General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - March 2018

Mar 2018

Feb 13, 2022

A budget that is Ambitious, Yet Conservative

The Union budget for 2022-23 is a landmark budget. It lays the foundation for taking the country towards a technologically frontline economy with world-class infrastructure that is seamlessly integrated and connects the farthest corners of the country with a multi-modal logistics network. This is its unifying framework as the government attempts to lift the economy to a higher growth trajectory of 8-8.5 per cent in the coming decades.

R. Gopalan to Replace Venu Srinivasan as Sundaram-Clayton Chairman in April

Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), a leading auto component manufacturing and distribution group and the holding company of TVS Motor Company, announced the elevation of R. Gopalan, Non-Executive Independent Director of the company, as Chairman of the Board effective April 2022.
The current chairman Venu Srinivasan will continue to be the Managing Director of the company post April, and will be designated as Chairman Emeritus. Gopalan has rich experience in the economic and financial administration of the country with long stints in the Ministry of Commerce and Finance, and the Manufacturing and Service Sectors.

India 5th Largest Exporter of Millets

India is the fifth largest exporter of millets in the world, according to 2020 data, with exports continuously increasing at around 3 per cent CAGR in the last five years ending with 2020.
In 2020-21, India exported millets worth $26.97 million against $28.5 million in 2019-20. World export of millet increased from $380 million in 2019 to $402.7 million in 2020.
Globally, major exporters of millets are the USA, Russian Federation, Ukraine, India, China, Netherlands, France, Poland and Argentina. Together, their millets exports stood at $221.68 million in 2020. Global exports of millets in 2020 stood at $466.284 million.
The top three importers of millets from India in 2020-21 were Nepal ($6.09 million), UAE ($4.84 million), and Saudi Arabia ($3.84 million). The other seven destinations in the top-ten list of India's millet export are Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, the UK, Yemen, Oman and Algeria.

Adani Ports Forays into Bengal Maritime Sector, to Operate Berth at Haldia

The Kolkata port authorities officially handed over the letter of award to Gautam Adani controlled Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) for mechanisation and upgradation of a berth in Haldia Dock Complex (HDC).
This marks the entry of the country's largest private port operator in West Bengal's maritime sector.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP), formerly the Kolkata Port Trust, said that the project envisages incorporating environment friendly, fully mechanised technology for handling dry bulk cargo.
Berth no. 2, where the company will work, will offer a capacity of 3.744 million metric tons per annum and the investment will be about Rs. 298.26 crore.

Feb 12, 2022

Larsen & Toubro's Construction Arm Bags 'Significant' Order in Bangladesh

Larsen & Toubro's construction arm has bagged a 'significant' order to construct hi-tech IT parks at eight locations across Bangladesh.
This project is being funded by the Indian EXIM Bank and is the first IT and office space order that L&T has secured in Bangladesh.
The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro has secured an order from the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority to construct Hi-Tech IT Parks at 8 locations (2 packages at 4 locations each) across Bangladesh.

Amazon India Signs MoU with Karnataka to Turn Rural Women into Entrepreneurs

Amazon India signed an MoU with Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) to support the growth of women entrepreneurs. Amazon India will launch 'Sanjeevini-KSRLPS' in its platform and extend benefits of the 'Saheli' Programme to train and empower thousands of rural women entrepreneurs and also provide online access to a wider market for their products. The Saheli Programme offers training and skill development workshops to help women entrepreneurs.
Through this, Amazon and the government bodies will come together to assist and empower lakhs of women entrepreneurs associated with them from the four states to register their business with Amazon India and access a wider market base.

HDFC Ergo Partners Visa for Insurance Cover on Select Bank Cards

HDFC ERGO General Insurance, India's leading private sector general insurance company in the private sector, announced its first-of-its-kind partnership with Visa, the global leader in digital payments to offer curated insurance covers for Visa's Platinum cardholders for select public sector banks.
This policy is applicable for Visa's Platinum cardholders and will provide security to Visa's partner banks. This in turn will give the card users peace of mind while performing any transaction.
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd. and ERGO International AG; the primary insurance entity of the Munich RE Group of Germany. HDFC ERGO is one of India's largest non-life insurance company in the private sector.

