Kiya.ai Launches India's First Banking Metaverse Kiyaverse
Kiya.ai, a digital solutions provider serving financial institutions and governments globally, announced the launch of India's first-ever banking metaverse "Kiyaverse". In the first phase, Kiyaverse will allow banks to extend their own metaverse for clients, partners, and employees, through services that will include Relationship Manager & Peer Avatars and Robo-advisors. Kiyaverse will enable customers to use their personalized avatars on digital banking units, mobiles, laptops, VR headsets and mixed reality environments.
The platform will bring banking services from the real world to the virtual world and vice-a versa, interacting with a relationship manager's avatar creation and customisation, AI-based digital customer interaction, portfolio analysis, wealth management, co-lending, and corporate banking.
PM Modi Launches New Series of Coins with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Design
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a special series of coins that are also 'visually impaired friendly'. The launched coins of Re. 1, Rs. 2, 5, 10 and 20 denominations have the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) design. They are not commemorative coins and will be part of circulation. Meanwhile, lenders like HDFC Bank and Axis Bank said that these special coins will be distributed through select branches.
PM Modi said that these new series of coins will remind people of the goal of amrit kal and motivate people to work towards the development of the country. Modi also launched the 'Jan Samarth portal' -- a credit-linked portal of 12 government schemes.
No Plan to Replace Mahatma's Image on Notes: RBI
Reserve Bank of India clarified that it is not considering changes to the existing currency and banknotes by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of others. There were reports in certain sections of the media that the Reserve Bank of India is considering changes to the existing currency and banknotes by replacing the face of Mahatma Gandhi with that of others.
According to a report, the central bank and the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India (SPMCIL) had sent two sample sets of Gandhi, Tagore, and Kalam to IIT-Delhi Emeritus Professor Dilip T. Shahani, who is responsible for selecting and submitting watermarks to the government for final approval.
India Adds 14 Unicorns in 2022 First Half, Builds 70K Start-ups in 8 Years
India got 14 unicorns between January and June of 2022. According to Tracxn, India saw 13 unicorns in the same time period in 2021. According to Union Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, the country has risen from 300 to 70,000 start-ups in the last 8 years, which is a massive 20,000 per cent increase. It is a matter of pride that globally out of every 10 unicorns, one is Indian. Nearly 47 per cent of startup businesses have women as their director or CEO.
However, the start-ups ecosystem is witnessing a funding winter owing to Aglobal macro-economic factors that can last up to 18-24 months.
Mukesh Ambani Richest in Asia, up at 8th Rank on Bloomberg Billionaires List
Mukesh Ambani regained his spot as Asia's richest man, surpassing his rival Gautam Adani, the difference between the two billionaires was 'just $1 billion'. Reliance Industries chairman's net worth was $99.7 billion, while the wealth of Adani Group's founder stood at $98.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg's Billionaires Index. Ambani's wealth surged as RIL shares continued to rise, trading near record high levels.
The 65-year-old is now the eighth-richest person worldwide in June 2022, the Bloomberg's Billionaires Index said, while Adani is just behind him, at the ninth spot.
Jun 06, 2022
IRDAI Eases Capital Requirement for Insurers to offer PMJJBY Schemes
After the hike in the premium rate, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) relaxed capital requirement norms significantly for insurers to encourage their participation in the government's flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY). The regulator has reduced the capital required to be held by insurers offering PMJJBY by almost 50 per cent.
This move will enable life insurers to offer more policies under the scheme, and provide financial security to the bottom of the pyramid of the Indian population through life insurance. The easing of capital requirements by Irdai will accelerate the penetration of life insurance in India and will support the life insurers in achieving the target set by the government. The government has in May 2022 hiked the premium rates for the two flagship schemes, PMJJBY and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, to make these schemes viable.
Govt. Ratifies 8.1 pc EPF Interest Rate for 2021-22
The government approved 8.1 per cent rate of interest on employees' provident fund (EPF) deposits for 2021-22, an over four-decade low for about five crore subscribers of retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). Earlier in March 2022, EPFO had decided to lower the interest on provident fund deposits for 2021-22 to 8.1 per cent from 8.5 per cent provided in 2020-21.
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation is the statutory body under the Government of India's Ministry of Labour and Employment, which is responsible for regulation and management of provident funds in India. The EPFO administers the mandatory provident fund.
Xiaomi Names New Head for India Unit
The Indian unit of Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp appointed founding member Alvin Tse as its general manager, a change of guard as the company faces government scrutiny over its business practices. Tse, a British national who was also the former general manager of Xiaomi Indonesia, has helped the company expand into many global markets. The organisational rejig will also have Anuj Sharma rejoin the company as the chief marketing officer.
The development comes nearly two months after India's federal financial-crime fighting agency summoned former Xiaomi India head Manu Kumar Jain in an investigation on whether the company's business practices conformed with Indian foreign exchange laws.
In India, Xiaomi has seen its share of the domestic smartphone market surge to 24% in 2021 from 6% in 2016, making it the market leader.
