Govt Approves Deregulation of Sale of Domestically-produced Crude Oil
The government allowed firms like ONGC and Vedanta to sell locally produced crude oil to any Indian refinery for turning it into fuel, such as petrol and diesel, as it deregulated one of the last few avenues that were still under its control.
While contracts for oilfields awarded since 1999 gave producers the freedom to sell oil, the government fixed buyers for crude produced from older fields, such as Mumbai High of ONGC and Ravva of Vedanta.
The decisions taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that from October 1, the companies will have the freedom to sell crude oil in the domestic market.
However, the ban on the export of crude oil will continue.
Airtel Payments Bank Partners Axis Bank to Digitise the Cash Collection
Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Axis Bank to digitise the cash collection system in Tier III cities and semi-urban regions.
Under this partnership, Airtel Payments Bank will leverage the extensive reach of its digital-led neighbourhood banking model to support Axis Bank with the digitisation of last-mile cash collections.
Through this tie-up, Axis Bank and its customers will benefit significantly by building operational efficiencies in the cash management process. This would also speed up the payment cycle and help in releasing the bandwidth of field agents who operate across the country.
Jul 01, 2022
SBI Celebrates 66th Foundation Day
The oldest commercial bank in the country, State Bank of India (SBI) celebrated its 66th year. SBI descends from the Bank of Calcutta founded in 1806 through the Imperial Bank of India.
The Bank of Madras merged into the other two presidency banks, the Bank of Calcutta and the Bank of Bombay to form the Imperial Bank of India which in turn became the State Bank of India on 1st July in 1955.
SBI is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services statutory body headquartered in Mumbai.
Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement
The central bank of China inked an agreement with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), for establishing a Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement (RMBLA).
The Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement will provide support to participating central banks during market fluctuations.
It could be used in periods of market volatility in future,
In addition to People's Bank of China, the first participants of this arrangement would include Bank of Indonesia, Hing Kong Monetary Authority, Central Bank of Malaysia, Central Bank of Chile and Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Participant will contribute a minimum of 15 billion yuan.
BIS is an international financial institution. It is owned by central banks that "fosters international financial and monetary cooperation as well as serves as a bank for central banks. It is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.
Renminbi is the official currency of China and one of the world's reserve currencies. As of April 2019, it was ranked the eighth most traded currency worldwide. Yuan is the basic unit of renminbi. People's Bank of China issue renminbi monetary authority of China.
Mumbai, Delhi most Expensive Cities for Expatriates in India
According to Mercer's 2022 Cost of Living survey, Mumbai and Delhi ranked among the top 40 most expensive cities in Asia for expatriates, and Kolkata is the least expensive city, says a report.
As per the report, Mumbai (127) is the costliest city in India in terms of both living expenses and accommodation costs. This is followed by New Delhi (155), Chennai (177), Bengaluru (178), and Hyderabad (192), while Pune (201) and Kolkata (203) are the least expensive Indian cities in the ranking.
The survey also found that Mumbai, the financial hub of India, is a popular place for multinational corporations to establish operations.
Jun 30, 2022
Sandeep Kumar Gupta Next Chairman of GAIL
Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Director for Finance at Indian Oil Corporation, was picked to head India's largest gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd.
The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) selected Gupta for the post of chairman and managing director of GAIL after interviewing 10 candidates.
He will replace Manoj Jain, who is scheduled to retire on August 31.
A commerce graduate and Chartered Accountant by education, Gupta has more than 31 years of working experience at Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Tata Tech Joins Foxconn-led Consortium to Develop Sustainable Mobility
Tata Technologies Ltd joined the Foxconn-initiated MIH Consortium to promote development of sustainable mobility solutions and encourage collaboration within the industry.
The MIH (Mobility In Harmony Consortium) comprises more than 2,300 members in the field of software, hardware, and services.
The goal of this open electric vehicle alliance is to bring the strategic partners together to build the next generation of EV, autonomous driving, and mobility service applications.
Tata Technologies is at the forefront of the eMobility revolution and its association with MIH Consortium reinforces its position as a key partner in the automotive value chain.
Bajaj Allianz Launches Industry-first 'Global Health Care' Plan
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launched a new health insurance product 'Global Health Care'.
It is a comprehensive health indemnity insurance product that provides seamless cover to the policyholder for planned as well as emergency treatment availed for domestic and international usage.
