General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Feb 15, 2022

Yes Bank Launches Agri Infinity Program

Private sector lender Yes Bank announced the launch of an annual start-up enabler program that seeks to co-develop digital financial solutions for the food and agriculture ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in the sector.
Called Yes Bank Agri Infinity, a select cohort of start-ups will not only receive mentoring by veteran bankers for experiential co-development but also get access to the lender's digital banking infrastructure and network, collaborative opportunities to pilot new solutions and fundraising advisory.

India among Top 5 Economies for Ease of Starting New Business

According to a report by a global consortium of over 500 researchers, India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business, putting the country on top amongst low-income economies on different entrepreneurial framework conditions.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021/2022 report, unveiled at the Dubai Expo, gathered data via a survey of at least 2,000 respondents across each of 47 high, medium and low-income economies.

Axis Bank Set to Buy Citigroup's $2.5 billion India Retail Unit

Axis Bank Ltd. is nearing a deal to buy Citigroup Inc.'s India retail banking business in a transaction that could be valued at about $2.5 billion.
An agreement for the consumer unit may be announced as soon as the next few weeks and is contingent on approval from the Reserve Bank of India, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The deal would include a cash component of less than $2 billion, accounting for the consumer business's liabilities.

Ilker Ayci, Former Chairman of Turkish Airlines is Air India CEO&MD

Tata Sons announced the appointment of Mehmet Ilker Ayci as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India.
Mehmet Ilker Ayci until recently was the Chairman of Turkish Airlines and was also on its Board of Directors prior to that.
The key appointment was finalised at the Air India board meeting on Monday, in which Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran was a special invitee. Ayci's appointment would be subject to regulatory approvals.
Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure there.

ABG Shipyard Bank Fraud

The Central Bureau of Investigation booked ABG Shipyard Ltd, in its biggest bank fraud case.
CBI also booked its then Chairman and Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal along with others.
They were booked for cheating a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India of more than Rs. 22,842 crore.
They have been charged with alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust & abuse of official position and cheating, under the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ABG Shipyard Ltd was sanctioned credit facilities from 28 banks and financial institutions. In this, SBI was having an exposure of Rs. 2468.51 crore. According to forensic audit, between 2012-17, accused colluded together and committed illegal activities like misappropriation, diversion of funds, and criminal breach of trust. Funds were used for other purposes than for which banks released. It is the biggest bank fraud case registered by CBI.
ABG is a Mumbai based shipbuilding company. It is a part of ABG Group of companies, but with diversified business interests. The company was established in 1985, with its headquartered in Mumbai. It has shipbuilding operations in Dahej and Surat in Gujarat. It operates a ship repair unit in Goa, after its acquisition of Western India Shipyard Limited in October 2010. ABG became one among the largest private ship building companies, with a capacity for manufacturing vessels up to 20 tonnes in weight.

Feb 14, 2022

Suzuki, Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj among 20 Companies Selected under Auto PLI Scheme

As many as 20 applicants were approved under the "Champion OEM Incentive Scheme" of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for India's automotive sector. Major four-wheeler manufacturers, such as Hyundai, Suzuki, Kia, Mahindra, Ford, and Tata Motors, and top two-wheeler makers Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motor were shortlisted.
Recent entrants -- Hop Electric Manufacturing and Ola Electric Technologies -- were also selected as new non-automotive investors.
The PLI scheme for the automobile sector proposes financial incentives of up to 18 per cent to attract investments in the indigenous supply chain of advanced automotive technology (AAT) products.

Sitharaman Launches First Colour Souvenir Coin on 'Panchtantra'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the first colour souvenir coin on 'Panchtantra' on the occasion of 17th foundation day of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
The Finance Minister stressed on upskilling and acquiring new skills, and upgradation to meet the technology driven economy.
Further, she emphasized on ramping up the quality of products and to brand SPMCIL as lead producers of currency and other sovereign products.

Jindal Steel and Power, Hindalco Bag Coal Mines in Odisha in Auction

The second and third days of auction of coal blocks for commercial use saw Jindal Steel and Power bagging Utkal-C coal mine in Odisha, while Hindalco Industries made the highest bid for Meenakshi mine in the eastern state.
While BS Ispat Ltd emerged as the highest bidder for Majra mine in Maharashtra, Assam Mineral Development Corporation bagged Garampani coal block in Assam.

Feb 13, 2022

A budget that is Ambitious, Yet Conservative

The Union budget for 2022-23 is a landmark budget. It lays the foundation for taking the country towards a technologically frontline economy with world-class infrastructure that is seamlessly integrated and connects the farthest corners of the country with a multi-modal logistics network. This is its unifying framework as the government attempts to lift the economy to a higher growth trajectory of 8-8.5 per cent in the coming decades.

R. Gopalan to Replace Venu Srinivasan as Sundaram-Clayton Chairman in April

Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), a leading auto component manufacturing and distribution group and the holding company of TVS Motor Company, announced the elevation of R. Gopalan, Non-Executive Independent Director of the company, as Chairman of the Board effective April 2022.
The current chairman Venu Srinivasan will continue to be the Managing Director of the company post April, and will be designated as Chairman Emeritus. Gopalan has rich experience in the economic and financial administration of the country with long stints in the Ministry of Commerce and Finance, and the Manufacturing and Service Sectors.

