General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Jan 09, 2021

SMCB Becomes First Urban Co-operative Bank to Transition to Small Finance Bank

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approving commercial banking licence for Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank (SMCB), it has become India's first urban co-operative bank (UCB) to transition to a Small Finance Bank (SFB).
SMCB will begin its banking operations from April 2021 onwards under the name Shivalik Small Finance Bank (SSFB).
Earlier in January 2020, the SMCB received an in-principal approval for the commercial banking licence from the banking regulator, which gave SMCB 18 months time to commence the business.

LVMH Seals Purchase Of Tiffany After Takeover Fight

French luxury giant LVMH has completed its purchase of US jeweller Tiffany, having previously sought to walk away from the deal.
The firm has named a new team to lead Tiffany, which includes a son of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault.
It is paying $15.8bn (£11.6bn) for the firm - a slight discount from the initially announced $16.2bn.
The deal will help LVMH to expand into the jewellery sector - a fast-growing area of the luxury goods market.
LVMH first announced the acquisition more than a year ago. But progress stalled as the pandemic's impact on business reportedly soured Mr Arnault's view on the price initially agreed.
Tiffany, credited with inventing the modern engagement ring and immortalised in the Breakfast at Tiffany's film starring Audrey Hepburn, ultimately sued LVMH to force the deal to go ahead.

Bidding for Spectrum Auction to Start from March 1

Bidding for the sixth round of spectrum auction for radiowaves worth Rs. 3.92 lakh crore will start from March 1.
The Union Cabinet had approved a proposal for the auction of 2,251.25 Megahertz (MHz) of spectrum worth Rs. 3.92 lakh crore at the base price on December 17, 2020.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has fixed January 12 for the pre-bid conference and last date for seeking clarification to the notice on January 28.
Telecom operators will need to submit their application by February 5 for participation in the auction.

Alaskan Wilderness Opens up for Oil Exploration

The Trump administration is pushing ahead with the first ever sale of oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
The giant Alaskan wilderness is home to many important species, including polar bears, caribou and wolves.
But after decades of dispute, the rights to drill for oil on about 5% of the refuge will go ahead.
Opponents have criticised the rushed nature of the sale, coming just days before President Trump's term ends.
Covering some 19 million acres (78,000 sq km) the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is often described as America's last great wilderness.
It is a critically important location for many species, including polar bears.
In the winter months, pregnant bears build dens in which to give birth.

Jan 08, 2021

NYSE in a Spin Over Chinese Telecoms Delistings

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said it will delist three Chinese telecom companies after an earlier reversal of the decision.
The NYSE first announced it would delist China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom last week, following a Trump administration executive order.
It then reversed that decision this week, suggesting the order didn't require it to delist the companies.
Now, in a second about-face, the NYSE will delist the companies after all.
The second reversal comes a day after the US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reportedly raised objections to the NYSE's earlier reversal.
The exchange cited "new specific guidance" from the US Treasury Department as a reason for reverting to its original position.

GDP likely to contract by 7.7% in 2020-21, says Govt.

India's real GDP (Gross Domestic Product)is estimated to contract by 7.7% in 2020-21, compared to a growth rate of 4.2% in 2019-20, with Real GVA (Gross Valued added) shrinking by 7.2%, as per advance estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
India's economy had grown at 4.2% in 2019-20, but entered a recessionary phase with two successive quarters of sharp contraction triggered by the COVID-19 national lockdowns beginning March 2020.
Following a 23.9% collapse in the economy between April to June 2020 period, the GDP fell by 7.5% in the second quarter — leading to a real GDP contraction of 15.7% in the first half of 2020-21. The second half of the year will surface to record near-zero growth or a mere 0.1% contraction, the advanced estimates suggest.

Jan 07, 2021

IRDAI to Roll Out Standard Home Insurance Policy

In a significant move, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has decided to introduce a standard home insurance policy that will cover the risks associated with natural calamities like cyclone, flood, earthquake and also fire. The regulator also announced two schemes that cover insurance cover to micro and small enterprises.
Besides offering coverage for the home building, the proposed policy — Bharat Griha Raksha — covers general home contents automatically (without any need for declaration of details) for 20 per cent of the sum insured for the building subject to a maximum of Rs. 10 lakh. One can also opt for a higher sum insured for general contents by declaring the details.
The IRDAI initiative has come after the country had witnessed massive loss of human lives and properties in natural calamities and fire in recent years.

Shapoorji Pallonji's Bid for Central Vista Avenue Lowest

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group emerged as the lowest bidder for the Centre's tender for the redevelopment and restructuring of the Central Vista Avenue after it quoted a financial bid of Rs. 477 crore, nearly 5% lower than the estimated cost of the project pegged at Rs. 502 crore.
The redevelopment of the avenue, which comprises Rajpath, leading from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, will involve restructuring the avenue, creating underground passes, landscaping the green areas and giving a commitment to comprehensive maintenance and operation of the same for five years.
Four firms qualified for the financial bid that opened on January 1 to redevelop the avenue: ITD Cementation quoted Rs. 490 crore, NCC Limited quoted Rs. 601 crore and Tata Projects Limited quoted Rs. 488 crore.

Ramesh Pokhriyal Launches Toycathon-2021 to Promote Manufacturing of Toys

The Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' and Union Minister WCD and Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani jointly launched Toycathon-2021 and the Toycathon Portal.
Toycathon is being organized to develop India as the global Toy manufacturing hub. Toycathon will provide a platform to conceptualize innovative toys based on the Indian value system which will inculcate the positive behaviour and good value among the children.
The Toycathon will be based on the following nine themes: Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and Ethos, Learning, Education and Schooling, Social and human values, Occupations & specific fields, Environment, Divyang, Fitness and sport, out of the box, creative and logical thinking and Rediscovering/redesigning traditional Indian toys.

