General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - May 2018

May 2018

Jun 23, 2021

Malaysia Becomes India's Top Palm Oil Supplier

Malaysia has surpassed Indonesia to become the biggest crude palm oil (CPO) exporter to top consumer India in 2020/21, after Indonesia imposed heavy taxes on exports of the edible oil last year.
Malaysia's palm oil exports to India surged 238% to 2.42 million tonnes in the first seven months of 2020/21 marketing year started on Nov. 1, according to data compiled by The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), a trade body of Indian vegetable oil refiners and traders.
During the period, Indonesia's palm oil shipments to India fell 32% to 2 million tonnes.

World's First GM Rubber Planted in Assam

Rubber Board has started field trial of world's first GM (genetically modified) rubber in the state of Assam.
GM Rubber was developed in biotechnology laboratory at Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) in Puthuppally, Kottayam.
It was planted at Rubber board's Sarutari research farm in Guwahati.
Rubber Board launched field trial of GM Rubber in Assam a decade after Kerala Government denied permission for the same because of its adverse impact on environment.
GM variant rubber has the capacity to withstand adverse climatic conditions. It will give a big boost to rubber production in India. It will greatly benefit farmers after trials are over. The crop is resistant to reduced moisture or drought, low & high temperatures as well as high light intensity. It will also cut short the maturity period of rubber. It will result into early yielding.

NCLT Clears Kalrock-Jalan Resolution Plan for Jet Airways with Riders

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has cleared the Kalrock-Jalan plan to revive Jet Airways, while rejecting the consortium's demand for historicity of airport slots. The Naresh Goyal-founded airline was shut down in April 2019 under heavy debt.
The tribunal order comes exactly two years after the start of the insolvency proceedings. Jet is the first airline to see resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Even as the order paves the way for the grounded airline's revival, the resumption of operations hinges on negotiations between the consortium and the government on the issue of airport slots.
Jet Airways collapsed under a mountain of debt in April 2019. After two unsuccessful bidding rounds, the Kalrock-Jalan consortium was selected by a committee of creditors last October with over 99 per cent vote to restart the airline. Jalan is a Dubai-based NRI businessman and Kalrock Capital is a financial advisory and asset management company.

IRDAI Allows Home Treatment as add-on Cover in Health Insurance

The Indian insurance regulator IRDAI has allowed non-life insurers to offer "homecare/domiciliary treatment" or treatment at home as an add on cover afresh or to their existing policies.
In a circular to all non-life insurers including standalone health insurers, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said that companies have to file their products with it, if home treatment is offered as an add-on cover.
IRDAI said that insurers can offer the cover to their existing policyholders by charging an additional premium for the residual period of time.

Wipro Lighting, IoT Firm Enlighted Tie Up

Smart lighting solutions provider Wipro Lighting, a part of the over $1-billion Wipro Consumer Care Ltd, has partnered with IoT solutions company Enlighted to deliver smarter workplaces. The Bengaluru-headquartered company has earlier partnered with global majors such as Schréder and Cisco in the space.
Both the parties are integrating their solutions and technologies to create smarter buildings across multiple customer segments. Enlighted IoT sensors are being integrated with Wipro's future-ready luminaires, forming the backbone for Wipro's Smart Space Solutions.
Wipro Lighting is a pioneer in offering Smart & Connected solutions on the platform of Internet of Lighting (IoL) across various customer segments in India.

Govt. Seeks to Appoint Advisors to Assist IDBI Bank Privatisation

The government has sought bids to appoint transaction advisor and legal advisor to assist it for the strategic divestment and transfer of management control in IDBI Bank. The appointment of intermediaries would help in taking the privatisation process of the lender forward as the government aims to close the transaction in this fiscal.
The government plans to sell its 45.48 per cent shareholding in the lender. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which owns 49.24 per cent, will also offload its stake to transfer management control to the new buyer.
The transaction advisor would be required to advise the government on the modalities and the timing of the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, and prepare a scheme to successfully implement the sale.

