General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Jul 05, 2021

Indian Overseas Bank Becomes the Second most-valued Public Lender

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has become the second most-valued listed public sector bank (PSB) with a market capitalisation of over Rs. 50,000 crore. As Street discounts privatisation of the state-owned lender, its shares have appreciated nearly 80 per cent on the BSE in the past one month. IOB stood with an m-cap of Rs. 51,887 crore, pushing PNB (Rs. 46,411 crore) and BOB (Rs. 44,112 crore) to third and fourth position, respectively, as per data available on BSE.
In the past month, the market price of IOB has zoomed 57 per cent, as compared to a 4 per cent decline in PNB and a 5 per cent gain in BOB share price. The bank plans to come out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework by focusing on recovery, low-cost deposits, and less capital consuming advances.

BPCL's R&D Centre Bags 80 Patents in 20 Years

State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has bagged as many as 80 national and international patents in the past two decades, and approvals for 53 more filings are pending, for various innovations including the world's cheapest and the fastest crude oil assaying tool BP Marrk.
Its research and development (R&D) centre, located at a 68-acre sprawling campus at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, has won 18 patents in the past 12 months alone.
BPCL has an annual budget of Rs. 80-100 crore for R&D.

Reserve Bank of India Imposes Penalty on Punjab & Sind Bank

The Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs. 25 lakh on Punjab and Sind Bank for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions on 'Cyber Security Framework in Banks.
.The state-owned bank had reported a few cyber incidents to the RBI in May 2020.

Jul 04, 2021

HDFC Bank Launches 'Salaam Dil Sey' Initiative

HDFC Bank launched a SalaamDilSey initiative to show gratitude to doctors for their tireless service during the pandemic, to pay tribute to doctors across the country. SalaamDilSey encourages one and all to take a moment to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of doctors and provides a platform to show their gratitude to doctors, who are bravely fighting the pandemic, at the risk of their own lives.

India's Exports Rise to All-time High in June Quarter

India recorded the highest-ever exports of $95 billion during April-June, up 85 per cent year-on year (YoY) and 18 per cent higher than the first quarter of the fiscal year 2019-20.
It is also 16 per cent more than the previous highest Q1 exports of FY19 ($82 billion) and is higher than the earlier peak of exports in Q4FY21 ($90 billion.
The merchandise exports grew 47 per cent YoY to $32.46 billion in June, driven by a robust demand of engineering goods, petroleum products, and gems and jewellery in the external markets.
The government is working towards achieving another all-time high of $400 billion merchandise exports target by the end of the current fiscal year.

Govt. Includes Retail and Wholesale Trades under MSMEs

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari announced inclusion of retail and wholesale trade under MSMEs as per which they will also now get the benefit of priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.
The government is committed to strengthening MSMEs and make them engines of economic growth.
The revised guidelines will benefit 2.5 crore retail and wholesale traders. The move would also allow them to register on Udyam portal.
Commenting on the development, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, with this decision, traders will be able to avail requisite finances from banks and financial institutions under priority sector lending.
Besides, now the traders can avail the benefits of several other government schemes for MSMEs.

ICICI Bank Launches 'Salute Doctors', Banking Solution

ICICI Bank has launched India's most comprehensive banking solutions for medical doctors. Titled as 'Salute Doctors', the solution offers customized banking as well as value-added services for every doctor, beginning from a medical student to a senior medical consultant to an owner of a hospital or a clinic.
The solutions are mostly digital and instant, designed to cater to the professional, business, lifestyle and wealth banking requirements of doctors and their families. The initiative is powered by ICICI STACK, a digital banking platform with nearly 500 services that helps customers of the Bank to avail the services digitally and seamlessly.

Govt. Extends Superannuation Age of LIC Chairman

The government has extended the superannuation age of IPO-bound LIC Chairman to up to 62 years by making amendment to the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1960.
According to a government notification, the changes made in the rules will be called the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Amendment Rules, 2021.
It is to be noted that the retirement age for the top executives of the majority of PSUs is 60 years, barring a few exceptions, including the State Bank of India (SBI).

Jul 03, 2021

Punjab Ranks Third in Job Generation under BPO Scheme

Under the India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS), Punjab has achieved third rank in number of employment generation with a majority of companies operating from Mohali. Southern states Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are ahead of Punjab.
Under the scheme, the government provides financial support up to Rs. 1 lakh per seat as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for setting up BPO/ITES operation in non-metro locations.
As per data, the highest number of employment generation has been reported in Andhra Pradesh (12,234), followed by Tamil Nadu (9,401), Punjab (4,463), Odisha (2,493), Maharashtra (2,353), Jharkhand (2,256) and Bihar (1,551).
Among the cities, the highest number of employment generation has been reported in Visakhapatnam (7,738) followed by Coimbatore (4,908), Mohali (4,453), Ranchi (2,162), Bhubaneswar (1,901) and Patna (1,324).

