General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Jul 23, 2024

Airbus and Tata to Debut India's First H125 Helicopter by 2026

Airbus and Tata joined forces to manufacture India's first H125 helicopter, which is set to roll out by 2026. This partnership aligns with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and reflects Airbus's commitment to investing in the Indian aerospace market despite regulatory challenges.
India is projected to become a significant market for helicopters, with Airbus estimating a demand of up to 500 H-125 units in India and neighbouring countries. The company views India as a future leader in the commercial helicopter sector, comparable to the United States in market importance.

Bank of Baroda Celebrates 117th Foundation Day

Bank of Baroda (Bank), one of India's leading public sector banks, celebrated its 117th Foundation Day. The theme for the Bank's 117th year is "Trusted Today, Transforming Tomorrow", outlining the Bank's vision to be a world-class financial services institution, built on the foundation of the trust of its customers for well over a century.
On the occasion, the Bank launched a range of digital and technology-led initiatives aimed at further enhancing the payments and banking experience for customers.

Jul 22, 2024

OVL Hikes Stake in Azerbaijani Oilfield with $60 Million Investment

ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), a subsidiary of ONGC, acquired Norwegian firm Equinor's stake in Azerbaijan's offshore Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) oil field and an associated oil pipeline for $60 million. This increases OVL's stake in the oil field to 2.95% and in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to 3.097%.
State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) holds 25%, BP operates the field with a 30.37% stake, and other shareholders include Japanese firms and ExxonMobil.
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) established in 1965 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONGC to explore and develop petroleum and gas fields outside India.
OVL is the second-largest petroleum company in India by reserves and production, with stakes in 32 oil and gas projects across 15 countries.

Sanjeev Krishan Re-elected for Second Term as PwC India Chairperson

PwC India announced that Sanjeev Krishan was re-elected for a second term as Chairperson of PwC in India, for a four-year period beginning on April 1, 2025.
As Chairperson, Krishan will continue to lead PwC in India, representing them externally and internally. He will also continue to serve on the PwC Global Strategy Council.
Krishan, whose first term as Chairperson started on January 1, 2021, joined PwC in 1991 as an articled trainee.

CBDT Awards Taxnet 2.0 Project to Bharti Airtel

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) awarded the Taxnet 2.0 project to Bharti Airtel Ltd. This project aims to provide advanced network connectivity, facility management services, and video conferencing services to the Income Tax Department (ITD). Bharti Airtel was chosen through an open tender process for this critical project, which marks a significant advancement over the current Taxnet 1.0 project. The new system aims to enhance the digital infrastructure of the ITD by providing secure, reliable, and seamless connectivity services.

Jul 20, 2024

ESAF SFB Gets RBI Nod for Re-appointment of K. Paul Thomas as MD & CEO

ESAF Small Finance Bank received the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) nod for re-appointment of K. Paul Thomas as its Managing Director & CEO for another three years. This approval was communicated via the RBI's letter, granted under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
Additionally, Paul Thomas is the Chairman of the Board of Sa-Dhan, the association of microfinance and impact finance institutions.

Jul 19, 2024

WazirX Experiences Significant Financial Losses Due to Security Vulnerability

WazirX, India's largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered significant financial losses as a result of compromised two-factor authentication (2FA), with nearly half of its reserves being lost, amounting to close to $250 million
Mumbai-based crypto exchange WazirX has halted withdrawals from the platform after suffering a major hacking attack.
WazirX saw withdrawals in early European hours on Thursday (July 18). WazirX, which popularly calls itself as 'India Ka Bitcoin Exchange', primarily targets the Indian market.

NFDC and Netflix India Collaborate to Train Voice-Over Artists

The government and Netflix India have partnered to create opportunities for voice-over artists, especially women, to enhance their skills and find better opportunities in the media and entertainment sector.
The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and Netflix India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch "The Voicebox," a program to train voice-over artists in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Gujarati.
The Voicebox program will offer Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) training through structured workshops featuring guest lectures, mentoring sessions, and assessments.
The training will be conducted in seven major cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kochi. Each batch will consist of 30 participants, totaling 210 selected candidates through preliminary screening. At least 50% of the participants in each batch will be women.

