Banking Current Affairs for 28 & 29 May 2023
RBI imposes ₹84.50 lakh penalty on Central Bank of India for non-compliance
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of ₹84.50 lakh on the Central Bank of India (the bank) for non-compliance with certain provisions of norms related to fraud classification and reporting.
- The RBI had conducted statutory inspection for supervisory evaluation of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021.
Key Highlights :
- Examination of the reports revealed that the public sector lender had failed to report fraud to RBI certain accounts within 7 days of the decision of Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) to declare the accounts as fraud.
- It had recovered SMS alert charges from its customers on a flat basis rather than on actual usage basis.
- The penalty is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers
About Central Bank of India :
- Founded : 21 December 1911
- Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- MD & CEO : Matam Venkata Rao
- Tagline : Build a Better Life Around Us./ Central To You Since 1911
RBI sanctions merger of Maratha Cooperative Bank with Cosmos Cooperative Bank
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sanctioned the voluntary Scheme of Amalgamation of Maratha Sahakari Bank with The Cosmos Co-operative Bank.
- All the branches of Maratha Sahakari Bank Ltd., Mumbai (Maharashtra) will function as branches of The Cosmos Co-operative Bank Limited, Pune (Maharashtra) with effect from May 29, 2023.
- The merger with Cosmos Co-operative Bank is aimed at ensuring the stability and continuity of services of Maratha Sahakari Bank.
Key Highlights :
- The RBI had placed Maratha Sahakari Bank, which was founded in 1946 and has 7 branches in Mumbai, under Directions under Section 35 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, on August 31, 2016.
- The Scheme has been sanctioned in exercise of the powers conferred under Sub-Section (4) of Section 44A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
- As of March-end 2022, The Cosmos Co-operative Bank, which is a multi-state urban co-operative bank with 140 branches in 7 states, had deposits and advances of ₹16,522 crore and ₹12,293 crore, respectively
About RBI :
- Established : 1 April 1935
- Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Governor : Shaktikanta Das (First Governor of RBI- Sir Osborne Smith)
- Deputy governors : Mahesh Kumar Jain,M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra and T. Rabi Shankar
LIC Q4 net profit surges over 5-fold to ₹13,191 crore
- Insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) posted a more than 5-fold jump in
consolidated net profit to ₹13,191 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023. - The insurer had earned a profit of Rs 2,409 crore in the same quarter a year earlier.
- However, the total income of the insurer during the March quarter declined to ₹2,01,022 crore from ₹2,15,487 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal
Key Highlights :
- For the entire financial year 2022-23, LIC registered a multi-fold rise in net profit to Rs 35,997 crore from Rs 4,125 crore in the previous financial year.
- The board of LIC has recommended a final dividend of ₹3 per equity share with a face value of ₹10 each for the year ended March 31, 2023.
- The solvency ratio – which measures an insurance company’s cash flow in comparison to the amount it owes as total life cover – increased to 1.87% as of March 31, 2023, against 1.85% at the end of the preceding fiscal.
- In 2022, the government raised ₹20,557 crore by diluting its 3.5% stake in the LIC through the initial public offering (IPO), the country’s biggest ever.
- The government sold over 22.13 crore shares or a 3.5% stake in LIC through the IPO.
- The price band of the issue was ₹902-949 a share.
About LIC :
- Founded : 1 September 1956
- Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- Chairperson : Siddharth Mohanty
NATIONAL NEWS
FSSAI announces to conduct nationwide surveillance of dairy products to curb adulteration
- FSSAI stated that it will conduct nationwide surveillance of milk and milk products to check for adulteration.
- The large-scale surveillance would involve collecting samples from both organized and unorganized sectors in all districts across the country.
- Samples of products will also be tested like khoa, chenna, paneer, ghee, butter, curd, and ice cream, as
part of the ongoing effort to check adulteration in milk and milk products. - The survey will assess the samples for compliance with quality and safety standards.
- It will identify hotspots for adulteration of milk and milk products and take corrective action.
- Since 2011, FSSAI has conducted five such surveillances of milk and milk products.
- In 2018, the National Milk Safety and Quality Survey was conducted in all the states and union territories.
- In 2020, a Pan-India Milk Products Survey was conducted by FSSAI to assess the safety and quality of milk products and desserts sold during festivals.
- In 2022, a milk survey was conducted by FSSAI in 12 states, in which Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) was spread in 10 states.
SECL's Gevra mine to be largest coal producing mine in Asia
- The government is scaling up the annual production of SECL’s Gevra coal mine to 70 MT making it the largest.
- Gevra project of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Chhattisgarh recently became the first mine in the country to achieve 50 MT of coal production.
- Gevra mine is currently being expanded to achieve 70 MT of production, making it the largest coal producing mine in Asia.
- Coal secretary Amrit Lal Meena was on a two-day visit to Chhattisgarh.
- Along with officials of South East Central Railway (SECR) at SECL headquarters in Bilaspur, Meena reviewed the rail projects of Chhattisgarh East Railway Limited (CERL) and Chhattisgarh East West Railway Limited (CEWRL).
- He inaugurated ‘Chhal’ rail siding in SECL, Raigarh area and also took stock of the progress of two rail corridors being developed on Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) model in the state.
- Under the PM Gati Shakti national master plan, the infrastructure required for transportation of coal is being developed in the country and the new rail corridor will prove to be a milestone in this regard.
