SOCH Synopsis of Current Headlines

29th April 2025

Synopsis of Current Headlines

SOCH comprises all the important daily newspaper articles and
PIB related to the syllabus of banking and regulatory body
examinations. Besides, after every article, you'll also find a
concise summary of the news that will help you to get a gist of
the topic through pointers. However, it should not be considered
as a substitute of daily current affairs for the General Awareness
section of any exam. For that you'll have to refer to daily or
monthly current affairs compilations as per your convenience.

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 Protecting India’s Trade Interests with the US
 FTA Background:
o Feb 13, 2025: PM Modi & President Trump agree to launch bilateral trade agreement (BTA),
effectively a free trade agreement (FTA).
o April 21, 2025: ToRs (terms of reference) finalized—ambition level likely mirrors other FTAs (e.g.,
90 % tariff elimination on trade value).
 Current Trade Dynamics:
o India runs a goods deficit with the US but hosts substantial US arms sales, tech-company profits,
and royalties.
o Apple’s net gain on US iPhone sales ($450+ per device) vs. India’s share (<$25), yet full export
value counts toward India’s goods trade.
 Unilateral Concessions So Far:
o Duty cuts on bourbon, fish feed, motorcycles, satellite parts, mobile components.
o Removed 6 % digital tax on revenue from Indian users (benefitting Google, Meta, Amazon).
o Amending nuclear liability law for US equipment; pending approval for Starlink via Reliance
Jio/Bharti Airtel.
 US Negotiating Demands:
o Agriculture: MSP reform, rollback of public stockholding, GM-food imports, lower farm tariffs.
o Industry & Retail: “Evergreening” patents, direct-to-consumer e-commerce for Amazon/Walmart,
lifting ethanol import ban, relaxing local-content rules under “Make in India.”
o Domestic Policy: Ease rules on used capital goods, remanufactured products; dilute procurement
preferences for SMEs.

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 Perception Battle:
o US narrative blames Indian tariffs for trade deficit, pressuring India to “buy more” US goods.
o India’s silence and unilateral cuts have ceded leverage in framing FTA terms.
 Recommended Indian Strategy:
o Scope Limit: Limit FTA to merchandise trade—avoid binding changes to domestic policies.
o “Zero-for-Zero” Goods-Only Pact:
 Reciprocal elimination of tariffs on ~90 % of industrial goods; exclude sensitive sectors
(agriculture, automobiles).
 Leverages India’s experience under ASEAN, Japan, South Korea FTAs; safeguards policy
space.
 The $500 Billion Trade Target:
o A long-standing, aspirational figure (since 2014) with no concrete basis; should not drive
concessions.
 Key Takeaway:
o In an uncertain global climate, a comprehensive US FTA could jeopardize India’s food security,
public health, SMEs, and digital autonomy.
o A narrowly focused industrial goods FTA is the safer, smarter route to address US concerns while
protecting vital national interests.

AB-PMJAY Admissions & Empanelment Snapshot

1. Age Distribution of Authorised Admissions & Card
Issuance
 Admissions
o ≥ 45 years: 51 % (45–59: 23 %; ≥ 60: 28
%)
o 15–44 years: 44 % (15–29: 16 %; 30–44:
22 %)
o 0–14 years: < 2 % (0–4: 0.24 %; 5–14: 1.9
%)
 Ayushman Cards Created
o 15–29 years: 28 %
o 30–44 years: 27 %
o 45–59 years: 22 %
o ≥ 60 years: 15 %
o 0–14 years: ~ 2 %
2. Empanelled Hospitals under PM-JAY by Bed
Strength
Bed-Strength Number of % of Total
Category Hospitals (~36,118)
0–50 beds 29,107 80.6 %
51–100 beds 3,751 10.4 %
101–200 beds 1,667 4.6 %
201–500 beds 1,053 2.9 %
> 500 beds 540 1.5 %
Top 3 States by Total Empanelment
1. Tamil Nadu: 4,507 hospitals
2. Uttar Pradesh: 4,058 hospitals
3. Gujarat: 3,521 hospitals
3. Key Takeaways for Revision
 Demographic Reach: Over half of AB-PMJAY
hospitalisations are seniors (≥ 45), highlighting the
scheme’s importance for older age groups.
 Network Composition: Small hospitals (≤ 50
beds) dominate the empanelment network, while
large facilities (> 500 beds) are scarce.
 State Variations: Southern and western states lead
in overall empanelment, indicating stronger
private-sector partnerships in those regions.

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 Accelerating the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana
 Digital-First Directive
o Banks must use the National Portal exclusively for:
 Consumer validation
 Installation verification
 Site-feasibility assessment
o All physical verifications to be eliminated to save time
 Scheme Essentials
o Target: rooftop solar on 10 million rural & urban households
o Loan product: collateral-free, up to ₹2 lakh at Repo + 50 bps
o Subsidy payout: credited directly to beneficiary’s bank account via PFMS; full tranche to vendors
based on performance ratings
 Inclusion & Finance Innovations
o Mechanisms for applicants without CIBIL score
o Develop a working-capital instrument for solar vendors; encourage private-bank uptake
o Integrate renewable-finance obligations, expand Priority Sector Lending, and other supportive
policy tools
 Ground-Level Efforts
o Technical and product training down to branch staff
o Consumer-awareness campaigns
o Branch-level targets set and tracked
o Oversight by State- and District-Level Bankers’ Committees (SLBCs, DLBCs)
 Progress Metrics (as of March 31, 2025)
o Applications received: 4.1 million
o Installations completed: 1.1 million
o Loan applications submitted: ~375 000
o Loans sanctioned: ~200 000
o Major banks (apps vs. sanctions):
 SBI: 52 348 apps → 9 551 sanctions
 PNB: 26 685 apps → 36 675 sanctions
 BoB: 22 082 apps → 28 471 sanctions
 Canara Bank: 45 750 apps → 19 700 sanctions
 UBI: 16 010 apps

