General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - March 2018

Mar 2018

Apr 21, 2022

IFSCA Executes MoU with National Insurance Academy (NIA)

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), with an objective of capacity building and providing skilled talent pool in the insurance sector in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs), entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Insurance Academy (NIA).
IFSCA aims to develop a strong global connect and focus on the needs of the Indian economy as well as to serve as an international financial platform at regional/ global level. Insurance is an emerging sector at IFSC, and the MoU with NIA would go long way in capacity development in the field of insurance.

Jasleen Kohli Appointed as MD and CEO of Digit Insurance

Digit Insurance, which is backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, announced Jasleen Kohli as the company's new managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from April 20, 2022.
Kohli formerly served as chief distribution officer (CDO) at Digit, where she was responsible for all of the company's sales and distribution channels. Before joining Digit as the CDO in 2017, she was the director at Allianz Technology. Kohli, 42, will be one of youngest CEOs in the insurance industry.
Digit predominantly sells motor insurance, which accounts for nearly 75% of its product mix while commercial fire insurance accounts for 13% of the portfolio. Since 2020, the startup has also been selling health insurance cover that along with travel insurance makes up the balance 12%.

Cyrus S. Poonawalla tops Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022

Chairman and Managing Director of Serum Institute of India(SII), Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla topped the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022 and became the richest billionaire in the healthcare sector 2022. He topped the list with a new value of USD 26 billion (up 41%). Cyrus Poonawalla is followed by Thomas Frist Jr & Family of HCA Healthcare, Li Xiting and Xu Hang of Mindray at the 2nd position with a net value of USD 19 billion. Dilip Shanghvi & Family, of the Sun Pharmaceuticals, is at the 5th position with a net worth of USD 18 billion.

Apr 20, 2022

IMF Cuts Global Growth on Ukraine War, Trims India Forecast to 8.2%

The IMF cut its forecast for India's GDP growth in the current fiscal year to 8.2%, a 0.8 percentage point reduction from its previous projection, as it downgraded the outlook for global growth citing the economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. The International Monetary Fund's latest World Economic Outlook also projected India's economy to expand by 6.9% next year, putting it on course to be the fastest growing large economy over the next two years.

SBI Raises $500 Million Through IFSC Gift City Branch

The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) raised USD 500 million (over Rs. 3,800 crore) through its IFSC Gift City branch. This is the first offshore USD Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) linked syndicated loan raised by SBI through its Gift City branch. MUFG, Bank of America and JP Morgan were the joint lenders for this offering whereas Fist Abu Dhabi Bank acted as the facility agent.
It is another step towards the bank's commitment to develop IFSC Gift City as an international financial hub.

HCL Technologies Launches a Dedicated Microsoft Business Unit

HCL Technologies announced the launch of a dedicated HCL Microsoft Business Unit focused on Microsoft technologies. This will extend Microsoft's offerings of Business Applications, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Azure, loT, and Al/Machine Learning, as well as help employees accomplish more in the modern workplace with Microsoft 365 and Windows 10.
The HCL Microsoft Business Unit will create intellectual property extending the Microsoft platform for customer-specific scenarios and will also provide additional support to clients in the financial services, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing, retail, and travel industries.

Apr 19, 2022

Kotak Mahindra Bank Launches Kotak FYN

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) launched Kotak FYN, a new enterprise platform designed specifically for Business Banking and Corporate clients. Customers of the bank can utilise the portal to conduct all trade and service transactions. The Kotak FYN portal will contain many other services by the fourth quarter of 2022, including account services, payments, and collections.
The portal will also have a dashboard that consumers can personalise, real-time tracking of transaction limits, access to prior transactions, and upcoming transaction events, among other things.
Kodak FYN is a digital corporate portal that serves as a one-stop shop. The backbone of rising digital trade will be FYN's end-to-end digital architecture, better efficiency, speed, and enhanced security protocols.

MCA Registers Highest ever 1.67 lakh Companies in FY 2021-22

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) registered over 1.67 lakh new companies in FY22, compared to 1.55 lakh in FY21, an 8% YoY growth. The growth is significant, considering that the FY21 number was already the highest annual number of all time.
During FY22, the states having the highest number of company registrations were Maharashtra (31,107), followed by Uttar Pradesh (16,969), Delhi (16,323), Karnataka (13,403), and Tamil Nadu (11,020).
Sector-wise, the maximum number of companies were incorporated in business services (44,168), followed by manufacturing (34,640), personal & social services (23,416), and agriculture & allied activities (13,387).
As part of the Government of India's Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) effort, the MCA has taken several steps to reduce the number of procedures, time, and costs associated with launching a business in India.

