Junior Digest

New Delhi, Aug 4,2026: The government on Monday introduced two significant legislation in the Lok Sabha aimed at overhauling the legal framework governing the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) and modernize the country’s banking evidence laws to align with the digital era, even as proceedings were disrupted by Opposition protests during the Monsoon Session.

Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh introduced the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, while union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026. The Bills were introduced amid continuous sloganeering by Opposition members before the House was adjourned till 2 p.m.

The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026 seeks to repeal the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959 and replace it with a contemporary legal framework for the premier institution, established in 1931, which has played a pioneering role in the development of statistics, mathematics, computer science and allied disciplines in India.

According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the proposed legislation aims to modernise the institute’s governance, academic and financial architecture by incorporating the ISI as a body corporate. It provides for the President of India to serve as the Visitor of the institute and proposes the creation of a Board of Governors as the principal policy-making and executive authority accountable to the Central Government.

The Bill also envisages the establishment of an Academic Council, headed by the Director and comprising all full-time professors and faculty members, to oversee academic affairs and maintain academic standards.

The government has maintained that the proposed reforms are intended to strengthen the institute’s institutional capacity to produce highly skilled statisticians, mathematicians and data scientists capable of meeting the growing requirements of technology-driven industries, artificial intelligence, finance and the expanding digital economy.

However, the proposed restructuring has drawn criticism from sections of the ISI faculty and staff, who have expressed apprehensions that replacing the institute’s existing representative council with a government-appointed Board of Governors could dilute the autonomy of the nearly 95-year-old institution and increase governmental control over its functioning.

The second legislation, the Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026, seeks to repeal the colonial-era Bankers’ Books Evidence Act, 1891 and establish a modern legal framework reflecting the transformation of India’s banking sector into a predominantly digital ecosystem.

The proposed law significantly expands the definition of “bankers’ books” to include electronic, digital, virtual and cloud-based records, recognising the widespread adoption of online banking, electronic record-keeping and digital financial transactions.

The Bill also introduces safeguards to protect banking officials from unnecessary legal inconvenience. It proposes that courts must record written “special cause” before summoning bank officers or directing the production of original banking records in cases where the bank itself is not a party to the proceedings.

In addition, the legislation seeks to standardise certification requirements for electronic banking records and digital signatures, with the objective of providing greater legal certainty and facilitating the admissibility, verification and use of electronic evidence in judicial proceedings.

The two Bills formed part of the government’s legislative agenda for Monday’s sitting of the Lok Sabha. They were introduced alongside other key items of business, including the proposed legislation to increase the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court, as Parliament continued its Monsoon Session amid repeated disruptions and Opposition protests.

TOKYO, Jan 24,2025: The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis and revised up its inflation forecasts, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target.

The decision marks the BOJ’s first rate hike since July last year and comes days after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is likely to keep global policymakers vigilant ahead of potential repercussions from threatened higher tariffs.

BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank will keep raising interest rates as wage and price increases broaden, adding that there was scope to push up borrowing costs further before they reach levels deemed neutral to the economy.

But he offered few clues on the timing and pace of future rate hikes, saying the decision will be based on how soon Japan will see trend inflation sustainably hit the BOJ’s target.

“We don’t have any preset idea. We’ll make a decision at each policy meeting by looking at economic and price developments as well as risks,” he told a press conference after the policy decision.
The widely expected move marks another step Japan is taking away from the deflation and stagnant economic growth that dogged the country for decades.

Feb 15,2022:Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said on Monday that Cryptocurrencies are akin to Ponzi schemes or even worse and banning these is the most sensible option for India. There are strong reasons to keep cryptocurrencies away from the formal financial system, he said.
A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from new investors. It has little or no legitimate earnings.
Sankar further stated that crypto-technology is underpinned by a philosophy to evade Government controls. They have specifically been developed to bypass the regulated financial system. These should be reason enough to treat them with caution.”
Illicit transactions involving cryptocurrencies totaled $14 billion in 2021, he said while citing a Wall Street Journal report. There are about 15-20 million cryptocurrency investors in India, with total holdings of about ₹400 billion, as per industry estimates.

