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Daily Current Affairs 26th March 2025 Daily GK Update
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National News
NSO, India and IIMA Join hands to Strengthen Data-Driven Policy and Innovation
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), has organized a workshop on “Emerging Trends in Public Data and Technology for Research and Policy” at the IIM Ahmedabad campus.
- This initiative aligns with MoSPI’s ongoing efforts to enhance the national data ecosystem and advance evidence-based policymaking.
- This partnership will serve as a framework for collaborative efforts in data innovation, ensuring that academic research contributes effectively to policy development.
Reliance Industries acquires 74% stake in Nauyaan Shipyard for ₹382.73 crore
- Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), through its wholly owned subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL), acquired a 100% equity stake in NTPL from Welspun Tradings Limited, a subsidiary of Welspun Corp Limited (WCL), for ₹1 lakh, making NTPL a step-down wholly owned subsidiary of RIL effective immediately.
- NTPL, now under RIL, has agreed to purchase a 74% stake in NSPL from WCL for ₹73 crore, with the transaction—subject to adjustments for expenses and net current assets—expected to be finalized by March 21, 2025, enhancing RIL’s shipyard operations.
- NSPL, established in July 2021, has an enterprise value of ₹78 crore, including ₹126.57 crore in debt and liabilities, with its total equity valued at ₹517.21 crore, and it will repay ₹93.66 crore to WCL as part of the deal, supporting RIL’s strategic expansion in the shipyard sector.
IT major Wipro bags £500 million, 10-year deal with UK’s Phoenix Group
- IT services major Wipro has won a £500 million, 10-year strategic deal with Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business.
- This will be one of the largest deals for the company as well as for the industry in a long time. As part of this transformational initiative, a number of Phoenix employees will transition to Wipro.
- The project is designed to deliver life and pension business administration for the ReAssure business and accelerate Phoenix Group’s operational transformation.
- Under the terms of the deal, Wipro’s existing FCA-regulated entity, Wipro Financial Outsourcing Services Limited (WFOSL), will deliver comprehensive life and pension administration services to Phoenix Group’s ReAssure customers.
SAMEER and AIIMS sign MoU for collaborative research on medical devices
- The Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and AIIMS have signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the development of advanced medical devices.
- The partnership aims to drive advancements in high-field and low-field Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) systems. Additionally, the collaboration will focus on research in Radio Frequency (RF) and microwave technologies, all with the goal of enhancing medical applications and fostering innovation in the healthcare sector.
- The MoU was signed on the occasion of the 32nd Foundation Day of the Department of NMR at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Banking and Financial
IRDAI Sets New Standards for Health Insurance in India
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set new standards for health insurance, mandating quicker and more efficient claim settlements to benefit policyholders.
- IRDAI requires insurers to approve cashless authorization requests within 1 hour and complete discharge authorizations within 3 hours, ensuring swift support for policyholders in medical emergencies.
- Focus on Cashless Settlements: Insurers are urged to achieve 100% cashless claim settlements, supported by hospital help desks and digital pre-authorization, with a compliance deadline of July 31, 2024.
- Stringent Claim Oversight: Claims cannot be rejected without approval from the Policyholders’ Management Committee (PMC) or Claims Review Committee (CRC), and rejections must be explained in writing, referencing policy terms.
- Support for Policyholders: Policyholders with multiple policies can select their preferred claim option, document collection is shifted to insurers/TPAs, and premium refunds are offered for mid-term cancellations.
- Boosting Trust and Efficiency: These reforms aim to enhance transparency, customer satisfaction, and timely claim settlements, strengthening India’s healthcare financing system through stakeholder collaboration.
RBI, NPCI approve Rs 2 hike in ATM interchange fee
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have approved an increase in the ATM interchange fee for cash withdrawals from Rs 17 to Rs 19, with effect from May 1, 2025.
- The interchange has been revised for domestic financial and non-financial transactions Non-financial transactions are subject to an interchange fee of Rs 7, according to an NPCI circular. A separate goods and services tax (GST) is levied on the interchange fee.
- The revised interchange is not applicable for micro-ATM, interoperable cash deposit (card-based and UPI-based), and international ATM transactions. Such transactions will continue as per the existing rates.
- The interchange fee for balance enquiries has been set at Rs 7 excluding GST for transactions in Nepal and Bhutan.
- At present, there are 1,349 NFS members, up from 1,296 in February last year, according to NPCI data.
- The volume of NFS-approved transactions stood at 315 million in February 2025, down 13.7 per cent from 365 million in February 2024.
BOI’s first dollar loan deal in over a decade raises $400 mn, woos 22 banks
- Bank of India has raised $400 million via a dollar syndicated loan, according to people familiar with the matter, marking its first such deal since 2012 that expands a list of the country’s borrowers tapping global credit markets.
- The rarity factor helped attract strong interest in the deal, allowing the borrower to increase the size by $100 million via the so-called greenshoe option. The facility drew a total of 22 lenders including arrangers CTBC Bank Co. and Standard Chartered Plc.
- The loan is equally split into three- and five-year tranches, and raised via Bank of India’s branch located in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City.
RBI allows standalone primary dealers to participate in all repo operations
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed standalone primary dealers (SPDs) to participate in all repo operations, irrespective of the tenor, conducted by the central bank.
- On a review, it has now been decided to allow SPDs to participate in all repo operations, irrespective of the tenor, conducted by the Reserve Bank.
