Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

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On November 7, 2025, National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) launched a revamped Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) portal and a new Foreign Venture Capital Investor (FVCI) portal in Mumbai. The portals were inaugurated by Dr. Ruchi Chojer, Executive Director, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), during NSDL’s 9th Designated Depository Participants Conference. The unified digital platform merges FPI and FVCI registrations into a single interface, replacing earlier multiple logins and manual procedures. FPI refers to foreign entities investing in Indian equities, bonds, and mutual funds, while FVCI focuses on venture capital and unlisted Indian startups. The initiative aims to simplify compliance, enhance transparency, and ease market access for global investors.

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India’s unemployment rate declined to 5.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, down from 5.4 per cent in the first quarter. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) reported this based on monthly labour force and unemployment data. Rural unemployment rate stood at 4.4 per cent during July to September 2025. Urban unemployment rate was higher at 6.9 per cent in the same period. Female participation in the labour force rose to 33.7 per cent from 33.4 per cent. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Current Weekly Status (CWS) increased marginally to 55.1 per cent from 55 per cent. The data reflects gradual improvement in employment and workforce engagement in India.

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Recently, Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) received a licence to explore and mine a tungsten block in Andhra Pradesh. Tungsten is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. It is a naturally occurring transition metal found in minerals like wolframite and scheelite, not as a pure metal. It has the highest melting point of all metals at 3410 °C and the lowest vapor pressure at that temperature. It also has the highest tensile strength above 1650 °C and remains solid at room temperature.

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Recently, India’s electronics sector gained momentum through the Electronics Development Fund (EDF) launched on 15 February 2016. EDF promotes innovation in electronics, nano-electronics, and Information Technology (IT). It works as a Fund of Funds, investing in Daughter Funds like angel and venture funds that support technology startups. Electronics Development Fund’s (EDF’s) anchor investor is Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced interlinking the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with fast payment systems of other countries to improve cross-border payments. This move supports the G20 Roadmap to make international remittances cheaper, faster, transparent and easier. RBI and NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) are working with the European Central Bank to link UPI with TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment Settlement), the Eurosystem’s instant payment platform. The UPI–TIPS link will enable cross-border money transfers between India and the European Union, benefiting users on both sides.

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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched the second “Non-intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable (NUDGE)” initiative to strengthen voluntary compliance regarding foreign assets. The campaign focuses on correct reporting in Schedule Foreign Assets (FA) and Foreign Source Income (FSI) in Income Tax Returns (ITRs). The first NUDGE campaign (November 2024) led 24,678 taxpayers to disclose ₹29,208 crore in foreign assets and ₹1,089.88 crore in foreign-source income. CBDT receives foreign asset data under Common Reporting Standards (CRS) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to identify discrepancies.

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Amaravati is set to become India’s first integrated Financial City, boosting national economic infrastructure. The Financial City will bring major public sector banks and financial institutions into one planned hub. Finance Minister Sitharaman and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stones for several nationalised banks and financial institutions in Amaravati. The project will create over 6,500 direct jobs and accelerate Andhra Pradesh’s economic revival.

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Fino Payments Bank became the first payments bank to receive in-principle approval from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convert into a Small Finance Bank (SFB). This approval allows Fino to accept larger deposits and offer loans and credit to individuals and small businesses. Fino applied under RBI’s “on tap” licensing guidelines for private sector SFBs. Payments banks can apply for SFB status after completing five years of operations and meeting regulatory norms. Fino started as a payments bank in 2017 and applied nearly two years ago for conversion. Fino plans to start lending within one year after approval. It serves over 16 million customers through more than 2 million merchants.

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Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched Past Risk and Return Verification Agency (PaRRVA) to improve transparency in financial markets. PaRRVA is a new system to verify and authenticate past performance claims made by regulated market intermediaries. It was launched on a pilot basis by Care Ratings in collaboration with National Stock Exchange (NSE). It applies to SEBI-registered Investment Advisers, Research Analysts, and Algorithmic (Algo) Stock Brokers.

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The government has launched a nationwide campaign ‘Your Money, Your Right’ to help citizens reclaim unclaimed financial assets such as bank deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends, shares, mutual funds and pensions. The campaign began on October 4, 2025, and aims to return dormant financial assets to their legitimate owners through simplified, district-level support mechanisms. Between October and November 2025, citizens successfully reclaimed around ₹2,000 crore of unclaimed funds. From October to December 5, 2025, dedicated camps were organised in 477 districts, involving public representatives, district administrations and financial institution officials.