Call Support +91-85588-96644

Exam Categories

International Tests

View More

Defence & Para Military

Assessment-I

View More

Assessment-II

View More

Placement & IT Sector

Assessment-III

View More

Aptitude/GK/Vocational Skill Tests

View More
TCYonline

Login

Sign Up

Please enter a Username or Email ID
Please enter a password
Keep me logged in
Forgot Password?
Please enter your name
Please enter your mobile number
You can't leave Captcha Code empty
By submitting this form, you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy.
Already Registered? Login Here
OR

Sign Up via Facebook

Sign Up via Google

Sign Up via Twitter

Download Software
Tests given

Download TCY App

App Image
Subscribe to Unlock Test Prep Material close
Choose Exam Category

Unlock All Services and Enjoy The Premium Benefits

1 Month Plan

US$ 10

Subscribe Now

Valid For 1 Month

2 Month Plan

US$ 13

Subscribe Now

Valid For 2 Months

3 Month Plan

US$ 15

Subscribe Now

Valid For 3 Months

4 Month Plan

US$ 17

Subscribe Now

Valid For 4 Months

5 Month Plan

US$ 19

Subscribe Now

Valid For 5 Months

6 Month Plan

US$ 20

Subscribe Now

Valid For 6 Months

7 Month Plan

US$ 21

Subscribe Now

Valid For 7 Months

8 Month Plan

US$ 22

Subscribe Now

Valid For 8 Months

9 Month Plan

US$ 23

Subscribe Now

Valid For 9 Months

10 Month Plan

US$ 24

Subscribe Now

Valid For 10 Months

11 Month Plan

US$ 25

Subscribe Now

Valid For 11 Months

12 Month Plan

US$ 26

Subscribe Now

Valid For 12 Months

  • Payment made in INR entitles you to use Test in INDIA only
  • Each test can be attempted only once
 
loading

General Awareness

googleplus facebook

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Jan 02, 2020

Suzuki JV to Invest in Gujarat Plant

  • Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp. (SMC), Toshiba Corp. and Denso Corp. will jointly invest Rs. 3,715 crore in the second phase of their battery venture in Gujarat's Hansalpur, a confidential company presentation showed. The investment, spread over 2021-25, is part of the Rs. 5,000-crore corpus that Suzuki announced in October 2019 to build India's first lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant for EVs.
  • The joint venture, called Automotive Electronics Power Pvt. Ltd (AEPPL), is currently building the first phase at Rs. 1,214 crore. The first phase (2018-20) is expected to start production by end-2020.
  • AEPPL is a partnership between Suzuki (50%), Toshiba (40%) and Denso (10%), to locally manufacture 30 million lithium ion cells per year by 2025, with a production capacity of more than 1GWh.

Apollo, Varde Pull Out of Race for Altico

  • Apollo Global Management LLC and Varde Partners LP are no longer considering bidding for Altico Capital India Ltd, narrowing the number of suitors for the troubled shadow lender. The firms pulled out because they were unwilling to meet creditor demands to inject as much as Rs. 2,000 crore of fresh equity into Altico. A spokesman for Apollo confirmed its withdrawal while Varde declined to comment. That leaves Cerberus Capital Management LP, SSG Capital Management, and Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd in the race for the real-estate focused lender.

Government Cuts Import Duty

  • The government slashed import duty on refined palmolein to 45% from 50%, while that on crude palm oil (CPO) to 37.5% from 40% with immediate effect, a move that the industry opposed saying it will hurt domestic refiners.
  • Opposing the move, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said that after the reduction in import duty, the tax difference between CPO and refined palmolein has reduced to 7.5% from 10%.
  • This will have (a) serious impact on domestic palm oil refining industry and oilseeds farmers.

