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CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

SBI launches BHIM SBIPay for Singapore-India transfer after UPI-PayNow linkage

• State Bank of India (SBI) integrated its mobile application BHIM SBIPay, with UPI-PayNow linkage facilitating fund transfers from India to Singapore through registered mobile numbers and from Singapore to India using UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID.

What is UPI?

• UPI is India’s mobile-based fast payment system.
• Money can be sent or requested using a user-created Virtual Payment Address (VPA) or UPI ID for each bank account using the KYC-linked mobile number.

What is PayNow?

• PayNow is a fast payment system in Singapore.
• It enables peer-to-peer funds transfer service, available to retail customers through participating banks and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NFIs) in Singapore.

About UPI-PayNow linkage : 

• UPI-PayNow linkage is a linkage between the fast payment system of India(UPI) & Singapore (PayNow).
• It will enable users of the two fast payment systems in either country to make convenient, safe, instant, and cost-effective cross-border fund transfers using their respective mobile apps.
• Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, launched the real-time payments system linkage between India and Singapore on February 21, 2023.
• It is a significant milestone towards the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore.

Key Features : 

• The customers will be able to transfer money from India to Singapore, or vice-versa, by using their UPI ID.
• The receiver will get the money in the local currency, and as per the real-time exchange rate calculation.
• The maximum daily limit is $1,000 Singapore Dollars, or equivalent to around 60,000 INR.
• To use this facility, customers must navigate to the ‘Foreign Outward Remittance’ tab on the BHIM SBI Pay app.
• Other than SBI, Indian Bank, ICICI Bank, and Indian Overseas Bank have been roped in for inward and outward remittances while Axis Bank and DBS India will facilitate inward remittances only.
• The inward bilateral remittance between Singapore and India is about $949 million as of 2021 (according to World Bank Bilateral Remittance Matrix December 2022).

About SBI : 

• Founded: 1 July 1955
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairperson: Dinesh Kumar Khara

HDFC Bank Partners with Lulu Exchange to facilitate cross-border payments between India and GCC region  

• India-based private sector bank, HDFC Bank, and the UAE-based financial services company, Lulu Exchange, have signed an agreement to strengthen cross-border payments between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
• Under the partnership, a digital inward remittance service titled ‘RemitNow2India’ will be launched.
• ‘RemitNow2India’ will allow UAE residents to send money to any Indian bank account via Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) through HDFC Bank’s digital banking channels.
• Further, the two entities will leverage their collective regulatory technology and service network to extend the collaboration through various online and offline initiatives
• The collaboration is expected to strengthen the relationship between HDFC bank and Lulu Exchange in India.

About LuLu Exchange :

• LuLu Exchange is a UAE-based financial services company.
• Currently, the LuLu Financial Group operates the LuLu Forex and LuLu Finserv, a non-banking financial company (NBFC) division.

About HDFC Bank : 

• Founded: August 1994
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• CEO : Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Tagline: We Understand Your World

Central Bank of India partners with Moneywise Financial Services Pvt Ltd to offer MSME loans

• State-owned Central Bank of India (CBI) entered into a strategic Co-Lending Partnership with Moneywise Financial Services Private Limited (MFSPL) to offer micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) loans at competitive rates

About the Partnership : 

• As part of the partnership, Moneywise Financial Services will process MSME loan proposals as per jointly decided credit parameters and eligibility criteria.
• CBI will take into its books 80% of the MSME loans under mutually agreed terms.

About Central Bank of India : 

• Founded: 21 December 1911
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Matam Venkata Rao
• CBI is an Indian public-sector bank

About MFSPL :

• MFSPL is an RBI-regulated non banking financial company focused on MSME Lending.

Kotak Mahindra Bank launched its corporate digital banking portal ‘Kotak fyn’

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched ‘Kotak fyn’, an integrated digital platform for business banking and corporate clients, offering digital banking and value-added services across all products, including trade and services, account services, payments, and collections. 

About ‘Kotak fyn’ : 

• “Kotak fyn’s single platform reduces complexity and friction for customers.
• The portal will assure paperless transactions and will offer the facility to unify data across multiple product-specific portals and back-office systems to create a single view of transactions, positions, and balances, enabling self-service and driving operational efficiency.
• It eliminates the need for multiple logins and disparate user interfaces, making all trade and service transactions seamless and convenient for customers.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank : 

• Founded: 1985
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Uday Kotak
• Tagline: Let’s Make Money Simple

Saraswat Bank partners with Tagit to deploy omnichannel banking  

• Saraswat Bank has partnered with Singapore-based digital banking solutions provider Tagit to implement omnichannel digital banking solutions for its retail and corporate customers.

