General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Nov 04, 2020

India and UAE Held High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments

India and UAE held the High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments. The task force was created in 2012.
The points discussed in the task force are: the positive outcomes achieved by the Joint Task Force, the India and UAE sectors with potential for economic growth were identified, the existing UAE Plus (a special desk) and the Fast Track Mechanism created in 2018 to resolve challenges faced by the UAE investors in India were reviewed and India and UAE are implementing a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.

Modi to Chair Virtual Global Investor Round Table

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the Virtual Global Investor Roundtable (VGIR) on November 5, 2020.
The VGIR is being organised by the Union Ministry of Finance and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. It is an exclusive dialogue between leading global institutional investors, Indian business leaders and the highest decision-makers from the Government of India and Financial Market Regulators. Union Finance Minister, Union Minister of State for Finance, RBI Governor and other dignitaries will also be present on the occasion.
The Roundtable will witness participation from twenty of the world's largest pension and sovereign wealth funds with a total Assets Under Management of about US$6 trillion.

PMC Bank invites EoI from Potential Investors for Reconstruction

Fraud-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank invited expression of interest (EoI) from potential investors for investment or equity participation in the bank for its reconstruction.
The objective of the process of invitation of EoI is to identify a suitable equity investor/group of investors willing to take over management control so as to revive the bank and commence regular day-to-day operations.
Subsequent to commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investors to convert the bank into a small finance bank by making an application to the RBI.
The conversion will be subject to compliance of the RBI guidelines on Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) into Small Finance Banks (SFBs) dated September 27, 2018.

L&T Bags another Civil Contract for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor

Financial bids for Tender Package C-6 for the design and construction of 88 km (approx.) length of the viaduct between Vadodara and Ahmedabad in Gujarat including the construction of Anand/Nadiad Station for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor (508 km) were opened on 2nd November, 2020 and Larsen & Toubro Ltd was the lowest bidder.
Total of three bidders involving 7 (seven) major Indian infrastructural companies had participated in the competitive bidding.
The other bidders were: Afcons Infrastructure Limited – IRCON International Limited – JMC Projects India Ltd- Consortium, NCC Limited – Tata Project Ltd.- J. Kumar Infra Projects Ltd. – HSR Consortium.

No Hike in Service Charges by PSU Banks

According to the Finance Ministry, there has been no increase in service charges by any public sector banks even as Bank of Baroda decided to withdraw changes made with regard to the number of free cash deposit transactions in a bank account per month.
Bank of Baroda had made certain changes with effect from November 1, 2020, with regard to the number of free cash deposits and withdrawals per month.
The number of free cash deposits and withdrawals has been reduced from five each per month to three each per month, with no change in the charges for transactions in excess of these free transactions.

IBA and PCI in Talks to Set up Regulatory Body for Digital Payments

The digital payments industry may soon get a self-regulatory if things go as per plan.
Banking lobby group Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and its payment industry counterpart, Payment Council of India (PCI), are in talks to set up a non-profit joint venture that will regulate the digital payments ecosystem.
This will be under the Reserve Bank of India's newly issued Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) framework for Payment System Operators.
Members from both the banking and the payments industry are likely to manage the proposed entity.

Engie Pulls Out of US LNG Deal

French gas and power utility Engie has pulled out of a major US liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deal after government concerns about its environmental implications.
Late last month the French government had asked Engie to hold off from signing the deal with NextDecade Corp amid growing scrutiny of the effects of shale gas extraction methods such as fracking and their impact on climate change through methane emissions.
Engie has decided not to pursue commercial negotiations with NextDecade about this gas supply project.
The contract, estimated to be worth $7 billion was for the import of shale gas via a Texas-based terminal as part of a project called Rio Grande LNG.

Nov 03, 2020

Adani Group Takes Over Lucknow Airport Operations

The Adani Group took over the operations, management and development of the airport at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport from the AAI.
The Adani Group has already taken over the operations Mangaluru in October while it would be taking over the operations for the Ahmedabad from November 11, 2020.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) previously said in its release that the Aviation Ministry had signed MoUs (memorandums of understanding) with three entities of the Adani Group to provide services like customs, immigration and security at the aforementioned three airports.
The central government had in February 2019 privatised the following six major airports -- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, Adani Enterprises won the rights to run all of them.

