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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2015

Dec 2015

Mar 04, 2020

OPEC Pushes Russia to Support Big Oil Output Cut

  • Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members were seeking to win support from Russia to join them in new additional oil output cuts to prop up prices which have tumbled by a fifth this year because of the coronavirus outbreak.
  • A technical panel of several representatives from OPEC states, Russia and other producers recommended on Tuesday cutting output by between 0.6-1.0 million barrels per day (bpd) during the second quarter only.
  • It also recommended that existing cuts of 2.1 million bpd by the group known as OPEC , which meets in Vienna this week, be extended until the end of 2020.
  • Russia has so far signalled it might be willing to agree to extending existing cuts, which expire in March, but might find it difficult to sign up to deeper cuts.

RBL Bank Ties-up with Zomato to Launch Co-branded Credit Card Powered by Mastercard

  • RBL Bank (formerly known as Ratnakar Bank), an Indian private sector bank, entered into a partnership with Online food ordering and delivery app Zomato to launch co-branded credit cards, powered by Mastercard, for Zomato users.
  • It will be the first of its kind co-branded credit card, available in two variants – Edition Classic and Edition Card. It will offer benefits such as Zomato Gold membership, cash back as well as airport lounge access.
  • In the Edition card variant, customers get 10% cash back to their Zomato wallet for payments made via Zomato. In addition, they will also get 2% Edition Cash for all online transactions, 1% on offline purchases and 2000 bonus Edition cash (1 Edition cash is equivalent to Rs. 1) for spending more than Rs 5 Lakh.
  • While the other variant Edition Classic Card 5% cash bank in Zomato wallet,1.5% Edition Classic Cash cashback for online transactions, 1% on offline transactions & 2000 bonus Edition Classic Cash for spending over Rs. 2 Lakh.

FM Introduces Bill that Aims to Prevent a PMC-like Crisis

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a Bill in the Parliament to amend the banking regulation law to give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) more power to regulate cooperative lenders and prevent frauds such as the one seen at Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank Ltd.
  • Introducing the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020, the Finance Minister said that it is the need of the hour to avoid a PMC Bank-like crisis in the future. Sitharaman said that PMC Bank fraud had put a lot of small depositors in difficulty and there were demands that the government should do something about it.
  • Cooperative banks are currently under the dual control of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and RBI. While the role of registrar of cooperative societies includes incorporation, registration, management, audit, supersession of board and liquidation, RBI is responsible for regulatory functions such maintaining cash reserve and capital adequacy, among others.
  • The administrative role will continue to be done by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. The amendments will apply to all urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks.

US Central Bank Makes Emergency Rate Cut

  • The US central bank slashed interest rates in response to mounting concerns about the economic impact of the coronavirus.
  • The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a range of 1% to 1.25%.
  • The emergency move comes after the G7 Group of Finance Ministers pledged action.
  • It follows warnings that slowdown from the outbreak could tip countries into recession.
  • Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the US economy remains strong but it is difficult to predict the magnitude and persistence of the effects of the spreading virus.
  • The last time the bank made an interest rate cut at an emergency meeting was during the global financial crisis of 2008.

SBI Switches to Cash Budget Based Assessment Method of Assessment for Corporates

  • State Bank of India (SBI) switched to Cash Budget Based Assessment (CBBA) from "Projected Balance Sheet (PBS)" method of Fund Based Working Capital (FBWC) limits for assessment of the working capital requirement for corporates or large advances. CBBA of limits has been initiated for assessment of the FBWC limits for units with total FBWC exposure of more than Rs. 50 crore from the banking system.
  • SBI bids to achieve minimum 11.50% year-on-year (Y-O-Y) growth in whole bank advances in FY2021, so it intends to focus on refinancing better rated corporates.

NBCC Gets Nod to Acquire Jaypee Infratech

  • The state-owned NBCC got approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to acquire debt-laden Jaypee Infratech through an insolvency process and complete around 20,000 pending flats over the next three-and-a-half years.
  • The Principal bench of NCLT, headed by acting president B. S. V. Prakash Kumar, gave a go-ahead to the resolution plan of NBCC.
  • Jaypee Infratech went into an insolvency process in August 2017. In December 2019, a committee of creditors (CoC) comprising 13 banks and around 21,000 homebuyers approved the resolution plan of NBCC with 97.36% vote in favour.

