General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Sep 14, 2020

SoftBank Sells Chip Designer Arm to Nvidia

SoftBank Group Corp has agreed to sell chip designer Arm to Nvidia Corp for as much as $40 billion in a deal set to reshape the semiconductor landscape.
The deal puts a vital supplier to Apple Inc and others across the industry under the control of a single player and will face potential pushback from regulators and Nvidia rivals.
Nvidia will pay SoftBank $21.5 billion in shares and $12 billion in cash, including $2 billion on signing. The deal will see SoftBank and the $100 billion Vision Fund, which has a 25% stake in Arm, take a stake in Nvidia of between 6.7% and 8.1%.
SoftBank could also be paid an additional $5 billion in cash or shares depending on the chip designer's business performance.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals including in Britain, the United States and China and is expected to close in March 2022.

HCL Technologies Partners with NVIDIA Partner Network

To pursue expanded opportunities in AI space HCL Technologies has joined NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN), the US-based technology company's partner program, with plans to pursue expanded opportunities in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) space.
HCL also announced the launch of NEXT.ai, HCL's AI Lab, focused on upskilling engineers and architects utilizing AI solutions across hardware and software technology stacks. This will enhance their capabilities to build AI-led solutions for multiple HCL clients across industry verticals.
The HCL NEXT.ai lab focuses on emerging technologies to develop industry-specific AI solutions for customers pursuing digital transformation. Customers and partners can co-create proofs of concept and full-fledged, scalable and production-ready solutions in the lab. NEXT.ai comes equipped with the latest technology products and infrastructure from its partner ecosystem. The areas of focus include computer vision, predictive modeling, failure analysis, optimization, product intelligence, data engineering, data management, and more.

First Private Seabass Hatchery to be Set up in Karnataka

Even though 23 years have passed since the Chennai-based Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) succeeded in the captive-breeding of Asian seabass (Koduva), a fish with high commercial value, hatcheries have remained only with government research institutions. The private sector has been more interested in shrimp farming.
Now, for the first time in the country, CIBA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a seabass hatchery in the private sector, on start-up mode, in Karnataka.
The MoU was signed with Canares Aquaculture, owned by young entrepreneurs Karthik Gowda V.S., Kaushik Alike and Sachin V. Savan, from Kumta in Karnataka, to ensure the transfer of CIBA's technology.
They were students at the Mangalore Fisheries College, and during a visit to CIBA's seabass hatchery at the Muttukadu Experimental Station, their interest was kindled, and the idea of setting up their own aquaculture start up was born.
When they approached CIBA authorities to set up a hatchery, the institute provided them technical guidance and field training in seabass nursery rearing.
The institute also followed up, enabling the start-up to obtain funding support to start the firm.

RBI Lays Down Guidelines for Banks to Appoint Chief Compliance Officer

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prescribed guidelines for 'Compliance Functions in Banks and Role of Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)' to bring uniformity in the approach followed by banks and also to align the supervisory expectations on CCOs with best practices.
These guidelines cover policy (which should be reviewed at least once a year), tenor and appointment of CCO, and reporting requirements and duties and responsibilities of the compliance function, among others.
The RBI observed that banks currently follow diverse practices vis-a-vis compliance functions in banks and role of CCO.
As per the guidelines, a bank shall lay down a board-approved compliance policy, clearly spelling out its compliance philosophy, expectations on compliance culture covering 'tone at the top' (ethical atmosphere created in the bank by its leadership) and accountability.
The policy will also encompass incentive structure and effective communication and challenges thereof, structure and role of the compliance function, role of CCO, processes for identifying, assessing, monitoring, managing, and reporting on compliance risk throughout the bank.
According to the guidelines, the bank shall also develop and maintain a quality assurance and improvement programme covering all aspects of the compliance function.