Key Highlights : 

• Under the agreement, the bank will use Tagit’s Mobeix Digital Banking platform to enhance customer experience by offering a comprehensive set of digital services securely, anytime, anywhere.
• The Mobeix platform will provide the bank’s retail and business banking customers with seamless orchestration of services across mobile and web, comprehensive features, outstanding UX, and robust security.
• This will increase the market reach, faster time-to-market, and enhance customer engagement.

About Saraswat Bank : 

• Founded: 14 September 1918
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman: Gautam Thakur
• Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd. is an urban cooperative banking institution

About Tagit : 

• Headquarters: Singapore

Chief Executive: Sandeep Bagaria

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

The term of the 22nd Law Commission was extended till August 2024

• Union Cabinet has extended the term of the 22nd Law Commission of India up to August 31, 2024.
• The composition of the 22nd Law Commission will remain the same.
• It will have a full-time Chairperson, four full-time Members (including Member-Secretary), and a Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs as ex-officio Member.
• It will also have Secretary, Legislative Department as ex officio Member, and not more than five part-time members.
• The 22nd Law Commission was constituted for three years on February 21, 2020.
• Its chairperson, Justice Rituraj Awasthi (retd), took office on November 9, 2022.

About Law Commission of India

• The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body.
• It is constituted by the Government of India from time to time.
• It was originally constituted in 1955.
• The 21st Law Commission was headed by former Supreme Court Judge Justice BS Chauhan.

Govt approves five-year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K"

• The government approved a five-year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K".
• The main aim of the project is to empower farmers and educated youth through technology and inclusive agri-extension services.
• Under this project, two thousand Kissan Khidmat Ghars (KKGs) will be formed at the Panchayat level.
• Kissan Khidmat Ghars will act as One Stop Centre for providing farmer-oriented services related to agriculture and allied sectors.
• The project aims to promote sustainable and profitable agriculture with the increase of agriculture share in GDP.
• Business orientation centers at Sher-E- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) will be also established under this project.
• Business orientation centers will help in solving real-time problems through cyber extension and communication systems.
• A strong MIS system will be also created to maintain transparency and accountability in service delivery and sharing of information.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

SBI pegs India’s Q3 GDP growth at 4.6 percent

• In the SBI research report titled Ecowrap, India’s GDP growth for Q3 FY23 is estimated at 4.6%.
• This estimate is higher than NSO and RBI’s growth projection of 4.4%, but lower than Ind-Ra’s estimate of around 5%.
• This estimate is based on an in-house SBI Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model.
• The National Statistical Office (NSO) will release the actual number on February 28.
• India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.7% and 5.4% in Q3 FY21 and Q3 FY22, respectively.
• GDP Growth for Q1 and Q2 of the current fiscal has been kept at 13.5% and 6.3%, respectively.
• ANN is a computational network model. SBI ANN model has been developed with 30 high-frequency indicators.

India steel imports from Russia rise to an eight-year high in April-Jan

• India’s steel imports from Russia reached an eight-year high level in April-January of FY23.
• India imported 281,000 tonnes of steel from Russia between April and January.
• This was nearly five times higher than the same period a year ago.
• Russia was India's 4th biggest steel supplier from April to January.
• It emerged as one of the top five steel exporters to India for the first time since the 2016-17 fiscal year.
• Russia displaced Japan as the second-largest supplier of hot-rolled coil (HRC) to India for the first time in eight years.
• India is the world's second-largest crude steel producer.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Former Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen set to become chairman of SAP

• The Germany-headquartered global enterprise software company, SAP has proposed an Indian-American businessman Punit Renjen, as its next chairman
• He will succeed as Founder and Chairman of SAP Hasso Plattner, whose term will expire in May 2024. 

About Punit Renjen : 

• Renjen served as the global CEO of Deloitte Global from 2015 until December 2022.
• Under his leadership, Deloitte's revenue witnessed a jump from $35 billion to more than $59 billion in 7 years.

