General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2015

Dec 2015

Jan 05, 2020

Dixon Technologies To Manufacture LED TVs For Samsung

South Korean electronics company Samsung and Noida-based Dixon Technologies will jointly manufacture LED televisions in India.
The local electronics maker will manufacture television sets for the consumer goods giant at its facility in Tirupati, as per the agreement.

SBI Asks Customers To Update Mobile Numbers For New Way Of ATM Cash Withdrawal

In order to strengthen its security system on ATM cash withdrawals, State Bank of India (SBI) has introduced OTP-based ATM withdrawals with effect from 1st January 2020.
SBI's OTP-based ATM cash withdrawals is applicable for above ₹10,000 cash withdrawals. This service is functional at all SBI ATMs between 8 pm to 8 am.
For this, SBI customers need to carry their mobile to the ATMs as the OTP will be received on the mobile number registered with the bank.

Income Tax Department Issues New 2020 Calendar For Taxpayers With All Deadlines

The income tax department has issued a new calendar for the year 2020 having a list of all the important tax-related deadlines. Designed as the "File-it-yourself" calendar to help taxpayers file their income tax returns easily, the e-calendar maps your ITR filing journey.
The e-calendar also informs taxpayers of the various services being offered by the taxman.
The January month calendar reminds you about the due dates for TCS and TDS deposits for the quarter ending December 31, 2019.

India's Forex Reserves Touch All Time High Of 457.468 Billion

India's foreign exchange reserves swelled by 2.520 billion USD to touch a record high of 457.468 billion USD in the week that ended on 27th December 2019.
An RBI press release has informed that foreign currency assets, a major part of the overall reserves rose by 2.203 billion USD to 424.936 billion USD.
In the previous week, the reserves had surged by 456 million USD to end at 454.948 billion USD. Gold reserves increased by 260 million USD to end at 27.392 billion USD.
India's special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund, however dipped by 2 million USD to 1.441 billion USD, while the country's reserve position increased by 58 million USD to 3.7 billion USD.

Jan 04, 2020

Global Tensions Could Put Pressure on Oil Import Bill

Crude oil prices jumped more than 4%, the highest since September 2019, after a US airstrike killed a key Iranian military leader in Baghdad, fuelling concerns that escalating tensions between the Persian Gulf nation and the US may disrupt oil supplies.
Brent crude price rose to $69.2 per barrel, up 4.39% against the previous close of $66.3 per barrel.
Considering India imports more than 80% of its oil requirements, any increase in crude oil price is always a cause for concern.
In the current financial year, India imported 4.5 million barrels of oil per day between April and November, while its import dependency, based on consumption, has increased to 84.5% compared to 83.3% a year-ago.

HDFC to Raise Up to Rs. 5,000 cr Next Week

India's largest mortgage lender HDFC Ltd will raise up to Rs. 5,000 crore by issuing bonds on a private placement basis to shore up its long-term capital needs. The secured redeemable non-convertible debentures will bear coupon rate of 7.50% per annum. The issue size of the bond issue is Rs. 3,000 crore with an option to retain oversubscription up to Rs. 2,000 crore. The object of the issue is to augment the long-term resources of the corporation. The proceeds of the present issue would be utilised for financing/ refinancing of the housing finance business requirements of the corporation.

Adani to Buy Stake in Krishnapatnam Port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), India's largest private sector port operator, has agreed to buy a 75% stake in Krishnapatnam Port Co. Ltd (KPCL) at an enterprise value of Rs. 13,500 crore.
The Krishnapatnam Port is located in southern Andhra Pradesh and is a multi-cargo facility. It handled 54 million tonnes (mt) of cargo in the year ended 31 March 2019.
The purchase will accelerate Adani Ports' plan to expand its cargo-handling capacity to 400 mt by 2025. The acquisition will be funded via internal accruals and existing cash balance.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and the transaction is expected to be completed within 120 days.

DRL Gets Shareholders' Nod

Drug major Dr. Reddy's Laboratories received shareholders' nod for the proposed amalgamation of Dr. Reddy's Holdings Ltd into the company.
The resolution for the scheme was approved by 99.98 per cent votes of the total 13.10 crore votes casted by equity shareholders of the company. 21,026 votes, which accounted for the rest 0.02 per cent, were posted against the resolution.
The voting was conducted as per the directions of the Hyderabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal on November 22, 2019.
The meeting of equity shareholders was convened on January 2, 2020.
The board of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories had on July 29, 2019, approved the amalgamation of Dr. Reddy's Holdings Ltd, an entity held by the promoter group which holds 24.88 per cent equity shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, into the company.
The scheme would lead to simplification of the shareholding structure and reduction of shareholding tiers.

