Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

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India has limited the requirement of certification from the Export Inspection Council (EIC) for rice exports only to select countries—European Union (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. The Export Inspection Council was established under the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963. It ensures quality and safety of Indian export products to meet importing country standards. It functions as India’s official export certification authority. The Council operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which is its nodal ministry.

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Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) has received environmental clearance from the Government of Argentina for deep exploration of five brine-based lithium blocks. This marks a significant step in securing critical minerals, especially lithium, which is essential for batteries and clean energy technologies. Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) is a joint venture of three Central Public Sector Enterprises—National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL)—with a shareholding ratio of 40:30:30.

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Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 has been notified with a corpus of ₹10,000 crore to mobilize venture and growth capital for startups. It builds upon the earlier Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS 1.0) launched in 2016 under the Startup India Action Plan to address funding gaps. The fund will invest in SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which will further invest in eligible startups. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) acts as the Implementation Agency. The scheme aims to boost innovation, job creation, manufacturing, and support India’s vision of becoming a global innovation hub under Viksit Bharat 2047.

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Reserve Bank of India has released a report titled “Exploring Safeguards in Digital Payments to Curb Frauds” to address rising digital payment scams. It proposes a cooling-off period of one hour for transfers above ₹10,000 to new beneficiaries, allowing users to cancel fraudulent transactions. A trusted person mechanism is suggested, where high-value transactions above ₹50,000 by senior citizens or persons with disabilities may require secondary approval. A kill switch facility is proposed to enable users to instantly disable all payment channels during emergencies. Whitelisting of beneficiaries would allow users to pre-approve trusted payees and avoid additional verification or delays.

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The Financial Intelligence Unit India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority to strengthen coordination against financial crimes. The MoU aims to enhance information sharing, training, and outreach for entities regulated by PFRDA. It focuses on improving Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating Financing of Terrorism (CFT) capabilities. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), established in 2004 under the Ministry of Finance. FIU-IND acts as the national agency for analysing suspicious financial transactions, while PFRDA regulates India’s pension sector

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Developing countries launched the Borrowers’ Platform at the International Monetary Fund–World Bank Spring Meetings 2026. It is a platform for borrower nations to share experiences, coordinate policies, and collectively raise debt-related concerns. It includes Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to strengthen debt management and global negotiation capacity. It is governed by Finance Ministers, supported by technical debt officials for policy inputs. It is not a debt-restructuring mechanism, but a coordination and dialogue forum.

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BSE Index Services has launched the BSE Housing Finance Index to track the performance of companies in the housing finance sector. The index is derived from constituents of the BSE 1000 Index that are classified under housing finance as a basic industry. It will be reconstituted semi-annually in June and December to ensure updated representation of the sector. The index is designed to support passive investment instruments like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds.

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Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade data shows that Singapore was the top source of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) equity inflows into India during April–December FY26, contributing 17.6 billion (37%). The United States (16%) and Mauritius (10%) were the next major contributors, followed by Japan and the UAE. India received a total of 47.87 billion in FDI equity inflows during this period. The top sectors attracting FDI were Computer Software & Hardware (22%) and Services (Financial, Banking, R&D) at 18%. Among states, Maharashtra received the highest inflows, followed by Karnataka.

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The Employees Provident Fund Organisation is launching the E-PRAAPTI Portal (EPF Aadhaar-Based Access Portal for Tracking Inoperative Accounts). The portal aims to identify, track, and activate inoperative EPF accounts. It uses Aadhaar-based authentication for secure access to old accounts. It enables linking of old EPF accounts with the Unique Account Number (UAN). In the initial phase, access will be member ID-based for easier rollout. Later, it will also help users retrieve accounts even without member ID details.

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National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) as a new trading segment. Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) are dematerialised securities representing ownership of physical gold, held in Demat (Dematerialised) accounts. The underlying gold is stored in Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)-regulated vaults. A SEBI-registered Vault Manager (VM) ensures safe storage and standardisation. Each EGR is backed by actual gold, ensuring authenticity. Physical gold is deposited and converted into EGR units, which are tradable on exchanges. Investors can reconvert EGRs into physical gold.