Daily Current Affairs September 16 2023 | Latest News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

RBI sets 30-day deadline for banks and NBFCs to release property documents after loan settlement

• Banks and NBFCs have been directed by RBI to release property documents within 30 days of settlement of loan account.
• These directions come under Reserve Bank of India’s responsible lending conduct for regulated entities.

Key Highlights

• All banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) have been asked to release all the original movable/immovable property documents.
• They have also been asked to remove charges registered with any registry within a period of 30 days after full repayment/settlement of the loan account.
• The borrower will be given option of collecting the documents from the banking outlet/branch where the loan account was serviced.
• The borrower will be given option of collecting the documents from any other office of the Regulated Entity where the documents are available, as per her / his preference.
• In case of delay in releasing of original movable/immovable property documents, the Regulated Entity shall communicate to the borrower reasons for such delay.
• If the Regulated Entity is to blame for the delay, it must pay the borrower compensation of 5,000 for each day of the delay.
• These directions will be applicable to all cases where the release of original movable/immovable property documents falls due on or after December 1, 2023.
• RBI now provides the borrower an option of collecting the original movable/immovable property documents either from the banking outlet/branch where the loan account was serviced or any other office of the RE where the documents are available, as per her / his preference.
• The timeline and place of return of original movable / immovable property documents will be mentioned in the loan sanction letters issued on or after the effective date.

Bank of Baroda Unveils Festive Campaign “BOB Ke Sang Tyohaar Ki Umang”

• Bank of Baroda announced the start of the “BOB Ke Sang Tyohaar Ki Umang” holiday campaign, which would last through December 31, 2023.
• The launch of 4 new savings accounts from Bank of Baroda, together with enticing interest rate promotions on loans for homes, cars, people, and education, are among the company’s festival offers.
• The Bank launched four new savings accounts — LITE Savings Account –
• a lifetime no minimum balance account;
• BRO Savings Account – a zero balance savings account for students (16 to 25 years);
• Parivar Account – a family savings account designed to meet the needs of the entire family and
• the NRI PowerPack Account.
• BoB also launched a recurring deposit scheme, a BOB SDP (Systematic Deposit Plan).
• Debadatta Chand, Managing Director & CEO

SEBI Imposes Rs21.5 Lakh Penalty on Reliance Home Finance, Top Executives for Non-disclosures, Concealing Adverse Information in Forensic Audit

• SEBI has imposed penalty of ₹15 lakh on Reliance Home Finance.
• The penalty has been imposed for violating LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirement) regulations and failure to disclose the adverse findings of a forensic report.
• A penalty of ₹2 lakh, ₹2.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh have been levied on Chief executive Ravindra Sharad Sudhalkar, company secretary and compliance officer Parul Jain and CFO Pinkesh Shah, respectively.
• In January 2020, Reliance Home Finance reported that there were no adverse findings in the forensic audit report carried out by Grant Thornton.
• However, it was later reported that he company had granted loans worth about ₹12,000 crore to a set of “potentially indirectly linked” borrowers.
• Earlier, on 6 February 2023, SEBI rejected the settlement application filed by these four.

World Bank praises India’s digital public infrastructure push

• World Bank has released findings included in it’s G20 document saying India has achieved financial inclusion targets in just 6 years which would otherwise have taken at least 47 long years.
• The policy document prepared by the World Bank, without Digital Payment Infrastructure (DPI) such as Jan Dhan Bank accounts, Aadhaar, and Mobile phones (the JAM trinity), India may have taken 47 years to achieve financial inclusion rate of 80% which the country has achieved in just six years.

Key Highlights

• The World Bank document highlighted that the India Stack exemplifies DPI approach by combining digital ID, interoperable payments, a digital credentials ledger, and account aggregation.
• The total value of UPI transactions last financial year was nearly 50% of India’s nominal GDP.
• “Banks’ costs of onboarding customers in India decreased from $23 to $0.1 with the use of DPI. As of March 2022, India did total savings of $33 billion, equivalent to nearly 1.14% of GDP, due to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• According to the report, since its launch, the number of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts opened tripled from 147.2 million in March 2015 to 462 million by June 2022.
• Out of these, women own 56% are the accountholders comprising more than 260 million.
• The report also mentioned how in the last decade, India built one of the world’s largest digital Government-to-People architectures leveraging DPI.
• The report also highlighted that the India Stack has digitised and simplified KYC procedures, lowering costs; banks that use e-KYC lowered their cost of compliance from $0.12 to $0.06.

