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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - May 2018

May 2018

Apr 10, 2024

India Secures Second Overseas Port: Sittwe Agreement Approved by MEA

In a strategic move to bolster its maritime presence and enhance regional connectivity, India has gained operational control over the Sittwe Port in Myanmar, following approval from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The agreement allows India Ports Global (IPGL), a company fully owned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to manage the entire port on the Kaladan River, marking India's second overseas port acquisition after Chabahar in Iran.
IPGL is a company 100 per cent owned by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Unlike the limited control over terminals in Chabahar, India now possesses complete operational authority over the Sittwe Port, positioning it strategically in the Indian Ocean rivalry with China.
The deal includes a long-term lease arrangement, subject to renewal every three years, enabling India to undertake substantial development initiatives at the port.
India Ports Global Limited, a subsidiary of Sagarmala Development Company Limited under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, will spearhead the port's development and operations.

Apr 08, 2024

Delaporte Quits as Wipro CEO; Pallia New Head

Indian IT major Wipro announced the resignation of Thierry Delaporte as CEO and named Srinivas Pallia as the new Chief Executive Officer of the company.
The announcement came days before the Bengaluru-headquartered company is scheduled to announce its Q4 and full-year earnings for 2023-24 on April 19.

India Permits Limited Essential Exports to Maldives amid Tensions

The central government agreed to increase the export of essential supplies to the Maldives for the fiscal year 2024-25, underscoring its 'Neighbourhood First' policy. This decision came amidst a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions in the Indian Ocean region, particularly concerning China's growing influence and the 'India Out' campaign led by the Muizzu administration in the Maldives.
The revised export quotas mark a notable increase in the supply of critical commodities such as river sand and stone aggregates — which are vital for the Maldives' construction sector — by 25 per cent to 1,000,000 metric tonnes. Additionally, there's a 5 per cent increase in the export limits for essential food items like eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour, and pulses.

Mphasis Signs Strategic Collaboration Agreement with AWS to Launch Gen AI Foundry for Financial S...

Mphasis signed a multi-year global Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS). "The collaboration marks a significant milestone as Mphasis establishes the Gen AI Foundry, led by Mphasis.AI, a dedicated business unit focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, AI use case assessments, consulting, and business transformation," the company said in a regulatory filing.
The Gen AI Foundry will serve as a platform for modeling industry use cases and developing proof of concepts (POCs) initially within the financial services Industry, with plans to expand across other sectors.
With the rise of generative AI as a powerful tool, the Foundry is dedicated to facilitating its adoption in financial services firms, aiding in accelerating efficiencies and fostering business transformation.

Mansukh Mandaviya's Plan to End Urea Imports by 2025

India will by the end of 2025 stop importing urea as a massive push for domestic manufacturing has helped bridge the gap between supply and demand, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said. The minister noted that the availability of fertilisers is very important for Indian agriculture.
Now, the government is making efforts to promote alternate fertilisers like nano liquid urea and nano liquid di-ammonium phosphate (DAP).
According to Mandaviya, the Modi government has adopted a two-pronged strategy to end dependency on urea imports.

Apr 07, 2024

RBI Monetary Policy Highlights: Policy Repo Rate Unchanged at 6.5%

The two-day review meeting of the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the rate-setting panel, commenced on April 3 and concluded on April 5. The RBI decided to keep the key policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the seventh consecutive time.
The six-member MPC headed by Governor Das also decided to maintain the policy stance at 'withdrawal of accommodation'. The RBI has projected India's real GDP growth rate for FY25 at 7%. CPI inflation for FY25 is estimated at 4.5%.

Britannia NutriChoice Launches Health Monitoring App NutriPlus in India

Leading biscuit brand Britannia NutriChoice makes its entry into Indian health tech by launching a subscription-free NutriPlus app, developed in collaboration with Aktivo Labs, aimed at enhancing consumers' well-being with evidence-based solutions.
The app provides a daily "NutriScore," which is a one-score indicator for users based on factors such as exercise duration and sleep duration, providing users with an overview of their health status.

RBI to Launch Retail Direct Mobile App for G-Secs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in April 2024, announced the launch of a mobile application, the 'G-sec App', as part of its Retail Direct Scheme. This initiative aims to simplify the process of investing in government securities (G-Secs) for retail investors.
As per the RBI Governor, "The RBI Retail Direct Scheme was launched in November 2021. It is now proposed to launch a mobile app for accessing the Retail Direct portal. This will be of greater convenience to retail investors and deepen the G-sec market."

Swiggy Appoints Suparna Mitra as New Independent Director

Food-delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy appointed Suparna Mitra as an independent director to its board.
Mitra is the chief executive of the watches and wearables division of Titan Company, which is partly owned by Tata Sons. Mitra joined three other independent directors on Swiggy's board.
These include board chair Anand Kripalu, who is also the managing director and chief executive of specialty packaging company Essel Propack, Shailesh Haribhakti, chairman of financial services firm Shailesh Haribhakti & Associates, and Sahil Barua, cofounder and chief executive of listed logistics major Delhivery.

