General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Feb 11, 2020

DGT Proposes to Issue Digital 'E-Credentials/E-Certificates'

The Government is developing the Electronic Skill Credential Standard (ESCS) Specification.
Directorate General of Training (DGT), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship proposes to issue digital 'e-Credentials / e-Certificates' which are freely portable for candidates and easily verifiable at scale by employers and job matching platforms but continue to allow print and other visual forms for human consumption. This would enable candidates to verifiably state their skill levels with a high degree of trust in authenticity to aggregators, matchers, and employers. In the DGT ecosystem, all the certificates are 'e-Certificates', digitally signed.
E-Credentials are an electronic scheme-based standard for describing credentials data in a machine-readable format (JSON-LDrepresentation of RDFa- Resource Description Framework, a web standard) along with its printable human-friendly version to make credential exchange between digital agents open and reliable. Certificates issued according to this specification can be aligned to one or more educational standards. They are secured using digital signatures. These will also be pushed in DigiLocker.

BSNL, Air India and MTNL Highest Loss-making PSUs in FY19, ONGC Most Profitable

ONGC, Indian Oil Corporation and NTPC were the top three profitable PSUs in 2018-19, whereas BSNL, Air India and MTNL incurred highest losses for a third consecutive year, according to a survey tabled in Parliament.
The Public Enterprises Survey 2018-19, which maps the annual financial performance of all central PSUs, revealed that the top 10 companies in the red claimed a whopping 94.04 per cent of the total losses made by all the 70 loss making CPSEs.

IIT-H incubated startup launches high-speed electric scooter

Pure EV, a startup incubated by IIT Hyderabad, launched its high-speed electric scooter 'EPluto 7G'. The vehicle has a range of 116 km per full charge and comes with a patented battery technology. It is priced at Rs 79,999.
The vehicle offers top speed of 60 kmph and battery warranty for 40,000 km. The battery and the vehicle have been designed and developed factoring in the Indian terrain and weather conditions.

Feb 10, 2020

World's Happiest Seek Road to Financial Intelligence

The most cheerful people on Earth are about to get some help managing their finances.
In Finland, which just topped the United Nation's World Happiness Index, the central bank is drawing up a financial literacy strategy for citizens.
The idea, conceived in a country that already outperforms much of the rich world in education, is to figure out whether a bit more financial acumen will help Finns borrow less.
Finnish household debt has doubled in the past two decades against a backdrop of falling interest rates and the gradual obsolescence of cash as a form of payment. The people of Finland, home to companies like Nokia and Rovio of Angry Birds fame, are known for being more tech savvy than most. But their willingness to embrace digital payments over cash has coincided with less discipline in their spending habits.
Now, a record 7% of Finland's 5.5 million citizens can't pay their bills, up by a third over the past decade. In recent years, the authorities have raised the alarm on growth in consumer credit in particular.

Covea in Talks with Exor for $9 bn Deal

French insurer Covea is in advanced talks with the Agnelli family's Exor NV to buy the Italian company's reinsurance business PartnerRe for about $9 billion in cash. Covea approached Exor with an offer for the Bermuda-based reinsurer and is holding exclusive talks with the holding company that also controls Fiat Chrysler NV and Ferrari NV. Exor, led by the Agnelli scion John Elkann—who is also chairman of Fiat and Ferrari—bought PartnerRe for $6.9 billion in 2015 to diversify its assets.

IRDAI Revises Stewardship Code for Insurers

Insurance regulator IRDAI came up with revised guidelines on the Stewardship Code for Insurers, or the set of guidelines for insurance firms on their engagement with companies in which they have invested.
All the insurers need to review and update their existing stewardship within three months. The revised guidelines among other aspects, favoured an oversight role for the insurance companies in the investee firms.
Setting a three-month deadline for the insurers to update their stewardship policy and get the same approved by their board of directors, IRDAI sought to highlight how insurance companies ought to have an active role in the general meetings of investee companies and engage with the management to improve governance.

Government Plans to Sell 5% Stake in SAIL

The government is planning to sell 5% stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) through an offer for sale, which could fetch about Rs. 1,000 crore to the exchequer.
Officials from the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and steel ministry are planning road shows in Singapore and Hong Kong for SAIL stake sale. However, the Hong Kong road show might be called off due to coronavirus outbreak.
The government holds 75% stake in SAIL. It had last sold 5% stake in the steel CPSE in December 2014.
The government may look at completing the transaction in the current fiscal as it strives to achieve the Rs. 65,000 crore disinvestment target set in the revised estimates.

Cipla Buys Four Key Wanbury Brands

As per reports, Wanbury received up to Rs. 88.60 crore for the sale of the brands to Cipla.
Drug firm Cipla acquired four brands from Wanbury Ltd.
Cipla acquired the four brands, namely CPink, CDense, Productiv and Folinine to further strengthen its presence in the women's health segment.

Feb 09, 2020

Total Buys 50% in Adani's Solar Business

French energy giant Total SA agreed to acquire 50% in Adani Group's solar assets for $510 million, in one of the biggest transactions in India's clean energy industry.
Total will own half of a joint venture company that will house the solar assets of Adani Green Energy Ltd, which has a 2,148MW solar project portfolio across 11 states. Adani Green Energy will own the balance 50% in the joint venture.
The transaction, the second major proposed investment by the French energy major in a company controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani, comes amid a tough phase for India's clean energy sector.

Emami Group to Sell Cement Business

Emami Group agreed to sell its cement business to Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd, a Nirma Group company, for an enterprise value of Rs. 5,500 crore, as the founders of the Kolkata-based company seek to pare debt.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the next three-four months.
The sale of the cement business is part of Emami group's plan to become debt-free. Last year, the group's founders sold 20% in their flagship household goods company, Emami Ltd, for Rs. 2,830 crore as part of the plan.

RBI Keeps Policy Rates Unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept policy rates unchanged for the second time in a row as it saw inflation elevated and on a rising trajectory until March — a move that came amid concerns of a sluggish economy and increased risks owing to global fears over the coronavirus outbreak.
All six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), led by RBI governor Shaktikanta Das, unanimously decided to maintain the repurchase or repo rate at 5.15%, while striking a note of caution on the state of the economy.
The MPC, however, retained its accommodative stance, which means that interest rates can be lowered in the future. It said that "the economy continues to be weak", even as it has projected a 6% GDP growth rate for 2020-21. The RBI's Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) shows a continued deterioration in consumer sentiment, despite other high-frequency economic indicators showing an improvement in December and January.

Feb 08, 2020

Cognizant Tech Acquires EI Technologies and Code Zero Consulting Companies

Cognizant technology solutions corporation has made two strategic acquisitions EI technologies, a Paris-based digital technology consulting company and Code Zero, Georgia-based consultancy for cloud-based CPQ (Configure-Price-Quote) & Billing Solutions for the development of global salesforce practice before its fourth Quarter Earnings.

Reliance General Insurance Introduces Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan "Infinity"

Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, one of the leading insurance companies in India, launched a comprehensive health insurance plan called "Reliance Health Infinity".
Under the plan, the minimum sum insured will be Rs. 3 lakh while the maximum sum insured limit will be Rs. 1 crore.
Pre-hospitalisation expenses incurred for a period of 90 days and post-hospitalisation expenses for a period of 180 days will also be covered.
The health policy will also cover expenses for hospitalisation under AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) treatment.

Feb 07, 2020

MG Motor to Set up Second Plant in India

MG Motor India said that it is looking to set up a new manufacturing plant in the country as it expects its existing plant in Gujarat to run out of capacity by the end of 2021.
The company's current manufacturing facility in Halol (Gujarat), which it bought from General Motors, can roll out a maximum of one lakh units per annum.

Paytm Rolls Out All-in-one Payment Device

Paytm, India's leading digital payments player, unveiled new products to target businesses and ward off rising competition from Google Pay, Walmart Inc.-owned PhonePe and Amazon Pay.
Paytm introduced a stand that displays QR check-out codes that comes with a calculator and USB charger, a so-called sound box that provides voice confirmations of transactions, cloud software to streamline inventory management, and a point-of-sale device with built-in scanner and printer. The latter accepts payments through debit and credit cards as well as as Paytm and rival apps.
The new products signal a shift in strategic focus to merchants rather than person-to-person transactions. Paytm's brand became synonymous with digital payments in India after the government banned high-value currency notes at the end of 2016, a "demonetization" exercise intended to stymie corruption. But the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. are now expanding their rival services aggressively and have begun to encroach on its market share.

Piramal Group May Partner with Foreign, PSU Banks for Co-lending

Piramal Group plans to collaborate with public sector and foreign banks for co-lending opportunities, which will generate fee income for the company and help maintain return on equity (ROE).
Piramal said that we have, in the past, explored high-yield, wholesale funding opportunities through our funds. Going forward, we will be collaborating with public sector and foreign banks for co-lending opportunities. Co-lending opportunities help in generating fee income and main ROEs despite our diversification into retail financing.
Piramal also said that there are many portfolio purchasing and merger and acquisition (M&A) prospects in the housing finance sector, as it has slowed down due to liquidity crunch, which has led to some of these companies vacating the space.

Yes Bank Picks IDFC Securities, Ambit to Raise as much as $2 billion

Yes Bank Ltd. picked Cantor Fitzgerald LP, IDFC Securities Ltd. and Ambit Pvt. to help the Indian lender raise as much as $2 billion for bolstering capital buffers.
Yes Bank, staggering under the weight of soured loans, has been plagued by worries about its asset quality and uncertainty about efforts to raise new capital. It's trying to shore up a core equity capital ratio that's barely above a regulatory minimum of 8%.

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