- Earlier, SPDs were permitted to participate in all overnight liquidity management operations, excluding the Marginal Standing Facility. Additionally, SPDs could participate in other operations, such as long-term Variable Rate Repo (VRR) operations and daily VRRs, on a case-by-case basis.
- There is a liquidity crunch, especially because this is March-end, and the deficit could be there going into the next financial year also. So, this only says liquidity can be more easily available for PDs.
- The central bank also conducted longer-tenure VRRs in order to infuse durable liquidity in the banking system.
RBI imposes ₹75 lakh penalty on HDFC Bank, ₹68.2 lakh on Punjab & Sind Bank
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed monetary penalties on HDFC Bank and Punjab & Sind Bank for non-compliance with its regulatory guidelines.
- While HDFC Bank is slapped with a ₹75 lakh penalty for violations related to KYC norms, Punjab & Sind Bank was fined ₹2 lakh for lapses in reporting large exposures and maintaining basic savings accounts.
- Explaining the reasons behind the penalty on HDFC Bank, RBI said that it had conducted a statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2023. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with the central bank’s directives, the RBI issued a notice to the bank advising it to show cause as to ‘why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions.’
- In another order, RBI also imposed monetary penalty of Rs. 68.2 lakh on Punjab & Sind Bank for non-compliance with guidelines issued by the central bank on ‘Creation of a Central Repository of Large Common Exposures – Across Banks’ and ‘Financial Inclusion – Access to Banking Services – Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA)’.
Appointment
Ajay Seth Appointed as the New Finance Secretary
- The Government of India has appointed senior IAS officer Ajay Seth as the next Finance Secretary.
- He will succeed Tuhin Kanta Pandey, who has taken over as the 11th Chairperson of the capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
- Ajay Seth is currently the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Earlier this month, the central government announced that Ajay Seth had been given the additional charge of Secretary for the Department of Revenue.
Other Important Secretaries
- Finance Secretary – Ajay Seth
- Principal Secretary to PM – PK Mishra (I) & Shaktikanta Das (II)
- Secretary in Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) – Arunish Chawla
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs Secretary – Deepti Gaur Mukherjee
- Foreign Secretary – Vikram Misri
- Home Secretary – Govind Mohan
- Cabinet Secretary – T V Somanathan
- Secretary of DPIIT – Amardeep Singh Bhatia
Sanjay Kumar Mishra Joins EAC-PM as Full-Time Member
- Sanjay Kumar Mishra, previously the chief of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), has been appointed as a full-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).
- The appointment marks a shift for Mishra from his earlier role in law enforcement to an advisory position focused on economic policy under the Prime Minister’s office.
- During his tenure, ED got approval for the extradition of fugitives such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.
- Sanjay Kumar Mishra was initially appointed as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief in 2018. He was given multiple extensions by the Centre.
- Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister.
Recent Appointments
- Bureau Member of United World Wrestling (UWW) Asia – Sanjay Singh
- Chairman of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) – Ashok Singh Thakur (for three years)
- Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court –Justice Harish Tandon
- MD & CEO of IFCI Ltd – Rahul Bhave (for 3 years)
- Joint Secretary (Director level) in UPSC – Anuj Kumar Singh
- MD and CEO of Bajaj Auto – Rajivnayan Rahulkumar
Sunil Kakkar becomes first Indian full-time director of Maruti Suzuki India
- Sunil Kakkar, who has been leading the corporate planning division at Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), has become the first homegrown Indian employee to be nominated to the company’s board as a whole-time director.
- The nomination was made by MSIL’s majority shareholder, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC).
- MSIL’s board currently comprises 11 members—five Indians and six Japanese. Among the Indian members, four are independent directors, while chairman R C Bhargava is the fifth. With Kakkar’s addition, the board will now have equal representation of six Indians and six Japanese.
- Kakkar’s tenure as whole-time director will be from April 1 this year to March 31, 2028.
Sports
Sunil Kumar wins bronze in Asian Wrestling Championship
- Indian wrestler Sunil Kumar won the bronze medal in the 87kg Greco Roman category of the Asian Wrestling Championship in Amman, Jordan.
- In the bronze medal match, Sunil beat China’s Jiaxin Huang after losing in the semifinals of the 87kg bout in the continental tournament.
- Sunil, a silver medallist in 2019 who is looking to regain some of his old magic, had earlier registered a 10-1 victory over Tajikistan’s Sukhrob Abdulkhaev in the quarterfinal. He scored all of his points in the second period.
- However, it was Iran’s Yasin Yazdi who marched into the 87kg final with a 3-1 victory over Sunil in the semifinal clash.
Important day
March 26 – Purple Day of Epilepsy
- World Purple Day is observed annually on March 26 to raise awareness about epilepsy, a neurological disorder affecting millions worldwide.
- This global movement was founded in 2008 by Cassidy Megan, a Canadian girl who wanted to educate people about epilepsy and reduce the stigma surrounding it.
What is Epilepsy?
- Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures, which are sudden and temporary disturbances in brain activity. During a seizure, brain cells fire abnormally, causing changes in behaviour, sensation, or consciousness. There are three main types of epilepsy: idiopathic, symptomatic, and cryptogenic.
March 27 – World Theatre Day
- World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on March 27 to recognize the importance of theatre arts and their impact on society.
- Theme 2025 – Theatre and a Culture of Peace
- Established in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), this day highlights the power of theatre in fostering creativity, cultural exchange, and social awareness.
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