General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2016

Feb 2016

Jul 21, 2022

SBI Launches WhatsApp Banking Service

In a move to make banking easier for its customers, India's largest public sector lender, State Bank of India or SBI launched its WhatsApp Banking services. SBI customers can avail certain banking services from the lender using WhatsApp, which may come in handy for many as they do not have to download the app or go to the ATM anymore. This came days after SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara had revealed plans of the bank going the WhatsApp way.

Rajarshi Gupta Takes over as Managing Director of ONGC Videsh

Rajarshi Gupta took over as Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
He replaced Alok Gupta who superannuated in June 2022.
Rajarshi Gupta has more than 33 years of wide-ranging experience in supervisory, managerial and strategic planning capacities in domestic and international operations of ONGC and ONGC Videsh.
Prior to this, he was Executive Director - Chief of Corporate Strategy & Planning in ONGC.

Gautam Adani World's 4th Richest on Forbes List

India's richest person Gautam Adani became the world's fourth richest person, toppling Microsoft founder Bill Gates, as per the Forbes world's richest list. Gautam Adani's position got upped by one rank as Gates said that he would be donating $20 billion of his wealth to his non-profit organisation — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Following this, Gautam Adani and Family took over Gates' spot with their wealth of $115 billion, as per Forbes.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Becomes First 100% Landlord Major Port of India

Jawaharlal Nehru Port became the first 100 per cent Landlord Major Port of India having all berths being operated on PPP model.
Expressing his views on the achievement, Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that this project would improve the utilisation in crane and berth productivity of the terminal. He also said that the total handling of JNPT would increase to 1.8 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) from the present handling capacity of 1.5 million TEUs in 2020-21.
The terminal would also be handling Ro-Ro vessels which would not only lower the logistics cost and reduce transit time but will also contribute in reducing congestion on roads and promoting towards clean environment.

Jul 20, 2022

CII-Exim Bank Conclave: Goyal Calls for Deepening Trade Ties with Africa

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called for expansion and diversification of India-Africa economic relations and inclusion of emerging areas, such as solar energy, start-ups, and digital infrastructure for partnership.
Goyal identified four major focus areas for the India-Africa partnership: solar power, military exchanges in the context of the security of the Indian Ocean, physical and digital infrastructure, health care, pharma and vaccines, and start-up ecosystem.
The trade between India and African countries has been balanced with exports of trade and services of about $40 billion and imports of $49 billion, Goyal said at the inauguration of 17th CII-Exim Bank conclave.

Standard Chartered Bank, EaseMyTrip Launch Co-branded Credit Card

Standard Chartered Bank launched a co-branded credit card with EaseMyTrip, the second largest online travel tech platform in India. The 'EaseMyTrip Standard Chartered Credit Card' offers exclusive travel benefits with instant discounts and reward points to cardmembers, making it the most rewarding travel credit card.
This credit card provides flat 20% instant discount on domestic & international hotel bookings; flat 10% instant discount on domestic & international flight bookings on EaseMyTrip website or mobile application. Cardmembers can also earn accelerated reward points on flight, hotel bookings at standalone airlines and hotel websites/apps. Reward points earned can be redeemed on the rewards catalogue of Standard Chartered Bank, across multiple brands including EaseMyTrip.

Pramod Rao Takes Charge as SEBI's Executive Director

Capital markets regulator SEBI announced that Pramod Rao took charge as its executive director.
He would handle the department of debt and hybrid securities as well as the enquiry and adjudication department.
Before this assignment, he held the position of Group General Counsel at ICICI Bank and provided strategic oversight to the legal function of the ICICI group.
He holds a degree of B.A LL.B. (Hons) from National Law School of India University, Bangalore.

RBI Imposes Restrictions on Raigad Sahakari Bank

The RBI imposed several restrictions on Mumbai-based Raigad Sahakari Bank, including a withdrawal cap of Rs. 15,000 per customer, due to deterioration in the financial condition of the lender.
The cooperative bank, without the prior approval of RBI, cannot issue loans, make any investment, accept fresh deposits, among the restrictions.
The restrictions will remain in force for a period of six months.