Government Appoints Ajay Bhushan Pandey as New Finance Secretary

  • Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey was appointed the finance secretary. He will replace Rajiv Kumar.
  • An IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre with over 35 years of experience in state and Central governments, Pandey is taking over as the finance secretary at a time when the economic growth has been on a downward trajectory, hitting nearly seven-year low of 4.7 per cent in the quarter ended December 31.
  • He assumed the charge as revenue secretary in the finance ministry on December 1, 2018. Since then he has been at the helm of significant taxation reforms, using technology to avoid any aggressiveness by taxmen.

L&T Bags Orders from Oman

  • Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said that the water and effluent treatment business of L&T Construction has bagged a significant order in Sultanate of Oman.
  • The order is for the design and execution of a water infrastructure project to enhance the Al Dhakhlia water transmission system phase II.
  • The scope of work includes 173 km of pipelines for water transmission with associated civil works, 18 RCC water storage reservoirs, 5 pumping stations with associated mechanical, electrical, control and instrumentation works.

Paytm Insurance Broking Secures Brokerage Licence from IRDAI

  • Indian digital payments platform Paytm's subsidiary, Paytm Insurance Broking, received the brokerage licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Authority of India (IRDAI).
  • Paytm will now offer insurance in various categories namely automotive, health and life. In addition to this, Paytm customers can also get policy management and claim settlement at select merchant points.
  • Paytm Insurance Broking aims to support its 16 Million merchant partners to sell its innovative insurance products all over India. Also it aims to expand the outreach of its products in a hassle-free manner and empower the merchant by providing an alternate income source.
  • Paytm has already partnered with 20 insurance companies and is now planning to get an additional 30 companies in future.

FM Introduces Bill that Aims to Prevent a PMC-like Crisis

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a Bill in the Parliament to amend the banking regulation law to give the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) more power to regulate cooperative lenders and prevent frauds such as the one seen at Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank Ltd.
  • Introducing the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020, the Finance Minister said that it is the need of the hour to avoid a PMC Bank-like crisis in the future. Sitharaman said that PMC Bank fraud had put a lot of small depositors in difficulty and there were demands that the government should do something about it.
  • Cooperative banks are currently under the dual control of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and RBI. While the role of registrar of cooperative societies includes incorporation, registration, management, audit, supersession of board and liquidation, RBI is responsible for regulatory functions such maintaining cash reserve and capital adequacy, among others.
  • The administrative role will continue to be done by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies. The amendments will apply to all urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks.

Mar 03, 2020

Vistara Evaluates Bid for Air India

  • Tata SIA Airlines Ltd, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, is evaluating the prospects of bidding for national carrier Air India Ltd.
  • Gurugram-based Tata SIA has not decided whether it will actually bid for state-run Air India.
  • Whoever acquires Air India, whether it's us or anyone else, will have to follow the government timeline.
  • The government hopes to sell its entire stake in Air India. Last month, it invited offers from investors for the stake sale, after the failure of an expensive turnaround plan and an effort to sell a controlling stake in the national carrier.

Government Launches 'Humsafar' Mobile App for Doorstep Diesel Delivery

  • Housing societies, hotels, and hospitals in the national capital region will soon be able to get diesel delivered at their doorsteps, with the launch of mobile application 'Humsafar' by Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar.
  • The app will be used for the fuel delivery services to housing societies, hotels, hospitals, malls, construction sites, industries, banquets and other bulk buyers of diesel in various national capital region cities, including Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Hapur, Kundli, Manesar, and Bahadurgarh.
  • Sanya Goel, director and founder of Humsafar, said that the main idea of introducing this service is to help entities such as housing societies, industries and malls avoid the hassle of transporting large amounts of fuel from the fuel station to the desired destination. "This would also cut down the unsafe practices of transporting the fuel and ensure a highly secured mode of transport by Humsafar delivery dispensers.