The Most Valuable Fossil Ever Sold at Auction

A Stegosaurus skeleton has become the most valuable fossil ever sold at auction, being snapped up for $44.6 million in New York.
The dinosaur fossil was sold on Wednesday to an anonymous buyer after it was sought after by seven bidders, according to Sotheby's, the auction house handling the sale.
The fossil, nicknamed "Apex," smashed its pre-sale estimate, which was between $4 million and $6 million.
Apex was discovered on private land in Moffat County, Colorado, by commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper in 2022, Sotheby's said in a press release.
It was preserved in hard sandstone, which protected the bones from becoming distorted, Sotheby's added.

Global Microsoft Windows Outage

The global Windows outage in July 2024, which caused the "blue screen of death" for many users, was triggered by a new Crowdstrike update.
This update led to PCs getting stuck on the recovery screen, impacting various sectors including airports, companies, banks, and government offices.

Adani Ports Gets A Rating Upgrade From ICRA

Ratings agency ICRA has upgraded the rating of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) to AAA/Stable from AA+/Stable.
The company's long-term fund based/non-fund based facilities, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and commercial papers have been upgraded to AAA/Stable.
APSEZ announced the development after market hours and the Adani Ports shares on July 18 ended at Rs 1,491.95 on the NSE, down by Rs 7.10 or 0.47%.
The company planned to ramp up its investment to Rs 100 billion ($1.2 billion) to boost its southern India trans-shipment container port. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, the report said the company is looking to lure some of the world's largest ships.

Jul 18, 2024

LIC Enters Into Tie-Up with IDFC First Bank under Corporate Agency Arrangement

Continuing with its endeavor to increase the contribution of bancassurance and its pursuit to provide life insurance coverage to all by 2047. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India tied-up with one of the best technologically advanced and promising banks in the country, IDFC First Bank Ltd, under Corporate Agency Arrangement.
This tie-up will facilitate more than 1 crore customers of IDFC First Bank who will now be able to buy LIC policies through the Bank. The journey of digital on-boarding has already started and is in development phase and once completed, customers will be able to buy LIC policies online by visiting Bank's website.

Kantar: Google, Tata Motors Top 'Most Inclusive' Brands in India

According to a report released by leading marketing data and analytics firm, Kantar, a staggering 68 per cent of Indians claim to have been discriminated against, and in a majority of cases in commercial places and brand touchpoints, which is substantially higher than the global figure which stands at 46 per cent.
Kantar's Brand Inclusion Index 2024 is a survey of more than 23,000 people in 18 countries; the India leg comprises 1,000-plus respondents with an inclusive demographic.
The first edition of the India Brand Inclusion Index study explores skincare, banking, automotive and technology categories. The India index ranked Google, Tata Motors, Amazon, Jio and Apple as the top five 'most inclusive' brands. The brands were recognised by consumers for demonstrating a genuine commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusions (DEI) initiatives.

HSBC Holdings Plc appointed its Chief Financial Officer Georges

HSBC Holdings Plc appointed Georges Elhedery as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO), opting for continuity as it tries to kickstart growth.
Elhedery who becomes HSBC's third Chief Executive Office in less than eight years, will replace outgoing head Noel Quinn from Sept. 2. While the 160-year-old lender did consider external candidates, it has traditionally appointed its CEO from within.
Elhedery began his career in banking as a rates trader before joining HSBC in 2005. He led HSBC's Middle Eastern, North Africa and Turkey region between July 2016 and February 2019.
After that, he was the co-head of the Global Banking and Markets business, the division that houses HSBC's trading and investment banking advisory businesses.
In October 2022, he was unexpectedly appointed CFO.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

July GK, June GK, May 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