit
System (RRTS) in India.
 Muthoot Finance has tie-up with Kotak Mahindra
General Insurance to offer COVID-19 insurance
cover of up to Rs 1 lakh against the gold loan.
 Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), wholly-
owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited has
acquired majority equity stake in Chennai-based
Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. as well as in its subsidiaries.
 A “Green Deposit Programme” has been launched
by the HSBC India. The “green deposit programme”
has been launched exclusively for corporate clients.
 The proposed acquisition of C&S Electric Limited by
Siemens Limited has received the approval of the
Competition Commission of India (CCI).
 Acquisition by Lightstone Fund S.A., for and on
behalf of Lightstone Global Fund (LGT) of certain
equity stakes of 91Streets Media Technologies Pvt.
Ltd. (91Streets), Ascent Health and Wellness
Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Ascent), API Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
(API), Aahaan Commercials Pvt. Ltd. (Aahaan) and
Lokprakash Vidhya Pvt. Ltd. (Lokprakash) has been
approved by the Competition Commission of India
(CCI) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act,
2002.
International Current Affairs
 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | August 2020
 The United Arab Emirates became the first Arab
country to open a nuclear power plant, when the Unit
1 of the Barakah Nuclear Plant in Abu Dhabi, got
operational on 31 July 2020
 Former Guyanese housing minister, Mohamed Irfaan
Ali has been named as the President of the country.
He is a member of the opposition People’s Progressive
Party (PPP).
 Former Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force,
Brigadier (retired) Mark Anthony Phillips has been
sworn in as Prime Minister of Guyana.
 The United States Senate has unanimously passed a
bill banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app
TikTok on government devices.
 A “state of environmental emergency” has been
declared by the island nation of Mauritius, as a
Japanese bulk carrier “MV Wakashio” ran aground on
a reef in Mauritius and began leaking oil into the
ocean.
 Sri Lanka’s former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa
took oath as the country’s Prime Minister for the
fourth time.
 President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has
won his sixth consecutive term in the country’s
presidential election.
 Mohamed Ould Bilal has been appointed as the new
Prime Minister of Mauritania.
 Walter Roger Martos Ruiz has become the new
Prime Minister of Peru.
 Russia has become the first country to register a
coronavirus vaccine “Sputnik V” registered for use.
 Prime Minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab and his
entire government has resigned, in the wake of the
major blast in Beirut.
 Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has
resigned and dissolved parliament hours after
mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint,
plunging a country already facing an insurgency and
mass protests deeper into crisis.
 Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona has been sworn in as
the 54th President of Dominican Republic.
 Keith Rowley sworn in as Prime Minister of the
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd
consecutive 5-year term. He is from the ruling
People’s National Movement (PNM).
 Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue was
reappointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of
Equatorial Guinea for 3rd consecutive term.
11
 The Africa Regional Certification Commission
(ARCC), an independent body set up by the World
Health Organization (WHO), has certified the
African continent free from wild Polio virus.
 China has successfully launched 5th Earth
observation satellite, Gaofen-9 (05), from the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
 Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe has announced
to step down from the post on 28 August 2020,
because of the poor health conditions.
National Current Affairs
 The Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI) has launched one-stop knowledge portal
named as “MSMESaksham” in association with
TransUnion CIBIL.
 Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr.
Harsh Vardhan has launched ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan
Manthan, 2020-21’. It is a national programme
which has been launched to popularize science among
school students of Class 6th to 11th.
 A two-day international webinar on ‘Lokmanya Tilak
– Swaraj to Self-Reliant India’ was inaugurated by
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah.
 In Himachal Pradesh, Union Education Minister,
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has laid the foundation
stone of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at
Dhaula Kuan in Sirmour district.
 The Indian railways begin its “Kisan Rail” services to
transport perishable goods. India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’
will run between Devlali in Maharashtra’s Nashik
and will reach Danapur in Bihar. The train will
cover the journey of 1,519 km.
 Indian Railways has launched an Overhead
Equipment (OHE) Inspection app which will help in
minimizing the train delays and long waits due to
technical snags.
 India gives USD 15.5 million to the India-UN
Development Partnership Fund, under its
commitment to supporting developing nations in
their developmental priorities across all the
Sustainable Development Goals.
 The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network
(eVIN) is an innovative technological solution
implemented under National Health Mission (NHM)
by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
(MoHFW).
