General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Dec 27, 2020

India to Become 5th Largest Economy in 2025, 3rd Largest by 2030: CEBR

According to Centre for Economics and Business Research, India, which appears to have been pushed back to being the world's sixth biggest economy in 2020, will again overtake the UK to become the fifth largest in 2025 and race to the third spot by 2030.
India had overtaken the UK in 2019 to become the fifth largest economy in the world but has been relegated to 6th spot in 2020.
The CEBR forecasts that the Indian economy will expand by 9 per cent in 2021 and by 7 per cent in 2022.
The UK-based think tank forecast that China will in 2028 overtake the US to become the world's biggest economy.

DLF Rental Arm to buy Hines Stake in Commercial Project in Gurgaon

Realty major DLF's rental arm DCCDL has entered into an agreement to acquire the stake of US-based Hines in a premium commercial project in Gurugram for Rs. 780 crore.
DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), the joint venture firm of DLF and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, has entered into a securities purchase agreement with funds managed by Hines for acquisition of their stake in Fairleaf Real Estate, which owns and operates 'One Horizon Center'.
The purchase consideration for this acquisition is approximately Rs. 780 crore, subject to customary closing adjustments.

Honda Halts Production at Noida Facility

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) formally announced closure of manufacturing operations at its Greater Noida facility in Uttar Pradesh.
The automaker said that the decision to cease production at the plant, which came up in 1997, has been taken as part of realignment of manufacturing operations with the goal of improving business efficiency.
With the closure of Greater Noida facility, HCIL has also discontinued CR-V and Civic models in the country. Both the models were being manufactured at the plant.

Dec 26, 2020

Reliance to Buy IMG from Sports Management Joint Venture

Reliance Industries (RIL) has agreed to buy out IMG Worldwide LLC from their sports management joint venture for Rs. 52.08 crore.
The nation's biggest company by market value said that it will buy IMG Worldwide's 50% stake in IMG-Reliance Ltd (IMG-R) for no more than Rs. 52.08 crore in cash. RIL will rebrand the company after the closure of the deal.
RIL had formed an equal joint venture with IMG Worldwide, an international sports marketing and management company, in 2010 to develop, market and manage sports and entertainment in India.

Gujarat to Host India's First Lithium Refinery

India's first Lithium refinery which will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material will be set up in Gujarat.
Manikaran Power Limited, one of the country's largest power trading and renewable energy company will be investing over Rs. 1,000 crore to set up this refinery.
Lithium is a rare element not usually found in India. The company will be importing Lithium ore from Australia and will be processing it here.
Last year, Manikaran Power had collaborated with Australian firm Neometals to tap the Mount Marion Lithium mine in Western Australia.
The proposed project is expected to help Gujarat secure the raw material supply for domestic manufacturing of Lithium batteries as it looks to promote electric vehicles.

Coal Import System

The Government of India is to implement Coal Import Monitoring System (CIMS). The system will require the importers to submit advance information online and obtain an automatic registration number to handle coal imports in the country.
The importers of Bituminous coal, anthracite coal, coking coal and steam coal are to be monitored under the system.
Under the system, the importers should submit advance information about the import items online.
It will also monitor steel products being dumped in India. The CIMS is to monitor the compliance of dumping duty to be imposed on cheap, less quality steel products.
The importer should enter the registration number and expiry date of registration in the bill of entry.
The system is to come into effect from February 1, 2021.
The monitoring system is launched to make the recently auctioned commercial coal mining viable in the country.

Dec 25, 2020

China asks Pakistan for Additional Guarantees for $6 bn Loan for Rail Project

China has sought additional guarantees before sanctioning a USD 6-billion loan for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway line project in Pakistan, due to the country's weakening financial position.
China has also proposed a mix of commercial and concessional loans to fund the rail project, going against Islamabad's wishes of 'cheapest lending'.
The issue of additional guarantees was raised during the third joint ML-1 Financing Committee Meeting held ten days ago (December 13), The Express Tribune newspaper reported, quoting official documents.
The ML-1 project includes dualisation and upgrading of the 1,872-km railway track from Peshawar to Karachi and is a major milestone for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

LG and Magna Announce Joint Venture in Electric Car Gear

South Korea-based LG Electronics Inc and automotive supplier Magna International Inc are launching a joint venture that will make key components for electric cars.
The joint venture, tentatively called LG Magna e-Powertrain and valued at $1 billion, will manufacture e-motors, inverters and onboard chargers, according to LG Electronics.
The deal expands a wave of consolidation among suppliers aiming to capture a growing market for electric vehicle, e-axle systems, which combine electric motors, power controls and driving gears in one unit.
LG Electronics is an affiliate of South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, with interests ranging from electronics, including smartphones, to home appliances. LG Group's major affiliates include LG Display Co Ltd, which counts Apple Inc as its customer, as well as LG Chem Ltd, whose wholly owned LG Energy Solution subsidiary provides EV batteries to Tesla Inc.

