General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - March 2018

Mar 2018

Nov 28, 2022

RBI, UAE Central Bank Discuss Mechanism to Trade in Local Currencies

The central banks of India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are discussing the creation of a mechanism to engage in bilateral trade in local currencies, in order to reduce transaction costs for exporters and importers, India's ambassador to UAE, Sunjay Sudhir, said.
India has prepared a concept paper (regarding rupee-dirham trade) and has shared it with the UAE. UAE's central bank has already designated a nodal person for this. The discussion is now going on between the central banks.
Typically exporters and importers lose money on currency exchange. For instance, during trade, the rupee is first converted into dollars, which is then re-converted into dirhams. In order to avoid this, central banks are discussing the percentage of trade that can be covered through direct rupee-dirham transactions.
UAE is India's third-largest trade partner and second-largest export market. Earlier this year, India and UAE signed a free trade agreement (FTA) that became operational in May.

M&M Financial Services' Board Approves Diwakar Gupta's Appointment

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services' board approved the appointment of Diwakar Gupta as an Independent Director with effect from January 1, 2023.
Gupta, a seasoned banker, has over 48 years of experience in banking and financial services sector.
He was associated with State Bank of India (SBI) for 39 years. He has worked in Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, Asian Development Bank, Manila, and as a member of the expert committee for resolution framework for Covid-19-related stress, constituted by RBI in 2020.
Currently, Gupta is the independent director on the board of companies-- CRISIL Ratings Ltd, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd, Holiday Club Resorts Oy (Finland).

Karnataka Bank Collaborates with Hyundai Construction Equipment India

Karnataka Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hyundai Construction Equipment India, construction and earthmoving equipment manufacturer.
The partnership with Hyundai is expected to broaden the Bank's MSME funding prospects.
This MoU would allow both Hyundai and Karnataka Bank to provide consumers with customised financial solutions. With this tie up, the Bank will be designated as a financial partner and will be able to meet the needs of its customers by providing loans at competitive interest rates for purchase of a wide range of equipments from the product line of Hyundai Construction Equipments India.

India-Gulf Cooperation Council Decide to Pursue Resumption of Free Trade Agreement Negotiations

India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided to pursue resumption of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. Both the sides agreed to expedite conclusion of the requisite legal and technical requirements for formal resumption of the FTA negotiations.
Speaking at the signing ceremony of resumption of India-GCC FTA negotiations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the FTA will be a comprehensive economic partnership that will cover different aspects of trade. He expressed confidence that two sides will set a new benchmark. Mr. Goyal said, GCC is currently India's largest trading partner bloc with bilateral merchandise trade valued at over 154 billion US dollars in the financial year 2021-22. He said, bilateral trade in services between India and the GCC was worth 14 billion US dollars in the last financial year. He said, GCC countries contribute almost 35 per cent of the country's oil imports and 70 per cent of gas imports.
As per Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council Dr. Nayef Falah M. Al-Hajraf, GCC and India are committed to take this relation to a higher level.

Nov 27, 2022

IDFC FIRST Bank Launches FIRSTAP, Country's First Sticker-based Debit Card

IDFC FIRST Bank launched FIRSTAP, the country's first sticker-based debit card, in association with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to facilitate transactions by simply tapping the sticker on a Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled point-of-sale terminal.
The sticker-based Debit Card is one third the size of a regular debit card, thus making the sticker applicable on a wide range of devices and objects, and significantly enhancing customer convenience. Customers can affix the Sticker-based Debit Card on any surface of their choice, such as cell phones, identity cards, wallets, tabs, airpod cases, etc. The object can be used to tap and pay, thus doing away with the need to carry a Debit Card or adapting to wearable devices such as watches and rings or entering a UPI PIN after scanning a QR code.
The touch-free way to pay enables payments in seconds for transactions up to Rs. 5,000 without a PIN, and those beyond that, with a tap and PIN.

PNB Gets Centre's Approval to Divest its Entire Stake in UTI AMC

The Punjab National Bank (PNB) received the government's approval to divest its entire stake in UTI Asset Management Company as part of its non-core asset sale plan to shore up its capital base.
The bank's divestment entire/part stake in UTI Asset Management Company Limited may be in single or multiple tranches subject to compliance of SEBI Regulations/other applicable regulatory guidelines.

Tata Consumer to Buy Bisleri International

Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) will reportedly acquire Bisleri International for an estimated Rs. 6,000-7,000 crore. Ramesh Chauhan, chairman of Bisleri International, does not have a successor to take Bisleri to the next level, according to a report. He has earlier sold brands like Thums Up, Gold Spot, and Limca to Coca-Cola.
Bisleri, which is India's largest packaged water company, is expected to have a turnover of Rs. 2,500 crore with a profit of Rs. 220 crore in FY23.

