General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - May 2018

May 2018

Apr 09, 2021

RBI Increases WMA Limits for State Governments/UTs

The Reserve Bank of India has increased the limit for Way and Means Advances (WMA) for the State Governments/UTs from Rs. 32,225 crore (fixed in February 2016) to Rs. 47,010 crore based on the recommendation of a committee headed by Sudhir Shrivastava. This represents an increase of about 46%.
RBI has extended the enhanced interim WMA limit of Rs. 51,560 crores (a 60 per cent increase in the current limits allowed by the Reserve Bank during the last fiscal to help states/UTs to tide over the difficulties faced by them during the pandemic) for a further period of six months, i.e. from April 1, 2021, up to September 30, 2021.

Flipkart V-P and Group General Counsel Bijoya Roy Quits

Flipkart vice-president and group general counsel, Bijoya Roy, has left the e-commerce giant to join French spirits group, Pernod Ricard, as general counsel for South Asia. She will take up the new role on 12th April, 2021.
Roy is an alumnus of Symbiosis Law School, Pune, and holds a postgraduate diploma in EC competition law from King's College, London. Prior to Flipkart, Roy had led legal operations at organisations such as Tata Housing Development Company, Asian Paints, and Eastman Kodak Company.

Bharti AXA Life, Fincare SFB Join Hands

Bharti Axa Life and Fincare Small Finance Bank have joined hands for a bancassurance partnership under which the bank will sell insurance policies to its customers.
Under the partnership, Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its comprehensive suite of life insurance products, including protection, savings and investment plans, to the customers of Fincare Small Finance Bank across its 747 branches and digital network presence across the country.
This alliance will make life insurance solutions reachable to over 26.5 lakh customers of Fincare Small Finance Bank and provide financial security to them.

Apr 08, 2021

RBI Monetary Policy

Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das announced that the repo rate and the reverse repo rate will remain unchanged at 4 per cent and 3.35 per cent, respectively, and the accommodative stance will go on as long as it is needed. For the fifth time in a row, the policy rates have been kept unchanged.
The monetary policy committee has unanimously voted for the accommodative stance to sustain growth on a durable basis and continue to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the economy while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward", the governor said, adding that the focus of the domestic economy should to containing the spread of the virus and economic revival.

Govt. Appoints S. Ramann as SIDBI Chairman & Managing Director

The government appointed S. Ramann as Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
The appointment is for a period of three years from the date of his assuming the charge or until further orders.
In December, Banks Board Bureau, the headhunter for state-owned banks and financial institutions, had recommended his name for the post.
Ramann, a 1991-batch Indian Audit & Accounts Service officer, is currently the CEO of National E-Governance Services Ltd, India's first Information Utility.

Greenland Election: Opposition Win Casts Doubt on Mine

Greenland's main opposition party has won an election which could have major consequences for international interests in the Arctic.
The left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit, which opposes a mining project in southern Greenland, secured 37% of votes.
Its leader said that the Kvanefjeld mine, home to major deposits of rare minerals, would not go ahead.
The social-democratic Siumut party came second, having been in power for all but four years since 1979.
Inuit Ataqatigiit, an indigenous party with a strong environmental focus, will now seek to form a government.

Payments Bank Deposit Limit Doubled by RBI

With the aim to promote digital payments banks in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced an increase in the maximum end of day balance for payment banks to Rs. 2 lakh. The earlier limit, which was in place since 2014, was set at Rs. 1 lakh per individual customer for the end of the balance for payment banks. RBI decided to enhance the limit of maximum balance based on a review of the performance of these banks which help in increasing financial inclusion. Some of the likely beneficiaries of the step taken by RBI include migrant workers, low-income households, small businesses, and other unorganised groups. The incomes of most of these people have been adversely affected by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic
Payment banks are a type of savings account which can accept a restricted deposit but cannot issue loans or credit cards to customers. Such banks can operate both current as well as saving accounts and can provide all other services like ATM cards, fund transfers, bill payments, recharges, net banking among others to the account holders.