Govt to issue special commemorative coin of ₹75 to mark the inauguration of new Parliament building
- Government will launch a special commemorative coin of Rs 75 to mark the opening of the new Parliament building.
- A special commemorative of Rs 75 coin will be released on the occasion of the inauguration of the new Parliament building.
- Rs 75 coin will be circular in shape with a diameter of 44 millimetres.
- It will have 200 serrations.
- The face of the coin will have the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the centre with ‘Satyameva Jayate’ inscribed below it.
- It will have ‘Bharat’ written in Devanagari script on the left and ‘India’ in English on the right.
- It will be made up of a quaternary alloy with 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper, 5 per cent nickel, and 5 per cent zinc.
- On the other side of the coin, there will be a picture of Parliament House, above which will be written ‘Sansad Sankul’ in Devanagari script and ‘Parliament Complex’ in English below.
- This coin is not legal tender, it will be a commemorative coin.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is responsible for the circulation of coins in India.
- Under the Coinage Act, 1906, the central government has the power of designing and minting of coins.
SAMARTH campaign to promote digital transactions in gram panchayats
- ‘Samarth campaign’ has been launched by Shri Giriraj Singh to promote digital transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats under Amrit Mahotsav in Lucknow.
- The Ministry of Rural Development is running this campaign, w hich was started on 1st February 2023 and will continue till 15 August 2023.
- The major thrust of the Samarth campaign is to promote digital transactions in rural areas, with a special focus on women.
- Shri Giriraj Singh said that the NPA of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) which was 9.58% in 2013, has come down to below 2% now.
Government Signs Agreement With Six States To Start Digital Crop Survey
- Central government signed an agreement with six states to conduct Digital crop survey.
- The Central government signed an agreement with Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to conduct the Digital crop survey.
- The agreement has been signed at a workshop, which was organized by the Union agriculture ministry to discuss with state governments the implementation plan of the Digital crop survey.
- A manual for a web portal and a mobile application for a Digital crop survey has been also launched on this occasion.
- Digital crop survey is part of the government’s Agristack or India Digital Ecosystem for Agriculture (IDEA).
- Agristack and Krishi-Decision Support System (Krishi-DSS) will help in resolving issues and challenges in the agriculture sector.
- The digital crop survey will give a clear picture of crops being sown across the country during different agriculture seasons.
- The main aim of the project is to create one verified source about the farmer and his/her crop-sown data.
- The digital survey system will use new technology like advanced analytics, GIS-GPS technologies and artificial intelligence and machine learning.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Savarkar statue to be unveiled in Mauritius
- After Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, the bust of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar also known as Veer Savarkar will be unveiled in the port Luis capital city Mauritius on May 28,2023 Savarkar’s birth anniversary.
- Maharashtra public works department (PWD) minister Ravindra Chavan will attend the programme which will be graced by Prithviraj Singh Rupan, President of Mauritius, and Leladevi Dookun-Luchoomun, the Deputy Prime Minister.
- This is the second-consecutive function where two icons of Maharashtra from different eras are being honoured by Mauritius.
- In April,2023 a 13-feet-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled by deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on the premises of Maharashtra Bhavan.
- The latest function will mark the beginning of ‘Veer Savarkar Global Summit’ with the aim to spread the work, literature and thoughts of the freedom fighter.
About Mauritius :
- President : Prithvirajsing Roopun
- Prime Minister : Pravind Jugnauth
- Capital : Port Louis
- Currency : Mauritian rupee
IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day Of Action For Women’s Health 2023 - May 28
- International Day of Action for Women’s Health is observed annually on May 28.
- This day is observed to raise awareness about the health of Women and well beings such as Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights(SRHR).
- In 1987, South Africa was first recognized this day as the International Day of Action for Women’s Health.
- This day creates an opportunity to get awareness about the sexual and reproductive health of women to illiterate people
- Every year this day is celebrated by women’s and health groups.
- It is a platform for the recognition of sexual rights, sexuality, reproductive rights, health, etc.
- In 1984, the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) has created to organize the International Day of Action for Women’s Health.
International Everest Day 2023 - May 29
- International Everest Day 2023 is observed on May 29.
- The first attempt to climb mountains by the British people in the 1920s.
- 68 years ago, Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary climbed mountains and that day history was created.
- Since 1953, several people have climbed the mountain and more and more visitors have increased each year.
- Everest is the highest mountain when measured at sea level.
- Several International climbers and families actively participated in the events that were celebrated on International Everest Day.
- International Mount Everest Day was celebrated in 2008, and it was the day Edmund Hillary passed away and Nepal decided on May 29 as International Everest Day.
International Day Of United Nations Peacekeepers 2023 - May 29
- International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is observed every year on May 29.
- The 2023 theme, “Peace begins with me”
- The first United Nations Peacekeeping mission was first established in May 1948.
- General Assembly designated May 29 as International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
- On this day, we have to pay respect to the courage of all men and women who sacrifice their lives for the cause of peace.
- In the first UN Peacekeeping Mission in 1948, 3,800 military, police and other personnel lost their lives in the service of peace.
- On 29th May UN offices, member states, and non-governmental organizations conducted several events to honour peacekeepers.
- At UN Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General conduct a ceremony to honour all peacekeepers who lost their lives.