Kapil Kathpal

RBI Partially Relaxes Restrictions on SBM Bank India

• The Reserve Bank of India has partially relaxed the restrictions it had imposed
on SBM Bank (India) Limited with regard to transactions made under the
Liberalised Remittances Scheme (LRS).

• It has partially relaxed the restrictions by permitting Automated Teller Machine

(ATM) and Point-of- Sale (POS) transactions under LRS via Know Your
Customer (KYC) -compliant internationally active debit cards issued by the
bank.

• The relaxation will be effective till March 15, 2023 or till a further order by the
RBI.

• On January 23, 2023, the RBI issued a directive to “SBM Bank India” directing
it to immediately stop all transactions under the LRS until further orders in
accordance with sections 35A and 36(1)(a) of the Banking Regulation Act,
1949.

• This move was taken in response to material supervisory concerns observed

in the bank.

• MD & CEO – Sidharth Rath

• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
 Kapil Kathpal

Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS):

• The Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the RBI was

launched in 2004, with an initial ceiling of USD 25,000.

• The LRS limit has been gradually revised to align with the current
macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions.

• The scheme allows all residents, including minors, to freely remit

up to USD 250,000 each fiscal year for any permitted current or
capital account transaction, or combination of both.
 Kapil Kathpal
RBI’s Digital Payments Index for September 2022
• The Reserve Bank of India– Digital Payments Index, a measure of
the extent of digitisation of payments across the country for
September 2022 increased to 377.46 as against 349.30 in March
2022 and 304.06 in September 2021.

• As per the index, Digital payments across the country registered a

growth of 24.13 % in a year.

• On January 1, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced

the RBI-Digital Payments Index (DPI) to measure the growth in
digital or cashless transactions across the country.

• For the index, the RBI has set the base year 2018, i.e. DPI score
for March 2018 is set at 100. Since March 2021, RBI was
publishing DPI on a semi-annual basis with a lag of four months.
 Kapil Kathpal

5 Parameters of RBI-DPI:
• Payment Enablers (25%)
• Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors (10%)
• Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15%)
• Payment Performance (45%)
• Consumer Centricity (5%)

Period RBI – DPI Index

March 2018 (Base) 100
March 2021 270.59
September 2021 304.06
March 2022 349.3
September 2022 377.46
 Kapil Kathpal
Maharashtra recognised ‘Jai Jai
Maharashtra Majha’ as State Song
• The Cabinet of Maharashtra, headed by Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde, decided to recognise ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha’, penned by
Raja Badhe and sung by balladeer Krishnarao Ganpatrao Sable
(popularly known as Shahir Sable), as the state song of Maharashtra.

• With this, Maharashtra becomes the 12th Indian state to have a state
song.

• The iconic Marathi song “Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha” which means
“glory to Maharashtra” and also referred to as ‘Maharashtra Geet’ was
composed by well-known musician Shrinivas Khale.

• The song will be adopted on 19th February 2023, the birth

anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the
Maratha Empire.

• The song will be sung on Maharashtra Foundation Day on May 1 after

the national anthem
 Kapil Kathpal
Punjab Policy on Groundwater Usage
• In June 2022, the Central Ground Water Board reported the
groundwater (in the first 100m reach) of Punjab will be exhausted
by 2029.

• In 2039, the groundwater (in 300m reach) will be exhausted.

Following this Punjab Water Regulation and Development
Authority notified directions.

• They were called the Groundwater Extraction and Conservation

Directions, 2023.

• According to these directions, the Punjab Government is to charge

people and firms extracting groundwater. The charges do not
apply to people using groundwater for domestic purposes,
agriculture, military, and other government bodies.
 Kapil Kathpal
Nagaland Govt and Patanjali Foods
Ltd. sign MoU on Palm Oil Cultivation
• Nagaland Government and Patanjali Foods
Limited signed a Memorandum of
Understanding for development and area
expansion under oil palm cultivation and
processing in Nagaland under the National
Mission on Edible Oil- Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
 Kapil Kathpal
V Ramachandra appointed by RBI as member
of Advisory Committee of SIFL, SEFL
• V Ramachandra, a former chief general officer of Canara Bank, was
appointed by the Reserve Bank to the advisory committees of Srei
Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited
(SEFL).

• The RBI had created a three-member advisory council to support the

administrator of the two crisis-ridden enterprises after replacing the
boards of SIFL and SEFL in October 2021.

