General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Oct 23, 2023

RBI Approves Appointment of Ashok Vaswani as New MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank

The Reserve Bank of India approved the appointment of Ashok Vaswani as the Managing Director & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) for a period of three years.
The appointment is with effect from the date of taking charge, which shall not be later than January 1, 2024.
This will be the first time in its 20-odd years of operations that the Bank will be helmed by an outsider.
Vaswani has a proven track record spanning three and a half decades.
Vawani was Chief Executive Officer of Barclays Bank, UK and subsequently CEO of their Global Consumer, Private, Corporate and Payments businesses and Member of the Group Executive Committee. Earlier, He was CEO Citigroup Asia Pacific and Member of the Citigroup Global Operating & Management Committees. Currently, he is President of Pagaya Technologies Ltd - a US-Israeli AI Fintech.

HDFC Bank Launches XpressWay Digital Banking Platform for Paperless Self-Service Banking

HDFC Bank, India's leading private sector bank, launched XpressWay, a digital platform offering banking products and services, enabling customers to experience the fastest way to bank.
XpressWay offers an array of services, including Xpress Personal Loan, Xpress Business Loans, Xpress Car Loan, Xpress Home Loan, Xpress Loan on cards, Xpress Credit Card, Xpress Savings Accounts, service journeys and more, designed to cater to diverse customer needs.
According to the bank, these products and services are meticulously designed to deliver fast, seamless, paperless, and do-it-yourself customer journey, for both existing and new customers. Launched during the festive season, it is even more exciting as it also allows customers to indulge in festive season shopping with greater ease of access to finance.

RBI Imposes Penalty on L&T Finance for Non-compliance of Norms

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) charged the Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) L&T Finance with Rs. 2.50 crore for failing to adhere to certain regulatory provisions regarding interest rates.
The statutory inspection of the company was conducted by the RBI with reference to its financial position as of March 31, 2021, and March 31, 2022.
As per the examination of the Risk Assessment Reports, Inspection Reports, Supervisory Letters, and all related correspondence, the RBI found that the NBFC had not disclosed to its retail borrowers the gradation of risk and rationale for charging different interest rates to different categories of borrowers in the loan application form or sanction letter.
It also failed to notify the change in the penal interest rate to its borrowers whenever it charged higher rates than what was communicated at the time of sanction. Additionally, it failed to give notice of change in the terms and conditions of loans to its borrowers when the NBFC charged an annualised rate of interest, which was higher than what was communicated at the time of sanction.

Oct 22, 2023

Tata Motors to Acquire 27% Stake in Freight Commerce

Tata Motors and Freight Commerce Solutions Private Limited (Freight Tiger) signed a securities subscription agreement (SSA) and a shareholders' agreement (SHA) for the acquisition of 26.79 per cent stake in 'Freight Tiger' for a consideration of Rs. 150 crore.
The SSA also includes a provision enabling Tata Motors to further invest Rs 100 crore over the next two years at the then prevailing market value.
'Freight Tiger' is a digital platform that provides end-to-end logistics value chain solutions for cargo movement in the country.

Parag Milk Foods Appoints Rahul Kumar Srivastava as Chief Operating Officer

Consumer goods (FMCG) products maker Parag Milk Foods announced the appointment of Rahul Kumar Srivastava as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the organisation.
Srivastava served as the Managing Director of Lactalis India, a division of the world's largest dairy conglomerate, for over a decade. Additionally, he was Managing Director at Amul for more than ten years. With over three decades of dairy experience, he is a well-known industry veteran who has made substantial contributions to the business.

Ipsita Dasgupta Appointed as HP SVP, MD for India Market

HP, the global PC and printer company named Ipsita Dasgupta as the Senior Vice President (SVP) and Managing Director for the India market. In this new phase for HP India, Gurpreet Singh Brar, who served as interim MD since November 2022, will transition to the role of Vice President, Innovation and Growth for HP's India Market.
Her role as HP SVP, MD for India market will encompass guiding all aspects of HP's strategy and financial performance in India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Dasgupta had previously held the position of Senior Director of Marketing for Apple Services at the Cupertino headquarters in the US.
Ipsita Dasgupta, with an extensive 24-year international career spanning multiple industries, including roles at Star India and General Electric Company, brings a wealth of experience to her new position.

Oct 21, 2023

Kotak Mahindra Bank Gets RBI Nod to Acquire Sonata Finance

Kotak Mahindra received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to acquire Sonata Finance for Rs. 537 crore.
The bank had announced to acquire 100% stake of the Non-Banking Finance Company, Sonata Finance Private Limited, in February 2023. After the completion of the transaction, Sonata will become a 'wholly-owned subsidiary of the bank'.

RBL Bank Launches GO Digital Savings Account

RBL Bank launched its latest digital banking product, GO Savings Account --a zero-balance account with simple account opening process and easy-to-operate features.
The GO Savings Account signifies a modern shift in the world of banking, presenting a novel subscription-based model. The product offers multiple customer-friendly advantages.
The streamlined account opening process will enable customers to open an account in minutes by providing their PAN and Aadhaar details. Further, GO Account holders will enjoy fee-free transactions.

