General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - November 2015

Nov 2015

May 07, 2021

Ola Electric Names Balachandar as Chief HR Officer

Ola Electric, the ride-hailing firm's electric vehicle arm, has hired N Balachandar as chief human resources officer. In his new role, Balachandar will accelerate Ola Electric's journey to becoming a world-class talent organization, with a focus on people and culture globally.
Balachandar is a HR veteran and brings global experience to the company. He has worked across India, Europe and Asia with GE Healthcare and GE Capital in several senior HR leadership and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) roles, with Strides Arcolab, with the Standard Chartered Bank and with Asian Paints early in his career. He was most recently as group director with the Coffee Day Group.
Balachandar's appointment comes close on the heels of Wayne Burgess who joined Ola Electric recently as Head of Vehicle Design.

CPP Investments Pays Rs. 1,005 cr for addl. Stake in IndInfravit Trust

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), the largest Canadian pension fund manager, bought an additional 15.9 per cent of the total units in IndInfravit Trust for Rs. 1,005 crore. The units were bought in two separate deals.
CPP Investments has acquired seven per cent of the units from Sadbhav Infrastructure Project and will acquire an additional 8.9 per cent from L&T IDPL, which, upon completion, will increase CPP Investments' stake in IndInfravit from 27.9 per cent to 43.8 per cent.
IndInfravit is an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited. Launched in 2018, IndInfravit acquires and maintains stable brownfield road concessions in the country.
IndInfravit holds a portfolio of 13 operational road concessions across five states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Muthoot Finance Partners with NIRA to Provide Personal Loans

The Muthoot Finance Limited announced its collaboration with fintech NIRA as part of its strategy to strengthen its digital footprint. Through this partnership, salaried customers can avail personal loan of up to Rs. 1 lakh from Muthoot by downloading the NIRA app from Google's Play store. NIRA is a Bengaluru-based fintech offering small ticket personal loans to salaried workers from India's middle class. They offer loans to borrowers starting at incomes as low as Rs. 12,000 per month. This partnership will help Muthoot Finance build its unsecured lending book.
NIRA is a Bangalore-based fintech that provides borrowers with small-ticket personal loans starting at Rs. 12,000 per month. Muthoot Finance will benefit from this relationship as it expands its unsecured lending portfolio.

Mahindra Group to Open MADE, a Design Centre for Mobility Products in UK

The Mahindra Group, which has interest in fields as diverse as farm equipment, aerospace, finance, IT and real estate, among others, will be setting up Mahindra Advanced Design Europe (MADE) in the West Midlands, UK.
The company said that it seeks to further sharpen its distinctive product designs and differentiated technology offerings and improvise its safe, thrilling, yet efficient connected car experiences.
Mahindra Group will be the second firm from India to set foot in the UK for designing cars and SUVs. In 2005, Tata Motors set up the European Technical Centre in Coventry. It is the centre of excellence for automotive design and engineering.

FinMin Releases Second Monthly Installment of Revenue Deficit Grant

The Finance Ministry released the second monthly installment of revenue deficit grant of Rs. 9,871 crore to 17 states.
With the release of the second installment, a total amount of Rs. 19,742 crore has been released in the first two months of the current financial year as Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to the states.
The Centre provides the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to the states under Article 275 of the Constitution.
The grants are released as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission in monthly installments to meet the gap in revenue accounts of the states post-devolution.
The 15th Finance Commission has recommended Post Devolution Release Deficit grants to 17 states based on the gap between the assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state.

Delhi Falls to 32nd in Knight Frank's Global Prime Property Index

New Delhi's rank declined to 32nd among global cities in terms of prime residential properties.
Knight Frank, in its 'Prime Global Cities Index Q1 2021' report, also said that Bengaluru moved down four spots in the latest index at 40th rank in the first quarter of 2021. Against the 36th rank in Q4 2020, Bengaluru saw a decline of 2.7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in prime residential prices, leading to the drop in its global position.
The Prime Global Cities Index is a valuation-based index tracking the movement in prime residential prices in local currency across over 45 cities worldwide using Knight Frank's global research network.

May 06, 2021

British Trade Secretary Truss and Goyal Sign UK-India ETP Agreement

British Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal have signed the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) agreement, aimed at doubling bilateral trade by 2030.
As part of the ETP, India and the UK agreed on a roadmap to negotiate a comprehensive and balanced FTA, including consideration of an Interim Trade Agreement for delivering early gains. The enhanced trade partnership between India and UK will generate several thousands of direct and indirect jobs in both the countries.
The ETP is said to create immediate opportunities for British businesses in India across industries including food and drink, life sciences and the service sector. Non-tariff barriers on fruit and medical devices will be lowered, allowing British businesses to export more of their products to India and boosting UK growth and jobs. It also commits both sides to addressing immediate market access barriers as well as continuing to seek further opportunities on the road to an FTA.

