General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2017

Dec 2017

May 15, 2022

Tata Sons appoints Campbell Wilson as CEO and MD of Air India

The Tata Group appointed Campbell Wilson, the CEO of Singapore Airlines' wholly-owned low-cost subsidiary Scoot, as Air India's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD). The Mumbai-based conglomerate completed its acquisition of the state-owned national carrier in January, and has been searching for a person to lead the airline's turnaround plan.
Wilson will join Air India's board of directors, currently comprising Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, alongside Hindustan Unilever CEO & MD Sanjiv Mehta and former General Insurance Corporation chairperson Alice Vaidyan, who are both independent directors.
Christchurch-born Wilson is a career executive with the Singapore Airlines group, where he started working as a management trainee in New Zealand in 1996. He then worked for SIA in Canada, Hong Kong and Japan before returning to Singapore in 2011 as the founding CEO of Scoot, which he led until 2016.

Sanjiv Bajaj Assumes Charge as CII President

Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv Limited, assumed office as the president of CII for 2022-23. He takes over from T. V. Narendran, CEO and managing director of Tata Steel Limited. Sanjiv has been engaged with CII for many years at the State, Regional and National level. He was the President-Designate for 2021-22 and the Chairman of the Western Region during 2019-20. Bajaj is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, US.
He is a member of the board of Indian School of Business (ISB); Member of the International Advisory Board, Allianz SE and the International Technology Advisory Panel of Monetary Authority of Singapore and Regional Stewardship Board for India and South Asia 2019-2020 of the World Economic Forum.

American Express Appoints Manoj Adlakha as SVP and International Head, Customer Marketing and San...

American Express announced the appointment of Manoj Adlakha as Senior Vice-President and International Head of Customer Marketing, as well as stated that Sanjay Khanna, who is currently the Chief Operating Officer, will take over as the interim CEO of India. Adlakha will be responsible for advancing the customer engagement strategy and contributing to the revenue growth by driving customer's share of wallet across its key international markets. He will continue to work from India.
During his three-decade career over two stints at American Express, Adlakha has held strategic positions across Risk Operations, Strategic Planning, Finance, Commercial and Consumer Cards in the company.

May 14, 2022

Food, Oil Prices Push Inflation to 8-year High

Fuelled by high food and oil prices, retail inflation soared to an eight-year high of 7.79 per cent in April from 6.95 per cent in March, in what has been the fastest expansion since September 2014. The fresh figures also meant that consumer price-based inflation (CPI) was above the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit of 4 to 6 per cent for the fourth consecutive month. It was 4.23 per cent in April 2021. In fact, retail inflation has remained above 6 per cent since January 2022.
Food inflation, which accounts for nearly half the consumer price index (CPI) basket, reached a high in April and is poised to remain elevated due to higher vegetable and cooking oil prices as well as the higher freight costs due to high rate of diesel at the pump.

Apple Discontinues iPod after a more than Two Decade Run

Apple announced that it would discontinue the iPod Touch, the last remnant of a product line that first went on sale in October 2001. The touch-screen model, which launched in 2007, will remain on sale until supplies run out. Apple released dozens of versions of the iPod over the years, but the product was gradually eclipsed by its other devices, especially the iPhone. That led the company to begin phasing out models in 2014. At the time, the company stopped making the iPod classic, a version with a click wheel and small screen that was most similar to the original version. In 2017, Apple stopped making its smallest music players, the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.
With so many other ways to get music, Apple no longer sees the product as necessary.

Saudi Aramco Overtakes Apple Inc. as the World's most Valuable Company

Oil giant Saudi Aramco dethroned Apple Inc. to become the world's most valuable company, underscoring the recent surge in oil prices that have boosted the energy giant. Aramco traded near its highest level on record, with a market capitalization of about $2.43 trillion, surpassing that of Apple for the first time since 2020. The iPhone maker fell 5.2% to close at $146.50 per share, giving it a valuation of $2.37 trillion.
Even if the move proves short-lived and Apple retakes the top spot again, the role reversal underscores the power of major forces coursing through the global economy. Soaring oil prices, while great for profits at Aramco, are exacerbating rising inflation that is forcing the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at the fastest pace in decades.

