RBI Grade B Current Affairs — 5 August 2026

The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (Bill No. 150 of 2026) was introduced in Lok Sabha to provide targeted tax reliefs across four priority sectors: electronics manufacturing, data centres, diamond trading, and fund management. The bill proposes concessional tax rates and specific exemptions to attract investment and improve global competitiveness. It amends existing income-tax and other fiscal laws to operationalise these sector-specific incentives, reflecting the government's industrial policy priorities for high-growth and export-oriented industries.

This bill exemplifies how India uses targeted fiscal incentives — rather than blanket rate cuts — to steer investment into strategic sectors. Understanding its mechanism requires knowing two layers: the what (sector-specific concessional rates) and the why (crowding-in private capital into state-priority industries).

**Electronics Manufacturing:** India competes with Vietnam and China for global supply chain relocation. Tax reliefs lower effective cost of production, complementing the PLI scheme already in place.

**Data Centres:** Taxed ambiguously until now (as 'infrastructure' or 'services'), clarified treatment encourages hyperscaler and domestic investment, critical for India's digital economy goals.

**Diamond Trade:** India processes over 90% of the world's rough diamonds (primarily in Surat). Concessional rates on diamond trading income protect this labour-intensive export sector from margin erosion.

**Fund Management:** Offshore fund managers relocating to GIFT City IFSC were deterred by tax uncertainty. The bill addresses this by clarifying the tax treatment of fund management entities, making India's IFSC regime globally competitive.

For exam purposes, the key conceptual link is: selective tax expenditure → sectoral investment → GDP composition shift. The bill also demonstrates fiscal-monetary coordination — lower corporate tax burden reduces financing costs without the RBI needing to cut rates, achieving similar credit-growth outcomes through the supply side. SEBI aspirants should note the fund management angle intersects with SEBI's Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and Portfolio Management Service regulations.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana has crossed 50 lakh rooftop solar installations, marking a significant milestone in India's residential solar push. Launched in February 2024, the scheme targets 1 crore households with free electricity up to 300 units monthly. It provides central financial assistance as subsidy and facilitates collateral-free loans. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy implements it with ₹75,021 crore outlay, making it one of India's largest clean energy welfare programmes.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana addresses two policy problems simultaneously: energy poverty and renewable energy transition. Before this scheme, rooftop solar adoption among households was negligible because upfront capital costs were prohibitive for lower-middle-income families.

The scheme's delivery mechanism works on three levers. First, a central subsidy: ₹30,000 per kW for systems up to 2 kW, and ₹18,000 per kW for the 2–3 kW range, capped at 3 kW for subsidy. Second, collateral-free bank loans at concessional rates, removing the credit barrier. Third, a national online portal (pmsuryaghar.gov.in) for application, vendor selection, and subsidy disbursement — making it a Direct Benefit Transfer-linked programme.

For RBI aspirants, the collateral-free loan component connects to priority sector lending (PSL) norms and renewable energy financing targets. For NABARD aspirants, rural household electrification and green credit linkages are the angle. For UPSC aspirants, this is a case study in cooperative federalism — state discoms, central subsidy, and local bodies all coordinate delivery.

The 50 lakh milestone against the 1 crore target means the scheme is 50% complete. The examiner will test the scheme's parameters, the subsidy structure, the nodal ministry, and the financial outlay — all exact numbers.