SBI PO Mains Banking Awareness Quiz: 05th June

Markets regulator SEBI directed National Stock Exchange to pay more than Rs625 crore in the case of misuse of its co-location facility. SEBI has been probing alleged lapses in high-frequency trading offered through NSE’s co-location facility. The amount, if considered with simple interest, would come to little less than Rs1,000 crore. If it involves a compound interest, the fine could amount to around Rs1,300 crore.

Paytm has launched a recurring payment service for merchants that are working on a digital subscription model. The move will allow the subscription-based businesses to collect payments from their subscribers effortlessly.

Global card payments brand Mastercard has announced its plan of investing $1 billion in India operations over the period of next 5 years. About $350 million of the total amount would be invested in setting up a local payments processing center as per the Reserve Bank of India’s mandate to store all payments data locally.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) acquired British toy retailer ‘Hamleys’ in an all cash deal. RIL has acquired Hamleys in 67.96 million pounds (about Rs. 620 cr). With this announcement, Reliance will get hold of 100% shares of Hamleys Global Holdings Limited (HGHL).

BharatPe – India’s first Fintech start-up enabling payments for merchants through interoperable UPI QR codes, has announced its foray into merchant services with a new app. Along with UPI payments, the app now allows merchants to manage their entire Bahi Khata and even note receivables and payables seamlessly. UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface.

Digital payments company Paytm, in association with Citibank, launched its first credit card called Paytm First Card. Paytm First Card comes with unlimited cash back and will be accepted in India as well globally.

Bharti Airtel and HDFC Life Insurance have tied up to offer life cover for customers who get a prepaid recharge done. Airtel’s new Rs249-prepaid bundle (which will include 2 GB data, unlimited calls across networks, and 100 SMSes per day) will also offer a cover worth Rs4 lakh from HDFC Life.

Housing finance major HDFC Limited has partnered with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to offer a mortgage-guaranteed home loan product. The partnership aims to make it possible for HDFC to further penetrate the home loan market and access an enlarged customer base, helping them to own a home of their choice. This product will help HDFC to offer more loan to a home loan customer on enhanced eligibility.

State-run telco BSNL has announced that it has joined hands with internet major Google to expand its WiFi footprint across the country. The new initiative will help the customers to use BSNL high-speed internet services on WiFi. Google has previously completed the rollout of RailWAccording to an Analysys Mason study, public Wi-Fi will connect 40 million new users to the internet by 2019.

Leading stock exchange BSE has launched ‘BSE StAR MF’ app to enable more participation and help mutual fund distributors process transactions faster. BSE MD & CEO: Ashish Chauhan.

HDFC Capital Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd, launched a new initiative called ‘HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Program (HeART). It aims to mentor, partner and invest in real estate technology companies that drive innovation and efficiencies within the affordable housing ecosystem. Deepak Parekh is the Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation, India's leading housing finance company.

NITI Aayog has circulated a cabinet note to provide Rs 7,500 crore for the establishment of AIRAWAT, a cloud computing platform along with research institutes. This is part of the policy think tank’s proposal to create an institutional framework for artificial intelligence (AI) in the country. Niti Aayog would present the cabinet note to the new government as they want an institutional framework as well as a transparent policy in place for AI.

After the Reserve Bank of India released a draft framework for setting up a regulatory sandbox (RS) for fintech players in the counter, the market and insurance regulators SEBI and IRDAI have also launched similar initiatives. RS is an infrastructure that helps fintech players live test their products or solutions, before getting the necessary regulatory approvals for a mass launch. It saves start-ups time and cost. For the IRDAI sandbox, an applicant should have a net worth of Rs 10 lakh and a proven financial record of at least one year.

Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).

The Reserve Bank of India has appointed its former Deputy Governor, R Gandhi, on the board of private sector lender YES Bank as an additional director.
The appointment has been done in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 36AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The RBI has the power to appoint additional directors on the board of a bank if it feels it is in the interest of the banking company or its depositors.