General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Apr 04, 2021

Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam in Uttar Pradesh Lists Itself at BSE

Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam listed itself at BSE and successfully raised Rs. 150 crore by issuing Municipal Bond on Private Placement Basis using BSE BOND. This is the first-ever green bond issuance by any Municipal Corporation in the country. The money will be used for the construction of a tertiary sewage treatment plant at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. The money will be used to fund the project partly which is worth Rs. 240 crore. This treatment plant will enable the sewage water to be used for industries after treatment.
Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam is the second Municipal Corporation to raise funds in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, Lucknow Municipal Corporation had listed itself at BSE.

RIL Gets Creditors, Shareholders Nod to Hive off O2C Business

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd said that it has secured approval of its shareholders and creditors for hiving off its oil-to-chemical (O2C) business into a separate unit.
As per directions of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the company convened meetings of equity shareholders, lenders and unsecured creditors for consideration of a resolution for transferring the O2C business to a separate subsidiary — Reliance O2C Limited.
In February, RIL had announced the contours of spinning-off its oil refining, fuel marketing and petrochemical (oil-to-chemical) business into an independent unit with a $25 billion loan from the parent, as it looked to unlock value by settling stakes to global investors like Saudi Aramco.

Adani Enterprises Bags Highway Project from NHAI in Odisha

Adani Enterprises won a Rs. 1,169.10 crore highway project in Odisha from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The contract has been won by Adani Enterprises' wholly-owned subsidiary Adani Road Transport Ltd (ARTL).
With this project award, Adani Group will have a total of 10 NHAI road projects under HAM, Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Toll basis in Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal and Odisha.

RBI Deputy Governor BP Kanungo Retires

Against expectations of getting a second extension, the senior-most deputy governor BP Kanungo retired from the Reserve Bank on completion of his one-year extension.
Kanungo joined RBI in 1982 and was in charge of currency management, external investments, operations, payment, and settlement system, among others, during the four-year term as the deputy governor, which began in April 2017.
The government had appointed him as a deputy governor in March 2017 when Urjit Patel was the governor and he took charge on April 3, 2017, for a three-year term ending April 2, 2020, but was given a one-year extension.

Apr 03, 2021

NCLAT Removes Stay on Reserve Bank of India Action against Srei Group

The National Company Appe¬llate Law Tribunal (NCLAT) has granted a stay on the Kolkata Bench of National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT's) order that barred the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from taking any coercive step against Srei group.
The RBI had moved NCLAT against the NCLT's order. And, in an ad-interim order, the NCLAT said, "We are of the view that if the operation of the aforesaid direction is stayed it will not prejudice the proceedings pending before the tribunal. Therefore, we deem it appropriate to pass ad-interim ord¬er. In Paragraph 34 of the impugned order following direction is stayed till the pendency of this appeal."
Paragraph 34 of the impugned order of Kolkata Bench of the NCLT read, "All governmental or regulatory authorities shall be stopped from taking any coercive steps, including reporting in any form and/or changing the account status of the firm"
The RBI had argued that the tribunal has exceeded its jurisdiction while passing such an order and prevented the statutory body to act as regulatory authority.

Paytm Money Opens New R&D Centre in Pune

Digital financial services platform Paytm announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Money has launched its technology development and innovation centre in Pune.
It also plans to hire over 250 front-end, back-end engineers and data scientists to build new wealth products and services.
The company has launched a slew of new products and services aimed at empowering seasoned investors as well as new to investment users. It aims to achieve over 10 million users and 75 million yearly transactions in FY21 with the majority of users from small cities and towns.

World Bank Approves USD 32 Million Project to Boost Health Services in Mizoram

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a USD 32 million project to improve management capacity and quality of health services in Mizoram.
The project titled "Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project" will strengthen the governance and the management structure of the Mizoram Health department and its subsidiaries.
It will improve the quality and coverage of services delivered by the state government health systems, and invest in a comprehensive quality assurance programme which would enable quality certification of health facilities.

Subhash Kumar Takes Additional Charge as ONGC CMD

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)'s Director (Finance) Subhash Kumar assumed additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) on Thursday. An order on the matter was issued by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Kumar took charge upon the superannuation of incumbent CMD, Shashi Shanker on March 31, 2021.
He has over 36 years of experience in diverse activities across the Exploration & Production (E&P) value chain. He joined ONGC in 1985 as a Finance and Accounts Officer and served in different capacities.