Feb 11, 2022

RBI Enhances Cap on Amount for e-RUPI Vouchers from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1 lakh

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed to increase the cap on the amount for e-RUPI vouchers from Rs. 10,000 currently to Rs. 1,00,000 so as to enhance the scope of application of these vouchers and facilitate faster delivery of various government services to beneficiaries efficiently.
The e-RUPI vouchers can be used multiple times, until the amount on the voucher is completely redeemed. Currently, each voucher can be redeemed only once. The RBI will issue necessary instructions in this regard to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The increase of the cap on e-Rupi vouchers from the present Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 100,000 is a significant jump, and the purpose is to address some practical issues with the lower current cap, and to broaden the applicability to a much larger set of use-cases which can involve amounts all the way up to Rs. 100,000.

Soft Drink Brand Thums Up Becomes a Billion-dollar Brand in 2021

Desi soft drink brand Thums Up became a billion-dollar brand in 2021, global soft drinks major The Coca-Cola Company, which owns the brand, said.
Thums Up was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 1993, when the Atlanta-headquartered company had re-entered into the Indian market, from Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Bisleri.
Coca-Cola had then bought the entire portfolio of aerated drinks from the Chauhan brothers, which also included Gold Spot and Limca.
Brand Thums Up was launched almost 45 years ago in 1977, after Coca-Cola had exited from the Indian market after the then Morarji Desai government had directed it to reduce the ownership stake of its Indian operation.
This is the first home-grown Indian beverage brand, scaling to billion-dollar sales and is one of the leading players into the aerated drinks market in the country.

TVS SCS Appoints Ravi Viswanathan as Managing Director

TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS), part of the Rs. 15,000 crore TVS Mobility Group, appointed Ravi Viswanathan as the Managing Director.
The company, in its Board Meeting, approved the appointment and announced the changes. R Dinesh, the fourth generation TVS Scion, would continue to guide the company in his new role as the Executive Vice Chairman.
Ravi Viswanathan joined the firm in February 2020 as the Joint Managing Director and has been working on growing the business with a specific focus on technology adoption and building the globally relevant network-integrated as a single company.
Dinesh, the founder of the company, has been instrumental in driving the company's strategy and growth.

NHPC Inks Pact to Build 10,000 MW Renewable Energy Capacity in Rajasthan

State-run NHPC signed a letter of intent (LoI) to build renewable energy projects of 10,000 MW in Rajasthan.
The LoI was signed by Y. K. Chaubey, Director (Technical), NHPC Ltd and Subodh Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary, Mines and Petroleum Department and Energy Department, and Chairman and Managing Director, RRECL and Chairman, Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd.
Under the leadership of A. K. Singh, chairman and managing director of NHPC, the company is expanding its renewable energy portfolio and has taken up several projects under different modes.

Feb 10, 2022

RBL Bank Partners with Creditas Solutions to Automate Collection

RBL Bank partnered with Creditas Solutions for its 'Neo Collections' platform.
The private sector lender will utilise the SaaS-based platform to accelerate efficiency in collections across the loan cycle.
Powered by AI and ML technology, the platform is built to automate strategies for reaching out to customers individually in an empathetic manner and motivate them to repay loans.
The platform can also determine the best course of action for every customer by offering customised payment plans to service debt, schedule an EMI plan or opt for payment resolution options.

RBI Maintains Status Quo; Leaves Benchmark Lending Rate Unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent and decided to continue with its accommodative stance in the backdrop of elevated level of inflation.
This is the tenth time in a row that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has maintained the status quo.
The RBI had last revised its policy repo rate or the short-term lending rate on May 22, 2020 in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting the interest rate to a historic low.
The reverse repo rate will continue to earn 3.35 per cent interest for banks for their deposits kept with the RBI.

