General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2015

Dec 2015

Sep 06, 2020

Japanese Companies Relocating from China to India and Bangladesh

The Japanese government has that it will provide subsidies to Japanese companies that shift their manufacturing setup from China to India, Bangladesh and ASEAN countries. This comes as the world's supply chain was disrupted after the outbreak of COVID-19 which originated in China. The countries have now started mulling on options to either exit from China or at least reduce their dependence on it with respect to trade or other procurements.
Japan too aims to decentralise its supply chain by reducing its dependence on a particular country for medical and well as electronic components supply. The Japanese government has allocated 23.5 billion yen in the 2020 supplemental budget for the subsidy to encourage companies to disperse their manufacturing sites across the ASEAN region.
Besides the COVID-19 pandemic, China has also been criticised in the international community over its imposition of draconian national security law in Hong Kong, in turn threatening the autonomy of the trade city.
Moreover, the ASEAN countries, Australia, India, Japan and the US have moved against China for its aggression in the South China Sea.

UP Jumps 10 Places to Become Second in Ease of Doing Business Ranking

Uttar Pradesh made a big jump to the second position in the State Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2019 – Ease of Doing Business Ranking (EoDB), up from the 12 th position that the state achieved in the BRAP 2017-18. UP left behind several leading states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana and Rajasthan in the process.
UP is now only second to Andhra Pradesh in these rankings. "UP is committed to the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for AatmaNirbhar Bharat and making all efforts in this regard.
UP said that the achievement had come as UP implemented 186 out of the 187 reforms suggested by the DPIIT and said its 'Nivesh Mitra' single window portal has been one of the main catalysts in taking this drastic jump as 94 per cent of the nearly 2.3 lakh No Objection Certificate (NOC) applications received in the last two years had been disposed of. "UP has already started to rank its 75 districts in 'District wise ease of doing business' ranking started from May 2020. As a leader, started to rank its 75 districts in 'District wise ease of doing business' ranking started from May 2020. As a leader, UP has already started implementing state BRAP 20-21 reforms in which state has already implemented 170 reforms out of the 301 suggested reforms.
Since this year's exercise of BRAP was completely based on 'User Feedback', attaining the second rank across the country indicates that entrepreneurs have been receiving the true benefits of these implemented reforms by government of UP under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. These reforms were spread across several areas like labour regulation, online single window, access to information and transparency, land administration, construction permits, commercial disputes and inspection enablers. Over 20 UP departments implemented such reforms.

BPCL to Offer Stock Options to Employees Ahead of Privatisation

State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) has offered its employees stock options at one-third of the market price as the company looks to reward staff ahead of its privatisation.
The board of BPCL approved the proposed Employee Stock Purchase Scheme (ESPS) to the specified employees through the trust mechanism, subject to the approval of the shareholders.
As per reports, BPCL Trust for Investment in Shares holds around 9.33 per cent stake of the company's paid-up share capital.
Of this, 2 per cent will be offered to employees at one-third the price of BPCL scrip in the preceding six months.
There will be no change in government's shareholding in the company.
The government is selling all of its 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL to a strategic investor.

Sep 05, 2020

Government Bans Creation of New Posts in Central Ministries

The government asked all ministries /departments to review appointments of consultants, curtail functions and ban use of imported paper for printing as part of measures to rationalise non-priority expenditure.
The Finance Ministry issued the instructions on expenditure management with a view to improving the quality of public expenditure, containing non-developmental spending and ensuring availability of adequate resources for critical priority schemes.
With regard to administrative expenditure, the Department of Expenditure, under the Finance Ministry, said that no printing or publishing of books, publications, documents will be done on imported paper, except where printing is done abroad by Indian missions.
It asked all the ministries /departments to carry out a review of the individual consultants appointed by them in consonance with the provisions of General Financial Rules (GFR) and reduce the number of consultants to the minimum requirement.
With regard to new positions, it said there will be a ban on creation of new posts, except with the approval of the expenditure department.

