Business, Economy & Banking Current Affairs MCQs

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Nirmala Sitharaman launched three major digital and cluster-based initiatives during the 37th Foundation Day celebrations of Small Industries Development Bank of India in Mumbai to strengthen the MSME ecosystem. The initiatives include SIDBI MachFin Mart for machinery access and financing, the RRB Co-Lending Portal to improve rural credit flow through Regional Rural Banks, and Modernisation of Rural Enterprises (MoRE) aimed at modernising 10,000 rural micro and artisanal enterprises between 2026 and 2029. MSMEs contribute nearly 30% to India’s GDP, 45% to manufacturing output, over 48% to exports, and provide employment to more than 11 crore people.

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Reserve Bank of India in its Annual Report 2025–26 stated that it is exploring the introduction of a Kill Switch mechanism. A Kill Switch allows a system, device, account, or service to be immediately disabled or blocked during emergencies or suspected fraud. At present, customers can switch domestic and international card transactions on or off. The RBI plans to extend this facility to all digital payment modes, including Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and internet banking.

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Meesho has partnered with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to launch Project Shikhar, an initiative aimed at helping MSMEs and digital businesses become publicly listed companies. The initiative will support high-performing e-commerce sellers in getting listed on the BSE SME platform and gaining access to growth capital. Project Shikhar was launched through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Meesho and BSE. The programme aims to create a step-by-step roadmap for businesses to transition from informal enterprises to investor-ready public companies.

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According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India’s economy is estimated to have grown by 7.8% in Q4 FY2025-26. India’s GDP growth for the full financial year 2025-26 is estimated at 7.7%, higher than the earlier estimate of 7.6%. Real GDP is estimated at ₹323.12 trillion in FY26, while Nominal GDP is estimated to have grown by 8.9%. Gross Value Added (GVA) grew by 7.9% in both Q4 FY26 and the full fiscal year. The Reserve Bank of India has projected 6.6% GDP growth and 5.1% inflation for FY2026-27.

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According to recent report, India slipped to the 7th position globally in stock market valuation, overtaken by South Korea. India’s current stock market capitalization stands at around 4.9 trillion. South Korea and Taiwan have market capitalizations of over 5 trillion, moving ahead of India. Over the last two years, India has fallen three places as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea surpassed it. Reasons cited for the decline include: continuous foreign investor selling since September 2024, muted corporate earnings and relatively slow progress in AI-driven technology sectors. currently, United States has the world’s largest stock market capitalization.

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According to Official Airline Guide (OAG) data, India has become the third-largest domestic aviation market globally. India ranks behind the United States and China in domestic aviation capacity. India surpassed Brazil and Indonesia to achieve this position. The Government has taken several steps to boost the civil aviation sector. These steps include developing international aviation hubs and establishing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities. The Government has also prepared an International Aviation Hub Strategy to strengthen aviation infrastructure.

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National Payments Corporation of India launched Drunix, an open-source blockchain platform. The purpose of this is to build and scale tokenisation platforms, support digital asset ecosystems and enable multi-organisation blockchain networks. Drunix is a high-performance distributed ledger platform designed for enterprise and public infrastructure adoption. Drunix is NPCI’s second major open-source blockchain contribution after Falcon.

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The Union Cabinet approved an additional ₹30,000 crore investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). NIIF is a Government of India-backed fund created to enhance infrastructure financing in the country.
It is India’s first sovereign wealth fund (SWF). NIIF was registered with SEBI as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) in 2015. It serves as a collaborative investment platform for Indian and international investors. NIIF invests in infrastructure, private equity, and other diversified sectors, including greenfield, brownfield, and stalled projects.

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The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has recently completed a nationwide database consolidation under the CITES project. The Centralised IT-Enabled System (CITES) is a major digital modernization initiative of EPFO. It replaces a decentralised, fragmented legacy system with a centralised national database and automated processing system. The project is managed by EPFO under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. It has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). CITES aims to allow any EPFO office in India to process any member’s request, removing dependency on regional offices.

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Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) have crossed ₹13,814 crore in Assets Under Management (AUM) shortly after their introduction. Specialised Investment Funds (SIFs) is a new investment product introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It aims to bridge the gap between mutual funds and Portfolio Management Services (PMS). The framework was introduced through amendments to the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996. SIF investment strategies are divided into Equity-oriented, Debt-oriented, and Hybrid strategies. Currently, only one strategy per category is permitted for each SIF.