Paytm Payments Bank Signs up as Acquiring Partner for e-RUPI Vouchers
Paytm Payments Bank Limited announced that it is an official acquiring partner for 'e-RUPI vouchers'. e-RUPI, which is a government initiative, is a cashless prepaid voucher that beneficiaries can present via SMS or QR Code. Paytm's merchant partners can then scan, enter the amount to be paid and receive the payment directly in their bank account. This will benefit beneficiaries (users), even those who do not have access to formal banking services or smartphones to avail the convenience of digital payments.
With this, merchants will be empowered with another digital payment collection method that will help them further increase their digital footprint and onboard more customers.
PPBL is empowering merchants to accept e-RUPI vouchers, which gives it an opportunity to tap into a larger user base that is a beneficiary of this initiative. This will further encourage more merchants to embrace cashless transactions, leading to an increase of digital payments.
TripMoney Ties-up with SBM Bank to Launch Global Credit Card
The fintech arm of MakeMyTrip , TripMoney, joined hands with SBM Bank India to launch a rupee-denominated secure credit card, TripMoney Global Card. The card launch comes at a time when the world in re-opening its borders for Indian travellers as Covid cases in the world ebbs.
this value-loaded credit card is highly secure, offers various advanced money management features and most importantly, relieves overseas travellers from paying mark-up on forex conversions and more.
The TripMoney Global card, powered by Visa, can be used across 150+ countries. The card is targeted at international travellers, including the student population, who prefer a combination of lifestyle benefits with advanced digital money management features.
Ideal Finance Rebrands Itself to Mahindra Ideal Finance
Ideal Finance, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (Mahindra Finance/ MMFSL), announced the rebranding of its company name to Mahindra Ideal Finance (MIFL). This rebranding will form the bedrock on which the two joint venture partners (Mahindra Finance and Ideal Group) will build the vision of making Mahindra Ideal Finance one of the leading licensed finance companies (LFC) in Sri Lanka.
HUL Splits Position of Chairman, CEO & MD
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever announced the separation of the position of Chairman of the Board and the CEO & Managing Director.
The company announced the appointment of Nitin Paranjpe, currently Chief Operating Officer of Unilever, as a non-executive chairman of the company with effect from March 31, 2022.
Sanjiv Mehta would continue as the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO&MD).
HUL's Board also approved the re-appointment of Dev Bajpai as the Whole Time Director of the company for a period of five years.
Feb 24, 2022
IKEA India Appoints Susanne Pulverer as First Woman CEO
Sweden-based IKEA, the world's leading home furnishing retailer, announced the appointment of Susanne Pulverer as its first woman chief executive officer (CEO) and chief sustainability officer (CSO) for its India business.
This is the third stint in India for Pulverer, who had joined IKEA in 1997 and worked across different roles within the Ingka Group firm.
Prior to her new role as IKEA India CEO, Pulverer held the position of the group business risk and compliance manager at the Ingka Group.
TCS Tweaks Leadership, Suresh Muthuswami Made Chairman, North America
IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) made changes to its leadership roles in North America. As part of the changes Suresh Muthuswami was elevated to the role of chairman, North America.
The reason for the changes in the North American region, the largest in terms of revenue for TCS, is because Surya Kant who has been at the helm of North America for the past 16 years is stepping down by the end of the fiscal year.
J&K Govt. Approves First-ever FDI Policy for UT
In a first, the Lieutenant Governor's administration approved a policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) for J&K with a minimum of 51% foreign stake.
L-G Manoj Sinha, who headed a meeting of the Administrative Council (AC) in Jammu, gave his nod for the Policy for Promotion of Foreign Investment in the industrial sector in J&K.
The new policy is based on the guiding framework on FDI issued by the Government of India through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and will be valid for the next 10 years.
Vodafone Looks to Sell 5% Stake in Indus Towers to Bharti Airtel
British telecom giant Vodafone is in discussions to sell around five per cent stake in Indus Towers to Bharti Airtel. The stake is estimated to be valued at over Rs. 3,300 crore, and the proceeds will be pumped into the Indian entity Vodafone Idea.
Bharti Airtel's parent Bharti Enterprises is Indus' largest shareholder.
Vodafone launched an initial sale of 63.6 million Indus shares and was in talks with various parties regarding the sale of its remaining shares.
