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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2015

Dec 2015

Nov 09, 2021

Former SC Judge Justice Ashok Bhushan Takes Charge as NCLAT Chairperson

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ashok Bhushan took over as the chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
NCLAT has got a permanent head after a gap of almost 20 months following the retirement of its first Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya.
In the last 20 months, NCLAT had three Acting Chairpersons, with two of them getting several extensions.

RBI Imposes Curbs on Maharashtra-based Babaji Date Mahila Sahakari Bank

RBI imposed several restrictions on Maharashtra-based Babaji Date Mahila Sahakari Bank, including capping withdrawals at Rs. 5,000 for customers, amid deterioration in the lender's financial position.
As per RBI, the restrictions under the Banking Regulation Act 1949, will remain in force for six months and are subject to review.
According to the central bank, Babaji Date Mahila Sahakari Bank, Yavatmal, should not, without prior approval of RBI in writing, grant or renew any loans and advances, make any investment, and incur any liability. The liability part includes borrowing of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits.

IBM Opens New Innovation Centre Focused on Hybrid Cloud and AI in Mysuru

IBM announced the opening of its new IBM Client Innovation Center (CIC) in Mysuru, India to support the rapid, high-tech driven economic growth in the region and provide comprehensive hybrid cloud and AI technology consulting capabilities.
As an entrepreneurial start-up within IBM Consulting, the CIC specialises in design, software engineering and analytics. The CIC's mission is to support clients in the transformation of their business by utilizing delivery capabilities throughout the entire system development life cycle, from design to architecture to creation.

RIL Exits US Shale Gas Business by Divesting Eagleford Upstream Asset Stake

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has exited all its business in the upstream oil and gas shale play that was based out of the United States.
A company statement said that Reliance Eagleford Upstream Holding (REULP), a wholly-owned step-down subsidiary of Reliance Industries, announced the signing of agreements with Ensign Operating III, a Delaware limited liability company, to divest its interest in certain upstream assets in the Eagleford shale play of Texas, USA.
"With this transaction, Reliance has divested all its shale gas assets and has exited from the shale gas business in North America.

Gujarat Retains Top Slot on Logistics Performance Index

Gujarat topped the logistics index chart for the third time in a row, an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth, according to a Commerce Ministry report. Gujarat occupied the first spot among 21 states, followed by Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra in that order.
The report ranks the states on the basis of their logistics ecosystem, highlights the key logistics-related challenges faced by the stakeholders and includes suggestive recommendations, according to the third LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) 2021 report unveiled by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The index aims at enhancing the focus on improving logistics performance across states which is essential for improving the country's trade and reducing transaction cost.

ESAF Joins Hands with NABARD for Local Economic Development in Kerala

ESAF Small Finance Bank launched State Level Local Sustainable Economic Development Training Programme in Kerala in collaboration with NABARD.
Initially, this project will benefit 300 panchayats across Kerala, the Bank said, adding that it was aimed at bringing financial empowerment and economic independence at the local level.
The project was inaugurated by state Revenue Minister K Rajan.
This Project is aimed at bringing financial empowerment and economic independence at the local level through training and enabling the elected representatives of the Panchayati Raj Institutions to meaningfully intervene and build the well-being of the people in the constituencies they represent.

Nov 08, 2021

PhonePe Launches Tokenisation Solution 'SafeCard'

Digital Payment firm, PhonePe has launched a tokenization solution named 'SafeCard' for online debit and credit card transactions. Earlier in September 2021, RBI had made a device-based tokenization framework applicable to Card-on-File Tokenisation (CoFT) services as well, i.e. Card-on-File (CoF) means that the Credit/Debit card details are stored by merchants for ease of payment.

Nov 07, 2021

BSE Joins Hand with HDFC Bank to Promote Start-up, SME Listing

Leading stock exchange BSE collaborated with private sector lender HDFC Bank to further encourage and promote the listing of start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across India.
Through this pact, HDFC Bank and BSE will evaluate banking and lending solutions for start-ups, undergoing listing process on start-ups and SME platform.
Both the parties have agreed to conduct and participate in joint outreach activities and contribute to each other's publications on the start-up ecosystem in India.
BSE became the first stock exchange to get approval from markets regulator SEBI and had launched its SME platform in March 2012.

Nigeria One Step Closer to Mobile Money Rollout

Mobile phone operators MTN and Airtel have both received partial approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate mobile payments in the country.
This comes three years after the CBN initially said that it would allow non-financial companies to apply for mobile banking licences.
A final approval which is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions will be issued to the Telcos within six months.
Under the guidelines, mobile network operators are allowed to provide financial services to millions of unbanked Nigerians. However, they can do so only as Payment Service Banks (PSBs) and through a subsidiary separate from their core operations.
PSBs accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, offer payment and remittance services, and other activities prescribed by the central bank.
This could make a huge difference for Nigeria's 38 million unbanked adults - about 36% of the total adult population in the country.