Union Bank Looks to Sell Bad Loans

  • Public sector lender Union Bank of India said it is looking to sell bad loans of over Rs. 1,200 crore to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), banks, non-banks and other financial institutions.
  • In a notice on its website, the bank said it has sought bids for selling a bundle of 11 non-performing assets, totaling Rs. 1,280.87 crore, by January 13. The bad assets include loans to GVK Power Goindwal Sahib Ltd (Rs. 443.84 crore), Chennai Elevated Tollways Ltd (Rs. 192.24 crore), Rajahmundry Godavari Bridge Ltd (Rs. 153.03 crore), Sona Alloys Pvt. Ltd (Rs. 135.58 crore) and Supreme Manor Wada Bhiwandi Tollways Ltd (Rs. 113.95 crore). The assets, Union Bank said, will be sold in exchange of cash.
  • The bank classified these loans as NPAs between December 2012 and November 2017.

Court Allows Banks to Sell Vijay Mallya's UBHL Shares

  • A special court designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) granted a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI) the rights of United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL), owned by fugitive economic offender (FEO) Vijay Mallya. This means the bank can sell off UBHL's shares and recover their dues.
  • However, after Mallya's lawyers sought a stay on the order's execution on the grounds that they need time to approach the Bombay High Court (HC), the PMLA court stayed the execution till January 18. In the meantime, Mallya is likely to challenge the order before the HC.

Jan 01, 2020

IL&FS to Address Major Part of Debt by July

  • As per Uday Kotak, IL&FS Group is working towards addressing a significant portion of the outstanding debt of Rs. 94,000 crore by July 2020.
  • Kotak informed the shareholders at the 32nd annual general meeting that the company has emerged as a test case on group-wide resolution of stressed assets. The new board is committed to completing the resolution process at the earliest and is working towards addressing a significant portion of addressable debt by July 2020.

Finance Minister Launches Rs. 102 Trillion National Infra Pipeline Plan

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a National Infrastructure Pipeline coordination mechanism with an investment plan worth Rs. 102 trillion in the next five years.
  • A task force for the purpose, set up under economic affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty, submitted its first report after consultation with 70 different stakeholders for four months. The task force was set up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, promised to roll out an ambitious infrastructure push worth Rs. 100 trillion over the next five years to make India a $5 trillion economy.
  • The projects will byearse spread across 21 ministries and 18 states and Union Territories. While the Centre and states will contribute 39% each of the projects cost, private sectors will contribute 22% of the cost.
  • Out of the projects included in the pipeline, 43% are under implementation, 33% are at conceptual stage and 19% are under development. The projects belong to sectors such as power, including renewable, railways, urban development, irrigation, mobility, education, health, water and digital sector.

India Plans $35 Billion Power Reforms to Revive Ailing Utilities

  • India is planning another wave of reforms aimed at turning around its struggling power retailers.
  • The initiative is still under consideration. The reforms could cost as much as 2.5 trillion rupees ($35 billion) over five years.
  • The measures would focus on infrastructure and technology upgrades of the ailing utilities to make them more efficient and reduce financial losses, according to the people. The efforts could include central government grants of as much as 1 trillion rupees to states that meet targets set by New Delhi.
  • The plan could include the installation of about 250 million prepaid smart meters, which are expected to boost revenue collection. Other measures include systems to better monitor and control networks -- known as supervisory control and data acquisition systems -- separating grids for farmers and residential users, and replacing overhead cables with special insulated wires to prevent theft.

DIPAM to Examine Issue of Reservation

  • The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) asked the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to examine the issue of job reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in state-run companies following disinvestment.
  • Concerns have been raised by various stakeholders about a sharp fall in job opportunities for SCs, STs and OBCs after the disinvestment of government's equity stakes in public sector enterprises (PSEs), either because of a change in management control or the dilution of the government's shareholdings below 51%.

Vedanta Mulls Bidding for BPCL

  • Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd. is evaluating a proposal to buy the government's 53.29% stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and residual stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL).
  • Vedanta holds 64.92% stake in HZL while the government holds 29.85% stake in the company.
  • Vedanta plans to start work on the two coal blocks of Jamkhani and Chotia that it had won through auction.