Mindtree Completes Acquisition of the NxT Digital Business from L&T

Mindtree has completed acquisition of the NxT Digital Business from Larsen and Toubro (L&T).
In May 2021, Mindtree had announced it will acquire the NxT Digital Business from Larsen and Toubro (L&T) for Rs. 198 crore, a move that will enable the mid-sized IT firm to capture opportunities in the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 space.
L&T is also the promoter/holding company of Mindtree with a 61.03 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based company.

LIC Launches Saral Pension Plan

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched its Saral Pension, an Individual Immediate Annuity Plan, with effect from July 1, 2021. An annuity is a financial product that makes regular payment to its buyer as per the agreed terms and conditions.
LIC Saral Pension is a non-linked, non-participating plan. The buyer needs to buy this annuity with a single premium after which the annuity begins.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had issued guidelines for standard products for various insurance categories and the Saral Pension scheme is one among them.
The annuity rates in LIC's Saral Pension scheme are guaranteed at time of inception of the policy and annuities are payable throughout the lifetime of annuitants.

Flipkart's New App for Online Business

Flipkart has launched its new app called 'Shopsy' for online business.
This app was launched to app to help individuals start online businesses without any investment. It also deepens e-commerce penetration across non-metros.
Once the users will register on this app, they will be able to share catalogues of 15 crore products which are offered by Flipkart sellers.
Products will be ranging across categories like beauty, fashion, mobiles, electronics & home and others with potential customers through popular social media & messaging apps.
Users can register on this app with their phone numbers and start their online entrepreneurial journey.
Shopsy users can share catalogues with potential customers through popular social media and messaging apps.
They can also place orders on their behalf and earn commissions on each transaction.
With the Shopsy app, Flipkart aims to enable over 25 million online entrepreneurs on the back of digital commerce by 2023. On the platform they can set up their business as long as they have access to people who trust them. It also aims to provide digital commerce consumers access to products by simplifying process by interacting with trusted person.

Airtel Launches All-in-one Plan for Mobile, Broadband, DTH Services

Telecom major Bharti Airtel launched a new all-in-one bundle plan 'Airtel Black' including DTH, postpaid and fiber with a single bill facility.
There are four new fixed-bundle plans under the 'Airtel Black' banner priced from Rs 998 per month to Rs 2,099 per month.
Under this new service, Airtel will also allow customers to customise their plans. The plans have gone live as of now and can be accessed through the Airtel app by following the given steps or by visiting the 'Airtel Black' microsite.

Jul 02, 2021

Royal London Expands Ties with TCS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has expanded its strategic partnership with Royal London, the largest mutual life insurance, pensions and investment company in the UK, to help the latter transform its pensions platform estate and deliver market-leading services to members and customers.
TCS has been engaged with Royal London in various consulting, innovative, thought leadership engagements as well as strategic programmes like DevOps initiatives, platform simplification and migration, and Run transformation to enable the insurer to adapt swiftly to future needs.
As part of the expanded partnership, TCS will work collaboratively with Royal London to support its ambition to transform into a data-driven and digitally nimble insurer. TCS will leverage its Machine First Delivery Model (MFDM) and Location Independent Agile model to help the company achieve its digital strategy, gain business agility, and drive deeper customer relationships. TCS will also enable technology transformation to rationalise the IT estate, increase the pace of change, enhance operational resilience, and reduce risk exposure.

L&T Construction Bags Orders for Various Businesses

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) announced that its construction arm has secured 'significant' orders for its various businesses.
The orders fall under the significant category, which ranges between Rs. 1,000 crore and Rs. 2,500 crore.
The water and effluent treatment business has won a repeat order from the Uttar Pradesh State Water & Sanitation Mission (SWSM) to implement rural water supply projects providing functional house tap connection under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The buildings and factories business has secured an order from a reputed developer to construct residential towers in Mumbai's suburb of Mulund.
The scope of the work includes construction of the civil structure including waterproofing, masonry and plastering for seven residential towers.

Mswipe Appoints Ketan Patel as New CEO

Merchant payments fintech Mswipe has appointed former Cashe CEO Ketan Patel as its new chief executive officer, with founder and former CEO Manish Patel elevated as the Managing Director. The leadership rejig at Mswipe is with an objective to pivot its business model from a merchant-focused payments firm to a "digital SME bank."
The move comes at a time when competitor BharatPe has become the first fintech in India to own a small finance bank (SFB) license in partnership with Jaspal Bindra-led Centrum Group. Ketan Patel, who has also been with the Kotak Group, said that Falcon Edge-backed Mswipe will apply for a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) licence in FY22 and later attempt to convert into an SFB.

