General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - September 2015

Sep 2015

Jan 25, 2021

Axis Bank Launches Aura Credit Card

Axis Bank unveiled a credit 'AURA' exclusively loaded with several health and wellness benefits for its users at an affordable price. Axis Bank has partnered with Poshvine to offer benefits and specialists such as Decathlon, Practo, Fitternity, IndushealthPlus, 1MG etc. to offer a complete and unique health & wellness solution to the cardholders.
Cardholders will get a discount on annual medical checkup through IndushealthPlus.
It offers up to 4 free online video consultations for a month, with round the clock access to doctors on all 21 specialities. This is offered by Procto.
It also offers 4 free online interactive fitness sessions for a month by Fitternity.
Through this card, the users can have access to 16 recorded training sessions for one month and can choose from a wide range of sessions such as yoga and cross-functional training programs, etc.

Cairn Energy's Shareholders Ask India to Honour Arbitration Award

An arbitration tribunal unanimously overturned a Rs. 10,247 crore retrospective tax demand on the British oil and gas company and asked the government to return value of the shares it sold, dividend it seized and tax refunds it stopped to enforce the tax.
Some Cairn Energy Plc.'s marquee shareholders that include BlackRock, MFS, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity, have asked the Indian government to honour the retrospective tax assessment arbitration award and return $1.2 billion to the British oil firm.
Cairn, which on this day seven years back was first slapped with a retrospective tax assessment, is three-fourth owned by world's top investors with $529 billion MFS Investment Management of U.S. being its largest investor with 14.02% stake.
New York-based BlackRock is the second biggest shareholder with 12.19% stake. Other investors include Fidelity International, Franklin Templeton, Vanguard Group and Aberdeen Standard Investments, according to stock exchange data.

China Takes New Foreign Investment Top Spot from US

China has overtaken the US as the world's top destination for new foreign direct investment.
New investments into America from overseas companies fell by almost half last year, leading to the loss of its number one status.
In contrast, UN figures show direct investment into Chinese firms climbed 4%, putting it number one globally.
The top ranking shows China's growing influence on the world economic stage.
China had $163bn (£119bn) in inflows last year, compared to $134bn attracted by the US, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its report
In 2019, the US received $251bn in new foreign direct investment while China received $140bn.
While China may be number one for new foreign investment, the US still dominates when it comes to total foreign investments.
This reflects the decades it has spent as the most attractive location for foreign businesses looking to expand overseas.

Jan 24, 2021

RBI Imposes Penalty on Standard Chartered Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 2 crore on Standard Chartered Bank–India for delays in reporting of frauds.
The central bank said that the penalty has been imposed on the bank for non-compliance with certain directions issued by it contained in the 'Reserve Bank of India (Frauds — Classification and Reporting by commercial banks and select FIs) Directions 2016'.
The penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in the RBI under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act 1949, for delays in reporting of frauds to RBI, revealed during the statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2018, and March 31, 2019.

Morgan Stanley Fund Invests $25 mn in LEAP India

Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure has made an investment of Rs. 180 crore (US$ 25 Million) to acquire a stake in LEAP.
Founded by Mr. Sunu Mathew in 2013, LEAP is India's largest pallet pooling company with an asset pool of approx. 4 million units including pallets, foldable large containers (FLC), crates and utility boxes.
This is the single largest round of investment raised by LEAP. Now with Morgan Stanley India Infrastructure as a partner, LEAP aims to achieve a total asset pool of 6 million and provide technologically advanced products to the market.
LEAP's business is linked to India's consumption story and primarily caters to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables, beverages, e-commerce, retail, auto and auto- component manufacturing sectors.

Reliance General Insurance Launches Hospi Care Health Policy

Reliance General Insurance, a 100% subsidiary of Reliance Capital, has launched Hospi Care policy, a hospitalization cash benefit product that provides lump sum payout for 150+ listed surgeries and 140+ daycare procedures occurring due to an illness or an accident. This policy is designed specifically to provide seamless cash flow for healthcare needs to our retail customers.
The policy provides surgical procedure cash, hospital daily cash, day care treatment cash, other surgeries cash and covers hospitalizations due to dengue/malaria/chikungunya. Customers can choose this product to safeguard themselves against the increasing incidences of medical expenses. Reliance Hospi Care enables policyholders to claim up to 100% of sum insured in lump sum depending on the surgical procedure, allowing them access to quality and timely healthcare.
For instance, if the insured is covered under a Rs. 10 lakh policy, in case of a heart or lung transplant surgery 100% of the sum-insured is payable, also the policy has a special feature where the insured could receive coverage for surgeries that are over and above the listed ones and benefit with a lump sum cash of up to Rs. 20,000.

