General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - February 2017

Feb 2017

Jun 01, 2018

IOC Most Profitable PSU

Fuel retailer IOC has for the second year in a row beaten ONGC to become India's most profitable state-owned company.

Indian Oil Corporation, which has for decades been India's biggest company by turnover, last week posted a record net profit of Rs. 21,346 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 (FY 2017-18), up 12 per cent from Rs. 19,106 crore in the last fiscal.

Intra-State e-waybills

The e-waybill system for intra-state movement of goods will be implemented for the final eight states over the first three days of June.

The eight new states are - Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

India's Per Capita Income

As per official date, India's per capita income grew at a slower pace of 8.6 per cent to Rs. 1,12,835 during the last fiscal ended March 2018.

The per capita income is a crude indicator of the prosperity of a country.

Khadi Taps Amazon

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is in talks with Amazon to start hawking khadi fabric and ready-made garments, apart from village industry products �" such as honey, soaps and shampoo, some of which have already found their way on the marketplace.

May 31, 2018

Patanjali Launches Kimbho

After recently partnering with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to launch Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards, Patanjali has now announced its Kimbho text and video chat app. The Kimbho app is now available for free download on Google Play and will compete directly with WhatsApp.

The Kimbho chat app is claimed to be AES encrypted and supports ghost chatting and auto-deletion of messages. As far as file support is concerned, the Kimbho platform supports videos, photos, doodle, stickers, GIF among others.

Moody Cuts Growth Forecast

Moody's Investors Service cut India's 2018 growth forecast to 7.3% from the previous estimate of 7.5%, saying the economy is in cyclical recovery but higher oil prices and tighter financial conditions will weigh on the pace of acceleration.

Infosys Acquires WongDoody

Infosys completed the acquisition of WongDoody Holding Company, a US-based digital creative and consumer insights agency, for a total consideration of up to $75 million.

Through this acquisition, Infosys enhances its digital experience services ecosystem with services ranging from strategy, design and user experience, to creative and digital marketing across the customer experience value chain.

India Inks Loan Agreement with World Bank

Union Government has signed agreement for IBRD Credit of US $21.7 million from World Bank for strengthening of Public Financial Management in Rajasthan Project. The Implementing Entity Agreement for the project was signed by Secretary, Finance (Budget) on behalf of Government of Rajasthan, and Acting Country Director (India) on behalf of World Bank.

Major Relief to Reliance Communications

In a major relief to Reliance Communications, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) stayed insolvency proceedings against the debt-laden company, paving the way for sale of RCom's assets worth Rs. 25,000 crore to Reliance Jio.

This was after the Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson, an unsecured creditor of RCom, agreed to an out-of-court settlement with RCom for Rs. 550 crore against its claims of Rs. 1,150 crore.

SBI Hikes Deposit Rates

State Bank of India has raised retail fixed deposit rates by 5 to 15 basis points on two maturities. Deposit rates (less than Rs. 1 crore) from one year to less than two years have been raised by 15 bps to 6.65%, while those for two years to less than three years have been increased by 5 bps to 6.65%. The new rates came into effect from May 28, 2018.

May 30, 2018

Aditya Puri on Barron's Top Global CEOs List

HDFC Bank Ltd's Managing Director Aditya Puri has been named in the Barron's list of Top 30 Global CEOs.

Puri has been named in Barron's for the third consecutive year and he is the only Indian in the list.

The magazine divided the CEOs into three categories -Visionary Founders, Growth Leaders, and Turnaround Experts. Puri has been featured in the Growth Leaders category.

Coal India Net Plunges

Coal India Ltd. saw a 52% decline in net profit in the fourth quarter from Rs. 2,718.8 crore to Rs. 1,295.3 crore in the January to March period of 2017-18. Operational income rose by Rs. 2,057.7 crore to Rs. 26,909.2 crore during this period.

Acquisition of Bankruptcy-hit Ruchi Soya

Adani Wilmar has reportedly increased its bid to acquire bankruptcy-hit Ruchi Soya. Adani has revised its bids upwards to about Rs. 4,350 crore and a fund infusion of Rs. 1,700 crore following Patanjali's bid of Rs. 4,300 crore and fund infusion of Rs. 1,700 crore.

Apart from Patanjali and Adani, the other companies which have shown interest in acquiring Ruchi Soya are Emami Agrotech and Godrej Agrovet.

BHEL Profit Doubles

State-owned power equipment maker BHEL posted more than doubling of its standalone net profit for the March quarter on higher sales.

Fortis to Seek Fresh Bids

The board of Fortis Healthcare Ltd. has decided to initiate a fresh, time-bound bidding process for the takeover of the company.

The board's decision comes in the wake of a letter received from Hero Enterprise Investment Office and the Burman Family Office (Munjal-Burman consortium), enabling the board to initiate a fresh bidding process.

May 29, 2018

Sterlite Copper Sealed

Sterlite Copper, the Vedanta Group's copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi, was sealed shortly after the Tamil Nadu Environment and Forests Department issued a two-page Government Order for its "permanent" closure.

RBI's First CFO

Sudha Balakrishnan, a former vice president at National Securities Depository Ltd., assumed charge as the first Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Ms. Balakrishnan is tasked to oversee several portfolios including government and bank accounts, corporate strategy and budget and will report to Deputy Governors Viral Acharya and B. P. Kanungo.

Losses Incurred by Public Sector Banks

Twenty-one public sector banks (PSBs) have incurred losses totalling to Rs. 25,775 crore due to banking frauds in the financial year 2017-18.

Patanjali Enters Telecom Sector

After becoming India's most trusted fast moving consumer goods brand, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali entered the telecom sector.

Baba Ramdev launched Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards, in alliance with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

Initially, only the employees and office bearers of Patanjali will be able to avail the benefits of the SIM card.

May 28, 2018

Second IT Corridor in China

India launched its second IT corridor in China to cash in on the burgeoning Chinese software market which remained elusive despite the presence of top Indian technology firms.

Agreements worth RMB 36 million (about USD six million) were signed between Indian service providers and Chinese customers at the launch of the corridor by China's Guiyang Municipal government and the NASSCOM.

Dozens of Companies Line Up to Go Public

Three dozen companies have lined up initial share sale plans worth Rs. 35,000 crore in the coming months, largely to fund expansion projects and working capital requirements.

The list includes six state-run entities.

FPIs Pull Out $4 Billion

Foreign portfolio investors have pulled out $4 billion (more than Rs. 26,700 crore) from capital markets so far this month, primarily due to the surge in global crude prices. In April, they had taken out more than Rs. 15,500 crore from capital markets (equity and debt), which was the steepest outflow in 16 months.

IndiGo and Air India Express Among Cheapest Airlines

Low-cost carriers IndiGo and Air India Express have been ranked among the top five cheapest airlines in the world in providing international connectivity.

Air India Express, the wholly-owned subsidiary of state-run carrier Air India has been ranked second and the budget carrier IndiGo placed at fifth position in a Global Flight Pricing Report prepared by Melbourne-based Rome2rio.

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