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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

India, ADB sign $200 million loan agreement for Uttarakhand power system project

• India and ADB have signed a $200 million loan agreement with Uttarakhand for Power System Project.
• This loan agreement is to improve the quality, efficiency, and reliability of power supply in Uttarakhand.
• This loan agreement is for the Uttarakhand Climate Resilient Power System Development Project.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund the project.
• This will strengthen power system infrastructure in Uttarakhand.
• The project involves enhancing of the power system network’s capabilities.
• The project will modernise Dehradun city’s power network infrastructure.
• The Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific will provide a $2 million grant to support livelihood enhancement, and training activities of the project.

Weighted average cut-off yield of State Govt Security issuances rose 73 bps during FY23: RBI report

• The weighted average cut-off yield of State Government Security issuances increased to 7.71% as per RBI report.
• RBI report is titled “State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2023-24”.
• As per the report, the weighted average cut-off yield of State Government Security issuances increased 73 basis points (bps) during 2022-23 from 6.98% in the previous year.
• The weighted average spread (WAS) between SGS issuances and comparable-maturity Central government securities, however, decreased from 41 basis points to 31 basis points in 2022–2023.
• The issuance of 10-year maturity securities formed 27.9% of the total amount of issuances in 2022-23.
• This was 35.1% in the previous year.
• The remaining 72.1% was distributed over maturities of two to 35 years.
• As of the end of March 2023, 55.1% of the outstanding SGSs were in the residual maturity bucket of five years and above.
• The next ten years will see the maturation of almost 79% of SGS.
• Net market borrowings of states have grown by 5.4% from ₹4.92 lakh crore in 2021-22 to ₹5.19 lakh crore in 2022-23.
• According to the report, this increase was concentrated in states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Assam.

SBI to sign 70 million euro LoC with KfW for solar projects

• SBI signed 70 million euro (approximately Rs 630 crore) Line of Credit (LoC) with KfW.
• The LoC with German Development Bank KfW is for promoting solar project in the country.
• The agreement has been signed on 14 December at the bank’s IFSC Gift City Branch in Ahmedabad.
• LoC aims to support Solar Photovoltaics (PV) projects in India.
• SBI has shown a 9.13% growth in consolidated net profit for the September quarter.
• It reported a total income of more than Rs 1.12 lakh crore for September quarter.

About SBI

• Its headquarters is in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• Dinesh Kumar Khara is its chairperson.

PNB Housing Finance completes Rs 1,000 cr loan bookmark under its affordable housing scheme

• PNB Housing Finance, the third largest housing finance company in India, announced that it has achieved a loan book size of Rs 1,000 crore in the affordable housing segment.
• It said that under its Roshni scheme for affordable housing, it aims to double the loan book by March 2025.
• The scheme was launched in December last year.
• Girish Kousgi, managing director and chief executive officer at PNB Housing Finance.
• Under the Roshni scheme, the company provides loans for ticket sizes in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 35 lakh.
• PNB Housing Finance is also expanding its physical presence. It recently inaugurated its 100th Roshni branch in India, also its first all-women branch.
• By March 2024, it aims to open 60 more branches for the affordable segment, taking the total to 160 branches.
• Currently, at 100 branches, it is aiming to open 38 more branches for "prime" loans, taking the total of all housing finance branches close to 300 at the end of the current financial year.

YES Bank invites bids for the sale of corporate, retail NPAs worth ₹4,234 cr

• YES Bank has invited expressions of interest (EoI) for the proposed sale of NPAs worth ₹4,234 crore.
• Bids have been invited to identify an anchor bid for the stressed assets sale, all of which are being offered on an upfront 100 per cent cash basis.
• YES Bank has invited bids for the sale of stressed loans, by December 18.
• As of September 2023, YES Bank has gross NPAs of ₹4,  319 crore of which corporate banking NPAs were ₹2,236 crore, mid-corporate NPAs were ₹219 crore and SME NPAs were ₹452 crore.
• Retail NPAs stood at ₹1,413 crore.
• Last year, the bank sold a Rs 48000 crore non-performing loan portfolio to JC Flowers ARC in what is seen as the largest secondary market trade in the distressed loan segment.