Jun 22, 2021

Vijay Deshwal Joins Poonawalla Group Acquired Magma Fincorp

Vijay Deshwal has today joined Poonawalla group acquired Magma Fincorp Ltd, as its Group CEO.
In his new role, he would be responsible for the Lending and Housing Finance business along with its Insurance business. He will be based out of the Pune corporate office.
Vijay Deshwal, a post-graduate from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) is a seasoned banker with a track record of two decades. His experience spans across segments of banking, corporate finance, international business, and operations. He has an enviable track record of growing businesses with an overall approach of customer centricity and profitability.
In his last role, Vijay was associated with ICICI Bank as a Business Head responsible for the fast-growing services sector business including new age businesses focused on technology and digital intervention.

HCL Tech Appoints Leaders to Expand in Asia

HCL Technologies has made three appointments in Asia to strengthen its presence in South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam
It has named Joonho Moon in South Korea, Terry Tai in Taiwan and Nguyen Ha Tuan in Vietnam to lead and drive growth in these geographies.
Prior to joining HCL, Joonho spent more than two decades at Samsung SDS in various leadership positions.
Tai is an experienced co-founder, chief strategy officer of a start-up company and was the head of sales and business development for about two decades in Taiwan's IT services industry.
Tuan has 20 years of experience in the IT Industry.

SEBI Reconstitutes Takeover Panel

Markets regulator SEBI has reconstituted its Takeover Panel, which looks into the applications seeking exemption from the mandatory open offer that an acquirer needs to make to minority shareholders. The regulator has appointed N. Venkatram MD and CEO, Deloitte India as the new member of the Takeover Panel.
The panel, chaired by N. K. Sodhi, the former Chief Justice of the High Courts of Karnataka and Kerala, makes its recommendations to SEBI on such applications after which the regulator gives an opportunity to concerned parties before passing an order.
Sodhi was also the former presiding officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
The other members of the panel are Darius Khambata (former advocate general, Maharashtra) and Thomas Mathew T (former chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India).
SEBI had first constituted a four-member Takeover Panel in November 2007, under chairmanship of former Bank of Baroda chairman K. Kannan.

CCI Approves Heineken's Additional Stake Acquisition in United Breweries

CCI approved Heineken International B.V's proposed acquisition of an additional equity stake in United Breweries Ltd (UBL).
This, however, is subject to the outcome of certain court proceedings, a combination notice filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) noted.
United Breweries is engaged in the manufacture, sale and distribution of beer in India.
Heineken International B.V. (HIBV) is an investment holding company and is itself not engaged in any business activity. It is a direct and an indirect shareholder for all non-Dutch companies that form part of the Heineken Group.

India Receives $64 bn FDI in 2020

India received $64 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2020, the fifth largest recipient of inflows in the world.
According to the World Investment Report 2021 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global FDI flows have been severely hit by the pandemic and they plunged by 35 per cent in 2020 to $1 trillion from $1.5 trillion the previous year.
The report said in India, FDI increased 27 per cent to $64 billion in 2020 from $51 billion in 2019.
FDI outflows from South Asia fell 12 per cent to $12 billion, driven by a drop in investment from India. India ranked 18 out of the world's top 20 economies for FDI outflows, with 12 billion dollars of outflows recorded from the country in 2020 as compared to 13 billion dollars in 2019.

Indians' Funds in Swiss Banks Rise

Funds parked by Indian individuals and firms in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches and other financial institutions, jumped to 2.55 billion Swiss francs (over Rs. 20,700 crore) in 2020 on a sharp surge in holdings via securities and similar instruments, though customer deposits fell, annual data from Switzerland's central bank showed.
While the UK topped the charts for foreign clients' money in Swiss banks at CHF 377 billion, it was followed by the US (CHF 152 billion) at the second spot -- the only two countries with 100-billion-plus client funds.
Others in the top 10 were West Indies, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands and Bahamas.
India was placed at 51st place, ahead of countries like New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Mauritius, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Jun 21, 2021

Vedanta Emerges as Successful Bidder for Coal Block for Mining in Odisha

Vedanta has emerged as successful bidder for a coal block in Odisha which was put for re-bid in the second attempt of auction of blocks for commercial mining.
With the successful auction of Kuraloi (A) north coal mine in Odisha, the total number of mines successfully auctioned in the first tranche of auction for commercial mining is 20 out of total 38 coal mines offered.
In the first attempt of auction under 11th tranche of auction under the CM (S) Act 2015 and under first tranche of auction under the MMDR Act 1957, out of the 38 coal mines, 19 have been successfully auctioned.

