General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - July 2019

Jul 2019

Feb 06, 2022

India's Unemployment rate in January 2022 Stood at 6.57%

The unemployment rate in India in January 2022 fell sharply to 6.57%, according to the data from the economic think-tank, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). This is the lowest rate witnessed since March 2021. In December 2021, the unemployment rate rose to a four-month high of 7.91%, compared to 6.97% in November. CMIE is a Mumbai-based independent non-government entity that serves both as an economic think-tank as well as a business information company.
Telangana recorded the lowest unemployment rate in January at 0.7%.
This was followed by Gujarat at 1.2%, Meghalaya at 1.5%, Odisha at 1.8% and Karnataka at 2.9%.
State-wise highest unemployment rate:
Haryana witnessed the highest unemployment rate of 23.4% in January 2022. It was followed by Rajasthan (18.9%), Tripura (17.1%), Jammu & Kashmir (15%) and Delhi (14.1%).

RBI's Digital Rupee will Help Curb Black Money Menace

The proposed digital rupee to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) starting from the next financial year will not only give a boost to the digital economy but also help curb the menace of black money.
RBI will have each and every trail of the digital rupees.
Black money proceeds are usually received in cash from underground economic activity and, as such, are not taxed, but if RBI has the transaction trail of every digital rupee then it will be difficult for a person to evade taxes.
Announcing the introduction of the digital rupee Finance Minister in her Budget speech said that, the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) will give a big boost to the digital economy. Digital currency will also lead to a more efficient and cheaper currency management system.

Jio Picks up 25% Stake in Deep Tech Start-up Two Platforms

Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Platforms picked up a 25 per cent stake in Silicon Valley-based deep tech start-up Two Platforms (TWO) for $15 million around Rs. 112 crore).
Founded by Pranav Mistry, Two Platforms is an artificial reality company which focuses on building interactive and immersive AI experiences.
The two companies have joined hands to fast track adoption of new technologies and build disruptive technologies such as AI, metaverse and mixed realties.

Feb 05, 2022

Aditya Birla Fashion to Set up Subsidiary for Entry into D2C Space

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) will set up a platform to foray in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) business.
The board of directors of the company in their meeting today approved the setting up of the new subsidiary. Its D2C platform is focused towards building a portfolio of distinct, new-age, digital brands across categories in fashion, beauty and other allied lifestyle segments.
The venture will initially be funded through ABFRL's internal accruals and at an appropriate time, the firm will look to bring in external capital to accelerate growth.

Exim Bank Extends a $500 Million Credit Line to Sri Lanka

Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on behalf of the government of India, extended a line of credit of $500 million to the government of the socialist republic of Sri Lanka for financing the purchase of petroleum products. The fund will be used by the Island nation for the purchase of petroleum products. With the signing of this new LOC agreement, the total LOC extended by Exim Bank to Sri Lanka till date has reached 10, taking the total value of LOCs extended to USD 2.18 billion.
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) was set up in 1982 by an Act of Parliament for the purpose of financing, facilitating and promoting India's foreign trade. It is the principal financial institution in the country for coordinating the working of institutions engaged in financing exports and imports. Exim Bank is fully owned by the Government of India.
The Bank provides financial assistance to export-oriented Indian companies by way of term loans in Indian rupees or foreign currencies for setting up new production facilities, expansion/modernization or upgradation of existing facilities and for acquisition of production equipment or technology.

IndiGo Appoints Co-founder Bhatia as MD

India's largest airline IndiGo swung back into profit after registering seven consecutive quarters of loss thanks to a rebound in travel demand during the holiday season.
The company appointed co-founder Rahul Bhatia as managing director and he would oversee all aspects of the airline.
Bhatia said that his agenda would be transformational and would focus on expanding the airline's presence in India and in international markets and building for the long term.

Feb 04, 2022

SBI tie-up with Ministry of Culture for Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design

The State Bank of India (SBI) signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Culture Fund (NCF) of the Ministry of Culture, for Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design (ABCD) at L1 Barrack, Red Fort, in Delhi. The main objective of Project ABCD is to highlight, promote and celebrate the products that have the Geographical Indication sign to give a boost to Economic Value Addition to GI products from India.
The ABCD project will be implemented by IGNCA, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture through the ministry's NCF fund. SBI will sponsor the project under CSR with a contribution of Rs. 10 crores for the implementation of the ABCD Project.

LIC Ties up with Policybazaar.com for Distribution of Its Products

Ahead of its much-awaited initial public offering (IPO), state-owned insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), tied up with insurance aggregator Policybazaar.com for distribution of its products. This is LIC's first association with an insurance aggregator, and otherwise relies heavily on its large agency force of 1.33 million agents for distributing its products.
Policybazaar.com, the flagship platform of PB Fintech, is the largest online insurance marketplace in the country which distributes products of 51 insurance companies, which include life, general, and standalone health insurance companies.

Govt. Appoints Ravi Mittal as IBBI Chairperson

The government appointed former civil servant Ravi Mittal as the chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
The appointment comes little over four months after the post fell vacant following the retirement of M S Sahoo who completed his five-year term in September 2021.
In October 2021, IBBI Whole Time Member Navrang Saini was given the additional charge as the chairperson.
Mittal is the second full-time Chairperson of the IBBI, a key institution in implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which came into force in 2016.

