General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2018

Jun 2018

Feb 21, 2023

India, Singapore Link Digital Payment Systems

India and Singapore residents were connected seamlessly through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore.
The linkage of these two payment systems enables residents of both countries to carry out faster and cost-efficient transfer of cross-border remittances. It will also help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers and students, with instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong witnessed the launch of the cross-border connectivity through video-conferencing. The linkage was launched by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Taps Egon Zehnder to Replace CEO Uday Kotak

The board of Kotak Mahindra Bank engaged consulting firm Egon Zehnder to lead a global search for a chief executive officer to replace its billionaire founder Uday Kotak.
Group presidents and whole-time directors Shanti Ekambaram and K.V.S. Manian are the internal candidates for the top job. The board is expanding the search to ensure it finds suitable external candidates.
Uday Kotak has been leading the bank since its inception as a non-banking financial institution in 1985. It became a commercial lender in 2003. Kotak Mahindra Bank had 1,752 branches across India as of the end of 2022. Uday Kotak has a net worth of about $13.4 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Vedanta-Foxconn Selects Dholera SIR for 1st Semiconductor Facility in India

A joint venture of Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn finalised the Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad city of Gujarat for setting up their semiconductor and display manufacturing facility.
In the biggest ever corporate investment in the history of independent India, a joint venture of Vedanta and Foxconn in September 2022 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to invest Rs. 1,54,000 crore to set up the plant in the state. This will be the first manufacturing facility for semiconductors in India.
This project is likely to get huge subsidies and incentives, like zero stamp duty on land purchase and subsidised water and electricity, under the 'Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27' announced by the state government in July 2022.

Philips Domestic Appliances Globally Renamed as Versuni

Philips Domestic Appliances announced the change of its company name to Versuni. The new name 'Versuni' is the next step after the Domestic Appliances business became independent in September 2021. Although the visual identity of the company is changing, its mission to turn houses into homes remains constant.
As a licensee of Royal Philips, the company will continue to use the Philips consumer brand, as well as Saeco, Gaggia and Philips Walita, on its products and services. Consumers can also continue to use products of its other brands - Preethi, L'OR Barista and Senseo.
Versuni, which is headquartered in the Netherlands, is active in more than 100 countries and has a global innovation, manufacturing, and commercial footprint.
With more than 900 patents on its name, the company's portfolio spans kitchen appliances, coffee, climate care, garment, and floor care.

Tata Motors Bags India's Largest Electric Vehicle Fleet Order

Tata Motors, India's largest electric passenger vehicle manufacturer, signed an agreement with ride-hailing company Uber to supply 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs).
The agreement is the largest EV commitment between an automotive manufacturer and a ride-sharing platform in India. Under the agreement, Uber will deploy Tata Motors' XPRES-T EVs by partnering fleet operators in Delhi National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad.

NHPC Shareholders Approve Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi's Appointment as CMD

State-run hydro power giant NHPC received the approval of shareholders for the appointment of Rajeev Kumar Vishnoi as its Chairman and Managing Director.
The shareholders also approved the appointment of Mohammad Afzal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power, as government nominee director on the board of the company.

Feb 20, 2023

UAE and India Launch the UAE Chapter of the Business Council to Boost Bilateral Trade & Investment

India-UAE signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the two sides established the UAE chapter of the UAE-India Business Council (UIBC-UC). The bilateral outfit was launched by UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. Other representatives present on the occasion were India's Ambassador to the UAE SunjaySudhir, Consul General of India in Dubai AmanPuri and founding members of the UBIC-UC.
The India-UAE CEPA aims to boost bilateral trade as both sides charted the path ahead in post-COVID recovery of national and regional trade. Faizal Kottikollon, chairman, KEF Holdings, who was appointed as the chairman of UIBC-UC said, "The Council's focus will be to identify significant strategic projects that can be undertaken by both countries. This includes investments in large infrastructure projects in India, advancements in manufacturing and technology, and providing Indian manufacturers with the ability to use the UAE as a base for their global expansion.

BoM Tops List of Public Sector Lenders in Loan Growth

Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) emerged as the top performer among state-owned lenders in terms of loan growth percentage during the third quarter of 2022-23, an analysis of the latest financial results of public sector banks showed.
The Pune-based lender recorded a 21.67 per cent increase in gross advances on a year-on-year basis.
The bank maintained the top slot in credit growth in percentage terms consistently for the past 10 quarters despite COVID-19 pressures.
BoM was followed by the Union Bank of India with 19.80 per cent growth. Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) stood at fourth spot with 16.91 per cent rise in advances growth.

Rolls-Royce Marine North America and Kalyani Strategic Service Ink an Agreement

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Rolls-Royce Marine North America and Kalyani Strategic Service Limited (KSSL), a 100% subsidiary of Bharat Forge, to investigate the possibility of KSSL serving as an in-country provider for propeller sales in the Indian market.
Under the agreement, KSSL will collaborate with Rolls-Royce for the design and development, licensed manufacturing, pre-sales and sales support, installation, commissioning, testing, and aftermarket services and support of the propulsion systems. This would facilitate the creation of a local supply chain ecosystem in India for Controllable Pitch Propellers and Shafting systems as required by the Indian Navy.

