General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Feb 20, 2022

HCL Tech Extends Relationship with RACV Through Multi-year Contract

IT company HCL Technologies extended its relationship with The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) with a multi-year agreement to provide Integration-as-a-Service offering.
As a motoring club, RACV is a member-driven organisation that provides a range of products and services in motoring and mobility, home, leisure, financial services and general insurance.
HCL has helped ramp RACV's digital platform by enabling a backbone that promotes self-service, an increased digital footprint and a seamless experience for 2.1 million RACV members across Victoria.
The 'Integration-as-a-Service' platform bundles various accelerators around code automation and monitoring, which contributes toward a more stable IT environment and notably improves the performance and resilience of RACV's member-facing services.

HDFC Bank Non-executive Director Srikanth Nadhamuni Resigns from Board

Srikanth Nadhamuni resigned as a director from the board of HDFC Bank.
Nadhamuni cited potential future transactions/arrangements which may materialise between the bank and a company in which he may be interested.

IDFC FIRST Bank Appoints Jaimini Bhagwati on Board as Additional Director

IDFC FIRST Bank's board approved the appointment of former economist and IFS officer Jaimini Bhagwati as an additional director on its board for three years.
Based on the recommendation of the nomination and remuneration committee, the board of directors of the bank has approved the appointment of Jaimini Bhagwati, as an additional director, in the category of non-executive non-independent director of the bank.
An expert in foreign policy, Bhagwati served as the High Commissioner to the UK and Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg.

JPMorgan Becomes First Bank to Enter the Metaverse

JPMorgan became the world's first bank to set up shop in the metaverse. The largest bank in the US opened a lounge in the blockchain-based world Decentraland. Users can create their virtual avatars, build virtual spaces and roam in the lounge christened 'Onyx Lounge' after its suit of Ethereum-based services. The lounge also features a digital image of the bank's CEO Jamie Dimon.
Metaverse is a virtual universe where users can do multiple activities like socialising, shopping or even attending events through their avatar. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are becoming more pocket-friendly, and both technologies have together contributed to a significantly enhanced user experience.

Feb 19, 2022

IndiGo Co-founder Rakesh Gangwal Resigns from Board

IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal resigned from the company's board and plans to pare his stake over five years.
Earlier this month, Rahul Bhatia, the billionaire co-founder of IndiGo, took on a newly-created executive position of managing director at the company.
Gangwal had accused Bhatia of corporate governance lapses. The founders were embroiled in a bitter public dispute over a 2015 shareholder agreement that Gangwal said gave Bhatia control over IndiGo despite the similar size of their stakes.

IndiaMart.com, 4 other Indian Markets Figure in US Notorious Markets List for Counterfeiting and ...

India's popular e-commerce website IndiaMart.com and four other markets, including New Delhi's famous Palika Bazaar, have figured in the latest annual list of the world's notorious markets released by the US Trade Representative.
The 2021 Notorious Markets List released identified 42 online and 35 physical markets around the world that are reported to engage in or facilitate substantial trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy.
The three other Indian markets in the list are Heera Panna in Mumbai, Kidderpore in Kolkata and Tank Road in Delhi.

CSB Bank Gets RBI Nod to Appoint Pralay Mondal as Deputy Managing Director

The Reserve Bank approved appointment of Pralay Mondal as the deputy managing director of the private sector lender CSB Bank for three years.
Pralay Mondal was appointed as Deputy Managing Director of CSB Bank post RBI's approval in terms of Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
His prior appointment in the bank since September 23, 2020 was President (Retail, SME, Operations and IT).
With over 30 years of banking experience across multiple business and functions including retail assets, retail liabilities, business banking, products and technology, Mondal has been instrumental in building up various facets in leading banks and reputable organisations such as Axis Bank, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Wipro InfoTech and Colgate Palmolive.