Indian Data Centre Market to Touch $5bn by 2025

As digital adoption grows amid the pandemic across the spectrum, the data centre industry in India is likely to touch $1.2 billion in the fiscal 2020 and is expected to log a rapid 25-30 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach $4.5-$5 billion by fiscal 2025.
According to a Crisil Research report, the Indian data centre industry, which accounts for 1-2 per cent of the global pie, is estimated to have clocked a modest CAGR of 15-20% since fiscal 2016 to touch $1 billion in fiscal 2019.
The data centre growth rode on a sharp increase in Internet penetration from 30 per cent in fiscal 2016 to 55 per cent in fiscal 2019.
The data centre industry has been largely concentrated in top four cities, with Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai accounting for 60 per cent of total data centre sites and more than 75 per cent in terms of IT load capacities.

Nov 02, 2020

Reliance Capital Starts Monetization Process

Reliance Capital invited (RCAP) initial bids, known as Expression of Interest in market parlance, putting up a bundle of eight key assets for sale as the troubled non-banking finance company is now aiming to repay a mammoth Rs. 15,000 crore debt using expected sales proceeds.
SBI Capital Market and JM Financial are helping the Anil Ambani-owned company in this asset monetization plan.
The committee of debenture holders and a debenture trustee, which represents about 93 percent of outstanding debt of Reliance Capital, is overseeing the whole monetization process.

Invest India and AYUSH Ministry Set up Strategic Policy and Facilitation Bureau

The Ministry of AYUSH and Invest India will set up "Strategic Policy and Facilitation Bureau" to facilitate systematic growth of AYUSH sector.
The Bureau will help to make AYUSH systems future ready. It will support in making initiatives under the ministry to its full potential. Also, it will help to initiate the growth and investment of the AYUSH sector.
Invest India and the Ministry of AYUSH will collaborate to define short- and long-term targets. Also, it will deploy trained experts to implement and execute the plans of the ministry.
Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of India. It was set up as non-profit organization under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). It also serves Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, State Government of India.

Vedanta and Adani in Race for Coal Block Auction

Companies like Vedanta, Jindal Steel and Power, Adani Enterprises, Hindalco Industries and JSW Steel are in the race for the first-ever auction of 19 coal blocks for commercial mining.
According to the latest calendar for electronic auction of the coal ministry, the auction, under which 19 coal blocks will go under the hammer, will continue for eight days (from November 2-9).

Nov 01, 2020

Yamaha Ties Up with Amazon India to Sell Apparels, Accessories Online

Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor tied up with Amazon India to sell its range of apparels and accessories online. This is for the first time in India that the company would sell its apparels and accessories online.
Now, Yamaha customers and motorcyclists will now be able to take their pick from a wide range of accessories and apparels for motorcycles and scooters conveniently and easily through Amazon India.
The two-wheeler giant will offer a wide range of riding apparels including T-shirts, jackets, as well as merchandise like stickers, key chains and other two-wheeler accessories such as bike cover, seat cover, tank pads, USB mobile charger, engine guard, frame slider, scooter guard set, graphic set, skid plate, floor mats etc.
The two-wheeler giant made its foray into the Indian market in 1985. India Yamaha Motor has three manufacturing facilities at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana.

ADIA and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to Invest $1b in Jio Fibre Assets

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) will jointly invest $1.01 billion in an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) that holds Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance Industries Ltd.'s fibre-optic assets.
Jio Digital Fibre Pvt. Ltd. owns Jio'a fibre network across the country.
ADIA and PIF have agreed to purchase units worth Rs. 3,779 crore each in the InvIT.
Also, RIIHL, a subsidiary of RIL, has completed the recapitalisation of Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust (DFIT.
RIIHL will continue to be the sponsor of the InvIT and it is not known how much stake the two sovereign wealth funds will get in lieu of their investment in the InvIT - Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust (DFIT).
Fibre network business monetisation falls exactly in line with RIL's original plan to make Jio become an asset-light digital services company and save significantly on costs as the group is gearing up to offer affordable 5G services.
According to the current plan, RIL will continue as the sponsor of the InvIT and retain a minimum 15% stake, while the remaining 85% could be sold to global investors, including ADIA and PIF.