 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | September 2020
Banking and Financial Current Affairs
• ICICI Bank has launched a virtual property exhibition
under the name ‘Home Utsav’ which will digitally
showcase real estate projects by renowned
developers, across India.
• On the occasion of Bank of India (BoI)’s 115th
Foundation Day, BoI has launched an international
contactless debit card, “Signature Visa Debit Card”
for high net worth individuals who are maintaining an
average quarterly balance of Rs 10 lakhs and above.
• As per the EASE Banking Reforms Index 2.0, Bank of
Baroda has been placed at the first spot. State Bank
of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) got
the 2nd and 3rd place respectively. The Indian
Banking Association (IBA) makes EASE (Enhanced
Access and Service Excellence) reform index. The
aim of this index is to bring fruitful change in the PSBs
by brining in healthy competition among these PSBs
and by encouraging them to learn from each other.
• ICICI Bank has launched a new product named
"iStartup 2.0", to cater to the banking needs of
startups and entrepreneurs. The programme for
startups that takes care of their banking as well as
beyond-banking needs such as regulatory
assistance, analytics, staffing, accounting,
customer acquisition and digital outreach to
customers, among others.
• The ICICI Home Finance launched
“ApnaGharDreamz”, its new home loan scheme for
skilled laborers like electricians, mechanics, painters,
grocery store owners etc in the informal sector of
Delhi.
• Bandhan Bank has set up a new vertical called
"Emerging Entrepreneurs Business (EEB)" to
support the emerging needs of the unbanked and
underbanked segment of customers.
• Canara Bank has launched lead management
system (LMS) - i-Lead 2.0 (Inspiring Leads System
version 2.0) to provide its services to customers
irrespective of where they resides.
• HDFC Bank has launched video KYC (Know Your
Customer) facility for its customers. The consent-
based Video KYC facility is an alternate method of
establishing the prospective customer’s identity,
during the account opening process in a safe and
secure environment.
• IDFC First Bank will launch “SafePay” a contactless
debit card-based payment facility. This payment
facility will allow contactless debit card payments by
simply waving one’s smartphone against a Near Field
Communication (NFC)-enabled POS terminal.
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• United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) has predicted that the GDP
of India will contract by 5.9% in the year 2020. For
the year 2021, UNCTAD projects the Indian economy
to grow by 3.9%. The projection was made in its
Trade and Development Report 2020.
• IDFC Mutual Fund has started a new campaign called
SIFI or `SIP in Fixed Income’. The new campaign
called SIFI has been launched to make investors
more aware about the benefits of investing in fixed
income products via Systematic Investment Plans.
• HDFC (Housing Development Finance
Corporation) Life and Yes Bank entered into a
Corporate Agency Arrangement (CA). As part of the
arrangement, HDFC Life will provide a diverse range
of insurance products to customers of Yes Bank.
• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
of India (IRDAI) has identified Life Insurance
Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance
Corporation of India (GIC) and New India Assurance
as domestic systemically important insurers (D-SIIs).
IRDAI has also subsequently decided to subject the
three insurers to enhanced regulatory supervision.
• The Reserve Bank of India has announced that it will
launch “Positive Pay System” for Cheque
Truncation System from 01st January, 2021. The
“Positive Pay System” will be developed by the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and
make it available to participant banks. Banks will be
required to enable the system for all account holders
issuing cheques for amounts of Rs 50,000 and above.
While availing of this facility is at the discretion of the
account holder, banks may consider making it
mandatory in case of cheques for amounts of Rs
5,00,000 and above.
• SBI Card has launched its new brand campaign titled
‘Contactless Connections’, which aims to spreads
the message that love and care can be shared even
during this difficult period where social distancing is
the norm.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted in-
principle approval to Vakrangee Ltd to set up Bharat
Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) to handle
payment services related to bills.
• Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI)
become the first to implement the new feature of
document embedding facility with Letter of Credit
(LC) / Bank Guarantee (BG) messages over SFMS
(Structured Financial Messaging System) platform
of Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services
(IFTAS).
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | September 2020
Economy Current Affairs
• Estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the
first quarter (April-June) Q1 of 2020-21 has been
released by the National Statistical Office (NSO),
Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation. According to the latest release, the
GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q1 of 2020-21 is
estimated at Rs 26.90 lakh crore and the Indian
economy has experienced a contraction of 23.9% as
compared to 5.2% growth in Q1 2019-20.
