General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Apr 26, 2020

SIDBI Launches Special Liquidity Scheme For MSMEs

The Small Industries Development Bank of India launched a special liquidity scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through banks including Small Finance Banks (SFBs), Non-Banking Financial Companies including fintech NBFCs and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs).
The scheme would provide financial support to banks, NBFCs and MFIs by way of term loans to ensure operational continuity and promote onward lending to MSMEs.

Bajaj Allianz launches 'BAGIC GOQii Co-pay Option' Under Regulatory Sandbox

Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, along with smart-tech enabled preventive healthcare platform GOQii has launched a new add-on health cover called 'BAGIC GOQii Co-pay Option' under regulatory sandbox approval received from the IRDAI, that would reward customers with a healthy lifestyle.
This option will be an add-on cover which can be opted by the holders of company's existing health insurance policy — Health Ensure. The objective behind this product is to reward customers who are adopting a healthy lifestyle in the form of co-pay deduction in their health insurance policy.

Government Freezes DA & DR For 1.1 Crore Employees & Pensioners

The Department of Expenditure, under the finance ministry has stated that the central government has frozen the Dearness Allowance (DA) & Dearness Relief (DR), an inflation-linked allowance to its 1.1 crore employees & pensioners respectively due from January 1, 2020 to combat the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.
The government had announced a 4% increase in DA for its 50 lakh employees and 61 lakh pensioners to 21% effective from January 1, 2020, which was to cost Rs 27,100 crore in the current financial year 2020-21.
It is estimated that the central government will be able to save Rs 37, 530 crore in the current financial year & 2021-22. The states will likely implement the central government order on DA and DR & they will save Rs 82, 566 crore, which totally save Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

Ashok Leyland acquires 3.36% share in subsidiary Hinduja Leyland Finance

Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland Ltd has acquired 1.57 crore shares of Rs 10 each constituting 3.36 per cent of the equity of its subsidiary Hinduja Leyland Finance Ltd (HLFL).
The cost of acquisition was done at a price of Rs 119 per equity share. The proposed acquisition of equity shares of HLFL is at arm's length basis.
The acquisition is part of the 6.99 per cent acquisition approved by the board of directors at a meeting.

Apr 24, 2020

Treasury Considers 100% Guarantee On Small Firm Loans

The Treasury has confirmed it is considering offering 100% guarantees on loans up to £25,000 for small firms.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said that UK-based small and medium-sized business could apply for interest-free loans to help them with Covid-19 related difficulties.

Amazon's £250,000 For Bookshops Fund Stuns Trade

Online retailer Amazon, long accused of killing off bricks-and-mortar book sales, has stunned the industry by donating £250,000 to a fund in aid of bookshops hit by coronavirus.
The tech giant initially made the donation on a "low-key" basis, said the Book Trade Charity.
But as speculation grew, the charity revealed that Amazon was the donor.
Chief executive David Hicks said he realised some booksellers would find that difficult.

Govt To Suspend Up To 1-Year IBC Provisions That Trigger Insolvency Cases

In a major relief for corporate borrowers hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, the government has decided to amend the insolvency law to suspend up to one year provisions that trigger insolvency proceedings against defaulters.
Further, the amendments to the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) would pave the way for banks to restructure loans.
The ordinance would be promulgated to suspend three sections of IBC for up to one year and a decision in this regard was taken by the Union Cabinet.
Section 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC would be suspended for six months and the suspension time can be extended up to one year.

Victoria's Secret Shifts Image With New Faces For Asia

US lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret has unveiled two new brand ambassadors as it looks to Asia to reverse its struggling fortunes.
The appointment of popular actors Yang Mi and Zhou Dongyu marks a change from using models to represent the firm.
It also appears to be a shift away from the US brand's overtly sexualised image.
The high-profile partnerships come even as an agreement to take over the company looks to have collapsed.

Apr 23, 2020

Kotak bank to raise up to rs. 7,800 cr. Equity capital

Private sector bank Kotak Mahindra Bank will be raising between Rs. 7,500 -7,800 crore equity capital by issuing 6.5 crore shares, the lender informed the exchanges.
The board has accorded its approval for raising of capital by way of issue of equity shares, by the bank for up to 6,50,00,000 equity shares of Rs. 5 each, through a private placement, follow-on public offering (FPO), qualified institutions placement (QIP) or a combination [of both].

Apr 22, 2020

Paytm Payments Bank partners with Mastercard

Paytm Payments Bank had entered into a partnership with MasterCard for the issuance of virtual and physical debit cards. The company has announced that it will issue MasterCard virtual debit card to new customers so that they are able to perform secure online transactions.
After this, customers will also be able to request a physical card allowing then to do contactless in-store transactions. Along with this, the customers will also be able to withdraw cash at more than 1 million ATM terminals.

Netflix Gets 16 Million New Sign-Ups Thanks To Lockdown

Netflix has seen subscriber numbers surge this year, as lockdowns around the world keep people at home where they want to be entertained.
Almost 16 million people created accounts in the first three months of the year. That is almost double the new sign-ups it saw in the final months of 2019. However, the streaming service, which is behind some multi-million dollar productions, said shutdowns have halted "almost all" filming around the world.

Reserve Bank Cancels License Of Goa's Oldest Mapusa Urban Co-Operative Bank

India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the license granted to the Mapusa Urban Co-operative Bank of Goa Ltd., Goa to conduct banking business which includes acceptance of deposits and repayment of deposits as defined in Section 5 (b) read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 with immediate effect.
The order came into effect from the close of business on 16 April 2020.

Daimler, Volvo Trucks Team Up On Hydrogen Fuel Cells For Heavy Trucks

Daimler and Volvo Trucks plan to collaborate on development and sales of fuel-cells for heavy-duty trucks, as the costs of new technology and uncertainty related to the coronavirus pandemic are pushing large manufacturers to pool resources.
Daimler will consolidate all its fuel cell activities in the joint venture. The Volvo Group will acquire 50% of the joint venture for about 600 million euros ($650 million).

Facebook's $5.7bn bet on India's richest man Mukesh Ambani

Facebook has said it is investing $5.7bn (£4.6bn) in cut-price Indian mobile internet company Reliance Jio, which is owned by the country's richest person Mukesh Ambani.
The deal makes the social network the largest minority shareholder in the telecoms unit of Reliance Industries, with a 9.99% stake.
It gives Facebook a major foothold in India, where its WhatsApp chat service has 400m users and is about to launch a payments service.

Apr 21, 2020

RBI asks banks, NBFCs To Carry Out Money Laundering Risk Assessment Periodically

The RBI on Monday asked banks and NBFCs to carry out money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk assessment exercise periodically. The Reserve Bank said it has added a new section in the Master Directions on KYC.
This requires its regulated entities (REs) to carry out ML and TF risk assessment exercise periodically to identify, assess and take effective measures to mitigate its money laundering and terrorist financing risk for clients, countries or geographic areas, products, services, and transactions or delivery channels.

Smt Nirmala Sitharaman attends the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Ba...

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman attended the 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank through video-conference in New Delhi.
The NDB was established by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in 2014. The purpose of the Bank is to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries to complement the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. NDB has so far approved 14 projects of India for an amount of US$ 4,183 million.

Virgin Australia slumps into administration

Virgin Australia has confirmed it has entered voluntary administration - making it Australia's first big corporate casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.
The country's second-largest carrier cut almost all flights last month following wide-spread travel bans. It was already struggling with a long-term A$5bn (£2.55bn; $3.17bn) debt.
The airline is now seeking new buyers and investors, after failing to get a loan from Australia's government.

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