General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - January 2015

Jan 2015

Jul 09, 2025

Hardeep Singh Brar New CEO of BMW India

BMW Group India announced a change in personnel at the helm with Hardeep Singh Brar appointed as the President and Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2025.
Hardeep Singh Brar succeeds Vikram Pawah who is taking charge as Chief Executive Officer of BMW Group Australia and New Zealand.
Brar has over thirty years of experience in the Indian automotive industry, having held various senior management positions. Previously, Brar has led key functions in sales, marketing, customer experience, network development, and corporate strategy across multiple brands, including Maruti-Suzuki, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, General Motors, Nissan Motor, and Great Wall Motor Company.

Trump Imposes 50% Tariffs on Copper

US President Donald Trump announced 50 per cent tariffs on copper, after having implemented similar duties on steel and aluminium. He added that tariffs on pharmaceuticals could rise to 200 per cent after a year.
This is significant for India, which exported $2 billion worth of copper and copper products globally in 2024–25, with the US accounting for $360 million, or 17 per cent, of that total. The US is also India's largest overseas market for pharmaceuticals. Drug exports to the US rose to $9.8 billion in FY25, up 21 per cent from $8.1 billion the previous year, and now account for 40 per cent of India's total pharma exports.

Apple names Indian-origin Sabih Khan as COO

Apple Inc. announced a major leadership change, naming India-born Sabih Khan as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). Khan will succeed long-time executive Jeff Williams later this month (July 2025), as part of a planned succession strategy under CEO Tim Cook.
Khan who has been with Apple since 1995 is widely credited with transforming the company's global supply chain. Since 2019, he has led Apple's operations team, overseeing manufacturing, supplier responsibility, and environmental sustainability initiatives across the globe. As COO, Khan will be number two in the tech firm below Tim Cook.

Jul 08, 2025

Colombia and Uzbekistan join NDB ahead of 17th BRICS Summit

Colombia and Uzbekistan officially joined the New Development Bank (NDB) just before the 17th BRICS Summit. This move increases the total number of NDB members to 11 countries. The announcement was made following the bank's 10th Board of Directors meeting, as the bank continues to support growth and development in emerging nations.
The New Development Bank, also known as NDB, was created in 2015 by the original BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Over time, more countries joined, including Bangladesh, UAE, Egypt, and Algeria. Now, with Colombia and Uzbekistan joining, the bank has 11 member countries.

Trinidad & Tobago Joins UPI Network for Indian Travellers

Trinidad and Tobago became the eighth country in the world, and the first in the Caribbean, to offer UPI (Unified Payments Interface) services for Indian travellers. This move allows Indian visitors to make payments directly in rupees using their mobile UPI apps.
UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is a fast and secure digital payment system developed in India. It allows people to send or receive money using just a mobile phone and internet connection. Now, with UPI available in other countries, Indian tourists don't need cash or forex cards to shop or dine abroad.
With Trinidad and Tobago joining, UPI is now live in eight countries, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, France, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Trinidad and Tobago.

Government Awards Seven-star Ratings to Three Mines for Green Practices

The Ministry of Mines awarded seven-star ratings for the first time to three mines – Ultratech Cement's Naokari limestone mine, Tata Steel's Noamundi iron ore mine, and Sandur Manganese and Iron Ore Ltd.'s Kammatharu mine.
In total, 98 mines were recognised at the felicitation ceremony held at the Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur for their performance in 2023-24. Three mines received seven-star ratings, while 95 were awarded five-star ratings.

Adani Power Completes Acquisition of 600 MW Vidarbha Power

Adani Power, India's leading private thermal power producer, successfully completed the acquisition and resolution plan implementation of Vidarbha Industries Power Ltd. (VIPL) for an aggregate consideration of Rs 4,000 crore.
VIPL is a 2x300 MW domestic coal-fired power plant located in Butibori, Nagpur district, Maharashtra. VIPL was undergoing Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Jul 07, 2025

World Bank ranks India 4th among the world's Most Equal Societies

World Bank placed India among world's Most Equal Societies. According to the World Bank, India's Gini Index stands at 25.5, making it the fourth most equal country in the world, after the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Belarus. The Gini Index is a simple yet powerful way to understand how income, wealth or consumption is equally distributed across households or individuals in a country.
India falls into the "moderately low" inequality category, which includes Gini scores between 25 and 30. India is only a fraction away from joining the "low inequality" group, which includes countries like the Slovak Republic with a score of 24.1, Slovenia at 24.3, and Belarus at 24.4. Apart from these three, India has a better score than all the other 167 countries for which the World Bank has released data.

Sahil Kini New CEO of RBI Innovation Hub

Sahil Kini was appointed as the new CEO of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH). This appointment follows a long search process that saw over 400 candidates applying for the top job. The RBIH is an important part of the Reserve Bank of India's plan to boost financial technology innovation in the country.
Sahil Kini takes over the leadership from Rajesh Bansal, who served as the founding CEO of RBIH for four years. Under Bansal, the hub launched important initiatives like the Frictionless Credit platform and the Swanari program, which aimed to make financial services more accessible to women.
The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub was set up in 2022 as a fully owned arm of the Reserve Bank of India, located in Bengaluru.

Eternal Appoints Aditya Mangla as CEO of Food Ordering and Delivery

Eternal, the parent company of food delivery aggregator Zomato, announced the appointment of Aditya Mangla as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its food ordering and delivery business.
Mangla took over the role from Rakesh Ranjan, who completed a two-year stint as CEO of the food ordering and delivery business.

Jul 06, 2025

Epson Makes Manufacturing Foray into India with new Chennai Facility

Japanese major Seiko Epson Corporation made its first manufacturing investment in India by setting up its first ink tank printer manufacturing facility in the country in Chennai.
The new plant has been established in collaboration with manufacturing partner Rikun at Sipcot Industrial Park in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, and is scheduled to commence operations in October.

Jul 05, 2025

Microsoft Exits Pakistan after 25 Years

Global tech firm Microsoft ceased operations in Pakistan after 25 years, according to its founding country head. Jawwad Rehman, who launched Microsoft in the country in 2000, revealed the closure.
The exit coincided with Microsoft's global decision to lay off 9,000 employees. However, the shutdown in Pakistan is seen as a reflection of deeper economic and political instability in the country. Factors such as a weakening currency, high import barriers on tech, and ongoing political uncertainty have created an inhospitable environment for multinationals. All these made it nearly impossible for a global company like Microsoft to function efficiently.

Coal Ministry to Launch RECLAIM Framework for Sustainable Mine Closure

In a step toward sustainable mining and community welfare, the Ministry of Coal launched the RECLAIM Framework—a structured guide to ensure inclusive mine closures and repurposing. This initiative places strong emphasis on community participation, gender inclusivity, and the involvement of vulnerable groups, aiming to make the post-mining transition equitable, transparent, and locally aligned.
RECLAIM stands for 'Repurposing, Engagement, Community, Livelihoods, Assets, Inclusivity, Mine-closure'.

Mashreq Becomes First UAE Bank to Enter GIFT City

Mashreq, a major bank from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), received in-principle approval to open a branch in GIFT City, located in Gujarat, India. This makes it the first UAE-based bank to enter India's international financial centre. This move is a major step toward strengthening India-UAE financial ties and supporting international banking activities.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) gaven Mashreq Bank the initial go-ahead to start its operations in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City). This branch will be an International Financial Services Centre Banking Unit (IBU).

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