General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2019

Aug 2019

Feb 18, 2022

India Signs CEPA Trade Pact with UAE

India, which is currently negotiating about half-a-dozen free trade agreements, signed the first such bilateral pact with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during a virtual summit, with adequate protections for domestic industry.
The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the UAE has clauses protecting the interests of domestic industries and providing them a gateway to markets in West Asia and Africa.
India is negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UK, Australia, European Union (EU), Canada and Israel, and all of them have negative lists of items where limited or no tariff concessions will be granted. This will be done to protect the interests of domestic industry.

Govt. Nominates Sanjay Malhotra as Director on SBI's Central Board

State Bank of India (SBI) said that the government nominated Financial Services Secretary Sanjay Malhotra as a director on its board.
The country's largest lender received a notification from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

BSE Ebix, LIC Join Hands for Distribution of Insurance Products

BSE Ebix Insurance Broking, a joint venture of BSE and Ebix Fincorp Exchange Pte Ltd, signed an insurance broker agreement for the distribution of Life Insurance Corporation's (LIC) products on its platform.
Under this agreement, BSE Ebix will offer their clients insurance products offered by LIC such as Life and Health, using its omni-channel digital presence.
This partnership aims at offering customer centric solutions backed by technological innovations and best in class services.

PNB MetLife Launches Systematic Savings Solution Guaranteed Goal Plan

PNB MetLife has launched PNB MetLife Guaranteed Goal Plan, a savings-oriented life insurance plan that offers guaranteed returns and allows customization of savings schedules.
PNB MetLife Guaranteed Goal Plan allows customer the flexibility to choose a duration of premium payment from a single premium all the way up to 12 years.
Customers can also go for a guaranteed lump sum payout on maturity or a structure that pays a guaranteed income after completion of the premium payment term and a lump sum amount at maturity. This new offering also comes with built-in life insurance cover till maturity, waiver of premium on death or diagnosis of critical illness and the option of accidental death and critical illness coverage.

Upstox Ropes in Myntra, Oyo Executives to Bolster Leadership Team

Upstox, a leading discount broking platform, has roped in executives from Myntra and Oyo to strengthen its leadership team.
It appointed Harish Narayanan as Chief Growth Officer, Jayant Chauhan as Senior Vice President - Finance and Saurabh Agarwal as Vice President (VP)- New Initiatives.
Narayanan was previously the Chief Marketing Officer at online fashion portal Myntra. Chauhan was the VP - Global Strategic Finance at OYO and Agrawal worked at Revolut India.

Feb 17, 2022

SIDBI Ties up with Bihar Government to Promote MSME Sector in State

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) tied up with the Government of Bihar to promote the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the state.
To this effect, two memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed between SIDBI and the industries department, Government of Bihar, and the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) to develop the MSME ecosystem in the state.
Under the first MoU with Bihar's industry department, project management units (PMUs) will be deployed by SIDBI with the state government.
According to the second MoU, SIDBI will work in close coordination with BIADA to benefit MSMEs who want to set up any industrial unit on the land/ plot allotted by BIADA so as to promote industrialisation in the state.
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Minister of Industries, Bihar; Brijesh Mehrotra, additional chief secretary, Bihar; and Pradeep Kumar Jha, branch in-charge of SIDBI Patna.

BaoB Signs MoU with Assam Rifles to Provide 'Central Forces Salary Package'

Bank of Baroda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Assam Rifles, the country's oldest paramilitary force, to provide 'Central Forces Salary Package'.
Under the agreement, Bank of Baroda will offer the Baroda Central Forces Salary Package to all personnel of the Assam Rifles, both serving and retired. Further, the bank will also provide special benefits, including Personal Accident Insurance and a co-branded credit card.
As part of the MoU, Bank of Baroda will offer a comprehensive bouquet of services such as free unlimited transactions at all Bank ATMs, free remittance services - NEFT/ RTGS online or through the branch, free debit card, free unlimited demand draft facilities, 50 per cent discount on locker rentals, 100 per cent waiver on Demat annual maintenance charges and 75 per cent waiver on issuance charges for Gift and Travel cards.