India Pulses and Grains Association Appoints Bimal Kothari as Chairman

India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the apex body for India's pulses trade and industry, appointed Bimal Kothari as the new Chairman with immediate effect.
He has been the Vice-Chairman of IPGA since 2011 when the trade body was formed. Kothari takes over as the third chairman of the association after Pravin Dongre and Jitu Bheda.

Wipro Appoints Satya Easwaran as India Head

Wipro appointed Satya Easwaran as the Country Head for India. Satya will be in charge of strengthening Wipro's business in India across key industry sectors through strategic consulting, transformation and modernization engagements. He will help clients leverage Wipro's capabilities and investments in Cloud, Digital, Engineering R&D, Data/Analytics and Cybersecurity to succeed in their business and digital transformation initiatives.
Wipro, which has 231,671 employees globally, has around 75% of its employee base in India. The appointment is part of the company's transformation strategy to have more local leaders announced in 2020.

Govt. Amends FEMA Rules to Allow 20% FDI in LIC

The government amended rules of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), paving the way for up to 20 per cent foreign direct investment in the insurance behemoth LIC. The government is planning to dilute its stake in LIC through the Initial Public Offering (IPO). LIC in February 2022 had filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) before the markets regulator Sebi for the IPO.
Foreign investment in LIC shall be subject to the provisions of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, (LIC Act) as amended from time to time and such provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, as amended from time to time, as are applicable to LIC.

Apr 18, 2022

Alliance Air Becomes Central Govt's Independent Business Unit

Regional airline Alliance Air became an independent business unit under the Central government's control. Alliance Air was an esrtwhile part of Air India prior to the latter's divestment. At present, it is operated as a division under the Air India Asset Holdings Pvt Ltd (AIAHL).
It was founded in 1996 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of then Indian Airlines, which later merged with Air India.
The airline mainly operates on domestic regional routes as part of the government's Regional Connectivity Scheme. Currently, it has 19 aircraft -- 18 ATR-72s and 1 Dornier-228 -- which it operates on over 100 regional routes connecting Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Govt Enhances Authorised Share Capital Of Three Public Sector General Insurance Companies

Three public sector general insurance businesses – National Insurance Company Limited, Oriental Insurance Company Limited, and United India Insurance Company – have had their authorised share capital increased by the government. This will allow for a capital inflow of Rs. 5,000 crore into these businesses.
The permitted capital for National Insurance will now be 15,000 crore (1,500 crore shares with a face value of 10 apiece), up from the current 7,500 crore, according to a notification released by the Finance Ministry (1,500 crore shares with a face value of ten each).

TCS gets deal from UK Financial Ombudsman Service to drive digital transformation

Tata Consultancy Services was selected as a strategic partner by the UK Financial Ombudsman Service (Ombudsman) to accelerate its digital transformation. Operating within the UK public services sector, the Ombudsman provides free and easy-to-use services that help resolve complaints between consumers, small businesses, and financial services businesses.
The Ombudsman partnered with TCS to help achieve its goal of preventing complaints and unfairness, and for better serving and supporting its customers. Leveraging its PACE innovation ecosystem, TCS will design and implement a new greenfield Digital Customer Portal that will improve the experience for complainants and respondents.

Apr 17, 2022

BlackRock-led Consortium to Invest Rs. 4,000 cr in Tata Power Renewables

Tata Power said that a BlackRock Real Assets-led consortium, including Mubadala Investment Company, would invest Rs 4,000 crore for a 10.53% stake in the company's renewable energy unit. This translates to a base equity valuation of Rs 34,000 crore for Tata Power Renewables, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The first round of investment is expected to be completed by June and the rest by the end of 2022. The final shareholding will range from 9.76% to 11.43% on final conversion.
The investment is expected to fund Tata Power Renewable Energy's aggressive growth plans in the rooftop and electric vehicle charging space in India.

Cabinet Approves Pact between SEBI, Canada's Manitoba Securities Commission

The Union Cabinet approved signing of a pact between the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Canada's Manitoba Securities Commission. The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeks to have a formal basis for cross-border co-operation in the area of securities regulations.
It would facilitate mutual assistance, contribute towards efficient performance of supervisory functions, aid in imparting technical domain knowledge and enable effective enforcement of the laws and regulations governing securities markets. The MoU would also make investors from Manitoba eligible for registration as FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) with SEBI.

Paytm Becomes Official Digital Payments Partner for PMs' Museum

Paytm become an official digital payments partner for the prime ministers' museum in the national capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya' (prime ministers' museum), which is a tribute to every prime minister in the country since independence. At the inauguration, Modi was the first person to buy the ticket through Paytm electronic data capture machine.
As the official partner for the museum, Paytm is offering its payment gateway, EDC (Electronic Data Capture) machines and QR code payment options to make way for superfast, convenient and secure transactions.

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