Hindalco Industries Acquires Ryker Base

Hindalco Industries Limited aquired Ryker Base Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polycab India Limited, for an enterprise value of Rs. 323 crore.
The acquisition will be through Hindalco's wholly-owned subsidiary Renuka Investments & Finance Ltd, with a purchase consideration for 100 percent equity stake, subject to customary adjustments for working capital and net debt as on the date of closing.
The acquisition will strengthen Hindalco's copper rod manufacturing capacity by providing a time-to-market advantage, allowing the Company to cater to the growing demand from electrical and electronics sectors.

Nov 06, 2021

RBI's Revises PCA Framework

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) modified its prompt corrective action (PCA) framework to exclude the profitability parameter from its triggers list.
In its 2017 framework, capital, asset quality & profitability were the key areas to monitor.
In recent modification, round capital, asset quality & leverage will be key areas.
RBI has also modified the level of shortfall in total capital adequacy ratio. It will push the lender to "risk threshold three" category. Lenders who breach this risk threshold, will be placed under stringent PCA restrictions.
PCA framework are put in place with the objective of enabling supervisory intervention at appropriate time. It requires the supervised Entity to implement remedial measures in a time bound manner, for restoring its financial health.
The PCA framework was introduced in December 2002. It acts as a tool for effective market discipline. These regulations were revised in April 2017, on the recommendations of working group of Financial Stability & Development Council. Under this framework, RBI puts banks with weak financial metrics under watch. It aims to check the Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) problems in banking sector of India. It helps in alerting regulator, investors and depositors in case bank heading for trouble.
PCA framework is applicable only to commercial banks. Co-operative banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are not covered under it.

IndiGo Appoints Saguna Vaid as General Counsel

IndiGo airlines appointed Saguna Vaid as its general counsel with effect from December 1.
Vaid will be replacing Priya Mehra, who has joined upcoming low-cost carrier Akasa Air as its legal head.
Saguna joins IndiGo from Nokia Networks, where she was the director and head of Legal and Compliance for India and the APJ (Asia Pacific and Japan) region.
Prior to Nokia, Vaid was the vice president and general counsel for Asia at Genpact for over a decade during which time she also supported GE Aviation's operations.

Infosys Partners with Shell to Market Shell Inventory Optimizer Solution

IT services major Infosys announced strategic collaboration with Shell Global Solutions International BV (Shell) as the commercialisation partner of the 'Shell Inventory Optimizer' solution.
Through this collaboration, Shell and Infosys will launch 'Shell Inventory Optimizer' as the first product offered to its energy customers.
The solution leverages artificial intelligence (AI) that enables companies to optimise warehouse inventory levels based on historical consumption.
This collaboration will further strengthen the long-standing relationship that has existed between the two companies since 2000s.

Nov 05, 2021

CCI Approves HDFC Life's Acquisition of Exide Life

Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved HDFC Life Insurance's acquisition of Exide Life Insurance. The regulator informed that post the completion of the share acquisition, Exide Life would operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Life.
HDFC Life aspires to strengthen its presence in Southern India, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, with this acquisition.
The terms of the acquisition announced on September 3 stated that HDFC Life would acquire a 100 per cent stake in Exide Life Insurance from Exide Industries by issuing 8.70 crore shares at an issue price of Rs 685/share and a cash payout of Rs. 726 crore, aggregating to Rs. 6,687 crore.
Exide Life Insurance offers various individual and group life insurance products including protection plans (term insurance, child insurance plans), savings and investment plans (including ULIPs), retirement and pension plans. It does not have any subsidiaries.

Standard Chartered Launches Sign Language Service for Hearing Impaired

Standard Chartered Bank launched a special sign language service proposition for hearing impaired priority segment clients.
Currently, the lender has trained 13 frontline employees who will be placed in designated branches across five cities, namely, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai for offering this service in Indian sign language. However, if a hearing-impaired priority segment client were to walk into any other branch without a similarly trained employee, the branch team would be able to arrange an engagement with a trained employee through a video call.
The bank said that it is also working on making product offering videos in sign language for savings account, term deposits, credit card, wealth offerings and loans, to enable hearing impaired clients get a better understanding of these products. Also, on the anvil is a central video helpline to cater to servicing of all such clients in the Indian sign language.

State Bank of India Offers Pre-approved 2-wheeler Loan on Mobile App

To further push its digital platfrom Yono, the nation's largest lender State Bank of India launched a pre-approved two-wheeler loan scheme provided it is applied online and the ticket size is under Rs. 3 lakh.
Already, the bank gives a 5 basis points discount on home loans if it is applied online/Yono.
All eligible SBI customers can avail of the digital two-wheeler loans through the Yono app without visiting a branch.
Customers can apply for the 'easy ride' loan for up to Rs. 3 lakh and a minimum loan of Rs. 20,000, at 10.5 per cent per annum onwards for a maximum tenure of four years.

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