‘10 PSBs transferred NPAs of over `11,617 cr to NARCL from Jan-Nov’

• A total of 10 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have transferred Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of over Rs 11,617 crore to NARCL between January and November this year.
• In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) has recovered Rs 16.64 crore as of November 30, 2023.
• Recovery will be effected in these accounts after the resolution plans get approved by the National Company Law Tribunal.
• In remaining accounts, NARCL has recovered Rs 16.64 crore, as on 30.11.2023
• NARCL is a bad bank, which buys NPAs, or bad loans, from lenders.
• As per details of the debt assigned to the NARCL by these 10 PSBs, as on November 30, SBI has transferred the largest amount of Rs 4,508 crore, followed by PNB, and Canara Bank at Rs 2,138 crore and Rs 1,858 crore, respectively.
• Union Bank of India has transferred Rs 1,831 crore to NARCL between January and November.
• The other PSBs include the Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank, Indian Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank.
• These 10 PSBs had aggregate gross NPAs of over Rs 3.65 lakh crore as of September 30, 2023, as per the data shared by Finance Ministry to the Rajya Sabha.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to inaugurate Kashi Tamil Sangamam 2023

• The second phase of Kashi Tamil Sangamam will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Namo Ghat, Varanasi, UP
• The first batch of Tamil delegation comprising a group of students from various parts of Tamil Nadu named after the sacred river ‘Ganga’ reached the holy city of Kashi (Varanasi) to attend the 15-day-long second phase of Kashi Tamil Sangamam.
• They were received with a grand welcome upon arrival at the Varanasi Cantt. Railway Station.
• During their stay, they will also visit Prayagraj and Ayodhya.
• Six more groups comprising Teachers (Yamuna), Professionals (Godavari), Spiritual (Saraswati), Farmers and Artisans (Narmada), Writers (Sindhu) and Traders and Businessmen (Kaveri) will be reaching Kashi to participate in the Sangamam during the event.
• The Ministry of Education, Government of India, is the nodal agency for this event with participation from the Ministries of Culture, Tourism, Railways, Textiles, Food Processing (ODOP), MSME, Information & Broadcasting, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, IRCTC and related departments of Government of Uttar Pradesh.

Unnati Foundation : First Entity To List On The Social Stock Exchanges

• Unnati Foundation became the first entity to list on the social stock exchanges (SSE).
• SUF is a not-for-profit organisation (NPO) incorporated in 2011 that has trained over 45,000 youth.
• The entity had raised ₹1.8 crore from Zerodha, Nabard, Govind Iyer, and Ashish Kacholia during its fundraising period between October 30 and November 22.
• On listing, the Zero Coupon Zero Principal (ZCZP) instruments with a face value of ₹1 each will get credited into the demat accounts of the respective donors.
• The value of the instrument for the donor will become zero at the end of one year when SUF’s project is completed.
• The SEBI board recently approved halving the minimum is sue size of ZCZPs by NPOs on SSEs to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 1 crore.
• The minimum application size will be reduced to ₹10,000 from ₹2 lakh to enable wider participation.
• More NPOs will be made eligible for registration and fund-raising through the issuance and listing of ZCZPs on SSEs.
• Social Stock Exchange functions as a separate segment within the existing stock exchange and help social enterprises raise funds from the public through its mechanism.
• Any social enterprise, Non-Profit Organisation (NOPs) or For-Profit Social Enterprises (FPEs), that establishes its primacy of social intent can get registered or listed on the Social Stock Exchange segment.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Retail inflation rises to 5.55% in November