Hinduja Brothers Preparing Bid for Jet

  • As per reports, the Hinduja Group is preparing a bid to buy grounded carrier Jet Airways India Ltd.
  • The UK-based group, run by brothers Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, plans to submit an expression of interest by the January 15 deadline, signalling its intent to make a formal offer. Hinduja Group is seeking a partner to bid.

Karvy Group Splits Business in 2 Verticals

  • Over a month after it was barred by SEBI from taking new clients for misusing clients' securities, the troubled Karvy Group announced corporate restructuring to separate non-financial businesses from the financial ones.
  • It has also appointed Amitabh Chaturvedi, who used to head private sector lender Dhanlaxmi Bank, as the company's group chief executive for financial services.
  • SEBI, through an interim order, barred KSBL from taking new brokerage clients and also prevented it from using the power of attorneys (PoA) given by its clients after the brokerage was found to have allegedly misused clients' securities to the tune of over Rs. 2,000 crore.

Dec 31, 2019

PFC, NTPC Stake Sales Hit Borrowing Clause Hurdle

  • The government is facing hurdles in trimming its stakes in Power Finance Corp. Ltd (PFC) and NTPC Ltd, as the companies may breach a bond covenant that requires the companies to be majority-owned by the government. Reducing the government's stake to less than 50% will also increase overseas borrowing costs for these companies, as they will lose their quasi-government status as borrowers.
  • NTPC and PFC are among state-run companies in which the government plans to reduce its stake by selling shares through its two exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a basket of securities that trade on exchanges. The government sells its stakes in listed central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) through the CPSE ETF and Bharat 22 ETF.

RBI Restricts UCBs from Offering Large Corporate Loans

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restricted urban cooperative banks (UCBs) from offering large corporate loans through several changes to lending norms, after depositors lost large sums of money following the crisis at Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.
  • The regulator slashed single and connected borrower exposure for UCBs, hiked the priority sector lending (PSL) target and specified a portfolio mix for at least half of their loan books. The guidelines will be applicable from March 31, 2023.
  • The prudential exposure limits for UCBs for a single borrower and a group of connected borrowers were lowered to 10% and 25%, respectively, of their tier-I capital. These limits were earlier at 15% and 40%, respectively.

RIL Gears Up to Take on Amazon and Flipkart

  • Billionaire Mukesh Ambani took the first step to challenge global e-commerce giants Amazon and Walmart in India's fast-growing market with the soft launch of his new commerce venture.
  • Reliance Retail Ltd, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, began sending invites to Jio telecom users for registering on the new venture named JioMart. Calling itself "Desh Ki Nayi Dukaan", JioMart will currently cater to online shoppers in the suburban Mumbai areas of Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan.
  • JioMart is offering its users options to shop from 50,000- plus grocery products, free home delivery with no minimum order value, no-questions-asked return policy and an express delivery promise.

Electronic Invoicing, New Returns to be Introduced in 2020

  • Two things that will change the way transactions are reported under the goods and services tax (GST) system in 2020 are electronic invoicing and new returns.
  • While both of these will be introduced mandatorily from April 1, e-invoicing would be implemented on a voluntary basis by those having an annual turnover of above Rs. 500 crore from January 1. Those with an annual turnover of over Rs.100 crore can use e-invoicing from February 1. Finally, those with annual turnover of over Rs.100 crore will have to use e-invoicing system from the beginning of the next financial year.
  • In the e-invoicing system, the invoices are authenticated electronically by GST Network (GSTN) for further use on the common GST portal. Two procedures are required in e-invoicing system — generation of invoices in standard format and reporting it on to a central portal system.
  • The new system requires invoice details to be uploaded on the government site — Invoice Registration Portal or IRP — on real-time basis. Based on the uploaded details, a unique invoice reference number (IRN) will be allocated against an each invoice. IRN would be get validated through IRN portal and GSTN.

Kerala Retains Top Rank on SDG Index

  • According to the SDG India index brought out by NITI Aayog and the UN, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana were top performers in the race to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), including the eradication of poverty and inequality, while Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have a lot to catch up.
  • The report released on Monday showed that Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 70. A score of 100 would mean the state has achieved the SDG goals, which are to be met by 2030. Himachal Pradesh took the second spot, while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana shared the third spot.
  • Among Union territories, Chandigarh maintained its top spot with a score of 70. The score is computed based on performance across several parameters, including the quality of education, gender equality, zero-hunger, climate action and reduction in inequalities.