New Delhi,Nov 17,2020: Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has been placed under moratorium for a month, with depositors restricted from withdrawing more than Rs 25,000 from their accounts, as India’s financial authorities look to coordinate a rescue act for the struggling private sector bank.

Account holders will only be able to withdraw more than Rs 25,000 (up to Rs 5 lakh after getting special permission) for education needs or medical emergencies.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in consultation with the Centre, has thus superseded the bank’s board of directors owing to “serious deterioration in the financial position of the bank”.

According to a RBI statement, N. Manoharan, former non-executive chairman of Canara Bank has been appointed as LVB’s administrator.

“The financial position of the Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd. (the bank) has undergone a steady decline with the bank incurring continuous losses over the last three years, eroding its net-worth. In absence of any viable strategic plan, declining advances and mounting non-performing assets (NPAs), the losses are expected to continue. The bank has not been able to raise adequate capital to address issues around its negative net-worth and continuing losses,” the central bank’s statement noted.

Mumbai, Apr 9,2025: Delivering second straight cut in key interest rate in the wake of softening retail inflation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday decided to cut policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6% with immediate effect.

“After a detailed assessment of the evolving macroeconomic and financial conditions and outlook, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6% with immediate effect,” RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said while announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy of the current fiscal.

Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate under the liquidity adjustment facility shall stand adjusted to 5.75% and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate shall stand adjusted to 6.25%.

The MPC also decided to change the stance from ‘neutral’ to ‘accommodative’.

Besides relief for homebuyers and other borrowers, the repo rate cut is expected to boost economic growth which faces multiple headwinds especially trade disruptions and sluggish private investment.

On rationale of the monetary policy decision, Malhotra said that the MPC noted that the inflation is currently below the target.

“It is supported by a sharp fall in food inflation. Moreover, there is a decisive improvement in the inflation outlook. As per projections, there is now a greater confidence of a durable alignment of headline inflation with the target of 4% over a 12-month horizon,” he said.

Marking the first rate cut in nearly five years, the central bank had in February this year reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%.

One basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.

While announcing the monetary policy, the RBI Governor said that the current financial year has begun on an anxious note for the global economy.

“The global economic outlook is fast changing. The recent trade tariff related measures have exacerbated uncertainties clouding the economic outlook across regions, posing new headwinds for global growth and inflation,” Governor Malhotra said.

He, however, noted that the Indian economy has made steady progress towards the goals of price stability and sustained growth.

Amid ongoing trade tariff war and its potential impact on India, the RBI has cut India’s GDP growth forecast for the current financial year 2025-26 to 6.5% from 6.7% growth projected earlier.

“Real GDP growth for 2025-26 is now projected at 6.5%, with Q1 at 6.5%; Q2 at 6.7%; Q3 at 6.6% and Q4 at 6.3%,” Malhotra said.

He said that the downward revision essentially reflects the impact of global trade and policy uncertainties.

Noting that the outlook for food inflation has turned decisively positive, the RBI has projected headline inflation for 2025-26 at 4%, with Q1 at 3.6%; Q2 at 3.9%; Q3 at 3.8%; and Q4 at 4.4%.

Commenting on the MPC decisions, Indranil Pan, Chief Economist at Yes Bank said, “Given projections by the Skymet of a normal monsoon, the risks to food inflation are likely reduced. At the other end of the spectrum, global growth risks have unleashed a sharp softening in crude oil and other commodity prices, and this is also a positive for India’s inflation dynamics.”

“Overall, the confidence that inflation would remain aligned to the 4% target has magnified. Given a 4% inflation target, the scope of pushing repo rate down to 5.50% in this cycle has opened. Consequently, we expect the RBI to cut in June and also in August,” he added.

December 10, 2024: The Centre on Monday announced the appointment of Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as the 26th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, a day before incumbent Governor Shaktikanta Das’s six-year term comes to an end on Tuesday (December 10, 2024).
A 1990-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service of the Rajasthan cadre, Mr. Malhotra is a computer science engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Princeton University, U.S.A, and will take charge of the country’s monetary policy framework and banking regulation at Mint Street on December 11.

