General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - January 2019

Jan 2019

Apr 27, 2022

N. Chandrasekaran Takes Charge as Tata Digital Chairman

Tata Sons executive chairman N. Chandrasekaran formally took charge as chairman of Tata Digital, which launched the super app Tata Neu. Tata Digital is the brainchild of Chandrasekaran, who was reappointed as the chairman of Tata Sons for another five years in February 2022. He has been closely involved in its growth plans from the beginning as the Mumbai-based conglomerate eyes to make a dent in the Indian ecommerce universe.
Chandrasekaran's formal appointment is of significance considering its future plans of raising funds from external investors.

SBI Cards Expands Partnership with TCS to Transform Customer Onboarding Experience

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) expanded its strategic partnership with SBI Cards and Payments Services, India's largest pure-play credit card issuer, to power the latter's next leg of digital transformation.
The new engagement is built on a decade-long partnership. TCS had helped the company transform its core cards sourcing platform and digitized a significant portion of the process. The future-ready, agile platform personalized customer experience and helped boost sales and retention. TCS will further digitalize and transform the online onboarding processes to enable a faster turnaround and frictionless experience.

At 48 Billion, India Accounts for Largest Number of Real-time Transactions in the World

According to a report by ACI Worldwide, India accounted for the largest number of real-time transactions in the world in 2021, nearly three times that of nearest challenger China (18 billion transactions), and 6.5 times that of the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Germany, combined.
Real-time payments accounted for 31.3% of the overall payments transaction volume in India in 2021, thanks to merchant acceptance of UPI-based mobile payment apps and QR code payments, as well as increased use of digital payments during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, real-time payments are estimated to have saved Indian businesses and consumers US$ 12.6 billion, resulting in US$ 16.4 billion in economic production, or 0.56% of the country's GDP and the output of about 2.5 million jobs.

RBI Imposes Penalty on Bank of Maharashtra

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a penalty of Rs. 1.12 crore on Bank of Maharashtra for non-compliance with certain regulatory directions, including those for know your customer norms. This action is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with customers.
RBI has also imposed a penalty of Rs. 12 lakh on Rajkot Nagarik Sahakari Bank, Rajkot for non-compliance with the direction on Interest Rate on Deposits'.

Apr 26, 2022

Elon Musk Acquires Twitter in 44 Billion Dollar Deal

In one of the world's biggest deals in the tech world, billionaire Elon Musk took control of Twitter. The deal will see Musk acquire the social network for approximately $44 billion with shares valued at $54.20. Musk had announced his takeover bid on April 14, calling it his 'best and final offer'.
He has been a steadfast proponent of 'free speech' on the platform. The Tesla co-founder has also spoken in the past about an 'Edit Button' on the platform and in fact even held a poll, where he deliberately misspelt yes and no, presumably to highlight that an edit button is needed given the typos that people tend to make while tweeting. It should be noted that Twitter has already confirmed it will introduce an Edit button.

Aditya Birla Capital Appoints ICICI Bank's Vishakha Mulye as the Next CEO

Vishakha Mulye will be the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd (ABCL). Mulye, executive director of ICICI Bank, will succeed Ajay Srivinasan, present MD & CEO of ABCL. She will join ABCL on June 01, 2022.
Vishakha Mulye, a chartered accountant, is a career banker. Presently, she is in charge of multiple banking operations at ICICI Bank.
In a career spanning 30 years, Mulye has held many significant roles, led several strategic initiatives and worked with insurance as well private capital arm of ICICI group. She led the team that planned and executed the merger of ICICI Limited and ICICI Bank in 2002, which transformed ICICI from a Public Financial Institution to the largest private sector Bank.

Apr 25, 2022

BHIM UPI Goes live on NEOPAY Terminals in UAE

NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), NPCI's international subsidiary, announced that BHIM UPI is now available at NEOPAY terminals across the UAE. This effort will enable Indian tourists to execute purchases using BHIM UPI, which emerged as the preferred way of payment of Indian citizens. To accomplish this, NIPL has collaborated with Mashreq Bank's payments division, NEOPAY, to develop an acceptance infrastructure via which Indian citizens will be able to make payments in the country using BHIM UPI.
Users must have a bank account in India with UPI activated in order to conduct transactions using UPI in the UAE. People must also have a smartphone app that supports UPI payments, such as BHIM.

IMF Projects India's General Fiscal Deficit at 9.9% of GDP for FY23

India's general government fiscal deficit (states and Centre combined) was projected at 9.9 per cent of GDP for FY23 as rising energy and food prices will put renewed pressure on the fiscal gap, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its report.
With renewed uncertainty on the back of the Russia-Ukraine war, commodity markets have been disrupted fuelling inflation. Governments globally will have to shape their responses against the backdrop of increasing inflation, slowdown in growth, high debt and tightening credit conditions.

Chinese Banks Continue to Dominate; ICICI Latest Indian Entrant among Top Banks in APac

Chinese banks continued to dominate the ranking of Asia-Pacific's top 50 largest banks by total assets in 2021, helped by strong growth in lending after a pandemic-induced slowdown, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Twenty-two mainland Chinese banks featured in the list, holding combined assets of $34.5 trillion at end-2021, up more than 10 per cent from a year ago.
Macquarie and India's ICICI Bank were the newest additions to the top 50 largest Asia-Pacific banks, coming in at number 47 and number 50, respectively. The other two Indian banks in the list were SBI and HDFC Bank.
SBI, India's largest bank by assets, jumped two spots to be ranked 22nd in the list with $695 billion in assets. HDFC Bank, the country's private sector bank also improved its position to 44th from 46th last year. ICICI just about made it to the list at number 50 with $226 billion in assets.

