General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2015

Feb 2015

Nov 28, 2021

Reliance, Aramco Call off $15-bn Deal

Reliance Industries and Saudi Aramco called off a deal for the state oil giant to buy a stake in the oil-to-chemicals business of the Indian conglomerate due to valuation concerns.
Talks broke down over how much Reliance's oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business should be valued as the world seeks to move away from fossil fuels and reduce emissions.
Instead, Reliance will now focus on signing multiple deals with companies to produce specialty chemicals for higher margins.

Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India Clarify on Privatisation Business

Amid privatisation business, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) and Central Bank of India (CBI) informed the stock exchanges that they received no information from government on these lines. The clarification cames a day after Centre's legislative agenda for Winter Session hinted at tabling of Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 bill for privatisation of two public sector banks.
The bill seeks to "effect amendments in Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Acts, 1970 and 1980 and incidentalamendments to Banking Regulation Act, 1949 in the context of Union Budget announcement 2021 regarding privatisation of two Public Sector Banks.

Royal Enfield Starts Local Assembly Unit, CKD Facility in Thailand

Eicher Motors said that its Royal Enfield motorcycle unit commenced operations of its exclusive local assembly unit and CKD (Completely Knocked Down) facility in Thailand.
With this, Royal Enfield now has three local CKD units - in Argentina, and Colombia in Latin America, and in Thailand - in addition to the three manufacturing facilities in Chennai, India.
To begin with, the facility will start local assembly of the Himalayan, Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 models.

Centre Releases New Series of Wage Rate Index

The Labour ministry released the new series of wage rate index (WRI) with the base year being 2016. The government periodically revises the base year of WRI for key economic indicators in order to provide a clear picture of economic changes and record the wage pattern of workers. The new series of WRI with base 2016=100 will replace the old series with base 1963-65.
According to the recommendations of the International Labour Organization and National Statistical Commission, the base year of WRI numbers has been revised from 1963-65 to 2016 by the Labour Bureau to enhance the coverage and to make the index more representative. The new WRI series has expanded the scope and coverage in terms of the number of industries, sample size, occupations under selected industries as well as weightage of industries among other indicators.

HCL Technologies Expands its Presence in Sri Lanka

HCL Technologies (HCL), a global tech major, opened its new facility at the state-of-the-art Cinnamon Life complex in Sri Lanka and this new facility will be its largest in the country, accommodating 4,000 employees..
HCL Technologies (HCL) had entered Sri Lanka in 2020 with the aim to make it a global technology and IT services delivery hub for some of the largest corporations in the world. Currently, HCL intends to occupy 80% of Cinnamon Life, a project by John Keels, with plans of taking up 10 floors now and 10 floors at a later stage.

Debt-laden IL&FS Completes Stake Sale in Prime Terminals FZC

Debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) completed the sale of its 71.84 per cent stake in IL&FS Prime Terminals FZC to VTTI Terminal I BV.
The transaction has resolved the group's outstanding debt to the tune of Rs. 757.79 crore.
IL&FS' stake in IL&FS Prime Terminals FZC (IPTF), a state-of-the art energy storage terminal situated in the UAE's Fujairah, was held through IL&FS Maritime Infrastructure Company (IMICL).
VTTI has acquired the stake from IMICL and other shareholders.

Nov 27, 2021

Bajaj Allianz, TropoGo Join Hands for Drone Insurance

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance announced its partnership with deep-tech start-up TropoGo for the distribution of a drone Insurance product.
The drone insurance product would cover damage to the Drone and Payload it carries, Third Party Liability along with additional covers for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) Endorsement and Night Flying Endorsement.
Drone owners and drone manufacturing companies can avail an annual third-party and comprehensive coverage for accidental damage, theft, and disappearance, users can opt for additional endorsements for night flying, BVLOS, payload and data loss liability. Companies can also avail customised insurance coverage for fleet requirements.

RBI Imposes Penalties on Tata Communications Payment Solutions, Appnit

The Reserve Bank has imposed penalties on Tata Communications Payment Solutions Limited (TCPSL) and Appnit Technologies Private Limited (ATPL) for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
A penalty of Rs. 2 crore wasn imposed on TCPSL and Rs. 54.93 lakh on ATPL.

BNP Paribas, Societe Generale Trim Stake in Indiabulls Housing

Societe Generale and BNP Paribas Arbitrage offloaded 51 lakh shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance for about Rs. 113 crore through open market transactions.
Societe Generale sold 27.40 lakh shares of Indiabulls Housing Finance while BNP Paribas Arbitrage divested 23.59 lakh shares of the company.
The shares were offloaded in the range of Rs. 221.34-221.75 apiece, valuing the transaction size to Rs. 113 crore.
Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited is a mortgage lender headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India. It is India's second largest housing finance company and is regulated by the National Housing Bank.