India and Germany Sign Work Plan for Collaboration to Strengthen Quality Infra

India and Germany signed a work plan for cooperation to strengthen quality infrastructure, reduce technical barriers to trade, enhance product safety and strengthen consumer protection.
The work plan 2022 was signed during the virtually held 8th annual meeting of the Indo-German Working Group on Quality Infrastructure, led by the Indian Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The areas identified for collaboration include mobility, energy, circular economy, smart farming/ agriculture, medical devices, digitalisation (artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and other new technology areas), machinery safety, medical devices and equipment and market surveillance.

Wipro Signs a 5-year Strategic Engagement Deal with ABB Info System

Wipro was awarded a five-year, strategic engagement to drive transformation for ABB's Information Systems digital workplace services. The agreement, worth over $150 million, will help ABB's Information Systems deliver enhanced, consumer-grade digital experiences for its 105,000 employees in over 100 countries.
ABB is a leading global technology company that energises the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. This engagement, led centrally from Switzerland by ABB and Wipro, will deliver increased automation and enhanced user experience through personalised services underpinned by real-time analytics—all wrapped with Wipro's superior endpoint security services. Wipro will also provide ABB with managed services support leveraging Wipro's LiVE Workspace solution.

Feb 16, 2022

BoB Will Acquire Union Bank's Stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance

Bank of Baroda will acquire Union Bank of India's 21% stake in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company. It is a joint venture between the Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, and Carmel Point Investments. At present, the shareholding in IFIC is BoB holds 44%, Carmel Point Investments India holds 26% and UBI holds 30%. The acquisition is pursuant to a 'Right of First Offer' made by UBI to the existing shareholders of IndiaFirst Life, to divest 21% of its stake in IndiaFirst Life.
IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company will continue to have a long term agency distribution agreements with both banks (BOB and UBI), even after this stake sale. Bank of Baroda has a strong domestic presence spanning 8,185 branches and 11,535 ATMs and cash recyclers supported by self-service channels. The bank has a significant international presence with a network of 96 overseas offices spanning 18 countries.

Standard Chartered Bank Launches Interest-only Home Loan Facility

Standard Chartered Bank, India, launched the interest-only home loan facility aimed at new as well as its existing customers.
The interest-only home loan is a facility provided for purchase of completed residential properties where during a limited period of the loan tenure, borrowers will pay only the interest accrued on the principal outstanding. No principal will be deducted during this interest-only period.
This is applicable on loans ranging between Rs. 35 lakh and Rs. 3.5 crore, and the maximum tenure set for the loan is 30 years for salaried individuals and 25 years for self-employed individuals.

Intel Acquires Israeli Chip Maker Tower Semiconductor

Chip-maker Intel confirmed it is acquiring Israeli contract chip manufacturer Tower Semiconductor for approximately $5.4 billion.
The acquisition advances Intel's IDM 2.0 strategy as the company further expands its manufacturing capacity, global footprint and technology portfolio to address unprecedented industry demand.
This deal will enable Intel to offer a compelling breadth of leading-edge nodes and differentiated specialty technologies on mature nodes - unlocking new opportunities for existing and future customers in an era of unprecedented demand for semiconductors.

Aditya Birla Group Invests in UAE Digital Bank Zand

The Aditya Birla Group invested an undisclosed amount in Zand, an upcoming digital bank in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The USD 45-billion diversified conglomerate joins other investors like Franklin Templeton, Al Hail Holding LLC, Al Sayyah and Sons Investments LLC, Global Development Group, Mohamed Alabbar, Olivier Crespin, and Yusuff Ali M A as shareholders in the bank.

InMobi's Roposo to Enter Business Deal with Reliance Retail

As per reports, Digital technology firm InMobi's social media arm Roposo is in discussions with Reliance Retail for a social commerce related business deal which is expected to be rolled out in the next two quarters.
SoftBank-backed InMobi's co-founder and CEO Naveen Tewari said that the company is looking to reach 1 billion users in the next 2-3 years by building various partnerships and expanding its footprint overseas.
The company is partnering with Reliance Retail to provide the e-commerce back-end for a new generation front -- a commerce experience of influencer-led entertainment and commerce.