RBI Hikes Capital Adequacy Ratio for Urban Cooperative Banks to 12%

The Reserve Bank of India hiked the minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) with deposits above Rs. 100 crore to 12 per cent from the earlier floor of 9.0 per cent.
It has provided a glide path till March 2026 to meet revised CAR norm in phases for UCBs that don't meet it currently.
It retained the norm of a minimum CAR of 9 per cent for tier-1 banks (those with deposits up to Rs. 100 crore).
The Tier-2 banks are UCBs with deposits of more than Rs. 100 crore and up to Rs. 1,000 crore; Tier-3 are UCBs with deposits of more than Rs. 1,000 crore and up to Rs. 10,000 crore. The final layer, Tier-4 consists of banks with deposits exceeding Rs. 10,000 crore.

Jul 19, 2022

Centre Amends Legal Metrology Rules 2011 for Ease of Doing Business

Centre amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules for ease of doing business and reducing the compliance burden for the electronic industries. The amendment would allow the industry to declare the information in digital form through the QR Code.
The Department of Consumer Affairs allowed electronic products to declare certain mandatory declarations through the QR Code for a period of one year, if not declared in the package itself.
This amendment would allow important declarations to be declared effective on the label in the package while the other descriptive information can be conveyed to the Consumer through the QR Code.

DBS Named 'World's Best SME Bank' by Euromoney for Second Time

DBS wasrecognised as the 'World's Best SME Bank' yet again, entrenching the bank's position as a global industry leader in partnering SMEs to grow and expand their businesses across borders and digitally.
DBS' latest global best SME bank accolade came from leading UK-based financial publication Euromoney, which honoured DBS with the 'World's Best SME Bank' title for the second time since 2018.

Ashish Kumar Chauhan: New NSE Chief

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved the appointment of Ashish Kumar Chauhan as the next Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the country's largest stock exchange.
Chauhan is currently the MD and CEO of the BSE and his tenure will end in November 2022. He will join in place of Vikram Limaye whose five-year tenure ended on July 15.
Chauhan is one of the founders of the NSE where he worked from 1992 to 2000. At the NSE, he was involved in setting up India's first fully automated screen-based trading system and first commercial satellite communications network.
This is Chauhan's second tenure in the BSE and under SEBI guidelines, a candidate cannot be appointed as MD & CEO for more than two tenures.

TCS is UK's No.1 Software and IT Services Company Once Again

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was ranked number one by revenue among the top 30 suppliers of software and IT services (SITS) to the UK market by industry analyst firm, 'TechMarketView'.
The report was compiled through a detailed analysis of UK revenues of over 200 publicly quoted and privately held companies. TCS retained its position as the UK's largest SITS provider.

Jul 18, 2022

RBI and Bank Indonesia Sign MoU to Improve Mutual Cooperation

The Reserve Bank of India and Bank Indonesia entered into an agreement to expand cooperation in payment systems, digital financial innovation, and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML-CFT).
The two central banks signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting to improve mutual cooperation.
The MoU will be implemented through policy dialogue, technical cooperation, exchange of information and joint work.
It was signed by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and BI Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo in the presence of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and BI Governor Perry Warjiyo.

NHPC Inks Two Pacts to Develop Green Hydrogen Technology in Leh, Kargil

State-owned hydro power giant NHPC inked two agreements to develop green hydrogen technologies in Leh and Kargil.
NHPC signed two MoUs for the development of 'Pilot Green Hydrogen Technologies' in line with the country's resolve to reduce the carbon footprint in the Power Sector in Leh and Kargil districts of Union Territory of Ladakh.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of R.K. Mathur, Lieutenant Governor, Union Territory of Ladakh.