The USP of the product is that it allows insured members to plan any treatment abroad or in India availing the best medical facilities anywhere across the globe.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance collaborated with Allianz Partners to provide a seamless claims experience through the company's extensive global network and quality claim settling capabilities.
Jun 29, 2022
NITI Aayog Launches Report 'India's Booming Gig and Platform Economy' on Gig Economy in India
India's gig workforce, estimated to be at 77 lakh in 2020-21, is expected to go up to 2.35 crore by 2029-30, according to a NITI Aayog report. The report, titled 'India's Booming Gig and Platform Economy' looks at the present size of the sector, its job generation potential, and also offers recommendations for the sector. As written in the Code on Social Security, the NITI Aayog report also recommended extending social security measures to gig workers and their families. The Code on Social Security was the first time gig and platform workers were recognised by the government, which sought to give workers social security benefits.
The report defines a gig worker as "someone who engages in income-earning activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship, as well as in the informal sector". Additionally, it defines those working with platforms such as Ola, Uber, Dunzo, Swiggy, Zomato and Urban Company as platform workers. It even goes on to term platform labour as the "Fourth Industrial Revolution".
It is important to note that while the NITI Aayog has made several recommendations and this is the first such report that the government's think tank has studied and published.
Mufin Finance Gets Prepaid Payment Instrument Licence from RBI
Mufin Finance, one of the leading NBFCs, received in-principal RBI approval for issuance of semi-closed prepaid payment instruments.
A semi-closed PPI licence allows digital banks, fintech firms and large consumer-facing applications to roll out features such as digital payment solutions for lending.
Mufin Finance is the fourth NBFC to receive such a licence from the RBI, after leading brands such as Bajaj Finserve, Manapurram and Paul Merchants.
The company is in the process of setting up building blocks for launching MufinPay, a digital payment solution which will complement its lending business.
Mukesh Ambani Resigns from Reliance Jio, Akash Ambani Named Chairman
Mukesh Ambani stepped down as director of Reliance Jio Infocomm. The telecom arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said that its board approved the appointment of Akash Ambani, non-executive director of the company, as its chairman.
Mukesh Ambani will continue to be the chairman of Jio Platforms Ltd, the flagship company that owns all Jio digital services brands, including Reliance Jio Infocomm.
The board has also approved the appointment of Raminder Singh Gujral and K.V. Chowdary as Reliance Jio's additional directors, designated as independent directors, for five years.
It also approved the appointment of Pankaj Mohan Pawar as the company's managing director for five years, subject to the approval of the shareholders.
Jun 28, 2022
Nitin Gupta is New Chairman of CBDT
IRS officer Nitin Gupta was appointed as the new CBDT chairman.
Gupta, an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1986 batch of the Income Tax cadre, is serving as the Member (investigation) in the Board and is scheduled to retire in September 2023.
The post of the CBDT chief was being held in an additional capacity by Board member and 1986-batch IRS officer Sangeeta Singh after J. B. Mohapatra retired on April 30.
The CBDT is headed by a Chairman and can have six members who are in the rank of special secretary.
Punjab Budget; No New Taxes; 300 Units of Free Power
With no new taxes imposed, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's maiden budget for 2022-23 fiscal, with a total outlay of Rs. 1,55,859.78 crore and a revenue deficit of Rs. 12,553.80 crore.
While the government has not been able to fulfill its pre-poll promise of giving away Rs 1,000 per month to women in its maiden budget for want of funds, it has announced 75 Mohalla Clinics to be functional from August 15 and has set aside Rs. 1,800 crore for 300 units of free power to be rolled out to people from July 1 onwards.
The budget had a stamp of Delhi model of AAP, and Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia was a witness to the presentation as he sat in the visitor's gallery of the Punjab assembly. On the fiscal health front, the state finances are in a mess. Cheema blamed the previous governments for the mess as he said that the debt on the state was burgeoning and it was projected to go up to Rs. 2.84 crore by the end of this fiscal.This was for the first time that Punjab presented a paperless budget.
RBI Extends Card Tokenisation Deadline by 3 Months
The Reserve Bank of India extended the card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation deadline by three months to September 30, 2022, in view of various representations received from industry bodies.
Card-on-file, or CoF, refers to card information stored by payment gateway and merchants to process future transactions. Tokenisation is the process of replacing actual card details with a unique alternate code called 'Token' - thereby enabling more secure transactions.
The RBI now directed the merchants to implement its tokenisation norms by September 30, 2022. This is the third time that the central bank has extended the deadline of its implementation.
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