Axis Bank to Sell UK Arm to Tech Platform

Private sector lender Axis Bank has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement for sale of 100 per cent stake in its subsidiary, Axis Bank UK Limited to OpenPayd Holdings Ltd. The agreement was entered on March 31, 2021, and the transaction is subject to approval by the UK Financial Regulator, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
The consideration or the value for the transaction would be the completion net asset value (book value of the bank on the date of completion), plus a fixed premium of $5,500,000. Axis Bank expects the sale to be completed by September 30, 2021 subject to the approval of 'Change in Control', received from the UK Financial Regulator, the PRA.

Apr 02, 2021

Wipro Takes over Metro-NOM GMBH, METRO Systems Romania

IT services major Wipro completed the takeover of Metro-NOM GMBH and Metro Systems Romania SRL for 52.04 million euros (about Rs. 448.6 crore) as part of its digital and IT partnership deal with Metro AG.
In December last year, Wipro had announced signing a USD 700-million digital and IT partnership deal with Metro AG that also entailed over 1,300 staff of the German wholesaler moving to the Bengaluru-based IT firm.
As a part of the transaction, Wipro was to also acquire the IT units of Metro AG - Metro-NOM GMBH in Germany and Metro Systems Romania SRL.

RBL Bank and Tide Tie up for SME Focussed India Platform

Private sector lender RBL Bank said that it will provide banking infrastructure for Tide's India platform, which is focussed on small and medium enterprises.
This collaboration will enable Tide to bring its platform to the Indian markets with a full-fledged launch.
Under the tie-up, businesses — especially small- and medium-sized enterprises — have an option to open current and savings accounts at RBL Bank through Tide's business platform. Depending on customer requirements, the bank can also integrate its payment APIs (application programming interfaces) to enable Tide users to make seamless transactions from Tide's platform.

Thompson Gnanam New MD, Global CEO of 3i Infotech

3i Infotech Ltd appointed Thompson Gnanam as the company's Managing Director and global CEO, with immediate effect.
Also, Mrinal Ghosh was named as the company's Chief Financial Officer, while Avatar Singh Monga was appointed as an Additional Director.
As part of the sale of the product business of the company to Azentio Software Pvt Ltd under the business transfer agreement (BTA) dated December 28, 2020, Padmanabhan Iyer will move to Azentio Software.

Jeh Wadia Steps Down as Managing Director of Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing

Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing Company Ltd said that its Managing Director Jeh Wadia has stepped down and as an interim measure its day-to-day management would be looked after by the CEO and CFO of the company.
Jeh Wadia, whose term expired on March 31, has held the position since April 2011.
CEO Suresh Khurana and CFO Hitesh Vora would look after the day-to-day management and work under the supervision of Minnie Bodhanwala, a Director of the company.

Ford and Mahindra to End Collaboration on All Projects in India

Ford Motor Co and Mahindra & Mahindra will not collaborate on any project they had agreed to as part of their abandoned joint venture in India.
Ford and Mahindra had proposed a joint venture to develop at least three sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) for India and emerging markets, as well as share suppliers, powertrains and technology. The deal, which would have ended most of Ford's independent operations in India, was called off on Dec. 31.
The companies were expected to make a decision by the end of March on whether to continue with all or some of the projects under a new relationship or end all talks.

L&T Technology Services Announces Amit Chadha as CEO & MD

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) announced that Amit Chadha has taken over as CEO & Managing Director of the company with effect from April 1, in line with previous disclosures made to stock exchanges in October last year. Prior to his elevation, he was serving the company as deputy CEO and as a full-time board member.
Chadha, who joined LTTS in 2009, has been a key member of LTTS' executive management team and was closely involved in the company's listing on stock exchanges in 2016. Subsequently, he progressed to assume charge as president, Sales and Business Development, where he was responsible for helping global R&D customers and Fortune 500 companies leverage LTTS' digital engineering offerings for their strategic differentiation and product development.