Jan 06, 2021

Amazon Buys 11 Jets for First Time to Ship Orders Faster

Amazon bought 11 jets from Delta and WestJet airlines to boost its growing delivery network and get orders to shoppers faster.
It is the first time Amazon has purchased planes for its delivery network. Over the past couple of years, Amazon has been leasing planes to build its fleet.
Now, it has a mix of both leased and owned aircraft in the fleet and allows to better manage operations.

RBI Operationalises PIDF Scheme to Boost Digital Payments

The Reserve Bank said that the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) has been operationalised to create 30 lakh new touch points every year for digital payments in Tier-3 to Tier-6 centres.
In June last year, the RBI had announced the creation of Payments' Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF). The fund intended to subsidise deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure in Tier-3 to Tier-6 centres, with special focus on the north-eastern states.
The PIDF presently has a corpus of Rs. 345 crore — Rs. 250 crore contributed by the Reserve Bank of India and Rs. 95 crore by the major authorised card networks in the country.
The target for the PIDF is increasing payments acceptance infrastructure by adding 30 lakh touch points every year — 10 lakh physical and 20 lakh digital payment acceptance devices.

Trump Signs Order Banning Transactions with 8 Chinese Apps

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay mobile payment app, escalating tensions with Beijing two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
The move is aimed at curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data.
It tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive within 45 days and targets Tencent Holdings Ltd's QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay as well.

Bajaj Auto Becomes World's most Valuable Two-wheeler Company

Bajaj Auto became the first two-wheeler company globally to cross a market capitalisation of Rs. 1 lakh crore (around USD 13.6 billion). This market valuation is considerably higher than all other domestic two-wheeler companies. As per analysts, a market capitalisation of over Rs. 1 lakh crore has not been achieved before by any international two-wheeler company anywhere in the world.
Bajaj Auto achieved this milestone as it celebrates the 75^th year of its operations.
Bajaj Auto has its manufacturing facilities at Chakan near Pune, Waluj (Aurangabad), and Pantnagar (Uttarakhand). It recently announced the setting up of its fourth plant at Chakan at an investment of Rs 650 crore for manufacturing premium segment bikes and electric two-wheelers.

Saudi Arabia Offers Extra Oil Output Cut as Part of OPEC+ Deal

Saudi Arabia has offered to make voluntary cuts in its oil output in February in a bid to persuade fellow OPEC+ producers to hold steady amid concerns that new coronavirus lockdowns will hit demand.
Saudi Arabia made the offer at a meeting of OPEC+, which combines OPEC producers and others including Russia, after failed talks.
Russia and Kazakhstan were pushing for the group to raise production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) while Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates suggested holding output steady.

IDBI Bank Launches Video KYC Facility for Opening Savings Bank Accounts

IDBI Bank launched a video KYC account opening (VAO) facility for savings bank accounts. Through the facility, a customer can open a savings account with the lender from the convenience of his/her home or office as there are no physical forms to be filled or visits to be made to the branch.
Video KYC is a quick and easy way to open a savings account from the comforts of your home. It ensures that the online journey for opening a savings account remains safe, simple, and fast eliminating the need to visit the branch for KYC.

Jan 05, 2021

Vietnam Buys from India for the First Time in Decades

Vietnam, the world's third biggest exporter of rice, has started buying the grain from rival India for the first time in decades after local prices jumped to their highest in nine years amid limited domestic supplies.
The purchases highlight tightening supplies in Asia, which could lift rice prices in 2021 and even force traditional buyers of rice from Thailand and Vietnam to switch to India — the world's biggest exporter of the grain.
Indian traders have been contracted to export 70,000 tonnes of 100% broken rice for January and February shipments at around $310 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis.

HCL Technologies Completes Acquisition of DWS

HCL Technologies completed acquisition of Australian IT solutions firm DWS. In September last year, HCL Technologies had announced it will acquire DWS, a move that will help the Indian company strengthen its position in the Australian and New Zealand market.
DWS has over 700 employees and offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Canberra. With FY20 revenue at 167.9 million Australian dollars, the company provides a wide range of IT services including digital transformation, application development and support, program and project management and consulting.

ADB Signs 100 Million Loan to Upgrade the Power Distribution in Bengaluru

Asian Development Bank signed an agreement of 100 million USD to modernize and upgrade the power distribution in Bengaluru city.
The 100 million USD loan is to be used to enhance the quality and reliability of electricity supply in Bengaluru city under the Bengaluru Smart Energy Efficient Power Distribution Project. Also, the loan will be used to install 2,800 km of fiber optical cables. These fiber optical cables are to be laid in parallel to the underground distribution cables. This parallel laying of the electrical and communication lines will help to reduce technical and commercial losses by 30%.
The fiber optical cables are to be used for smart metering systems and distribution automation system in the distribution grid. Also, the project will install 1,700 automated ring main units to control the distribution line switch gears.

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase to Disband Health Venture

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan will disband Haven, the joint venture aimed at lowering health care costs for their US employees, just three years after launching.
The announcement means the three major American companies admitted defeat in their attempt to address one of the most vexing and long-standing problems for employers and employees alike in the world's largest economy.
Haven said that the venture would end in late February, although the companies plan to continue to collaborate informally to design programs tailored to address the specific needs of their own employee populations.

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