Tata Projects to Construct Noida International Airport
Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), the concessionaire for the upcoming Noida International Airport selected Tata Projects Ltd to undertake the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the new Greenfield airport coming up at Jewar. Tata Projects will construct the terminal, runway, airside infrastructure, roads, utilities, landside facilities and other ancillary buildings at Noida International Airport.
YIAPL is a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, which has been incorporated as a Special Purpose Vehicle to develop the greenfield Noida International Airport at Jewar.
In a first, IIM-Ahmedabad Brings out Agriculture Land Price Index
In a unique initiative, IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) joined hands with an e-marketplace for agricultural land, SFarms India, to develop a farm land price index based on the sales and purchases done on the platform. The index has been designed to record and present the "quality-controlled" data on prices of agricultural land in the country. The index will track the price movements in the marketplace (SfarmsIndia) and come up with a composite pricing mechanism on a monthly basis, which will be updated twice a year.
SFarms India is an agricultural-land discovery platform, having more than 25,000 registered buyers and sellers. The platform has over 7,000 land listings, which are growing at around 15 per cent a month, according to its website. According to IIM-A, the index will be a reliable source in benchmarking land prices in rural and semi-urban areas and help in signalling converting agricultural land into real estate.
Govt. Appoints of Canara Bank ED A. Manimekhalai as Union Bank MD & CEO
The government appointed A. Manimekhalai as Managing Director of Union Bank of India. The notifications in this regard were issued by the Department of Financial Services. Canara Bank Executive Director Ms. Manimekhalai replaced Rajkiran Rai G., who retired on May 31 after a five-year stint. With her assuming charge, Ms. Manimekhalai becomes the first woman managing director of Union Bank of India. Ms. Manimekhalai, a Master of Business Administration degree holder from Bangalore University, joined erstwhile Vijaya Bank as Officer in 1988.
She was instrumental in devising and implementing strategic policies, covering core areas like strategic planning, setting organisational goals, growth strategies, action plans, compliance, internal control.
Airtel Payments Bank Partners with Muthoot Finance to Offer Gold Loans on Airtel Thanks App
Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Muthoot Finance to offer gold loans through Airtel Thanks app. There will be no-processing charge on the loan and Muthoot Finance will provide up to 75 per cent of the pledged gold value as a loan. Gold Loans are secured loans that can be availed to cater to a variety of needs, from personal to professional. The partnership will give access to secured and affordable credit to customers looking for quick liquidity against their gold assets.
The loan facility will also be available at the 5 lakh banking points for Airtel Payments Bank.
HDFC Ties up with Accenture for Digital Transformation
NBFC giant, HDFC announced the collaboration with global information technology services and consulting firm, Accenture to digitally transform its lending business. The tie-up will revamp HDFC's customer experience and business processes to provide greater operational agility and efficiency, and drive business growth.
The collaboration is aimed at making HDFC's lending lifecycle paperless and nimble. HDFC highlighted that a key element of the program is a cloud-native lending platform with digital workflows for every step of the customer journey including application, loan processing, credit underwriting and decisions, disbursement, and loan servicing.
Jun 05, 2022
Punjab & Sind Bank MD & CEO S Krishnan Retires
Punjab & Sind Bank Limited, MD & CEO, S. Krishnan retired from the role. He was appointed as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Punjab & Sind Bank from the date of assumption of office till the date of his superannuation, i.e. 31.05.2022 or until further orders, whichever is earlier. It is now informed that S. Krishnan retired upon his superannuation.
S. Krishnan, a postgraduate in Commerce (M.Com) and qualified Cost Accountant (ICMA), took charge as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of Punjab & Sind Bank on 4th September 2020. Prior to joining Punjab & Sind Bank as MD & CEO, Krishnan was Executive Director of Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank. He started his carrier in Indian Bank in January 1983. He has a long and varied field of banking and administrative experience of nearly 38 years.
Jun 04, 2022
Cabinet Allows Procurement by Cooperatives through GeM (Government e-Marketplace) Portal
The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to expand the mandate of Government e-Marketplace (GeM) by allowing procurement by cooperatives. Presently, the registration of cooperatives as buyers was not covered within the existing mandate of GeM. The move will help over 8.54 lakh registered cooperatives and their 27 crore members as they would get products at competitive rates from the GeM portal.
As per the existing mandate, goods and services registered at the GeM portal are not available for use by private sector buyers. Suppliers (sellers) can be from across all segments - government or private. The GeM was launched on August 9, 2016, by the commerce ministry to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.
Jun 03, 2022
Facebook COO Sandberg Quits
Sheryl Sandberg, the No. 2 executive at Facebook owner Meta, who helped turn its business from start-up to digital advertising empire while also taking blame for some of its biggest missteps, stepped down. Sandberg has served as chief operating officer (COO) at the social media giant for 14 years. She joined from Google in 2008, four years before Facebook went public.
She led Facebook advertising business and was responsible for nurturing it from its infancy into an over $100 billion-a-year powerhouse.
Javier Olivan, the current chief growth officer at Meta Platforms, will take over as the company's chief operating officer.
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