RBI Grade B Current Affairs — 25 October 2026

India's GDP grew 6.4% in FY2024-25, down from 8.2% in FY2023-24, according to the First Advance Estimate released by the National Statistical Office. Gross Value Added grew 6.4% at basic prices. Private final consumption expenditure rose strongly, while government capital expenditure remained a key driver. Services sector led growth; manufacturing moderated. India retained its position as the world's fastest-growing major economy, outpacing China's estimated 4.6% growth for the same period.

GDP measures the total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. India uses two approaches: the expenditure method (C + I + G + NX) and the production/GVA method. GVA at basic prices plus net taxes on products equals GDP at market prices — a distinction examiners frequently test.

The First Advance Estimate (FAE), released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in January, uses benchmark-indicator method with available data and is revised later into Second Advance, First Revised, and Final estimates. This sequencing itself is a testable fact.

The deceleration from 8.2% (FY24) to 6.4% (FY25) reflects several forces: global demand softness, moderation in manufacturing output, and base effects from an exceptionally strong prior year. However, private consumption remaining robust signals household balance sheet strength.

For NABARD aspirants: agricultural GVA growth directly links to rural credit demand and NABARD's refinancing volumes. When agri-GVA rises, Kisan Credit Card offtake and cooperative credit demand typically follow — the examiner often connects macro data to sectoral credit outcomes.

For RBI aspirants: the GDP-inflation tradeoff underpins MPC decisions. Lower-than-potential growth alongside moderating inflation creates space for rate cuts — the transmission mechanism from GDP data to monetary policy stance is a recurring exam concept.

India outpacing China in growth rate has become a standard distractor question — examiners test whether aspirants know the precise figures, not just the ranking.

On January 5, 2026, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework published an 88-page Side-by-Side Package modifying key aspects of BEPS 2.0. Pillar One reallocates taxing rights over large multinational profits to market jurisdictions; Pillar Two establishes a 15% global minimum corporate tax rate. The package refines technical rules, safe harbours, and transition mechanisms. India, as an Inclusive Framework member, is directly affected in how it taxes digital multinationals and designs its domestic minimum top-up tax.

BEPS stands for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting — the practice by which multinational corporations reduce their tax liability by shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions. The OECD/G20 launched the BEPS project in 2013, and its evolved form, BEPS 2.0, has two structural pillars.

Pillar One addresses where profits are taxed. It reallocates a portion of residual profits of very large multinationals (global turnover above €20 billion, profitability above 10%) to the market jurisdictions where their goods or services are consumed — even without a physical presence. This is especially significant for digital economy firms like Google or Amazon that earn revenue in India without a permanent establishment.

Pillar Two addresses how much tax is paid. It introduces a global minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15% through the GloBE (Global Anti-Base Erosion) rules. Countries may impose a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT) to collect the 'top-up' tax themselves before another country can. India has been considering implementing QDMTT to retain revenue that would otherwise go to a parent company's home jurisdiction.

The January 2026 Side-by-Side Package is significant because it modifies transition rules and safe harbours, affecting how companies compute their effective tax rates. For India, BEPS 2.0 directly intersects with its Equalisation Levy (digital services tax) and the future of the bilateral tax treaty network. India is a member of the Inclusive Framework, which now has over 140 countries.