General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Jun 10, 2021

El Salvador First Country to Adopt Bitcoin as Legal Tender

El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender after the country's Congress approved President Nayib Bukele's proposal to embrace the cryptocurrency, a move that delighted the currency's supporters.
With 62 out of 84 possible votes, lawmakers voted in favour of the move to create a law to adopt bitcoin, despite concern about the potential impact on El Salvador's programme with the International Monetary Fund.

Skylo Partners Inmarsat for IoT Service

Internet of things (IoT) company Skylo tied up with satellite telecommunications firm Inmarsat for its solutions in India.
Skylo's IoT solutions with Inmarsat's satellite connectivity is available through BSNL and it plans to expand partnerships later this year.
Inmarsat is providing Skylo with capacity from its ultra-reliable L-band network to deliver the world's first NB-IoT ecosystem for satellite. Provision of the ecosystem will initially be focused on the Indian market.
Skylo provides IoT solutions that help customers receive continuous coverage to send and receive critical two-way messaging, alerts, and continuously transmit valuable sensor data including location, soil moisture, soil pH, temperature etc.

DBS Tops Forbes 'World's Best Banks' List in India

DBS has been named by Forbes in their list of World's Best Banks 2021 in India category. DBS was ranked number 1 out of 30 domestic and international banks in India for the second consecutive year.
The second bank in the list is Kerala-based CSB Bank, followed by ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank. State Bank of India ranks seventh in the list.
Interestingly, India Post Payments Bank and Paytm Payments Banks are listed as well in the list. The only cooperative bank in the list of 30 banks is the Andhra Pradesh State Co-operative Bank.

RBI Asks Banks Not to Destroy CCTV Recordings of Demonetisation Period

RBI asked banks to preserve the CCTV recordings of their branches and currency chests from November 8, 2016, to December 30, 2016, till further orders with a view to assisting the enforcement agencies to take actions against persons involved in illegal activities during the demonetisation period.
On the basis of various inputs, the investigative agencies also started probing matters relating to illegal accumulation of new currency notes.
In order to facilitate such investigations, the RBI has asked the banks not to destroy the CCTV recordings of the period of demonetisation till further orders.

Tech Mahindra Plans Acquisition in Europe

IT company Tech Mahindra is looking for acquisitions in Europe to upgrade its capabilities in various segments, including cloud computing, 5G, SAP and Salesforce softwares and is also planning to add around 250 people in the Nordic region to support its growth.
The company is mainly looking at boutique companies specialising in particular domains like SAP, Salesfoce etc with several hundred of employees.
Dhyani said that Tech Mahindra's ability to computerise data and bring operating technology and IT for enterprises and deployment for 5G in organisations is driving the company's business in Europe, especially in the Nordic region.

US-based Advent International sells Stake in CG Consumer

US-based private equity firm Advent International-owned Amalfiaco sold a 5.36 per cent stake in CG Consumer at Rs. 400 per share, according to the bulk deal data. It garnered Rs. 1,348.1 crore from the transaction.
Among the buyers of stake include two Ashoka India funds (Rs. 166.2 crore), ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (Rs. 100 crore), HDFC Standard Life (Rs. 59.3 crore), Mirae Asset Mutual Fund (Rs. 120.1 crore), SBI Life Insurance Company (Rs. 74.9 crore), SBI Mutual Fund (Rs. 499.7 crore), Morgan Stanley Mauritius Company, Aurigin Master Fund, Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company and BNP Paribas Arbitrage Fund.