Jan 23, 2021

NSE is World's Largest Derivatives Exchange for 2nd Consecutive Year

The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) remained the world's largest derivatives exchange for the second consecutive year in 2020 in terms of number of contracts traded, according to the Futures Industry Association (FIA).
In addition, the bourse has been ranked fourth in the world in cash equities by number of trades by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) for calendar year 2020.
The exchange said it has been focused on building robust markets for all asset classes and had launched a host of new products and services last year.
In the capital market segment, NSE has listed T-bills (Treasury Bills) and SDLs (State Development Loans) facilitating investors to transact in these securities, in addition to the existing dated Government Securities (G-sec) available for trading.

Airtel Payments Bank Launches 'Safe Pay' to Curb Online Frauds

Airtel Payments Bank launched 'Airtel Safe Pay', a mode of safe digital transactions to protect its customers from online payment frauds.
Airtel Payments Bank said that with 'Airtel Safe Pay', Airtel customers making UPI or net banking-based payments through Airtel Payments Bank, no longer have to worry about money leaving their accounts without their explicit consent.
Airtel Safe Pay leverages Airtel's telecom exclusive strength of network intelligence to provide an additional layer of payment validation compared to the industry norm of two-factor authentication.

SEBI Penalises HDFC Bank in BRH Wealth Kreators Case

The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a fine of Rs.1 crore for invoking securities pledged by BRH Wealth Kreators in violation of the regulator's interim orders.
The markets' regulator in an order issued said that the bank had extended loan facility to BRH and BRH commodities to the tune of Rs. 87.75 crore against shares, however, it invoked securities pledged to the extent of Rs. 158.68 crore without giving any notice to the clients.
According to the regulator, the invocation of pledge of client securities was not in conformity with the directions contained in the interim order which was issued on 7 October 2019. SEBI has therefore asked HDFC Bank to deposit an equivalent amount of ₹158.68 crore along with interest from 14 October 2019 till date, at the rate of 7% per annum in a separate interest bearing escrow account, till the issue of settlement of clients' securities is reconciled.

Jan 22, 2021

Ola, Siemens to Build 'India's most Advanced EV Manufacturing Hub' in TN

Ola, one of the leading mobility companies in the world, partnered with Siemens as it looks to rapidly build its upcoming electric vehicle manufacturing facility. This announcement comes on the heels of Ola's MoU with the government of Tamil Nadu to invest nearly Rs. 2,400 crore towards building this facility.
The factory will generate almost 10,000 jobs and with an initial capacity of 2 million units a year, it will be the largest scooter manufacturing facility in the world. It will serve as Ola's global manufacturing hub catering to its customers in India as well as key markets across Europe, UK, Latin America and Australia-New Zealand.

Bajaj Finance to Enter Payment Solutions Market with 'Bajaj Pay'

Bajaj Finance is going to launch 'Bajaj Pay', an integrated payment platform comprising UPI, PPI, EMI card and credit card options as it plans to enter the payment solutions market in the fourth quarter of FY21.
The company, in a regulatory filing, confirmed that its targeted time for Bajaj Pay launch is Q4 of FY21. The move will allow Bajaj Finance to make forays into the fast-growing payment solutions market in India.
Bajaj Finance would also be launching another app — 'Bajaj Pay for Merchants', which will cater to the requirements of a customer base of over 100,000 merchants.
This will broaden payment solution offering for our -103,000 merchants and enable disproportionate growth in our market share from these merchants in the medium term.
Bajaj Finance is also developing five proprietary marketplaces, 'EMI Store, 'Insurance Marketplace', 'Investment Marketplace, 'BF Health', and broking app with the help of group companies.

RBI Withdraws 3 Circulars on Excess Pension Recovery after Discovering Anomalies

The Reserve Bank said rules regarding recovery of excess or wrong pensions are being flouted, and withdrew three circulars concerning the same.
The RBI asked banks to seek guidance from respective pension sanctioning authorities regarding the process to be followed for recovery of excess pension paid to the pensioners.
"It has been brought to the notice of RBI that the recovery of excess/wrong pension payments from the pensioners are being made in a manner that is not in keeping with the extant guidelines/Court orders," a central bank notification said.
After examining the issue, the RBI decided to withdraw three circulars issued by its department of government and bank accounts in 1991 and 2016.

YES BANK Launches YES MSME Initiative

YES BANK has rolled out YES MSME, a proposition with the aim to strengthen the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with speedy and easy access to funds. This will be facilitated by curated offerings to address both business and individual needs of MSMEs and of new-age entrepreneurs. The YES MSME proposition has been curated, taking into consideration the insights and feedback from customers and industry associations.
The proposition focuses on supporting MSMEs in expanding their business, sustaining momentum, and accelerating growth through solutions across lending, deposits, insurance, customized and segmented digital solutions for retail, manufacturing, wholesale, trade and service providers. This also includes special current account offerings for the self-employed segment.
The launch comes during the SME carnival from January 18 – 22, 2021 at the Bank's MSME-focused branches across India.