Power Ministry Flags Concerns over Divesting Govt. Stake Below 51% in NTPC, PowerGrid

  • The Power Ministry raised concerns over the proposed strategic divestment of government equity in NTPC, PFC and PowerGrid, which may bring down its stake to below 51 per cent.
  • However, a final call on the proposed government stake sale is yet to be taken as the ministry conveyed its reservations to the Finance Ministry.
  • As per Power Secretary S. N. Sahai, there are issues. There will be some advantages and there will be some disadvantages.
  • Sahsi said that there is nothing like rejection. Each proposal has two sides, the advantages and disadvantages, we have conveyed both of them to the Finance Ministry. We have told them about the disadvantages, and we are cognizant of the advantages.
  • He further said that the ministry has highlighted both aspects of the issue and no stand has been taken yet, and these are part of deliberations on the proposal.
  • Earlier, under disinvestment plan, it was proposed to divest government equity below 51 per cent of its stake in certain public sector undertakings, including NTPC, PowerGrid and Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
  • Thereafter certain foreign bond holder in these PSU had raised concerns about that. The power entities are supposed to compensate bondholders after reduction of the government stake to below 51 per cent.

Shree Cement Overtakes ACC to Commission World's Largest Kiln in UAE

  • Shree Cement surpassed ACC to come up with the world's largest cement kiln at Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE. "We have operationalised the plant and now it is the world's largest cement kiln with a capacity to produce 14,500 tonne per day (tpd)," H M Bangur, managing director, Shree Cement told Business Standard.
  • It is 2,000 tpd higher than ACC's Wadi II Plant in Karnataka. ACC said one of its lines in its Wadi II plant has the company's largest kiln with a capacity of 12,500 tpd. Industry officials noted that ACC's Wadi II plant had held the distinction of being the largest cement kiln in the world, which now has been overtaken by Shree Cement.
  • Against ACC's total installed capacity of 33.41 mtpa, Shree Cement's current installed capacity stands at 41.90 mtpa.

BEE Launches Star Rating Programme for Deep Freezer and Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC)

  • To commemorate its 19th foundation day, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India organized a Stakeholder Consultation to develop a vision towards building an energy efficient India. Launching the programme, Shri Sanjeev Nandan Sahai, Secretary (Power) appreciated the hard work of BEE for contributing towards an energy efficient economy. Such interaction would pave a way forward for initiatives to be taken by BEE in the sphere of energy efficiency. Deep freezer and LCAC are major energy guzzlers in commercial space, therefore, it is imperative that these two appliances shall be included in the program to save energy and reduce CO2 emission. With these two products only, a total savings of around 9 Billion units of electricity is expected to be saved for the country by FY 2030.
  • The Star Labeling Programme has been formulated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency, as part of its mandate, under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. Under this Programme, BEE has covered 24 appliances till date wherein 10 appliances are under mandatory regime. On the occasion of 19th foundation day, BEE has expanded the coverage by including Energy Efficient "Deep Freezers" and "Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC)". Through launch of these two new appliances under voluntary regime, 26 appliances would now be covered under this programme. During the event, Urja Dakshata Information Tool (UDIT) (www.udit.beeindia.gov.in), a first ever initiative taken by BEE with World Resources Institute (WRI), to facilitate a database on energy e-fficiency was launched. UDIT is a user-friendly platform that explains the energy efficiency landscape of India across industry, appliances, building, transport, municipal and agriculture sectors. UDIT will also showcase the capacity building and new initiatives taken up by the Government across the sectors in the increase energy efficiency domain.

Mar 02, 2020

ICAR Signs Pact with Patanjali

  • The country's premier agri-research body ICAR signed an agreement with Hardiwar-based Patanjali Bio Research Institute (PBRI) to undertake research work as well as training and education.
  • The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General Trilochan Mohapatra and PBRI CEO Acharya Balkrishna in the presence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
  • As per the MoU, the specific plans will be developed to work on collaborative research programmes in areas of national interest related to sustainable agriculture development suitable to different agro-ecologies of the country.
  • ICAR and PBRI will collaborate in mutually identified areas of training and education where the post graduate students of deemed universities and research institutes of ICAR may undertake internships in various areas of specialisation with PBRI.