About WB:

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founded: July 1944,
• President: Ajay Banga.

Yes Bank partners with Juspay to launch HyperUPI

• Yes Bank has partnered with Juspay to launch HyperUPI – NPCI’s plug-in service – that allows merchant apps to build in-app UPI payments.
• Merchants onboarded by Yes Bank can now offer their customers a one-click UPI experience without opening their UPI app.
• This plug-in software development kit (SDK) is built on a UPI-on-cloud stack, which also supports UPI payments for several consumer and merchant apps.
• The UPI plug-in SDK simplifies the payment experience by reducing the transaction journey to just a single click.
• This leads to an improvement in transaction speed and a success rate of over 90%.
• The HyperUPI supports advanced features like mandates (recurring payments) and third-party validation (TPV).
• It can be integrated easily into the merchant’s apps across various technical frameworks like React-Native, Flutter, and Cordova.
• Juspay was the first fintech to player to build the UPI PSP on the cloud, which has recorded an uptime of over 99.99% and the highest transactions per second (TPS) of 5,000.

IndusInd Bank launches ‘Virtual Commercial Credit Card’, empowering corporates and travel agents for hassle-free cross-border payments

• IndusInd Bank introduced the ‘Virtual Commercial Card’, for cross-border transactions for corporations and travel agents.
• Developed in collaboration with Visa and Juspay, this virtual card offers enhanced layers of security, allowing users to customise settings for each transaction.
• This level of control ensures a secure and seamless international payment experience.
• The ‘Virtual Commercial Credit Card’ meets the needs of businesses that conduct multiple bookings in various foreign currencies.

About IndusInd Bank

• IndusInd Bank Limited is an Indian financial services headquartered in Mumbai. IndusInd Bank was inaugurated in April 1994 by then Union Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.
• CEO: Sumant Kathpalia, Headquarters: Mumbai.

RBI releases list of 15 NBFCs in ‘upper layer’ under scale based regulations

• The Reserve Bank of India released a list of fifteen NBFCs figuring in the ‘upper layer’ under the scale based regulation for these lenders for the financial year 2024.
• LIC Housing Finance Limited ranked first on the list, followed by Bajaj Finance Limited on second and Shriram Finance Limited (formerly Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited) on third.
• TMF Business Services Limited (formerly Tata Motors Finance Limited) was not included in the list despite qualifying due to its ongoing business reorganisation.
• The other NBFCs that are on RBI’s 2023-24 list of NBFC-UL are HDB Financial Services, Aditya Birla Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, Muthoot Finance, L&T Finance, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, Tata Capital Financial Services, PNB Housing Finance, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Bajaj Housing Finance.