Rakesh Sharma Reappointed as MD&CEO of IDBI Bank
IDBI Bank that its board approved the reappointment of Rakesh Sharma as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD&CEO) of the bank for a period of three years, effective March 19, 2022.
Sharma's reappointment as the MD&CEO of the bank received the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) nod. Sharma was initially appointed as the MD&CEO of the bank in October 2018.
The move comes amid the government's effort to privatise the bank by selling a part of its stake. LIC, which is the promoter of the bank, is also expected to sell some part of its stake in the bank in the privatisation process.
Rajasthan Budget: Pension Scheme, Free Power, Job Guarantee in Urban Areas
Presenting a populist budget, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced a pension scheme for state government employees, a job guarantee scheme for urban areas, free electricity of up to 50 units for domestic users and free treatment in government hospitals, among other proposals.
No new tax was imposed and relief worth Rs. 1,500 crore was provided to all sectors in the budget presented by Gehlot in the Assembly.
Gehlot also announced the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide 100 days of employment to families in urban areas.
Feb 23, 2022
Takuya Tsumura is New President & CEO of Honda Cars India
Japanese auto major Honda Motor Co. Ltd. appointed Takuya Tsumura as the new President & CEO of Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) with effect from 1 April 2022. The appointment comes as part of the management changes announced annually by the company.
Tsumura will take over from Gaku Nakanishi, who moves from India to regional headquarters in Asia and Oceania region – Asian Honda as General Manager, Automobile Business for the region. Tsumura has been associated with Honda Motor for more than 30 years. He has worked in several international markets including Thailand, Australia, China, Japan, Turkey, Europe and Asia & Oceania regions. Tsumura was in-charge of South Asian countries, including India from 1997 to 2000.
Jet Airways Appoints Vipula Gunatilleka as CFO
Jet Airways appointed former SriLankan Airlines' CEO, Vipula Gunatilleka as the Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to joining SriLankan Airlines, he was the CFO & Board Member of TAAG Angola Airlines from November 2015 to July 2018 under Emirates Management.
A qualified chartered accountant, Mr. Gunatelleka, played a pivotal role to turnaround the loss-making national carrier of Angola.
He is known for his astute knowledge in aircraft financing, strategic planning, cost-efficient business modelling and openness to adopt hybrid models to keep business costs low and efficiency high.
Adani, Ballard Power to Explore Investment in Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Adani Group and Ballard Power Systems joined hands to evaluate a joint investment in hydrogen fuel cells manufacturing in India.
Under the MoU, both parties will examine various options to cooperate, including potential collaboration for fuel cell manufacturing in India.
Efforts under the MoU will be anchored by Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL), the newly formed subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, focused on generation of green hydrogen, including downstream products, green electricity generation, manufacture of electrolyzers and wind turbines, among others.
SBI Life Insurance to Reclassify BNP Paribas Cardif as Non-promoter
SBI Life Insurance Company (SBI Life) said that its promoter BNP Paribas Cardif, holding 0.2 per cent share capital, has requested to be reclassified as a public shareholder.
SBI Life will place the request for re-classification before its board of directors at the ensuing board meeting of the company.
As per SEBI guidelines, a promoter or promoter group seeking reclassification should not hold more than 10 per cent of the voting rights in the company.
Cosmea Financial Launches Torus Private Wealth
Sam Ghosh promoted Cosmea Financial Holdings (CFH) announced the launch of its wealth management business -- Torus Private Wealth -- with a target of achieving an asset base of USD 1 billion in the next three years.
In the first two months since it began its initial operations, Torus Private Wealth has clocked assets under management (AUM) of USD 20 million and has a presence in Delhi and Mumbai.
The company targets an AUM of USD 1 billion in the next 3 years, with a focus on providing end-to-end financial solutions and strategic advisory services to High Net worth Individuals (HNI), ultra HNIs, emerging businesses, and start-ups.
Bharti Airtel joined the 'SEA-ME-WE-6' undersea cable consortium in a bid to scale up its high-speed global network capacity to serve India's fast-growing digital economy.
Airtel participated as a "major investor" in the SEA-ME-WE-6 and is anchoring 20 per cent of the overall investment in the cable system, which will go live in 2025.
The 12 other consortium members of SEA-ME-WE-6 include Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Dhiraagu (Maldives), Djibouti Telecom, Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Orange (France), Singtel (Singapore), Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, and Telin (Indonesia).
The 19,200 Rkm (route kilometres) SEA-ME-WE-6 will connect Singapore and France, and will be among the largest undersea cable system globally.