Without Buyer, Air India Might be Forced to Shut Down by June 2020

  • Struggling Air India might be forced to shut down by June 2020 unless it finds a buyer as piecemeal arrangements cannot be sustained for long.
  • Amid continuing uncertainty over the fate of the national carrier, the official said there is also need for funds to restart operations of 12 grounded narrow-body planes.
  • The airline has a debt burden of around Rs. 60,000 crore and the government is still working on the modalities for the disinvestment.
  • Sounding alarm bells, Air India might well go Jet Airways way if a prospective buyer does not come on board by June 2020.

Relief for Huawei as Govt. Opens 5G Trials

  • According to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the government allowed all applicants including China's Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd to participate in 5G trials.
  • This comes as a welcome relief to Huawei, which has been facing global scrutiny over network security concerns. The US has claimed that Huwaei's 5G equipment could be used by China to spy on other countries, an allegation Huawei has denied.
  • The approval for conducting 5G trials does not, however, automatically imply that Huawei's equipment will be cleared for a commercial rollout in the country. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will meet all telecom equipment vendors to discuss the timeline and other procedures to start trials. DoT will allocate the trial spectrum to its licencees, which are telecom service providers such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea that can then choose to partner with vendors such as Nokia, Huawei, Ericsson and Samsung.

Dec 30, 2019

Chiratae, Sequoia Lead Funding Round in GoMechanic

  • Gurugram-based vehicle service and repair startup GoMechanic has raised Rs. 105 crore in a Series-B funding led by Chiratae Ventures and Sequoia Capital with Orios Venture Partners also participating in the fundraise.
  • GoMechanic's current investors include Sequoia Capital, Orios Ventures Partners, Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, and angel investor Dhianu Das. It had raised Rs. 35 crore in a Series-A round led by Sequoia Capital and Orios Venture Partners in January this year.

Bitcoin's Purported Creator May Not be Able to Hand over $3 Billion of His Fortune

  • The man who claims he invented the world's largest cryptocurrency and was ordered by a judge to surrender about $3 billion of his Bitcoin holdings said he may not be able to do so anytime soon.
  • In a statement to Bloomberg News, Craig Wright said that he "cannot be certain that information will in fact arrive" to help identify the coins he has to split in a legal dispute. The Australian scientist added that he hasn't said the "private keys" to those coins would become available or be actually used next month.

PE/VC Investments Climb to a Record $37 Billion this Year

  • Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investments in India touched a record high of $37 billion on the back of large investments in the infrastructure sector, according to a report by private company data tracker Venture Intelligence.
  • With 861 deals worth $36.96 billion, 2019 beat the previous record of 2018, which had witnessed 937 deals valued at $36.14 billion, the report showed. The figure excluded private equity deals in the real estate sector.
  • Investment activity in 2018 was largely dominated by mega deals in the technology sector, specifically e-commerce, with the highlight of the year being the $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart by Walmart Inc.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Proposes Quake-proof, Multi-level Tunnels to Kill Traffic

  • A nearly mile-long tunnel in Las Vegas meant to showcase a "traffic busting" alternative for overcrowded cities should be completed next year, innovative entrepreneur Elon Musk said on Twitter.
  • The people-moving tunnel is being built by The Boring Company, one of several future-oriented enterprises founded by Musk, along with the Tesla electric-car company and SpaceX, which develops launch vehicles.
  • The 48-year-old billionaire tweeted that "Boring Co is completing its first commercial tunnel in Vegas, going from Convention Center to Strip."
  • In a second tweet he said it would be "hopefully fully operational in 2020."

