Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Recently, European Union ministers approved Bulgaria to adopt the Euro from January 1, 2026, making it the 21st member of the eurozone. Bulgaria is located in southeastern Europe, occupying the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It shares borders with Romania to the north, Turkey and Greece to the south, North Macedonia to the southwest, and Serbia to the west. It is bounded by the Black Sea on the east. The Balkan Mountains cross the central part of the country.

Notes:
In July 2025, India is exploring the use of Catastrophe Bonds (Cat Bonds) to improve disaster risk financing and climate resilience. Cat Bonds are hybrid financial instruments combining features of insurance and debt. They help governments transfer risks from natural disasters like cyclones, floods, and earthquakes to global investors. If a defined disaster occurs, investors lose part or all of their principal, which is used for relief and reconstruction. If no disaster occurs during the bond term, investors get back their full principal with high interest.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has urged integration of the 8th Economic Census preliminary work with the 16th Population Census. The Economic Census aims to capture a full count of all entrepreneurial activities in India at a specific point in time. It is conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to strengthen data-driven policymaking. The census provides detailed data on ownership patterns, employment numbers, and geographic spread of economic activities.

Notes:
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).

Notes:
Recently, the Government launched the Revised SHAKTI Policy 2025 for transparent coal allocation. SHAKTI stands for Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala (Coal) Transparently in India. It ensures transparent coal linkages for all power producers, including Central Generating Companies (GENCOs), State GENCOs, and Independent Power Producers (IPPs). It replaces the SHAKTI Policy, 2017 by simplifying coal linkage into only two windows. The policy promotes competition, efficiency, pit-head thermal capacity, and affordable power. It boosts coal availability, mining, and revenue for coal-bearing states.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Recently, the Government of India revised the advance registration period for importing steel products on the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) 2.0 portal, except for some items. SIMS 2.0, launched by the Union Ministry of Steel, builds on the 2019 SIMS to provide detailed steel import data to the domestic industry. It gives advance import information to the government and stakeholders, enabling better planning. Database integration helps identify risk areas, improve quality control, and support domestic steel industry growth and policymaking.

Notes:
Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) became the first Indian company to join the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). ICMM is a UK-based collaborative group of leading mining and metals companies. It aims to boost the industry’s contribution to sustainable development and promote strong environmental and social performance. ICMM works with various stakeholders to improve understanding of the benefits, costs, risks, and responsibilities of the mining and metals industry in today’s world.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a report on Framework for Responsible and Ethical Enablement of Artificial Intelligence (FREE-AI) in the financial sector. FREE-AI Committee was constituted on 6th December 2024 to promote innovation while safeguarding consumer interests. The report prescribes 7 guiding sutras and 26 recommendations under six strategic pillars for responsible AI adoption. Objectives include transparency, accountability, fairness, customer protection, and balancing innovation with risk mitigation. AI benefits include efficiency, automation, data-driven decisions, improved customer experience, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance.