General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - October 2018

Oct 2018

Oct 13, 2019

Indian Cooperatives Ink Pact With Sri Lanka For Milk Supply

India, the world's largest milk producer, signed a memorandum of interest (MoI) with Sri Lanka for supply of milk and milk products.
The MoI was signed at the inauguration of the country's first-ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair being organised at Pragati Maidan.
Three MoIs have been signed with the Sri Lanka government which showed interest to buy milk from India. The quantity and price has not been quoted yet.
The Tamil Nadu Milk Cooperatiave Federation that owns 'Aavin' brand, Puducherry Milk Cooperative Federation that owns 'PonLait' brand and fertiliser company Indian Potash Ltd have signed a separate pact with the Sri Lanka government for supply of milk.

Oracle India Gets Over 100 Customers For 1st Cloud Data Centre In Mumbai

Oracle India has got more than 100 customers for its first cloud data centre it opened in the country in Mumbai. It will be opening another data centre in Hyderabad by the end of this financial year 2019.
The expansion is part of the American parent company's larger plan to open 20 new 'Gen 2 Cloud' data centres globally by the end of 2020.
The company will also be hiring more than 1,000 people for its autonomous cloud division.

Mumbai 12th Wealthiest City In The World, New York Number One

Mumbai is the 12th richest city in the world with a total wealth of $960 billion.
It is the only Indian city to feature in the top 20 list of wealthiest cities in the world.
Delhi is on 22nd position and second Indian city after Mumbai on the wealth intelligence firm's 'The Wealthiest Cities Worldwide in 2019' list.
Bangalore is on 26th spot while Hyderabad came last at 28.
Meanwhile, New York City (NYC) topped the list with a total wealth of $3.0 trillion. The city is home to the highest number of millionaires and billionaires than any other city in the world.
NYC has 65 billionaires and 3,80,000 millionaires, the report added. The city is also home to two largest stock exchanges in the world.
Tokyo came a close second with a total wealth amounting to $2.5 trillion. The city is home to the 3rd largest stock exchange in the world.

India jumps to 7th spot in Brand Finance Nation ranking

India jumped two levels to 7th position in the Brand Finance Nation ranking of 2019 despite the reduction in the overall economic growth due to slowdown in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
As per the latest report by independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, India has jumped to seventh position from 9th in 2018, after recording a solid 19 per cent growth in brand value to USD 2.6 trillion.
In 2018, Canada was at the 7th position which has dropped to 8th position. South Korea, which was at the 10th position in 2018 has managed to jump a level up to reach the 9th position.
Italy, which was at 8th position in 2018, slipped to the 10th, while the US, China and Germany continued to be the top three nations, respectively even in 2019.

Govt May Restrict Palm Oil Import From Malaysia Over Kashmir Stand

India is considering restricting imports of some products from Malaysia including palm oil, in reaction to the Southeast Asian country's leader criticising New Delhi for its actions in Kashmir.
India is looking for ways to limit palm oil imports and may place restrictions on other goods from the country.
India's government was angered after Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said at the United Nations that India had "invaded and occupied" Jammu and Kashmir and asked New Delhi to work with Pakistan to resolve the issue.

Forex Reserves Surges By $4.24 Bn To Touch a Record High Of $437.83 Bn

The country's foreign exchange reserves surged by USD 4.24 billion to touch a record high of USD 437.83 billion in the week to October 4, 2019 according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India.
The increase in reserves in the reporting week was on account of rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves.
FCA increased by USD 3.99 billion to USD 405.61 billion in the week ended October 4, the RBI said.
Expressed in US dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and the yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

SBI To Now Charge Processing Fees On Home Loans, Top-Ups

After reducing deposit rates for its customers, State Bank of India has now decided to charge processing fees for home loans, top-up plans and loans to corporates and real estate companies.
The full waiver of consolidated processing fee offered during the festival period for loan proposals sourced up to December 31, 2019, is withdrawn. The waiver will continue for proposals sourced up to October 15, 2019.
The SBI had recently linked lending rates to benchmark repo rates, resulting in a sharp fall in its interest income.
The bank will now charge around 0.4 per cent processing fee in the range of Rs 10,000-Rs 30,000 for individual borrowers and the bank would charge Rs 5,000 from builders.

Mastercard, Visa Quit Facebook's Libra As Global Regulators Air Concerns

Facebook Inc's ambitious efforts to establish a global digital currency called Libra suffered severe setbacks, as major payment companies including Mastercard and Visa Inc quit the group behind the project.
The two companies announced they would leave the association, as did EBay Inc, Stripe Inc. and Latin American payments company Mercado Pago. They join PayPal Holdings Inc which exited the group, as global regulators continue to air concerns about the project.
The remaining association members, including Lyft and Vodafone, consist mainly of venture capital, telecommunications, blockchain and technology companies, as well as nonprofit groups.

Oct 12, 2019

Govt Lifts Restrictions On Import Of Urea For Industrial Or Non-Agricultural Uses

The government said import of urea for industrial or non-agricultural use will be free from any restrictions.
Earlier, it was allowed only with the actual user condition.
Import policy for urea for industrial or non-agricultural use, besides technical grade urea and industrial urea shall be free with immediate effect.
Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd is designated as a state trading enterprise for import of urea on government account.

