General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Sep 18, 2023

Srinivasan K. Swamy Elected Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)

Srinivasan K. Swamy, Executive Chairman of R. K. Swamy Hansa Group, was unanimously elected Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2023-2024.
Srinivasan K. Swamy is a highly regarded figure in the advertising and media world. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations and has held pivotal leadership roles in numerous prominent organizations.
Mr. Swamy was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).
In addition to Swamy's election as Chairman, several other distinguished individuals have been appointed to crucial positions within the Audit Bureau of Circulations:
Deputy Chairman: Riyad Mathew, Chief Associate Editor and Director of Malayala Manorama, will serve as the Deputy Chairman representing publisher members on the council.
Secretary: Mohit Jain, Executive Director of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited, was elected as the Secretary of the Bureau, representing publisher members on the council.
Treasurer: Vikram Sakhuja, Partner & Group CEO Media & OOH of Madison Communications Private Limited, was re-elected as the Treasurer of the Bureau, representing advertising agencies members on the council.

Ashok Leyland, UP Govt Sign MoU to Set up Greenfield Bus Plant

Ashok Leyland signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Uttar Pradesh to set up an integrated commercial vehicle bus plant focused on green mobility in Uttar Pradesh.
Manoj Kumar Singh, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner, government of Uttar Pradesh and Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ashok Leyland, signed the MoU.
Under this partnership, Ashok Leyland, the Indian flagship of the Hinduja Group, will focus on producing electric buses, assembling other vehicles powered by available fuels, and emerging alternative fuels.

Indian Bank Launches 'IB SAATHI' to Enhance Financial Inclusion Services

Indian Bank launched a new initiative called 'IB SAATHI' (Sustainable Access and Aligning Technology for Holistic Inclusion) to bolster its financial inclusion efforts. The primary goal of IB SAATHI is to provide essential banking services to various stakeholders through the business correspondent (BC) channel.
Under this revamped model, Indian Bank is committed to offering basic banking services at all its centres for a minimum of four hours each day through fixed outlets. This initiative is a significant step towards ensuring widespread access to banking services.

Tata Steel Signs 500 Million Pound-deal with UK Government

The United Kingdom announced a joint investment package with Tata Steel worth £1.25 billion (about $1.55 billion), including a government grant of £500 million ($621 million,) to secure the future of Port Talbot operations in Wales, the country's largest steelworks, giving a fresh lease of life to the structurally weak business.
The joint investment package said to be the largest in the UK steel industry in decades would pave the way for greener steelmaking at the Welsh unit, by replacing coal-powered blast furnaces nearing the end of their effective life with a state-of-art 3 million tonne electric arc furnace (EAF).
The move is aimed at reducing the UK's entire carbon emissions by around 1.5 per cent.

Sep 17, 2023

Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar is Chairman of Mastercard India

Mastercard appointed Rajnish Kumar, former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), as the Chairman of Mastercard India. Kumar will guide Mastercard's South Asia executive leadership team led by Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia & Country Corporate Officer, India, in navigating the domestic payments landscape.
Kumar will be keenly involved in augmenting the local leadership team in its efforts to expand our domestic footprint, while bolstering Mastercard's ongoing commitment to forging strategic partnerships with stakeholders across the payments ecosystem – from banks to fintechs to governments, non-profits and more.

India Becomes 13th Country in World that Can Issue OIML Certificates

India became the 13th internationally accepted authority for issuing International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML) certificates.
Domestic manufacturers of weighing and measuring equipment, like BP meters, oximeters and cloth scales, can now get the instruments tested in India itself before selling them in the international market.
An OIML Pattern Approval certificate is mandatory to sell a weight or measure in the international market, which the Department of Consumer Affairs can now issue. Domestic manufacturers can now export their weighing and measuring instruments worldwide without incurring additional testing fees, resulting in significant cost savings.
Twelve other countries, including Australia, Switzerland, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom, are authorised to issue these certificates.

IndusInd Bank Launches 'Virtual Commercial Card' for Cross-border Payments

IndusInd Bank announced the launch of a 'virtual commercial card', a credit card that will redefine cross-border transactions for corporates and travel agents.
In partnership with Visa, the global leader in digital payments and Juspay, a payments operating system, the virtual card has additional layers of security that give users complete control over their international expenses, thus making it safe and hassle-free.

Sep 16, 2023

Citibank India Launches WFH Option for 12 Months Post Maternity Leave

Citibank India launched a work-from-home (WFH) option for its women employees who can now request to work from home for up to 12 months at the end of their maternity leave of 26 weeks.
This potentially provides a cumulative period of 21 months of working from home for expecting and new mothers.
In June 2021, the Centre issued an advisory to the state and union territory governments to encourage WFH for nursing mothers.
Citibank India is among the first organisations to implement the maternity-linked WFH initiative. Earlier, ICICI Bank, under Chanda Kocchar, had launched iWork@home an initiative that allowed one year WFH for women based on their requirements.

RBI Releases Direction for the Settlement of Loan Account

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked all banks, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) to release all the original movable/immovable property documents and remove charges registered with any registry within a period of 30 days after full repayment/settlement of the loan account.
These directions are part of the central bank's responsible lending conduct for regulated entities (REs).
The borrower shall be given the option of collecting the original movable/immovable property documents either from the banking outlet/branch where the loan account was serviced or any other office of the RE where the documents are available, as per her / his preference.
The timeline and place of return of original movable/immovable property documents will be mentioned in the loan sanction letters issued on or after the effective date.
In case of delay in releasing of original movable/immovable property documents or failing to file charge satisfaction form with relevant registry beyond 30 days after full repayment/settlement of loan, the RE shall communicate to the borrower reasons for such delay. In case where the delay is attributable to the RE, it shall compensate the borrower at the rate of Rs. 5,000 for each day of delay.