Zomato Seeks CCI Nod for Stake in e-grocery Major Grofers

Food delivery platform Zomato has sought the approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to pick up 9.3 per cent stake in e-grocery major Grofers.
Food delivery app Zomato, which is working to explore public markets later this year, has reached an agreement to invest $100 million in online grocer Grofers for about a 10 per cent stake.
Zomato's proposed investment is part of a broader round, in which others including Tiger Global and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 are expected to chip in some capital.

Jul 01, 2021

SBI Celebrates 66th Foundation Day

State Bank of India (SBI), celebrated its 66th bank day. It was on this day, July 1, 1955, the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India after the Reserve Bank of India, which is India's central bank, acquired a controlling interest in the Imperial Bank of India. SBI is India's premier commercial bank and played a pivotal role in shaping the country's economy.

Cabinet Okays Rs. 3 Trillion Outlay for New Power Reform Scheme

The Union Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its nod to a new scheme for revival of the power distribution sector in India. This is the second reform scheme for power distribution companies (discoms) announced by the BJP government, a year after the ambitious UDAY Scheme concluded.
It would have an outlay of Rs. 3 trillion for five years to FY26 with a gross budgetary support of Rs. 97,631 crore. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the scheme while presenting in the Budget in February this year. Most of the targets under UDAY earlier slated to be met by 2020 have now been extended for another five years.

Kishore Kumar Yedam is as CEO of Federal Soft Systems

FSS (Federal Soft Systems) announces the gracious welcoming of Kishore Kumar Yedam on board as the new CEO to support the organization's future growth.
He will contribute towards enhancing opportunities in terms of innovation and development. He joined FSS with an impressive 21 years of extensive industry experience. Prior to this, he served as the Global Sales Head at Xmplar Management Solutions.
His earlier stints include leadership with big companies such as Ramco, Blueprint, and HTC Global. Kishore will be based in India and will be in charge of the FSS's global new initiatives.

Cabinet Okays PPP Mode of BharatNet Implementation

The Union Cabinet approved the revised implementation strategy of BharatNet through Public-Private Partnership mode in 16 states.
As per reports, BharatNet will now extend up to all inhabited villages beyond Gram Panchayats (GPs) in these states -- Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. An estimated 3.61 lakh villages including GPs will be covered.
The approval comes after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the revised strategy and the additional allocation.
The revised strategy also includes creation, upgradation, operation, maintenance and utilisation of BharatNet by the concessionaire who will be selected by a competitive international bidding process.
The estimated maximum viability gap funding approved for the above PPP model is Rs. 19,041 crore.

Tata Motors Wins Order for Hydrogen-based Fuel Cell Buses

India's move towards alternative automotive fuel technology got a fillip with Tata Motors bagging an order of 15 hydrogen-based fuel cell buses from Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. The deal would entail supplying buses to the Research & Development Centre of IOCL at Faridabad apart from Tata Motors collaborating with the country's largest fuel retailer to undertake R&D projects.
Tata Motors is the largest commercial vehicle player and a leading bus manufacturer in India. The two partners would collectively study the potential of fuel cell technology for commercial vehicles. This will be done by jointly testing, maintaining and operating these buses for public transport in real-world conditions in the National Capital Region. The buses would be re-fuelled by hydrogen, generated and dispensed by IOCL.

Click Hotels Acquires Controlling Stake in Leisure Group1589 Hotels

Mumbai-based Click Hotels, a part of Suba Group of Hotels, has acquired a controlling stake in Gurgaon-based 1589 Hotels.
The transaction in the budget segment of the hotel comes at a time when quite a few hotels have shut down due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and many have been put up for sale. Close to 40 per cent of hotels and restaurants are estimated to have closed permanently, according to the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI).
By 2023, Click Hotels envisions crossing 3,000 rooms and plans to have a pan-India presence.

Flipkart Opens All-women Run fulfilment Centre in Coimbatore

Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart has launched its grocery services in Coimbatore with the opening of its first fulfilment centre in the region to meet the growing demand for groceries online. The opening of this facility also bolsters Flipkart's supply chain in the South and will create thousands of direct and indirect employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
The newly built facility will generate direct employment for nearly 1,200 people while encouraging local entrepreneurship. In the initial stages, only a part of the facility will be utilised for which over 500 people will be hired. It will be the only facility for Flipkart which will be almost entirely run by women constituting 90 per cent of the overall workforce. To enable more women to join the workforce, Flipkart under its initiative Vividhta, provides workplace policies that support women and their career progression.

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