SBI signed an MoU with Pondicherry Co-op Milk Producers' Union Ltd

The State bank of India (SBI) signed an MoU with Pondicherry Co-op. Milk Producers' Union Ltd (PONLAIT) for financing individual dairy farmers up to Rs. 3 Lakh. The Loan will be made available through YONO application of the SBI Bank. SBI has introduced a technology product, named 'SAFAL- Simple And Fast Agriculture Loan' for financing individual Dairy farmers, who are supplying milk to commercial dairies on a regular basis.
Around 3,500 dairy farmers supplying milk to 98 primary milk societies of PONLAIT would be benefited by the arrangement. This was the first MoU signed in the Chennai circle of the bank which plans to enter into such agreements with commercial dairies throughout the country to finance farmers supplying milk to the dairies. The present arrangement to boost milk production with the help of bank loans would help the administration of the union territory to meet the daily requirement of milk.

JM Financial Launches Bondskart.com, a Retail Bond Platform

JM Financial Products, the flagship non-banking finance arm of the JM Financial Group announced the launch of Bondskart.com, a digital application that would enable retail investors to trade or invest in fixed income securities including corporate bonds, a facility similar to the RBI's retail direct platform for government bonds.
Bondskart.com features diverse fixed income investment options across rating categories, yields and instrument types such as plain vanilla bonds, sub-debt/ Tier II & perpetual bonds aided by in-house analytics and data driven technology platform.

Nov 26, 2021

Telangana, Kerala Top in H1 Capex

Telangana and Kerala lead the capital expenditure chart of states in the first half of 2021-22 while the biggest two spenders, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, are the laggards with not even spending a fifth of the budgeted amount, thereby pulling down the overall capex by states to a low 28.4 per cent in the period.
While UP is the largest in term of capex planned at Rs. 1,14,274 crore, it has spent only 20.8 per cent of it Rs. 23,803 crore, followed by Maharashtra with a capex of Rs. 59,139 crore but has spent only Rs. 8,454 crore so far while the smaller states like Telangana tops the list of states with the highest capex spends at Rs. 14,814 crore in H1 which is 51.9 per cent of the budgeted Rs. 28,518 crore for the full year.
The other big spenders are MP (46.5 per cent of its Rs. 39,704 crore capex budget) and Rajasthan has spent 40.5 per cent of the budgeted Rs. 26,936 crore, while the other big laggards are Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Gujarat, and Andhra.

Union Bank of India, Capri Global Capital Tie up for Co-lending to MSMEs

Union Bank of India entered into a co-lending partnership with Capri Global Capital, under which they will disburse loans to MSMEs.
Capri Global Capital Ltd (CGCL) is a non banking financial company focused on lending to MSMEs and the affordable housing finance segment.
The co-lending agreement aims to enhance last-mile finance and drive financial inclusion to MSMEs by offering secured loans between Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore.
The pact between the two companies is as per the guidelines issued by RBI in November 2020 on co-lending to the priority sector.

Nov 25, 2021

IndusInd Bank Clarifies on Appointment of BFIL Executives by SSFL

IndusInd Bank clarified that Shalabh Saxena and Ashish Damani are currently employed with its wholly owned subsidiary Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL) as managing director & CEO, and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, countering that they were appointed by Spandana Sphoorty Financial Ltd (SFFL).
SFFL announced the appointment of Saxena as its MD & CEO, and Damani as the President and CFO of the company.

Myntra Makes Foray into Social Commerce at Scale with 'M-Live'

Fashion e-commerce platform Myntra announced its foray into social commerce at scale with the launch of M-Live to cater to the rapidly evolving content consumption patterns and shopping preferences of consumers.
M-Live brings a first-of-its-kind, interactive and real-time live shopping experience to the fingertips of millions of shoppers in the country.
Myntra's social commerce business has three distinct propositions that add immense composite value to consumers, creators and brands M-Live, Myntra Studio and Myntra Fashion Superstar.
M-Live aims to facilitate a real-time engagement between consumers and brands by allowing influencers and experts to host live video sessions of product and styling concepts curated by them, on the Myntra app, enabling viewers to shop instantly.

RBI Puts Curbs on Malkapur Urban Co-op Bank; Caps Withdrawals

The RBI imposed several restrictions, including a Rs. 10,000 cap on withdrawals, on Malkapur Urban Co-operative Bank in Maharashtra due to deterioration in its financial position.
Malkapur Urban Co-operative Bank shall not without prior approval of the RBI renew any loans, make any investment, incur any liability, and disburse any payment.
The restrictions would remain in force for six months.

