General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

May 17, 2025

Nishant Kanodia, Appointed to the Board of Directors of the International Fertilizer Association

Nishant Kanodia, Promoter and Chairman of Matix Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited, was appointed to the Board of Directors of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA), the leading global organisation representing the entire fertilizer value chain. The appointment was formalised at the IFA Annual Conference 2025 in Monaco, themed "Investing in the Future of Food." With approximately 500 members across more than 80 countries, IFA champions policy, innovation, and sustainable fertilizer practices that contribute to global food security.

Lodha Ventures Rebrands as Abhinandan Ventures

Lodha Ventures rebranded itself as Abhinandan Ventures. The company, led by Abhinandan Lodha, has applied for the cancellation of its registered trademark "Lodha Ventures," and therefore no longer owns the trademark.
This (rebranding) resonates with the future-focused, new-age group built on technology, transparency, agility and customer-centricity.

May 16, 2025

Bhawna Agarwal Appointed as Senior Vice President and MD of HPE India

In a leadership announcement, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) appointed Bhawna Agarwal as the new Senior Vice President (SVP) and Managing Director (MD) for its India operations. The transition is effective immediately.
Agarwal will report directly to Heiko Meyer, Executive Vice President and Chief Sales Officer at HPE, and will be responsible for leading HPE's business strategy and operations across one of its most critical international markets.
Agarwal assumed the role from Som Satsangi, a highly respected industry figure who has served HPE for over 27 years. Satsangi took over as Managing Director of HPE India in 2016 and has been instrumental in expanding the company's local footprint across enterprise IT, cloud services, and digital infrastructure.
Agarwal has more than 25 years of experience across digital start-ups, media organisations, and consumer technology companies.

Canara and Union Bank Unveil Tailored Deposit Products to Boost Mobilisation

State-owned Canara Bank and Union Bank of India announced special products to boost resource mobilisation.
It came amid slowing deposit growth, which fell to 10.3 per cent in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from 13.5 per cent in FY24. Most public sector banks have projected deposit growth of 9-11 per cent for the current financial year.
Under the scheme, Union Bank will offer 6.75 per cent for deposits of 375 days, for a minimum deposit of Rs. 10 lakh, up to Rs. 3 crore. The scheme includes a 375-day Super Top-up Health Insurance cover, offering a sum insured of Rs. 5 lakh with cashless hospitalisation facilities.
Bengaluru-based Canara Bank launched Canara TruEdge, a current account and savings account product, to deliver enhanced customer segmentation and provide solutions tailored to their specific operational and financial works.
The product offers a flexible benefit system like charge waivers and concessions which is linked to the previous month's Monthly Average Balance (MAB).

May 15, 2025

PNB to Sell Entire Stake in ISARC for Rs. 34 crore

To streamline its investment portfolio, Punjab National Bank (PNB) signed an agreement to offload its entire stake in India SME Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (ISARC) for Rs. 34.04 crore.
The deal involves the sale of 2.09 crore shares at Rs. 16.29 each, with the transaction expected to wrap up by the end of the first quarter of the 2025–26 financial year. The move aligns with PNB's wider strategy to primarily focus on its core banking operations while exiting non-core investments.

Wipro announces Digital Transformation Partnership with Hachette UK

Wipro announced a digital transformation partnership with Hachette UK, one of the largest publishing groups in the United Kingdom.
As part of the project, Wipro will upgrade Hachette UK's IT systems by implementing SAP S/4HANA, using RISE with SAP. The goal is to improve efficiency, speed up finance operations, and make it easier for Hachette to respond to changing market conditions.
Wipro will lead the transformation by creating a full roadmap to modernise HUK's systems across finance, procurement, and sales — all while keeping disruption to a minimum. The program aims to improve flexibility, data-based decisions, and overall business performance.

UnitedHealth CEO Steps Down

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty stepped down for personal reasons and the nation's largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs.
Chairman Stephen Hemsley became CEO with immediate effect.
Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain Chairman of the company's board. Witty will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley.

