Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

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Recently, Mumbai International Cruise Terminal (MICT), India’s largest world-class cruise terminal, was inaugurated. It is developed under the Cruise Bharat Mission 2024 to promote India as a top global cruise destination. Cruise Bharat Mission aims to double cruise passenger traffic by 2029 and cruise ship calls from 254 in 2024 to 500 by 2030. The mission supports India’s vision to become a global hub for cruise tourism. It will be implemented in three phases from 2024 to 2029. MICT is a key step in enhancing infrastructure and boosting the cruise tourism economy in India.

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The State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest public sector bank, has launched the ‘Grahak Mitras’ initiative. It is a customer-friendly step taken to reduce crowding in bank branches and encourage digital banking. Trained staff known as Grahak Mitras will be deployed to help customers with banking services. These personnel come from SBI’s subsidiary called State Bank Operations Support Services (SBOSS). They will assist customers across nearly 4,500 branches across India. This move is aimed at improving customer experience and speeding up basic services in busy bank locations.

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Maharashtra has topped the CareEdge State Ranking Report 2025, released by CARE Ratings Ltd (CareEdge Ratings). This is the second edition of the CareEdge State Rankings. The rankings evaluate state performance across seven key pillars: economic performance, fiscal management, infrastructure development, financial sector growth, social development, governance quality, and environmental sustainability. The evaluation uses 50 measurable indicators. The primary aim is to provide a data-driven assessment of state performance. The rankings help identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for policy improvement. This report offers valuable insights for improving state governance and development strategies.

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Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced on July 1, 2017, to simplify and unify India’s complex tax system. It merged multiple central and state taxes into a single tax, making compliance easier and improving transparency. In 2024, India’s total GST revenue collection reached ₹21.36 lakh crore, the highest since the GST launch, showing an 8.86% rise from the previous year. In April 2025, gross GST revenue was ₹2.36 lakh crore, marking a 12.6% year-on-year growth, as per the Ministry of Finance. Maharashtra topped GST collections for FY 2024 and April 2025 but saw slower growth at 11% in April. Gujarat showed the highest growth, with a 13% rise and ₹14,970 crore collection in April 2025. Gujarat’s total GST revenue for FY 2024–25 stood at ₹1.74 lakh crore, the highest ever, according to GST Council data shared via Forbes.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it mandatory for Regulated Entities (REs) to report details of their Digital Lending Apps (DLAs) through the Centralised Information Management System (CIMS) portal. Centralised Information Management System (CIMS) is a modern data management platform introduced by the RBI to handle large-scale data processing, analysis, and sharing. It acts as a central data warehouse, using advanced tools for data mining, text analysis, and visual insights across financial and economic sectors. It improves the efficiency of regulatory reporting and reduces workload for banks and regulated firms. It helps RBI monitor the financial system better and react faster to potential risks.

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India’s first hydrogen fuel cell truck was launched by Adani Enterprises for mining logistics at the Gare Pelma III coal block in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh. The truck can carry up to 40 tons of coal over a 200-kilometre range using three hydrogen tanks and smart technology. It will transport coal to the Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Limited’s power plant. Adani Enterprises was selected as mine developer and operator through competitive bidding. Hydrogen fuel cell trucks emit only water vapour and warm air with less noise, unlike diesel vehicles. The shift from diesel to hydrogen will cut emissions, reduce oil imports, and support cleaner energy use in mining.

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Recently, Google launched the AI First India 2025 Startup Accelerator to support AI-based startups in India. The program is designed for startups in the Seed to Series A funding stages. It focuses on emerging areas like Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Multimodal Artificial Intelligence (AI). Selected startups will get mentorship from Google experts and access to Cloud Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). They will also receive advanced AI development tools and help in using AI models like Gemini and Gemma. This initiative highlights Google’s strong commitment to building innovation and AI talent in India’s technology ecosystem.

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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI) to help detect mobile numbers linked to fraud. FRI is a risk-based system that classifies mobile numbers as Medium, High, or Very High risk based on fraud-related activity. It gathers data from multiple sources like the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), DoT’s Chakshu platform, and alerts from banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platforms. When a number is flagged, FRI uses advanced analysis to assess its fraud risk. This data is shared with financial institutions through the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP). It helps banks and UPI providers take extra steps to protect customers or block risky transactions.

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Recently, India’s first Artificial Intelligence-focused Special Economic Zone (AI SEZ) was announced in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh. It will be developed by RackBank Datacenters Private Limited with an investment of ₹1,000 crore. The AI SEZ will span six acres and include a 1.5 lakh square foot facility with high-end servers for large-scale AI operations. It will house four high-density data centres with a total capacity of 80 megawatts to support national digital infrastructure. For the first time, India will not just consume but also host and deliver Artificial Intelligence services globally. It will offer jobs to youth from remote areas like Kanker, Sukma, Bilaspur, and Dantewada in roles such as IT engineers and cybersecurity officers.

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Recently, economist S Mahendra Dev has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), replacing Suman Bery. He resigned as independent director from Axis Bank after his appointment. The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body that advises the Prime Minister on economic and related matters. Its functions include analyzing economic issues, giving macroeconomic advice, and taking up tasks assigned by the Prime Minister.