About SAP : 

• Founded: 1972
• Headquarters :  Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• CEO : Christian Klein

Aam Aadmi Party's Shelly Oberoi wins Delhi Mayor elections & Aaley Mohammad Iqbal Elected as Deputy Mayor

• Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Shelly Oberoi won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Mayor elections. 
• She defeated Rekha Gupta, the nominated candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• She received 150 votes while Rekha Gupta received 116 votes.
• Shelly Oberoi became the city's first woman mayor in 10 years.
• Meanwhile, the AAP’s Aaley Mohammad Iqbal was elected as deputy mayor and got 147 votes in the elections, while BJP's Kamal Bagri received 116 votes.
• Shelly Oberoi was elected from Patel Nagar's Ward Number 86.
• The election was held after the Supreme Court ruled out the possibility of nominated members participating in the voting process.

Dhanlaxmi Bank appoints Ms Vardhini Kalyanaraman as Additional Director  

• Ms. Vardhini Kalyanaraman has been appointed as Additional Director (Independent Category) on the Board of Dhanlaxmi Bank.
• Presently she is a partner of the Chartered accountant firm M/s Chandran & aman.

About Dhanlaxmi Bank : 

• Founded: 14 November 1927
• Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala
• MD & CEO: Shivan J K

BharatPe Group appoints Aparna Kuppuswamy as Chief Risk Officer

• Fintech firm BharatPe Group has appointed Aparna Kuppuswamy as its Chief Risk Officer. 
• Amit Jain is currently the Chief Risk Officer of BharatPe.
• He will be working closely with Aparna and will be investing more of his time in collections.
• Before joining BharatPe, Kuppuswamy was the Chief Risk Officer at SBI Cards for over 14 years

About BharatPe : 

• Founded: 2018
• Founders: Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani
• CFO and interim CEO: Nalin Negi
• In 2018, it launched UPI interoperable QR code, the first zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) payment acceptance service.

ASSOCHAM appoints Sanjay Nayar as the new vice-president

• Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) has appointed global financial markets expert Sanjay Nayar as its new vice president.

About Sanjay Nayar : 

• Mr. Nayar is a senior finance professional in the Indian Private Equity and Banking landscape with nearly four decades of experience in the Global and Indian financial markets.
• Recently, he was also appointed as a non-official member of the Centre's Board of Trade, representing the private sector.
• Presently, he is the founder and chairman of the early-stage technology fund Sorin Investment Fund.

About ASSOCHAM : 

• Established: 1920
• Headquarters: New Delhi, India
• President : Sumant Sinha
• Secretary General: Deepak Sood
• ASSOCHAM is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO announces opportunities to analyze AstroSat

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) to allow scientists and researchers to analyze data from the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission, AstroSat.

Key Highlights : 

• The AO is open to scientists and researchers who are involved in research in the area of astronomy and who are equipped to submit proposals as Principal Investigators (PIs) for specific target observations.
• The observations will be carried out between October 2023 to September 2024.

What is AstroSat?

• It is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.

Aim : 

• To study celestial sources in X-ray, optical, and UV spectral bands simultaneously.

Objective : 

• To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes.
• Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars.
• Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy.
• Perform a limited deep-field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region.

• AstroSat, with a lift-off mass of 1515 kg, was launched by the Indian launch vehicle PSLV from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh(AP) on September 28, 2015, into a 650 km orbit inclined at an angle of 6 degrees to the equator.
• The spacecraft control center at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, manages the satellite during its entire mission life.
• The minimum useful life of the AstroSat mission is around 5 years.

About ISRO : 

• Founded: 15 August 1969
• Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
• Chairman: Sreedhara Somanath

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Sansad Ratna Awards- 2023

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India congratulated fellow Members of Parliament who will be conferred the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023.
• The Sansad Ratna Awards were instituted in 2010, inspired by the teachings of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who launched the first edition of the Award function in Chennai.
• The Jury Committee has chosen a total of 13 MPs and two parliamentary committees for the award, with a lifetime award being presented for the first 2023 awards.
• The jury committee of parliamentarians and civil society has made the selections of MPs, which has been chaired by junior parliamentary affairs minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and co-chaired by former chief election commissioner TS Krishnamurthy.
• The nominations were based on an MP’s cumulative performance in Parliament, from the beginning of the 17th Lok Sabha until the end of Winter Session 2022
• Factors that the decision is based on include questions asked, private members’ Bills introduced, debates initiated, attendance, funds utilized, etc.
• The performance data of the members have been sourced from information provided by PRS Legislative Research.
• In 2022, the Foundation and Presence created a new category called the "Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Lifetime Achievement Award" to recognize veteran leaders who have made significant contributions to Indian politics, society, and people.