• The Indian arm of Fitch Ratings, India Ratings and
Research (Ind-Ra) has projected India’s FY21 GDP
growth forecast at -11.8% as against its earlier
prediction of -5.3%. The rating agency also expects
India’s GDP to rebound and grow at 9.9% year-on-
year in FY22 primarily due to the weak base of FY21.
• CRISIL has projected India’s GDP rate at -9% for the
financial year 2020-21 (FY21). For FY22, Crisil has
projected India’s GDP to grow at 10%. For the next
three years, between fiscals 2023 and 2025, CRISIL
projects the Indian GDP to average a growth of 6.2%
annually.
• The rating agency, Moody’s has projected the GDP
growth rate for India to contract 11.5 per cent in
fiscal 2020-21 (FY21) due to the coronavirus
pandemic. For 2021-22 (FY22), Moody’s projected
the economy of India to grow at 10.6 per cent.
• The Indian rating agency, CARE Ratings has
projected the GDP of India to contract in the range 8
to 8.2% for 2020-21 (FY21). This is more than its
earlier projection of -6.4%. The decline in GDP
growth by around 8 per cent would also be associated
with a decline in the gross fixed capital formation.
• S&P Global Ratings has projected the GDP of India
to contract by 9% in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21),
as against its previous estimate of a 5% contraction,
due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the
FY22 (2021-22), S&P expects GDP growth of 6% and
for the FY23 (2022-23), GDP growth is projected at
6.2%.
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• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated
that the GDP of India is expected to contract by 9% in
fiscal 2020-21 (FY21). This estimate is worse than
ADB’s previous estimate of -4%.
• The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) expects the Indian economy to
contract by 10.2% in FY21 (2020-21) as compared to
its previous estimate of 16.7% in June. For FY22
(2021-22), the Paris-based OECD projects India’s
gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 10.7%.
• UBS Securities has projected India’s GDP for 2020-
21 (FY21) to contact by 8.6%. (Earlier it was -5.8%).
For FY22, UBS Securities projects India’s GDP to
grow by 10%. UBS Securities is a Chinese investment
bank and brokerage firm headquartered in Beijing,
China.
• Fitch Solutions has revised downward its forecast for
Indian economic growth and now estimates that
India’s GDP will contract by 8.6% in 2020-21
(FY21). Earlier this was estimated at -4.5%. It has
also forecasted a 5% year-on-year growth in 2021
and 2022.
• The National Council of Applied Economic
Research (NCAER) has projected the GDP growth for
the Indian economy at -12.6% For 2020-21 (FY21)
with the remaining three quarters expected to
witness a fall. For 2021-22, NCAER projects the GDP
of India to grow by 7%.
• Rating agency ICRA has revised its forecast for the
contraction in India’s FY21 GDP to 11 per cent from
its earlier assessment of 9.5 per cent.
Business Current Affairs
• Vodafone Idea has announced its new unified brand
identity by renaming all its products under a new
name and logo “Vi”. The Beleaguered telecom
operator, announced the rebranding of the company
through a virtual platform. The integration into one
brand is believed to be the company’s efforts to
reduce the cost of maintaining two brands.
• Reserve Bank of India has ceased the Banking
operations by the Aditya Birla Idea Payments
(ABIP) Bank under Banking Regulations Act 1949
with effect from July 28, 2020.
• State Bank of India is planning to launch a loan
product named “SAFAL” for organic cotton growers.
The product Safe and Fast Agriculture Loan
(SAFAL) is primarily focussed on organic cotton
growers who don’t have any credit history. SBI will
use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
(ML) for this purpose.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | September 2020
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has
approved the acquisition of 100% equity shares of
Medlife International Private Limited (“Medlife”) by
API Holdings Private Limited (“API Holdings”). It also
approved the acquisition of up to 19.59% equity
share capital of API Holdings by Medlife’s
shareholders under Section 31(1) of the Competition
Act, 2002.
• Titan Company has partnered with the State Bank
of India (SBI) to launch India’s first contactless
payment watches named “Titan Pay”. Using these
watches, the account holders of SBI can tap their Titan
Pay watch on the contactless payment POS machines
for making payments. It is powered by YONO SBI.