Sept 8,2021: San Salvador, El Salvador – Bitcoin is now officially legal tender in El Salvador, but the country’s landmark adoption of the world’s largest cryptocurrency got off to a less than auspicious start on Tuesday.

Before the law officially took effect at 3pm local time (21:00 GMT), the country’s new digital wallet – called Chivo – suffered glitches, forcing the government to take it offline while it boosted server capacity.

“We have disconnected it while increasing capacity of the image capture servers,” tweeted President Nayib Bukele. “The installation problems that some people had were for that reason.”

As the government grappled with technical problems, a small but growing group of people opposed to the new Bitcoin law turned out to protest it in the capital San Salvador.

President Bukele stunned the crypto and wider world in June when he announced that his nation would adopt Bitcoin as legal tender alongside the United States dollar, which has been the currency in the tiny, indebted central American nation since 2001.

With just 90 days to prepare for the historic adoption, teething problems surfaced early on Tuesday when the much-anticipated Chivo digital wallet disappeared from app stores.

Chivo will allow people to use either Bitcoin or US dollars and transfer between the two without fees. The newly installed Chivo ATMs around the city were also not working, and there was confusion about when the app would be available again or when ATMs would be functional.

President Bukele has pitched El Salvador as a destination for both Bitcoin companies as well as individuals, promoting no capital gains taxes on investments in the cryptocurrency, no property tax and even offering residency to any foreigner who spends three Bitcoin in the country.

Despite the president’s boosting efforts, there is even uncertainty about how the law will function among the country’s small but growing expat community of Bitcoin supporters.

However, some Salvadors aren’t waiting for official clarity and are already using Bitcoin.

Bukele remains wildly popular even though his Bitcoin law may not be.

According to an August poll by Central American University, 65 percent of the population opposes the law. Yet the same survey also gives President Bukele an approval rating of 76 percent.

Also this week, the nation’s top court ruled that a president can serve two consecutive terms, making Bukele eligible to rule the country until 2029. The judges behind the decision include ones appointed by the president’s party in May after existing justices were dismissed.

MUMBAI Nov 21,2020: A working group at India’s central bank has recommended a series of changes that could transform the country’s banking landscape by paving the way for large industrial conglomerates to set up banks.
The proposals could also allow large non-banking finance companies and niche payment banks to convert into lenders.

In a report made public on Friday, the committee recommended that banking regulations be amended to allow large industrial houses to act as so-called bank promoters, meaning they could take a significant stake in a lender, something the central bank has strongly resisted in the past.

“Allowing corporates into banking is a path that the regulator should tread on carefully because how much ever ring-fencing they do, problems may crop up,” said Ashvin Parekh, an independent financial services consultant.

Analysts said the move could be aimed at pumping more capital into the banking sector and increasing competition, but warned supervisory challenges could intensify.

Bajaj Group, Piramal Group and Reliance Industries are well-positioned to expand into banking, said an investment banker who did not wish to be named.

As well as opening up the banking sector, the committee suggested adjusting the size of the stakes major shareholders can hold in a lender.

For investors not involved with the bank at the outset, or non-promoter shareholders, a uniform cap of 15% instead of a current tiered structure was suggested by the committee, which was formed in June to review ownership guidelines and the corporate structure of Indian private sector banks.

It recommended increasing the size of the stake that promoters in private banks can hold to 26% from the current 15% over a 15-year time frame.

In 2018, billionaire banker Uday Kotak, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, took the central bank to court over an order from the regulator to reduce his stake in the lender to 15%.

The panel’s recommendations may also pave the way for shadow banks to convert into lenders. A Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC), or shadow bank, with assets of 500 billion rupees ($6.75 billion) and above may be considered for conversion into a bank after 10 years of operations, the report said.

India’s central bank has invited comments on the report which can be submitted until Jan. 15, 2021.