Cabinet Approves 100% FDI in DTH Sector

The Union Cabinet approved revised guidelines for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcasting services, allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as increasing the licence period to 20 years.
Under the revised guidelines the licenses will be issued for a period of 20 years, compared to 10 years at the moment, and will be renewed for a 10-year period. The license fee has been revised from 10 per cent of gross revenue (GR) to 8 per cent of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which will be calculated by deduction of GST from GR.

Google Invests in Glance and VerSe Innovation

Google has invested in two Indian start-ups, Glance and VerSe Innovation, as part of its USD 10 billion Google for India Digitisation Fund to enable them to further scale up availability of content in different formats across various Indic languages.
As per reports, Google has participated in Glance's USD 145 million (about Rs. 1,071.5 crore) and VerSe Innovation's USD 100 million (about Rs. 739 crore) funding rounds.
In July this year, Google's Sundar Pichai had announced a USD 10 billion (Rs. 75,000 crore) Google for India Digitisation Fund that will be invested over the next five to seven years to help accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in the country.

Dec 24, 2020

RBI to introduce 'Positive Pay System'

The Reserve Bank of India is to introduce "Positive Pay System" from January 1, 2021 for cheque transactions above Rs. 50,000. This is to be done to enhance safety and eliminate frauds.
'Positive Pay System' is a process of reconfirming key details of large-value cheques. The large value cheques are those where the transactions are above 50,000 INR. It basically involves reconfirmation of key details of cheques. It is not mandatory for the banks to implement the system.
The cheque issuer electronically submits certain details of the cheque to the bank via SMS, ATM, mobile app, etc. These are cross-checked by the Cheque Truncation System and discrepancies are flagged to the drawee and presenting banks. The facility is to be developed by the National Payments Corporation of India.

India, Japan Come up with Mechanism for Cooperation in Steel Industry

India and Japan have devised a mechanism for cooperation in the steel industry at the joint secretary level and will see both sides discussing a number of issues in the sector including international trade. India, which is the second-largest producer of steel, still lags behind Japan and China in terms of per capita consumption. The dialogue mechanism will see New Delhi-Tokyo cooperating to increase this.
Both sides signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to herald the cooperation. It was signed by the Secretary of India's Steel Ministry Pradip Kumar Tripathi and Vice-Minister for International Affairs, Tanaka Shigehiro representing Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
India and Japan's collaboration come even as both sides are increasing cooperation in many areas including alternate supply chains in a post-pandemic world.

Wipro to Acquire IT Verticals of Metro AG

Wipro signed a $700-million digital and IT partnership deal with Metro AG, that will see over 1,300 employees of the German wholesaler move to the Indian IT major.
The estimated deal value for the duration of the first five years is approximately $700 million. With the intention to extend up to four additional years, it can be a potential spend of up to $1 billion," Wipro said in a statement.
As a part of this transaction, Wipro will take over the IT units of Metro AG — Metro-NOM GMBH in Germany and Metro Systems Romania S.R.L.

Dec 23, 2020

Govt. Invites Bids for Sale of its Stake in Shipping Corporation

The finance ministry began the process of divesting the government's entire 63.75% stake in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) along with management control by inviting expressions of interest from potential bidders.
At SCI's current market price, the government can raise around Rs. 2,500 crore from the stake sale.
RBSA Capital Advisers will be the transaction adviser for the divestment process and bids can be submitted until 13 February.
Listing out the terms of the divestment process, the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) said that interested bidders should have positive Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in three of the previous five years and a minimum net worth of Rs. 2,000 crore. In case of a consortium, the lead member should have a minimum net worth of Rs. 1,001 crore with at least 50.01% equity in the consortium. The ultimate beneficial owner for any bidder should not be the same as that of any other bidder or of any consortium member.

ICICI Bank Launches 'Infinite India'

ICICI Bank launched 'Infinite India' — an online platform for foreign companies looking to set up or increase business in India. This platform provides banking solutions, as well as value-added facilities.
'Infinite India' platform offers convenience to foreign companies as it eliminates the need of co-ordinating with multiple touch-points leading to a hassle-free experience of doing business in India.
The 'Infinite India' initiative is part of the bank's strategy to further strengthen its technology-enabled offerings aimed to partner with foreign companies coming to India. The bank believes that the dedicated strategy for this segment will further simplify the journey of foreign companies looking to start or expand their business in India.

GIC, ESR form $750 Million JV to Invest in Industrial, Logistics Realty in India

As per reports, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and ESR Cayman have entered into an 80:20 strategic partnership to establish a $750-million joint venture to develop and acquire industrial and logistics assets in India.
The joint venture will develop and own industrial and logistics facilities as well as acquire core assets, focusing on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities across India. To begin with, the joint venture will start with about 2.2 million sq ft build-to-core asset, located in proximity to the large consumption hubs of Mumbai and Thane.

Central Bank of India Launches RuPay Select Debit Card

Central Bank of India launched a variant of contactless Debit Card — 'RuPay Select'.
Launched in association with the National Payments Corporation of India on the occasion of the bank's 110^th foundation day, the RuPay Debit Select Card will focus on customers' lifestyle, fitness, rejuvenation, nutrition and personal care.
The Bank also launched FASTAG (for electronic toll collection) in association with OSTA.

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