Nov 26, 2022

SBI Continues to Lead Debit Card Market, HDFC Leads Credit Cards for October 2022

Country's largest lender, State Bank of India continues to dominate the debit cards market in October 2022, with a 29% share, revealed data by 1Lattice (previously PGA Labs).
Cards in circulation in India hit 1 billion as debit cards issuances revive. While the number of credit cards increased by 25 per cent from 62.81 million in June 2021 to 78.7 million in June 2022, debit cards increased by 2 per cent from 906 million to 921.75 million during the same period, according to the Worldline report on digital payments.
In the credit cards market, India's largest private sector bank, HDFC bank led the share with a whopping 21 per cent. The lead was followed by SBI Card (19%), ICICI Bank (17%), Axis Bank (11%), RBL Bank (5%), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (6%), according to 1Lattice data.

Romal Shetty is CEO-designate of Deloitte India

As per reports, senior consultant Romal Shetty was nominated CEO-designate of Deloitte India after a month-long selection process.
The nomination committee, after considering multiple candidates, zeroed in on Shetty, who leads Deloitte's consulting practice in India. The next step is for its Indian equity partners to confirm his candidacy.
Shetty has 20 years of experience in advisory services across large-scale transformation programs covering the business and technology domain and has worked in over 30+ countries across risk and consulting domain.
Shetty's key focus areas are financial and operational turnaround, customer experience, product innovation, revenue management, analytics, business continuity, risk management, cost reduction, managed services and process reengineering.
He is a Fellow Member of the ICAI and a Certified Information Systems Auditor.

DPIIT Launches Start-up Applications for Registration on MAARG Portal

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) launched start-up applications for registration on the MAARG portal, the National Mentorship Platform by Start-up India.
The purpose of the application is to provide further boost to the start-up ecosystem by catalysing the start-up culture and building a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
MAARG portal, (Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience and Growth) is a one stop platform to facilitate mentorship for start-ups across diverse sectors, functions, stages, geographies, and backgrounds.
The MAARG is being operationalized in three phases which include, Mentor Onboarding, Start-up Onboarding, and MAARG Portal Launch and Mentor Matchmaking.

Nov 25, 2022

HDFC Bank Elevates Bharucha as Deputy MD, Appoints Zaveri as ED

HDFC Bank, the largest private-sector lender in the country, decided to elevate Kaizad Bharucha as Deputy Managing Director and appoint Bhavesh Zaveri to the board as whole-time Executive Director.
The appointments await approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The move comes ahead of the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank, which is likely by April next year.
Bharucha is executive director (and a whole-time board member) of the bank and looks after corporate loans while Zaveri is group head (operations and ATM products).
The last Deputy Managing Director was Paresh Sukthankar, who resigned in August 2018.

BillBox Unveils Wearable Device for Contactless Payments

BillBox, a solution provider in the payments and merchant ecosystem in India, introduced TapTap, a wearable device facilitating contactless payments, in association with NSDL Payments Bank and Visa.
The objective is to accessorise payment and provide convenience to users, the company said. "Now, people should wear money, not carry money in wallets. It is for those who are seeking faster, secure and frictionless payments," said Viraj Majmudar, managing director and Group CEO, BillBox.
TapTap is a programme manager and fintech in prepaid and gift card programmes. The B2B & B2C solutions through partnerships with major brands, fashion designers, and enterprise customers will help BillBox in accessorising payments through wearable contactless payment products.
The device is available in multiple formats and the chip can be purchased online for Rs. 1,499 plus taxes and it would be connected via a mobile app to facilitate payments at point-of sale machines at merchants' outlets.

Nov 24, 2022

Flipkart and Axis Bank Partner to Launch Super Elite Credit Card

In a bid to scale Flipkart's SuperCoins reward program, the e-commerce major and Axis Bank partnered to launch Super Elite Credit Card.
The card will enable Flipkart customers to earn a total of 8 SuperCoins for every Rs. 100 spent and a maximum of 200 SuperCoins can be earned on every successful transaction. Flipkart Plus customers earn a total of 16 SuperCoins for every Rs. 100 spent and they can earn a maximum of 400 SuperCoins on every successful transaction on Flipkart.

Bridgestone Appoints Stefano Sanchini as Head of India Operations

Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone appointed Stefano Sanchini as the head of its India operations with effect from January 1, 2023. He will replace Parag Satpute, who will be heading to Amsterdam (the Netherlands) to assume a new global role in Bridgestone's Solutions Business.
Sanchini is currently VP Region Middle-East and Africa, (MEA).

Unicorn Meesho Joins ONDC to Connect Hyperlocal Sellers and Customers

E-commerce firm Meesho is the fourth unicorn to join the state-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), signing up after Paytm, Shiprocket and Dunzo.
Meesho's ONDC pilot will be launched in Bangalore and later rolled out in other locations over a few months. Unicorns are privately held start-ups valued at $1 billion or more.

IndiGo Inaugurates Second MRO Facility at Bengaluru's Kempegowda Airport

IndiGo inaugurated its second maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport.
The 13,000 sq.metre hangar is built on five acres of land and is the second largest maintenance facility at the airport.
IndiGo signed a 20-year pact with the Bengaluru International Airport Ltd. for the facility which was inaugurated by the airline's engineering head, S.C. Gupta.

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