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 Technical Challenges
o OTPs delayed or undelivered on the portal
o Loan-option toggle sometimes unavailable even after vendor acceptance
o Discom data not fetching correctly on Jan Samarth portal
 Recommended Portal Enhancements
o Allow applicants to change bank names before final submission
o Introduce a confirmation popup to verify selected bank and branch details

Microfinance Meets Regulation: Tamil Nadu’s Coercive Recovery Prevention Bill

 Context & Concerns
o Micro-lenders already under pressure now face new compliance burdens in Tamil Nadu.
o Banks & NBFCs warn that added “checks and balances” risk stalling routine collections and driving
up NPA exposure.
o Higher operating costs in micro-lending necessitate elevated interest rates; uncertainty over what
counts as “harassment” could even invite jail terms.
 Key Provisions of the Bill
o Three-year imprisonment for agents engaging in coercive recovery practices.
o Outlaws any form of forced collection—visitations, reminders, or otherwise—deemed harassing to
borrowers or their families.
o Disputes must be adjudicated via government-constituted District-Level Committees before any
recovery action.
o Extends special protections for vulnerable groups (farmers, women, self-help groups).
 Major Players Exposed
o Muthoot Microfinance: ~25 % of AUM in Tamil Nadu
o CreditAccess Grameen: ~20 % of AUM
o Asirvad MFI: ~20 % of AUM
o Ujjivan Small Finance Bank: ~14 % of AUM
 Government Rationale
o TN Deputy Chief Minister: moneylenders’ aggressive tactics have driven borrowers into distress and
even suicide.
o Bill follows Tamil Nadu’s legacy of regulating usurious lending (pawnbrokers, private
moneylenders).
 Operational Impacts & Industry Pushback
o Lenders argue they need regular home visits to monitor repayments and preempt defaults.
o Fear that broad legal definitions of “harassment” will hamper all field collection activity.

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 o Calls for clearer guidelines and digital-first mechanisms to track dues without coercion.
 Parallel Move in Karnataka
o February 2025 ordinance imposes up to 10 years’ jail and ₹5 lakh fine for coercive recovery—
underscores a regional regulatory trend.

FMCG E-Commerce Growth

 Hindustan Unilever (HUL)
o E-commerce today contributes 7–8 % of revenue (growing faster than total biz)
o Targets to raise this to 15 % within the next few years
o Quick commerce accounts for ~2 % of revenue (one-third of its online sales), expanding rapidly
 Tata Consumer Products
o 14 % of revenue now comes via e-commerce
o Half of that e-com share stems from quick commerce
o Urban growth rate across modern trade + Q-com + 50 % of e-com estimated at 14.5 %
 Nestlé India
o E-commerce share rose from 1 % in 2016 → 7.5 % by June 2024 → 8.5 % by March 2025
o Quick commerce a key driver of this growth
 Omni-Channel & Product Strategy
o FMCG firms increasingly launch products online first (especially urban/high-income SKUs), then
roll out to traditional outlets
o Quick commerce hailed as the fastest growing channel—forcing majors to compete with nimble
D2C brands
 Market Implications
o Urban consumers driving faster adoption of online FMCG purchases
o FMCG players must strengthen digital partnerships (e-tailers, Q-com platforms) and tailor SKUs for
online launches
o Quick commerce’s immediacy is reshaping product testing, distribution, and consumer engagement
strategies

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1. National Supercomputing Mission: Powering India’s HPC Future
 Mission Overview
o Launched in 2015 to build indigenous high-performance computing (HPC) capability
o Steered by DST & MeitY, implemented by C-DAC Pune and IISc Bengaluru
o Connected via National Knowledge Network for seamless access
 Capacity & Deployment (as of Mar 2025)
o 34 supercomputers installed, 35 Petaflops total peak capacity
o Hosted at IISc, IITs, C-DAC centres, and Tier II/III academic & R&D labs
o Utilisation >85 % (many >95 %)—over 1 crore compute jobs run
 Research & Human Resource Impact
o Supported 10 000+ researchers, including 1 700+ PhD scholars
o Enabled critical work in drug discovery, climate modeling, disaster management, materials science,
astronomy, fluid dynamics
o 1 500+ papers published; 22 000+ individuals trained in HPC & AI
 Indigenous Ecosystem & Networking
o Param Rudra series: Three 1 Petaflop-class systems built on “Rudra” servers and homegrown
software (deployed Pune, Delhi, Kolkata)
o Trinetra high-speed network: 100 Gbps (Trinetra-A) live; 200 Gbps (Trinetra-B) planned for new
20 PF clusters
o Phased indigenization:
 Phase 1: Six basic systems with domestic assembly
 Phase 2: 40 % value-add from India, local software stack
 Phase 3: Fully indigenized design & manufacturing
 AI & Future Scaling
o AIRAWAT project: 200 PF mixed-precision AI PoC, scalable to 790 AI PF; ranked #75 in Top
500 ISC 2023
o IISc Bengaluru’s Param Pravega (3.3 PF) largest academic supercomputer
o 2024–25 roadmap: Add ~45 PF more using indigenous servers
 Strategic Synergy
o India Semiconductor Mission to localize processors, memory, accelerators—reducing import
dependence, cutting costs, boosting performance
 Budget & Reach
o ₹1 874 crore allocated for infrastructure, R&D, applications, HRD, mission management
o Goal: democratise HPC across institutions, tackle grand-challenge problems, and achieve global
competitiveness

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