Airtel to Transfer 800 MHz Spectrum in 3 Circles to Jio

Reliance Jio signed an agreement with Bharti Airtel for acquisition of right to use spectrum in the 800 MHz band in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Mumbai circles through spectrum trading.
After the transfer, Jio's spectrum footprint will be enhanced in 800 Mhz band to 2x15 Mhz in mumbai circle and 2x10 Mhz in Andhra Pradesh and Delhi circles.
Airtel's 800 MHz spectrum in Andhra Pradesh (3.75 MHz), Delhi (1.25 MHz) and Mumbai (2.50 MHz) will be transferred to Jio.
The trading agreement is in accordance with the Spectrum Trading Guidelines issued by the Department of Telecommunications.
The aggregate value for the right to use this spectrum is Rs. 1,497 crore, inclusive of present value of associated deferred payment liablity of Rs. 459 crore, subject to any transaction related adjustments.

Jana Small Finance Bank Ties up with Axis Securities to Offer Investment Services

Jana Small Finance Bank tied up with Axis Securities to offer investment services through 3-in-1 account.
The 3-in-1 account integrates Savings Bank Account maintained by Jana Small Finance Bank & Demat and Trading Accounts maintained by Axis Securities.
This account will make it easier for customers to transfer funds quickly, reduce paperwork and most importantly provide a single seamless platform to invest in various investment instruments including Mutual Funds, SIP, equities and other investment avenues offered by Axis Securities.

Adani Group 3rd Indian Conglomerate to Cross USD 100 bn in m-cap

Billionaire Gautam Adani's ports-to-energy conglomerate has become India's third group to cross USD 100 billion in market capitalisation with shares of four of its six listed companies soaring to an all-time high.
After starting out as a commodities trader in the late 1980s, Gautam Adani has over two decades built an empire that now spans from mines, ports and power plants to airports, data centre, city gas and defence.

Apr 07, 2021

RIL and America's Chart Industries Co-lead New Hydrogen Industry Body

US headquartered Chart Industries and India's Reliance Industries (RIL) will be jointly heading a new industry body focused on commercialising hydrogen technologies and systems to build net-zero carbon pathways in India.
This new energy transition coalition, the India H2 Alliance (IH2A), will work together to build the hydrogen economy and supply chain in India and help develop blue and green hydrogen production and storage as well as build hydrogen-use industrial clusters and transport use-cases with hydrogen-powered fuel cells.
The India H2 Alliance will focus on industrial clusters, specifically steel, refineries, fertilizer, cement, ports and logistics; as well as heavy-duty transport use cases and the establishment of standards for storage and transport hydrogen in pressurised and liquified form.

Arab World's First Nuclear Plant Starts Operation in UAE

The UAE announced that its Barakah Nuclear Power Plant started commercial operations in a first for the Arab world.
As per Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Emirates' vice-president and Prime Minister, with the commercial operations of the plant the UAE has entered a landmark phase.
The country was built on oil, but is spending billions to develop enough renewable energy to cover half of its needs by 2050.
When fully operational, the four reactors of the Barakah plant will generate 5,600 megawatts, around 25% of the UAE's electricity needs.
Barakah – on the Gulf coast, west of Abu Dhabi – was built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation at a cost of some US$24.4 billion.

Max Group Sells Stake in Max Life to Private Lender Axis Bank

Diversified Max Group has sold a 13 per cent stake in Max Life Insurance Company to the country's third largest private sector lender Axis Bank, which will now be a co-promoter of the insurer.
The completion of the deal comes more than a year after Max Financial Services and Axis Bank announced their intent to have a strategic partnership for the former's insurance venture.
Max Financial Services -- the holding company of Max Life -- has offloaded 12.99 per cent stake in the insurer to Axis Bank and its subsidiaries -- Axis Capital and Axis Securities Ltd.

