General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2019

Aug 2019

Feb 28, 2022

World Bank's India Head Junaid Ahmad Appointed Vice President of Operations

The World Bank's India head Junaid Kamal Ahmad was appointed as a Vice President of the international lending institution.
Ahmad, who as vice president, Operations would head the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), is only the second Bangladeshi national to be appointed to such a high position in the history of the bank.
Faisal Chaudhary was the first Bangladeshi national who became the vice president on the operational side.

Union Cabinet Approves Offering of Coal via Common e-auction Window

The government approved offering of dry-fuel by coal companies, including state-owned CIL, through a common e-auction window instead of sector specific auctions.
The approval was given during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Due to the move, market distortions would be removed and single rate for all the consumers will evolve in the e-auction market. It will increase operational efficiencies and lead to an increase in domestic coal demand.

Reliance Takes over Operations of 200 Future Group's Stores

Reliance Industries is in the process of transferring over 30,000 Future Retail and Future Lifestyle employees and also took over 200 Future Group stores that are now being re-branded as Reliance stores.

Feb 27, 2022

RBI Cancels PC Financial Service's Certificate of Registration

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cancelled the certificate of registration of PC Financial Services, a non-banking finance company, which was engaged in mobile app-based lending business through its app called 'Cashbean', citing a number of violations including charging exorbitant rate of interest and other charges to its borrowers in an opaque manner.
The company violated the central bank's directions on outsourcing and "Know Your Customer" norms and was also found to be charging very high interest rates and other charges from its borrowers in an opaque manner.

International IP Index 2022: India Ranks 43rd

India improved its overall IP score from 38.4 per cent to 38.6 per cent, and the country is ranked 43 out of 55 countries on the International Intellectual Property Index 2022. This index was released by the Global Innovation Policy Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In July 2021, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce released a Review of the Intellectual Property Rights Regime in India. This review is a welcome development and offers a comprehensive and detailed study of the strengths and weaknesses of India's national IP environment.

RBI Extends Tenure of its Additional Director on Board of Dhanlaxmi Bank

The Reserve Bank extended the tenure of its additional director G. Jagan Mohan on the board of Dhanlaxmi Bank by two years.
Mohan was appointed as an additional director on the board of the private sector lender for two years from February 27, 2020.

Indian Oil Corp Buys First Russian Urals Crude in 2 Years

Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, bought Russian Urals crude for the first time in two years, after spot differentials slumped.
The opportunity for India to buy more of the Russian flagship grade that typically heads to Europe arose after its discount to global benchmark Brent fell to the widest since 2005, hit by rising tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
Urals crude was last imported by IOC at its Paradip port in April 2020.

Govt. Appoints Aggarwal as RBI Nominee Director in Indian Overseas Bank

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) said that the government appointed Vivek Aggarwal on its board as an RBI nominee director with immediate effect.
With this, Deepak Kumar, nominated by the government as the RBI nominee director, ceases to be a director on the board with effect.

Standard Chartered, IATA Tie-up for Payment Platform for Airline Industry

Global banking group Standard Chartered partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to launch a payment platform for airline industry in India.
In addition to existing payment options such as credit cards, IATA Pay will be a new payment option that enables participating airlines to offer instant payment options such as UPI Scan and Pay and UPI Collect (Request to Pay).
The service, which is already available in several European markets, leverages the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), a domestic real-time payments scheme, thereby enabling consumers to instantly pay for airline tickets from their bank accounts.
IATA Pay in India is powered by Standard Chartered's Straight2Bank Pay, a payment platform that helps online merchants digitalise collections via multiple payment options through a single global connectivity.

Feb 26, 2022

RBI: Amendments in Payments Systems Rules

The Reserve Bank of India amended the Payments and Settlement Systems Regulations. This system allows the companies who are seeking to run payment businesses to apply for licenses from the regulator.
The application for licensing should include the technology platform which is to be used, the operator's process flow, interoperability with operators of the other payment systems, and security features.
As per the rules that have been set, the operators will be required to submit all documents and information which are desired by the RBI from time to time.
Three months after the closing of the account, annual accounts also have to be submitted by the system provider to the regulator along with a copy of the audited balance sheet.

Vedanta Aluminium Launches Green Aluminium Brand 'Restora'

Vedanta Aluminium Business launched 'Restora', its low carbon, green aluminium brand.
The company unveiled two product lines -- Restora (low-carbon aluminium) and Restora Ultra (ultra-low carbon aluminium) --under the new brand.
It is the first major non-ferrous Indian metals producer to manufacture low carbon products (primary aluminium) for customers worldwide, exhibiting a strong step towards its commitment of achieving net zero carbon by 2050. Both products have been verified as low-carbon aluminium post assessment by an independent, global verification assurance firm.
Vedanta Aluminium has the capability to tailor-make Restora and Restora Ultra as billets, primary foundry alloy (PFA), wire rods, slabs, P1020 Ingots, and more, customised to the needs of the end-use industries.

Hero Electric Partners with IDFC FIRST Bank for Vehicle Finance

Hero Electric joined hands with IDFC FIRST Bank for vehicle finance.
The collaboration allows Hero Electric customers to avail an instant loan on KYC with low processing fees and down payment.
This partnership with IDFC FIRST Bank will further our penetration to newer markets to promote green commuting via seamless financing options. It will benefit our customers significantly in aiding commute savings.