• Mastercard has launched “Central Bank Digital
Currencies” (CBDCs), a Virtual Testing Environment
for Central Banks to Assess and Explore National
Digital Currencies. Mastercard has invited Central
Banks, Commercial Banks and tech and advisory firms
to evaluate the suitability of CBDCs in a country or
region.
• SBI General Insurance and YES Bank have signed a
corporate agency agreement. Under the corporate
agency agreement, the YES Bank will distribute the
general insurer’s retail products to its customers.
The products of SBI General Insurance Company will
be offered to YES BANK’s customers across 28 states
and 8 Union Territories.
• E-commerce marketplace, Flipkart and Bajaj Allianz
General Insurance have launched a cyber insurance
cover for online financial frauds. The product, ‘Digital
Suraksha Group Insurance’, will help customers
who want to cover themselves against financial losses
caused as a result of cyber attacks, cyber frauds, or
other such malicious activities across various online
platforms.
International Current Affairs
• World Bank has stopped the publication of its
“Doing Business” report to probe data collection
irregularities in the annual ranking of countries’
business and investment climates.
• Mustapha Adib has been appointed as the Prime
minister of Lebanon.
• President of the USA, Donald Trump has announced
Wilmington, North Carolina as the first World War
II Heritage City. The announcement was made at a
ceremony held to mark the 75th anniversary of the
end of World War II on September 2, 2020.
• Government of Australia has appointed former
cricketer, Matthew Hayden and Indian-origin
politician Lisa Singh as trade envoys for advancing
business ties with India.
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• Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, YoshihideSuga has
been elected as the new Chief of country’s ruling,
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Prime Minister-
designate of Japan.
• TikTok has chosen Oracle to be its technology
partner for its American operations. Microsoft was
also in a bid to acquire TikTok in the United States but
the Chinese owner of the video-sharing platform
“TikTok” chose Oracle over Microsoft to be its
technology partner for its American operations.
• Mexico has become the first country in the world to
issue a sovereign bond linked to the sustainable
development goals set by the United Nations. It has
raised EUR 750 million ($890 million) by such
bonds. The SDG bond will mature in September 2027
and offers a yield to maturity rate of 1.603% and a
coupon rate of 1.350%. This new bond was issued
under Mexico’s new “SDG Sovereign Bond
Framework,” which was released in February in
partnership with French investment bank Natixis.
• Mali’s former defence minister, Bah Ndaw has been
named as Interim President of the country’s new
transition government. On 19th August 2020, Mali
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his
resignation with immediate effect following a military
mutiny in the Republic of Mali.
• Former rebel military commander, Ishmael Toroama
has been elected as president of Bougainville, an
autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. This was
the first general election since Bougainville voted
overwhelmingly to separate from Papua New Guinea
in November 2019.
• President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi
Mohamed has appointed Mohamed Hussein Roble
as the new Prime Minister of Somalia. He will replace
former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, who was
voted out of office by parliament in July for failing to
pave the way for fully democratic elections due before
February 2021.
• The Prime Minister-designate of Lebanon, Mustapha
Adib has announced his resignation following his
failure to form a new cabinet. Mustapha Adib,
Lebanon’s former ambassador to Germany, was
selected for the post on 31 August 2020.
• The interim President of Mali, Bah Ndaw, has named
former Malian Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane as the
new prime minister of Mali.
National Current Affairs
• India will receive an Official Development
Assistance (ODA) loan of an amount of JPY50 billion
(approx. Rs. 3,500 crore) from the government of
Japan as the COVID-19 Crisis Emergency Response
Support in order to fight the COVID-19 crisis.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | October 2020
3rd India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue begins in and The Salvage Audio Collective. Gully Boy has been
New Delhi directed by Zoya Akhtar. In Gully Boy, Ranveer Singh and
Alia Bhatt played leading roles.
India is hosting the third India-US two plus two
Ministerial Dialogue at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. 14th Asian Film Awards Winners List:
The Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External
Award Name Winner
Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar are leading the Indian
delegation. The United States Secretary of State Mike Lee Byung-hun – The Man Standing
Best Actor
Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark Esper are Next (South Korea)
leading the US delegation. The First two plus two dialogue Best Actress Zhou Dongyu – Better Days (China)
was held in New Delhi in September 2018 and the Second Best Dong Jinsong – The Wild Goose
in Washington DC in 2019. Cinematography Lake
Best Costume Pacharin Surawatanapongs– Happy
Besides, covering all bilateral, regional and global issues
Designer Old Year
of mutual interest during the third dialogue, the two sides
also signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Wang Xiaoshuai for So Long, My Son
Best Director
Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) to (China)
further expand the geospatial cooperation between them Best Editing Yang Jin-mo – Parasite
and improve the accuracy of missile systems of India.