Apr 01, 2021

Govt. Extends Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme

The government has extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by another three months, and widened its scope to issue additional funding up to 40 per cent of outstanding loans as on February 29, 2020 as against 20 per cent earlier.
According to Ministry of Finance, the scheme, dubbed as ECLGS 3.0, has been extended until June 30, or until Rs. 3 trillion is disbursed, due to continuing adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic on certain services sector. The collateral free loan guarantee scheme, announced as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, would now also cover borrowers with total credit outstanding up to Rs. 500 crore, with overdues for 60 days or less on February 29 as compared to 30 days overdue earlier.
The tenor of loans granted under ECLGS 3.0 will be 6 years including moratorium period of 2 years. The tenor of loans under the previous version, ECLGS 2.0, was five years with a 12-month moratorium on repayment of principal.

ECB May Get a Digital Currency in 4 Years

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that her institution could launch a digital currency around the middle of this decade if her fellow policy makers give the project the green light this summer.
The ECB is about to release an analysis of the 8,000 responses it received as part of a public consultation process on the potential launch of a central bank digital currency. That will be sent to the European Parliament and then the ECB's decision-making Governing Council will decide in the middle of this year whether to move forward with its practical experimentation.
The second decision — whether to roll out a digital currency — will be made six months to a year after that, she said.

Hitachi to Buy US Software Developer GlobalLogic

Hitachi is set to acquire U.S. software developer GlobalLogic for $9.6 billion in what is expected to be the largest acquisition by a Japanese electrical equipment company.
According to Hitachi President and CEO Toshiaki Higashihara, the objective of this acquisition is to advance our (Internet of Things platform) Lumada and accelerate global businesses.
The planned acquisition comes as Hitachi is rapidly overhauling its group businesses to concentrate on the IT sector while shedding non-core operations.

BPCL Acquires OQ's Stake in Bina Refinery

Privatisation-bound Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) acquired partner OQ's entire stake in the Bina Refinery project in Madhya Pradesh for Rs. 2,400 crore.
BPCL signed a sales purchase agreement with OQ, formerly known as Oman Oil Company Ltd, to acquire its 36.6 per cent stake in Bharat Oman Refineries Limited.
With this, BPCL now has full control over BORL, which runs a 7.8 million tonnes per annum capacity oil refinery at Bina in Madhya Pradesh.
Bharat Oman Refineries Limited was incorporated in 1994 as a public limited company with equal equity participation of BPCL and OQ. Since March 2020, BPCL has been holding 63.4 per cent and OQ 36.6 per cent equity in the company. The Government of Madhya Pradesh has a minor stake in the company through compulsorily convertible warrants.

Union Bank of India Launches UNI - CARBON CARD

Union Bank of India launched "UNI – CARBON CARD", an HPCL co-branded credit card on the Rupay platform of NPCI. It is a unique card designed with association with one of the largest Public Sector Bank, Union Bank of India and HPCL, a leader in the fuel retail and Rupay – India's largest card payment network. It will create an opportunity to create value for the customers.
The Bank is having a total network of 9590+ branches and 13280+ ATMs across India, this co-branded credit card is a Bank's maiden joint venture.
While using this card at HPCL retail outlets, the cardholder gets Cashback/Rewards in addition to the waiver of fuel surcharge provided by the Bank.

SBI Inks Loan Agreement with Japan Bank for International Cooperation

State Bank of India has raised $1 billion from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to extend loans to supply chain of Japanese automobile industry in India.
SBI signed a loan agreement with JBIC, taking the total facility to $2 billion. It has inked similar agreement for $1 billion in October 2020. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed including tenure and interest charged for loan facility.
The virtual signing ceremony event was held in the presence of Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI along with senior executives of SBI, Hayashi Nobumitsu, Deputy Governor (JBIC) and Ayukawa Kenichi, CEO & MD of Maruti Suzuki.

Mar 31, 2021

BHEL Receives Order from IOC

State-run engineering firm BHEL has bagged an order worth Rs. 400 crore for setting up a sulphur recovery unit at Indian Oil's Paradip Refinery in Odisha.
With this order, BHEL has made an entry into the downstream oil & gas process package business.
The company's diversification strategy into non-coal based business areas has begun paying dividends and this is a milestone order for BHEL as part of its new growth areas initiative.

