RBI Grade B Current Affairs — 3 September 2026

Despite sustained net selling by foreign portfolio investors in Indian equities, new FPI registrations with SEBI have surged sharply, signalling fresh interest in India as an investment destination. The trend reflects growing appetite among global funds to gain access to Indian capital markets even as existing FPIs trim positions. SEBI remains the sole regulator for FPI registration, operating through designated depository participants who process applications under the SEBI FPI Regulations, 2019.

Foreign Portfolio Investors are regulated entities that invest in Indian securities — equities, bonds, hybrid instruments — without taking controlling stakes (unlike FDI). SEBI introduced the FPI Regulations in 2019, consolidating earlier FII and QFI categories into a single, simplified FPI framework.

Registration is mandatory before any investment and happens through Designated Depository Participants (DDPs), who act as SEBI's agents. FPIs are classified into two categories post the 2019 simplification: Category I (government entities, central banks, sovereign wealth funds, multilateral organisations) and Category II (regulated funds, university endowments, insurance companies, and others). The earlier Category III was abolished.

The surge in new registrations despite net outflows is significant because it separates two distinct signals: existing FPIs may be de-risking from India-specific positions due to global macro factors (strong dollar, US Fed policy), while new entrants see a structural, long-term opportunity — particularly in sectors like infrastructure, financials, and manufacturing.

For exam purposes, the regulatory architecture matters: SEBI is the regulator; DDPs are the intermediary; RBI governs the permissible instruments and investment limits under FEMA. FPIs can invest up to 24% of a company's paid-up capital by default, extendable to sectoral FDI cap with board approval. In government securities, FPI investment limits are set by RBI in coordination with SEBI.

Surgeon Vice Admiral Dilip Raghavan assumed the appointment of Director General Medical Services (Navy), the highest medical office in the Indian Navy. A distinguished naval physician, he has held senior command and staff appointments across naval medical establishments. The Director General Medical Services (Navy) is responsible for overseeing all health, medical policy, and hospital services within the Indian Navy. This appointment places him at the apex of naval healthcare administration in India.

The Director General Medical Services (Navy) is the senior-most medical officer in the Indian Navy, holding the rank of Surgeon Vice Admiral. This role is distinct from the Army and Air Force equivalents — the Director General Medical Services (Army) and Director General Medical Services (Air Force) — each heading their respective service's medical corps independently.

The rank of Surgeon Vice Admiral in the Navy is the medical branch equivalent of Vice Admiral in the executive branch. Understanding tri-service rank equivalence is a recurring examiner tool: Vice Admiral (Navy) = Lieutenant General (Army) = Air Marshal (Air Force).

The appointment sits under the Integrated Defence Staff structure, and the incumbent advises the Naval Chief on all medical matters including field medical preparedness, hospital policy, and medical logistics. Key naval medical institutions include INHS Asvini (Mumbai), INHS Kalyani (Visakhapatnam), and INHS Sanjivani (Kochi).

For exam purposes, the testable facts are: the officer's name, his exact designation (Director General Medical Services — Navy), his rank (Surgeon Vice Admiral), and the implicit rank-equivalence question the examiner can build around it. UPSC has previously tested tri-service rank matching, making this appointment a credible anchor for a rank-equivalence distractor question.