The IMF Expects World Output to Grow 6% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022

The International Monetary Fund is expecting a stronger economic recovery in 2021 as Covid-19 vaccine rollouts get underway, but it warns of daunting challenges given the different rates of administering shots across the globe.
The organization said that it expects the world economy to grow by 6% in 2021, up from its 5.5% forecast in January. Looking further ahead, global GDP for 2022 is seen increasing by 4.4%, higher than an earlier estimate of 4.2%.

Wipro Appoints Sarah Adam-Gedge as MD for Australia, New Zealand

IT services major Wipro Ltd appointed Sarah Adam-Gedge as Managing Director for its Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) operations.
She has worked in project and service-based consultancies for more than 25 years across Australia and New Zealand, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.
Adam-Gedge has proven experience in leading digital transformation initiatives for large organisations globally with a successful track record of driving growth, profitability, business agility and managing successful relationships with customers and the influencer ecosystem.
Prior to joining Wipro, she has held various senior executive roles as Managing Director of Publicis Sapient Australia, Managing Director of Avanade Australia, Managing Partner and Vice President at IBM, Managing Partner at PwC and Partner at Arthur Andersen.

Apr 06, 2021

Radiance Renewables Buys Azure's Solar Rooftop Assets

Radiance Renewables Pvt Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Green Growth Equity Fund, a leading Climate fund managed by EverSource Capital, signed an agreement to acquire solar rooftop assets of Azure Power Global Limited.
Radiance said that the deal size was Rs. 536.5 crore and includes 152.5 Mw of projects, out of which 8.1 Mw is under construction and 18.5 Mw of recently commissioned assets.
This is one of the largest acquisitions of rooftop solar assets in India.
Through these projects, Radiance will supply power to large commercial consumer base including Indian Railways, DMRC, JNV, DJB among others.

Adani Ports Invests to up Stake in Krishnapatnam Port to 100%

Gautam Adani-led Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) announced acquisition of the residual 25 per cent stake in Adani Krishnapatnam Port Ltd, (Krishnapatnam Port) for Rs. 2,800 cr.
This will result in APSEZ increasing its stake from 75 per cent to 100 per cent in Krishnapatnam Port.
Krishnapatnam Port is located on the east coast of India in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh (180 km from Chennai Ports) close to the border between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Krishnapatnam Port is an all-weather, deep water port has multi-cargo facility with a current capacity of 64 million tonne. With a waterfront of 20 km and 6,800 acres of land, Krishnapatnam Port has a master plan capacity of 300 million tonne and a 50-year concession.

RBI Distributes Portfolios of B. P. Kanungo among Remaining Deputy Governors

Reserve Bank of India distributed portfolios of B. P. Kanungo among remaining three deputy governors as he retired last week.
The senior-most deputy governor B. P. Kanungo retired from the Reserve Bank on completion of his one-year extension on Friday. Now, the central bank has reshuffled its 32 departments among the three deputy governors -- M K Jain, Patra and M Rajeshwar Rao.
Besides the portfolio of monetary policy department, Patra has been assigned 10 other departments, Jain has been assigned 11 departments and Rao will look after 10 departments.

Govt. Amends Insolvency Law; Introduces Pre-packaged Resolution for MSMEs

Seeking to provide a quicker and value-maximising outcome for stressed MSMEs, the government has introduced a pre-packaged resolution process for such enterprises by amending the insolvency law.
Now, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can seek resolution for their stress through the pre-packaged process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
An ordinance was promulgated to amend the IBC on April 4.
All resolution plans under the IBC need to be approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Auto Major Hyundai Crosses 1 Million Sales Mark for SUVs Made in India

South Korean auto major Hyundai crossed 10 lakh cumulative sales milestone of SUVs made in India.
These SUVs have been sold both in India and export markets.
The launch of mid-sized SUV Creta in 2015 accelerated Hyundai Motor India's growth in the segment with cumulative sales of over 5.9 lakh units in the domestic market and over 2.2 lakh units in the export market.
Similarly, the company had introduced compact SUV Venue in 2019 and has already sold over 1.8 lakh units in the domestic market.