Sept 30,2022:The Swiss National Bank sold 5 million Swiss francs ($5.1 million) worth of foreign currency in market interventions in the second quarter of 2022, data on Friday showed, ending an era of heavy foreign currency purchases to curb the franc’s gains.
Since scrapping its minimum exchange rate in 2015, the SNB has spent 353 billion francs buying mainly dollars, yen and euros to stem the appreciation of the safe-haven currency.

The halt to foreign exchange purchases is the second sea-change in SNB policy recently, with the central bank also quitting its near eight-year era of negative interest rates last week to fight resurgent inflation.

($1 = 0.9766 Swiss francs)

BRUSSELS, April 14,2022: Payment for Russian gas in roubles by European Union buyers as demanded by President Vladimir Putin would break the EU’s sanctions regime against Moscow, an internal European Commission note said.

Putin has warned Europe it risks having gas supplies cut unless it pays in the Russian currency as he seeks retaliation over Western sanctions for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

In March, Moscow proposed that energy buyers open accounts at Gazprombank, where payments in euros or dollars would be converted to roubles.

The European Commission’s note, making clear it is technical, preliminary, and based on an unofficial translation of the Russian Presidential Decree of March 31, said the law added several new layers of obligations on EU gas buyers, taking the effective completion of the purchase out of their hands.

“This mechanism would lead to a breach of the existing EU restrictive measures adopted in respect of Russia, its government, the Central Bank of Russia, and their proxies,” the internal note, seen by Reuters, said.

The government of the Netherlands will instruct companies not to pay for Russian gas in roubles, a Ministry of Economic Affairs spokesperson said on Thursday, citing the decision by the European Commission.

Putin’s decree imposed an obligation on EU gas buyers to open at least two special accounts – one for euros or dollars and one for roubles – with Gazprombank and channel all gas payments through the bank.

The EU buyer would still pay Gazprombank in the contract currency – euros or dollars – but the purchase would only be complete once Gazprombank exchanges the currency into roubles in a deal with the Russian central bank, and deposits the roubles in the second account, the note said.

“The effect … is that a payment is completed not in the currency established under the contract at the moment it is deposited in the accounts … but rather only at an unknown and undefined moment once the foreign currency … is converted into roubles and credited to the second special account,” the Commission note said.

It noted that the process would be entirely overseen by Russia, depriving European companies of control of the funds from the moment of payment and introducing unpredictable additional costs.

“The Russian State, through its central bank, has total control over the foreign currency … which it can manipulate entirely to its own benefit,” the note said, pointing to, for example, the applied exchange rate.

Earlier on Thursday, the Austrian news agency APA reported that Putin told Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer during their meeting this week that Austria’s supply of gas can continue to be paid for in euros.
Austria gets 80% of its natural gas from Russia and opposes an immediate European Union gas embargo on Moscow, arguing it is not possible to suddenly switch to alternative suppliers.

Jan 23,2023:Banks would have to set aside a punitive amount of capital to cover holdings of cryptoassets under a draft law due to be voted on by lawmakers on Tuesday. The European Parliament’s economic affairs committee is due to vote on cross-party compromises, seen by Reuters, on a draft law which implements remaining elements of Basel III, a global accord which forces banks to hold more capital to cope with market shocks unaided by taxpayers.
One amendment states that banks would have to apply a risk-weighting of 1,250% of capital to cryptoassets exposures, meaning enough to cover a complete loss in their value. This is in line with recommendations from the global Basel Committee of banking regulators in December. The amendments also introduce a definition of “shadow banking”, the vast sector of insurers, hedge funds and investment funds that make up about half the world’s financial system and typically less regulated than banks.

The amendment requires the EU’s executive European Commission to publish a report by June 2023 analysing the possibility of introducing prudential limits on banks’ exposures to shadow banks. Amendments also require renumeration policies at banks should be aligned with their transition plans to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks over the short, medium and long term.

The draft law introduces a new “fit and proper” regime for appointing bankers, with amendments saying there should be targets for a bank’s management body. They should be “sufficiently diverse as regards age, gender, and geographical and educational background” according to a report from Jonas Fernandez, the committee member leading the negotiations on the draft law in parliament.