India Only Country among Top 10 Steel Producing Nations to Register Growth in Production in Jan-M...

India produced 31.9 million tonnes of steel from January to March in 2022 with a growth of 5.9 percent. In March alone, steel production stood at 10.9 million tonnes with 4.4 percent growth rate. As per the data released by World Steel Association, India is the only country among top 10 steel producing nations of the world, which has registered growth in steel production in January to March period, as compared to corresponding period in 2021. Brazil is the only other country among top 10 nations which has registered growth in the month of March.

Dhanlaxmi Bank Signs MoU with CBDT, CBIC for Tax Collection

For the collection of taxes, Dhanlaxmi Bank signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) authorised the bank to collect different taxes based on a recommendation from the Controller General of Accounts.
The technical integration required to implement the seamless flow of remittances from the bank's portal to the CBDT and CBIC portals will be implemented as soon as possible in order to give customers early access to the facilities.
Dhanlaxmi Bank, based in Kerala, was placed under the RBI's Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework in November 2015 due to its poor financial condition, and it was in 2021 that it was released. It has been profitable since then.

Apr 24, 2022

Govt. Moves Ahead with Proposal to Merge Coal India Arm with MECL

The government is moving ahead with a proposal to merge Coal India arm CMPDI with the Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Ltd (MECL) and will prepare a cabinet note on the same.
Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd (CMPDI) is the planning and design arm of Coal India Ltd (CIL).
MECL functions under the Ministry of Mines with 100 per cent government holding, for systematic exploration of minerals.

RBI Prohibits Issuance of Unsolicited Cards by Issuers

The Reserve Bank asked card companies not to issue unsolicited credit cards or upgrade an existing card without the explicit consent of the customer, failing which they will have to pay double the billed amount as penalty.
It also asked card issuers and third-party agents not to resort to intimidation or harassment during recovery of dues from customers.

India Post Payments Bank Launches 'Fincluvation'

Fincluvation– a joint initiative to collaborate with Fintech Startup community to co-create and innovate solutions for financial inclusion was launched on by India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a 100% government owned entity under the Department of Posts (DoP).
The initative is part of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence - Azadi ka Amrit Mahotasav.
The first-of-its-kind industry initiative, Fincluvation would create a powerful platform to mobilize the start-up community towards building meaningful financial products aimed at financial inclusion.
Fincluvation will engage startups to participate, ideate, develop and market intuitive and tailored products and services for the customers. It also encourages startups to develop solutions relating to creditization, digitization & more.
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) was launched on September 1, 2018 under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned by Government of India. The bank has been set up with the vision to build the most accessible, affordable and trusted bank for the common man in India.

Apr 23, 2022

Govt. Bars PSEs from Buying State-owned Companies on Block for Privatisation

The finance ministry barred public sector enterprises from bidding for other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) which are on the block for privatisation, as it would defeat the very purpose of the disinvestment policy.
Stating that transfer of management control from the government to any other government organisation or state government may continue the inherent inefficiencies of state-run firms, the ministry said that such transfer would defeat the very purpose of the new PSE policy.
PSEs controlled by the government include those where 51 per cent or more ownership is with the Centre/state governments or jointly with central and/or state governments.

Jasleen Kohli Appointed as MD and CEO of Digit Insurance

Digit Insurance, which is backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, announced Jasleen Kohli as the company's new managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from April 20, 2022.
Kohli formerly served as chief distribution officer (CDO) at Digit, where she was responsible for all of the company's sales and distribution channels. Before joining Digit as the CDO in 2017, she was the director at Allianz Technology. Kohli, 42, will be one of youngest CEOs in the insurance industry.
Digit predominantly sells motor insurance, which accounts for nearly 75% of its product mix while commercial fire insurance accounts for 13% of the portfolio. Since 2020, the startup has also been selling health insurance cover that along with travel insurance makes up the balance 12%.

Manappuram Finance Fined Rs. 17.63 lakh by the RBI for Failing to Comply with KYC Regulations

Manappuram Finance Limited was fined Rs. 17,63,965 by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for failing to comply with certain provisions of the Master Direction on Issuance and Operation of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and the Master Direction – Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction.
This action is based on regulatory compliance issues and is not meant to be a judgement on the validity of any transaction or agreement the organisation has with its consumers.
The entity was found to be in violation of RBI instructions on KYC and minor PPI standards. As a result, the entity was given notice to show cause why a penalty should not be applied for failing to follow the orders.

US Firm to Set up World's Largest Electric 3-wheeler Plant in Telangana

Telangana is on course to play host to the world's largest electric three-wheeler plant with the California-based Biliti Electric Inc announcing on plans to set up a factory, in phases, to produce 2.40 lakh EVs a year in the State.
It will be the world's largest electric three-wheeler factory and estimated to drive private investment of $150 million as well as expected to create over 3,000 jobs in the State.
The plant will come up in two phases, over 200 acres. Phase I is to be developed over 13.5 acres with a capability to produce 18,000 vehicles per year. It is expected to be ready by early 2023. The larger facility spread across 200 acres will be operational in 2024 and the capacity enhance to 2.4 lakh vehicles.

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