GeM Signs Pact With Union Bank Of India To Avail Various Services

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has signed a pact with Union Bank of India (UBI) under which the bank will offer several services to it including transfer of funds.
The commerce ministry launched the procurement portal GeM to increase transparency in public procurement of goods and services, which is estimated at about Rs 8 lakh crore per year.
UBI will be able to offer an array of services including transfer of funds through GeM pool accounts, advising of performance, bank guarantees and earnest money deposit to the registered users on the portal.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) will facilitate a cashless, paperless and transparent payment system on the portal and will create an efficient procurement system for government entities.

India's Crorepati Club Continues To Swell, 97,689 Disclose Income Above Rs. 1 Crore

India's crorepati club has swelled, with as many as 97,689 showing incomes above Rs 1 crore in assessment year 2018-19, according to data from the Income Tax Department. This is 20% growth from the year before, when the number was 81,344.
This income reported for assessment year 2018-19 relates to fiscal 2017-18, the financial year immediately after demonetisation and when the economy began to slow.
In the salaried category, 49,128 people declared incomes above a crore in AY 2018-19, compared with 41,457 the previous year.
The income tax released time-series data updated up to fiscal year 2018-19 and income-distribution data for AY 2018-19, including income distribution information of corporates, Hindu Undivided Families and individuals.
The total number of tax payers declaring income above Rs 1 crore rose to 1.67 lakh in AY 2018-19 from 1.33 lakh in AY2017-18, a rise of 19%.

Bank of Maharashtra cuts MCLR by 10 bps

State-owned Bank of Maharashtra has reduced its benchmark lending rates i.e. marginal cost of funds based lending rates (MCLR) across various tenors.
The MCLRs have been reduced to 10 bps below the existing levels across all MCLR tenors w.e.f 8 October, 2019.
The Bank's one year MCLR will be 8.40 percent, which is competitive as per the current market scenario.
For all other tenors, overnight, one month, three months and six months rates are 8.05 per cent, 8.15 per cent, 8.20 per cent and 8.30 per cent respectively.
The Repo Linked Lending Rates (RLLR) for Retail & MSME borrowers have also been reduced by 25 bps in line with the reduction in Repo Rate by Reserve Bank of India. This will further benefit the Retail and MSME borrowers.

Oct 11, 2019

RBI's 'no' to Indiabulls-Lakshmi Vilas Bank Merger

The Reserve Bank of India quashed a proposed merger of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd., one of the country's largest real-estate lenders, with Lakshmi Vilas Bank Ltd.
The importance of a steady depositor base can be gauged by the single-day, 34 per cent slide in Indiabulls Housing's shares in September 2019.
That came after the central bank put Lakshmi Vilas under its correctional facility for weak banks, and a court agreed to hear a plea seeking a fraud investigation into the property lender group, raising doubts about the merger.
The contagion risk from India's year-old shadow banking crisis has suddenly turned much graver.

Moody's Cuts GDP Growth Forecast to 5.8% for FY20

Moody's Investors Service slashed its 2019-20 GDP growth forecast for India to 5.8% from 6.2% earlier, saying the economy was experiencing a pronounced slowdown which is partly related to long-lasting factors.
The projection is lower than 6.1% that the RBI had forecast earlier in October 2019.
Moody's attributed the deceleration to an investment-led slowdown that has broadened into consumption, driven by financial stress among rural households and weak job creation.
"The drivers of the deceleration are multiple, mainly domestic and in part long-lasting," Moody's said in a report.
It expected the growth to pick up to 6.6% in 2020-21 and to around 7% over the medium term.

UNICEF Launches Cryptocurrency Fund

Unicef has launched a cryptocurrency fund and become the first United Nations organization to hold onto its crypto donations.
Without converting them into fiat, the fund will hold two cryptocurrencies and disburse them to support projects benefiting children worldwide.

India Ratings Cuts GDP Growth to 6.1% for FY20

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), a part of Fitch group, lowered India's gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the financial year 2019-20 to 6.1%.
This was the second downgrade in the last two months. Earlier in August 2019, the rating agency had revised GDP growth estimate to 6.7% from its earlier forecast of 7.3%.
Ind-Ra said it expects the GDP growth in the first half of the financial year 2019-20 to be 5.2% and forecasts it to recover to 6.9% in 2HFY20, mainly on account of the base effect.

RBI Gives Nod for Kerala Bank

The Kerala government's long pending dream of setting up its own bank, by merging district co-operative banks, is all set to become a reality with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) giving the final nod for the move.
With its formation, the proposed "Kerala Bank" will be largest banking network in the state.
13 DCBs would be merged with the Kerala State Co-operative Bank for forming the proposed Kerala Bank.