Apr 06, 2024

RBI Keeps Repo Rates Unchanged at 6.5 pc

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent as retail inflation continues to be above its target of 4 per cent.
This was the seventh consecutive meeting that the MPC maintained a status quo on the repo rate. The repo rate, is the interest rate at which banks draw funds from RBI to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches.

Veefin Solutions, Central Bank of India Announce Technology Partnership

Veefin Solutions Ltd announced partnered with Central Bank of India to launch its supply chain financing operations. Veefin Solutions will serve as the sole technology vendor for the bank, providing an end-to-end SCF stack to support the bank's SCF offerings. This collaboration will enable the bank to offer fully digital onboarding, sanctioning, and 24x7 disbursement processes to their corporate and SME customers through Veefin's Loan Origination System (LOS) and SCF Loan Management System.

J&K Bank Introduces Virtual ATM Facility in Collaboration with Paymart India

In a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing banking convenience, J&K Bank has teamed up with Paymart India Pvt Ltd to launch a Virtual ATM (VATM) facility. This innovative service enables cardless cash withdrawals for customers through local retailers, particularly benefiting areas like Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh where accessibility to traditional ATMs may be limited.
Customers can utilize the bank's mobile application as a Virtual Card, with merchants using their smartphones as Virtual ATMs. This arrangement facilitates cash withdrawals without the need for physical cards. Upon initiating a withdrawal request, customers receive an OTP for validation, which they share with the merchant. Once verified, cash is dispensed, offering a seamless banking experience. Notably, this facility allows withdrawals of up to Rs. 2,000 per transaction, with a monthly limit of Rs. 10,000.

RBI Imposes Penalties on IDFC First Bank and LIC Housing Finance

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed monetary penalties on two financial institutions – IDFC First Bank and LIC Housing Finance – for non-compliance with various regulations.
The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 1 crore on IDFC First Bank for non-compliance with certain directions on 'Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions'.
The central bank also imposed a penalty of Rs. 49.7 lakh on LIC Housing Finance for breach of norms. The housing finance company was found to have not complied with certain provisions of the Fair Practices Code. Specifically, it did not disclose the rate of interest and the approach for gradation of risk and rationale for charging different rates of interest to different categories of borrowers in loan application forms and sanction letters.

Apr 05, 2024

Canara Bank Launches Healthcare Loans and Savings Accounts for Women

The state-owned Canara Bank launched a bunch of several new products, including a loan scheme to meet the shortfall of hospital expenses. The new loan scheme is called Canara Heal. This healthcare-focussed loan product is aimed at meeting the shortfall in hospitalisation expenses, while settling health insurance claims of self or dependents. The loan for meeting hospital expenses will be available at 11.55 per cent per annum on a floating basis and 12.30 per cent at a fixed interest rate basis. It is available to customers whose medical expenses exceed the sum insured by the insurance companies.
The bank also introduced a Canara Angel savings account for women. These include a cancer care policy, a pre-approved personal loan (Canara ReadyCash) and online loans against term deposits (Canara MyMoney) as stated in the official statement by the bank. It is free of cost for women while opening a savings account. Existing women customers can upgrade their accounts to avail of these facilities.
The Bank also introduced a user-friendly payment interface 'Canara UPI 123Pay ASI' and 'Canara HRMS Mobile App' for the employees of the Bank. The bank also claimed that it has become the first bank to provide seamless digital services to the homes of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in collaboration with the Reserve Bank Innovation Centre.

SJVN Partners with IIT Patna to Enhance Tunnelling Project Performance

SJVN, formerly Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, forged a strategic partnership with the Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT Patna) aimed at revolutionising tunnelling project performance through the integration of advanced geological models.
The primary objective of the MoU is to leverage advanced geological models developed by IIT Patna to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of SJVN's tunnelling projects.
Collaborative efforts will result in the creation of predictive analytics algorithms, utilising integrated geotechnical data to forecast potential risks and provide early warning systems tailored for tunnelling projects.

Star Health Insurance and PhonePe Partnership: Revolutionising Health Insurance Access

PhonePe has announced a partnership with Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd. (Star Health Insurance), India's largest retail health insurance Company, to offer customers health insurance with a monthly and annual payment option. With this partnership, PhonePe users will now be able to avail of 'Star Comprehensive Insurance Policy' on the PhonePe app with coverage up to Rs.1 Crore. Having previously disrupted the market with its motor insurance products, with this launch, PhonePe further expands the options available to its users in the health insurance category
The collaboration aims to provide customers with health insurance options with monthly and annual payment choices, enhancing flexibility and convenience for users.
Through this partnership, for the first time, Star Health Insurance's Comprehensive Health Insurance will be offered to customers with a monthly premium payment plan, pioneered by PhonePe – a first-of-its-kind initiative in the industry. Users can also opt to pay their premium with the UPI AutoPay mandate and enjoy added convenience. This move was driven by a critical insight that smaller monthly payments ease the financial burden for users while empowering and enabling them to opt for more extensive insurance coverage without stretching their finances.
Through this partnership, PhonePe users gain access to Star Health Insurance's Comprehensive Health Insurance policy, with coverage extending up to Rs. 1 crore.

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