NHPC Inks Pact with HDFC Bank to Monetise RoE of Chamera-I Power Plant

State-owned NHPC inked a pact with HDFC bank to securitise return on equity of its 540-MW Chamera-I Power Plant in Himachal Pradesh for 10 years.
In December 2021, NHPC's board had approved the proposal for monetisation by securitisation through bidding process of return on equity (RoE) of Chamera-1 Power Station (3 X 180 MW), Himachal Pradesh, and further to monetise RoE of one or more power stations for 5 or 10 or 15 years in one go or rollover.

Feb 25, 2022

Paytm Payments Bank Signs up as Acquiring Partner for e-RUPI Vouchers

Paytm Payments Bank Limited announced that it is an official acquiring partner for 'e-RUPI vouchers'. e-RUPI, which is a government initiative, is a cashless prepaid voucher that beneficiaries can present via SMS or QR Code. Paytm's merchant partners can then scan, enter the amount to be paid and receive the payment directly in their bank account. This will benefit beneficiaries (users), even those who do not have access to formal banking services or smartphones to avail the convenience of digital payments.
With this, merchants will be empowered with another digital payment collection method that will help them further increase their digital footprint and onboard more customers.
PPBL is empowering merchants to accept e-RUPI vouchers, which gives it an opportunity to tap into a larger user base that is a beneficiary of this initiative. This will further encourage more merchants to embrace cashless transactions, leading to an increase of digital payments.

TripMoney Ties-up with SBM Bank to Launch Global Credit Card

The fintech arm of MakeMyTrip , TripMoney, joined hands with SBM Bank India to launch a rupee-denominated secure credit card, TripMoney Global Card. The card launch comes at a time when the world in re-opening its borders for Indian travellers as Covid cases in the world ebbs.
this value-loaded credit card is highly secure, offers various advanced money management features and most importantly, relieves overseas travellers from paying mark-up on forex conversions and more.
The TripMoney Global card, powered by Visa, can be used across 150+ countries. The card is targeted at international travellers, including the student population, who prefer a combination of lifestyle benefits with advanced digital money management features.

Ideal Finance Rebrands Itself to Mahindra Ideal Finance

Ideal Finance, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (Mahindra Finance/ MMFSL), announced the rebranding of its company name to Mahindra Ideal Finance (MIFL). This rebranding will form the bedrock on which the two joint venture partners (Mahindra Finance and Ideal Group) will build the vision of making Mahindra Ideal Finance one of the leading licensed finance companies (LFC) in Sri Lanka.

HUL Splits Position of Chairman, CEO & MD

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever announced the separation of the position of Chairman of the Board and the CEO & Managing Director.
The company announced the appointment of Nitin Paranjpe, currently Chief Operating Officer of Unilever, as a non-executive chairman of the company with effect from March 31, 2022.
Sanjiv Mehta would continue as the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO&MD).
HUL's Board also approved the re-appointment of Dev Bajpai as the Whole Time Director of the company for a period of five years.

Feb 24, 2022

IKEA India Appoints Susanne Pulverer as First Woman CEO

Sweden-based IKEA, the world's leading home furnishing retailer, announced the appointment of Susanne Pulverer as its first woman chief executive officer (CEO) and chief sustainability officer (CSO) for its India business.
This is the third stint in India for Pulverer, who had joined IKEA in 1997 and worked across different roles within the Ingka Group firm.
Prior to her new role as IKEA India CEO, Pulverer held the position of the group business risk and compliance manager at the Ingka Group.

TCS Tweaks Leadership, Suresh Muthuswami Made Chairman, North America

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) made changes to its leadership roles in North America. As part of the changes Suresh Muthuswami was elevated to the role of chairman, North America.
The reason for the changes in the North American region, the largest in terms of revenue for TCS, is because Surya Kant who has been at the helm of North America for the past 16 years is stepping down by the end of the fiscal year.

J&K Govt. Approves First-ever FDI Policy for UT

In a first, the Lieutenant Governor's administration approved a policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) for J&K with a minimum of 51% foreign stake.
L-G Manoj Sinha, who headed a meeting of the Administrative Council (AC) in Jammu, gave his nod for the Policy for Promotion of Foreign Investment in the industrial sector in J&K.
The new policy is based on the guiding framework on FDI issued by the Government of India through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and will be valid for the next 10 years.

Vodafone Looks to Sell 5% Stake in Indus Towers to Bharti Airtel

British telecom giant Vodafone is in discussions to sell around five per cent stake in Indus Towers to Bharti Airtel. The stake is estimated to be valued at over Rs. 3,300 crore, and the proceeds will be pumped into the Indian entity Vodafone Idea.
Bharti Airtel's parent Bharti Enterprises is Indus' largest shareholder.
Vodafone launched an initial sale of 63.6 million Indus shares and was in talks with various parties regarding the sale of its remaining shares.

Rakesh Sharma Reappointed as MD&CEO of IDBI Bank

IDBI Bank that its board approved the reappointment of Rakesh Sharma as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD&CEO) of the bank for a period of three years, effective March 19, 2022.
Sharma's reappointment as the MD&CEO of the bank received the banking regulator, Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) nod. Sharma was initially appointed as the MD&CEO of the bank in October 2018.
The move comes amid the government's effort to privatise the bank by selling a part of its stake. LIC, which is the promoter of the bank, is also expected to sell some part of its stake in the bank in the privatisation process.

Rajasthan Budget: Pension Scheme, Free Power, Job Guarantee in Urban Areas

Presenting a populist budget, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced a pension scheme for state government employees, a job guarantee scheme for urban areas, free electricity of up to 50 units for domestic users and free treatment in government hospitals, among other proposals.
No new tax was imposed and relief worth Rs. 1,500 crore was provided to all sectors in the budget presented by Gehlot in the Assembly.
Gehlot also announced the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme to provide 100 days of employment to families in urban areas.

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