General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2015

Dec 2015

Sep 09, 2021

Cognizant Inks $95 mn Deal with US Shareholders over India Bribery Charges

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp has reached a $95 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit accusing the information technology services company of defrauding shareholders by concealing bribes to officials in India.
A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed with the federal court in Newark, New Jersey, and requires a judge's approval.
Shareholders accused Cognizant of failing to disclose payments made to obtain permits for facilities in special economic zones, including its Indian headquarters in Chennai, where it could enjoy tax and other benefits.

HDFC Bank Signs pact with NSIC

HDFC Bank has signed a pact with the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) for providing credit support to the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
Under this, the country's largest private sector bank will also provide MSMEs with a set of specially-tailored schemes to enhance their competitiveness.
The bank branches will extend support to the MSME projects in the areas they are located and to other important industrial sectors across the country.

Arun Kumar Singh Takes Charge as Chairman and MD of Bharat Petroleum

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a 'Maharatna' and a Fortune Global 500 Company announced the appointment of Arun Kumar Singh as the Chairman and Managing Director of the company and consequently he has taken charge.
A Mechanical Engineer by qualification, Arun Kumar Singh was earlier Director (Marketing) on the Board of the company, holding additional charge of Director (Refineries) and Director (Finance).
In his more than 36 years of experience in Oil & Gas industry, he has headed Business Units and Entities in BPCL such as Retail, LPG, Pipelines, Supply Chain Optimization, etc. He also held the position of President (Africa & Australasia) in Bharat PetroResources Ltd., a wholly owned Subsidiary of BPCL, engaged in exploration of Oil & Gas, largely overseas.

Harsha Bhupendra Bangari is New EXIM Bank MD

The government has appointed Harsha Bhupendra Bangari as the Managing Director (MD) of Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank).
Bangari would be at the helm for a period of three years or until further orders of the government.
Banks Board Bureau (BBB), the headhunter for state-owned banks and financial institutions, had interviewed 10 candidates for the top post at EXIM Bank. In May, it had recommended Bangari as the EXIM Bank MD. The BBB had also suggested Samuel Joseph Jebaraj as the candidate on the reserve list for the position.
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) was set up in 1982 by an Act of Parliament for the purpose of financing, facilitating and promoting India's foreign trade. It is the principal financial institution in the country for coordinating the working of institutions engaged in financing exports and imports. Exim Bank is fully owned by the Government of India.
It is headquartered in Mumbai.

Sep 08, 2021

S.L. Tripathy is New CMD of United India Insurance

The central government has selected S. L. Tripathy as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of United India Insurance Company Limited. He is currently General Manager and Director at The New India Assurance Company Limited. He is appointed as CMD of United India from the date of assumption of charge of the office and up to the date of attaining the age of superannuation.
United India Insurance Company is a leading Indian nationalised general insurance company. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is headquartered in Chennai, India. It was incorporated on 18 February 1938, and nationalised in 1972.

El Salvador Accepts Bitcoin as Legal Tender

El Salvador has become the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in a move that has got the nation and the world debating the opportunities and dangers of cryptocurrency.
Now onwards businesses will be obliged where possible to accept the controversial digital coins as payment.
Millions of people are expected to download the government's new digital wallet app which gives away $30 (£22) in Bitcoin to every citizen.
Bitcoin fans around the world have been buying $30 worth of the digital coins as a show of support and to help boost the value of the volatile currency.

Cairn Accepts $1 bn Refund Offer

UK-based Cairn Energy PLC said that it will drop litigations to seize Indian properties in countries ranging from France to the US, within a couple of days of getting a USD 1 billion refund resulting from the scrapping of a retrospective tax law.
The firm, which gave India its biggest onland oil discovery, termed "bold" the legislation passed last month to cancel a 2012 policy that gave the tax department power to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India.

Amazon Signs Pact with Gujarat to Boost State MSMEs' E-commerce Exports

Amazon India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat, to help drive e-commerce exports from the state. As part of the MoU, Amazon will train and onboard MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) from the state on Amazon Global Selling, enabling them to sell their unique Made in India products to millions of Amazon customers across over 200 countries and territories.

TVS Motor Ties up with ETG Logistics for South Africa Distribution

TVS Motor Company, India's third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, announced their new distribution partnership with ETG Logistics (ETGL) in South Africa.
ETGL comes with rich experience, deep understanding and vast knowledge of the market.
TVS Motor Company will launch products such as TVS Apache series, TVS HLX series, TVS NTORQ 125 and TVS Duramax Cargo in South Africa. TVS Motor Company ranks amongst the top five two-wheeler companies in the world with a presence in over 70 countries across Africa, South East Asia, the Indian Sub-Continent, Latin America and the Middle East.

Sep 07, 2021

Bank of India Inks Co-lending Deal with MAS Financial Services

State-owned Bank of India has entered into a co-lending arrangement for micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) loans with an Ahmedabad-based non-bank financier MAS Financial Services Ltd.
Atanu Kumar Das, chief executive of the bank, said that co-lending was introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase credit flow to unserved and the underserved sector by utilising nimble-footed NBFC coverage of informal sector.
The bank will leverage reach of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to build the MSME portfolio.

IREDA Enters into Pact with TANGEDCO for Renewable Energy Projects

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA) has entered into a pact with TANGEDCO for providing technical expertise in developing of renewable energy projects and raising of funds.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by IREDA Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradip Kumar Das and TANGEDCO CMD Rajesh Lakhoni in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin.
Under the MoU, IREDA will extend its technical expertise to TANGEDCO for renewable energy project development, bid process management, and implementation support.
IREDA will also assist TANGEDCO in debt raising through developing financial models, underwriting services for the proposed debt requirement, and conducting pre-market surveys and roadshows to generate interest amongst prospective investors.