• Retail inflation increased to the three-month high level of 5.55% in November 2023, mostly due to increasing food prices.
• October saw 4.87 per cent retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
• After reaching 6.83 percent in August, inflation has been decreasing.
• Inflation in rural areas was higher at 5.85% than price increases in urban areas (5.3%).
• The National Statistical Office calculates inflation rates for 22 major States, and in November, Odisha had the highest rate of 7.65%, followed by Rajasthan at 7% and Haryana at 6.8%.
• The least increase in prices was recorded in Delhi (with 3.1% inflation), Chhatisgarh (3.56%), and the former State of Jammu & Kashmir (3.8%).
• In eight states, the rate of inflation exceeded the central bank's tolerance limit of 6%.
• The only other significant State to see inflation above the 5.55% national average was Uttar Pradesh, with 5.56%.
• The Reserve Bank of India has been tasked by the government to ensure retail inflation remains at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
• In the monetary policy announced last week, the RBI projected the CPI inflation at 5.4 per cent for 2023-24, with a reading of 5.6 per cent in the third quarter and 5.2 per cent in the last quarter.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Javed Akhtar to be felicitated with Padmapani Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival

• Veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar will be honoured with the Padmapani Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival.
• The award ceremony will take place at Rukmini Auditorium in the MGM University campus.
• The Padmapani Award selection committee comprises Girish Kasarvall, Ashok Vajpeyi, Latika Padgaonkar, Ashok Rane and Chandrakant Kulkarni.
• Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival is to showcase the best of film produced recently and in the past.
• It is organized by Marathwada Art Culture and Film Foundation.
• It will be organized by 3rd-7th January, 2024.
• It is a platform to encourage aspiring filmmakers, technicians, artists and young film enthusiasts.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Khelo India Games to be held in Tamil Nadu in January 2024

• Khelo India Games will be held in Tamil Nadu in January 2024.
• The State Government said that the games will be held in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy from 19th to 31st January, 2024.
• More than 5,500 sports persons and over 1,600 coaches are expected to participate in the event. More than 1000 referees and 1200 volunteers will be part of the sporting event in which 27 types of sport will be played.
• For the first time, squash will be included in Khelo India games.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Minorities Rights Day in India: 18th December

• Minorities Rights Day 2023 is observed on the 18th of December 2023.
• Minorities Rights Day was first observed on December 18th, 1992 by the United Nations.
• The UN adopted the statement on the individual Rights belonging to religious or Linguistic National or Ethnic Minorities.
• In India, it is the responsibility of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to carry out the events on this day.
• The NCM was established by the Union Government under the National Commission for Minorities Act, in 1992.

International Migrants Day: 18th December

• International Migrants Day 2023 is observed on the 18th of December 2023.
• Although the day was established in 2000, it has been observed since 1997 that several Asian migrant organizations designated December 18 as the day to advocate for the respect, rights, and protection of migrants.
• On account of the ever-increasing number of migrants around the world, on December 4, 2000, the United Nations General Assembly declared December 18 as the day for International Migrants
• Goals connected to migration are included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations.
• Among them is education access, which will result in improved prospects and a higher standard of living.

Daily CA One- Liner: December 17 & 18

• India and ADB have signed a $200 million loan agreement with the Uttarakhand government.
• The weighted average cut-off yield of State Government Security issuances increased to 7.71% as per the RBI report.
• SBI signed a 70 million euro (approximately Rs 630 crore) Line of Credit (LoC) with KfW
• PNB Housing Finance, the third largest housing finance company in India, announced that it has achieved a loan book size of Rs 1,000 crore in the affordable housing segment
• YES Bank has invited expressions of interest (EoI) for the proposed sale of NPAs worth ₹4,234 crore
• A total of 10 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have transferred Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) of over Rs 11,617 crore to NARCL between January and November this year
• The second phase of Kashi Tamil Sangamam will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the Namo Ghat, Varanasi, UP
• Unnati Foundation became the first entity to list on the social stock exchanges (SSE).
• Retail inflation increased to the three-month high level of 5.55% in November 2023, mostly due to increasing food prices
• Veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar will be honoured with the Padmapani Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ajanta-Ellora Film Festival.
• Khelo India Games will be held in Tamil Nadu in January 2024.
• Minorities Rights Day 2023 is observed on the 18th of December 2023
• International Migrants Day 2023 is observed on the 18th of December 2023