National Affairs

1. RBI grants in-principle approval to Fino Payments Bank

• Fino Payments Bank becomes the 1st Payment Bank in India to receive approval to convert into a Small Finance Bank (SFB).

2. Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025

• Major legislative reform to modernize India’s banking sector, strengthen legal, regulatory & governance structures.

National Affairs

1. Bharat Taxi launched

• A cooperative ride-hailing platform under Ministry of Cooperation.

• Operated through Sahakar Taxi Cooperative, positioned as an alternative to Uber & Ola.

• Supported by National e-Governance Division (NeGD).

National Affairs

• LIC launched two new insurance plans:

  • Protection Plus (Plan 886) – pure risk cover

  • Bima Kavach (Plan 887) – flexible savings/risk protection

• NIPL (NPCI International) partnered with ACLEDA Bank (Cambodia) → enable cross-border QR payments.

• Developing nations paid $741 billion more in external debt servicing (2022–24) than they received—largest 3-year gap in 50 years.

National Affairs

• DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce & Industry) released the Quarterly FDI Inflow Fact Sheet, presenting updated trends in foreign direct investment into India.

• Razorpay received RBI approval to operate as a Payment Aggregator – Cross Border (Inward & Outward) under the PSS Act, 2007.

• OECD released its bi-annual report — OECD Economic Outlook 2025 Issue 2: Resilient Growth but with Increasing Fragilities.

• SBI, HDFC Bank & ICICI Bank retained their status as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2025.

National Affairs

• Government of India launched an initiative to evaluate India’s ranking in 26 global indices to identify gaps & improve global competitiveness.

• Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah launched e-Swathu 2.0, a digital platform to regularise & manage rural property records.

• Atal Pension Yojana (APY) enrolments reached 8.34 crore as of 31 Oct 2025, showing strong penetration among unorganised workers.

• PAHAL (DBT–LPG subsidy) scheme, launched in 2015, continues to enhance transparency & subsidy efficiency.