General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Jun 06, 2018

Services Business Activity Index for May

According to a monthly survey, India's services sector activity contracted for the first time in three months in May as new business orders stagnated and cost pressures intensified amid higher fuel prices.

The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index fell to 49.6 in May from 51.4 in April.

Mcleod inks pact with M. K. Shah Exports

Mcleod Russel India Ltd., a BM Khaitan Group company, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for selling eight Assam gardens to M.K. Shah Exports for Rs. 331 crore.

These gardens together contributed 12.3 % of MRIL's total turnover with a contribution of about Rs. 192.8 crore.

H. R. Khan Joins Bandhan Bank

The board of Bandhan Bank has appointed H. R. Khan, a former RBI deputy governor, as the non-executive, part time Chairman of the bank.

Khan's appointment will be for a period of three years with effect from June 5, 2018 or till the expiry of his term as an independent director whichever is earlier.

Vrieswijk Appointed CEO of GoAir

GoAir has appointed Cornelis Vrieswijk as its new chief executive officer effective June 4, 2018.

Vrieswijk will work with the Board and leadership team to expand and implement a range of strategic initiatives to lead the airline into its next phase of growth.

Government Eying Merger of Four PSBs

As per reports, amidst rising bad loans, the government is eying merger of four Public Sector Banks (PSBs) viz Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank Ltd, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Central Bank of India.

These PSBs reportedly have a cumulative loss of Rs 21,646.38 crore for the financial year 2017-18.

Jun 05, 2018

Bandhwari Waste Plant to Restart

The Haryana government has given the responsibility of operating the Bandhwari waste plant to a private company.

The plant was shut four years ago as it was not capable of handling the amount of waste being generated by Faridabad and Gurgaon.

Compared to the 1,600 tons of waste generated by the two cities every day, the plant had a capacity to handle just 600 tons a day.

RBI's New Deputy Governor

IDBI Bank MD and CEO, M.K. Jain has been appointed as Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in place of S. S. Mundra.

Mahesh Kumar Jain began his career in Punjab National Bank and later moved to Syndicate Bank before becoming an ED, and later head of Indian Bank.

Mr. Jain took over as the CEO and MD of IDBI Bank in March 2017.

LNG Supply from Russia

India received its first ever cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia under a long-term deal aimed at transforming the country into a gas-based economy.

Gazprom agreed to start supplying LNG after GAIL renegotiated the terms of the 20-year import deal earlier this year. Under the new contract, the price will be fixed at the average of three months Brent as against the earlier contract that stipulated price formulae based on a nine month average of Japanese crude.

Suzuki India Arm Reaches 20-mn Mark

Japan's Suzuki Motor Corporation said that it has achieved accumulated automobile production of 20 million units in India, making India the second country after Japan where Suzuki has reached this milestone.

Maruti Suzuki India, in which Suzuki holds more than 56%, produces vehicles at plants located in Gurgaon and Manesar.

NIIT Inks Partnership with Pitney Bowes

Skills and talent development company NIIT has signed a five-year long-term learning and development (L&D) agreement with Pitney Bowes.

Under the agreement, NIIT will take over the majority of L&D activities at Pitney Bowes with the exception of leadership and managerial development.

Idea Cellular to Increase FDI limit

Idea Cellular Ltd. received approval from the Department of Telecom (DoT) to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the company to 100% from the current 67.5%.

The FDI approval is a milestone in the merger process of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, and follows other statutory approvals received from SEBI, NSE, BSE, CCI and NCLT Mumbai and NCLT Ahmedabad.

Jun 04, 2018

FPI Outflows

Foreign investors pulled out Rs. 29,714 crore from the capital markets in May, making it the biggest outflow in 18 months, primarily due to a surge in global crude prices.

According to the latest depository data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net sum of Rs. 10,060 crore from equities and Rs. 19,654 crore from the debt market in May, taking the total to Rs. 29,714 crore.

Income Tax Notice on GMR

The Maldivian government has slapped a notice seeking $20.5 million towards income tax and fines on GMR Male International Airport (P) Ltd., a GMR group company that won $271 million arbitration against the premature termination of Male International Airport contract. The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority had issued tax audit reports and notice of tax assessments demanding business profit tax.

Jun 03, 2018

Whirlpool India to Acquire Stake in Elica PB

The board of Whirlpool India has approved a proposal to enter into a strategic joint venture (JV) with Elica and acquire 49% equity in Elica PB India Pvt. Ltd. This is in line with the strategic priority for Whirlpool India to expand the cooking and built-in appliance portfolio. As part of the JV, Elica PB India will manufacture and distribute cooking and built-in appliances under Whirlpool brand in India.

Relaxation in Cabotage Law

The Centre' move to relax cabotage law may be a 'game changer and transform India's ports into a major transhipment hub.

In May the Shipping Ministry had issued a notification lifting restrictions on foreign registered vessels on transportation of loaded or empty containers between Indian ports. Earlier, it was the prerogative of Indian registered shipping lines that paid taxes and were governed by Indian laws.

Delivery of Apache Helicopter Fuselage

Tata Boeing Aerospace Ltd. has begun delivery of AH-64 Apache combat helicopter fuselage from its manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.

Announcing that the delivery was made ahead of schedule, the company said that it had come within a year of the aerospace joint venture facility becoming operational. The fuselage is to be transported to Boeing's AH-64 Apache manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona, for integration into the final assembly line.

The facility located in Adibatla, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, was inaugurated in March this year. It is spread over 14,000 square metres, and at full production, employs 350 skilled workers.

Jun 02, 2018

Growth of Eight Core Industries

As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the index of the eight core industries stood at 124.2 in April this year, which was 4.7 per cent higher as compared to the index of April last year, with cumulative growth during April to March, 2017-18 of 4.3 per cent.

Radiant Life Care Back in Fortis Fray

Radiant Life Care has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for Fortis Healthcare, rejoining the race to acquire a stake in the hospital chain.

Fortis had already requested Manipal-TPG, IHH and the Hero-Burman combine, which had earlier bid for the asset, to participate in the fresh bidding process.

The Fortis board will now have to choose from among four contenders.

Dip in GST Collection

Collections from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in May eased to Rs. 94,016 crore, from the Rs. 1.03 lakh crore collected in April.

As per the government, though the current month's revenue collection is less compared to last month's revenue, still the gross revenue collection in the month of May (Rs. 94,016 crore) is much higher than the monthly average of GST collection in the last financial year (Rs. 89,885 crore).

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