General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2017

Dec 2017

May 05, 2022

Andy Jassy To Officially Become Next Amazon CEO

Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon in 1994, officially stepped down and former AWS executive Andy Jassy took over as the CEO of the commerce behemoth. Jassy joined Amazon in 1997 and, prior to founding AWS, held various leadership roles across the company, including both business-to-business and business-to-consumer.
AWS, which is the Cloud arm of Amazon, logged a $54 billion annualised run rate -- a 32 per cent year-over-year growth -- in March quarter in 2022.Bezos is also the founder of aerospace company Blue Origin, which is working to lower the cost and increase the safety of spaceflight, and he is owner of the Washington Post. He launched two philanthropic organisations.

RBI Monetary Policy: RBI Hikes Repo Rate by 40 bps to 4.40 per cent

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held between May 2-4, 2022 decided to increase the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.40 per cent with immediate effect from 4.00% earlier. RBI also hiked the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4.50 per cent. In an unscheduled meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, the central bank, however, retained the accommodative monetary policy. The sudden RBI move — the first hike after August 2018 — is expected to push up interest rates in the banking system. Equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on home, vehicle and other personal and corporate loans are likely to go up. Deposit rates, mainly fixed term rates, are also set to rise.
All six members of the MPC unanimously voted for a rate hike while maintaining the accommodative stance. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the decision was taken in view of rising inflation, geopolitical tensions, high crude oil prices and shortage of commodities globally, which have impacted the Indian economy.

Aviation Minister Grants Rights to GMR to Operate Hyderabad Airport for 30 Years

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) granted rights to the GMR Group to operate the Hyderabad international airport for 30 more years. Till date, the GMR Group had the rights to operate the Hyderabad airport till March 22, 2038. The airport was inaugurated on March 23, 2008.
The initial capacity of the airport was 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA), which went up to 21 MPPA in 2019 (pre-Covid). The airport, at present, is undergoing major expansion, post which the capacity will get enhanced to 34 MPPA. The airport has 150,000 tons of cargo handling capacity per annum.
The airport master plan has the flexibility to increase the ultimate capacity to over 100 MPPA in phases.

HDFC ERGO Launches 'Pay as You Drive' Program

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launched its 'Pay as you Drive' program; an insurance solution that offers distance-based insurance to reduce upfront costs of premium. This policy will be best suited for those customers who prefer to drive less or have multiple cars with some of those driven less than the others.
A lot of customers do not use their vehicles frequently and end up paying the same insurance premiums as daily vehicle users. The "Pay as you drive" program brings the opportunity to pay a premium based on the actual usage of the car. The driving distance will be measured with the assistance of a telematics device in the vehicle, enabling customers to save between 10-20% of their 'Own Damage' premium based on the distance slabs chosen by the customer.

May 04, 2022

RBI Board Approves Nomination of Rajiv Ranjan as Ex-officio Member of Monetary Policy Committee

The 595th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India was held through video conferencing under the Chairmanship of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
The Board approved the nomination of Executive Director Rajiv Ranjan as an ex-officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee. In addition to Deputy Governors and other Directors of the Central Board, Department of Economic Affairs, Secretary, Ajay Seth was also present in the meeting.

Swiggy Ties up with Garuda Aerospace for Drone Delivery Trials in NCR & Bengaluru

Swiggy entered into a partnership with Garuda Aerospace to begin trial runs for using drones to send groceries in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. The pilot project will assess the viability of using drones in Swiggy's grocery delivery service Instamart. Drones will be used to replenish inventory between seller-run dark stores and a "common customer point." A delivery partner will then pick up orders from the "common point" and deliver them to the customer.
Currently valued at $250 million, Garuda Aerospace is among India's leading drone startups with plans to manufacture a lakh drones in India by 2024 and provide a drone tech services. Garuda Aerospace manufacturing facilities in Gurgaon and Chennai were inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of "Garuda Aerospace kisan Drone yatra" which saw 100 drones taking off simultaneously in 100 villages across the country.