Key Highlights

• The RBI in October 2021 announced to put in place a four-layered regulatory structure for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to keep a stricter vigil on the shadow banking sector and minimise risks for the overall financial system.
• The detailed set of norms provides for a Scale Based Regulation (SBR) framework that takes into consideration capital requirements, governance standards, prudential regulation and other aspects of NBFCs.
• The framework categorises NBFCs in Base Layer (NBFC-BL), Middle Layer (NBFC-ML), Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and Top Layer (NBFC-TL).
• The upper layer comprises those NBFCs, which are specifically identified by the Reserve Bank as warranting enhanced regulatory requirements based on a set of parameters.
• The central bank’s decision to put in place a scale-based framework comes against the backdrop of the collapse of IL&FS in 2018 and later DHFL, which had a spillover impact on the entire financial system, especially in terms of liquidity woes.
• The Base Layer shall comprise of (a) non-deposit taking NBFCs below the asset size of ₹1000 crore and (b) NBFCs undertaking the following activities- (i) NBFC-Peer to Peer Lending Platform (NBFC-P2P), (ii) NBFC-Account Aggregator (NBFC-AA), (iii) Non-Operative Financial Holding Company (NOFHC) and (iv) NBFCs not availing public funds and not having any customer interface.
• The Middle Layer shall consist of (a) all deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-Ds), irrespective of asset size, (b) non-deposit taking NBFCs with asset size of ₹1000 crore and above and (c) NBFCs undertaking the following activities (i) Standalone Primary Dealers (SPDs), (ii) Infrastructure Debt Fund – Non-Banking Financial Companies (IDF-NBFCs), (iii) Core Investment Companies (CICs), (iv) Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) and (v) Infrastructure Finance Companies (NBFC-IFCs).
• The Upper Layer shall comprise of those NBFCs which are specifically identified by the Reserve Bank as warranting enhanced regulatory requirement based on a set of parameters and scoring methodology as provided in the Appendix to this circular. The top ten eligible NBFCs in terms of their asset size shall always reside in the upper layer, irrespective of any other factor.
• The Top Layer will ideally remain empty. This layer can get populated if the Reserve Bank is of the opinion that there is a substantial increase in the potential systemic risk from specific NBFCs in the Upper Layer. Such NBFCs shall move to the Top Layer from the Upper Layer.
• Regulatory minimum Net Owned Fund (NOF) for NBFC-ICC, NBFC-MFI and NBFC-Factors shall be increased to ₹10 crore by March 2027.
• The following glide path is provided for the existing NBFCs to achieve the NOF of ₹10 crore:
• However, for NBFC-P2P, NBFC-AA, and NBFCs with no public funds and no customer interface, the NOF shall continue to be ₹2 crore.
• Ceiling on IPO Funding – There shall be a ceiling of ₹1 crore per borrower for financing subscription to Initial Public Offer (IPO). NBFCs can fix more conservative limits.
• In order to enhance the quality of regulatory capital, NBFC-UL shall maintain Common Equity Tier 1 capital of at least 9 per cent of Risk Weighted Assets.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Govt relaxes domestic content requirement for solar cells under PM-KUSUM till March 2024

• The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has relaxed the domestic content requirement (DCR) norms for solar cells under Component C of the PM KUSUM scheme till March 2024.
• In August last year, the Ministry waived off domestic requirement norms for projects awarded on or before June 20, 2023.
• it has again received various representations regarding extension of DCR waiver for solar cells under Component C (FLS) owing to the ongoing bidding process.
• PM-KUSUM or the Pradhan Mantri Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan is a demand-driven scheme and, therefore, quantities or capacities are allocated under the three components of the scheme based on demand received from the states.

Key Highlights

• Component C under PM KUSUM is to achieve solarisation of 15 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps through individual pump solarisation (IPS) and feeder level solarisation (FLS).
• The beneficiaries under Component-C can be individual farmers, water user associations, primary agriculture credit societies and community or cluster-based irrigation systems.
• For agriculture feeder solarisation, central financial assistance (CFA) of ₹1.05 crore per MW is provided.
• There is no mandatory requirement of financial support from participating states. The feeder solarisation can be implemented in CAPEX or RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) mode.
• Besides, the CFA under Component C is 30 per cent of the benchmark cost or the tender cost, whichever is lower.
• State government subsidy is 30 per cent, and the remaining 40 per cent is to be paid by the farmer.
• As of July 2023, in Component C, the Centre has sanctioned 1,21,930 pumps under individual pump solarisation (IPS) of which 1,519 pumps have been installed.
• Under the feeder level solarisation (FLS) 22,05,279 pumps have been sanctioned, while no pump has been installed so far.
• Funds under the scheme are released based on progress of installation reported by the State Implementing Agencies (SIA) and provisions of the scheme guidelines.