The amendments generally go further than changes made by EU states, who reached a deal among themselves in December and which generally focused on temporary carve-outs on some of the requirements to give banks more time to adapt, in the teeth of European Central Bank opposition.

After Tuesday’s vote the lawmakers and EU states will thrash out a final deal which would come into effect in 2025.

New Delhi, July 24,2023: The central government has approved an 8.15 percent interest rate on deposits under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) scheme for the financial year 2022–23.

In a circular issued on Monday, the retirement fund manager, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), directed its field offices to credit the approved interest rate in the members’ accounts.

“The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, has conveyed the approval of the Central government under Para 60 (1) of Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, 1952, to credit interest at 8.15 percent for the year 2022–23 to the account of each member of the EPF scheme as per the provisions under Para 60 of EPC Scheme, 1962,” EPFO said in the circular to zonal and regional offices.

The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the EPF, chaired by Union Labour Minister Bhupendra Yadav, had earlier recommended an 8.15 percent annual rate of interest to be credited on EPF accumulations in members’ accounts for the financial year 2022–23.

Mar 16,2023:Credit Suisse on Thursday said it would borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank to shore up its liquidity and investor confidence after a slump in its shares intensified fears about a global financial crisis.

The Swiss bank’s announcement helped stem heavy selling in financial markets in Asian morning trade on Thursday, following torrid sessions in Europe and the United States overnight as investors fretted about a run on global bank deposits.

In its statement early Thursday, Credit Suisse said it would exercise its option to borrow from the Swiss National Bank up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion). That followed assurances from authorities in the private banking hub on Wednesday that Credit Suisse met “the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks” and that it could access central bank liquidity if needed.

Credit Suisse is the first major global bank to be given such a lifeline since the 2008 financial crisis – though central banks have extended liquidity more generally to banks during times of market stress including the coronavirus pandemic.

Asian stocks were hit by Wall Street’s tumble on Thursday and investors bought gold, bonds and the dollar. While the bank’s announcement helped trim some of those losses, trade was volatile and sentiment fragile.

New Delhi, Feb 25,2021: The Reserve Bank of India has “major concerns” about crypto currency as it could affect financial stability, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday.

Das, in an interview with television channel CNBC-TV18, said the central bank has conveyed the same to the government which has plans to bring in a bill in Parliament.

“We have certain major concerns about cryptocurrency. We have communicated them to the government.

“It is under consideration in the government and I do expect and I think sooner or later the government will take a call and if required Parliament also will consider and decide,” he said.

The governor also said he wants to make it very clear that the blockchain technology is different.

“The benefits of it have to be exploited, that is another thing, but on crypto, we have major concerns from the financial stability angle.

“We have shared it with the government and government will consider and take a call.”

The government is reported to be planning to bring in a legislation in Parliament barring individuals and companies from dealing with cryptocurrency.

New Delhi, Feb 27,2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked the financial sector to create innovative products for farmers, the fishing community, street vendors and Self Help Groups.

He said Aatmanirbhar Bharat will not be made only by big industry and big cities. Aatmnirbhar Bharat will be created in the villages by the hard work of small entrepreneurs and common people.

He said the capability of Self Help Groups from services to manufacturing and their financial discipline make them an ideal channel for investment in the rural infrastructure.

“It is not just a welfare issue but is a great business model,” said the Prime Minister, addressing a webinar on Budget and the financial sector.

Mr Modi also called for increased credit flow to businesses.

He said the government understands the uncertainties of business and recognises that every business decision is not underlined by bad intentions.

In such a scenario, it is the responsibility of the government to stand by business decisions taken with clear conscience.

“We are doing this and will continue to do so,” Mr Modi said, adding that mechanisms like insolvency and bankruptcy code, are assuring the lenders and borrowers.

The Prime Minister said as India’s economy gets bigger it is equally important for credit flow to start growing rapidly.

He lauded the excellent work of fintech startups in creating new and better financial products for new startups and their exploration of every possibility in this sector.

He added the fintechs have a very high participation in the startup deals that have taken place in the Corona era as well.

He cited experts that this year there would be a great momentum for the financial sector in India.