CCI Gives Nod to Carlyle Group's 20 per cent Stake Acquisition In Piramal Pharma

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the proposed combination involving the acquisition of 20 per cent of the issued and paid-up equity share capital of Piramal Pharma Limited (Pharma Co) by CA Clover Intermediate II Investments (Curie).
The proposed combination is related to the transfer of global pharmaceutical business (transferred business) by Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) to a wholly-owned subsidiary of PEL, that is Pharma Co, followed by the acquisition of 20 per cent of the issued and paid-up equity share capital of Pharma Co by Curie (proposed combination).
Curie is a special purpose acquisition vehicle, owned and controlled by investment funds advised by the affiliates of the Carlyle Group Inc.
The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager, which manages funds that invest globally across four investment disciplines: Corporate Private Equity (buyout and growth capital), Real Assets (real estate, infrastructure and energy and renewable resources), Global Credit (leveraged loans and structured credit, opportunistic credit, energy credit, private credit and distressed credit), and Solutions (private equity fund of funds program and related co-investment and secondary activities).
Pharma Co is a wholly-owned entity of PEL that will hold PEL's transferred business as part of the proposed combination, and acquire the pharmaceutical business of PEL comprising the Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation, Complex Hospital Generics, and Consumer Healthcare Division segments, as well as equity interest in certain PEL entities.

Uganda and Tanzania Sign Oil Pipeline Deal

Tanzania and Uganda have signed an agreement allowing for the construction of a 1,445 km (898 miles) crude oil pipeline.
The $3.5bn (£2.7m) project will connect Uganda's oil fields to Tanzania's port of Tanga.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Presidents of both countries.
Oil reserves were found in Uganda in 2006 but production has been delayed partly by a lack of infrastructure including an export pipeline.
A start date for construction has not yet been announced for what is set to become East Africa's first major oil pipeline.
But there are warnings the project could come at a huge cost to some Ugandan communities.

Liberty General Partners SpiceJet to Offer Travel Insurance

Mumbai-based Liberty General Insurance with has partnered with SpiceJet to offer travel insurance to consumers who book tickets through the airline's website and mobile site.
Applicable across SpiceJet's domestic network, Liberty's new zero-cancellation service offered under the Liberty Secure Travel Policy allows passengers to seamlessly cancel tickets and claim full reimbursement of the cancellation charges in case they are unable to fly due to any unavoidable circumstances, adding that customers can avail the offering by paying an additional nominal fee and adding the insurance cover while booking the flight ticket.
Passengers can claim a full cancellation-fee reimbursement for a flight-booking made in advance not beyond 90 days, the sum insured in the event of a ticket cancellation is Rs. 5,000.

Sep 13, 2020

Sebi Shortlists Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Others to Revamp IT Infra Network

Markets regulator Sebi has shortlisted eight companies including Bharti Airtel, Wipro and Tata Communications to revamp its IT infrastructure network and communication systems.
The other shortlisted companies are -- Hewlett Packard Enterprise India, IBM India, NTT India, Orange Business Services India Technology and Sify Technologies.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is looking to refurbish its IT infrastructure network and communication systems.
Besides, it is planning to have a centralised control over its network and IP (internet protocol) telephony infrastructure.

Sep 12, 2020

ADB, ENGIE Sign Rs. 466-crore Loan for Developing Solar Project in Gujarat

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide ENGIE group with a loan of 4.66 billion Indian rupees (about $65.5 million) to construct and operate a solar pv project in India.
The 200MW solar pv plant will be constructed at Raghanesda Solar Park in India's western state of Gujarat.
The ADB is providing the funding along with another international lender.
ENGIE will implement the project through subsidiary Electro Solaire Private Limited.
The company is collaborating with the Government of Gujarat to construct the project and has signed a power purchase agreement for 25 years with the state government.

TikTok Owner ByteDance to Invest Billions in Singapore Over Three Years

TikTok owner ByteDance plans to invest billions of dollars and recruit hundreds of employees in Singapore after opting to base its Southeast Asia regional headquarters there.
ByteDance has also stepped up the purchase of servers in global trade and transport hub Singapore to back up U.S. data as a contingency.
The Chinese firm is being forced by President Donald Trump to sell TikTok's U.S. assets to avoid a ban in United States.
The Trump administration has cited a potential national security risk due to the vast amount of private data which the short video app is compiling on U.S. consumers.