May 14, 2025

Gail to Run Dabhol LNG Terminal in Monsoon

Indian gas transporter GAIL (India) will operate its 5 million-tonnes-per-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in western India during the monsoon season for the first time, after completing a breakwater facility, Chairman Sandeep Kumar Gupta said.
The company typically shuts the Ratnagiri terminal - popularly known as the Dabhol LNG plant - for four months from May 25 each year to avoid high tides. The new breakwater will now enable ship arrivals during the monsoon.
Separately, GAIL's head of business development Rajeev Kumar Singhal said that the company plans to expand Dabhol's capacity to 6.3 million tonnes per year by mid-2027, and to 12.5 million tonnes by 2031-32.

Ashwini Vaishnaw Inaugurates First 3nm Semiconductor Design Hubs in Noida and Bengaluru

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the country's first 3nm chip design centres in Noida and Bengaluru. Set up by Renesas Electronics India, these state-of-the-art facilities represent a transformative leap in India's chip design capabilities, aligning with the nation's vision of becoming a global semiconductor powerhouse under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat mission.
The initiative aims to build a self-reliant chip ecosystem, supporting manufacturing in smartphones, medical devices, automobiles, defense, and more.

ONDC Appoints COO Vibhor Jain as Acting CEO

The government-backed e-commerce platform, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), announced that its current Chief Operating Officer, Vibhor Jain, assumed the role of acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect.
While the organisation continues its process of identifying a new Managing Director and CEO, all executive powers will be transitioned to Jain. Jain is also currently a member of the eight-member Executive Committee at the platform.
With the transition to a single point of leadership, the responsibilities previously overseen by the Executive Committee will now be integrated under the acting CEO's purview, marking the conclusion of the Committee's interim role.

PayU Receives Final Authorisation from RBI to Operate as an Online Payment Aggregator

PayU, one of India's leading online payments services providers, received the final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an Online Payment Aggregator under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
PayU Payments Private Limited, one of India's leading digital financial services providers with Prosus as an investor, operates businesses that are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and offers advanced solutions to meet the digital payment requirements of the Indian market. PayU India companies aim to create a full-stack digital financial services platform to serve all (tapped and untapped) financial needs of customers (e-commerce brands, banks and consumers) through technology solutions.

BillDesk's M. N. Srinivasu Appointed IAMAI Chairperson for Two-year Term

BillDesk co-founder M. N. Srinivasu was appointed as the chairperson of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), following the governing council elections at the organisation. Srinivasu succeeded Dream Sports co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Harsh Jain.
Razorpay co-founder and CEO Harshil Mathur was elected vice-chairperson, PhonePe founder and CEO Sameer Nigam took over as the treasurer of the association.
The appointment of the top brass at IAMAI reflects the growing influence of the emerging fintech sector in the country.
The new 24-member governing council and the new executive council of IAMAI will take charge for the next two years, until 2027.

May 13, 2025

Sumitomo May Merge India NBFC with YES Bank after Acquiring 20% Stake

Japanese major Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) may merge its Indian non-bank arm SMFG India Credit with YES Bank after its group entity SMBC completes acquiring 20 per cent stake in YES Bank.
Technically, if Sumitomo wants to increase stake in YES Bank, since they already have a NBFC in India — SMFG India Credit — they may want to merge that NBFC with YES Bank. This is because of the RBI's norms that for lending side businesses, banks should have a single point of presence.

Kotak Mahindra Bank to End Complimentary Debit Card Insurance from July

Kotak Mahindra Bank announced that it will discontinue all the complimentary insurance benefits associated with its debit cards, effective July 20. The bank communicated this change directly to its customers, urging them to review the updated terms and conditions.
Key insurance benefits that will be discontinued
Previously, the bank offered the following insurance benefits to its debit cardholders:
Personal accidental death cover:Coverage up to Rs. 15 lakh, applicable in case of accidental death due to rail or road accidents.
Lost card liability: Protection against unauthorised transactions up to Rs. 6 lakh, depending on the card variant
Purchase protection: Coverage for loss of goods purchased using the debit card, up to Rs. 1.5 lakh, within 60 days of purchase.
Lost baggage insurance: Coverage up to Rs 1 lakh for loss of baggage during travel, provided the travel ticket was purchased using the debit card.
Air accident insurance: Coverage up to Rs. 5 lakh for accidents occurring during air travel.

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