• Venkat Nageshwar Chalasani, a former deputy managing director at the

State Bank of India, and T. Srinivasaraghavan, a former managing
director at Sundaram Finance Limited, make up the other two members of
the committee.

• Srei Group, which primarily serves the infrastructure and MSME sectors,
owes over Rs 18,000 crore to approximately 15 lenders, including Axis
Bank, UCO Bank, and State Bank of India, in addition to nearly Rs 10,000
crore in bonds and borrowings from other countries
 Kapil Kathpal
Babita Phogat joins Oversight
Committee panel formed against WFI
• Babita Phogat, a former wrestler, joined the oversight committee
established to look into the claims made against the Wrestling Federation
of India.

• The Oversight Committee is also looking into claims of sexual

misbehaviour, harassment, and/or intimidation, as well as financial and
organisational irregularities

• The committee was established during the IOA’s emergency Executive

Council meeting earlier this month

• Babita Phogat now becomes the 6th member of the Oversight Committee,
being headed by Khel Ratna Awardee MC Mary Kom, Chairperson,
Athletes Commission, Khel Ratna Awardee Yogeshwar Dutt, executive
council member, IOA , Dhyanchand awardee Trupti Murgunde, member
Mission Olympic Cell, Radhica Sreeman, Ex-Executive Director, TEAMS,
Sports Authority of India, and Crd (Retd) Rajesh Rajagopalan, Ex-CEO,
Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
 Kapil Kathpal
Mahila Samman Bachat Patra
• The scheme is called Mahila Samman Saving Certificate Scheme
is English. It was announced by the Finance Minister during the
budget presentation in Parliament.

• Under the scheme, the GoI will offer a Savings Certificate. The
certificates are to be issued till 2025.

• The scheme is for women and girls.

• They can get a deposit security of two lakh rupees using this
certificate.

• The interest rate is 7.5%.

• You will receive the invested amount only at the end of its maturity
period, along with interest.
 Kapil Kathpal
NAMASTE (National Action Plan for
Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) scheme
• In the Union Budget 2023, the Government of India
allocated Rs 100 crores for the NAMASTE scheme.

• With this, the GoI aims to mechanize septic tank

cleaning and sewer cleaning in towns and cities.

• The scheme aims to provide an alternate livelihood to

sanitation workers. In addition, NAMASTE will strive to
bring behavioral changes to them.

• In phase 1, 500 cities are taken. GoI is planning on

choosing AMRUT cities first. Also, the first target will be
cities whose population is more than one lakh. Ten
cities from islands, hilly regions, and tourist
destinations will be picked.
 Kapil Kathpal
IAF’s Exercise Poorvi Akash
held in Northeastern Region
• The IAF has started its annual mega exercise ‘Poorvi
Aakash’ in the northeastern region to check its combat
preparedness.

• The mega air drill which is being held after a gap of two
years due to COVID-19.

• The IAF’s frontline fighter jets including the Rafale and

Su-30MKI aircraft, and other assets deployed in the
region are engaged in the exercise. Indian Air Force (IAF):
• Chief of the Air Staff– Air
Chief Marshal Vivek Ram
• The Shillong-headquartered Eastern Air Command is Chaudhari
carrying out the exercise. • Headquarters– New Delh
 Kapil Kathpal
DRDO Develops Unfurlable Antenna for Space Radar
• Electronics and Radar Development Establishment, the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)’s lab based in
Bengaluru has developed an UnFurlable Reflector Antenna, one of
the major subsystems of radar.

• LRDE was involved in the development of space-borne imaging

radar, consisting of electronic radar subsystems and antenna
deployment mechanisms, for installation on satellites.

Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE):

• Director– P Radhakrishna
• Location– Bengaluru
 Kapil Kathpal
‘Me-Dam-Me-Phi’ Festival 2023
• Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
& Minister of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani,
Siddha and Homeopathy), hosted “Me-Dam-Me-Phi”, a festival of
Assam’s Tai Ahom community to worship and pay respect to the
ancestors in New Delhi

• The Me-Dam-Me-Phi festival is annually observed across Assam

on January 31.

• The meaning of ‘Me’ means offerings, ‘Dam’ means ancestors,

and ‘Phi’ means God.

