General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2017

Dec 2017

Jun 02, 2023

Aegon Life Launches Insurance Cover for Surrogate Mothers, Egg Donors

Aegon Life launched the first life insurance cover for surrogate mothers and egg-donors, effectively backing their financial well-being. This initiative supports the implementation of provisions in the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, spearheaded by India's Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Notably, the coverage provides a life cover of three years for surrogate mothers and one a year for egg donors to provide protection against any life-threatening complications arising out of the said procedures.
Aegon Life is digital India's life insurance company and claims to have pioneered the online term insurance plan in India.

Ashwani Kumar New MD & CEO of UCO Bank

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of Ashwani Kumar, Executive Director, Indian Bank as Managing Director and CEO of UCO Bank.
Kumar replaced Soma Sankara Prasad, who superannuated on May 31. Prasad was in December 2021 appointed as MD & CEO of UCO Bank.
Ashwani Kumar will lead the public sector bank for period of three years.
Kumar will also be eligible for extension of the term of office, after a review of his performance, by two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Kumar, a chartered accountant, rose through ranks serving various offices of five public sector banks -- Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank and Indian Bank.

Jun 01, 2023

Union Cabinet Approves CITIIS 2.0 with a Focus on Circular Economy

In a push to support projects promoting a circular economy and climate-oriented reform actions, the Union Cabinet approved the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0). The scheme will run for a period of four years from 2023 to 2027.
CITIIS 2.0 aims to leverage and scale up the learnings of CITIIS 1.0, which was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with a total outlay of Rs. 933 crore.
Announcing the scheme, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the programme would include the construction of a circular economy with related projects such as combined waste management, climate change observatories, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the national level. The three components of CITIIS 2.0 include financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities.
The funding for CITIIS 2.0 would include a loan of 200 million euros or Rs. 1,760 crore with AFD and German development bank KfW contributing 100 million euros each, and a technical assistance grant of 12 million euros or Rs. 106 crore from the EU.

TWE Group GmbH, Obeetee Textiles Set up Strategic JV for Nonwovens

TWE group GmbH, an international nonwoven solutions company, acquired a 50 per cent stake in Obeetee Textiles (OTL), a subsidiary of one of India's oldest and largest carpet makers, as part of a strategic joint venture.
TWE OBT, the 50:50 joint venture (JV), will seek growth in the Indian market for nonwovens, which are engineered fabric products. For the 50 per cent holding in the JV, TWE has invested 11.5 million euros in cash.
The JV will set up a new facility to manufacture nonwoven products for the health and hygiene sector, a fast-growing segment.
TWE was in 2022 the fifth biggest importer of nonwovens for the Indian market and the JV would allow it to enter manufacturing in the country. TWE will provide technical knowledge for the hygiene business to the JV.

Yes Bank Launches New Logo and Campaign

YES Bank unveiled its refreshed brand identity claiming it to resonate with the evolving needs and aspirations of customers.
The bank's new design is with the intent of going beyond just ticking the boxes and enabling people to live each day to the fullest.
During an event to launch the new campaign, "Life Ko Banao Rich," MD and CEO Prashant Kumar explained that the latest identity will be implemented across all client touchpoints of the bank, such as headquarters, branches, products, digital platforms, and communication materials.

May 31, 2023

ADB Launches India Strategy for 2023-27; Focus on Employment Creation, Green Growth

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) rolled out its 2023-27 country partnership strategy for India that identifies accelerating structural transformation and job creation, promoting climate-resilient growth, and deepening social and economic inclusiveness as key focus areas.
India currently ranks amongst the fastest-growing major global economies after it rebounded quickly from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. The nation needs to accelerate and sustain inclusive growth by tackling certain crucial challenges in infrastructure and human development, income and regional disparities, and vulnerability to climate change and natural hazards.

RBI Penalises Central Bank of India

The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs. 84.50 lakh on Central Bank of India for non-compliance with certain provisions of norms related to frauds classification and reporting.
The Reserve Bank had conducted statutory inspection for supervisory evaluation of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021.
Examination of the reports revealed that the public sector lender had failed to report as fraud to RBI certain accounts within seven days of decision of Joint Lenders' Forum (JLF) to declare the accounts as fraud.

May 30, 2023

Tamil Nadu Signs Business Pacts with Japanese Companies

The Tamil Nadu government signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth Rs. 818.90 crore with Japanese firms during Chief Minister M. K. Stalin's visit to that country.
A total of six MoUs were signed in Tokyo in the fields of automotive spares, construction engineering, metals used in space and defense, and construction.
The companies in Japan that signed the MoUs included KyoKuto Satrac, Mitsuba, Shimizu Corporation, Kohyei, Sato-Shoji Metal Works, and Tofle.
Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state's nodal agency for investment promotion and single-window facilitation, signed the memoranda on behalf of the state government.

