7 December 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Convention on International Civil Aviation in Chicago, United States. For eight decades, this defining international agreement has served as the foundation for the development of the global civil aviation system to the benefit of all nations.
International Civil Aviation Day, celebrated every year on December 7, is an important occasion to recognise the role of aviation in global connectivity. The theme for the year 2024 is “Safe Skies. Sustainable Future: Together for the next 80 years," as per the United Nations website.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Rithala - Narela -Nathupur (Kundli) corridor of Delhi Metro's Phase - IV project consisting of 26.463 kms which will further enhance connectivity between the national capital and neighbouring Haryana. The corridor is scheduled to be completed in 4 years from the date of its sanction.
This line will be an extension of the presently operational Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda) - Rithala (Red Line) corridor and will boost connectivity in the north western parts of the national capital in areas such as Narela, Bawana, parts of Rohini etc. This entire stretch will comprise of 21 stations.
A total of 12 metro lines of about 392 km with 288 stations are being operated by DMRC in Delhi and NCR at present. Delhi Metro has the largest Metro network in India and is also one of the largest Metros in the world.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved release of 944.80 crore to State Government of Tamil Nadu, as both the installments of central share from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to help the state in providing relief assistance to people affected by cyclone “Fengal’ on 30th November 2024.
Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) have been sent in cyclonic storm ‘Fengal’ affected State of Tamil Nadu and UT of Puducherry for an on-the-spot assessment of the damages. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and guidance of Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, more than ₹ 21,718.716 crore has already been released to 28 states during this year.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das highlighted the central bank's efforts to combat digital frauds in the financial sector, while also announcing key decisions made by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). As part of its continued focus on digital security, the RBI introduced an AI/ML-based model called MuleHunter.
AITM, developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), a subsidiary of the RBI. This tool is designed to efficiently detect mule bank accounts, which are often used in financial fraud schemes. A pilot program with two major public sector banks has shown promising results.
The use of money mule accounts remains a prevalent method for fraudsters to launder illicit funds. In response, the RBI is hosting a hackathon titled "Zero Financial Frauds," which includes a challenge specifically targeting the issue of mule accounts.
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) six-member monetary policy committee (MPC), in November 2024, decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent — the status quo for an 11th straight time — maintaining a “neutral” stance. Even as it reduced the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4 per cent to boost liquidity in the system.
RBI lowered the 2024-25 gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection to 6.6 per cent from 7.2 per cent earlier. The inflation projection for this financial year, meanwhile, was increased by 30 bps to 4.8 per cent. Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks, while CRR is the proportion of deposits that banks must keep with the central bank.
One basis point is the hundredth of a percentage point.
SBI Card on 6th November announced that the number of its credit cards in circulation has surpassed 20 million. According to a press release by SBI Card, it achieved the milestone of 20 million credit cards in force, having started its credit card business in 1998. SBI Card is the second-largest card issuer in the country, after private sector lender HDFC Bank.
As per latest data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for October, SBI Card's in circulation stood at nearly 19.8 million as compared to 19.58 million cards in September 2024. Meanwhile, HDFC Bank had 22.64 million cards in circulation in October.
The total number of outstanding credit cards in the system increased 12.85 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) to 106.88 million led by HDFC Bank which added 241,119 cards followed by SBI Cards with 220,265 card additions.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed small finance banks to offer pre-sanctioned credit lines through Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Previously, only scheduled commercial banks were allowed to offer pre-sanctioned credit lines on the flagship payments platform.
Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, City Union Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Karnataka Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, and Tamiland Mercantile Bank offer pre-sanctioned credit lines on UPI. UPI credit line is meant to empower individuals and small businesses to obtain pre-sanctioned credit lines, which can be utilised immediately for transactions.
In November, UPI transactions saw a 7 % drop in volume to 15.48 billion and an 8 % fall in value to Rs 21.55 trillion compared with the previous month. In October, transactions touched an all-time high, driven by festive sales. In October, UPI recorded 16.58 billion transactions worth Rs 23.5 trillion, the highest since the digital system became operational in April 2016.
Star Health and Allied Insurance on Friday said that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has issued a show cause notice on December 4, 2024, for violation of norms based on the general inspection conducted by the regulator for the period from January 31, 2022, to February 11, 2022.
The notice has been issued for violation of the Irdai (Health Insurance) Regulations, 2016, Irdai (TPA – Health Service) Regulations, 2016, and Irdai (Protection of Policyholders’ Interest) Regulations, 2017, among others. The company must provide a reply within 21 days from the date of receipt of the notice, along with the supporting documents.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to introduce a new benchmark for the interest rate derivatives market based on secured money markets. Based on the recommendations of the Mumbai Inter-Bank Offer Rate (MIBOR) Committee and the feedback received, and aligned with current market dynamics.
The RBI has proposed to establish a benchmark derived from secured money markets, encompassing both basket repo and triparty repo (TREP), RBI governor Shaktikanta Das. This benchmark, to be known as Secured Overnight Rupee Rate (SORR), will be developed with the support of Financial Benchmarks India Limited (FBIL), which has been requested to take the proposal forward.
SOFR is a benchmark interest rate that reflects the cost of overnight borrowing, collateralised by US Treasury securities. It was introduced as an alternative to London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), which had long been used globally across multiple currencies and financial contracts.
