Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

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India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), fully owned by the Government of India under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, has won the prestigious Digital Payments Award 2024–25 from the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) secured the first position among all Payments Banks in the Performance Index for Financial Year 2024–25 and received a ‘Special Mention’ for 2023–24. It was launched on September 1, 2018. IPPB aims to provide accessible, affordable, and trusted banking to every Indian, especially the unbanked and underbanked.

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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will conduct India’s first-ever Household Income Survey in 2026, as announced recently. A Technical Expert Group (TEG) led by economist Surjit Bhalla has been formed to guide survey methods, estimation techniques, and best global practices. The survey will measure household income and assess how technology adoption affects wages, aiming to fill key data gaps. Past attempts since the 1950s failed due to unreliable data, with income estimates often lower than consumption and savings combined.

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Recently, India became the world’s fourth largest biofuel consumer, overtaking China for the second year in a row in 2024. The data comes from the Statistical Review of World Energy 2025 by The Energy Institute (EI). India’s biofuel consumption increased by 40% year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 77 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024. Despite higher consumption, India still lags behind China in biofuel production. From 2014 to 2024, India’s biofuel consumption grew at an average annual rate of 31.8%.

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Recently, CTBC Bank, the largest private bank in Taiwan, applied to set up an IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City, India. This move strengthens GIFT City’s global appeal as a financial hub. The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is the regulator for IFSC operations in India. IFSCA was established under the IFSCA Act, 2019 as a statutory authority. It regulates financial products, services, and institutions within India’s IFSC. IFSCA is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. GIFT IFSC is currently India’s only International Financial Services Centre.

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Gujarat recorded 48.59 lakh tonnes of potato production in the 2024–25 season, including varieties for French fries and wafers. Gujarat is now the top producer of processed potatoes in India, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Processed potato production in India grew from less than 1 lakh tonnes in 2004–05 to 11.50 lakh tonnes in 2024–25. Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, and Aravalli are Gujarat’s leading potato-growing districts, producing 38 lakh tonnes on 1.19 lakh hectares.

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The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, recently promoted the Trade Connect ePlatform at two major Business-to-Business (B2B) trade exhibitions. Trade Connect ePlatform is a digital initiative of Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It aims to transform international trade for Indian exporters, especially Medium, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It acts as a one-stop hub for international trade-related services and information. It connects exporters, MSMEs, and entrepreneurs with Indian Missions Abroad, Export Promotion Councils, and other government agencies.

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Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recognized India as a global leader in fast payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). In June 2025, UPI processed ₹24.03 lakh crore via 18.39 billion transactions, marking a 32% year-on-year growth from 13.88 billion transactions in June 2024. UPI now accounts for 85% of all digital transactions in India and nearly 50% of global real-time digital payments. It handles over 640 million transactions daily, surpassing Visa’s 639 million transactions per day. This scale was achieved in just 9 years, since UPI’s launch in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

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India has become Malaysia’s largest importer of germinated oil palm seeds in 2025. In 2024, India imported 3.03 million tonnes of palm oil, making up 17.9% of Malaysia’s total exports. India aims to expand palm oil cultivation to 1 million hectares by 2025-26 under the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP). Goal is to produce 2.8 million tonnes of crude palm oil by 2029-30. Currently, India has 3.7 lakh hectares under palm cultivation, focusing on northeast and island regions. Malaysia offers to collaborate if India provides land for local palm oil production.

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Recently, the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) launched the “Saksham Niveshak” campaign. It is a 100-day national drive running from 28th July to 6th November 2025. IEPFA works under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The campaign aims to help shareholders reclaim unclaimed dividends held by companies. It guides investors to update their Know Your Customer (KYC) and nomination details. Companies are encouraged to proactively contact shareholders to recover pending dividends.

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India ranks second in global fish production, after China. Union Minister of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry stated this at a recent programme in Kolkata. Fish production in India rose by 103% in 2024–25 compared to 2013–14. Inland fisheries contribute nearly 75% of total fish production in India. Fisheries sector forms 1.12% of national Gross Value Added (GVA) and 7.26% of agricultural GVA. Around 30 million people are involved in the fisheries value chain. Union Budget 2025–26 proposed the highest ever financial support for fisheries sector.