Land Holdings in India

• Land holdings in the marginal category (less than 1 ha. ie 2.5 acres) constitute 67 per cent of the operational holdings in the country (2010-11). ). In terms of area operated, the share of marginal holdings has doubled to 22 per cent (2010-11)  from a mere 9 per cent (1970-71)
• Small farmer = 1 to 2 ha
• Small and marginal holdings together, constitute 85 per cent in terms of number of operational holdings and 44 per cent of the operated area in the country.
• Thus, over the period, the marginal category has emerged as a distinct and dominant class by itself. Hence, farm mechanisation suited to the needs and requirements of marginal and small farmers is required.
• The average size of large category land holdings indicate that huge potential exists to scale up agriculture wherein corporatisation of agriculture can be an independent intervention that can trigger the sector.

Source: NABARD Rural Pulse document 2014

Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)

• BBPS is a centralised bill payment system which gathers details of bills issued by utility services such as electricity, water, gas, telephone, DTH and insurance companies and facilitates payment instantly across India.
• it makes access to bill payments universal.
• Common platform to pay utility services bills.
• Mainly aimed at those for whom netbanking is not a way of life.
• A framework created by the RBI.
• Any bank or a payment company that plugs into BBPS can allow its customers to view and pay bills. The system comprises a digital platform called Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) operated by the National Payments Corporation of India and a network of existing players called Bharat Bill Payment Operating Units (BBPOUs)
• BBPCU will plug in all billers into a central server. The operating units (BBPOUs) will comprise two sets of players -banks and wallet companies like Paytm, Oxigen, Mobikwik and Itz Cash on one hand and aggregators like BillDesk, TechProcess, Citrus Pay and Euronet on the other.
• Customers can view the bill and make payments through multiple modes such as netbanking, creditdebt cards, e-wallets and cash in case of offline mode, and get instant confirmation.
• A bank can provide an interface through an ATM as well.

Source: Economic Times

Bank Rate, SLR, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, CRR

Bank Rate is a tool, which central bank  uses for short-term purposes. Thus any revision in the Bank rate indicates that it is likely that interest rates on your deposits are likely to either go up or go down,  and it can also indicate  an increase or decrease in your EMI.

What is SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio)?  

It is Minimum percentage of deposits that the bank has to maintain in form of gold, cash or other approved securities.

What is CRR (Cash reserve Ratio)? 

Banks money to be kept with RBI to drain out excessive money from the system. If the central bank decides to increase the CRR, the available amount with the banks comes down. Maintained at 4% of the total of the Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL), on a fortnightly basis.

What is Reverse Repo rate?
RBI borrows from banks at this rate. Banks are always happy to lend money to the RBI since their money are in safe hands with a good interest.An increase in reverse repo rate can prompt banks to park more funds with the RBI to earn higher returns on idle cash. It is also a tool which can be used by the RBI to drain excess money out of the banking system.

What is a Repo Rate?
Banks borrow from RBI at this rate.
It is an instrument of monetary policy. Whenever banks have any shortage of funds they can borrow from the RBI.
A reduction in the repo rate helps banks get money at a cheaper rate and vice versa. The repo rate in India is similar to the discount rate in the US.

Maharatna, Navratna and Miniratna PSUs

PSU companies in India are divided into three categories:

A)Maharatna
B)Navratna
C)Miniratna

There are currently 7 Maharatnas, 14 Navratnas and 53 Miniratnas-I and 16 Miniratna-II.

Maharatna:
In 2009, the government established the Maharatna status. A Maharatna firm can take investment decision of up to Rs. 5,000 crore without going to the government.

List of Maharatna CPSEs:

1. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
2. Coal India Limited
3. GAIL (India) Limited
4. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
5. NTPC Limited
6. Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Limited
7. Steel Authority of India Limited

Navratna: 

Navratna was the title given originally to 9 Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) identified by the Government of India in 1997 as "public sector companies that have comparative advantages", giving them greater autonomy to compete in the global market so as to "support [them] in their drive to become global giants". A Navratna firm can take investment decision of up to Rs. 1,000 crore without going to the government.

List of Navratna PSUs:

1. Bharat Electronics Limited
2. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited
3. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
4. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
5. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
6. National Aluminium Company Limited
7. National Mineral Development Corporation Limited
8. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
9. Oil India Limited
10. Power Finance Corporation Limited
11. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited
12. Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited
13. Rural Electrification Corporation Limited
14. Shipping Corporation of India Limited
15. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited
16. Paradeep Phosphates Ltd

Note: BHEL and GAIL were granted the Maharatna status by the Union Government of India in February 2013.

Currency Swap Agreement with Japan and Bhutan

• India is exploring possibilities of entering into currency swap agreements with trade partners aiming to shore up exports and bring down trade deficit, which is putting pressure on the rupee.

• India has signed currency swap agreements with Japan ($ 15 billion) and Bhutan ($ 100 million). China has shown active interest in entering into such an agreement with India but it is yet to be signed.

• Currency swap agreements involve exchange of one currency for another currency and are generally motivated by the comparative advantage.