Inquisitive Mind

Government of India has introduced the ‘PM Vishwakarma Scheme’. Who are Vishwakarmas? The traditional artisans and craftspeople who work with their hands and tools are referred to as ‘Vishwakarmas’. They are engaged in occupations like Blacksmiths, Goldsmiths, Potters, Carpenters, Sculptors, etc. What are the objectives of PM Vishwakarma Scheme? PM Vishwakarma Scheme aims – To improve the quality as well as the reach of products and services of Vishwakarmas and to ensure that the Vishwakarmas are integrated into the domestic and global value chains.  To offer holistic end-to-end support to the Vishwakarmas to enable them to move up the value chain in their respective trades. To provide the Vishwakarmas an easy access to collateral free credit and reduce the cost of credit by providing interest subvention. What will be the term of the Scheme? PM Vishwakarma Scheme will be initially implemented for 5 years up to 2027-28. How will the Scheme be implemented? PM Vishwakarma Scheme will ...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has a released notification on recruitment for the post of Assistant in RBI for the year 2023. What are the vacancies for the post? The number of vacancies for the post of Assistant in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are 450. What are the timelines for the application and exam? Website Link Open September 13, 2023 – October 04, 2023 Payment of Examination Fees (Online) September 13, 2023 – October 04, 2023 Schedule of Online Preliminary Test (Tentative) October 21, 2023 & October 23, 2023 Schedule of Online Main Test (Tentative) December 02, 2023 What is the age criteria? The age of the candidate shall be between 20 and 28 years as on September 01, 2023. Upper age limit is relaxed for following candidates – Category Relaxation in Age Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe (SC / ST) 5 years, i.e., up to 33 years Other Backward Classes (...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the regulatory framework for Infrastructure Debt Fund - Non Banking Financial Companies (IDF-NBFCs). What is Infrastructure Debt Fund - Non Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC)? An Infrastructure Debt Fund - Non Banking Financial Company (IDF-NBFC) means a non-deposit taking Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC) which is permitted to –  Refinance post commencement operations date (COD) infrastructure projects that have completed at least 1 year of satisfactory commercial operations.  Finance toll operate transfer (TOT) projects as the direct lender. Commencement of Operations Date (COD) means the date when the Service Provider begins the operations of the project pursuant to the issuance of Completion Certificate by the Authority. In what forms can Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF) be set up? An Infrastructure Debt Fund (IDF) is set up either as a trust or as a company.  A trust based IDF is registered as an IDF-Mutual Fund (IDF-MF) and...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued circular on penal charges in loan accounts to ensure fair lending practice by the regulated entities. Why are penal interest / charges levied? The intent of levying penal interest / charges is essentially to inculcate a sense of credit discipline among borrowers through negative incentives and to ensure fair compensation to the lender.  Penal interest / charges are not meant to be used as a revenue enhancement tool over and above the contracted rate of interest.  What is rationale behind the circular? Under the extant guidelines, lending institutions have the operational autonomy with regard to levy of penal rates of interest.  During supervisory reviews of regulated entities (REs) it was observed that – Many REs use penal rates of interest, over and above the applicable interest rates, in case of defaults / non-compliance by the borrower with the terms on which credit facilities were sanctioned. Divergent practices amongst the REs w...

The bi-monthly monetary policy of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been announced on August 10, 2023. Here are some of the highlights of the monetary policy announcement. Rates and reserves   Change Rate Policy repo rate Unchanged 6.50% Standing deposit facility (SDF) rate 6.25% Marginal standing facility (MSF) rate 6.75% Bank rate 6.75% Monetary policy stance Withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns with the target, while supporting growth. Economy    GDP growth projection CPI inflation projection FY 2023-24 6.5% 5.4% Q1 of FY 2023-24 8.0% 4.6% Q2 of FY 2023-24 6.5% 6.2% Q3 of FY 2023-24 6.0% 5.7% Q4 of FY 2023-24 5.7% 5.2% Q1 of FY 2024-25 6.6% 5.2% Indian economy is exuding enhanced strength and stability. India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals...

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had released its annual report for the financial year 2022-23. In a series of articles, we will go through the highlights of the report. This is the fifth and last article in the series.  Chapter 7 – Public Debt Management The maturity profile of outstanding dated securities was elongated to contain the rollover risk.  RBI in consultation with the central government issued Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) for ₹16,000 crore during 2022-23 (two tranches of ₹8,000 crore each, comprising 5-year and 10-year SGrBs for ₹4,000 crore in each tranche). The proceeds of SGrBs will be deployed in public sector projects, which will help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.  Government of India (GoI) notified the framework for SGrBs and this was rated as ‘Medium Green’ with a ‘Good’ Governance’ score by CICERO.  Inputs on Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS) for the GoI were provided to Public Debt Management Cell, GoI. The MTDS has been...