Through SEA-ME-WE-6, Airtel will add a significant amount of 100 TBps capacity to its global network.
Airtel has acquired one Fiber Pair on the main SEA-ME-WE-6 system and will co-build four Fiber Pairs between Singapore Chennai Mumbai as part of the cable system. Airtel will land the SEA-ME-WE-6 cable system in India at new landing stations in Mumbai and Chennai.
Ujjivan SFB Ties-up with Hero MotoCorp for Two-wheeler Financing
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has partnered with one of the largest scooter and motorcycle producers of the world – Hero MotoCorp. The strategic alliance would finance two-wheeler purchases for Hero MotoCorp consumers. The tie-up would further assist in ensuring a deeper penetration in the Indian two-wheeler market.
The Ujjivan Small Finance Bank would provide funding up to 100 per cent of the on-road price of the two-wheeler, depending upon a few key factors – LTV and a consumer's credit score. The bank claims that consumers would be able to drive home their favourite Hero two-wheeler by opting from a multitude of attractive EMI options. Furthermore, the strong presence of 6,000 Hero touchpoints will work as an added advantage to the buyers.
LIC Wants to Remain IDBI Bank Shareholder for Bancassurance Gain
IPO-bound Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) said that it would like to retain some stake in IDBI Bank so that the insurer continues to reap the benefits of the bancassurance channel.
IDBI Bank became a subsidiary of LIC with effect from January 21, 2019, following the acquisition of an additional 8,27,590,885 equity shares.
On December 19, 2020, IDBI Bank was reclassified as an associate company due to the reduction of LIC shareholding to 49.24 per cent following the issuance of additional equity shares by the bank under a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP).
The government, which is the minority shareholder in IDBI Bank with a 45.48 per cent stake, has already expressed its intent to exit by selling the stake.
RBI Imposes Penalty on 3 Co-operative Banks for Deficiencies in Compliance
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed penalties on three co-operative banks totalling Rs. 5 lakh for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
A penalty of Rs. 2 lakh was imposed on Baramulla Central Co-operative Bank Limited, Jammu and Kashmir, a penalty of Rs. 2 lakh on The Big Kancheepuram Co-operative Town Bank Limited (No.3) and a monetary penalty of Rs. 1 lakh was imposed on Chennai Central Co-operative Bank, Chennai.
As per the Reserve Bank, in all the cases the penalties were based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and are not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the banks with their respective customers.
Tata Power Collaborates with RWE to Develop Offshore Wind Projects
Tata Power collaborated with Germany-based RWE Renewable GmbH to explore the potential for joint development of offshore wind projects in India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed between Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, and RWE, one of the world's leaders in offshore wind. This is in line with Government of India's announcement of achieving 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind installations by 2030.
India is an unexplored and highly attractive market to develop opportunities for offshore wind as it has a large coastline of about 7,600 kilometres. RWE and Tata Power Renewable Energy possess complementary strengths and will enable the establishment of a competitive offshore wind market in India.
IRCTC, NPCI, BoB Arm Launch Co-branded Credit Card for Railway Customers
With over six crore users booking railway tickets on the IRCTC website on a daily basis, the Indian Railways' catering and ticketing arm along with NPCI and BOB Financial Solutions launched a co-branded credit card to tap the huge potential the market offers.
The 'IRCTC BoB RuPay Contactless Credit Card' is specially curated to offer the maximum savings to the frequent travellers on the Indian Railways.
BOB Financial Solutions Ltd (BFSL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB).
Customers can also use the credit card for other shopping purposes like groceries as well as fuel buy. Cardholders can also use this card to transact at international merchants and ATMs through the JCB network.
Hero MotoCorp Elevates Ranjivjit Singh to New Role
Hero MotoCorp created a new position, titled Chief Growth Officer, integrating the marketing, sales and after-sales functions and appointed Ranjivjit Singh, who was heading the marketing function at the two- wheeler major to the post with immediate effect.
Feb 21, 2022
Luxury Cars up in Smoke after Ship Catches Fire
Thousands of Porsche and Volkswagen cars have been abandoned on a cargo ship after it caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean en route to the US.
The ship, named Felicity Ace, was travelling from Emden in Germany before it caught ablaze off the coast of Portugal's Azores islands.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported the vessel was carrying 3,965 vehicles, which also included Audis, Lamborghinis and a small number of Bentleys.
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