About PM KUSUM

• PM KUSUM aims to add a solar capacity of 30,800 MW with total central financial support of ₹34,422 crore including service charges to the implementing agencies.
• PM-KUSUM Scheme was launched in 2019.
• The scheme envisages income generation for farmers from their infertile land with the establishment of solar power plants.
• The Scheme consists of three components
• Component A: 10,000 MW of solar capacity through the installation of small Solar Power Plants of individual plants of capacity up to 2 MW.
• Component B: Installation of 20 lakhs standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
• Component C: Solarisation of 15 Lakh Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)

Coal India to invest Rs 24,750 crore in 61 eco-friendly projects

• Coal India Limited (CIL) has planned a capital investment of about Rs. 24,750 crore in the next few years on 61 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects.
• To come up in three phases, these projects combined will have a capacity of 763.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) when completed.
• FMC projects involve transportation of coal in mechanised piped conveyors from production point to coal handling plants/silos with rapid loading system where coal is loaded directly into rail wagons.
• Thirty-five FMC projects under the first phase having 414.5 MTPA capacity account for Rs. 10,750 crore.
• The second and third phase projects account for 9 and 17 respectively.
• While their respective evacuation capacities are 57 MTPA and 292 MTPA, the investments sequentially, would be about Rs. 2,500 crore and Rs. 11,500 crore.
• Under the second phase, 5 projects of 21.5 MTPA capacity under construction are expected to be commissioned by FY 2025. The remaining projects are in different stages of progress with tenders issued and bid document under preparation.
• For the third phase, tenders have been floated for 3 projects of 65 MTPA capacity. 9 projects are to be executed through mine developers and operators. Phase three projects are anticipated to be commissioned by FY 2029.
• Total eco-friendly coal evacuation would go up to 914.5 MTPA when all 61 projects become operational by FY 2029, including the earlier capacity of 151 MTPA.

India becomes 13th country that can issue internationally accepted OIML Certificates

• India has become the 13th country in the world that can issue Internationally Accepted OIML (International Organisation of Legal Metrology) Certificates.
• Addressing media in New Delhi, Secretary, of Consumer Affairs Rohit Kumar Singh informed Domestic manufacturers can now get their weighing and measuring instruments tested in the country and sell in the International market.
• it is a single certificate accepted worldwide and reduces redundancy, and saves resources.
• This system ensures uniformity and trust in measurement worldwide and saves resources by avoiding repeated certifications.
• Now Indian manufacturers or their agents can obtain OIML Certificates for their measuring instruments from the Indian OIML Issuing Authority which is Legal Metrology Division, Department of Consumer Affairs.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launches Special Campaign 3.0 portal to reduce pendency in govt offices

• Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions  Dr Jitendra Singh has launched a Special Campaign 3.0 portal at a function in New Delhi.
• Through this dedicated portal – scdpm.nic.in the Special Campaign 3.0 will be monitored.
• The Government has announced to conduct Special Campaign 3.0 from the 2nd to the 31st of October this year with a focus on Swachhata and reducing pendency in Government Offices with a saturation approach.
• This Special Campaign will focus on field and outstation offices responsible for service delivery or having a public interface.
• Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is the Nodal Department for the implementation of this Campaign.
• The Special Campaign 3.0 will be preceded by a preparatory pha se from the 15th to the 30th of this month.
• Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swacchh Bharat Mission in October 2014, and within a few months, it became a mass movement.
• He informed that so far over 10 crore toilets have been constructed across the country under this mission.
• He added that such types of special campaign has brought positive changes in the working culture. On the occasion, the Special Campaign 3.0 Guidelines and Special Campaign Progress from December 2022-July 2023 and Monthly Report of Secretariat Reforms for June-July, 2023 were also released.
• Secretary, Department of Posts Vineet Pandey, Secretary, Railway Board Milind K.Deouskar, and Director General National Archives of India Arun Singhal were also present on the occasion.

G-20 Global Partnership Meeting for Financial Inclusion underway in Mumbai

• The Fourth G20 Global Partnership for Finan cial Inclusion (GPFI) Meeting is being held in Mumbai.
• More than 50 delegates from G20 member countries, special invitee countries and International Organisations are participating in the meeting.
• The GPFI members are holding discussions related to GPFI work regarding the implementation of G20 GPFI High-Level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion, Update of National Remittance Plans and SME best practices and innovative instruments to overcome common constraints in SME financing.
• A symposium was held on Digital Public Infrastructure for energizing MSMEs.
• Another symposium has been scheduled on “Advancing Financial Inclusion through Digital Public Infrastructure: Empowering Consumers through Digital and Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection”.