Vietnam Keeps Anti-dumping Duty on Aluminium Originating from China

Vietnam decided to keep anti-dumping duty on aluminium from China.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has decided to continue imposing anti-dumping duties on certain aluminium products originating from China with a tax rate from 4.39 per cent to 35.58 per cent after carrying out the first review.
In September 2020, the Ministry had issued a decision to impose anti-dumping duties on some aluminium products originating from China with a rate from 2.49 per cent to 35.58 per cent.
The Ministry initiated the investigation into the anti-dumping case in January 2019 and found that it has hit the domestic aluminium industry.

As Part of Strategic Disinvestment, Govt. LIC to Sell Stakes in IDBI Bank

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved strategic disinvestment along with transferring management control in IDBI Bank, paving the way for both the government and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to reduce their shareholding in the lender.
LIC's board has passed a resolution to reduce its shareholding, along with that of the government, in the bank with an intent to relinquish management control and by taking into consideration price, market outlook, statutory stipulation and interest of policyholders.
The government holds 45.48 per cent in IDBI Bank while LIC holds 49.24 per cent. The extent of stake dilution by both the government and the insurer will be decided while structuring the deal in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The decision of LIC's board is in line with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India's (IRDAI's) mandate to reduce the insurer's stake in IDBI Bank below 15 per cent.

May 05, 2021

Kotak Mahindra Life Appoints Mahesh Balasubramanian as MD

Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (KLI) appointed Mahesh Balasubramanian as managing director of the company. He has been appointed following the retirement of G. Murlidhar.
The appointment of Balasubramanian is for a period of three years.
Suresh Agarwal has been elevated to MD & CEO of Kotak General Insurance.

Ola Electric Appoints Wayne Burgess as Head, Vehicle Design

Ola Electric announced the appointment of Wayne Burgess, as head of vehicle design for its entire product range including scooters, bikes, cars and more.
Burgess has spent almost three decades designing vehicles for the majority of British premium automotive manufacturers, from Rolls Royce and Bentley in his early career, to Aston Martin and Jaguar Landrover to, more recently, Lotus. Notably, he was the chief designer for the Jaguar F-Type sports car, and then studio director for the Jaguar F-Pace SUV.

Blackstone Group Elevates India PE Head Amit Dixit to Head of Asia PE

Global private equity major Blackstone Group elevated Amit Dixit , senior managing director, co-head of Asia Acquisitions, and head of India for Blackstone Private Equity to the post of Asia private equity head, among a series of international promotions.
Dixit received an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in Engineering from Stanford University, and a B.Tech. from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Dixit joined Blackstone in 2007 from another US-based PE major Warburg Pincus.
Blackstone also appointed Martin Brand as head of North America private equity and Peter Wallace as global head of core private equity, WSJ said, quoting Joseph Barrata, board member and global head of PE.

May 04, 2021

RBI Imposes Fine on ICICI Bank for Violating Certain Rules

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fined ICICI Bank Rs. 3 crore for violating prudential norms on the operation of its investment portfolio.
The central bank found contravention of norms in the matter of shifting of securities from one category to another.
As per RBI, the action was based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and was not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

JSW Energy Signs PPA for 540 MW of Wind Power Projects

JSW Energy's arm JSW Renew Energy sign¬ed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the supply of 540 Mw of blended wind power capacity. The PPA is signed with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
The company said that this is single largest PPA for wind/blended wind power capacity awar¬ded to a company and will mark the foray of JSW in this segment.
The firm won these projects in a competitive bidding done by SECI. Earlier in March, it was awarded 450 Gw of wind power capacity. JSW aims to be a 10 Gw energy firm in this decade.

Businesses Eyeing Fresh Trade Agreement between India and UK

According to the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), businesses are looking forward to India and the UK implementing an Enhanced Trade Partnership that would address market access barriers in the short and medium term and eventually lead to a potential comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA.
The statement comes a day ahead of a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Boris Johnson. The India-UK summit aims to lay a comprehensive road map to 2030.
The trade and investment partnership is particularly important, and the UKIBC hopes that the meeting tomorrow will provide more details of the Enhanced Trade Partnership initiated by Piyush Goyal, India's minister for commerce and industries, and his UK counterpart, Liz Truss, secretary of state for international trade.

