General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2018

Dec 2018

Jan 09, 2025

Belson Coutinho New Chief Operating Officer of Akasa Air

Domestic carrier Akasa Air appointed its co-founder and marketing veteran Belson Coutinho as the company's Chief Operating Officer.
In his new role, Belson is responsible for in-flight services, airport services, maintenance and engineering, flight operations, IOCC (integrated operations command centre), among others, while also spearheading Akasa Air Learning Academy.
Prior to taking up the current assignment, Coutinho was holding the position of Akasa Air's Chief Marketing and Experience Officer (CMO and CXO).

RBI lifts ban on NBFCs Asirvad Micro Finance and DMI Finance

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday lifted restrictions imposed on Chennai based Asirvad Micro Finance and Delhi based DMI Finance, with immediate effect, after being satisfied with the actions taken by these companies to adhere to regulatory guidelines.
"…having satisfied itself based on companies' submissions, and in view of their adoption of revamped processes, systems, and the companies' commitment to ensure adherence to the regulatory guidelines on an ongoing basis, especially for ensuring fairness in the loan pricing, the RBI has decided to lift the afore-mentioned restrictions placed on both, Asirvad Micro Finance and DMI Finance, with immediate effect", RBI said in a statement.
With this, the central bank has now lifted restrictions on all the four non-banking financial companies (NBFC) imposed in October for charging exorbitant interest rates to the borrowers.
RBI, in October, had imposed sanctions on Asirvad Microfinance, Arohan Financial Services, DMI Finance, and Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal's Navi Finserv.
Previously, in early December, RBI had removed restrictions on Navi Finserv and early this month the central had removed restrictions imposed on Arohan Financial Services.
The action on these NBFCs by the RBI was based on material supervisory concerns observed in the pricing policy of these companies in terms of their weighted average lending rate (WALR) and the interest spread charged over their cost of funds, which are found to be excessive and not in adherence with the regulations.

BP Bags ONGC Contract to Increase Production from India's Largest Oil, Gas Field Mumbai High

UK-based global energy major BP bagged the contract to operate and enhance production from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) flagship Mumbai High field, India's largest oil and gas field, which has been witnessing a gradual fall in output for over three decades.

Jan 08, 2025

Suzuki's Investment in NDDB's Bio-Gas Venture

Suzuki Motor Corporation decided to acquire a 26% stake in NDDB Mirda Ltd, a bio-gas venture developed by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). This move aligns with Suzuki's plans to use Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) for enhancing the longevity and performance of vehicles. Suzuki had initially sought a 49% stake in the venture but has been allowed to take a 26% stake. However, there is a provision for Suzuki to gradually increase its stake to 49%. The deal marks a significant step in the company's commitment to sustainability through alternative fuel sources and rural development.

Jan 07, 2025

FIU-IND and IRDAI Sign MoU for Enhanced Coordination and Information Exchange

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as part of continued coordinated efforts in effective implementation of requirements of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Rules framed thereunder, in New Delhi.
The MoU was signed by Vivek Aggarwal, Director, FIU-IND and Satyajit Tripathy, Member (Distribution), IRDAI.
According to the MoU, FIU-IND and IRDAI will cooperate with each other in the areas of mutual interest.

India Becomes Second Largest Buyer of Gold after Poland in 2024

Global central banks remained active in the gold market in November 2024, collectively adding 53 tonnes of the precious metal to their reserves, according to the World Gold Council.
India's year-to-date purchased 73 tonnes of gold with total gold reserves of 876 tonnes as on November end, making it the second-largest buyer of 2024 after Poland, the WGC said.
The Central Bank of Uzbekistan also made significant additions, increasing its reserves by 9 tonnes after a hiatus since July.
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) resumed gold buying after a six-month pause, adding 5 tonnes and bringing its total holdings to 2,264 tonnes, representing 5 per cent of its reserves.

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: 'Faral Sakhi' Initiative

The Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) introduced its flagship initiative, 'Faral Sakhi,' to support women entrepreneurs in Mira Bhayandar, Maharashtra. This programme aims to empower women engaged in traditional snack production by providing comprehensive training and resources to scale their ventures sustainably. Launched in collaboration with the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) of NITI Aayog, 'Faral Sakhi' is part of WEP's Award to Reward initiative.
WEP, established by NITI Aayog in 2018 as an aggregator platform, transitioned into a public-private partnership in 2022. It supports women entrepreneurs by addressing information gaps and offering assistance in areas such as finance, market linkages, training, mentoring, compliance, and business development.
The 'Faral Sakhi initiative represents a significant step toward the holistic development of women entrepreneurs.

Jan 06, 2025

EPFO's New Centralised Pension Payments System

Retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) completed the Centralised Pension Payments System (CPPS) rollout in all its regional offices across the country that will benefit over 68 lakh pensioners, the labour ministry said.
The CPPS is a paradigm shift from the existing pension disbursement system that is decentralised, with each zonal/regional office of EPFO maintaining separate agreements with only 3-4 banks, the ministry explained.
Under CPPS, a beneficiary will be able to withdraw pension from any bank and there will be no need for to visit the bank for verification at the time of commencement of pension, and the amount will be immediately credited upon release.

BharatPe to Sell 25% Stake in Unity Small Finance Bank

India's leading fintech company BharatPe is planning to sell up to 25% of its 49% stake in Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity Bank). The move is aimed at raising around $800 million (approximately Rs. 6,500 crore) and is part of the company's plan to meet RBI's regulatory requirements. BharatPe has appointed Rothschild & Co to oversee the stake sale.

Jan 05, 2025

RBI Clears National, Cosmos Co-operative Bank Merger

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the merger of National Co-operative Bank with Cosmos Co-operative Bank, effective from January 6, 2025.
The branches of The National Co-operative Bank, Bangalore (Karnataka), will function as branches of Cosmos Co-operative Bank Limited (Maharashtra).
National Co-operative Bank has 13 branches. In FY24, Maratha Sahakari Bank and Sahebrao Deshmukh Sahakari Bank also merged into Cosmos Bank.

Govt. Sets Up Working Group to Revise Wholesale Price Index Base Year From 2011-12 to 2022-23

The government constituted an 18-member working group, under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand, to revise the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23.
The revision of the base year helps in presenting a more realistic picture of the price situation in the country.
As per the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the group, it will suggest the commodity basket of WPI and Producer Price Index (PPI) with the base year 2022-23 in the light of structural changes in the economy; review the existing system of price collection and suggest changes for improvement; and decide on the computational methodology to be adopted for WPI / PPI.

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