NTPC among Top 50 in 'Great Place to Work in India' List

NTPC has been recognised as a 'Great Place to Work' for the 15th year in a row by the Great Place to Work Institute.
NTPC is the only PSU to consistently feature in India's Top 50 Best Workplaces. This year NTPC ranked 38th, up from 47th position last year. It also won its first-ever recognition of India's Best Employers among Nation-Builders 2021.
The Great Place to Work (GPTW) Institute commended NTPC's employees for being the torchbearers of a high trust culture. The GPTW Institute highlighted NTPC's successful business and a great relationship with its employees and said that both consistency and compassion have led NTPC to feature in India's Top 50 Best Workplaces for the 15th year in a row.
Great Place to Work Certification is the most definitive 'Employer-of-Choice' recognition that organizations aspire to achieve. The Certification is recognized world over by employees and employers alike and is considered the 'Gold Standard' in identifying and recognizing Great Workplaces with High Trust and High Performance Cultures.

Bank of Maharashtra Tops PSU Bank Chart in MSME Loan Growth

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) became the top performer among public sector lenders in terms of retail and MSME loan growth during 2020-21.
According to the BoM data, the Pune-based lender recorded a 35 per cent growth in MSME loans at Rs. 23,133 crore in 2020-21.
It was followed by the Chennai-based Indian Bank which posted a 15.22 per cent growth in loan disbursal to MSMEs with aggregate loans at Rs. 70,180 crore at the end of March 2021.

Max Life Ranks 18th amongst 'India's Best Companies to Work For'

Max Life Insurance Company Ltd. ("Max Life"/"Company"), has been ranked 18th amongst 'India's Best Companies to Work For' in 2021.
The Company has been bestowed upon this honour for the tenth time in the most comprehensive employee survey of workplace culture conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute.
Max Life has also been recognised amongst the top 30 'Best Workplaces in BFSI'; and retains its position amongst 'Top 50 Best Workplaces' for the fifth consecutive year of participation, as per the Great Place to Work Institute's ("GPTW") 2021 study. This year, the study covered more than 850 companies, out of which the Top 100 have been selected for the marquee recognition.

Adani Power to Acquire 1,200 MW Essar Power's Mahan Project

The country's largest power producer in the private sector, Adani Power Limited (APL), will acquire the 1,200 megawatt (MW) Essar Power's Mahan Project located at Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh. Resolution Professional of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) issued a Letter of Intent to Adani Power.
Essar Power's Mahan power plant supplies power through the Mahan-Sipat transmission line and is also connected with a railway siding 18 km away from the plant for the supply of coal and other raw materials. According to industry reports, Adani Power will shell out close to Rs. 3,000 crore for the Mahan Project.
The development comes at a time when power demand is looking up with the revival of economic activities as the COVID-19 cases have started coming down in the past few weeks.
Adani Group has been on an acquisition spree for power generation assets across the country. Last month, Adani Group's renewable energy arm Adani Green Energy acquired SB Energy's solar and wind power portfolio from Softbank and Bharti Group.

HDFC Bank to Buy Stake in HDFC ERGO

HDFC Bank's board has given its approval to buy more than 3.55 crore shares in group firm HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company for over Rs. 1,906 crore from the parent company Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).
HDFC is the promoter and related party of the bank.
The purchase is to happen at a price determined on an independent evaluation report, subject to receipt of necessary approvals including regulatory approvals and approval from shareholders of the bank.

Jun 20, 2021

Saurabh Kumar Steps Down as Grofers Co-founder

After rolling out e-grocery platform Grofers along with co-founder Albinder Dhindsa eight years ago, Saurabh Kumar has decided to call it a day. In an email sent to Grofers employees. Kumar said he's leaving the company for personal ambitions.
While Kumar will not be involved in day-to-day responsibilities at Grofers, he will continue to be a board member and a shareholder at the company. According to reports, he holds over 3 per cent stake in the company, which is currently valued around $644 million.