J&K and Ladakh Sign Pact with Bajaj Allianz

  • State Health Agency, Jammu and Kashmir signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company for implementation of Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) in the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh for a contract period of one year.
  • For the selection of an insurance company, an e-tendering process was conducted by the State Health Agency, he said, adding that Bajaj Allianz was selected as the lowest bidder on the premium of Rs. 720 per family per year.

Axis Bank Looks to Raise its Stake in Max Life Insurance

  • Axis Bank Ltd is looking to raise its stake in Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd by buying an additional 17.9% stake.
  • The potential deal will be made in two parts with the private lender taking a 7.9% stake while the rest would be held through its non-banking unit Axis Finance Ltd.
  • Axis Bank will value Max Life at par with its current embedded value (EV). Embedded value or the sum of net asset value and present value of future profits is a commonly used valuation metric for life insurers.
  • The development comes amid lack of regulatory clarity on how much banks can hold in domestic insurers.

Reliance Industries Buys Stake in Alok Industries

  • Alok Industries Ltd allotted 83.33 crore equity shares of Rs. 1 each at a premium of Rs. 2 per equity share for cash at a total consideration of Rs. 250 crore to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). Pursuant to this acquisition, RIL will hold 37.7 per cent equity share capital of the Mumbai-headquartered integrated textile manufacturer.
  • RIL said that the acquisition is in accordance with the approved Resolution Plan.
  • In March 2019, RIL had intimated the exchanges regarding approval by the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench (NCLT) of the Resolution Plan, jointly submitted by RIL and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (JMFARC) for acquisition of Alok Industries under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, vide its order dated March 8, 2019.
  • Alok Industries, incorporated in India on March 12, 1986, has interests in polyester and cotton segments. It has a product suite comprising cotton yarn, apparel fabrics, bed linen, terry towels, embroidery, garments and polyester yarn. It has representative offices for sales promotion in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Mar 01, 2020

IMF and Pakistan Reach Agreement on Second Review of $6 bn Bailout Package

  • IMF reached a staff-level agreement with the Pakistani authorities "on policies and reforms" needed to complete the second review of the USD 6 billion loan approved for the cash-strapped country to help its fragile economy.
  • In July 2019, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Executive Board "approved a 39-month extended arrangement" under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan for USD 6 billion to support its economic reform programme.
  • Pakistan's finance ministry approached the IMF in August 2018 for a bailout package when the Imran Khan government took over.
  • The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF management and consideration by its executive board, which is expected in early April.
  • Completion of the review will enable disbursement of around USD 450 million.

Vistara Takes Delivery of Its First B787-9 Dreamliner Aircraft

  • Vistara took the delivery of its first wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane on Friday, making it the first Indian airline to fly this aircraft.
  • The plane, which has the registration number VT-TSD, will depart from the Boeing facility here at 2 pm (local time) on Friday and land in Delhi at 2 pm (local time) on Saturday, Vistara officials said here.
  • The new aircraft is the first of the six that Vistara purchased from Boeing.
  • The second Dreamliner aircraft is currently on the production line and will be delivered soon.
  • Vistara's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft comes with 299 seats in a three-class cabin configuration, giving customers a choice of business, premium economy and economy cabins.

Jeff Bezos Teams up with Narayana Murthy to Enter India's Food Delivery Business

  • Amazon is all set to start its food delivery business in India from Bengaluru next month, says a news report in The Economic Times.
  • The launch of the service, which would be offered as part of either Amazon's Prime Now or Amazon Fresh platform, could happen as soon as next month. With this, Amazon will take on estabished players such as Zomato and Swiggy.
  • Executives at two restaurants, who did not want to be named, confirmed that Prione Business Services, a joint venture between Infosys cofounder NR Narayana Murthy's Catamaran Ventures and Amazon India, has been signing contracts with brands to list on Amazon, offering 10-15% commissions, the report said.

India Post Payments Bank Reaches Milestone of 20 million Customers

  • India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) achieved the milestone of two crore customers, providing a major impetus to the government's efforts in furthering financial inclusion in unbanked and underbanked areas across the country.
  • The success of IPPB's business model underlines the government's intent in creating an interoperable banking infrastructure for the public good contributing toward changing the financial inclusion landscape in India.
  • IPPB was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 1, 2018. It reached the landmark of one crore customers in the first year of operations. The next one crore customers have been acquired and onboarded in just five months.

