General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - January 2018

Jan 2018

Nov 07, 2023

Reliance Retail to acquire Arvind Fashions' Beauty Retail Business

Reliance Retail has entered into the fast-growing beauty business with Tira, an omnichannel beauty retail platform.
Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) is buying Arvind Beauty Brands Retail, a subsidiary of Arvind Fashions that runs the Sephora India business for ₹99 crore.
This acquisition follows earlier reports in local media suggesting that Sephora and Reliance Retail had terminated discussions regarding a potential retail partnership in the Indian market.
Reliance Retail, in response, launched its own beauty retail platform, Tira, in April, positioning itself to compete with established players like Nykaa and the Tata Group.

RBI imposes penalties on Punjab National Bank, Federal Bank

Reserve Bank of India imposed monetary penalties on Punjab National Bank, Federal Bank, Kosamattam Finance, and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services India for rule violations.
The central bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 72 lakh on PNB, Rs 30 lakh on Federal Bank, Rs 13.38 lakh on Kosamattam Finance.
PNB received the penalty due to several violations, including levying SMS charges on certain accounts despite maintaining invalid mobile numbers in the Core Banking Solution.

HSBC India launches e-bank guarantee services for MSMEs

The move is aimed to digitize trade and ease the guarantee issuance process digitally with the introduction of e-stamping and e-signing. With the new solution, the applicant will be able to instantly view a bank guarantee on the NeSL portal.
Private sector lender HSBC India has launched electronic bank guarantee services for its MSMEs and corporate clients in association with National E-Governance Services Ltd (NeSL) to replace the conventional time-intensive paper-based bank guarantee.
NeSL, under the aegis of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 serves as a repository of legal evidence holding the information about any debt/claim, as submitted by the financial or operational creditor and verified and authenticated by the parties to the debt.
The e-guarantees will reduce the transaction cycle time from 2-3 days to a few minutes. The e-bank guarantee will also provide secure and swift options and avoid pitfalls of the paper-based guarantee process.

Nov 06, 2023

Intel announced collaboration with eight Indian electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companie...

The Indian companies joining forces with Intel include Bhagwati Products Ltd, Dixon Technologies India Ltd, Kaynes Technology India Ltd, Optiemus Electronics Ltd, Panache Digilife Ltd, Smile Electronics Ltd, Syrma SGS Technology Ltd, and VVDN Technologies Private Ltd.
For some of these companies, this venture represents their inaugural entry into the laptop manufacturing arena. The collaboration between Intel and the Indian manufacturing ecosystem aims to equip these firms to meet both domestic and global demand for laptops.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, "I am very pleased that global organisations like Intel are partnering with India, helping to build and catalyse the electronics manufacturing ecosystem for laptops and compute.
This aligns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to drive India's Digital Economy to $1 Trillion and enable the electronics manufacturing ecosystem to contribute $300 billion by 2025-26."

Nov 04, 2023

EESL Launched 'National Efficient Cooking Programme' To Transform Cooking Practices In India

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of Public Sector Undertakings under the Ministry of Power, unveiled two groundbreaking initiatives, the National Efficient Cooking Programme (NECP) and the Energy Efficient Fans Programme (EEFP) on November 2, 2023, in New Delhi.

RBI Prescribe Norms For Closure Of DCCB Branches

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently made an important announcement regarding District Central Co-operative Banks (DCCBs).
These banks are now permitted to close their un-remunerative branches without seeking prior permission from the central bank, although they will require approval from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of the respective state. This decision aims to streamline the functioning of DCCBs and ensure that the process of branch closure is carried out responsibly and transparently.

Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated SBI's branch in Trincomalee

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has inaugurated the State Bank of India's branch in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.
Governor of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka Senthil Thondaman, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay, and SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara graced the event.
Recognizing SBI's 159-year-long presence, Mrs. Sitharaman praised its commitment to growth at home and abroad, especially during the Sri Lankan economic crisis.
SBI's endeavors facilitated the smooth extension of a Line of Credit worth 1 billion dollars by the Government of India to Sri Lanka.
SBI Sri Lanka has been a pivotal support for international trade corporations and has actively bolstered remittance activities through a robust digital platform.