Best Film Parasite (South Korea)
Best Newcomer Jackson Yee – Better Days
GoI sets up committee to commemorate 400th
anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Best New
Hikari – 37 Seconds
Director
The Centre has set up a high-level committee headed by
Best Supporting
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate the Ryo Kase – To the Ends of the Earth
Actor
400th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla will be the Best Supporting
Ko Shu-chin – A Sun
member secretary of the 70-member high-level Actress
committee. Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won –
Best Screenplay
Parasite
About the committee: Best Original Karsh Kale, The Salvage Audio
• The committee will look into the approval of policies, Music Collective – Gully Boy
plans, programmes and supervision and guiding the
Best Production
commemoration, as well as for deciding dates for Ha-jun Lee – Parasite
detailed programmes of celebration. Design
• Some of the other members of the committee include Best Visual Tomi Kijo, Renovatio Pictures –
former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Effects Detention
Speaker Om Birla, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Yoshifumi Kureishi – Listen to the
Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Best Sound
Universe
Hardeep Singh Puri, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder
Singh, Chief ministers of Haryana, Bihar, Uttar
Banking and Financial Current Affairs
Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and • Indian Bank has launched a green initiative named
Rajasthan. “IB-eNote” to enable a total paperless working
environment. This tool enables processing and
14th Asian Film Awards 2020 announced tracking of notes put up by various offices digitally.
The bank for this initiative has customised
The 14th edition of Asian Film Awards was organized by
SharePoint, one of the features of Microsoft Office.
the Asian Film Awards Academy. Indian Movie Gully
The Bank also launched ‘Ind Guru’, an e-learning
Boy has received the award for the Best Original Score at
platform for its employees.
14th Asian Film Awards. The award went to Karsh Kale
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | October 2020
• ICICI Bank has launched a debit card facility for the
customers availing the Loan Against Securities
(LAS) from the Bank. The debit card is available on
the Visa platform. With this launch, ICICI Bank has
become the first bank in India to launch such a facility.
• Axis Bank has launched a new entry-level credit card
named Axis ACE Credit Card, with a focus on
increasing participation of users in the digital
economy. It also aims to bring a seamless, digital
experience to users from application to issuance. The
card has been launched in collaboration with Google
Pay and will run on Visa (Signature) platform.
• India’s leading private sector bank, HDFC Bank and
Apollo Hospitals have collaborated to launch the
“HealthyLife Programme”, a holistic healthcare
solution. This programme will be launched for HDFC
Bank customers, to make healthy living accessible and
affordable while making the process convenient and
easy for the customers.
• IDBI Bank announced the launch of banking services
on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp Banking service is
being offered through a dedicated WhatsApp verified
number ensuring end-to-end encryption, the Bank
stated.
• Indian Bank has introduced an initiative for funding
start-ups, ‘IND Spring Board’, in collaboration with
the IIT-Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC). The
Chennai-headquartered bank seeks to bridge the gap
in funding for start-ups through this collaboration
with IITMIC.
• State Bank of India (SBI) has signed a loan
agreement of up to $1 billion with The Japan Bank
for International Cooperation (JBIC). The loan will
facilitate the operations of Japanese car companies in
India. The financing will assist in Government of
India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• The Reserve Bank of India has barred Payment
System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new
proprietary QR code for payment transactions.
Currently, there are two interoperable QR codes —
UPI QR and Bharat QR.The decision to continue with
the two existing Quick Response (QR) codes was
based on the recommendations of the committee
which was set up by the Reserve Bank under the
chairmanship of Deepak Phatak to review the
current system of such codes in India and suggest
measures for moving towards interoperable QR
codes.
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Economy Current Affairs
• The World Bank projected India’s GDP to contract by
9.6% this FY-21, which is reflective of the national
lockdown and the income shock experienced by
households and firms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The World Bank earlier in June had estimated the
Indian economy to shrink by 3.2% in the current
fiscal.