Jun 09, 2021

Bank of Baroda to Sell 46 NPA Accounts

State-owned Bank of Baroda will conduct an e-auction of as many as 46 NPA accounts later this month to recover dues of Rs. 597.41 crore.
The bank intends to sell these NPA accounts to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) / banks / NBFCs or other financial institutions (FIs) on 100 per cent cash basis, for which the e-auction will take place on June 21, 2021.
The major NPA accounts put up for sale include Meena Jewels Export & Meena Jewellers Export (Rs. 60.76 crore); Crystal Cable Industries (Rs. 57.49 crore); J R Foods Ltd (Rs. 41.60 crore); Shree Raghuvanshi Fibres (Rs. 27.38 crore); Kaneri Agro Industries (Rs. 24.69 crore); Man Tubinox (Rs. 24.28 crore) and Aryans Educational and Charitable Trust (Rs. 20.79 crore).

Heineken Gets Extra Stake Buy Approval in United Breweries

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that the proposed additional stake buy in United Breweries (UB) by Dutch major Heineken does not raise any competition concerns, effectively clearing the deal.
UB is the country's largest beer company, while Heineken is the world's second-largest brewer after Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev.
The proposed transaction sought to increase Heineken's stake in UB to 50 per cent from nearly 47 per cent now, liquor industry sources said. This paves the way for the Dutch major to acquire controlling stake in the firm subsequently.

RBI Announces Operational Flexibility for Reporting FPI Deals in G-Secs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it has decided to provide operational flexibility for reporting of Over the Counter (OTC) transactions in Government securities (G-Sec) transactions undertaken by the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).
The new rules will come into effect from June 14.
FPIs/custodian banks must report their transactions to the Negotiated Dealing System – Order Matching (NDS-OM) platform within three hours after the close of trading hours for the Government securities market.
It further said information about trades undertaken by domestic counterparties with FPIs must be disseminated by the Clearcorp Dealing Systems (India) Ltd. (CDSL) after one leg of the trade is reported on the NDS-OM platform by the domestic counterparty with a suitable qualifier to indicate that the trade is awaiting counterparty confirmation.

NITI Aayog Recommends Privatisation of Central Bank, Indian Overseas Bank

NITI Aayog has recommended divesting government stake in Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) as part of the privatisation initiative announced in the Union Budget.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, had announced privatising two public sector banks (PSBs) and one general insurance company in 2021-22. As per the new PSE (Public Sector Enterprise) policy for 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', NITI Aayog is entrusted with the task to suggest names of PSUs in strategic sectors to be merged, privatised, or made subsidiaries of other PSUs.

ReNew Power Merger with Blank-check Company RMG II Gets CCI Nod

The proposed merger of ReNew Power with blank-check company RMG Acquisition Corporation II (RMG II) received clearance from the Competition Commission.
A blank-check company is a developmental stage firm that does not have established business plan.
ReNew Power is into generating electricity through non-conventional and renewable energy sources.
The deal would result in the first major overseas listing of an Indian company via the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) route.

Jun 08, 2021

RBI Approves Re-appointment of Vishwavir Ahuja as MD, RBL Bank

The Reserve Bank of India approved the re-appointment of Vishwavir Ahuja as the Managing Director and CEO of RBL Bank for a one-year period with effect from June 30, 2021. He has been the Managing Director & CEO of RBL Bank since June 30, 2010. Before RBL Bank, Ahuja was the Managing Director & CEO of Bank of America, India.
RBL Bank is a private sector bank. The bank added 26 branches during Q4 FY21 taking total number of branches to 429 as at 31 March 2021.

IOC to Invest in Gujarat Refinery Expansion, Petchem Project

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) signed up an investment pact for adding petrochemical and lube plants to its previously announced plan to expand crude oil processing capacity at its Koyali refinery at Vadodara in Gujarat.
Expanding refining capacity by 4.3 million tonnes per annum to 18 million tonnes and adding plants to produce 500,000 tonnes per annum of polypropylene and 2,35,000 tonnes of lube oil base stock at the site would see total investment of about Rs. 24,000 crore.
Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijaybhai Rupani and Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan presided over an MoU signing ceremony for 'Investment Promotion' between the Government of Gujarat and IndianOil for setting up a Petrochemical and Lube Integration (LuPech) Project and Acrylics / Oxo Alcohol Project along with other infrastructure projects at Gujarat Refinery.
The LuPech project will produce import substitutes like Lube Oil Base Stock (LOBS) and Polypropylene. The Acrylics/Oxo Alcohol Project at Dumad and Gujarat Refinery will manufacture value-added Butyl Acrylate, a key ingredient for paints, coatings, adhesives, textile chemicals, plasticizer industry, and other similar products.