IOC Enters Niche Segment with Bikers Cafe to Meet Needs of Expedition Rides

As competition in fuel retailing grows, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) launched a unique Bikers Cafe to cater to the needs of biker expeditions to the Himalayas as it looks to retain its market leadership with differentiated offerings tailored for various consumer sets.
The first such offering was started near Shimla and more such facilities would be set up along the Chandigarh-Manali route as well as the Chandigarh-Kaza sector.
IOC turned one of its most popular petrol pumps at Shogi just outside Shimla into a Bikers Cafe that offers services from resting area along with parking for motorcycles to utility items such as lip guard, sunscreen lotion, gloves, raincoats and tarpaulin as well as WiFi.
The most popular routes for various tour organisers are Delhi-Chandigarh-Manali-Leh-Srinagar-Pathankot-Delhi, Delhi-Shimla-Kaza-Leh-Manali-Chandigarh-Delhi, Spiti Valley tour and the Ladakh Valley leg.
Shimla is a major wayside halt for refuelling. And that's where the company set up the Bikers Cafe ahead of the biking season.

Govt. Launches "Jagriti" Mascot for Empowering Consumers and Generating Awareness towards their R...

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) launched "Jagriti", a mascot for empowering consumers and generating awareness of their rights. Jagriti would be projected as an empowered consumer who is spreading awareness about consumer rights & addressing solutions to the problems faced by the consumers.
The "Jagriti" mascot would be used to generate consumer awareness about various themes of the Department like provisions of Consumer Protection Act 2019, Hallmarking, National Consumer Helpline toll free number 1915, provisions of weights & measures Act, decisions of the Central Consumer Protection Authority and testimonials by consumers on grievance redressal.
By bringing the Jagriti Mascot, DoCA aims to strengthen its consumer awareness campaign presence in digital and multimedia and reinforce a young empowered and informed consumer as a top-of-mind consumer rights awareness recall brand.
Jagriti mascot shall be shown along with tagline "Jago Grahak Jago" in all its media campaigns. The two are new synonymous with young aware consumers and bring sharp focus to consumer rights knowledge and movement.

Jul 17, 2022

NASSCOM Joins Hand with Google for DigiVaani Call Center

NASSCOM Foundation and Google announced setting up a call centre in collaboration with a not-for-profit body Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) to help women farmers scale up their business. The "DigiVaani Call Center" project is being run on a pilot basis and initially around 20,000 rural women entrepreneurs shall be covered across six states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Rajasthan.
DigiVaani will be one place where rural women entrepreneurs will be able to call and get information around various schemes available for them, which can help them scale up their business, be it government schemes or any other information that can be of help for them.
A DigiVaani call centre has been set up at the Delhi and Lucknow offices of ISAP. The project is funded by Google, through its philanthropic arm Google.org.

Quantum Mutual Fund Launches India's First Nifty 50 ETF Fund of Fund

Quantum Mutual Fund launched the country's first Nifty 50 ETF Fund of Fund. The fund will invest in the units of Quantum Nifty 50 ETF.
As per Chirag Mehta, chief investment officer, Quantum MF, Nifty ETF FoF is a more efficient structure than a Nifty 50 Index Fund. "Each unit of Nifty ETF represents 1/10th of the value of Nifty Index. This allows small inflows in the fund to get easily deployed. Whereas with a Nifty Index Fund you need around Rs. 20 lakh of inflow to properly replicate the index. This could lead to higher tracking error.

FSIB Recommends Former Union Bank of India MD for Post of NaBFID MD

The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) recommended former Union Bank of India Managing Director Rajkiran Rai as the head of government-owned Development Finance Institution (DFI).
As part of its first appointment after getting restructured, the FSIB interviewed five candidates for the position of managing director of National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID). The Centre, earlier this month, transformed the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) into FSIB and expanded the headhunter's role to suggest appointments for public sector banks, insurance companies and financial institutions.
The DFI is looking to commence its operations soon. The Centre, in October 2021, had appointed K. V. Kamath as chairperson of the government-owned DFI. Subsequently, government nominees Pankaj Jain and Sumita Dawra were appointed directors to the board of DFI.
The government has already infused Rs. 20,000 crore into NaBFID to help the DFI start its operations to catalyse investment in the infrastructure sector.

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