Indian Firm Gets Approval for 2nd Hydropower Project in Nepal

Investment Board Nepal, led by the Prime Minister, announced the approval of a project development agreement with SJVN Ltd for the development of a 669 MW hydropower project known as 'Lower Arun Hydro Project'.
It is expected that the development of this transformative project of 669 megawatt capacity will contribute significantly to the economic and social development of the country in the context of exporting all the energy of its production and completing the construction on time.
The decision was made during a high-level meeting attended by Nepal's PM, Minister of Finance, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Minister of Forest and Environment and others.
SJVN Ltd is a joint venture between the central government and the state of Himachal Pradesh. Its subsidiary is already executing a massive project in Nepal — 900 MW Arun-3 Hydro Electric Project — which is slated to be completed in 2024. When completed, it will be Nepal's largest hydro project.
The Indian company also has another project in Nepal — the 490 MW Arun-4 hydro electric project for which an MoU was signed last May — in the pipeline. In total, SJVN Ltd has three ongoing hydropower projects in Nepal with a combined capacity of 2,059 MW.

Indian Bank Joins ICCL as Clearing and Settlement Bank

Indian Bank was selected as a Clearing and Settlement Bank by the Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd (ICCL). As a result, this public sector bank is now authorised to provide banking services to members of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for clearing and settlement operations.
The bank mentioned that clearing members can now establish settlement accounts with them for the purpose of fund settlement in the equity derivatives segment.
Furthermore, the bank is actively considering extending this facility to the members of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Razorpay Unveils India's Fastest One-step Payments Solution 'Turbo UPI'

Razorpay launched 'Turbo UPI' which the fintech unicorn says is India's fastest one-step UPI (unified payments interface) payment solution. This new product allows customers of online merchants to make UPI payments directly without getting redirected to a third-party UPI app during checkout.
Razorpay Turbo UPI aims to deliver a 5X faster payment experience. It streamlines the payment process and eliminates any redirection to external apps. This helps businesses achieve a significant increase in the success rate of UPI payments by 10 per cent.
This solution was developed in partnership with NPCI and Axis Bank.
Razorpay has been powering innovations on UPI since 2017. These range from launching payment acceptance for UPI in 2017 to introducing the UPI Autopay feature to enabling CC on UPI.

May 29, 2023

Karnataka Bank Appoints Srikrishnan Harihara Sarma as New MD

The Mangaluru-headquartered private sector Karnataka Bank appointed Srikrishnan Harihara Sarma as the new Managing Director and CEO of the Bank. The appointment is effective from the date of his assuming charge and will last for a period of three years. Sarma has four decades of experience in commercial, retail and transactional banking, technology and payments.
He has previously held key positions at HDFC Bank Limited, Yes Bank Limited and Jio Payments Bank Limited.

Adani Wilmar Enters Whole Wheat Market in India under its Brand Fortune

Adani Wilmar entred into the whole wheat market with its brand Fortune. It will offer several wheat varieties, including Sharbati, Poorna 1544, Lokwan, and MP Grade 1 in Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The company aims to increase its market share and expand its presence into high-value metro markets such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Surat and Ahmedabad.

PhonePe: The First Payment App to Link 2 Lakh Rupay Credit Cards to UPI

PhonePe became the first digital payments app to successfully enable the linkage of two lakh RuPay credit cards to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). In addition, PhonePe also processed a total payment value (TPV) of Rs. 150 crore via RuPay credit on UPI. TPV refers to the total transaction value processed through the platform in a given time period.
The company has already enabled the acceptance of RuPay Credit Cards on UPI across 12 million merchant outlets in the country, achieving the highest merchant penetration in the ecosystem. This widespread acceptance has ensured that customers have ample opportunities to utilize their Rupay credit cards for transactions through UPI.

Equitas SFB Collaborates with IBM to Build Digital Banking Platform

Equitas Small Finance Bank signed an agreement with IBM Consulting to design and build a digital banking platform aimed at providing a secure experience to customers.
The collaboration between the two entities aims at boosting the digital products offered by Equitas as well as its service offerings, as it evolves its business for a digital-first generation.
As part of the next growth phase, Equitas aims to commence its modernisation journey with a cloud-native platform architecture. The bank's delivery model would be highly product-centric, moving away from traditional program management methodologies to agile frameworks for the various channels including mobile.

RBI Approves Merger of Maratha Co-op Bank with Cosmos Co-op Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted approval for the voluntary Scheme of Amalgamation of Maratha Sahakari Bank with The Cosmos Co-operative Bank. The merger took effect from May 29, 2023, as announced by the RBI. This decision came after Maratha Sahakari Bank, established in 1946 with seven branches in Mumbai, had been placed under regulatory directions by the central bank since August 31, 2016. The Scheme was sanctioned under the authority of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The Maratha Sahakari Bank, a prominent co-operative bank in Mumbai, has faced regulatory intervention by the RBI since 2016. Under the Directions imposed by the central bank, the bank's operations were closely monitored and regulated. The decision to merge with The Cosmos Co-operative Bank represents a strategic move to ensure the stability and continued services of the Maratha Sahakari Bank.
The Cosmos Co-operative Bank, an urban co-operative bank operating across multiple states, boasts a network of 140 branches. With deposits and advances amounting to Rs. 16,522 crore and Rs. 12,293 crore, respectively, as of March-end 2022, Cosmos Co-operative Bank has a strong financial position and a well-established presence in the co-operative banking sector.

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