Jana Small Finance Bank gets Scheduled Bank Status

Jana Small Finance Bank Ltd, which commenced banking operations in March 2018, has got the status of a Scheduled Bank. The Government notified this, putting Jana Small Finance Bank on the list of the banks included in the second schedule of RBI Act 1934.

Other Important Developments

• In October 2019, the Department of Post launched the mobile banking facility for all post office savings account holders of the CBS (core banking solutions) post office.
• Deposits under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) stood at Rs 1.06 lakh crore.
• In October 2019, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Union Bank of India to facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system for an array of services.
• Transactions through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) stood at 1.15 billion in October 2019 worth Rs 1.91 lakh crore.
• In August 2019, the government announced the major mergers of public sector banks which included United Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce to be merged with Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank will be amalgamated with Indian Bank and Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank will be consolidated with Union Bank of India.
• The NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) of commercial banks has recorded a recovery of Rs 400,000 crore in last four years including record recovery of Rs 156,746 crore in FY19.
• The total equity funding’s of microfinance sector grew at the rate of 42 year-on-year to Rs 14,206 crore (US$ 2.03 billion) in 2018-19.
• As on March 31, 2019 the number of debit and credit cards issued were 925 million and 47 million, respectively.
• As per RBI, as of October 25, 2019, India recorded foreign exchange reserves of approximately US$ 442.58 billion.
• India ranks among the top seventh economies with a GDP of US$ 2,73 trillion in 2018 and economy is forecasted to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2018.
• To improve infrastructure in villages, 204,000 Point of Sale (PoS) terminals have been sanctioned from the Financial Inclusion Fund by National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD).
• The number of total bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) reached 370 million as of July, 2019.