RBI Imposes Penalty on Bank of India, PNB

The RBI imposed penalty aggregating to Rs. 6 crore on Bank of India and Punjab National Bank for contravention of norms, including one related to "Frauds Classification and Reporting".
A penalty of Rs. 4 crore was imposed on Bank of India and Rs. 2 crore on Punjab National Bank.
RBI said that the statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (lSE) of Bank of India was conducted with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2019.
The Reserve Bank said that the statutory ISE of Punjab National Bank was conducted with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2018 (ISE 2018) and March 31, 2019 (ISE 2019).

Thales Appoints Ashish Saraf as Head of India Business

Thales appointed Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director for India with effect from June 2021.
He succeeded Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, who took up a new role as the VP and head for Thales in the Middle East.
Before joining Thales, Saraf served as the President and Head of the Airbus Helicopters - India and South Asia. He led Airbus' Helicopters' Sales, Services, Training, Innovation, Industrial Partnerships and Government Relations functions across the Civil, Parapublic and Military markets in the region.

Hitendra Dave is CEO of India Business of HSBC

Hitendra Dave will be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HSBC's India operation.
Dave's appointment is subject to regulatory approval and until then he will work as interim CEO effective 7 June. Dave succeeds Surendra Rosha who, after three years, is moving to Hong Kong as the Co-Chief Executive of HSBC, Asia-Pacific.
Dave was the Managing Director and head of Global Banking & Markets of HSBC India, one of the key contributors to the company's profits in the country. Dave joined HSBC in 2001 in the global markets business and rose through the ranks.
HSBC India was the third largest contributor to the group's profits in fiscal 2020.

Flipkart Launches QR-code-based Pay-on-delivery Facility

Walmart-owned Flipkart launched a contactless, QR-code-based payment facility for all its pay-on-delivery shipments.
Consumers who opt for cash on delivery can use this facility, scan the QR code attached to their purchase and make a digital payment for their order through any UPI app at the time of delivery.
This will help those consumers, who opted for cash on delivery, who can use this facility to scan the QR code attached to their purchase and make a digital payment for their order through any UPI app at the time of delivery.
The payment method not only ensures greater safety for consumers at a time when they are looking to minimise personal contact but also addresses the trust deficit that many consumers might face.

Tata Digital Names Mukesh Bansal President

Tata Digital, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, has entered a Memorandum of Understanding for investing of up to $75 million in CureFit Healthcare, subject to completion of diligence process and other approvals.
CureFit Founder & CEO Mukesh Bansal will join Tata Digital in an executive role as President, Tata Digital Limited. In addition, Bansal will continue in his leadership role at CureFit.
CureFit is India's leading fitness player that has developed a strong ecosystem around fitness and wellness. Indian fitness and wellness market is growing at about 20 per cent a year and is expected to reach $12 billion by 2025. CureFit is uniquely positioned to capture a large share leveraging its comprehensive solution and differentiated tech platform. Curefit, with its range of fitness & wellness offerings, will help Tata Digital expand into pro-active health management space.

Jun 07, 2021

SIDBI Invites Bids from Consultants to Help Set up Rs. 20K-crore NaBFID

SIDBI on behalf of the government has floated Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting bids from consultants to help set up Rs. 20,000 crore DFI called National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) to catalyse investment in fund-starved infrastructure sector.
Parliament in March cleared National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Bill 2021 to support the development of long-term non-recourse infrastructure financing in India, including the development of the bonds and derivatives markets necessary for infrastructure financing.
The objective of the assignment is to select a management consultant to support in the setting up of an infra Development Finance Institution (DFI), as an All-India Financial Institution (AIFI) to provide, enable and catalyse infrastructure financing.