India 5th Largest Exporter of Millets

India is the fifth largest exporter of millets in the world, according to 2020 data, with exports continuously increasing at around 3 per cent CAGR in the last five years ending with 2020.
In 2020-21, India exported millets worth $26.97 million against $28.5 million in 2019-20. World export of millet increased from $380 million in 2019 to $402.7 million in 2020.
Globally, major exporters of millets are the USA, Russian Federation, Ukraine, India, China, Netherlands, France, Poland and Argentina. Together, their millets exports stood at $221.68 million in 2020. Global exports of millets in 2020 stood at $466.284 million.
The top three importers of millets from India in 2020-21 were Nepal ($6.09 million), UAE ($4.84 million), and Saudi Arabia ($3.84 million). The other seven destinations in the top-ten list of India's millet export are Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, the UK, Yemen, Oman and Algeria.

Adani Ports Forays into Bengal Maritime Sector, to Operate Berth at Haldia

The Kolkata port authorities officially handed over the letter of award to Gautam Adani controlled Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) for mechanisation and upgradation of a berth in Haldia Dock Complex (HDC).
This marks the entry of the country's largest private port operator in West Bengal's maritime sector.
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SMP), formerly the Kolkata Port Trust, said that the project envisages incorporating environment friendly, fully mechanised technology for handling dry bulk cargo.
Berth no. 2, where the company will work, will offer a capacity of 3.744 million metric tons per annum and the investment will be about Rs. 298.26 crore.

Feb 12, 2022

Larsen & Toubro's Construction Arm Bags 'Significant' Order in Bangladesh

Larsen & Toubro's construction arm has bagged a 'significant' order to construct hi-tech IT parks at eight locations across Bangladesh.
This project is being funded by the Indian EXIM Bank and is the first IT and office space order that L&T has secured in Bangladesh.
The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro has secured an order from the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority to construct Hi-Tech IT Parks at 8 locations (2 packages at 4 locations each) across Bangladesh.

Amazon India Signs MoU with Karnataka to Turn Rural Women into Entrepreneurs

Amazon India signed an MoU with Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) to support the growth of women entrepreneurs. Amazon India will launch 'Sanjeevini-KSRLPS' in its platform and extend benefits of the 'Saheli' Programme to train and empower thousands of rural women entrepreneurs and also provide online access to a wider market for their products. The Saheli Programme offers training and skill development workshops to help women entrepreneurs.
Through this, Amazon and the government bodies will come together to assist and empower lakhs of women entrepreneurs associated with them from the four states to register their business with Amazon India and access a wider market base.

HDFC Ergo Partners Visa for Insurance Cover on Select Bank Cards

HDFC ERGO General Insurance, India's leading private sector general insurance company in the private sector, announced its first-of-its-kind partnership with Visa, the global leader in digital payments to offer curated insurance covers for Visa's Platinum cardholders for select public sector banks.
This policy is applicable for Visa's Platinum cardholders and will provide security to Visa's partner banks. This in turn will give the card users peace of mind while performing any transaction.
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd. and ERGO International AG; the primary insurance entity of the Munich RE Group of Germany. HDFC ERGO is one of India's largest non-life insurance company in the private sector.

Feb 11, 2022

RBI Enhances Cap on Amount for e-RUPI Vouchers from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1 lakh

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) proposed to increase the cap on the amount for e-RUPI vouchers from Rs. 10,000 currently to Rs. 1,00,000 so as to enhance the scope of application of these vouchers and facilitate faster delivery of various government services to beneficiaries efficiently.
The e-RUPI vouchers can be used multiple times, until the amount on the voucher is completely redeemed. Currently, each voucher can be redeemed only once. The RBI will issue necessary instructions in this regard to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The increase of the cap on e-Rupi vouchers from the present Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 100,000 is a significant jump, and the purpose is to address some practical issues with the lower current cap, and to broaden the applicability to a much larger set of use-cases which can involve amounts all the way up to Rs. 100,000.

Soft Drink Brand Thums Up Becomes a Billion-dollar Brand in 2021

Desi soft drink brand Thums Up became a billion-dollar brand in 2021, global soft drinks major The Coca-Cola Company, which owns the brand, said.
Thums Up was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 1993, when the Atlanta-headquartered company had re-entered into the Indian market, from Ramesh Chauhan of Parle Bisleri.
Coca-Cola had then bought the entire portfolio of aerated drinks from the Chauhan brothers, which also included Gold Spot and Limca.
Brand Thums Up was launched almost 45 years ago in 1977, after Coca-Cola had exited from the Indian market after the then Morarji Desai government had directed it to reduce the ownership stake of its Indian operation.
This is the first home-grown Indian beverage brand, scaling to billion-dollar sales and is one of the leading players into the aerated drinks market in the country.

TVS SCS Appoints Ravi Viswanathan as Managing Director

TVS Supply Chain Solutions (TVS SCS), part of the Rs. 15,000 crore TVS Mobility Group, appointed Ravi Viswanathan as the Managing Director.
The company, in its Board Meeting, approved the appointment and announced the changes. R Dinesh, the fourth generation TVS Scion, would continue to guide the company in his new role as the Executive Vice Chairman.
Ravi Viswanathan joined the firm in February 2020 as the Joint Managing Director and has been working on growing the business with a specific focus on technology adoption and building the globally relevant network-integrated as a single company.
Dinesh, the founder of the company, has been instrumental in driving the company's strategy and growth.

NHPC Inks Pact to Build 10,000 MW Renewable Energy Capacity in Rajasthan

State-run NHPC signed a letter of intent (LoI) to build renewable energy projects of 10,000 MW in Rajasthan.
The LoI was signed by Y. K. Chaubey, Director (Technical), NHPC Ltd and Subodh Agarwal, Additional Chief Secretary, Mines and Petroleum Department and Energy Department, and Chairman and Managing Director, RRECL and Chairman, Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd.
Under the leadership of A. K. Singh, chairman and managing director of NHPC, the company is expanding its renewable energy portfolio and has taken up several projects under different modes.

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