Tulsi Tanti, Sun Pharma promoters to invest Rs 400 cr in Suzlon Energy

  • The promoters and associates of Suzlon Energy will infuse up to Rs. 400 crore as equity into the troubled renewable energy company, through various securities as part of the proposed restructuring plan.
  • The entities pumping in money include Tanti Holdings Pvt (promoter), Shanghvi Finance and associates.
  • The board of directors, in a late night meeting on Thursday, approved a proposal for restructuring debt of the company and its certain identified subsidiaries, the company said in its filing with the BSE. Suzlon's stock closed 5.9 per cent lower at Rs. 2.69 per share on the BSE on Friday.
  • Under the debt recast plan, the Tulsi Tanti-controlled entity will issue securities — shares, convertible bonds and warrants — to 17 lenders for converting part of the debt into equity. Some of the lenders include State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank and YES Bank. The Pune-based entity will also dispose of some of its investment, assets and also dilute stake in some of the units in line with the approved plan. However, the company did not specify the assets it would sell to reduce stake.

Feb 29, 2020

Amul to Acquire Heritage Foods' Dairy Plant in Punjab

  • Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)'s flagship Amul Dairy is set to acquire Heritage Foods Ltd's dairy plant in Punjab for Rs. 21.20 crore.
  • Heritage Foods Ltd's Board of Directors on Friday approved the sale of "all tangible assets" of the dairy plant located at Bhambri village of Fatehgarh Sahib district in Punjab, the company said in its filing with exchanges. The move is part of its business rationalisation in northern India. The board approved the sale to Anand-based Kaira District Milk Producers Union Ltd (Amul Dairy), the flagship dairy under GCMMF.
  • On its part, GCMMF is evaluating the acquisition proposal, with its board likely to take a call soon, even as it looks to expand operations in Punjab to cater North India for liquid milk, curd and buttermilk, among other dairy products.

Rajiv Kumar Launches Baroda Startup Banking Initiative for Start-ups

  • Finance Secretary Shri Rajiv Kumar launched the 'Baroda Startup Banking' service with the objective of making Bank of Baroda (BoB) a preferred ally of start-up companies and connecting more than 2,000 start-ups over the next 2 years. The initiative was launched simultaneously in 15 cities across India.
  • A total of 15 Baroda start-up branches will be opened under this initiative. It will provide banking products and services as per the needs of startup companies.
  • Along with existing banking products, startup companies at these branches have special facilities like current accounts (CA), state-of-the-art payment gateway facilities, corporate credit cards, Corporate salary account and loan facility etc. will be made available. It will also help start-ups by way of cloud credits, mentorship, co-working space, legal/accounting services and other support services.

Thomson Reuters Appoints Steve Hasker as CEO

  • Thomson Reuters Corp appointed former Nielsen Holdings Plc president Steve Hasker as its new Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Jim Smith.
  • The parent of Reuters News also announced higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, reporting a 60% year-on-year rise in operating profit, helped by lower costs and investments following the separation of the Financial and Risk (F&R) business.
  • Stephane Bello, Chief Financial Officer, will also step down from his role and will be succeeded by Mike Eastwood, current Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance. Bello will oversee strategy and business development into 2021.

HDFC Bank Ties-up with IndiGo to Launch Co-branded Credit Card 'Ka-ching, Powered by Mastercard

  • IndiGo airlines has partnered with HDFC Bank to launch its first travel credit card.
  • Called 'Ka-ching', it is powered by Mastercard and comes in two variants – 6E Rewards and 6E Rewards XL – and also offers complimentary air tickets. "Customers can avail complimentary air tickets worth between Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 3,000, depending on the variant," HDFC Bank said in a statement, adding that the credit cards will allow customers to accrue accelerated 6E Rewards on IndiGo transactions.
  • "This card has been tailored to allow customers to accrue accelerated reward points not only on IndiGo flights, but also on all types of spend such as shopping, dining and groceries.
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