Panacea Biotec eyes $1  billion Hexavalent Vaccine Market

  • Panacea Biotec Ltd expects its hexavalent EasySix vaccine, containing the safer inactivated polio virus strains, to cater to a $1 billion market annually at its peak, the company's joint managing director Rajesh Jain said.
  • Panacea hopes to get the World Health Organization's (WHO's) prequalification by early 2022, Jain said in an interview.
  • Inactivated polio vaccine is considered a safer alternative to the oral polio vaccine (OPV), which has weaker live strains of the virus, and global health organizations such as WHO and GAVI (a global vaccine alliance) plan to gradually replace procurement of OPV with the inactivated variety of the vaccine.

NBFC, HFC Sector on the Mend, Shows FinMin Analysis

  • The non-banking financial company (NBFC) and housing finance company (HFC) sector is stabilizing post the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) crisis because of steps taken by the government, according to an analysis by the finance ministry released.
  • Banks have continued to support NBFCs and HFCs, while it is the debt market that is distinguishing between good and not-so-good entities, according to the analysis. As a result, the better entities are able to get higher financing from both banks and the market, it said.
  • The shadow banking system in India has been struggling with liquidity pressures since the IL&FS crisis emerged starting with payment defaults by group companies in June last year, and the subsequent breakdown in September 2018. Some entities found it difficult to meet their funding needs, with banks turning cautious before extending credit and funds not being available from the markets.

Dec 29, 2019

No Extra Charge on Payments via RuPay, UPI from January 1

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that from 1st January 2020, businesses with annual turnover of more than Rs. 50 crore will have to offer low cost digital payment options to customers and Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will not be levied on either customers or merchants.
  • Low cost digital payment modes will include options such as BHIM UPI, UPI QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, Debit Cards, NEFT, RTGS, among others. The move is also expected to boost payments via home-grown real-time payments system Unified Payments interface (UPI) at merchant locations, along with RuPay debit cards.
  • Department of Revenue (DoR) will notify RuPay and UPI as the prescribed mode of payment for undertaking digital transactions without any MDR.

Reforms Restored PSBs' Health

  • The Ministry of Finance said that the health of public sector banks which have been reeling under non-performing assets for the last few years has been restored and a total of 13 banks reported profits in the first half of the current financial year.
  • Addressing the media after meeting the chiefs of public sector banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the reform measures undertaken by the government have helped bring the banks back to shape.
  • A statement from the ministry noted that the gross NPAs of the state-run banks have declined from Rs 8.96 lakh crore in March 2018 to Rs. 7.27 lakh crore in September 2019.

Pronab Sen to Head Panel on Economic Statistics

  • The statistics ministry has constituted a 28-member standing committee on economic statistics, chaired by former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen to improve the quality of data amid criticism of the government over political interference.
  • The first meeting of the standing committee on economic statistics is scheduled on Jan. 6, 2020. The agenda would be very broad-based.

No Extra Charge on Payments via RuPay, UPI from January 1

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that from 1st January 2020, businesses with annual turnover of more than Rs. 50 crore will have to offer low cost digital payment options to customers and Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will not be levied on either customers or merchants.
  • Low cost digital payment modes will include options such as BHIM UPI, UPI QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, Debit Cards, NEFT, RTGS, among others. The move is also expected to boost payments via home-grown real-time payments system Unified Payments interface (UPI) at merchant locations, along with RuPay debit cards.
  • Department of Revenue (DoR) will notify RuPay and UPI as the prescribed mode of payment for undertaking digital transactions without any MDR.

FPI Flows Cross Rs. 1-lakh crore in 2019

  • According to data from the National Securities Depository Ltd. (NSDL), FPIs have been net buyers at a little over Rs. 1 lakh crore in the current calendar year, the highest since 2013 when they net bought Indian shares worth Rs. 1.13 lakh crore.
  • Incidentally, FPIs have been net buyers at more than Rs. 1 lakh crore in a calendar year only on four occasions – 2019, 2013, 2012 and 2010 – with the highest single-year flows registered in 2010 at Rs. 1.33 lakh crore.
Share on
Keep Yourself updated on Latest PTE Exam Pattern

Avail Free Topic-wise Tests and various other offers.

Later Allow