• According to ‘World Economic Outlook’ report, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected
the Indian economy to contract by 10.3 per cent in
2020-21, from its earlier prediction of 4.5 per cent
due to rise in Covid cases. However, IMF estimates the
GDP of India to grow at 8.8 per cent in 2021-22, as
compared to 6 per cent predicted earlier, regaining
the position of the fastest-growing emerging
economy.
Business Current Affairs
• Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched
”MSME Prerana”, an online business mentoring
programme for MSMEs by state-run Indian Bank.
The programme, to be made available in local
languages, is aimed at empowering entrepreneurs
through skill development and capacity building
workshops.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has raised the banks’
maximum aggregate retail exposure limit to entities
with turnover up to Rs 50 crore to Rs 7.5 crore.
Earlier this limit was Rs 5 crore. The decision has
been taken to increase credit flow to small
businesses.
• India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
signed a 300 million US dollar loan to finance
inclusive and sustainable water supply and sanitation
infrastructure and services in 14 secondary towns of
the state of Rajasthan. The project aims at providing
better quality and more sustainable Water Supply
and Sanitation (WSS) services in the project towns.
It will improve quality of life in these towns, including
for the poor and vulnerable after signing the loan
agreement.
• The central government will borrow Rs 1.1 lakh
crore under the special window to meet the shortfall
of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation.
Under the Special Window, the estimated shortfall of
Rs 1.1 lakh cr (assuming all States join) will be
borrowed by Government of India in appropriate
tranches.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | November 2020
 The purpose of the Shelter Home is to provide shelter
to Transgender persons, with basic amenities like
shelter, food, medical care and recreational facilities.
 Besides, it will provide support for the capacity-
building/skill development of persons in the
Community, which will enable them to lead a life of
dignity and respect.
 The Scheme of ‘Shelter Home for Transgender
Persons’ includes shelter facility, food, clothing,
recreational facilities, skill development
opportunities, yoga, meditation/prayers, physical
fitness, library facilities, legal support, technical
advice for gender transition and surgeries, capacity
building of trans-friendly organizations, employment
and skill-building support, etc.
 The Nodal Ministry has taken the first step in
improving the conditions of Transgender persons and
has identified 10 cities to set up the 13 Shelter
Homes and extend the facilities to Transgender
persons, in association with selected 13 CBOs in the
country on a pilot basis.
 The cities include Vadodara, New Delhi, Patna,
Bhubaneswar, Jaipur, Kolkata, Manipur, Chennai,
Raipur, Mumbai, etc. The scheme will rehabilitate a
minimum of 25 transgender persons in each home
identified by the Ministry.
 This is a pilot project, and on its successful
completion, similar schemes will be extended to other
parts of the country.
Banking and Financial Current Affairs
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed monetary
penalty on DCB Bank and Jio Payments Bank for
various rule violations. The central bank has imposed
a penalty of Rs 22 lakh on DCB Bank for non-
compliance with certain provisions on
marketing/distribution of mutual fund/insurance etc.
The penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers
vested in RBI under the provisions of Section
47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949.
 Private lender ICICI Bank has launched a
comprehensive banking programme for its
millennial customers, (in the age bracket of 18 years
to 35 years ), called ‘ICICI Bank Mine’. The ‘ICICI
Bank Mine’ is India’s first and unique product
launched by the bank to offer a mobile-first, highly
personalised and experiential led banking experience
to the millennial customers.
 The National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI) has finally allowed Facebook-owned
messaging platform "WhatsApp" to roll out its
payments service in the country in a “graded”
manner. The announcement by NPCI came after the
organisation made a crucial change to its regulations
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concerning the use of the Unified Payments Interface
(UPI). The change puts a limit on single third
parties such as WhatsApp or its rivals Google Pay and
Walmart’s PhonePe where they can only handle 30
per cent of overall UPI transaction volumes.
 The Reserve Bank of India will evaluate the impact
of multi-media public awareness campaign ‘RBI
Kehta Hai’, which was launched in 14 languages to
educate the public about safe banking and financial
practices. As part of the campaign, messages have
been launched on basic savings bank deposit
accounts, customer liability in unauthorised
electronic banking transactions, safe digital banking
practices, banking facilities for senior citizens,
banking ombudsman scheme, and cybersecurity,
among others.
 HDFC Bank has announced the launch of “SmartHub
Merchant Solutions 3.0” for Small and mid-size
enterprises. This solution allows merchants and self-
employed professionals to instantly open a current
account and start accepting payments in-store, online,
and on-the-go.