Hindalco Announces Tech Partnership with Italian Firm to Make Rail Coaches

Aditya Birla Group's Hindalco Industries announced a partnership with Italy-based Metra SpA in large-size aluminium extrusion and fabrication technology to build high-speed aluminium rail coaches in India.
The tie-up provides Hindalco the launching pad to drive the ambitious upgradation programme of Indian Railways that runs the world's largest rail network.
Hindaclo had earlier announced plans to invest Rs. 2,000 crore for a project to produce passenger coaches for Vande Bharat trains. The technology alliance will provide cutting-edge technology for this effort. In August 2023, Hindaclo entered into a strategic alliance to develop and manufacture aluminium rail wagons and coaches with Texmaco Rail & Engineering.

Sep 15, 2023

RBI Releases List of NBFCs in Upper Layer under Scale-based Regulations

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the list of non-banking financial corporations (NBFCs) in the upper layer under scale-based regulation for NBFCs for the year 2023-24.
The RBI had issued the scale based regulation (SBR) on October 22, 2021. The framework categorises NBFCs in Base Layer (NBFC-BL), Middle Layer (NBFC-ML), Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and Top Layer (NBFC-TL) and gives the methodology to identify the NBFCs in the Upper Layer as per their asset size and scoring methodology. Accordingly, the 2023-24 list of NBFC-UL is: LIC Housing Finance Limited, Bajaj Finance Limited, Shriram Finance Limited, Tata Sons Private Limited, L & T Finance Limited, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited, Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited, Tata Capital Financial Services Limited, PNB Housing Finance Limited, HDB Financial Services Limited, Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Muthoot Finance Limited and Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd.

'Birla Opus': Aditya Birla Group's Grasim to Launch its Paints Business

Grasim Industries Limited, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, will launch its paints business under the brand name 'Birla Opus' in the fourth quarter of the current financial year (Q4FY24).
The company will offer a full suite of high-quality products in the decorative paints segment.
Grasim had previously committed an investment of Rs. 10,000 crore towards setting up the paints business. The company's manufacturing plants located in Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, will have a total capacity of 1,332 million litres per annum (MLPA), and will serve demand centres across the country.

S.R. Batliboi Appointed as a Paytm Auditor

S.R. Batliboi & Associates LLP was approved as the new statutory auditor of Paytm for five years in the 23rd annual general meeting.
Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP completed its term as the statutory auditor of the company at the conclusion of the AGM.
The company said that shareholders approved reappointment of Madhur Deora as Executive Director, President and Group Chief Financial Officer.

Sep 14, 2023

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Launches 'Income Laabh'

Bharti AXA Life Insurance announced a new product, Bharti AXA Life Income Laabh, with an aim to simplify insurance and deliver maximum protection to its consumers. The plan provides financial protection and a steady income stream to consumers.
The newly launched plan provides customers a steady stream of guaranteed income for 10 to 12 years, depending on the policy term they choose. It starts with an initial income pay-out equivalent to 100 percent of the annual premium paid by the policyholder.

AIBI Appoints Mahavir Lunawat of Pantomath Capital as Chairman

Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI), the investment banking sole representative to SEBI and various statutory authorities, announced the appointment of Mahavir Lunawat, Managing Director of Pantomath Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd. as its Chairman for two years starting September 2023. The Chairperson of AIBI represents Investment Bankers on the Primary Market Advisory Committee (PMAC) of SEBI, and has been active in representing the members' views, comments, and suggestions on various regulatory reforms pertaining to the capital markets.
AIBI also announced the appointment of Arjun Mehra, MD of J.M. Financial, and Prem D'Cunha, SVP & Head – ECM Execution at ICICI Securities as its Vice Chairmen.
In order to promoting standardized and best business practices within the Merchant Banking Industry, it became necessary to set up a Self Regulatory Organisation. This led to the birth of the Association of Merchant Bankers of India (AMBI).
In 1993 AMBI was incorporated as a Public Limited Company under Section 25 of the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956 and now covered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
Post incorporation, AMBI was granted recognition by SEBI to set up professional standards, for providing efficient services and to establish standard practices in merchant banking and financial services.
In 2010, it was decided to change the name of AMBI to Association of Investment Bankers of India (AIBI) to reflect the entire gamut of activities carried out by the Investment Bankers in India.

NVIDIA Partners with Reliance to Advance AI in India

US-based chipmaker NVIDIA inked partnerships with India's biggest conglomerates, Reliance Industries and Tata Group, to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in India and up skill and re-skill the country's talent base.
With Reliance, it will develop India's own foundational large language model trained on the nation's diverse languages and tailored for generative AI applications to serve the populous nation. NVIDIA will provide Al supercomputing services and technologies.
With the Tata Group, it will create AI infrastructure to support the local economy and the AI companies in India. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) workforce of over 6 lakh people will also be reskilled in AI.

Infosys Signs Multi-year Digital Partnership with Denmark-based STARK Group

IT major Infosys signed a strategic multi-year collaboration with STARK Group, Europe's largest retailer and distributor of building materials, to power its digital transformation journey by leveraging Topaz, Infosys' artificial intelligence (AI) offering.
As part of this collaboration, Infosys and STARK Group will establish a state-of-the-art data centre in Denmark, which will serve as the foundation to drive technological advancements and provide seamless services to STARK Group's offices across Europe.
Infosys will adopt an AI-first approach powered by Topaz, to help STARK Group with AI-driven operational efficiencies and service quality. Infosys will further aim to enable STARK Group to improve cost and operational efficiency and help them scale across multiple geographies.

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