Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 01 May 2022

::National::

Statue of Unity footfall logs 30.5% rise, crosses pre-Covid numbers

Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue commemorating India’s first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, has recorded a marked increase in average daily footfall of tourists, surpassing the pre-pandemic figures and becoming one of the most visited non-religious destinations in the country, according to officials who have access to the data.
“The average daily tourist footfall at present is 12,369 as against 10,194 during the pre-Covid period, marking a jump of 21%,” said a Union government official familiar the matter, requesting anonymity. “On weekends, the footfall has increased to 18,187 per day as against the pre-Covid figure of 13,937, a 30.5% increase.”
The highest one-day footfall at the 182-metre-tall statue has also seen a sharp increase, the official added. “During pre-Covid period, maximum footfalls of 34,136 and 34,674 were recorded on August 20, 2019 and December 29, 2019, respectively. In the recent times, the maximum footfalls were recorded at 50,108 on November 6, 2021 and 51,871 the following day,” the official said.
Access to tourist destinations and monuments was completely restricted during the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, and was gradually opened up for people at half capacity in the middle of last year. Most of the Covid-related restrictions have been lowered now, allowing visitors access the heritage sites.
Since its inauguration, 7.94 million people have visited the Statue of Unity so far, one of the officials said. “Before Covid-19 struck, 4.42 million people had visited it in less than 15 months. Since then, the tourist footfall was affected due to two lockdowns and two periods of restricted entry in view of Covid-19 pandemic. Since June 8, 2021, tourist footfall has even crossed the pre-Covid daily averages,” the official added.

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::International::

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia to discuss extending term of $3 billion loan

Saudi Arabia will extend an oil loan facility to Pakistan and is considering rolling over dollar deposits as the South Asian nation looks to rein in one of Asia’s highest inflation rates and stave off a current-account crisis.
The kingdom is discussing options including extending the term of a $3 billion deposit with the State Bank of Pakistan, the countries said in a joint statement on Sunday after PM Shehbaz Sharif met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Pakistan welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to extend the agreement to finance crude exports and oil derivatives, according to the statement, which didn’t offer details.
Sharif, who took office last month after a joint opposition ousted premier Imran Khan, faces the politically tough task of stopping Khan’s fuel subsidies and raising pump prices if he’s to get a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Saudi Arabia pledged $4.2 billion in assistance to Pakistan when Khan visited the kingdom in October.
That included a deposit of $3 billion with the State Bank of Pakistan to help shore up its reserves and a facility to finance oil derivatives trade worth $1.2 billion during the year.
Sharif recently rejected a proposal from his minister to raise local fuel costs, days after vowing discipline to unlock $3 billion pending from an IMF loan agreement that was suspended amid the political turmoil in Pakistan. An IMF team will visit Pakistan after May 7 and hold talks on the issues around subsidies on petrol and electricity.
Pakistan has seen its foreign exchange reserves fall to less than two months of import cover after a delay in the IMF loan program. It is also resorting to power cuts as electricity plants face fuel and funding shortages.

::Economy::

IndusInd Bank Q4 net up 51% to Rs 1,401 cr on lower provisions, higher NII

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank reported a 51 per cent jump in net profits in January-March quarter, aided by lower provisions and higher net interest income. Its net profit for the quarter totalled to Rs 1,401 crore compared to Rs 926 crore in the year ago period. Analysts at Bloomberg had estimated a net profit of Rs 1,405 crore.
Net interest income (NII) of the lender increased by 13 per cent year on year (YoY) and 5 per cent sequentially to Rs 3,985 crore. Other income rose 7 per cent YoY to Rs 1,905 crore. Net interest margin (NIM), a measure of profitability of lenders, for the quarter stood at 4.20 per cent against 4.13 per cent in the year ago period. Strong retail disbursements and falling cost of deposits led to increase in NIMs, the management said.
Provisions of the lender dropped 22 per cent YoY to Rs 1,463 crore.
Advances of the lender grew by 12 per cent YoY and 5 per cent sequentially to Rs 2.39 trillion. The growth in the loan book was driven by growth in the consumer and corporate segment. In the reporting quarter, the bank saw healthy disbursements in the retail portfolio. It is also looking to launch a mortgage finance product in FY23 and scale up its tractor financing business. The bank is also planning to grow its merchant acquiring business, with a focus on small business going ahead.
Deposits of the bank grew 3 per cent sequentially and 15 per cent YoY to Rs 2.93 trillion.

Bank credit to industry turns around in FY22, infra lending tops Rs 1 trn

Keeping up pace with the economic upturn, credit to industry rose by 7.1 per cent (year-on-year) in FY22. This is against a de-growth of 0.4 per cent in FY21, a year when the first wave of Covid devastated the economy.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a statement, said size-wise, credit to medium industries registered a robust growth of 71.4 per cent in March 2022 compared to 34.5 per cent last year. Credit growth to micro and small industries accelerated to 21.5 per cent from 3.9 per cent. Credit to large industries recorded a marginal growth of 0.9 per cent against a contraction of 2.5 per cent during the same period last year.
In absolute term, Bank credit to industry expanded by Rs 2.09 trillion in Fy22 as against contraction of over Rs 11,000 crore in Fy21.
Gross credit of commercial banks expanded by 9.6 per cent in FY22 from 4.6 per cent in FY21. In absolute terms, banks lent Rs 10.43 trillion in FY22, up from Rs 5.39 trillion in FY21.
Rating agency CRISIL — in a separate report — said healthy economic activity and budgetary support from the government would lift bank credit growth by 200-300 basis points to 11-12 per cent in FY23.

::Sports::

PV Sindhu loses cool at chair umpire, referee over 'unfair' point penalty

Controversy erupted during PV Sindhu's semi-final against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-final of the Badminton Asia Championships on Saturday, when the Indian shuttler was handed a point penalty for taking too much time to serve. The double-Olympic medallist was leading 14-11 in the second game – having won the first – when the chair umpire handed Sindhu a penalty for a delay in the serve.
The call from the umpire led to the 26-year-old Indian shuttler having a detailed argument with the umpire, further leading to an intervention from the chief referee. The incident eventually proved to be the turning point in the game as Sindhu conceded a defeat in the three-game thriller.
While Sindhu argued that Yamaguchi “was not ready,” the chief referee insisted that the decision was fair. The chair umpire had earlier warned Sindhu for late serve earlier in the match, but the decision to hand a point penalty to the Indian shuttler didn't sit well with many.