Jan 03, 2020

Now, Generate UAN Online

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has put in place an online system through which Universal Account Number (UAN) can be generated by using Aadhaar number.
A person who has registered his mobile number with Aadhaar will be able to self-generate his UAN. Through this facility, after successful verification of details, the UAN is generated. A person joining a new job can submit the generated UAN to the employer so that the UAN can be linked to ID allotted to the member in that establishment.

OPEC Output Declines in December

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) output declined last month as several Persian Gulf producers stepped up their implementation of cutbacks aimed at balancing global oil markets. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates reduced production in December, the final month of a round of restrictions by the cartel before it presses on with new—and even deeper—curbs this year. Output from OPEC fell by 90,000 barrels a day to 29.55 million in December, according to a Bloomberg survey of officials.

Govt. Set to Finalise Curbs on Non-essential Imports

India is set to finalise stricter quality standards for 371 items by March, a move primarily aimed at curbing imports of non-essential items such as toys, plastic goods, sports items and furniture, especially from China.
The proposed rules, to be framed by ministries in coordination with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), will also ensure stricter inspection of imports.
While the new rules, spearheaded by Piyush Goyal, are aimed at curbing imports from China and narrowing the trade deficit with India's northern neighbour, the rules will also apply to Indian producers so as to make the regulations World Trade Organization-compliant.
Non-essential imports from China amount to Rs. 4 lakh crore a year.

RBI Announces Third Round of Operation Twist

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its third round of simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under the special open market operation (OMO).
Typically, the central bank conducts OMO sales to suck out excess liquidity in the financial system, or OMO purchases to infuse liquidity in a single day.
The RBI will purchase two new long-term government securities, maturing in 2024 and 2026, in addition to the 10-year bond maturing in 2029. The short-term securities include 6.65% maturing on April 9, 2020, 7.8% maturing on May 3, 2020, and 8.27% maturing on June 9, 2020, besides the 8.12% bond maturing on 10 December 2020.

MTNL Starts Asset Monetisation

State-run telecom firm MTNL started the process to monetise assets worth Rs. 23,000 crore as it aims to turn profitable in the next fiscal year. The company has already submitted plans to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to monetise Rs. 6,200 crore worth assets that include 36 acres of land bank in Mumbai, shops-cum-offices in Delhi, and residential quarters in Noida. The firm has dentified assets worth Rs. 23,000 crore that can be monetised. These are all prime properties in Mumbai and Delhi. With the completion of VRS and asset monetisation, the firm expects to become profitable in the next fiscal.

Jan 02, 2020

Suzuki JV to Invest in Gujarat Plant

Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. (SMC), Toshiba Corp. and Denso Corp. will jointly invest Rs. 3,715 crore in the second phase of their battery venture in Gujarat's Hansalpur, a confidential company presentation showed. The investment, spread over 2021-25, is part of the Rs. 5,000-crore corpus that Suzuki announced in October 2019 to build India's first lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant for EVs.
The joint venture, called Automotive Electronics Power Pvt. Ltd (AEPPL), is currently building the first phase at Rs. 1,214 crore. The first phase (2018-20) is expected to start production by end-2020.
AEPPL is a partnership between Suzuki (50%), Toshiba (40%) and Denso (10%), to locally manufacture 30 million lithium ion cells per year by 2025, with a production capacity of more than 1GWh.

Apollo, Varde Pull Out of Race for Altico

Apollo Global Management LLC and Varde Partners LP are no longer considering bidding for Altico Capital India Ltd, narrowing the number of suitors for the troubled shadow lender. The firms pulled out because they were unwilling to meet creditor demands to inject as much as Rs. 2,000 crore of fresh equity into Altico. A spokesman for Apollo confirmed its withdrawal while Varde declined to comment. That leaves Cerberus Capital Management LP, SSG Capital Management, and Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd in the race for the real-estate focused lender.

Government Cuts Import Duty

The government slashed import duty on refined palmolein to 45% from 50%, while that on crude palm oil (CPO) to 37.5% from 40% with immediate effect, a move that the industry opposed saying it will hurt domestic refiners.
Opposing the move, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said that after the reduction in import duty, the tax difference between CPO and refined palmolein has reduced to 7.5% from 10%.
This will have (a) serious impact on domestic palm oil refining industry and oilseeds farmers.