• During the festival, worship is offered in the name of three gods

namely Grihadam, Dam Changphi, and Me Dam Me Phi.
 Kapil Kathpal
India UK Achievers Honours 2023: Former PM Manmohan
Singh honoured with Lifetime Achievement Honour
• Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India was honoured with the
Lifetime Achievement Honour at the 2023 edition of the prestigious India-
United Kingdom (UK) Achievers Honours, a first-of-its-kind celebration of the
UK’s Indian alumni, held in London for his contribution to economic and
political life.

• British Indian peer Lord Karan Bilimoria received the Living Legend Honour.

• Virendra Sharma MP from Ealing Southall, who chairs the Indo-British All
Party Parliamentary Group, was also bestowed with the Living Legend
Honour.

• The India-UK Achievers Honours was organised by the National Indian

Students and Alumni Union UK (NISAU UK) in partnership with the British
Council in India and supported by the UK Government’s Department for
International Trade and the UK Higher Education Sector.

• The India UK Achievers Honours honoured 75 Indian UK students and alumni

who have made significant contributions to their field and society.

• 75 Young Achievers, 8 Outstanding Achievers and 2 Living Legends and a

Lifetime Achievement award were recognised.
 Kapil Kathpal

• Dr Manmohan SinghiIn 1971 joined the Government of India as an

Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce. He was appointed
as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972.

• He has occupied positions like Governor of the Reserve Bank of

India

• He served as PM of India for two terms from 2004 to 2014.

• He has authored several books, which include, Untold Story of

Arvind Kejriwal: Story of a Common man, India’s Export Trends
and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth, Collateral and Financial
Plumbing, and Changing India.

• In 1987, he was conferred with Padma Vibhushan from

Government of India in the field of Civil Service.
 Kapil Kathpal
India invited as Theme country of
Madrid International Book Fair in 2025
• Jose Maria Ridao, the Ambassador of Spain, announced that India
will be invited as the focal country at the Madrid International Book
Fair in 2025 in Madrid, Spain.

• The announcement was made during the event held at the Spain
Pavilion at the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF 2023) at
Salt Lake, Kolkata

• Spain is the theme country of the 46th International Kolkata Book

Fair

• A football dictionary of Spanish to Bengali is announced to be

launched at the Kolkata Book Fair, containing terms and phrases
used in the Spanish league.
 Kapil Kathpal
Equatorial Guinea appoints Manuela
Roka Botey as first female PM

• Equatorial Guinea has appointed Manuela Roka Botey

as prime minister. She became the first woman in the
country to hold the position. President Teodoro Obiang
Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled the country since
1979, made the announcement

• She replaces former premier Francisco Pascual

Obama Asue, who has been in the position since 2016.

• Capital:Malabo;
• Currency: Central African CFA franc.
 Kapil Kathpal
Pakistan’s Inflation Rises To 48 Year
High as IMF Officials Visit For Talk
• Inflation has risen to a 48-year high in crisis-hit Pakistan, where
the International Monetary Fund is visiting for urgent talks.

• Year-on-year inflation in January 2023 was recorded at 27.55

percent, the highest since May 1975

• Food prices rose by a staggering 43 percent in January year-on-

year. The inflation rate in Pakistan averaged 8.05 per cent from
1957 until 2023, reaching an all-time high of 37.8 per cent in
December 1973 and a record low of minus 10.32 per cent in
February 1959.
 Kapil Kathpal
UNESCO listed Ukraine’s Odesa
a World Heritage Site in Danger
• The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, designated
the historic center of Odesa as a World Heritage Site and
categorized it as being “in danger” during a committee meeting in
Paris.

• By placing the city on the UNESCO list, Russia will be under more
pressure to stop from invading Odesa, and the city will have better
access to funding and technical support.

• Since the start of the Russian invasion, at least 236 cultural sites
in Ukraine, including temples, museums, monuments, and
libraries, have suffered damage, according to the agency.
 Kapil Kathpal
World Wetlands Day - 2nd February
• World Wetlands Day is celebrated annually on 2nd February. The
day is observed to create awareness among people about the
importance of wetlands and different ways to restore their rapid
loss and degradation. The day is aimed at highlighting the vital
role wetlands play in maintaining biodiversity and supporting
human well-being.

• The theme for this year’s World Wetlands Day is ‘It’s Time for
Wetlands Restoration.

• On 2 February 1971, Convention on Wetlands was accepted as an

International Treaty in Ramsar, Iran.

• On 30 August 2021, UN General Assembly adopted resolution for

World Wetlands Day.