James Murdoch, Uday Shankar Form New Investment Venture Backed by Qatar

Lupa Systems founder and CEO James Murdoch and former Star India chief executive officer Uday Shankar announced a new venture called Bodhi Tree that will get up to $1.5 billion from the Qatar Investment Authority, which manages the sovereign wealth fund.
Bodhi Tree will seek investments in media and consumer technology in Southeast Asia, with a focus on India. The Qatar Investment Fund has pledged the financial commitment to the venture.
The new venture, Bodhi Tree, is aiming to invest in media, education and healthcare companies with the potential to improve the lives millions of consumers across the region.

RBI Extends Restrictions on Karnataka's Millath Co-Operative Bank till May

The Reserve Bank extended the restrictions on Millath Co-Operative Bank, Devangere (Karnataka), by another three months till May 7, 2022.
As per the directions issued first on May 10, 2019, withdrawals were capped at Rs. 1,000 from any account. The directions have been periodically extended till now.
The directions also include no new loans, new investments or taking on any new liabilities, including borrowing of funds or paying any other liabilities, sans RBI approval.

Feb 09, 2022

PTC India Bags Contracts under Consulting Services

Power trading solutions provider PTC India bagged new contracts worth Rs. 10.08 crore under consulting services.
As per the contracts, PTC will provide services to Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (MPIDC).
This is a unique project in India where services to an industrial area for distribution licensee were granted after following due regulatory process as per Electricity Act 2003 by SERC.
PTC had supported MPIDC in the process of getting the distribution licence for Mohasa-Babai Industrial Area.
PTC India is emerging as a strong player in energy management consultancy and is focusing on expanding the consulting business in emerging areas of battery storage, clean energy and hydrogen.

Dalmia Cement Bharat Emerges Highest Bidder for 2 Coal Blocks in Jharkhand

Dalmia Cement Bharat Ltd emerged as the highest bidder for two coal blocks in Jharkhand that were auctioned for commercial use.
While Mahanadi Mines and Minerals Pvt Ltd emerged as the highest bidder for a coal block in Odisha, Yazdani Steel And Power Ltd was the highest bidder for another coal mine in the eastern state.
Assam Mineral Development Corp Ltd was the higest bidder for a mine in Assam.
Five coal mines were put up for auction on the first day of the auction.
Four coal mines are fully explored and one block is partially explored. The total geological reserve of these five coal mines is 1,188.16 million tonnes. The cumulative peak rated capacity for these coal mines is 5.944 million tonnes per annum.

Prashant Peres to Head Kellogg India and South Asia

Kellogg India appointed Prashant Peres as the new Managing Director for India and South Asia.
Incumbent Mohit Anand was elevated as General Manager, Snacks Portfolio, for Kellogg AMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa). He will be based out of Singapore.
Peres is an FMCG veteran of 25 years.
Peres was earlier with Mondelez International, where he led the Indonesia business as President and Managing Director. In the past he has also held various leadership roles at Unilever.

Bajaj Electricals to Demerge its Power Transmission & Distribution Business

Bajaj Electricals Ltd would demerge its power transmission and distribution (T&D) business into a separate company in a move to create a sector-focused firm and streamline the management structure.
The board of Shekhar Bajaj-led company approved the scheme of arrangement between Bajaj Electricals (the demerged company) and Bajel Projects Ltd (the resulting company) subject to the approval of shareholders.
The segregation will enable both the companies to move forward independently, with greater focus and specialisation, building on their respective capabilities and their strong brand presence.
After the demerger, Bajaj Electricals will have two business segments - Consumer Product segment and Engineering Procurement and Construction segment.

BharatPe Appoints Investor's Lawyer on Board

Fintech unicorn BharatPe appointed the lawyer of one of its investors on its Board even as the company is in the middle of an audit to probe alleged irregularities and a heated boardroom battle with Founder & MD Ashneer Grover at its centre.
According to data from Tofler, John Bernard Weinstein, a lawyer who is a partner and deputy general counsel at venture capital firm Insight Partners, joined the BharatPe Board on February 2. This appointment takes the number of members on the company's Board to nine.
This development comes days after embattled founder Ashneer Grover withdrew his nomination of CEO Suhail Sameer from the board, alleging in a media interview that Sameer manipulated him into going on a voluntary leave.

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