LazyPay Launches LazyUPI Digital Credit Card

LazyPay launched a digital credit card that combines the power of UPI and the Buy-Now-Pay-Later concept. Called LazyUPI, the offering enables users to access real-time credit using UPI across omnichannel networks, including offline merchants and e-commerce platforms. The solution is a strategic response to the market's demand for easy access to credit across online and offline platforms and higher ticket-size pay-later options.
With LazyUPI seamlessly integrated into existing LazyPay apps, customers can set up their accounts using a 2-minute KYC process. Hinged on the same principles of LazyPay, users do not have to go through the tedious process of linking their bank account(s) with UPI to access credit via LazyUPI. Based on the user's credit history and payment behavior, LazyPay will offer a credit limit (upto INR 1 lakh) to users for UPI transactions at stores (online and offline).

Start-ups in Priority Sector Lending

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to include loan to start-ups and agriculture solar power plants in the revised priority sector lending (PSL) guidelines.
While start-ups will be able to avail loans up to a limit of Rs. 50 crore, solar power plants will be eligible for PSL in case of grid connected agriculture pumps.The PSL also includes compressed biogas (CBG) plants as a fresh category.
The intention behind the PSL revision is to align it with emerging national priorities and bring sharper focus on inclusive development. The RBI also increased the credit limit for farmers producer organisations (FPOs) undertaking farming with assured marketing of their produce at a pre-determined price. The loan limit for renewable energy has also been doubled and there has been a hike in the credit limit for health infrastructure (including those under Ayushman Bharat). The RBI expects revised PSL to lead to better credit penetration to credit deficient areas, increase lending to small and marginal farmers and weaker sections, boost credit to renewable energy and health infrastructure.

Infosys to Acquire Product Design Firm Kaleidoscope Innovation

India's second-largest IT services firm Infosys will acquire US-based product design and development firm Kaleidoscope Innovation for up to USD 42 million (about Rs. 308 crore).
Kaleidoscope Innovation is a full-spectrum product design, development, and insights firm innovating across medical, consumer, and industrial markets. It designs microsurgical instruments, devices used in minimally invasive surgery, drug delivery devices for ophthalmic therapies, and user-centric wearables.
It also offers usability testing in support of regulatory submissions, including the delivery mechanism for aortic stents. In a regulatory filing, Infosys said the cost of acquisition is "up to USD 42 million including earn-out, management incentives, and bonuses".
The acquisition by Infosys Nova Holdings, LLC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys) is expected to close during the second quarter of FY 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

Thirty-eight Coal Blocks to go under the Hammer

The Coal Ministry revised the list of mines to be auctioned for commercial mining and now 38 blocks would go under the hammer instead of 41 mines announced earlier.
The revision in the list includes addition of three blocks Dolesara, Jarekela and Jharpalam-Tangarghat (in Chhattisgarh) and withdrawal of five blocks — Morga South, Fatehpur, Madanpur (North), Morga-II and Sayang (in Chhattisgarh).
No reason was provided by the ministry for the revision of the list.

Sep 04, 2020

Accounts not Declared NPA till August 31, 2020 Shall Not be Declared NPA Till Further Orders: SC ...

In a respite to stressed borrowers, the Supreme Court directed that accounts not declared non-performing assets (NPAs) as of August 31 should not be classified as such until further orders.
A three-judge Bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the levy of interest on loans during the moratorium period.
The apex court's directive came while noting the submissions of senior lawyer Harish Salve, who appeared for a banks' association and said that no account shall become NPA at least for a period of two months.

2020 Fortune 40 Under 40 List

Reliance Jio Board Directors Isha Ambani and Akash Ambani, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla and Byju Raveendran, co-founder of India's leading education technology company Byju's, are among the emerging leaders from across the world named by Fortune in its annual list of influential people under the age of 40.
The 2020 Fortune 40 Under 40 list highlights 40 influential people each in five categories of finance, technology, healthcare, government and politics, and media and entertainment from around the world.