Shri Parshottam Rupala inaugurates Second Edition of ICAR-CIBA’s Shrimp Farmers Conclave-2023 at Navsari, Gujarat

• Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala inaugurated Second Edition of ICAR-CIBA’s (ICAR-Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture) Shrimp Farmers Conclave-2023 at the Navsari Agricultural University Campus in Gujarat.
• About 410 aqua farmers across the coastal districts of Gujarat participated in the conclave.
• Shri Parshottam Rupala conveyed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, for approving the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampadan Yojana with the financial outlay of Rs. 20,050 crores for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture sector.
• This paved the way for developing a project implemented by ICAR-CIBA on “Genetic improvement program of Penaeus indicus (Indian white shrimp)-Phase-I” with an outlay of Rs.25 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) to establish a National Genetic Improvement Facility for shrimp breeding.
• Union Minister Shri Rupala congratulated CIBA scientists for developing a therapeutic EHP-Cura-I for the control of EHP disease in shrimp and asked them to make available the farmers at the earliest.
• The Minister also launched the Shrimp Crop Insurance scheme developed by the Agricultural Insurance Company (AIC) with the support of ICAR-CIBA during the occasion in the presence of the Chairman cum Managing Director of AIC, Smt. Grija Subramanian.
• Two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) were signed between CIBA and National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB); CIBA and Fish Farmers Producer Organization (FFPO) of Gujarat respectively for implementing the crop insurance for aquaculture with premium subsidy offered by the NFDB and technology support for the FFPO.
• Shri Rupala also handed over a sum Rs.40.05 Lakhs income earned by the SC, ST and Cage Culture beneficiaries of Navsari region through adoption of CIBA technologies for the livelihood development supported by NGRC-CIBA scientists.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Govt’s new insurance scheme for gig workers offers Rs 4 lakh cover

• Karnataka is the second state after Rajasthan to launch an insurance scheme for gig workers.
• The state government rolled out an insurance scheme with a cover of Rs 4 lakh for gig workers across the state.
• The state will pay the entire premium for the scheme under which workers will get a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and accidental cover of Rs 2 lakh.
• The scheme was announced by chief minister Siddaramaiah in the state budget in July.
• The government may seek funds from the employers and employees as well for the scheme apart from corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding and “any such approved mechanisms by the state government”.
• The order also states that Karnataka does not have any record on how many gig workers are functioning but has relied on a Niti Ayog report-2022.
• The report estimates India has 7.7 million gig workers and will be around 23.5 million by the end of this decade.

Odisha signs MoU with six banks for giving banking services in unbanked gram panchayats

• Odisha government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with six public sector banks for providing banking services in all unbanked gram panchayats (GPs) of the state through customer service point (CSP) Plus banking outlets.
• These banks were the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
• As many as 4,373 out of 6,798 GPs do not have brick and mortar branches. That means around 65 percent of GPs do not have such bank branches.
• The scheme will be implemented in a phased manner to cover unbanked GPs of the state within the current financial year 2023-24.
• The state government will provide rent free banking space for five years.
• It will also bear one-time expenses for fixed cost and recurring expenses for a period of three years.
• A provision of Rs 500 crore has been made for the scheme.
• Odisha is the first state in the entire country to adopt such a model for providing banking services to all GPs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Businesses with turnover of ₹100 crore or more to get 30 days time for reporting invoices on IRP Portal 

• GST assessees with turnover of at least ₹100 crore will now have up to 30 days to disclose invoices on the e-invoice portal.
• New norms will become effective from November 1.
• Earlier, the time limit was kept at 7 days.
• GST Authority has decided to impose a time limit of 30 days for reporting of invoices from the date of invoice, on e-invoice portals.
• This time limit is applicable for taxpayers with Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) greater than or equal to ₹100 crore.
• Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) under GST is the entity’s total annual turnover which may be registered in various states or union territories.
• Taxpayers in the category of ₹100 crore or more will not be allowed to report invoices older than 30 days on the date of reporting.
• As per Rule 48(4) of CGST Rules, notified class of registered persons have to prepare invoice on Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).