Apr 05, 2021

LG Electronics to End Production, Sales of its Loss-Making Smartphone Business

South Korea's LG Electronics Inc will wind down its loss-making mobile division - a move that is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.
Its decision to pull out will leave its 10% share in North America, where it is the No. 3 brand, to be gobbled up by smartphone titans Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics.
The division has logged nearly six years of losses totalling some $4.5 billion, and dropping out of the fiercely competitive sector would allow LG to focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices and smart homes.

Enigma Auto Looks to Seal Deal with Bengaluru Firm to Supply 2,000 EVs

Bhopal-based bootstrap EV start-up Enigma Automobiles is looking to seal a sales deal with a Bengaluru-based B2B company to supply 2,000 vehicles.
Besides, the firm is also looking at another deal for a supply of 400-1,000 vehicles to two major e-commerce players, Amazon and Flipkart, in the country.
Enigma Automobiles has a manufacturing facility in the Mandvi Industrial area of Bhopal, which has a capacity to produce around 4,500 vehicles per annum.

State Refiners Asked to Review Oil Import Contracts with Saudi

Amid tensions with Saudi Arabia over oil production cuts, India has asked its state refiners to review contracts they enter into for buying crude oil from the Middle-East nation and negotiate more favourable terms.
Keen to break producers' cartel dictating pricing and contractual terms, the government has told Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) to look for oil supplies from outside the Middle-East region and use collective bargaining power to get favourable terms.
India imports 85% of its oil needs and is often vulnerable to global supply and price shocks. When oil prices started to rise in February, it wanted Saudi Arabia to relax output controls but the Kindgom ignored its calls. This has led to the Indian government now pressing for diversification of the supply base.

Govt. Defers Mandatory Use of Transparent Accounting Software Use by Year

In a relief to businesses across the spectrum, the government has extended deadline for mandatory adoption of accounting software having audit trail of each and every transaction and having feature to store logs of edits.
In a relief to businesses across the spectrum, the government has extended deadline for mandatory adoption of accounting software having audit trail of each and every transaction and having feature to store logs of edits.

J&K Bank to Get up to Rs. 500 crore to Maintain Adequate Capital Buffers

The Jammu & Kashmir government will infuse up to Rs. 500 crore more as equity into Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) as its promoter shareholder.
Rating agency India Ratings (Ind-Ra) said J&K Bank will need substantial equity infusion in the first half of this financial year to maintain adequate capital buffers amid high credit costs, until March 2023. The bank's common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio marginally improved to 8.56 per cent in December 2020 as against a minimum CET1 requirement of 7.38 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank extended the term of R. K. Chhibber as chairman and managing director of J&K Bank by six months from April 10 or till the appointment of a MD & chief executive, whichever is earlier.

Yes Bank Targets Start-up Sector, Ties-up with GVFL

To broaden its services for the start-up sector, private lender Yes Bank has tied-up with GVFL Limited.
Accordingly, the two companies have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen Fintech-led innovation and support the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem.
The MoU will enable the bank to offer various products, digital banking solutions, and many other facilities that will benefit the startups associated with GVFL Limited.
The bank will offer its curated digital transaction banking product suite, including its flagship API-based offerings to the startups and Fintech companies.

ICICI Bank and PhonePe Partner to Issue FASTag

ICICI Bank and PhonePe announced their partnership for the issuance of FASTag using UPI on the PhonePe App. This integration allows over 280 million registered PhonePe users to order and track the ICICI Bank FASTag conveniently on the app. PhonePe users, who may be customers of any bank, will have a fully digitised experience as they don't have to visit physical stores or toll locations to buy a FASTag. ICICI Bank is the first bank to partner with PhonePe for the issuance of FASTag.

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