Feb 19, 2023

Infosys Appoints Shaji Mathew as Group Head of HR

Infosys announced the appointment of Shaji Mathew, as Group Head of Human Resources, effective March 22, 2023. Mathew will take over from Krish Shankar who retires on March 21, 2023, after serving in this role since 2015.
Based on the recommendations of the Audit Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Board also designated Mathew as an executive officer for the purpose of reporting under the rules of Securities and Exchange Commission and Key Managerial Personnel as defined under IndAS 24-Related Party Disclosures.
In his current role, Mathew will be Infosys' global head of delivery for Financial Services, Insurance, Healthcare and Life Sciences. He has also been actively steering the company's efforts in creating a more inclusive workforce as the Chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in India.

RBI Appoints Vikramaditya Singh Khichi in Advisory Panel of Reliance Cap

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, former ED of Bank of Baroda, on a panel to advise the administrator of crisis-ridden Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Capital.
Khichi was appointed in the advisory committee of Reliance Capital consequent upon the resignation of Srinivasan Varadarajan from the panel.
The other two members of the advisory committee are Sanjeev Nautiyal (former DMD, State Bank of India) and Praveen P Kadle (former MD & CEO of Tata Capital Limited).

HUL to Sell Annapurna and Captain Cook Brands

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has signed an agreement for the sale of its atta and salt business, which it markets under the brands 'Annapurna' and 'Captain Cook', respectively, to Uma Global Foods and Uma Consumer Products for Rs. 60.4 crore.
Uma Global Foods and Uma Consumer Products are subsidiaries of Reactivate Brands International, a Singapore-headquartered company and an affiliate of CSAW Aqbator (Singapore).

Feb 18, 2023

Neal Mohan Named CEO of YouTube

Neal Mohan, YouTube's Chief Product Officer and Senior Vice President, was named YouTube's CEO. He replaced Susan Wojcicki, who stepped down from the role after nine years.
Mohan joined an expanding club of prominent Indian-American executives who are running the show for some of the biggest tech giants in the world.
Neal Mohan, a Stanford graduate, joined Google in 2008. He has also worked with Microsoft and sits on the board of Stitch Fix, a personal styling company, and the genomics and biotechnology company 23andMe. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent US think tank.

EbixCash Becomes First Entity to Enable UPI for Foreign Nationals

EbixCash Limited, a subsidiary of US-based Ebix Inc, became the first company in India to launch and enable Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for foreign nationals visiting India.
RBI proposed permitting inbound travellers access to UPI for merchant payments (P2M) while they are in the country. The facility will initially be extended to travellers from G-20 countries arriving at select international airports and later across all other entry points.
EbixCash World Money is the foreign exchange division of EbixCash and has a network of over 81 retail branches, 250 franchisee partners and duty-free shops, 27 bank clients, 1,200 corporate clients and 5-star hotels. It is a leading player in India's airport and seaport Money Exchange business with retail kiosks in 20 international airports, and 12 seaports. Ebix Inc is a leading international supplier of on-demand software and e-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries.

Surf Excel Becomes First Indian Home Care Brand to Top $1 bn Annual Sales

Hindustan Unilever's detergent brand, Surf Excel, became the first Indian home and personal care brand to cross one billion dollars in annual sales in 2022. With a total sales of Rs. 8,200 crore, it also became HUL's first brand to reach the milestone.
HUL's second largest brand is Brooke Bond with annual sales of Rs. 5,000 crore.

Feb 17, 2023

South Indian Bank Ties up with Maruti for Car Financing

South Indian Bank announced the signing of a MoU with Maruti Suzuki to provide dealer finance options and customised auto retail financing solutions for customers.
With this tie-up, South Indian Bank aims to help dealer partners streamline vehicle inventory funding and offer comprehensive retail financing solutions to the customers of Maruti Suzuki.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, MSIL, Bhuvan Dheer, Executive Vice President, Sales, MSIL, Vikas Kohli, Vice President, MSIL, Murali Ramakrishnan, MD & CEO, South Indian Bank, and other senior officials from both organisations.

CAMSPay Receives RBI Nod to Operate as Payment Aggregator

Registrar and transfer agent of mutual funds Computer Age Management Services Ltd (CAMS) said that its payment platform CAMSPay, received in-principal authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator.
CAMSPAy, a payment platform specialising in solving banking and finance services sector's payment challenges has been supporting mutual fund investors, insurance policy holders and loan borrowers for over a decade in enabling them to move from paper-based mandate process to offering digital payment solutions.

Indian Overseas Bank Launches Electronic Bank Guarantee Scheme

Public sector Indian Overseas Bank launched the facility of issuance of e-BG (Electronic Bank Guarantee) scheme in association with the National e-Governance Services Ltd.
The e-BG is an instrument issued by the city-headquartered bank in which the bank undertakes to guarantee a specific amount against the non-fulfilment of some action/performance of the applicant.
The main features of the e-BG are completely paperless mode with digital stamping and digital signature. Real time issuance of e-BG would make it available for the beneficiary instantly leading to time saving which in turn would fast track all the business purpose for which it is issued.

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