Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

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Google opened its first Safety Engineering Centre in the Asia-Pacific region and fourth globally in Hyderabad on June 19, 2025. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy officially inaugurated the Google Safety Engineering Centre (GSEC). The launch follows Google’s “Safety Charter for India’s AI-led Transformation” unveiled in Delhi on June 17. GSEC will work on protecting users from online fraud and securing enterprise and government systems. It will act as a strategic hub for responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) and safety solutions.

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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, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal, launched Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited (SMFCL), India’s first Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) for the maritime sector. SMFCL was earlier known as Sagarmala Development Company Limited. It was formally registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 19, 2025. SMFCL aims to bridge financing gaps and provide sector-specific funding to ports, shipping companies, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), startups, and maritime institutes.

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Recently, to tackle climate change risks, India is focusing on environmental disclosure frameworks like Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR). BRSR is a mandatory reporting requirement for the top 1,000 listed companies in India. It was introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The aim of BRSR is to promote sustainable business practices among companies. It requires companies to share information about their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance in a transparent way.

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Recently, the National Sample Survey Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) launched the Government of India Statistics (GoIStats) mobile application on Statistics Day 2025. The GoIStats app aims to build a strong data ecosystem where everyone can easily access official data anytime. It has an interactive Key Trends dashboard showing important socio-economic indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, and employment through dynamic visuals.

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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.

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Recently, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched the VCF Settlement Scheme 2025. The scheme offers a one-time window to resolve compliance issues related to the winding-up of old funds. It is meant for Venture Capital Funds (VCFs) that shifted to the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) regime but haven’t liquidated their investments. The scheme will remain open from July 21, 2025, to January 19, 2026. Its main goal is to protect investor interests by settling long-pending fund closure cases.

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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.

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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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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.