Oct 10, 2019

PayPal pulls out of Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency

PayPal has become the first company to drop out of Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency, as the embattled project continues to face queries from regulators around the world.
Libra is technically an association backed by 28 – now 27 – multinational companies and nonprofits, although Facebook takes the lead, and a Facebook subsidiary, Calibra, is intended to be the main way consumers will interact with the project.
Each of the companies involved had to pledge $10m (£8m) into a common pot to join.

Motoroyale Unveils 3 Bikes Under MV Agusta Dragster Series

Motoroyale, Kinetic group's venture of multi-brand superbikes, launched three bikes under the MV Agusta Dragster Series, with price starting at Rs 18.73 lakh (ex-showroom).
The Dragster 800 RR and 800 RR America variants are priced at Rs 18.73 lakh, while the 800 RR Pirelli trim is tagged at Rs 21.5 lakh.

BSE Joins Hands With FICCI To Boost MSME Sector

To enhance MSME and startup environment, leading stock exchange BSE in association with FICCI organised a brainstorming session to identify gaps in the existing policies and make suggestions for robust policies.
Besides, the session was organised to promote Udyam Saathi and Udyam Sakhi initiatives to foster the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector.

Oct 09, 2019

SBI Cuts Lending Rates By 10 Bps, Retail Loans To Get Cheaper

The State Bank of India (SBI) announced lowering its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 10 basis points across all tenors to 8.05 per cent from October 10, 2019.
The MCLR cut will make home and other retail loans cheaper for the existing borrowers.
The bank's one-year MCLR has been brought down from 8.15 per cent per annum to 8.05 per cent per annum.
This is the sixth cut in MCLR in FY 2019-20 and it comes days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered the repo rate by 25 basis points.

Reliance Mutual Fund is now Nippon India Mutual Fund

After the ₹6,000-crore acquisition of Reliance Capital's asset management arm, Japanese financial services major Nippon Life will be focusing on regaining the lost market share it has had in the country with its JV with the Anil Ambani group.
Reliance Mutual Fund, which has been renamed as Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF) following the deal, used to be the leader in assets under management till a few years ago, but has slipped to the fifth spot as institutional investors pulled out their money with the troubled company.
Nippon Life entered Reliance AMC first by buying a 26 percent stake in 2012 and now owns as much as 75 percent, making it the single largest promoter. Nippon has paid ₹6,000 crore for 75 percent stake.

Huawei Rewards Employees For Accelerating Revenue Despite a US ban

Huawei Technologies Co. quickened revenue growth to roughly 30% in the first half after select teams secured critical supplies to keep production going despite U.S. technology export restrictions.
Two months into a Trump-administration ban that cut Huawei off from American suppliers, China's largest technology company is starting to feel the pinch.
Still, while revenue growth of 30% marks a slowdown from 39% in 2019's first three months, it was up sharply from 2018.

Withdrawal Limit On PMC Bank Hits Mumbai's Gurdwaras

The withdrawal limit imposed on the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) bank by RBI has hit the functioning of Gurdwaras, adversely effecting organisation of 'Langar', extending medical facilities to poor and other charitable and day-to-day routine works by them.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on October 3, 2019 enhanced the withdrawal limit for the depositors of Punjab And Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Ltd to ₹25,000.
The RBI had permitted depositors to withdraw up to ₹10,000 of the total balance in their accounts.
Earlier the RBI had capped withdrawal limit at ₹1,000 but later on increased it to ₹10,000 per account.

BKT Scores Global Partnership With Spanish LaLiga

Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), India's leading manufacturer of off-highway tires has signed on as the Official Global Partner of LaLiga.
BKT aims for performance without limits – just like sport. And like Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LaLiga), it has a global presence that reaches people all around the world. These conditions create a fertile ground for a new partnership.
The partnership takes immediate effect and will run for three years until the end of the 2021/2022 season.

Govt to invite bids for Air India privatization

The government will soon invite bids to sell its entire stake in Air India, after potential buyers baulked at an initial attempt to divest a partial stake in the national carrier.
A sale of Air India is key for the Union government to meet its ambitious disinvestment target of ₹1.05 trillion for the year to 31 March, 2019.
Meeting the target is crucial this year as the government estimates that its corporate tax rate cut will lead to a revenue loss of ₹1.45 trillion.

Samsung Plans Four IoT Experience Centres In India

South Korean multinational Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd plans to set up four more state-of-the-art experience centres to showcase its end-to-end Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to drive growth in its India business.
Such centres will help familiarize consumers with its solutions for smarter homes and, this in turn, will help boost sales. The experience centres are likely to come up in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.
The company opened its first mobile experience centre for the Indian market in Bengaluru in September 2018.
The 33,000-sq.ft store at the Opera House off Brigade Road—a standalone property used during the British era to stage plays—houses Samsung's largest mobile experience centre globally.

More Tech Startups Plan To Go Public In The Next Two Years

At least half-a-dozen tech startups, including unicorns such as Freshworks, Ola and Oyo, are looking at going public in the next couple of years.
The development comes amid some of the world's top tech startups—including ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft—experiencing disappointing debuts on stock exchanges, followed by WeWork's decision to withdraw its IPO.
Indian startups are, however, confident of pulling off successful public offerings.

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