US Regains top Spot as India's Trade Partner in 2021

The United States was India's top trading partner in the calendar year 2021 with a trade of $112.3 billion. The US is followed by China on second. The value of trade between India and China was $110.4 billion. In 2020, China was India's top trading partner and the US was in the second rank. In 2019 USA was India's top trading partner and China was on second.

Feb 03, 2022

Project of Blending Hydrogen into CGD Network

Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) started India's first-of-it's-kind project to mix hydrogen into natural gas system at Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
Hydrogen blended natural gas will be supplied to Avantika Gas Limited, which is a Joint Venture (JV) company of GAIL with HPCL. It is operating in Indore.
GAIL started "hydrogen blending programme", in line with National Hydrogen Mission.
Hydrogen blending programme was started as a pilot project to establish techno-commercial feasibility of blending hydrogen in City Gas Distribution (CGD) network.
This project is a significant step in India's journey towards hydrogen based and carbon neutral future.
This project is significant, because India is moving forward with goal of achieving a carbon-neutral and self-reliant future. This project will also help in creating robust standard and regulatory framework in India for covering the aspects of injecting hydrogen into natural gas.

LIC 10th most Valued Insurance Brand Globally

As per a brand valuation report released by Brand Finance, Life Insurance Corporation was ranked at 10th in the list of insurance brands globally. LIC is the only Indian insurance company in the top 10 list. LIC has a valuation of USD 8.656 billion (around Rs. 64,722 crore). Of the top 10, as many as 5 are Chinese insurance companies, with by Ping An Insurance emerging as the world's most valuable insurance brand, despite recording a 26 per cent drop in brand value. The US has two companies in the top 10, while France, Germany, and India have one each in the list.

Sri Lanka Signs $500 Million Credit Line with India to Import Fuel

Sri Lanka signed a $500 million credit line with India to import fuel , as the island nation seeks to stave off rolling power cuts amid a foreign exchange crisis that has hampered purchases of diesel for power plants.
The Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM) will provide the credit line for purchasing petroleum products.
Sri Lanka is struggling with its worst financial crisis in years with reserves hitting $3.1 billion in December. The country has to repay about $4 billion in debt repayments this year.

CCI Approves Acquisition of Equity in Escorts by Kubota Corporation

Fair trade regulator CCI approved the acquisition of certain additional equity in Escorts Ltd by Kubota Corporation.
The transaction involves Kubota's acquisition of certain additional equity shares of Escorts by way of preferential allotment and a mandatory tender offer in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India's norms.
Kubota is an agriculture product manufacturer and offers various machinery. It also offers engineering, procurement and construction to maintenance, among others.
Escorts is engaged in the business of manufacturing and sale of agri-machinery, construction equipment and railway equipment in India.

Feb 02, 2022

Tata Sky Rebrands Itself as Tata Play

Tata Sky rebranded itself as Tata Play as it looks to expand its television-cum-OTT (over-the-top) offerings in combined packages. The direct-to-home (DTH) platform has added Netflix to 13 OTT services, including Amazon Prime Video and Disney+Hotstar, as part of its so-called Binge packs.
Through the new identity as Tata Play, companies simply aim to signify their expanded range of products and services and their desire to be future-ready while making tomorrow better than today for homes and families. Tata Play was founded in 2006. It is a joint venture between the Tata Sons (60%) and The Walt Disney Company (30%), with Temasek Holdings, Singapore (10%).

India Imposes 30% Tax on Proceeds of Digital Assets

In a significant move that is believed to have brought cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) under a tax net, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 30 per cent tax on any income from the transfer of virtual digital assets, specifying that no deductions and exemptions will be allowed.
The gifts are to be taxed on the hands of the recipient, she said, adding that there will also be a 1 per cent tax deducted at source (TDS) on the payments made for the transfer of digital assets. It was also announced that any loss made on the transaction of such digital assets cannot be set off against any other gain.

Railway Ministry Gets Rs. 1,40,367.13 crore

The Railway Ministry was allocated Rs. 1,40,367.13 crore in the Union Budget 2022 tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is Rs 20,311 crore more than the revised figures of the previous fiscal.
The Finance Minister, in her Budget speech for 2022-23, mentioned that India will manufacture 400 new energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains in the next three years. The rail sector will also develop "One Station One Product", which will leverage local produce carried on the railways.

Samsung Surpasses Intel as World's Top Semiconductor Company in 2021

South Korean electronics manufacturing giant, Samsung Electronics surpassed U.S chipmaker Intel to become the world's leading chipmaker by revenue in 2021, according to a report released by research firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research. While Intel posted relatively flattish results, Samsung took the lead with a strong DRAM and NAND flash market performance in 2021. Samsung also saw solid momentum in logic chips this year.
Memory vendors continued to lead the industry with SK Hynix and Micron taking the third and fourth positions, followed by IC design vendors, including Qualcomm and NVIDIA. The year saw 19% YoY revenue growth.

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