LT Foods picks 30% Stake in Netherlands-based Leev through Subsidiary

LT Foods Ltd said that its subsidiary Nature Bio Foods BV has acquired a 30 per cent stake in a Netherland-based Leev.nu for an undisclosed amount. The company said that the acquisition has been done with an option of acquiring a further stake of 21 per cent at the end of five years.
Leev.nu, which is an organic specialty food company, is known for a product portfolio consisting of breakfast bars, healthy snacks, baking range & gluten free and low sugar products. It is also expanding its product portfolio into organic whole grains categories such as oats and flax seeds.
As per Vijay Kumar Arora, Chairman & Managing Director LT Foods Ltd, strategically, this acquisition gives NBF BV, a direct reach to the consumers through the mainstream distribution strength of Leev.

Jan 21, 2021

Amazon Partners with Startup India

Amazon partnered with Startup India, Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures to launch an accelerator programme to help early-stage startups take their brands to global audiences.
The Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP) programme has been designed to support early stage startups (raised funding in post seed to pre-series A stage, if funded) in the consumer products space to launch in international markets and create global brands from India through Amazon's Global Selling programme.
As part of the Startup Accelerator, Amazon has constituted a mentorship board consisting of Amazon leaders from India and across the world, VCs and senior leaders from Startup India.

Mercedes Unveils Electric Compact SUV in Bid to Outdo Tesla

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz unveiled the EQA, a new electric compact SUV as part of plans to take on rival Tesla Inc and offer more emission-free vehicles to consumers to meet targets in Europe and China.
The EQA, the first of several electric models Mercedes-Benz plans to launch this year, will initially have a range of 426 kilometres (265 miles), with a 500 km model coming later.
The SUV will go on sale in Europe on Feb 4 at what board of management Britta Seeger described as very attractive price points.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales took off in Europe last year as carmakers scrambled to meet European Union CO2 emissions targets. Sales received a boost from subsidies included in economic stimulus measures rolled out in France and Germany, in particular.

Google, Lightbox, Others Invest in E-comm, Delivery Start-up Dunzo

Online delivery start-up Dunzo said that it has raised a fresh $40 million from new and existing investors. The investment, part of the company's ongoing Series E financial round, saw participation from Google, Lightbox, Evolvence, Hana Financial Investment, LGT Lightstone Aspada and Alteria, among others.
The fresh capital will be used to expand in Mumbai, Chennai and Pune, its fastest growing markets.
In October 2019, a clutch of investors had infused about $45 million in Dunzo. So far, the company has raised nearly $135 million in funding.
The Bengaluru-based firm that delivers a range of items to its customers starting from groceries, perishables to pet supplies and packages across eight cities gained more users amid the pandemic as home-bound consumers moved online for servicing regular needs.

Infosys Receives Google Cloud Partner Status

Infosys announced that it has been accredited with the Google Cloud Partner Specialisation in the data and analytics space. Infosys is among the top global system integrators which have been accredited with this specialisation.
Infosys received this recognition as the company has successfully demonstrating end-to-end capabilities on Google Cloud including warehousing on the cloud and data ingestion.
Infosys has showcased robust methodology, strong industry expertise, technical proficiency, success in specialized data and analytics solutions, and service areas.
These data and analytics offerings are a part of Infosys Cobalt.

IFFCO Ranks First among Top 300 Cooperatives of the World

The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has stepped up to 65th position in overall turnover ranking from 125th position in last financial year and now is at the top spot among 300 leading cooperatives in the world.
The ranking is based on the ratio of turnover over the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
It signifies that IFFCO is contributing significantly to the GDP and economic growth of the Nation. It relates the turnover of the enterprise to the wealth of the country according to the 2020 edition of the 9th Annual World Cooperative Monitor (WCM) report published by International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).

ICICI Bank launches 'InstaFX' mobile app

ICICI Bank launched a new mobile application 'InstaFX' for authorised money changers to help customers of any bank get 'ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card' swiftly. The bank is the first in the country to offer such facility to money changers.
The app enables the authorised money changers, who are partners of the Bank, to complete the KYC verification and validation of customers digitally and on a real-time basis.
The facility significantly improves customer convenience as the 'ICICI Bank Forex Prepaid Card' gets activated swiftly within a few hours, as against the industry practice of up to two-days.
The app enhances convenience of customers, even if they are not customers of our bank, as it facilitates swift activation of the Forex Prepaid Card.

Dhir & Dhir Associates Ropes in Sonal Verma to Lead the ESG Practice

Dhir & Dhir Associates, a full-service law firm founded in 1993, has serviced clients globally as a single-window legal and regulatory advisor.
The firm has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad and a representative office in Japan. The firm is now geared up to set up the ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) practice.
The decision comes after observing sustainable development, governance, risk and compliance becoming a central stress point at all global business forums, including the World Economic Forum. In India, the firm would be the first to launch a dedicated ESG practice led by Sonal Verma, who, in his last stint, led the Governance, Risk and Compliance focused consulting business at Legasis Services, Mumbai.

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