Consumer confidence for the year ahead has improved further on the back of higher optimism, which resulted in the Future Expectations Index (FEI) rising by 2.1 points to 125.2, the highest level since mid-2019, according to a Reserve Bank of India survey conducted in March 2024.
Households’ sentiments on the general economic situation and employment prospects recorded notable improvements for both the current period as well as the upcoming year. The Reserve Bank released the results of the March 2024 round of its bi-monthly Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) along with the monetary policy review. Female respondents accounted for 50.8%
The RBI in a statement said the survey collects current perceptions and one-year-ahead expectations of households on general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation, own income and spending across 19 major cities. The latest round of the survey was conducted during March 2-11, 2024, covering 6,083 respondents. Female responden
The heads of all tri-service military institutions gathered in New Delhi on April 8, for the first-ever tri-service planning conference called the ‘Parivartan Chintan’. The conference takes place on the backdrop of the three services combining to set up integrated theatre commands, containing elements of the army, navy, and air force.
The ‘Chintan’ will be the first-ever conference of the heads of tri-services institutions, the Department of Military Affairs, Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and the three services, with officers from varied service brackets, through their diverse understanding & experience, recommending measures to achieve the desired ‘joint and integrated’ end state with celerity.
It will be chaired by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Anil Chauhan.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has entered into an agreement with a fintech Onion Life Private Limited to use the latter’s technology platform KarmaLife for a pilot to provide micro loans to gig workers. This is expected to support the gig workers’ financial inclusion to formal institutional credit.
KarmaLife will help gig workers access micro loans through a mobile app and eliminates the hassle of extensive paperwork or physical documentation. This streamlined process will make it easier for gig workers to manage the liquidity needs of their enterprise activities.
RBI has imposed a penalty of ₹1 crore on IDFC First Bank for non-compliance with certain directions on ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’. The Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation for FY22 revealed that the bank had sanctioned term loans to a public sector undertaking for financing infrastructure projects without undertaking due diligence.
The central bank also fined LIC Housing Finance ₹49.7 lakh for breach of norms. The housing finance company did not comply with certain provisions of the Fair Practices Code when it did not disclose the rate of interest and approach for gradation of risk and rationale for charging different rate of interest to different categories of borrowers in loan application forms.
The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), which takes place annually on 6 April, presents an opportunity to recognize the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe. The global theme for 2024 is “Sport for the Promotion of Peaceful and Inclusive Societies”.
On 7 April, UNESCO commemorates the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003. The date marks the beginning of the genocide perpetrated against members of the Tutsi minority by the Hutu extremist-led government. The 2024 commemorations will mark the 30th anniversary.
World Health Day is observed on 7th April every year globally. This annual event draws attention to a specific health topic that affects people all over the world. This day marks the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948.
The theme for World Health Day 2024 is 'My health, my right.'
The day was aimed to raise awareness around various health issues worldwide and to mobilise support to address them. Over the years, the celebrations have aimed to create awareness around a specific health theme to highlight a priority area of concern for the World Health Organization.
IT giant Wipro has appointed Srinivas Pallia as its new CEO, following the resignation of Thierry Delaporte. Srinivas Pallia, who was the CEO for the company's America region, will take over as the new new CEO and MD from April 7, 2024, for a period of five years.
India has decided to join at least one of the four cooperative work programmes launched under the ‘clean energy pillar’ of the US-led Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) – the one on facilitating and promoting carbon market activities. The IPEF, an initiative led by US President Joe Biden, was launched in May 2022, bringing together 14 regional partners.
The 14 countries are Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam. PEF aims to have a common set of rules and standards around four pillars: connectivity and digital trade; resilient supply chains; clean energy; and corruption-free fair trade.
The total number of geographical indications registered in India has crossed the 600-market in 2023-24 with as many as 63 GI registrations being issued by the Intellectual Property Office on a single day - March 30, 2024. Of the 1,158 applications filed over the past 20 years, 635 are now GI registered.
With this, UP has now overtaken Tamil Nadu as the state with the highest number of GIs registered at 69, while TN now has 58 GIs. Out of the 63 GIs issued on March 30, 2024, by the IP office, Assam registered the highest number of GIs during FY24 at 19, followed by UP and Maharashtra with 16 each, Gujarat with five, Meghalaya with four and Tripura with two.
The sitars and tanpuras of Miraj, a small town in Maharashtra's Sangli district known for its craftsmanship in making musical instruments, have been awarded the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tags.
he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on April 5 said it has cancelled certificate of registration of four non-banking finance companies (NBFCs). These NBFCs are Kundles Motor Finance Pvt Ltd, Nithya Finance Ltd, Bhatia Hire Purchase Pvt Ltd, and Jiwanjyoti Deposits and Advances Limited,
In a separate notification, the central bank said five NBFCs have surrendered their licences due to exit from NBFC business. These NBFCs are Growing Opportunity Finance (India) Pvt Ltd, Invel Commercial Pvt. Ltd, Mohan Finance Ltd, Saraswati Properties Ltd, and Quicker Marketing Pvt Ltd, release said.
State-owned Union Bank of India said it has raised $500 million (about Rs 4,200 crore) from foreign markets to fund overseas business growth. The fund was arranged by Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai Branch, Union Bank of India said in a regulatory filing. A syndicated term loan of $ 500 million would be drawn in two tranches with tenure of 3 and 5 years.