May 13, 2022

Morgan Stanley Slashes India's Growth Forecasts

American brokerage Morgan Stanley cut its India growth estimate by 30 basis points for 2022-23 and 2023-24 on global headwinds, and warned that macro stability indicators like inflation are set to "worsen" going ahead.
It expects India to clock a real GDP growth of 7.6% in the current fiscal, as against its earlier estimate of 7.9% and 6.7% in FY24 against 7% forecast earlier. Many analysts have been worried about the impact on the GDP growth as a result of the ongoing geopolitical events. Global slowdown, surging crude oil prices, and weak domestic demand would take a toll on Asia's third-largest economy, said Morgan Stanley.

Biggest White Diamond Ever Auctioned 'The Rock' Sold for $18.8 Million

The Rock, the biggest white diamond ever auctioned, sold for a hammer price of 18.6 million Swiss francs ($18.8 million), far short of the record for such a jewel.
The 228.31-carat stone, larger than a golf ball, was sold by Christie's auction house in Geneva. The world record for a white diamond still stands at $33.7 million, fetched in the Swiss city in 2017 for a 163.41-carat gem.
The Rock, a perfectly symmetrical pear-shaped diamond, was in the hands of an unnamed owner from North America. It was bought by a telephone bidder following the action at the Hotel des Bergues.

ICICI Bank Ties up with Santander for India-UK Business Ease

One of India's leading private sector banks, ICICI Bank, tied up with Santander bank in Britain in a pact aimed at facilitating the banking requirements of corporates operating across both countries. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between ICICI and Santander UK Plc, signed in Mumbai, is designed to establish a framework of partnership between the banks to meet the financial service requirements of corporate customers operating within the India-UK corridor.
ICICI Bank will provide banking solutions across trade, cross-border payments, supply chain, treasury solutions and retail banking to the UK corporates operating in India and Santander UK will support Indian corporates and new age businesses for their banking requirements in the UK.

May 12, 2022

Quoting PAN or Aadhaar must for Deposit, Withdrawal of Rs. 20 lakh, Current Account

The government made it mandatory to quote either PAN or Aadhaar for depositing or withdrawing over Rs. 20 lakh in a financial year or opening of a current account. Furnishing the Permanent Account Number (PAN) or biometric Aadhaar will be mandatory for such high-value deposits or withdrawals from banks in a financial year or opening of a current account or cash credit account with a bank or post office.
Further, the mandatory condition of obtaining PAN for deposit and even for withdrawals would help the government in tracing the movement of cash in the system. All in all, this would tighten the entire process of suspicious cash deposits and withdrawals with the already present TDS provision u/s 194N under the Income-tax Act, 1961.

HDFC Bank Launches 'Xpress Car Loan' Industry's First Digital New Car Loan

HDFC Bank, a private sector lender, introduced 30-minute 'Xpress Car Loans', an end-to-end digital new car loan solution for both existing and non-customers. The bank has integrated its lending application with automobile dealers throughout India. It is the industry's first automotive lending experience, and it is expected to change the way automobile financing is done in India.
The facility will be offered at all of the bank's branches, dealerships, and, eventually, on third-party aggregator platforms.
This comprehensive, faster, more convenient, and inclusive digital journey for car buyers will simplify the automobile purchase process and boost car sales across India, particularly in semi-urban and rural locations.
As it has integrated its lending application with vehicle dealers across India, it anticipates 20%–30% of clients to use this loan facility of up to Rs. 20 lakh.
Currently, the facility is only available for four-wheelers, and it will be gradually extended to include two-wheeler loans.

May 11, 2022

SBI hikes interest rates on bulk term deposits by 40-90 basis point

- Country's largest lender State Bank of India announced a hike of 40-90 basis points in the interest rates on several bulk term deposits. While interest rate on deposits maturing between 7 days and 45 days has been kept unchanged at 3%, those maturing between 46 and 179 days will now attract an interest rate of 3.50% as against 3% earlier. The public sector lender also revised interest rate on bulk term deposits maturing between 180 and 210 days by 40 basis points to 3.50%, as against 3.10% earlier. Deposits maturing between 211 days and less than 1 year will earn an interest of 3.75%, up 45 bps from 3.30%.
- The interest rate on bulk deposits having maturities between 1 year and less than two years has been increased by 40 bps to 4%. For deposits having 2 years to less than 3 years maturity period, the rate has been hiked by 65 bps to 4.25%.
- The interest rate on bulk term deposits for 3 years and up to 10 years has been increased by 90 basis points to 4.50% as against 3.60%.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

August GK, July GK, June GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26