Union Bank Looks to Sell Bad Loans

Public sector lender Union Bank of India said it is looking to sell bad loans of over Rs. 1,200 crore to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), banks, non-banks and other financial institutions.
In a notice on its website, the bank said it has sought bids for selling a bundle of 11 non-performing assets, totaling Rs. 1,280.87 crore, by January 13. The bad assets include loans to GVK Power Goindwal Sahib Ltd (Rs. 443.84 crore), Chennai Elevated Tollways Ltd (Rs. 192.24 crore), Rajahmundry Godavari Bridge Ltd (Rs. 153.03 crore), Sona Alloys Pvt. Ltd (Rs. 135.58 crore) and Supreme Manor Wada Bhiwandi Tollways Ltd (Rs. 113.95 crore). The assets, Union Bank said, will be sold in exchange of cash.
The bank classified these loans as NPAs between December 2012 and November 2017.

Court Allows Banks to Sell Vijay Mallya's UBHL Shares

A special court designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) granted a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) the rights of United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL), owned by fugitive economic offender (FEO) Vijay Mallya. This means the bank can sell off UBHL's shares and recover their dues.
However, after Mallya's lawyers sought a stay on the order's execution on the grounds that they need time to approach the Bombay High Court (HC), the PMLA court stayed the execution till January 18. In the meantime, Mallya is likely to challenge the order before the HC.

Jan 01, 2020

IL&FS to Address Major Part of Debt by July

As per Uday Kotak, IL&FS Group is working towards addressing a significant portion of the outstanding debt of Rs. 94,000 crore by July 2020.
Kotak informed the shareholders at the 32nd annual general meeting that the company has emerged as a test case on group-wide resolution of stressed assets. The new board is committed to completing the resolution process at the earliest and is working towards addressing a significant portion of addressable debt by July 2020.

Finance Minister Launches Rs. 102 Trillion National Infra Pipeline Plan

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a National Infrastructure Pipeline coordination mechanism with an investment plan worth Rs. 102 trillion in the next five years.
A task force for the purpose, set up under economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty, submitted its first report after consultation with 70 different stakeholders for four months. The task force was set up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, promised to roll out an ambitious infrastructure push worth Rs. 100 trillion over the next five years to make India a $5 trillion economy.
The projects will byearse spread across 21 ministries and 18 states and Union Territories. While the Centre and states will contribute 39% each of the projects cost, private sectors will contribute 22% of the cost.
Out of the projects included in the pipeline, 43% are under implementation, 33% are at conceptual stage and 19% are under development. The projects belong to sectors such as power, including renewable, railways, urban development, irrigation, mobility, education, health, water and digital sector.

India Plans $35 Billion Power Reforms to Revive Ailing Utilities

India is planning another wave of reforms aimed at turning around its struggling power retailers.
The initiative is still under consideration. The reforms could cost as much as 2.5 trillion rupees ($35 billion) over five years.
The measures would focus on infrastructure and technology upgrades of the ailing utilities to make them more efficient and reduce financial losses, according to the people. The efforts could include central government grants of as much as 1 trillion rupees to states that meet targets set by New Delhi.
The plan could include the installation of about 250 million prepaid smart meters, which are expected to boost revenue collection. Other measures include systems to better monitor and control networks -- known as supervisory control and data acquisition systems -- separating grids for farmers and residential users, and replacing overhead cables with special insulated wires to prevent theft.

DIPAM to Examine Issue of Reservation

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) asked the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to examine the issue of job reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in state-run companies following disinvestment.
Concerns have been raised by various stakeholders about a sharp fall in job opportunities for SCs, STs and OBCs after the disinvestment of government's equity stakes in public sector enterprises (PSEs), either because of a change in management control or the dilution of the government's shareholdings below 51%.

Vedanta Mulls Bidding for BPCL

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd. is evaluating a proposal to buy the government's 53.29% stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL).
Vedanta holds 64.92% stake in HZL while the government holds 29.85% stake in the company.
Vedanta plans to start work on the two coal blocks of Jamkhani and Chotia that it had won through auction.

Hinduja Brothers Preparing Bid for Jet

As per reports, the Hinduja Group is preparing a bid to buy grounded carrier Jet Airways India Ltd.
The UK-based group, run by brothers Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, plans to submit an expression of interest by the January 15 deadline, signalling its intent to make a formal offer. Hinduja Group is seeking a partner to bid.

Karvy Group Splits Business in 2 Verticals

Over a month after it was barred by SEBI from taking new clients for misusing clients' securities, the troubled Karvy Group announced corporate restructuring to separate non-financial businesses from the financial ones.
It has also appointed Amitabh Chaturvedi, who used to head private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank, as the company's group chief executive for financial services.
SEBI, through an interim order, barred KSBL from taking new brokerage clients and also prevented it from using the power of attorneys (PoA) given by its clients after the brokerage was found to have allegedly misused clients' securities to the tune of over Rs. 2,000 crore.

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