Wipro Names Former Walmart Executive Subha Tatavarti as CTO

IT major Wipro has appointed former PayPal executive Subha Tatavarti as its Chief Technology Officer.
US-based Tatavarti worked in PayPal for 10 years between 2010 and 2020 in various technology roles including heading product, cloud and platforms, and data and analytics. She was the senior director of technology commercialisation at the retail major Walmart.
Tatavarti's appointment is part of a long line of appointments that Wipro has made after the structural overhaul announced in November 2020 as part of Delaporte's vision to accelerate growth for the company.
Apart from PayPal and Walmart, she has also worked at CliMetrics, Inc. (as Co-founder and Director), Abbott Laboratories, Fannie Mae, and BearingPoint.

Indiagold Launches EMI-based Gold Purchase Product 'EasyGold'

Fintech platform for digital gold services, Indiagold, announced the full-scale launch of its third product, EasyGold, which allows users to buy the precious metal digitally, across equated monthly installments (EMIs) of three to nine months.
Indiagold, which has been piloting the product for the last 3-4 months, has partnered with precious metals management company, Augmont Gold for the service and has already received close to 1,500 orders during its pilots.
Users can then pay the remaining amount across monthly installments spread equally over three, six or nine months. In addition to this, EasyGold allows users to purchase gold for ticket sizes as low as Rs. 5,000, with the final product shipped to the consumer's doorstep.

Tata Power Bags Orders to Develop 60 MW Solar Project in Gujarat

Tata Power bagged an order to develop 60 MW (mega watt) solar project for Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam.
The energy will be supplied to GUVNL under a power purchase agreement (PPA), valid for a period of 25 years from scheduled commercial operation date, the company said.
As per the company, the project has to be commissioned within 18 months from the date of execution of the PPA.
Tata Power's renewable capacity will increase to 4,007 MW, out of which 2,687 MW is operational and 1,320 MW is under implementation including 60 MW won under this PPA.

FTSE Puts India and Saudi on Watchlist for Inclusion in its Bond Index

India's efforts to include its bonds in global bond indices could fructify soon with FTSE Russell placing Indian and Saudi Arabian government bond markets on the watchlist for possible inclusion in its FTSE Emerging Government Bond Index.
FTSE Russell's semi-annual country classification review released said that the market accessibility level of Indian and Saudi Arabian bonds will be considered for reclassification to 1 from 0.
Global index users have shown interest in Indian government securities issued through the Fully Accessibility Route (FAR), FTSE said, adding that it will start a version of its FTSE Indian Government Bond Index that tracks these securities in coming weeks.

TCS Rebrands as 'Building on Belief'

India's largest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), unveiled a new brand statement, 'Building on Belief', to articulate its mission and relationship with customers as it embarks on its next decade of transformation-led growth. For over a decade the company's brand statement was 'Experience Certainty'.
The brand statement has been created after an extensive research of over one year. It also undertook extensive survey on brand outlook across customers and associates. Over 100 customers and 200 employees including millennials were part of the study.
This rebranding is happening after 15 years and is the reflection on where the company wants to be in future and what it is today.

Alstom Bags Contract for Mumbai Metro

French mobility firm Alstom has been awarded a 220-million euro (Rs. 1,854 crore) contract by the Mumbai Me¬t¬ro¬politan Region Deve¬lop¬ment Autho¬rity (MMR¬DA) to design, manufacture, sup¬ply, test, and commission 234 metro cars, including training of per¬sonnel for Mum¬bai Metro Line 4 and the extension corridor (Wad¬ala-Kasar¬vadavali-Gai¬mukh).
These new products have been added to Alstom's portfolio as part of the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation on January 29. The combined portfolio of products — signalling, engineer¬ing, and services —all¬ows a significantly incre¬ased offering for customers across India and the Asia-Pacific Region.

Sapan Gupta Elevated as Global Legal Head of ArcelorMittal

As per reports, Sapan Gupta, the general counsel of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India and vice-president, ArcelorMittal has been elevated as the global legal head of ArcelorMittal.
The appointment is effective from June 1, 2021.
Gupta joined ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) on April 1, 2020, as general counsel with responsibility for legal affairs, compliance and company secretarial affairs.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

September GK, August GK, July GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26