Aditya Birla Finance participates in OCEN to launch Instant Purchase Order financing for MSMEs on GeM Sahay

• Aditya Birla Finance (ABFL), the lending arm of Aditya Birla Capital (ABCL), has joined the public financing platform Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) by launching instant Purchase Order (PO) financing for MSMEs registered on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Sahay platform.
• Small businesses can get loans against purchase orders digitally in a straight-through manner.
• OCEN is a decentralized open credit network conceived by the non-profit think tank iSPIRT foundation as a digital public infrastructure.
• It allows the flow of credit between borrowers and lenders under a common set of standards.
• This is the company’s second major initiative in the MSME segment in recent days.
• On August 24, 2023, the company launched Udyog Plus, a one-stop business platform designed for MSME customers.
• This new B2B digital platform offers a wide range of solutions for MSMEs, including financing, protection, investments, advisory and value-added services for managing and growing their business.
• Rakesh Singh, MD and CEO of ABFL.

Stable Money launches first fixed deposit marketplace

• Fixed return investment platform Stable Money has launched the country’s first fixed deposit (FD) marketplace for retail investors.
• The platform offers FDs, comparing interest rates from over 200 banks and NBFCs, and enables customers to manage and track their FDs on the platform.
• Additional features include ‘Break FD’ which gives flexibility to access funds before maturity without sacrificing returns, and ‘FD Laddering’ that helps maintain a balanced portfolio by considering both liquidity and returns.

About Stable Money

• Stable Money is a fixed-return investment platform that allows users to access fixed deposits, debt mutual funds, and bonds.
• Saurabh Jain and Harish Reddy, founders of Stable Money.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

AWS signs MoU with ISRO and IN-SPACe to support space-tech innovations through cloud computing in India

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) India has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to support space-tech innovations through cloud computing.
• The collaboration will give space start-ups, research institutes, and students access to advanced cloud technologies that accelerate the develop ment of new solutions in the space sector.
• ISRO, IN-SPACe, and AWS will work collaboratively to nurture and grow the start-up community in the space-tech sector.
• AWS will provide eligible space start-ups with tools, resources, and expert technical support at no cost through the AWS Activate program.
• Moreover, start-ups will also benefit from access to AWS and its global experience building aerospace and satellite solutions through the AWS Space Accelerator program.
• The three organisations will also collaborate on a new initiative to train students and educators in cloud computing, AI, ML, analytics, and security by leveraging AWS education programs.
• Amazon Web Services, Inc. is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and APIs to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered, pay-as-you-go basis.

15 countries join UN convention to promote legal certainty in judicial sale of ships

• In a significant development, 15 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Switzerland, signed the UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships.
• Maritime transport plays a leading role in international trade, and it is estimated that more than 90 per cent of global traded goods are transported by sea. This makes the ship a vital asset.
• However, matters related to international shipping are often afflicted with legal difficulties arising from lack of international harmonisation.
• It aims to promote legal certainty and predictability at the international level by creating a uniform regime for the international effects of ‘judicial’ sales of ships.
• The Beijing Conventionon the Judicial Sale of Ships, as it is now known, was developed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) to address the problem of bona fide new owners, find themselves dealing with previous creditors laying claim to the ship as security for a loan.
• The convention establishes a harmonised regime for giving international effect to judicial sales.
• By ensuring legal certainty to the title that the purchaser acquires in the ship as it navigates internationally, the convention is designed to maximise the price that the ship is able to attract in the market and the proceeds available for distribution among creditors, and to promote international trade.
• The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said it was supporting the establishment of the convention by acting as the repository for these notices and certificates of judicial sale.
• Information on pending and completed judicial sales of ships will be accessible online via a dedicated module on IMO’s Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS) platform.
• With the Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships having now been adopted, the IMO is encouraging member states to ratify the agreement.

About IMO

• The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.
• The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva in 1948 and the IMO came into existence ten years later, meeting for the first time in 17 March 1958.
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.