Feb 18, 2022

India Signs CEPA Trade Pact with UAE

India, which is currently negotiating about half-a-dozen free trade agreements, signed the first such bilateral pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during a virtual summit, with adequate protections for domestic industry.
The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the UAE has clauses protecting the interests of domestic industries and providing them a gateway to markets in West Asia and Africa.
India is negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UK, Australia, European Union (EU), Canada and Israel, and all of them have negative lists of items where limited or no tariff concessions will be granted. This will be done to protect the interests of domestic industry.

Govt. Nominates Sanjay Malhotra as Director on SBI's Central Board

State Bank of India (SBI) said that the government nominated Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as a director on its board.
The country's largest lender received a notification from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

BSE Ebix, LIC Join Hands for Distribution of Insurance Products

BSE Ebix Insurance Broking, a joint venture of BSE and Ebix Fincorp Exchange Pte Ltd, signed an insurance broker agreement for the distribution of Life Insurance Corporation's (LIC) products on its platform.
Under this agreement, BSE Ebix will offer their clients insurance products offered by LIC such as Life and Health, using its omni-channel digital presence.
This partnership aims at offering customer centric solutions backed by technological innovations and best in class services.

PNB MetLife Launches Systematic Savings Solution Guaranteed Goal Plan

PNB MetLife has launched PNB MetLife Guaranteed Goal Plan, a savings-oriented life insurance plan that offers guaranteed returns and allows customization of savings schedules.
PNB MetLife Guaranteed Goal Plan allows customer the flexibility to choose a duration of premium payment from a single premium all the way up to 12 years.
Customers can also go for a guaranteed lump sum payout on maturity or a structure that pays a guaranteed income after completion of the premium payment term and a lump sum amount at maturity. This new offering also comes with built-in life insurance cover till maturity, waiver of premium on death or diagnosis of critical illness and the option of accidental death and critical illness coverage.

Upstox Ropes in Myntra, Oyo Executives to Bolster Leadership Team

Upstox, a leading discount broking platform, has roped in executives from Myntra and Oyo to strengthen its leadership team.
It appointed Harish Narayanan as Chief Growth Officer, Jayant Chauhan as Senior Vice President - Finance and Saurabh Agarwal as Vice President (VP)- New Initiatives.
Narayanan was previously the Chief Marketing Officer at online fashion portal Myntra. Chauhan was the VP - Global Strategic Finance at OYO and Agrawal worked at Revolut India.

Feb 17, 2022

SIDBI Ties up with Bihar Government to Promote MSME Sector in State

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) tied up with the Government of Bihar to promote the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the state.
To this effect, two memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed between SIDBI and the industries department, Government of Bihar, and the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) to develop the MSME ecosystem in the state.
Under the first MoU with Bihar's industry department, project management units (PMUs) will be deployed by SIDBI with the state government.
According to the second MoU, SIDBI will work in close coordination with BIADA to benefit MSMEs who want to set up any industrial unit on the land/ plot allotted by BIADA so as to promote industrialisation in the state.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Minister of Industries, Bihar; Brijesh Mehrotra, additional chief secretary, Bihar; and Pradeep Kumar Jha, branch in-charge of SIDBI Patna.

BaoB Signs MoU with Assam Rifles to Provide 'Central Forces Salary Package'

Bank of Baroda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Assam Rifles, the country's oldest paramilitary force, to provide 'Central Forces Salary Package'.
Under the agreement, Bank of Baroda will offer the Baroda Central Forces Salary Package to all personnel of the Assam Rifles, both serving and retired. Further, the bank will also provide special benefits, including Personal Accident Insurance and a co-branded credit card.
As part of the MoU, Bank of Baroda will offer a comprehensive bouquet of services such as free unlimited transactions at all Bank ATMs, free remittance services - NEFT/ RTGS online or through the branch, free debit card, free unlimited demand draft facilities, 50 per cent discount on locker rentals, 100 per cent waiver on Demat annual maintenance charges and 75 per cent waiver on issuance charges for Gift and Travel cards.