International Research Conference on Insolvency and Bankruptcy

The first two-day International Research Conference on Insolvency and Bankruptcy was organised by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA).
The Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Planning and Corporate Affairs, Rao Inderjit Singh, highlighted the journey of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and praised the significant contribution it made by establishing a framework and effective ecosystem for insolvency resolution in the economy.
The concluding day saw panel discussions on reforms in insolvency regime, insolvency and bankruptcy resolutions. The conference also included a workshop on data driven insolvency research, aiming to provide researchers extensive exposure to data that are currently available for such research and emerging future developments.

Neobank Open Becomes 100th Unicorn of India, Raises $50 Mn From IIFL

The countdown for 100 unicorns had begun early in 2022 itself but the Russian attack on Ukraine had paused the start-ups' rush to touch the $1-billion valuation. Finally, neobanking fintech Open, founded by Anish Achuthan and close family members including wife Mabel Chacko, entered the club, making it a ton, according to Inc42's unicorn tracker.
It's been a long journey—more than a decade-- to 100 unicorns for India. Mobile advertising platform InMobi was the first unicorn announced in 2011.
NITI Aayog, which has championed many of the start-up flagship projects, called it a fantastic feat.

Arvind Krishna Elected to Board of New York Federal Reserve

IBM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna was elected to the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In his current and former roles, Krishna led the building and expansion of new markets for IBM in cloud, artificial intelligence, blockchain, and quantum computing. He also played a significant role in the development of innovative IBM products and solutions based on these emerging technologies.
Arvind Krishna, who has an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, previously was senior vice president of Cloud and Cognitive Software. He also headed IBM Research and was the general manager of IBM Systems and Technology Group's development and manufacturing organisation.

Adani Wilmar Acquires 'Kohinoor', other Brands to Strengthen Food Business

Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) announced the acquisition of several brands, including the renowned 'Kohinoor' brand from McCormick Switzerland GMBH to strengthen its leadership in food business. The deal size was not disclosed.
The acquisition would give AWL exclusive rights over the brand 'Kohinoor' basmati rice along with 'Ready to Cook', 'Ready to Eat' curries and meals portfolio under the Kohinoor brand umbrella in India.
The addition of Kohinoor's domestic brand portfolio strengthens AWL's leadership position in the food FMCG category by augmenting a strong product basket with premium brands along with potential to scale value-added products.

May 03, 2022

India's Jobless Rate Rises to 7.83% in April, Haryana Tops the List: CMIE

India's unemployment rate rose to 7.83% in April from 7.60% in March as per data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The urban unemployment rate rose to 9.22% in April from 8.28% the previous month, while the rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.18% from 7.29%, the data showed.
The highest unemployment rate of 34.5% was recorded in the northern state of Haryana, followed by 28.8% in Rajasthan.
Economists say job opportunities have been hit by sluggish domestic demand and the slow pace of economic recovery amid rising prices.
The data from the Mumbai-based CMIE is closely watched by economists and policymakers as the government does not release its own monthly figures.

Indian Bank Launches Pre-approved Personal Loan under Project WAVE

Public sector Indian Bank unveiled pre-approved personal loan product under Project 'WAVE'. The service available for existing customers and those who hold regular income and pension accounts and PAPL loan product can be availed of through mobile application, bank's website and through internet banking facility. The loan would carry an interest rate of 10 per cent per annum with no foreclosure charges.
Earlier in January 2022, the Chennai-based bank launched the digital transformation initiative - World of Advance Virtual Experience "WAVE".

May 02, 2022

Union Bank Becomes First Public Sector Bank to Go Live on Account Aggregator Framework

Union Bank of India became the first public sector bank to go live on the Account Aggregator (AA) ecosystem. Touted as the UPI moment for lending, the AA framework ensures swift data sharing with the consent of the user and eliminates the need for physical documents.
The framework facilitates sharing of financial information on a real-time basis between regulated entities. AAs are licensed by the Reserve Bank of India to enable the flow of data between Financial Information Providers (FIPs) and Financial Information Users (FIUs).

Star9 Mobility Emerges Highest Bidder for Govt's 51% Stake in Pawan Hans

The government approved selling its 51 per cent stake in helicopter services provider Pawan Hans Ltd (PHL) along with transfer of management control for Rs. 211.14 crore to Star9 Mobility Private Ltd. PHL is a 51:49 joint venture of the government and ONGC providing helicopter and aero mobility services. ONGC had earlier decided to offer its entire shareholding to the successful bidder identified in the GoI strategic disinvestment transaction, on the same price and terms as government.
The Reserve Price for sale of 51 per cent shareholding of PHL was fixed at Rs. 199.92 crore, on the basis of valuation carried out by the transaction adviser and asset valuer.