Murali Ramakrishnan New MD and CEO of South Indian Bank

Murali Ramakrishnan will take over as the new Managing Director and CEO of Kerala-based South India Bank. He retired from ICICI Bank as Senior General Manager at Strategic Project Group in May 2020 and joined the Bank as an advisor in July 2020.
The bank got the Reserve Bank of India's approval for the appointment for a period of three years with effect from October 1, 2020.
During his tenure at ICICI Bank, in the last assignment, he was heading a business transformation project of SME business. Murali Ramakrishnan was Chief Executive Hong Kong and Regional Head-North Asia, Sri Lanka, Middle East, and Africa. (March 2012 to August 2016) (Senior General Manager grade). As Head of the region, he was responsible for the entire operations of the Bank in the locations, managing a large balance sheet of around US$ 20 bn, contributing to more than 60% of profits of the International Business Group of ICICI Bank.
He also worked for GE Capital TFS Ltd, SRF Finance Ltd, Spartek Emerging Fund, Can Bank Venture Capitalfund and Spic Ltd.

CII launches Future Business Group Initiative to Provide Support to New Businesses

Future Business Group, an initiative by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide support to new businesses launched during the past few years, was launched. Together with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), CII will create a 'national strategy for future businesses' as part of the initiative.
It will also provide policy inputs, identify new growth segments and establish international partnerships with a focus on growing such businesses. CII has also suggested that the government invite other nations to participate.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who was present at the launch, called upon the senior business leaders to become mentors, not only to their own family or businesses but also to the new age & young entrepreneurs. Goyal said new-age entrepreneurs are going to change the fortune of India. Goyal said that we need to build a platform with like-minded countries and trusted partners to promote new-age businesses in India. India can engage with other countries and build up a platform with trusted partners to promote new-age businesses.

SoftBank Group Eyes Partners to Bid for TikTok's Assets in India

As per reports, SoftBank Group is exploring assembling a group of bidders for TikTok's India assets and has been actively looking for local partners.
Over the past month, the Japanese conglomerate, which owns a stake in TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance, has held talks with the heads of Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel. While discussions have fizzled since, SoftBank is still exploring options.
Representatives for SoftBank, ByteDance, Reliance and Bharti Airtel declined to comment.
TikTok is considering selling its operations in several countries after local governments shut out the app, citing fears that sensitive user data was passing into the hands of China. India has taken a particularly tough stance, banning 59 of China's largest internet services in July, including TikTok. India was one of TikTok's largest markets, with more than 200 million users.

Sep 03, 2020

Vedanta Arm among 11 Bidders for Videocon

As per reports, a Vedanta affiliate company and US-based Eight Capital are among a group of 11 bidders who have submitted binding offers for Videocon Industries that are undergoing insolvency proceedings at the national company law tribunal (NCLT).
Delhi-based television sets manufacturer Dixon Technologies is also amongst the bidders.
The bids will be vetted for legal compliance before they are opened and the financial offers discussed.
Videocon's promoters, the Dhoot family, have also submitted a competing offer for the company to the lenders consortium led by State Bank of India, but the offer was described as a 'non-starter' by one of the bankers.
The SBI-led consortium is looking to recover Rs. 20,000 crore in dues from the company.

ICAI to Come out with Forensic Accounting, Investigation Standards

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) plans to come out with a detailed set of forensic accounting and investigation standards by the end of December.
As per ICAI President Atul Kumar Gupta, there would be 30 standards under six groups.
The decision to have the standards comes at a time when there are rising instances of forensic accounting and investigation assignments related to ascertaining facts in corporate and banking frauds.
There are no standardised processes for forensic accounting and investigation, and the institute will be developing the first-ever standards in this regard. These standards are expected to be ready by the end of December.
According to the institute, the standards would also be useful for law enforcement agencies, corporates, banks and other stakeholders to appreciate the common practices and finer nuances of conducting forensic accounting and investigation engagements.
The standards would help in improving the quality of work as well as ensure more reliability. Enhanced processes will also help in increasing acceptability of forensic assignments.