NCLT Approves Himadri, Dalmia Group's Joint Resolution Plan of Birla Tyres

Birla Tyres announced that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the resolution plan for the company. Shortly after Birla Tyres filing, Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd also received verbal approval of a joint resolution plan from the tribunal.
Birla Tyres was demerged in 2018 from Kesoram Industries. In May 2022, the company began insolvency proceedings with the Kolkata bench of the NCLT after a case was filed by chemicals firm SRF Ltd, an operational creditor of the B K Birla group firm.
The Dalmia Group had submitted a debt resolution plan of Rs. 1,100 crore and offered to repay Rs. 300 crore of the outstanding loans of the two-wheeler tyre manufacturer.

Kedar Upadhye New Chief Financial Officer of Biocon Biologics

Former Cipla global Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kedar Upadhye was appointed as the new CFO of Biocon Biologics. Current CFO, MB Chinappa took on a strategic finance role at Biocon Group.
Chinappa has served as CFO of Biocon Biologics since his appointment in January 2020 and has played an integral role in developing business strategy and enabling profitable growth.
Kedar Upadhye has over 23 years of experience in senior global leadership at leading pharma, energy and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) players such as Cipla, Dr. Reddy's, PepsiCo, and Thermax.
He joined Biocon from ReNew Energy Global Plc, a NASDAQ-listed decarbonisation, and renewable energy company, where he was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Oct 20, 2023

Solara Active Appoints P. V. Raghavendra Rao as Chief Financial Officer

Drugmaker Solara Active Pharma Sciences appointed P. V. Raghavendra Rao as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company and was given the designation of key managerial personnel.
Rao is a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and has about two and half decades of post-qualification experience. Rao has a strong track record of handling multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals.
Previously, he was at Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Dr Reddy's Laboratories Limited, for over 14 years where he handled various roles in finance. Rao also has experience in handling manufacturing plants spread across India and overseas, along with experience in strategy, identifying moves and handling strategy deployment processes.

Sberbank Becomes First Russian Bank to Register with SEBI as FPI: NSDL

Sberbank of Russia became the first Russian bank to register with the Indian markets regulator as a foreign portfolio investor (FPI), according to data available on the website of National Stock Depository Ltd (NSDL).
Sberbank of Russia, a state-owned bank which already has a presence in India, registered with the Indian markets regulator for a Category I FPI licence earlier this month (October 2023).
Sberbank's registration took the total number of Russia-based FPIs in India to five, with all others being non-banks. Till now (as in October 2023), Alfa Capital Management, First Asset Management, Igor Noskov, and Vesvolod Rozanov were granted FPI registrations.
Sberbank received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in May 2010 to set up a branch in India and commenced its banking business from January 2011.

Oct 19, 2023

Diagnostic Services Firm Manipal HealthMap Acquires Medcis Pathlabs

Manipal HealthMap, which provides diagnostic services, fully acquired Hyderabad-based Medcis PathLabs to expand its presence in 16 states with more than 100 centres.
Bengaluru-based Manipal HealthMap is expanding its services under its parent brand Manipal TRUtest. Manipal HealthMap, in April 2022, acquired a 84 per cent stake in Medcis PathLabs for Rs. 100 crore in an all-cash transaction. In the new deal, it acquired the remaining 16 per cent stake for an undisclosed amount.
Medcis PathLabs has 23 laboratories in India, including a central facility in Hyderabad that has accreditation for Molecular, Cytogenetics, Histopathology, and Microbiology. The remaining laboratories offer tests for Biochemistry, Haematology, and Immunology tests.

Birlasoft Appoints Selvakumaran Mannappan as Chief Operating Officer

Birlasoft Ltd, part of the $2.9 billion diversified CK Birla Group, announced the appointment of Selvakumaran Mannappan as Chief Operating Officer (COO) with immediate effect.
Selvakumaran will be instrumental in elevating Birlasoft's delivery excellence strategy embodying state‐of‐the‐art technologies to deliver exceptional value to our customers.
Selvakumaran has over 29 years of experience in the IT industry, and a proven track record of delivering innovative and scalable solutions to customers across the globe. In his previous role, Selva was the delivery head of BFSI‐Americas (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance) at Cognizant Technology Solutions.

IDFC Gets CCI Nod for Merger with IDFC First Bank

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) gave its approval for the merger of the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) and IDFC First Bank. This approval was communicated through a regulatory filing.
The merger had previously received the green light from the board of directors of both IDFC and IDFC First Bank in July.
However, for the merger to be finalised, it still needs approval from various statutory and regulatory bodies.
These include the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The merger also needs the consent of stock exchanges, as well as the agreement of shareholders and creditors of both IDFC and IDFC First Bank.

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