RBI on cybersecurity norms for payment services
Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue cybersecurity norms for payment service providers (PSPs), following a series of data breaches faced by operators including Mobikwik and payment aggregator JusPay. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Growth and Development in India) Dimensions of the Article: What is digital payment system? Different digital payment modes […]
Why is the Govt. tweaking the NPS?
Context: PFRDA has recently announced that the National Pension System (NPS) will no longer compel investors to convert 40% of their accumulated retirement corpus into an annuity, as poor yields on annuities and high inflation are translating into negative returns. Over the past year, NPS has enormously delivered high returns and there was a drastic […]
Why India’s oil and gas production is falling?
Context: India’s crude oil production fell by 5.2 per cent and natural gas production by 8.1 per cent in the FY21. While Covid-19 related delays are among the key reasons cited by producers behind lower production, India’s crude oil and natural gas production have been falling consistently since 2011-12. India’s crude oil and natural gas […]
Rupee weakness and Ways and Means credit
Context: Reserve Bank of India is intent on preventing any further depreciation in the currency as the surge in COVID-19 cases hits jobs and growth. The rupee has already lost 2.6% against the dollar so far in April 2021, putting it on the cusp of marking its worst month since the pandemic hit the country […]
COVID-19 impacts 82% of small businesses: Survey
Context: A recent survey has showed that more than 82% of businesses have suffered a negative impact on account of COVID-19 and 70% expect it will take almost a year for demand to recover to pre-pandemic levels. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Growth & Development of Indian Economy) Dimensions of the Article: Highlights of the Survey […]
U.S. Treasury keeps India on currency watch list
Context: India is one of the 11 countries on the U.S. Treasury’s ‘Monitoring List’ with regard to their currency practices, according to the April 2021 edition of the semi-annual report, the first from the Biden administration. India was on the list in the December 2020 report as well. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy, GS-II: International Relations […]
Rupee logs sixth straight session of loss
Context: The Indian Rupee fell for the sixth straight session and depreciated to a nine-month low of 75.4 against the USD, it is one of the biggest losers among the emerging market currencies. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Macroeconomics, Monetary Policy, Fiscal Policy, Capital Market) Dimensions of the Article: Understanding Currency Depreciation and the Factors Reasons […]
WPI inflation quickens to a record 7.4%
Context: Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) accelerated in March 2021 to a record 7.4%, a surge that is expected to feed into higher retail prices in the near term. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Macroeconomics, Inflation, Monetary Policy) Dimensions of the Article: What is Inflation? What is Wholesale Price Index (WPI)? What is […]
Moody’s on India’s Public Debt Level
Context: Moody’s Investors Service said that India’s public debt level is among the highest in emerging economies with a quantitative easing programme underway, while its debt affordability is among the weakest. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Growth and Development in India) Dimensions of the Article: What are Emerging markets/economies? What is Public Debt? Is Public […]
RBI’S MPC KEEPS POLICY RATES UNCHANGED
Context: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) voted unanimously to leave the policy repo rate unchanged at 4%. Relevance: GS-III: Indian Economy (Economic Growth and Development in India, Monetary Policy) Dimensions of the Article: Instruments of Monetary Policy RBI’s MPC decision Highlights of what was said by the RBI […]