Tech Mahindra Launches Dedicated 'Microsoft Business Unit

Tech Mahindra launched a dedicated 'Microsoft business unit' that will help accelerate digital transformation for its customers worldwide.
The new business unit will focus on developing enterprise cloud solutions leveraging Microsoft platforms and technologies to meet the dynamic needs of customers and pursue their growth agenda.
It will house a centre of excellence (CoE) to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions across Microsoft Azure, Business Applications (Dynamics 365) and Modern Work (Microsoft 365). The CoE will harness the dedicated talent pool working to build intellectual property (IP) and personalised solutions for enterprise customers.
Tech Mahindra is a tier-1 cloud solutions provider and an Azure Networking partner focused on working towards unlocking new 5G use cases with Azure Edge.
The new business unit will leverage Tech Mahindra's digital expertise across industries and will bring together a talent pool of more than 2,500 professionals to meet the needs of about 900 customers globally. This unit will provide a platform for teams across competencies, industries and go-to-market strategies to collaborate and enable digital transformation for customers.

Govt. Caps Key Export Benefit to Rs. 2 crore Per Exporter

The government capped the benefits under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) at Rs. 2 crore per exporter on exports made between September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 without changing the coverage of the scheme and the applicable rates.
It also said that the new Import Export Code (IEC) obtained on or after September 1 will be ineligible to submit any MEIS claim for exports, and the ceiling would be subject to a downward revision to ensure that the total claim doesn't exceed the allocated Rs. 5,000 crore for the period.
Under MEIS, the government provides duty benefits depending on product and country. Rewards under the scheme are payable as percentage of realised free-on-board value (of 2%, 3% and 5%) and MEIS duty credit scrip can be transferred or used for payment of a number of duties including the basic customs duty.
The commerce and industry ministry had proposed a fresh round of incentives under the key scheme after the finance ministry said the MEIS failed to deliver the desired result of boosting exports. India's merchandise exports have hovered around $300 billion in the last five years, despite the scheme's liberal application across sectors. The liability under MEIS was around Rs. 45,000 crore in FY20.

Tiger and Kora in $250 Million Zomato Funding Round

Zomato has roped in two new investors - Tiger Global and Kora Capital - in an ongoing funding round valuing the food ordering and restaurant discovery platform at around $3 billion.
The company has raised around $250 million collectively from Tiger, Kora and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek, an existing investor. Tiger may pump in another $100 million if Zomato is able to regain pre-Covid business volumes.
For Zomato, the new round of financing led by US and Singapore-based financial investors comes amid uncertainty surrounding the India strategy of its prominent backer - China's Ant Financial.
Alibaba's sister company, Ant, which holds 25% in Zomato, had committed to investing $150 million in January. However, Zomato has been able to access only $50 million so far. The changing stance by Chinese investors such as Ant comes amid a wave of anti-China sentiment sweeping across India and also globally, especially in the US.
In addition, India's new FDI rules introduced in April require regulatory approval for any investment from a country that shares a land border with the country.

Cabinet Approves Pact between India and Finland for Cooperation in Geology

The government approved a memorandum of understanding between India and Finland for cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources.
The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The pact facilitates cooperation in the field of geology, training, mineral prognostication and suitability analysis, seismic and other geophysical surveys among others finalised with the intent of reinforcing and strengthening scientific links between the two organisations.
This MoU aims to provide with a framework and a platform to promote and foster cooperation in the fields of geology, and mineral resources between the participants for mutual economic, social and environmental benefit; and share experiences on geological data management and information dissemination to promote exploration and mining, in the areas of geology and mineral resources.
Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a premier geo-scientific organisation of international repute for creation and updation of national geo-scientific information and mineral resource assessment.

Federal Bank & Innoviti Partner to Provide Affordable Options of Federal Bank Debit Cards

To provide convenient and affordable options of Federal Bank Debit Cards through Innoviti Point of Sale (POS) terminals, the Federal Bank and Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd(Innoviti) have entered into a partnership, which will offer Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) options to over 7.5 million Federal Bank Debit Card holders at over 70,000 Innoviti POS terminals across 1000 cities.
The partnership is in view of COVID-19 crisis as people are cautious about their spending and still will need affordable options in essential categories such as healthcare, education and IT (computers and laptops).
Through this partnership customers can access the credit, which can be repaid in convenient Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) through their Federal Bank Debit Card, particularly in smaller Tier 2/Tier 3 towns.