Winners List:

• APJ Abdul Kalam Lifetime Achievement Award - Shri TK Rangarajan (Former Rajya Sabha MP and Senior CPIM Leader).
• Standing Committee Awardees - Finance committee from Lok Sabha- Chairman- Shri Jayant Sinha (BJP, Jharkhand)
• Tourism, Transport, and Culture committee from Rajya Sabah - Chairman- Shri Vijay Sai Reddy (YSR Congress, Andhra Pradesh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Cabinet approves Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana

• The signing of the Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana has been approved by Union Cabinet.
• This Agreement shall enter into force after the exchange of diplomatic notes between the Parties that each Party has completed the necessary internal procedures for the entry into force of this Agreement.
• There is a significant Indian presence in Guyana, and according to the 2012 census, the largest ethnic group constitutes about 40% of the population.
• The agreement with Guyana will enable a framework between the two countries for air services.
• Following developments such as the growing aviation market and liberalization of the aviation sector in India, air service agreements have been signed with several countries to pave the way for international air connectivity.
• The Air Services Agreement (ASA) provides a legal framework for air operations between two countries based on the principles of sovereignty of nations, nationality of carriers, and reciprocity in terms of commercial opportunities for the designated airlines.
• Currently, there is no Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the Government of India and the Government of Guyana.

About Guyana:

• Capital: Georgetown
• Currency: Guyanaese Dollar
• President: Irfaan Ali
• Prime minister: Mark Phillips

BEL signs MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries for LORA Weapon System

• Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has recently signed an MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the domestic manufacture and supply of its LORA Weapon System for the Indian Tri-services.
• LORA Weapon System is a sea-to-ground and ground-to-ground system that comprises a long-range ballistic missile, a unique launcher, a command and control system, and a ground/marine support system.
• It is developed by IAI’s Missiles & Space Group MALAM division.
• It provides ballistic assault capabilities for multiple ranges with a precision level of 10 meters CEP (circular error probable).
• The ballistic missile can be launched from both ground- and sea-based platforms.
• It has a range of 280 km.
• It is propelled by a single-stage, solid-fuel rocket motor.
• Its guidance system is based on both the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Inertial Navigation System (INS), with possible in-flight maneuvering capability.

About Israel:

• Capital: Jerusalem
• Currency: Israeli Shekel
• President: Isaac Herzog

Daily CA One-Liner: Feb 25

• Union Cabinet has extended the term of the 22nd Law Commission of India up to August 31, 2024.
• The government approved a five-year project on "Innovative Extension Approaches for Revitalising Agriculture in J&K
• GDP growth for Q3 FY23 is estimated at 4.6%.
• India’s steel imports from Russia reached an eight-year high level in April-January of FY23
• Recently, the Prime Minister of India congratulated fellow Members of Parliament who will be conferred the Sansad Ratna Awards 2023
• The signing of the Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana has been approved by Union Cabinet
• Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) has recently signed an MoU with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the domestic manufacture and supply of its LORA Weapon System for the Indian Tri-services.

• State Bank of India (SBI) integrated its mobile application BHIM SBIPay, with UPI-PayNow linkage facilitating fund transfers from India to Singapore through registered mobile numbers and from Singapore to India using UPI (Unified Payments Interface) ID.
• India-based private sector bank, HDFC Bank, and the UAE-based financial services company, Lulu Exchange, have signed an agreement to strengthen cross-border payments between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
• State-owned Central Bank of India (CBI) entered into a strategic Co-Lending Partnership with Moneywise Financial Services Private Limited (MFSPL) to offer micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) loans at competitive rates
• Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched ‘Kotak fyn’, an integrated digital platform for business banking and corporate clients, offering digital banking and value-added services across all products, including trade and services, account services, payments, and collections. 
• Saraswat Bank has partnered with Singapore-based digital banking solutions provider Tagit to implement omnichannel digital banking solutions for its retail and corporate customers.
• The Germany-headquartered global enterprise software company, SAP has proposed an Indian-American businessman Punit Renjen, as its next chairman
• Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Shelly Oberoi won the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Mayor elections. 
• Ms. Vardhini Kalyanaraman has been appointed as Additional Director (Independent Category) on the Board of Dhanlaxmi Bank.
• Fintech firm BharatPe Group has appointed Aparna Kuppuswamy as its Chief Risk Officer. 
• Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) has appointed global financial markets expert Sanjay Nayar as its new vice president.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) to allow scientists and researchers to analyze data from the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission, AstroSat.