Feb 15, 2022

Yes Bank Launches Agri Infinity Program

Private sector lender Yes Bank announced the launch of an annual start-up enabler program that seeks to co-develop digital financial solutions for the food and agriculture ecosystem by mentoring entrepreneurial ventures in the sector.
Called Yes Bank Agri Infinity, a select cohort of start-ups will not only receive mentoring by veteran bankers for experiential co-development but also get access to the lender's digital banking infrastructure and network, collaborative opportunities to pilot new solutions and fundraising advisory.

India among Top 5 Economies for Ease of Starting New Business

According to a report by a global consortium of over 500 researchers, India is among the top five easiest places to start a new business, putting the country on top amongst low-income economies on different entrepreneurial framework conditions.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2021/2022 report, unveiled at the Dubai Expo, gathered data via a survey of at least 2,000 respondents across each of 47 high, medium and low-income economies.

Axis Bank Set to Buy Citigroup's $2.5 billion India Retail Unit

Axis Bank Ltd. is nearing a deal to buy Citigroup Inc.'s India retail banking business in a transaction that could be valued at about $2.5 billion.
An agreement for the consumer unit may be announced as soon as the next few weeks and is contingent on approval from the Reserve Bank of India, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The deal would include a cash component of less than $2 billion, accounting for the consumer business's liabilities.

Ilker Ayci, Former Chairman of Turkish Airlines is Air India CEO&MD

Tata Sons announced the appointment of Mehmet Ilker Ayci as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Air India.
Mehmet Ilker Ayci until recently was the Chairman of Turkish Airlines and was also on its Board of Directors prior to that.
The key appointment was finalised at the Air India board meeting on Monday, in which Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran was a special invitee. Ayci's appointment would be subject to regulatory approvals.
Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure there.

ABG Shipyard Bank Fraud

The Central Bureau of Investigation booked ABG Shipyard Ltd, in its biggest bank fraud case.
CBI also booked its then Chairman and Managing Director Rishi Kamlesh Agarwal along with others.
They were booked for cheating a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India of more than Rs. 22,842 crore.
They have been charged with alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust & abuse of official position and cheating, under the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.
The ABG Shipyard Ltd was sanctioned credit facilities from 28 banks and financial institutions. In this, SBI was having an exposure of Rs. 2468.51 crore. According to forensic audit, between 2012-17, accused colluded together and committed illegal activities like misappropriation, diversion of funds, and criminal breach of trust. Funds were used for other purposes than for which banks released. It is the biggest bank fraud case registered by CBI.
ABG is a Mumbai based shipbuilding company. It is a part of ABG Group of companies, but with diversified business interests. The company was established in 1985, with its headquartered in Mumbai. It has shipbuilding operations in Dahej and Surat in Gujarat. It operates a ship repair unit in Goa, after its acquisition of Western India Shipyard Limited in October 2010. ABG became one among the largest private ship building companies, with a capacity for manufacturing vessels up to 20 tonnes in weight.

Feb 14, 2022

Suzuki, Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj among 20 Companies Selected under Auto PLI Scheme

As many as 20 applicants were approved under the "Champion OEM Incentive Scheme" of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for India's automotive sector. Major four-wheeler manufacturers, such as Hyundai, Suzuki, Kia, Mahindra, Ford, and Tata Motors, and top two-wheeler makers Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, and TVS Motor were shortlisted.
Recent entrants -- Hop Electric Manufacturing and Ola Electric Technologies -- were also selected as new non-automotive investors.
The PLI scheme for the automobile sector proposes financial incentives of up to 18 per cent to attract investments in the indigenous supply chain of advanced automotive technology (AAT) products.

Sitharaman Launches First Colour Souvenir Coin on 'Panchtantra'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the first colour souvenir coin on 'Panchtantra' on the occasion of 17th foundation day of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
The Finance Minister stressed on upskilling and acquiring new skills, and upgradation to meet the technology driven economy.
Further, she emphasized on ramping up the quality of products and to brand SPMCIL as lead producers of currency and other sovereign products.

Jindal Steel and Power, Hindalco Bag Coal Mines in Odisha in Auction

The second and third days of auction of coal blocks for commercial use saw Jindal Steel and Power bagging Utkal-C coal mine in Odisha, while Hindalco Industries made the highest bid for Meenakshi mine in the eastern state.
While BS Ispat Ltd emerged as the highest bidder for Majra mine in Maharashtra, Assam Mineral Development Corporation bagged Garampani coal block in Assam.

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