Cabinet Approves MoU between India and Japan for Cooperation in the Field of Good Quality Textiles

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Textiles Committee, India and M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan for improving quality and testing of Indian textiles and Clothing for the Japanese market.
The MoU would enable M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan in assigning Textile Committee as their cooperative Testing and Inspection service providers in the Republic of India for Textiles & Apparel products including Technical Textiles and any other products mutually agreed upon at a later date for both domestic and overseas clients/buyers.

Sep 02, 2020

Centre Launches 'Green Term Ahead Market' For Renewable Energy Sector

Union Power Minister R. K. Singh launched a pan-India Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity as a first step towards greening the Indian short term power market.
The GTAM platform will lead to an increase in the number of participants in the renewable energy sector. It will benefit buyers of RE through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement. It will also benefit RE sellers by providing access to the pan-India market.
The Modi government has laid out an ambitious target of 175 GW RE Capacity by 2022 and GTAM contracts will allow additional avenues to the RE generators for sale of renewable energy; enable obligated entities to procure renewable power at competitive prices to meet their RPO; provide a platform to environmentally conscious open access consumers and utilities to buy green power.
Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for RPO.

Govt. Gives Nod to 27 Projects under Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

The government approved 27 cold chain projects in 11 states with a grant-in-aid of Rs. 208 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY). These projects were "approved" in Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meetings under the 'Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure' of PMKSY.
The meetings, held during second fortnight of August, were chaired by Food Processing According to the ministry, the 27 new integrated cold chain projects will leverage a total investment of Rs. 743 crore for creation of modern, innovative infrastructure and effective cold chain facilities for food processing sector across the nation.
These projects will help increase efficiency and sustainability in India's food supply chain," it said. The new integrated cold chain projects are likely to generate direct and indirect employment for 16,200 people and are likely to benefit 2,57,904 farmers.

Telcos Get 10 Years to Clear AGR Dues

The Supreme Court granted 10 years to telecom companies, including Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices, to pay thousands of crores of rupees due from them on account of adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
A Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra directed the telecom companies to pay 10 per cent of their Rs. 1,43,271.74 crore AGR-related dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by March 31, 2021.
The top court made it clear that the companies could not dispute the demand raised by the DoT in respect of the AGR dues on the basis of its October 2019 judgment and that there shall not be any re¬assessment.
The payment had to be made in yearly instalments commencing from April 1, 2021, up to March 31, 2031, payable by March 31 of every succeeding financial year, directing the telecom firms and DoT to file compliance reports by April 7 of each succeeding year.

Adani Ranks as the Largest Solar Power Generation Owner Globally

The latest ranking of global solar companies by Mercom Capital ranked the Adani Group as number one global solar power generation asset owner in terms of operating solar projects.
As per Adani, its renewable energy portfolio exceeds the total capacity installed by the entire United States solar industry in 2019 and will displace over 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide over the life of its assets.
The group is one of the most fully integrated solar players in the world, manufacturing solar cells and modules, undertaking project development, construction, financial structuring and owning and operating its assets through its internal asset management platform.
According to the ranking, Adani is roughly 70 per cent larger than the next largest global solar power generation company.
Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) established its first solar project in 2015. In 2017, the company completed two solar projects. It went public in 2018 and has accelerated its presence to reach the current milestone of being the largest solar player in the world in a short span of just five years with a stated target of reaching 25 gigawatts of renewable power by 2025.

European Investment Bank To Invest 650 Million Euro In Kanpur Metro Project

The European Investment Bank (EIB), will invest 650 million euros into the construction of Kanpur's first city metro line, which will enable around 3 million people in the city to benefit from fast and affordable public transport.
The new metro rail system will reduce commuting hours and unlock new employment and education opportunities in Kanpur, the industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh.
According to Andrew McDowell, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Kanpur is the fifth metro rail project to receive EIB funds in India and the biggest investment made by the Bank outside the EU.
This is the second metro rail project supported by the EIB in Uttar Pradesh, following the 450 million euro investment in the development of a metro rail system in the city of Lucknow.
The second biggest EIB operation outside the EU to date will finance the construction of a 32.4 km urban rail line, with 18 elevated and 12 underground stations. Once completed, Kanpur metro rail will create 1 100 new jobs and enable around 116 million more affordable commutes each year.

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