India and Germany Sign Work Plan for Collaboration to Strengthen Quality Infra

India and Germany signed a work plan for cooperation to strengthen quality infrastructure, reduce technical barriers to trade, enhance product safety and strengthen consumer protection.
The work plan 2022 was signed during the virtually held 8th annual meeting of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure, led by the Indian Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The areas identified for collaboration include mobility, energy, circular economy, smart farming/ agriculture, medical devices, digitalisation (artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and other new technology areas), machinery safety, medical devices and equipment and market surveillance.

Wipro Signs a 5-year Strategic Engagement Deal with ABB Info System

Wipro was awarded a five-year, strategic engagement to drive transformation for ABB's Information Systems digital workplace services. The agreement, worth over $150 million, will help ABB's Information Systems deliver enhanced, consumer-grade digital experiences for its 105,000 employees in over 100 countries.
ABB is a leading global technology company that energises the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. This engagement, led centrally from Switzerland by ABB and Wipro, will deliver increased automation and enhanced user experience through personalised services underpinned by real-time analytics—all wrapped with Wipro's superior endpoint security services. Wipro will also provide ABB with managed services support leveraging Wipro's LiVE Workspace solution.

Feb 16, 2022

BoB Will Acquire Union Bank's Stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance

Bank of Baroda will acquire Union Bank of India's 21% stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company. It is a joint venture between the Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, and Carmel Point Investments. At present, the shareholding in IFIC is BoB holds 44%, Carmel Point Investments India holds 26% and UBI holds 30%. The acquisition is pursuant to a 'Right of First Offer' made by UBI to the existing shareholders of IndiaFirst Life, to divest 21% of its stake in IndiaFirst Life.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company will continue to have a long term agency distribution agreements with both banks (BOB and UBI), even after this stake sale. Bank of Baroda has a strong domestic presence spanning 8,185 branches and 11,535 ATMs and cash recyclers supported by self-service channels. The bank has a significant international presence with a network of 96 overseas offices spanning 18 countries.

Standard Chartered Bank Launches Interest-only Home Loan Facility

Standard Chartered Bank, India, launched the interest-only home loan facility aimed at new as well as its existing customers.
The interest-only home loan is a facility provided for purchase of completed residential properties where during a limited period of the loan tenure, borrowers will pay only the interest accrued on the principal outstanding. No principal will be deducted during this interest-only period.
This is applicable on loans ranging between Rs. 35 lakh and Rs. 3.5 crore, and the maximum tenure set for the loan is 30 years for salaried individuals and 25 years for self-employed individuals.

Intel Acquires Israeli Chip Maker Tower Semiconductor

Chip-maker Intel confirmed it is acquiring Israeli contract chip manufacturer Tower Semiconductor for approximately $5.4 billion.
The acquisition advances Intel's IDM 2.0 strategy as the company further expands its manufacturing capacity, global footprint and technology portfolio to address unprecedented industry demand.
This deal will enable Intel to offer a compelling breadth of leading-edge nodes and differentiated specialty technologies on mature nodes - unlocking new opportunities for existing and future customers in an era of unprecedented demand for semiconductors.

Aditya Birla Group Invests in UAE Digital Bank Zand

The Aditya Birla Group invested an undisclosed amount in Zand, an upcoming digital bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The USD 45-billion diversified conglomerate joins other investors like Franklin Templeton, Al Hail Holding LLC, Al Sayyah and Sons Investments LLC, Global Development Group, Mohamed Alabbar, Olivier Crespin, and Yusuff Ali M A as shareholders in the bank.

InMobi's Roposo to Enter Business Deal with Reliance Retail

As per reports, Digital technology firm InMobi's social media arm Roposo is in discussions with Reliance Retail for a social commerce related business deal which is expected to be rolled out in the next two quarters.
SoftBank-backed InMobi's co-founder and CEO Naveen Tewari said that the company is looking to reach 1 billion users in the next 2-3 years by building various partnerships and expanding its footprint overseas.
The company is partnering with Reliance Retail to provide the e-commerce back-end for a new generation front -- a commerce experience of influencer-led entertainment and commerce.

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