Oct 31, 2020

Alphabet Sales Growth Revived

Google parent Alphabet Inc on Thursday powered back to sales growth, beating analysts' estimates for the third quarter as businesses initially hobbled by the coronavirus pandemic resumed advertising with the internet's biggest supplier of ads.
Google's billions of users are spending more time online transacting and entertaining themselves this year as they try to avoid the virus.
But many advertisers ceased spending in the second quarter as travel and leisure activity disappeared. As the global economy in the third quarter began to chug along again, advertisers flocked to Google to let shoppers know about deals and adjusted service offerings. Google also gained from political ad spending ahead of the U.S. presidential election on 3rd November.
Ad sales surged across all regions and industries.

Axis Bank Rejigs Max Life Deal

Axis Bank said that the RBI has not allowed it to directly acquire 17% stake in Max Life Insurance and the lender will now purchase shares in the life insurer along with its subsidiaries.
Axis Bank and its entities have revised the agreement with Max Financial, the promoter of Max Life, to acquire 19.002% stake in the insurance firm.
In August this year (2020), Axis Bank had entered into a definitive agreement with Max Financial Services Ltd (Max Financial) for the direct acquisition of 17.002 per cent of equity share capital of Max Life Insurance Company Ltd (Max Life) by the lender.

Eurozone Bounces Back to Economic Growth

According to new official figures, the economies of the Eurozone bounced back in the third quarter of the year.
Economic activity for the region as a whole was 12.7% higher than in the previous three months.
But the growth was not enough to reverse the declines in the first half of 2020 due to the pandemic.
The outlook for the end of the year is further weakness caused by a renewed surge in Covid cases and tighter official restrictions.

McDonald's HQ Building Sells for over $412 Million

The McDonald's Headquarters building in Chicago has been sold for more than $412 million, the largest office property sale in the city since 2018.
Seller Sterling Bay and investment partner J.P. Morgan Asset Management bought the site from Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios.
McDonald's, one of the world's largest fast-food giant, moved its headquarters into the building in June 2018.

Israel to Export Agricultural Produce to UAE

Israeli farmers and companies have received permission to export agricultural produce to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Following a concerted effort that included talks, exchanges of correspondence and coordination with the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Israel has received official approval from the UAE authorities to export fresh agricultural produce and propagating material, including seeds.
The Ministry noted that export costs to the UAE will be low due to the geographical proximity between the two countries and the logistical options for transportation.
The development comes after the UAE signed normalization deal with Israel at the White House on September 15.
It is the first Arab nation in 26 years to establish formal ties with Israel, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.

Doing Business in India Report, 2020

The "Doing Business in India Report, 2020" was released by the UK India Business Council. According to the report, the business environment in India is improving and there is a greater opportunity for UK India collaboration.
The businesses in the UK find 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat Mission' as an opportunity to do more business in India. The report has been published for the sixth time since 2015. This year the report has been prepared based on an in-depth survey of 106 UK firms that are operating in India. These firms belonged to services, manufacturing and higher education sector.
As per the report, 66% of the surveyed organisations believed that the ease of doing business in India is increasing. According to the report, this change is mainly due to the progressive reforms and improvements in the business environment of India. The changes are predominantly found in availability of support, skilled labour, service providers and supply chain.
India's score of doing business has improved from 2.74 in 2019 22.9 to in 2020. The most frequent obstacles in doing business with India is its legal and regulatory boundaries. The other irritants according to the report in doing business in India are GST issues, foreign exchange regulations, high import tariffs and lack of alignment with international standards.

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