1. SEBI raises investment limit through UPI to Rs 5 lakhs in debt securities
Tags: Economy/Finance Popular
Securities Exchange Board of India has increased the investment limit for payment through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) for retail investors buying debt securities in the public issue of a company to Rs 5 lakh.
At present the limit is Rs 2 lakhs.
The new rule will come into effect from 1 May 2022.
Concept Clearing
Debt Securities.
Company needs funds for its business. It can raise the fund by taking loans (borrowing) from banks. Loans taken from banks will not be called debt securities.
Another option for the company is to approach the market also known as the financial market, to borrow. When it approaches the financial market it issues certain papers to the lenders promising to pay interest for a certain time period and also return back the principal amount after a certain time.
This paper creates debt to the company . These types of paper are also called debentures,bonds etc. As it can be freely bought and sold in the market it is also called as debt securities.
Public Issue
When the company approaches the market and asks money from the public by issuing its shares or debentures etc it is called a public issue.
SEBI chairperson : Madhuri Puri Buch
For SEBI kindly see our 28 February 2022 post also.
2. RBI launches 24x7 helpline DigiSaathi
Tags: Economy/Finance Popular
Reserve Bank of India has launched a 24x7 helpline , ‘DigiSaathi’ to address the queries of digital payment users across products.
DigiSaathi will assist users with their queries on digital payments via website & chatbot facility and through toll-free calls where users can dial or call out the options / products for which the information is required.
Automated responses on information related to digital payment products and services are available in Hindi and English through multiple options like – (a) toll-free number (1800-891-3333), (b) a short code (14431), (c) website www.digisaathi.info, and chatbots.
Governor of RBI: Shaktikanta Das
Headquarter of RBI: Mumbai.
3. Reserve Bank of India launches UPI123Pay
Tags: Economy/Finance Popular
To make digital payment more accessible to the people, the Reserve Bank of India has launched UPI123Pay for people who do not have a smartphone .
UPI 123 Pay has been designed to make Unified Payment Interface (UPI) digital payment system more user friendly through feature phones .
Feature phones are normal phones which do not have internet connection and in India around 40 crore people use feature phones .
UPI123Pay includes four distinct options :
App-based Functionality:
An app would be installed on the feature phone through which several UPI functions, available on smartphones, will also be available on feature phones.
Missed Call:
This will allow feature phone users to access their bank account and perform routine transactions such as receiving, transferring funds, regular purchases, bill payments, etc., by giving a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant outlet. The customer will receive an incoming call to authenticate the transaction by entering UPI PIN (Personal Identification Number).
Interactive Voice Response (IVR):
UPI payment through pre-defined IVR numbers would require users to initiate a secured call from their feature phones to a predetermined number and complete UPI on-boarding formalities to be able to start making financial transactions without internet connection.
Proximity Sound-based Payments:
This uses sound waves to enable contactless, offline, and proximity data communication on any device.
This is not the first time that UPI facilities are being made available through a feature phone . UPI facility can be used through a Unstructured Supplementary Service Data(USSD) service.
Under this service the user has to dial *99# to receive a set of menus before initiating instructions. It was complicated and difficult to use and the new UPI123Pay is more easy to use .
UPI (Unified Payment Interface)
UPI was launched by NPCI(National Payment Corporation of India ) in 2016 . It provides an instant fund transfer system from one bank account to another through a mobile phone .
It is operational 24x7 and 365 days.
The maximum fund transfer limit is Rs 2 lakh per transaction.
Important for Exam
UPI :Unified Payment Interface
USSD: Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
Governor of RBI: Shaktikanta Das
Headquarter of RBI: Mumbai.
4. India has the third largest number of billionaires in the world
Tags: Economy/Finance Popular
According to the recently released Wealth Report 2022 by Knight Frank India has the third highest number of billionaire population( 145 billionaires) globally in 2021 after the US (748 billionaires), and China ( 554 billionaires).
The number of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) in India with net assets of $30 million or more grew 11 percent in 2021 to 13,637 from 12,287 in 2020.
Amongst key Indian cities, Bengaluru witnessed the highest growth in the number of UHNWIs at 17.1 percent to 352, followed by Delhi (12.4 percent, 210) and Mumbai (9 percent, 1,596).
The number of UHNWI population in India is expected to grow by 39 percent between 2021- 2026, with 19,006 people expecting to have net assets of $30 million or more by 2026.
Knight Frank is a London based real estate company. It is one of the largest property consultancy company in the world
5. Indian GDP growth slows in 3rd Quarter 2022
Tags: Economy/Finance
The National Statistics Office (NSO) has released its second advance estimates for the financial year 2021-22 on 28 February 2022.
Major Highlights of the report
The Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.4 % in the third quarter (October 2021 to December 2021). This is the slowest growth in a quarter in the current Financial year of 2021-22.
In the first quarter(April-June ) the GDP grew by 20.3%and in the second quarter (July-September ) it grew by 8.5%
The GDP at constant (2011-12) prices in the third quarter of 2021-22 was estimated at Rs 38.22 trillion as against Rs 36.26 trillion in the third quarter of 2020-21, showing a growth of 5.4 per cent.
The Indian economy's growth rate of 5.4 % in the 3rd quarter makes it the fastest growing major economy in the world ahead of China which grew by 4% in the same time period .
The growth in GDP during 2021-22 is estimated at 8.9 percent as against a contraction of 6.6 per cent in 2020-21.
The growth rate is lower than the Budget estimates which projected a growth rate of 9.2% for 2021-22.
RBI in its latest Monetary policy has estimated a growth rate of 9.2 % for the Indian economy in 2021-22.
The GDP stood at Rs 38,22,159 crore in October-December 2021-22, higher than the Rs 36,22,220 crore in the corresponding period of the 2020-21.
Sector wise growth
According to NSO data, Gross Value Added (GVA) growth in the manufacturing sector growth remained almost flat at 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2021-22, compared to a growth 8.4 per cent a year ago.
Farm sector GVA growth was slow at 2.6 per cent in the third quarter compared to 4.1 per cent growth a year ago.
Construction sector GVA declined by 2.8 per cent as against a growth of 6.6 per cent a year ago.
Mining sector grew by 8.8 per cent, as against a contraction of 5.3 per cent.
Electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services segment posted a growth of 3.7 per cent in the third quarter of this fiscal against 1.5 per cent expansion a year ago.
Similarly, trade, hotel, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting grew by 6.1 per cent compared to 10.1 per cent contraction a year ago.
Financial, real estate and professional services growth stood at 4.6 percent in the third quarter compared to a growth of 10.3 percent last year.
Public administration, defence and other services grew at 16.8 percent during the quarter under review compared to 2.9 percent contraction a year earlier.
Central Statistical Office (CSO)
It is part of the National Statistical Office which comes under the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
It was earlier called the Central Statistical Organisation.
CSO collects and releases data regarding :
National Income ;
Annual Survey of Industries ;
Economic Censuses;
Consumer Price Indices for Urban Non-Manual Employees;
Index of Industrial Production
CSO Headquarters : New Delhi