JioSaavn Appoints Sahas Malhotra as CEO

Music app firm JioSaavn appointed former Amazon Music director and entertainment industry veteran Sahas Malhotra as its new CEO. Malhotra has earlier worked with Sony Music India and Tips Industries.
Founded in 2007 as Saavn, JioSaavn is an audio streaming service for South Asian music and artists. In March 2018, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) acquired a majority stake in the firm. JioSaavn claims to have over 100 million monthly active users.

Khadi Turnover in 2021-22; Beats all FMCG Companies in India

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) exceeded turnover of one lakh crore rupees in 2021-22. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry highlighted that it is the first time when KVIC clocked a massive turnover of one lakh fifteen thousand crore rupees, and has beaten all FMCG companies in the country.
The Ministry informed that, in the Financial Year of 2021-22, the overall turnover of KVIC stood at a whopping over one lakh fifteen thousand crore rupees as compared to over 95,700 crore rupees in the Financial Year of 2020-21. KVIC thus registered a growth of over twenty per cent from the year 2020-21.

World Bank Approves $47 Million for India's Mission Karmayogi Program

The World Bank approved a USD 47 million financial support to the Government of India for Mission Karmayogi, a national program to build civil service capacity. The loan of $47 million provided from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a final maturity of 11 years, including a grace period of 4.5 years.
Mission Karmayogi was launched by Union Cabinet on September 2, 2020.

May 01, 2022

Pencilton Introduces Contactless RuPay Card in the form of Keychain

Pencilton, a teen-focused fintech start-up, launched PencilKey, a National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) compliant RuPay contactless keychain, in partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Transcorp. Users can activate and manage their PencilKey through the Pencilton app which is also used to load money, check spends, block/unblock the account, set limits, etc.
PencilKey is linked to the PencilCard which is an all-in-one prepaid card, metro card, and bus card. PencilKey is equipped with the benefits of NCMC which works at the Delhi Airport Metro line and Goa's buses currently.
It is also scheduled to be accepted for metro travel in Pune, Chennai & Mumbai as well as in BEST buses in Mumbai. According to Pencilton, the virtual PencilCard comes for free.
Users can buy their PencilKey for Rs. 150 and PencilCard for Rs. 100, but as part of the company's launch offer, users can also buy a PencilKit (combo) which includes both PencilCard and PencilKey for Rs. 200.

JM Financial Elevates Sonia Dasgupta as CEO of Investment Banking

JM Financial, a diversified financial services group, elevated Sonia Dasgupta as Chief Executive Officer of Investment Banking. In the new role, she will lead the strategic initiatives and accelerate growth for the business.
Dasgupta succeeded Adi Patel and Atul Mehra who were Co-Heads of Investment Banking business till date.

IDBI Bank Board Approves Appointment of Two Govt. Nominee Directors

IDBI Bank's board approved the appointment of two government nominee directors with immediate effect.
The government nominee directors are Manoj Sahay, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor, and Sushil Kumar Singh, Director, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
Sahay, a 1994 batch IA&AS officer, presently handles six departments -- revenue, expenditure, economic affairs, financial services, DIPAM and public enterprises.
Singh is an officer of 2006 batch of Indian Defence Accounts Service.

Bruce de Broize Appointed as CEO of Future Generali India Life Insurance

Generali Asia appointed Bruce de Broize as MD and CEO of Future Generali India Life Insurance (FGILI). He takes over from Miranjit Mukherjee who served as interim CEO since September 2021. He was the Regional Head of Distribution for Generali Asia based in Hong Kong for over five years. In March, Generali became the majority shareholder of the Indian life insurance joint venture after getting all regulatory approvals.
Broize has a career spanning over 34 years of life and P&C insurance experience. He has also held a range of senior leadership roles to drive strategic initiatives across Asia. Prior to this, Broize was the regional head of distribution for Generali Asia based in Hong Kong where he oversaw life, health and p&c distribution for Generali's operations across China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.

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