RBI launches two key surveys for monetary policy inputs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the introduction of two crucial surveys, namely the 'Inflation Expectations Survey of Households' and the 'Consumer Confidence Surveynetary'.
They're aimed at gathering essential data for the upcoming bi-monthly monetary policy. The next monetary policy review is scheduled to take place from December 6-8.

Nov 03, 2023

Zurich Insurance Company to acquire 51% stake in Kotak General Insurance

Zurich Insurance Company to acquire 51% stake in Kotak General Insurance
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Thursday announced that Zurich Insurance Company Ltd will acquire 51% stake in Kotak General Insurance for ₹4,051 crore.
Kotak Mahindra Bank and Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company have entered into definitive agreements with Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, whereby Zurich will invest approximately ₹4,051 crore to acquire a 51% stake in Kotak General Insurance, the private sector lender said in a release.

BoB Appoints 'Kadgatoor Sheetal Venkatesmurt' As Head Of Digital Channels

Bank of Baroda (BOB) is facing a significant change in its digital leadership as Akhil Handa, the head of digital lending, has decided to leave the organization.
Handa was a key figure in the development of BOB's mobile banking application 'bob World,' but his departure comes in the wake of regulatory restrictions imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

SBI Card Partners With Reliance Retail To Introduce 'Reliance SBI Card'

SBI Card and Reliance Retail came together to launch the co-branded Reliance SBI Card.
The lifestyle-focused credit card will offer a holistic and rewarding shopping experience to customers.
Aim: To leverage the extensive network of SBI Card with the vast consumer reach and unique retail proposition of Reliance Retail to bring a spectrum of exclusive rewards.
To unlock rewards and benefits while transacting at Reliance Retail's extensive and many more.

Nov 02, 2023

Fincare SFB to merge with AU Small Finance Bank

Fincare Small Finance Bank (Fincare SFB) is set to merge with AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) from 1 February 2024.
As per the terms of the merger, the share exchange ratio for the amalgamation shall be 579 equity shares of face value of ₹10 each of AU SFB for every 2,000 equity shares of face value of ₹10 each of Fincare SFB.
Following the transaction, it is expected that existing shareholders of Fincare SFB will maintain approximately 9.9% ownership in AU SFB.
Fincare Small Finance Bank, a digitally enabled small finance bank, offers a broad range of deposit and asset solutions to its customers, with a total customer base of approximately 54 lakh.
It has 1,292 banking branches in 23 states and Union territories and is expected to have a total branch count of 2,334 by the completion of the merger.
The merged entity is expected to serve approximately 98 lakh customers and employ around 43,000 people by the end of September 2023, with a combined balance sheet size of more than Rs 1,1 lakh crores.

Nokia Partners with TATA Play Fiber to Launch India's First WiFi6

• Nokia has teamed up with broadband provider Tata Play Fiber to roll out India's first WiFi6-ready broadband network.
• As part of the deal, the Finnish gear maker will provide Tata Play Fiber with a variety of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and WiFi equipment, including optical line terminal (OLT) and optical network terminal (ONT) with WiFi6.
• The partnership with Nokia allows us to bring Wi-Fi6-ready network to our customers - which is a first in the category.

IIT Roorkee and THDC sign MoU for Collaborative Translational Research and Development

According to a press release by IIT Roorkee, the MoU outlines the commitment of both institutions to engage in a wide array of research activities. THDC India Limited (THDCIL), a power generation company, and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee signed an MoU for Collaborative Translational Research and Development.
According to a press release by IIT Roorkee, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlines the commitment of both institutions to engage in a wide array of research activities, encompassing domains such as Energy Conservation, Alternatives to Li-Ion Storage Batteries, Nano Technology for Electric Vehicle Battery, Green Hydrogen, Geo-Thermal Technology, Climate Change, waste management and recycling, water management and conservation, Vortex induced vibrations, Tunnelling techniques, Bio Fuels, Grid Stability Improvements, and various other pertinent fields, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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