FPIs Invest Rs. 8,000 cr in Indian Markets

Foreign investors have infused close to Rs. 8,000 crore into Indian equities in the first four trading sessions of June as risk-on sentiment improved amid rapidly falling new COVID-19 cases and robust corporate earnings.
The inflow comes following a net withdrawal of Rs. 2,954 crore in May and Rs. 9,659 crore in April, data with depositories showed.

Tata Steel Mining Gets Successful Resolution Applicant for Rohit Ferro-Tech

Tata Steel Mining Limited (TSML) has been declared as the successful resolution applicant by the creditors of Rohit Ferro-Tech Limited.
Tata Steel Mining Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel.
TSML has accepted the Letter of Intent for acquisition of Rohit Ferro-Tech under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016, the steel maker said without elaborating further.

Jun 06, 2021

ADB and India Signs an Agreement for Road Upgradation Project in Sikkim

The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India signed an agreement for financing road up-gradation project in Sikkim. ADB will give a $2.5 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan to support projects related to up-gradation of major district roads in Sikkim. It will improve the connectivity and also boost the economic activities in the state. The project readiness financing (PRF) will help in connecting the major district and other roads with the national and state highway network.
In 2011, the ADB-funded North Eastern State Roads Investment Program was launched to improve road connectivity in Sikkim. The state agencies will prepare detailed engineering designs of selected sub-projects and do feasibility studies. Sikkim's road network requires regular up-gradation due to frequent landslides and erosion.

Bharti AXA Life in Bancassurance Pact with Shivalik Small Finance Bank

Private life insurer Bharti AXA Life Insurance has entered into a bancassurance partnership with Shivalik Small Finance Bank for the distribution of its life insurance products through the bank's pan-India network of branches.
Under this agreement, Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its suite of life insurance products, including protection, health, savings and investment plans, to customers of Shivalik Small Finance Bank across its 31 branches and digital network across the country.
This alliance will enable over 4.5 lakh customers of Shivalik Bank to access the range of products offered by the company to provide financial security.

Life Sciences Firm Bayer Launches Consumer Health Division in India

Global life sciences firm Bayer launched its Consumer Health division in India comprising 10 brands across the categories of allergy, dermatology, nutrition and analgesics.
These brands include Saridon, Supradyn, Becozym C Forte, Benadon, Alaspan, Canesten and Bayer's Tonic. These products will be manufactured locally in India.
The Bayer Consumer Health division aims to expand access to everyday health solutions and reach over a 100 million consumers across all communities in India over the next five years.

ICICI Bank Becomes 2nd Globally to Offer 'SWIFT gpi Instant' Facility

ICICI Bank announced that it has tied up with SWIFT to offer a facility that helps overseas partner banks to send instant remittances on behalf of their customers to the beneficiary in India. The beneficiary gets the credit to the bank account instantly. This makes ICICI Bank the first bank in Asia-Pacific and the second globally to offer the facility, called 'SWIFT gpi Instant', for cross border inward payments.
Personal remittances of up to `2 lakh sent through 'SWIFT gpi Instant' are processed instantly and credited into the beneficiary account held with any bank in India, via the IMPS network. (bank to be enabled to receive foreign remittance through IMPS)
The 'SWIFT gpi' platform provides end to end tracking of payments from initiation till fulfilment through an instant automated status update.

IKEA Enters Gujarat through Online Store and Shopping App

Swedish home furnishings retailer announced the launch of its mobile shopping app and e-commerce offer in three cities of Gujarat Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara.
Now customers of three cities can buy IKEA products using the app or order online via the brand website offering nearly 8,000 products.
Last month, IKEA had launched a shopping app in India, expanding its omnichannel approach in the country.

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