Verizon Selling Yahoo, AOL Unit to Apollo

AOL and Yahoo are being sold again, this time to a private equity firm.
Verizon will sell Verizon Media, which consists of the pioneering tech platforms, to Apollo Global Management in a $5 billion deal.
Verizon said that it will keep a 10 per cent stake in the new company, which will be called Yahoo.
As part of the deal, Verizon will receive $4.25 billion in cash, preferred interests of $750 million and the minority stake.
The transaction includes the assets of Verizon Media, including its brands and businesses such as Yahoo and AOL.
The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

Bajaj Grabs Pole Position in India's Motorcycle Market

Riding high on exports, Bajaj Auto emerged as the largest motorcycle maker in India by sales in April, edging past Hero MotoCorp. The maker of the Pulsar and Discover brands sold 348,173 units last month, of which 221,603 units were exported.
Hero MotoCorp, on the other hand, dispatched 339,329 units during the month. A brief shutdown of its plants by Hero, due to the worsening Covid-19 situation, also helped Bajaj take the lead.
Bajaj Auto expects the strong momentum in exports to continue in the coming months even as the domestic market reels from the impact of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. A fourth of the company's sales outlets in the country remain shuttered.

May 03, 2021

Turkey Adds Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Terror Funding Regulations

A presidential decree published added cryptocurrency exchanges to a list of firms covered by Turkey's terror financing and money laundering.
According to a presidential decree published, the decision will take immediate effect and will make it easier for the financial watchdog to investigate digital-currency holdings.
The move came after a ban on using cryptocurrencies for making payments, which was introduced in response to claims that such transactions are too risky, took effect in Turkey.
The presidential decree makes "crypto asset service providers" responsible for seeing their assets are not used illegally.
Turkish authorities last month launched fraud investigations into two cryptocurrency exchanges, Thodex and Vebitcoin.

NASA's Crew-1 Astronauts Safely Splash Down

NASA's Space X Crew-1 astronauts truly deserve a big hand as after surviving 167 days in space, the longest duration mission for a U.S. spacecraft since the final Skylab mission in 1974, Dragon and the Crew-1 astronauts returned safely to Earth.
The four Crew-1 astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico right on schedule, returning to Earth after a six-month stay on the International Space Station.
The astronauts — three Americans and one from Japan — had undocked from the station, flew through the atmosphere and then touched down in the Gulf of Mexico under four massive parachutes.

TRIFED Inks MoU with 'The LINK Fund' for Tribal Development

Tribal Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (TRIFED) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The LINK Fund, for a collaborative project titled "Sustainable Livelihoods For Tribal Households in India". Under the project, both the organisations will work together towards:
Tribal Development and Employment Generation, by providing support to tribals for increasing value addition in their produce and products;
Sustainable livelihoods and value addition, for the increase in income and employment generation through technological intervention for efficiency in value addition for MFPs, produce and crafts diversification, skill training and enhancement of value additions in minor forest produce.
The LINK Fund is a Geneva, Switzerland based philanthropic operational foundation and practitioner-led fund, working towards eradicating extreme poverty and mitigating the effects of climate change.
TRIFED is a nodal agency under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, working for the empowerment of the tribals community in India.

Reserve Bank to Strengthen Risk-based Supervision of Banks, NBFCs

The Reserve Bank has decided to review and strengthen the Risk Based Supervision (RBS) of the banking sector with a view to enable financial sector players to address the emerging challenges.
The RBI uses the RBS model, including both qualitative and quantitative elements, to supervise banks, urban cooperatives banks, non-banking financial companies and all India financial institutions.
It is now intended to review the supervisory processes and mechanism in order to make the extant RBS model more robust and capable of addressing emerging challenges, while removing inconsistencies, if any," the RBI said while inviting bids from technical experts/consultants to carry forward the process for banks.

Indian Bank Signs MoU with BSNL

Indian Bank signed a MoU with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to provide seamless telecom services to the Indian Bank at competitive market rates. This means the telco might be availing its services to the bank for a lower market rate than usual.
The bank is already using the services of BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited for its Wide Area Network across the country Dr. VK Sanjeevi, chief general manager of Chennai Telephones said that BSNL and its subsidiary MTNL is connecting 5,000 branches and ATMs of Indian Bank.

Yes Explores Bid for Citi's Indian Assets

Private lender Yes Bank is exploring a potential bid for the Indian retail assets of Citibank, joining a list of suitors eyeing the local operations of the foreign bank that is partially exiting 13 countries.
Yes Bank will look at acquiring Citi's retail assets, including credit cards and wealth management in India, chief executive Prashant Kumar said.
We would definitely explore that opportunity; I think they are running a process. Once all of that is in the public domain, we would definitely like to explore not only credit cards, but also wealth management and retail business. Then, depending on our appetite, we would take a call," he said in an interview.
Citibank India has 35 branches and serves 29 lakh retail customers, including 12 lakh bank accounts and 22 lakh credit card accounts. It has a 6% market share of retail credit card spends in India. Yes Bank has a credit card base of 9,47,000, with spends at Rs. 2,288 crore as on March 31.

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