General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Nov 11, 2018

Cross-border Trade at Attari Halted

In an unprecedented move, porters at the Attari border in Amritsar stopped the movement of goods over 'dala' (baksheesh or tip) for almost one week.

Labourers refused to load and unload goods on the trucks at the Integrated Check Post (ICP), demanding a lion's share from the clearing agents, who often misappropriate the tips they receive from traders.

The strike was called off after the clearing agents agreed to pay a larger share of 'dala' to the labourers and keep the rest in 60:40 ratio.

Tamil Nadu to Launch State Shelter Fund

Tamil Nadu has received the nod from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its State Shelter Fund for attracting investments in the affordable housing segment.

Nov 10, 2018

Mehta Quits Jet Airways Board

Vikram Singh Mehta has resigned as independent director on the board of Jet Airways with immediate effect.

As per reports, he has resigned due to his recent time constraints, commitments and other obligations.

India clears Sale of Enemy Shares

India's government said it will sell stocks worth millions of dollars seized from people who moved to Pakistan following partition in 1947 and the wars since, as a way to make up for a shortfall in revenues.

The stocks worth at least 30 billion rupees ($412.26 million) are part of what India calls "enemy properties" that once belonged to people who went to Pakistan and China.

Modi's cabinet approved a plan to sell stocks in 996 companies held by 20,323 shareholders, deemed as "enemy shares" the government said in a statement. The government said 588 were active firms including 139 listed on the stock exchange.

RBI Cancels Registration of NBFCs

The Reserve Bank cancelled the certificate of registrations of 31 non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) for unspecified reasons.

A majority 27 of the 31 companies which lost their licences are from Bengal.

Bengal is followed by Uttar Pradesh, which has seen four NBFC licence cancellations.

Growth of Foundry Industry

According to members of the Institute of Indian Foundrymen, the Indian foundry industry expects nearly 14% growth in the next two years, from the 5% to 7%.

The Indian foundry industry, the third-largest castings producer globally, is looking at increasing production to 14 million tonnes by 2021. The current annual production is 11.5 million tones.

Nov 09, 2018

Centre to Sell its Stake in Dredging Corporation

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave 'in-principle' approval for strategic disinvestment of the government's entire stake in the Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCIL) to a consortium of four ports viz. Vishakhapatnam Port Trust, Paradeep Port Trust, Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust and Kandla Port Trust.

The government holds 73.44% shares in DCIL valued at a little over Rs. 700 crore.

India is One of the Biggest Markets

Alrosa, one of the world's biggest diamond companies, is looking for greater engagement with India. After the recently held Russia-India Forum, trade is expected to rise further, says Evgeny Agureev, director, Alrosa United Selling Organisation.

This industry is very important for India because a lot of companies are involved in this trade. Based on statistics, we can say that from 75 to 90% of the share of all stones are polished in India. During the recent Russia-India Forum, the Indian government recognised this as an important sector.

Bhavdeep Singh Resigned as CEO

Fortis Healthcare CEO Bhavdeep Singh has resigned but will continue in his current capacity till a successor is found.

Nov 08, 2018

HDFC Bank Hikes Deposit Rates

HDFC Bank raised interest rates on deposits by up to 0.5% for various tenors, while Bank of Baroda hiked lending rates by 0.1%.

The rate on deposits with tenor of 5-8 years and 8-10 years has been increased to 6.5% from 6%.

India Offered Concession

Several Asian member countries of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have offered India a significant concession on the extent to which it needs to open up its markets, in a bid to encourage it to join the partnership quickly.

The RCEP is a proposed trade agreement between the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and their six free trade agreement partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand.

The ASEAN countries are keen to have India as part of the partnership and have made India a concessional offer of opening up only about 83% of its market, as compared to the original 92% that the RCEP agreement stipulated.

Nov 07, 2018

India Exempted from certain sanctions

The United States has exempted India from imposition of certain sanctions for the development of the strategically-located Chabahar Port in Iran, along with the construction of the railway line connecting it with Afghanistan.

The port in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich nation's southern coast is easily accessible from India's western coast and is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan's Gwadar Port, which is being developed with Chinese investment and is located at distance of around 80 km from Chabahar.

India Seeks Greater Market Access in China

According to the finance ministry, India has sought greater market access for areas like agriculture products, pharmaceuticals, IT services and tourism in China, with a view to bridge the widening trade deficit with the neighbouring country.

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