India Slips 26 Spots on Economic Freedom Index

India has fallen 26 spots to the 105th position on the Global Economic Freedom Index 2020, according to a report.
The country was at the 79th spot in last year's rankings.
The Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual Report by Canada's Fraser Institute has been released in India in conjunction with New Delhi-based think tank Centre For Civil Society.
The report said prospects for increasing economic freedom in India depend on next generation reforms in factor markets and in greater openness to international trade.

Sep 11, 2020

ICICI Prudential Life Partners With NSDL Payments Bank to Offer Insurance Products

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has entered into a corporate agency agreement with NSDL Payments Bank, a subsidiary of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).
Under the agreement, ICICI Prudential Life will provide its customer-centric protection and savings products to customers of NSDL Payments Bank.
N S Kannan, the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said the key objective of both partners is to leverage technology to provide a hassle-free and immersive experience to customers.

Mastercard Launches Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) Testing Platform

With the global economy racing to embrace digital payments, central banks also are looking to the future and investigating how to support innovation while maintaining monetary policy and financial stability as they issue and distribute currency.
In fact, 80 percent of central banks surveyed are engaging in some form of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) work, and about 40 percent of central banks have progressed from conceptual research to experimenting with concept and design, according to a recent survey by the Bank for International Settlements.

Sep 10, 2020

Silver Lake to Invest in Reliance Retail

According to Reliance Industries (RIL), US private equity (PE) firm Silver Lake would invest Rs. 7,500 crore in its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) for a 1.75 per cent stake, valuing the company at Rs 4.2 trillion. This came a day after Silver Lake had led a Rs. 3,750-crore investment round in edtech firm Bjyu's.
Earlier this year, Silver Lake invested Rs. 10,202 crore in Jio Platforms, RIL's digital services platform.
The fund infusion by Silver Lake in Reliance Retail, however, sets the stage for more stake sales by the company, including one to PE firm KKR, also an investor in Jio Platforms. KKR may put up to $1.5 billion (or Rs. 11,250 crore) in Reliance Retail as it seeks a slice of the country's largest retailer, sources told Business Standard.
RIL had given the option to investors in Jio Platforms to consider backing Reliance Retail as it sought to unlock value, following the acquisition of Future Group's retail assets.

SBI Mutual Fund Launches SBI Magnum Children's Benefit Fund

SBI Mutual Fund launched SBI Magnum Children's Benefit Fund - Investment Plan, an open-ended fund to help parents to invest for their children's future. The Investment Plan is a new offering as part of SBI Magnum Children's Benefit Fund, which currently has Savings Plan, a predominantly debt-oriented offering.
SBI Magnum Children's Benefit Fund – Investment Plan will predominantly invest in equity and equity-related instruments including equity ETFs with a minimum of 65% going up to 100%, debt including debt ETFs and money market instruments up to a maximum of 35%, in REITS and InvITs up to 10%, and up to 20 % in Gold ETFs.
The new plan would be ideal for a child aged one year ideally going up to when he/she is 14 years old, thereby allowing long-term capital appreciation over the long-term. There would be a lock-in period for at least give years or till the child attains age of majority, whichever is earlier.

Sitharaman Launches Doorstep Banking Initiative by Public Sector Banks

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a doorstep banking services initiative by public sector banks (PSBs) which will provide convenience to customers.
This is part of EASE (enhanced access and service excellence) reforms that the Department of Financial Services had undertaken in 2018.
Customer convenience and comfort will be the top priority in the entire process.
The EASE reforms have resulted in improving various financial parameters of PSBs, and there has been a six-fold increase in the number of profitable lenders in the last two years.
As part of the EASE reforms, the doorstep banking initiative is envisaged to provide convenience of banking services to customers at their doorstep through the universal touch points of call centre, web portal or mobile app.
The services will be rendered by the doorstep banking agents deployed by the selected service providers at 100 centres across the country.
At present only non-financial services like pick up of negotiable instruments (cheque/demand draft/pay order etc), pick up of 15G / 15H forms, pick up of IT/GST challan, request for account statement, delivery of term deposit receipt, among others, are available to customers.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

October GK, September GK, August GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services and Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26