Paytm Payments Bank Launches Prepaid Card Linked with Paytm Wallet

Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) launched a physical prepaid card that is directly linked to a user's Paytm wallet. Users can just top up the wallet to use the card and do not need to create a separate account. The card also enables the withdrawal of money from ATMs.
According to Satish Gupta, managing director and CEO of Paytm, the Paytm Transit card will enable millions of Indians with the power of one single card that takes care of all transportation as well as banking needs.

Bigbasket Forays into Offline Retail; Unveils Fresho Store in Bengaluru

Online grocery platform Bigbasket announced its foray into offline retail with the opening a new technology-driven, self-service 'Fresho' store in Bengaluru.
The launch is part of the company's vision to open 200 physical outlets pan India by 2023 and 800 by 2026.
The stores will offer high quality products at extremely competitive prices.
With Fresho stores, customers can handpick fresh fruits and vegetables as well as daily essentials like bread and eggs.

Nov 24, 2021

Equitas Small Finance Bank Partners with HDFC Bank to Launch Credit Cards

Equitas Small Finance Bank announced its partnership with HDFC Bank for the launch of its new co-branded credit cards, to provide the company with the facilities of the banking ecosystem.
The credit card can be availed in two categories. The first category is the 'Excite Credit Card' which offers a credit limit from Rs, 25,000 to Rs, 2,00,000 and the second category is the 'Elegance Credit Card' which offers credit of over Rs, 2,00,000. This co-branded credit card is a value add to the customers who want to get rewarded.
Equitas Small Finance Bank is one of the largest small finance banks in India in terms of number of banking outlets and the second largest SFB in India in terms of assets under management and total deposits in FY2019.

Greaves Electric Mobility Launches its Largest EV Plant in Tamil Nadu

Greaves Electric Mobility, the e-mobility division of Greaves Cotton Ltd said that the company's largest electric vehicle production facility in Tamil Nadu was formally inaugurated by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin.
The facility located in Ranipet, and is part of the Rs. 700 crore investment roadmap laid by Greaves Electric Mobility.
The 35-acre plant would serve as an electric mobility hub for both domestic and overseas markets.

Telefonica Partners Wipro for Network Automation Solution

IT firm Wipro partnered with Telefnica to automate the associated network operations and enable adoption of virtualised network functions.
Telefonica plans to leverage a common CI/CD/CT (Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment and Continuous Testing) framework for all the markets which can be implemented locally to meet specific local integration needs, with the support of Wipro.
This will ease collaboration among Telefonica OpCos allowing to share design, parametrisation/configuration, test plans and results.

RBI Floats Draft scheme for Amalgamation of PMC Bank, Unity SFB

Inching closer to resolving the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank issue, the Reserve Bank came out with a draft scheme for takeover of the crisis-hit bank by the Delhi-based Unity Small Finance Bank (USFB).
The draft scheme of amalgamation envisages takeover of the assets and liabilities of PMC Bank, including deposits, by USFB, thus giving a greater degree of protection for the depositors.

Proptech Start-up NoBroker Enters Unicorn Club

Bengaluru-based NoBroker has become the first property tech start-up to enter the unicorn club, raising $210 million in its Series E round.
The funding was led by General Atlantic, Tiger Global Management, and Moore Strategic Ventures. This brings the funding raised by NoBroker to date to $361 million.
The online platform allows customers to do all manner of real estate transactions digitally, ranging from rental or outright sale to value-added services like home loans, packers and movers, legal documentation, and online rent payment.
It operates in six cities: Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi-NCR.

ICICI Bank Announces Value-added Digital Service for Importers, Exporters

ICICI Bank announced the launch of 'Trade Emerge', an online digital banking and value-added services for exporters and importers.
Trade Emerge' will include current / saving accounts, comprehensive trade services such as letter of credit, bank guarantee, trade credit, corporate internet banking, foreign exchange solutions and other features.
As per Vishakha Mulye, executive director of ICICI Bank, the objective of this initiative is to increase efficiency and productivity of exporters and importers decongesting the time-taking physical procedures.

NPCI Bharat BillPay On-boards Tata Power for Electricity Bill Payments

NPCI Bharat BillPay has on-boarded Tata Power on its platform through which customers will be able to pay their electricity bills in a hasslefree and seamless manner.
This will enable over seven lakh customers of Tata Power (Mumbai) to pay their electricity bills through ClickPay payment link.
NPCI Bharat BillPay, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India, has announced integration with Tata Power, making it the first power company to go live on the newly launched platform.
Bharat BillPay's marquee offering - ClickPay will enable Tata Power customers to make monthly electricity bill payments with ease. Tata Power will generate the ClickPay link and share it with customers which will redirect them to the payment page comprising payment details.

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