Maruti Suzuki partners with Indian Bank to provide financing solutions to dealers

• Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has partnered with Indian Bank to provide financing solutions to its dealers.
• The two parties have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will empower over 4,000 Maruti Suzuki dealerships across the country with comprehensive inventory funding options for their working capital requirements.
• The goal all along has been to work closely with Indian Bank in developing personalised offers and end-to-end working capital solutions for our dealer partners across the country.
• Maruti Suzuki India Limited is the Indian subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation.
• Indian Bank is an Indian public sector bank, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Ozone Day 2023: September 16

• Every year World Ozone Day is observed on 16 September.
• In 1913, the French Physicists, Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson discovered the Ozone Layer.
• The World Ozone Day Theme 2023 is ‘Montreal Protocol: fixing the ozone layer and reducing climate change’.
• In 1985, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted and signed by 28 countries.
• On 16th September 1987 the Montreal Protocol, on the substance that depletes the ozone layer was signed by the United Nations and Other Nations.
• The Montreal Protocol was first implemented on 1 January 1989.
• The purpose of the Montreal Protocol is to reduce the production of a substance that causes the depletion of the ozone layer.
• In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly decided to organize World Ozone Day on the 16th of September.

International Red Panda Day 2023: September 17

• Every year the third Saturday of September is celebrated as International Red Panda Day.
• The Red Pandas were first described in the year 1825.
• Red Pandas belong to the carnivore family but it rarely eats meat.
• In 2010, International Red Panda Day (IRPD) was launched by the Red Panda Network (RPN).
• The first International Red Panda Day was observed on 18th September 2010.
• Red Panda Network, whose headquarters is in Eugene, Oregon, has been actively participating in order to protect Red Pandas.
• Red Pandas sleep more than half a day.
• They communicate with each other by head bobbing and trail arching.

Daily Ca One- Liner: September 16

• Banks and NBFCs have been directed by RBI to release property documents within 30 days of settlement of loan account.
• Bank of Baroda announced the start of the “BOB Ke Sang Tyohaar Ki Umang” holiday campaign, which would last through December 31, 2023.
• SEBI has imposed penalty of ₹15 lakh on Reliance Home Finance
• World Bank has released findings included in it’s G20 document saying India has achieved financial inclusion targets in just 6 years which would otherwise have taken at least 47 long years.
• Yes Bank has partnered with Juspay to launch HyperUPI – NPCI’s plug-in service – that allows merchant apps to build in-app UPI payments.
• IndusInd Bank introduced the ‘Virtual Commercial Card’, for cross-border transactions for corporations and travel agents.
• The Reserve Bank of India released a list of fifteen NBFCs figuring in the ‘upper layer’ under the scale based regulation for these lenders for the financial year 2024.
• The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has relaxed the domestic content requirement (DCR) norms for solar cells under Component C of the PM KUSUM scheme till March 2024.
• Coal India Limited (CIL) has planned a capital investment of about Rs. 24,750 crore in the next few years on 61 First Mile Connectivity (FMC) projects.
• India has become the 13th country in the world that can issue Internationally Accepted OIML (International Organisation of Legal Metrology) Certificates.
• Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions  Dr Jitendra Singh has launched a Special Campaign 3.0 portal at a function in New Delhi.
• The Fourth G20 Global Partnership for Finan cial Inclusion (GPFI) Meeting is being held in Mumbai.
• Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala inaugurated Second Edition of ICAR-CIBA’s (ICAR-Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture) Shrimp Farmers Conclave-2023 at the Navsari Agricultural University Campus in Gujarat.
• Karnataka is the second state after Rajasthan to launch an insurance scheme for gig workers.
• Odisha government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with six public sector banks for providing banking services in all unbanked gram panchayats (GPs) of the state through customer service point (CSP) Plus banking outlets.
• GST assessees with turnover of at least ₹100 crore will now have up to 30 days to disclose invoices on the e-invoice portal.
• Aditya Birla Finance (ABFL), the lending arm of Aditya Birla Capital (ABCL), has joined the public financing platform Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) by launching instant Purchase Order (PO) financing for MSMEs registered on Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Sahay platform.
• Fixed return investment platform Stable Money has launched the country’s first fixed deposit (FD) marketplace for retail investors.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) India has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to support space-tech innovations through cloud computing.
• In a significant development, 15 countries, including China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Switzerland, signed the UN Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships.
• Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has partnered with Indian Bank to provide financing solutions to its dealers
• Every year World Ozone Day is observed on 16 September
• Every year the third Saturday of September is celebrated as International Red Panda Day