 International Financial Services Centres Authority
(IFSCA) has conducted a meeting in New Delhi. The
IFSC Authority approved the International Financial
Services Centres Authority (Banking) Regulations,
2020 in the meeting. The draft banking regulations
approved at the meeting opens the way for making
rules for the various aspects of banking operations
that would be permissible at the IFSC. As banking
plays an important role at IFSC, banking regulations
will help it in reaching its desired potential.
 SBM Bank India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of
State Bank of Mauritius has partnered with Fintech
PayNearby to launch a neo banking platform. Both
firms signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
to build an “open banking” network towards
delivering basic banking solutions as well as advanced
financial services, to their customers.
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | November 2020
 The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of
Rs 1 crore on Punjab National Bank for violating
the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
Punjab National Bank was operating a bilateral ATM-
sharing arrangement with Druk PNB Bank Ltd.,
Bhutan, since April 2010 without prior approval or
authorisation from India’s banking regulator.
 Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched a women-
centred product ‘Eva’. The Bank has roped in Indian
Woman cricketer Smriti Mandhana as the brand
ambassador for its newly launched product ‘EVA’. Eva
is unique savings account for women to address the
well-being of Indian women in every aspect such as
health, wealth and prosperity.
 Karnataka Bank launched CASA (current account,
savings account) mobilisation campaign which will
run from November 17 to March 4, 2021. The bank
stated that it intends to mobilise over 4.10 lakh
current and savings accounts with an accretion of
650 crores of business. With this campaign, the
bank intends to introduce its attractive and superior
line of digitally powered savings and current account
products to its customers.
 HDFC Bank & IndusInd Bank have been put in the
‘red flag’ list, a system used for monitoring foreign
portfolio investor (FPI) limits. A listed company
enters the list when the available legroom for
overseas investment is less than 3% of the
permissible limit. FPIs can invest up to 74% in both
HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has banned the
Manta Urban Cooperative Bank in Jalna district of
Maharashtra for six months for payment of money
and loan transactions. The central bank has given
some instructions to this bank, which will be effective
for six months since the bank closed on 17 November
2020.
 India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has launched a
low-cost insurance scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Jeevan
Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)’ for its customers to
bring large sections of the underserved and unserved
population into the financial mainstream. IPPB has
collaborated with PNB MetLife India Insurance
Company for this product.
 Private lender YES Bank has launched an ‘SMS Pay’
functionality on POS terminals, which would allow
merchants to accept contactless and remote payments
from their customers. YES Bank has collaborated with
French payment services company Worldline to
launch the new facility.
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0
Economy Current Affairs
 Rating Agency Moody’s has projected the GDP of
India at -8.9% for the calendar year 2020. Earlier this
was projected at -9.6%. Apart from this, India’s GDP
growth for Calendar year 2021 is projected at 8.6%
by Moody’s from 8.1% earlier.
 The Investment bank, Goldman Sachs has revised
upwards the growth forecast for India in FY21 to -
10.3% from its earlier projection of -14.8% in
September 2020. For the financial year 2021-22
(FY22), the Goldman Sachs has projected India’s GDP
at 13%.
 Moody’s Investors Service has revised India’s GDP
growth forecast to -10.6 per cent for the current
fiscal 2020-21 (FY21), in its November 2020 update,
from its earlier estimate of -11.5 per cent in
September 2020. For next fiscal 2021-22, Moody’s
projected India to grow at 10.8 per cent, as against
the previous estimate of 10.6 per cent.
 Barclays has revised down its GDP forecast for India
in the current fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21) to – 6.4%
from its earlier estimate of – 6%. However, Barclays
has raised its FY22 (2021-22) growth forecast to 8.5
per cent from 7 per cent.
 Forecasting firm Oxford Economics predicts that
India’s post-COVID-19 scars could be among the
worst in the world. It expects India’s growth
equilibrium to worsen substantially over the medium
term, with potential growth averaging just 4.5% over
2020-2025, from its pre-pandemic projection of
6.5%. The fiscal deficit is also expected to widen 7%
of GDP in 2020-21.
 The National Statistical Office (NSO) has released
the estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for
the second quarter (July-September) Q2 of 2020-21.
The GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q2 of 2020-
21 is estimated at Rs 33.14 lakh crore, as against Rs
35.84 lakh crore in Q2 of 2019-20, showing a
contraction of 7.5% as compared to 4.4% growth in
Q2 2019-20.
 The UBS has projected India’s real GDP to contract
10.5% in FY21, in its Global Economics & Markets
Outlook 2021-2022 report. For the fiscal 2021-22
(FY22) UBS expect India’s real GDP growth to
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 The Monthly Hindu Review | Current Affairs | November 2020
rebound to +10% in FY22. UBS also estimates India’s
GDP to stabilise at 6.2 per cent YoY in FY23.
Business Current Affairs
 The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has handed
over the Lucknow airport to the Adani group on
lease for a period of 50 years. Apart from this, the
Adani group has taken over/will take over operations
of 5 more airports.
 The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has
approved the acquisition of General Insurance
Business of Bharti AXA General Insurance Company
Limited (Bharti AXA) by ICICI Lombard General
Insurance Company Limited (ICICI Lombard) under
Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
 Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has
enhanced the investment limits for Mutual Fund
companies for overseas investments. Mutual Funds
can make overseas investments subject to a maximum
of US $ 600 million per Mutual Fund, within the
overall industry limit of US $ 7 billion. Earlier it was
USD 300 million.
 WhatsApp has partnered with five Indian banks to
process its payment services. These are State Bank of
India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Jio
Payments Bank. The Facebook-owned messaging
platform, WhatsApp Inc., has received the approval
from the National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI) to launch its Unified Payments Interface
(UPI) based payments services in India, to let users
send or receive money across the country.
 Paytm has launched “Payout Links” for businesses,
enabling them to instantly process payouts to
customers, employees and vendors, without collecting
their bank details. It is aimed at helping small
businesses in sectors like gaming, retail, export,
manufacturing and e-commerce.
 Life Insurance Corporation of India has launched a
digital application for agents for onboarding to get a
life insurance policy. The Digital Application is called
“ANANDA”, which is an acronym for Atma Nirbhar
Agents NewBusiness Digital Application. The
Digital application is a tool for the onboarding process
to get the life insurance policy through a paperless
module with the help of the agent or intermediary.
 The Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI) has given its in-principle
approval for the merger of Bharti AXA General
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1
Insurance with ICICI Lombard. The merged entity
will have a market share of around 8.7 per cent on a
proforma basis in the general insurance business.
International Current Affairs
 Super Typhoon Goni, claimed as the world’s
strongest typhoon of 2020 has hit the south of the
Philippines’ main island of Luzon. Goni is one of the
strongest storms to hit the Philippines since 2013’s
Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people.
 Portugal MP, Duarte Pacheco has won the elections
for the post the President of the Inter-
Parliamentary Union (IPU). The term of the Duarte
Pacheco will be from 2020-2023. He will be the 30th
President of the IPU and will succeed Mexican MP
Gabriela Cuevas Barron who completed the tenure
in October 2020.
 The incumbent President of Ivory Coast, Alassane
Ouattara, has won a third 5-year term in a landslide
victory, gaining more than 94 per cent of the votes
polled.
 Bangladesh and US navies launched the
‘Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training
(CARAT) Bangladesh 2020’ to expand relationships
and broaden maritime awareness between the two
countries.
 The President of Tanzania, John Pombe Magufuli
has been sworn for a second five-year term.
 The United States has officially withdrawn from the
Paris climate accord on 04 November 2020. With
this, the US has now become the only country to
formally pull out of the deal since it was adopted in
2015.
 The second World Health Expo was inaugurated on
November 11, in Wuhan, the capital city of Central
China’s Hubei Province. This year’s Expo will focus on
displaying the most cutting-edge science and
technology in the global health industry, and help
Wuhan build “city of global health industry”.
 Indian-American Kash Patel has been named as the
Chief of Staff to the Acting US Defence Secretary
Chris Miller. The new appointment comes a day after
Donald Trump fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper
and designated Chris Miller, as the Acting Secretary.
Kash Patel, currently on the National Security
Council staff. He replaces Jen Stewart, who resigned
earlier in the day.
 Myanmar's ruling party led by Nobel laureate Aung
San Suu Kyi claimed a resounding victory. National
League for Democracy (NLD) party has won close to
400 seats while the opposition Union Solidarity and
Development Party (USDP) has secured only 21 seats.
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