Banking Awareness Questions for Canara Bank PO and IBPS Clerk | 06th December 2018

The Republic of Seychelles launched the world’s first Sovereign Blue Bond, a financial instrument designed to support sustainable marine and fisheries projects. The bond raised USD 15 million from international investors. The bond demonstrates the potential for countries to harness capital markets for financing the sustainable use of marine resources.

The Rs. 100-crore train is the first long-distance train, without a separate locomotive (engine).

India jumped 23 positions in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index 2019 and is now ranked 77 out of 190 countries in 2018, a development that could help the country attract more foreign investments. It was ranked 100 in 2017.

State Bank of India (SBI), in the sixth phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches. SBI is the only authorised bank to issue such bonds.

The Section 7 of the RBI Act empowers the Central Government to consult and give instructions to the Governor of the RBI to act on certain issues, that the government considers serious and in public interest.

HDFC Bank had announced that the RBI had approved the re-appointment of Aditya Puri as MD and CEO of the bank for another two years. Aditya Puri will now serve the office from November 1, 2018 to October 26, 2020.

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has acquired IDFC Infrastructure Finance (IDFC-IFL), an infrastructure debt fund. This acquisition is the first investment from NIIF’s strategic fund. The acquisition is subject to approval from RBI.

India has signed a $950 million contract with Russia for two upgraded Krivak III-class stealth frigates. A government-to-government contract was signed between India and United Shipbuilding Corporation of Russia last week for the supply of two stealth frigates.

The Fourth Dialogue of the NITI Aayog – Development Research Centre (DRC) of the State Council, Peoples’ Republic of China was held in Mumbai.

The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the conversion of decommissioned carrier INS Viraat into a floating museum. As per primary estimates, the project worth 852 crore rupees will be implemented through public-private-partnership (PPP).

Atul Kumar Goel assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (UCO) of UCO Bank. Prior to this assignment, he was executive director of Union Bank of India. Goel takes over from R K Takkar who completed his three-year tenure on November 1, 2018.

In a first for India, HSBC Holdings Plc has executed a trade finance transaction using blockchain for an export by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to US-based Tricon Energy. The blockchain-enabled letter of credit (LC) transaction substantially reduced the time taken for such deals.

The Reserve Bank of India has initiated the process to set up a digital Public Credit Registry (PCR) to capture all the details of borrowers, including wilful defaulters and also the pending legal suits in order to check financial delinquencies. The public credit registry will also include data from entities like market regulator SEBI, the corporate affairs ministry, Goods and Service Tax Network and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to enable the banks and financial institutions to get a 360-degree profile of existing and prospective borrowers on a real-time basis.

The Central and Andhra Pradesh governments and the World Bank have signed the loan agreement for a $172.20 million project to enhance agricultural productivity, profitability, and climate resilience of poor and marginalized farmers in Andhra Pradesh. The projects seek to ensure that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity. The Andhra Pradesh Integrated Irrigation and Agriculture Transformation Project (APIIATP) will be implemented in rural areas largely dependent upon rain-fed agriculture.

Unemployment rate in the country rose to 6.9% in October, the highest in two years, according to a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The estimated number of people employed during October 2018 was 397 million.