SBM Bank Partners with OneCard to Launch Mobile-based Credit Card

SBM Bank has partnered with fintech player OneCard to launch a mobile-based credit card.
With this partnership, the bank aims to cater to the tech-savvy populace who have embraced digital as a natural way of life.
OneCard will leverage Visa's technology and global acceptance in this co-branded credit card offering through an app.

ADB Approves $150 mn Loan to Improve Urban Housing in Tamil Nadu

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 150 million dollar (about Rs. 1,095 crore) loan to provide access to inclusive, resilient and sustainable housing for the urban poor in Tamil Nadu.
Through the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, the project will construct housing units in nine different locations and relocate about 6,000 households vulnerable to natural hazards to safer locations.
A portion of ADB's assistance will be invested by the state government as equity into the Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund to catalyse private sector financing and support investments mainly in industrial housing and working women's hostels for low-income and migrant workers.

Ola Electric Ties Up with Banks, Financial Institutions

Ola Electric has tied up with leading banks and financial institutions, including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Prime and TATA Capital, for providing loans to customers for its S1 electric scooter.
The company, which had last month launched the Ola S1 electric scooter in two variants -- S1 and S1 Pro -- at prices Rs. 99,999 and Rs. 1,29,999, respectively (ex-showroom including FAME II subsidy and excluding state subsidies).
The banks and financial institutions that Ola Electric has tied up include Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, IndusInd Bank, AU Small Finance Bank, Jana Small Finance Bank, Kotak Mahindra Prime, TATA Capital and YES Bank.

Sep 06, 2021

IndiGo's General Counsel Priya Mehra Quits

Priya Mehra, General Counsel of InterGlobe Aviation-operated airline IndiGo, has resigned.
Mehra's resignation comes close on the heels of Ankur Goel, head of the company's investor relations quitting the company.
Goel is joining Akasa, the new airline backed by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Mehra, who had joined the company in 2016, is part of the company's executive committee and was heading a team of around 40 lawyers.
IndiGo is yet to announce a replacement for Mehra, the company's legal team has multiple senior lawyers, including Associate General Counsel Bharat Vansh Bahadur, who had joined the company along with Mehra in 2016.

Sep 05, 2021

India Becomes 3rd Largest Unicorn Ecosystem in the World

Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun India Future Unicorn List 2021, as per which India is the third-largest Unicorn/startup ecosystem in the world. The USA is on top followed by China on second. India has 51 unicorns according to the list. The USA has 396 and China has 277 unicorns.
Zilingo is the top unicorn in the ranking in India with funding of USD 310. The headquarters of Zilingo is in Singapore. Bengaluru is the top Indian city in terms of the number of Unicorns headquartered in a city. Bengaluru has 31 unicorns followed by Mumbai which has 12 unicorns.

Federal Bank Launches Credit Card

Federal Bank launched its credit card in association with Visa in a bid to improve unsecured, high-yielding book and complete the suite of banking products it offers.
The private sector bank has launched three variants of the card — Celesta (for high net worth individuals), Imperio (for family oriented customers) and Signet (targeted at young, early professionals).
According to the product brochure, the interest per month on the uncleared credit card dues starts from 0.49 per cent. This works out to an annualised percentage rate of 5.88 per cent.

Madhya Pradesh Govt. Signs MoU with NTPC

The Madhya Pradesh government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NTPC Limited for setting up an industrial training institute (ITI) at a village in Khargone district.
The MoU was signed between NTPC Limited and the state department of technical education, skill development and employment for setting up an ITI at Bediya village in Sanawad tehsil.
The ITI, which will be run by the state government, will impart training for six trades such as electricals, fitting, welding, motor mechanics, refrigeration and air conditioning.

New Development Bank Approves UAE, Bangladesh and Uruguay as New Member Countries

The Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) has approved the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Bangladesh as its new member countries. In 2020, the NDB Board of Governors initiated the negotiation to expand its membership. As a result UAE, Uruguay and Bangladesh have been admitted as the first new member countries of the NDB.
NDB was established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries in 2015. The bank supports public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.

LIC Picks up 4% Stake in Bank of India

State-owned Bank of India said that LIC has picked up nearly 4 per cent equity shares of the bank through an open market transaction.
Before the latest acquisition of shares in the bank, LIC held over a 3.17 per cent stake in the state-owned bank. The bank said that LIC's stake in Bank of India has now increased to 7.05 per cent.
As per SEBI regulations on substantial acquisition of shares and takeovers, companies have to inform the stock exchanges when an entity holds more than 5 per cent shares in a listed company.

PhonePe Starts First Indian Digital Payment Interactive Geospatial Platform

Walmart-owned digital payments firm PhonePe has launched PhonePe Pulse, India's first interactive platform with data, insights and trends on digital payments in the country. The PhonePe Pulse website showcases more than 2000 crore transactions by consumers on an interactive map of India. With over 45 per cent market share, PhonePe's data is representative of the country's digital payment habits.
PhonePe also launched the Pulse Report, an in-depth study on the evolution of digital payments over the past 5 years. The report also has insights about how digital payment adoption across India has evolved since 2016, and includes detailed geographical and category-specific trends.
PhonePe Pulse is a first-of-its-kind product in India and is the culmination of months of research and collaboration by a cross-functional team. It included corporate communications professionals, business analysts, marketers, designers, writers, engineering and business teams from across the company.

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