RBI announces its bi-monthly monetary policy
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced its bi<1>monthly monetary policy. This is the seventh time in a row that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has maintained the status quo. RBI had last revised its policy rate on May 22, 2020, in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting the interest rate to a historic low. The meeting was held between August 4 and 6.
The remaining will take place in October (6 to 8); December (6 to 8) and February (7 to 9, 2022)
The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rates remain unchanged:
• Policy Repo Rate: 4.00%
• Reverse Repo Rate: 3.35%
• Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 4.25%
• Bank Rate: 4.25%
• CRR: 4%
• SLR: 18.00%
RBI Monetary Policy Highlights & Key Decisions:
• RBI keeps the GDP growth forecast for FY22 unchanged at 9.5%.
• RBI to conduct two more auctions of ₹25,000 crores each on August 12 and August 26 under the G-sec Acquisition Programme (GSAP).
• CPI inflation is projected at 5.7 % during 2021-22 – this consists of 5.9% in Q2, 5.3% in Q3 and 5.8% in Q4 of 2021-22 with risks broadly balanced. CPI inflation for the first quarter of 2022-23 is projected at 5.1%.
Seven Indian companies have found a place in 2021 Fortune’s Global 500 list. The Fortune Global 500 is an annual ranking of the top 500 enterprises globally, as measured by business revenues. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd is the highest-ranked Indian company on the list in terms of revenue, with revenues of nearly $63 billion. It is placed at 155th spot globally.
Globally, Walmart has topped the list in terms of revenue for the eighth consecutive year and the 16th time since 1995. China has dominated this years list for the highest number of companies featuring in the list at 143, including those from Taiwan. This is followed by
the U.S. with 122, and Japan with a total of 53, respectively.
Indian Companies in the list:
• Reliance Industries (155)
• State Bank of India (205)
• Indian Oil (212)
• Oil & Natural Gas (243)
• Rajesh Exports (348)
• Tata Motors (357)
• Bharat Petroleum (394)
The Reserve Bank of India has introduced the Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index), which is a
measure of the extent of financial inclusion in India. FI<1>Index incorporates the inclusion details of banking, investments, insurance, postal and pension sector in India. This was among the announcements made in the first bimonthly monetary policy in April this year.
Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index):
• The value of FI-Index will range between 0 to 100. Where 0 denotes complete financial exclusion while 100 denotes full financial inclusion.
• Parameters of FI-Index: The FI-Index comprises of three parameters, namely- Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%) with each of these consisting of various dimensions, which are computed based on a number of indicators. In total there are 97 indicators.
• The annual FI-Index for the period ending March 2021 is 53.9 while for the period ending March 2017 it is 43.4. RBI will release the FI-Index in the month of July every year. There is no base year for this Index.
Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled the fourth edition of the Public Sector Bank (PSB) Reforms Agenda ‘EASE 4.0’ for 2021-22. The major theme for EASE 4.0 is “Technology-enabled, simplified, and collaborative
banking.” EASE stands for Enhanced Access & Service Excellence (EASE).
What is the aim of EASE 4.0?
EASE 4.0 aims to further the agenda of customer-centric digital transformation and deeply embed digital and data into PSBs’ ways of working. EASE 4.0 sets the agenda and roadmap to transform all PSBs into digital<1>attacker banks working hand-in-hand with key
constituents of the financial services ecosystem to offer industry-best customer experience.
Important Initiatives under EASE 4.0:
• Smart Lending for Aspiring India
• New Age 24×7 banking with resilient technology
• Collaborative banking for synergistic outcomes
• Tech-enabled Ease of Banking
• Institutionalizing Prudent Banking
• Governance and Outcome Centric HR
Nine new judges, including three women, have been administered the oath of office as judges of the Supreme Court by Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana. The strength of the Supreme Court would go up to 33, including the CJI, out of the sanctioned strength of 34, after the swearing-in of the nine new judges. Three out of these nine new judges — Justice
Vikram Nath and Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice PS Narasimha — are in line to become the chief justice of India.
This is the first time that nine judges were sworn in together in the history of the top court. Traditionally, new judges take the oath of office in the CJI’s courtroom, but due to that Covid pandemic, the swearing-in ceremony would be held in the auditorium of the Supreme Court’s additional building complex.
Here are the names of nine new judges of the Supreme Court:
1. Justice Vikram Nath: Justice Nath, who was the chief justice of the Gujarat High Court, is in line to
become the CJI upon the retirement of sitting top court judge Justice Surya Kant in February 2027.
2. Justice BV Nagarathna: Justice Nagarathna was a judge of the Karnataka High Court. Justice
Nagarathna is in line to become the first woman CJI in September 2027.
3. Justice PS Narasimha: Justice Narasimha was a senior advocate and former additional solicitor
general. Justice Narasimha would succeed Justice Nagarathna as the CJI and would have a tenure of
over six months.
4. Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka: Justice Oka was the chief justice of the Karnataka High Court).
5. Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari: Justice Maheshwari was the chief justice of the Sikkim
High Court.
6. Justice Hima Kohli: Justice Kohli was the chief justice of the Telangana High Court
7. Justice CT Ravikumar: Justice Ravikumar was a judge of the Kerala High Court
8. Justice MM Sundresh: Justice Sundresh was a judge of the Madras High Court
9. Justice Bela M Trivedi: Justice Trivedi was a judge of the Gujarat High Court
• HDFC Bank has announced the introduction of ‘Green & Sustainable Deposits’ to safeguard the
environment from climate change. These fixed deposits will be directed towards financing green
and sustainable housing credit solutions and services.
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for July 2021 were ₹ 1.16 lakh crore, 33 per cent more than the corresponding period of last year. GST collections in July 2020 had stood at ₹ 87,422 crore,
while sequentially they had stood at ₹ 92,849 crores in June this year.
• The government has set the loans disbursement target under the PM Mudra Yojana (PMMY) at Rs
3 trillion for 2021-22 (FY22). This target is lower than the previous year. For FY21, the target was set
at Rs 3.21 trillion. Experts attribute the lower target to increased allocation under the credit guarantee scheme for small businesses.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the entry age for the National Pension System (NPS) from 65 years to 70 years. Earlier the eligible age to invest in NPS was 18-65 years which has now been revised to 18- 70 years. As per the revised norms, any Indian Citizen, resident or non-resident and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) between the age of 65-70 years can join NPS and continue or defer their NPS Account up to the age of 75 years.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the entry age for the National Pension System (NPS) from 65 years to 70 years. Earlier the eligible age to invest in NPS was 18-65 years which has now been revised to 18- 70 years. As per the revised norms, any Indian Citizen, resident or non-resident and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) between the age of 65-70 years can join NPS and continue or defer their NPS Account up to the age of 75 years.