Weekly news Snippet - Edition 30

I. MSME:

Digital bank guarantees:

HSBC India has launched electronic Bank Guarantee (e-BG) services for its MSMEs and corporate clients in association with National E-Governance Services Ltd (NeSL) to replace the conventional time-intensive paper-based bank guarantee. The move is aimed to digitize trade and ease the guaranteed issuance process digitally with the introduction of e-stamping and e-signing.(1)

Services procurement via GeM:

The public procurement platform of the government, Government eMarketplace (GeM) has registered a 7.7x growth in the transaction value of services availed from MSME and other sellers on the platform between financial year 2020-21 and 2022-23.(2)

II. Banking:?

SBI in Sri Lanka:

Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on Thursday visited Sri Lanka's eastern port town of Trincomalee where she opened a branch of the State Bank of India and appreciated its role in supporting corporates in international trade.(3)

SFB license:

Fino Payments Bank is planning to apply for a Small Finance Bank license by the end of this year, according to its Managing Director, Rishi Gupta. Fino Payments Bank currently has a net worth of nearly Rs. 600 crores, well above the minimum capital requirement of Rs. 200 crores for Small Finance Banks.(4)

Currency out of circulation:

The RBI said more than 97% of the Rs. 2,000 banknotes in circulation have been returned to the banking system, and only Rs. 10,000 crores of such notes are still in public circulation.(5)

III. Finance:?

SBI and Reliance Retail:

SBI Card has partnered with Reliance Retail to launch the eco-friendly Reliance SBI Card credit card, granting shoppers at Reliance Retail access to rewards. The card offers benefits across various shopping categories. The collaboration aims to enhance the shopping experience and provide exclusive discounts and rewards for customers.(6)

GST revenue collection:

The finance ministry released a statement saying, "October 2023's GST revenue collection is the second highest ever, surpassed only by April 2023 at Rs. 1.72 lakh crores; records increase of 13% Y-o-Y." In April 2023, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) recorded its largest income ever of Rs. 1.87 lakh crores, in September it was recorded at Rs. 1.63 lakh crores.(7)

Bibliography:

1.?https://www.financialexpress.com/business/sme-hsbc-india-launches-e-bank-guarantee-services-for-msmes-corporates-to-replace-conventional-paper-based-bank-guarantee-3294773/

2.?https://www.financialexpress.com/business/sme-nearly-8x-jump-recorded-in-services-procured-by-govt-from-msmes-via-gem-portal-since-covid-3294770/

3.?https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-inaugurates-sbi-branch-in-sri-lanka-11698915614999.html

4.?https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/fino-payments-bank-likely-to-apply-for-small-finance-bank-license-by-year-end-md/articleshow/104893736.cms

5.?https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/more-than-97-of-rs-2-000-banknotes-returned-only-rs-10-000-crore-worth-with-public-rbi-11698849069552.html

6.?https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/reliance-sbi-card-tie-up-to-launch-lifestyle-focused-credit-card/articleshow/104857556.cms

7.??https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/gst-collections-in-october-jump-13-yoy-to-rs-1-72-lakh-cr-second-highest-ever/videoshow/104892661.cms