IDBI Bank Invites Bids to Divest Stake in Asset Reconstruction Company

IDBI Bank plans to divest its stake in Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (Arcil) and has invited bids from interested parties.
IDBI Bank intends to sell 6,23,23,800 equity shares, constituting approximately 19.18 per cent of the total equity share capital of Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd held by IDBI Bank.
Arcil was incorporated in 2002 and is owned by banks like SBI, IDBI, ICICI, PNB and strategic foreign investors such as Avenue India Resurgence Pte Ltd.

S&P Revises ICICI Bank Credit Rating Outlook

S&P Global Ratings revised the rating outlook on ICICI Bank Ltd to stable from negative on grounds that the lender will benefit from the sale of stake in subsidiaries.
The rating agency affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term and 'A-3' short-term issuer credit ratings on ICICI Bank.
"We revised the rating outlook to reflect our view that ICICI Bank will maintain its strong capital position over the next 24 months. The bank will benefit from the sale of a stake in subsidiaries and gradual normalization of earnings, which should reduce risks associated with its capital position," it said.
In a statement, S&P forecast that ICICI Bank will maintain a risk-adjusted capital (RAC) ratio of more than 10 per cent over the next 24 months.

Iraq Signs Deal to Drill 96 Oil Wells

Iraq has signed a contract to drill 96 oil wells in the West Qurna-1 oil field located in the southern province of Basra to raise the production, according to a statement by the Ministry of Oil.
The state-run Basra Oil Company and the contractors for the West Qurna-1 oil field, ExxonMobil company and the US' Schlumberger International, signed the contract.
Iraq's West Qurna-1 oil field, which holds more than 20 billion barrels of expected recoverable reserves, is among the largest in the world.

PhonePe Launches Auto Top-up Feature for its Wallet

Walmart backed PhonePe launched an auto top-up feature for its payment wallet, using UPI e-mandate. This feature will allow customers of PhonePe to set up a UPI e-mandate once, post which the company will automatically top up their wallet balance when it falls below the minimum below.
PhonePe customers can now make multiple payments using their wallet, without having to top up their wallet balance manually each time. Once the UPI e-mandate has been set up, users don't need to enter any PIN or wait for an OTP each time they want to load their wallets or make a payment.

Jun 19, 2021

Decks Cleared for Takeover of Crisis-ridden PMC Bank

Paving the way for takeover of crisis-ridden Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC), the RBI granted in-principle approval to the Centrum Financial Services to set up a small finance bank. Centrum Financial Services was one of the applicants for takeover of the PMC Bank.
The PMC Bank had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from eligible investors for investment/equity participation for its reconstruction and had received four proposals. In September 2019, the RBI had superseded the PMC Board and placed it under regulatory curbs.

LIC CSL Launches Prepaid Gift Card in Collaboration with IDBI Bank

LIC Cards Services (LIC CSL) has launched a contactless prepaid gift card, 'Shagun', in collaboration with IDBI Bank on the RuPay platform. The purpose of this card is to expand the gift card market with an intent to promote cashless ways of gifting and present a wide range of end-use choices and in a future foray into the market of e-gift cards. NPCI partnered with LIC CSL & IDBI Bank for the launch of the Shagun Gift Card on RuPay network.
Shagun card, in the initial phase, will be available to LIC and its subsidiaries for official use. The card will be used to facilitate awards and special rewards during official conferences and functions.
The Shagun gift card offers customisation in the form of flexible loading of any amount ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 10,000. With this card, the customer can perform multiple transactions within the validity of 3 years.
They can also use it to shop online, pay utility bills, book tickets for air, rail, bus, and so on through various mobile wallets and E-commerce portals or apps using this card. The contactless (tap & go) feature of the card is aimed at transforming the transaction experience for users.

ADB and Government of India Sign Loan Agreement

The Government of India has signed a $484 million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank to improve transport connectivity and facilitate industrial development in the Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu.
The CKIC is part of India's East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), which stretches from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu and connects India to the production networks of South, South-east, and East Asia. ADB is the lead partner of the Government of India in developing ECEC.
The agreement was signed by Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs for the Tamil Nadu Industrial Connectivity Project on behalf of the Government of India and Takeo Konishi, Country Director – India, ADB.

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