General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - December 2019

Dec 2019

Aug 17, 2021

HDFC Launches 'Green and Sustainable' Deposits Programme

The country's largest mortgage lender, HDFC Ltd, launched a "green and sustainable" deposits programme for retail clients, funds from which will be used to finance sustainable housing credit solutions and services.
HDFC Ltd said that individuals can earn interest at 6.55 per cent on their deposits, whose period can range from 3-10 years. Also, senior citizens will be eligible for an additional 0.25 per cent per annum on their deposits of up to Rs. 2 crore. Further, an addi¬tional interest rate of 0.1 per cent per annum will be applicable on these deposits up to Rs. 50 lakh if the deposits are made through the company's online platform.

Tata Motors Signs up Bank of Maharashtra for Passenger Vehicle Financing

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors has partnered with Bank of Maharashtra to offer retail financing scheme for its passenger vehicles.
Under the partnership, Bank of Maharashtra will provide loans to Tata Motors' customers at an interest rate starting from as low as 7.15 per cent linked with Repo Linked Lending Rate (RLLR), subject to certain conditions.
Besides, the scheme will offer a maximum of 90 per cent financing on the total cost of the vehicle (on-road pricing) for various individuals like salaried employees, self-employed people, professionals, businessmen, and agriculturist.
The partnership with Bank of Maharashtra is aimed at offering special finance schemes to support to the company's customers in these tough times.

HSBC Buys AXA Singapore for $575 Million

HSBC Holdings Plc agreed to buy AXA Singapore for $575 million in a push to build a global wealth hub in Singapore and fuel its expansion across Southeast Asia amid increasing tension in China.
The acquisition will give HSBC the eighth largest life insurer in Singapore, as well as a leading group health insurance firm, with assets of $474 million.
The London-based bank is in the midst of a pivot to Asia, pouring billions into the region as it exits unprofitable business elsewhere. Expanding in Singapore comes after years of tensions for the bank in Hong Kong, its biggest market, and mainland China.

Citibank First US Bank to Set up Unit in IFSC at GIFT City

Citibank, which is headquartered in the USA and has a strong international presence, received a license from the IFSC Authority to set up its banking unit at India's first International Financial Services Centre at GIFT City, Gujarat.
With this, Citibank will become the first US-based bank to set up a branch in GIFT-IFSC. Citibank will be servicing both Indian as well as its global customer base from this IFSC branch.
India's maiden IFSC at GIFT City has witnessed significant increase in banking sector activity, with the total banking transactions now crossing the $100 billion mark. These transactions include external commercial borrowings, foreign currency term loans and trade finance among others.

India's Petronet Aims to Extend Long-term LNG Buy Deal with Qatar

As per reports, India's top gas importer Petronet LNG hopes to extend its long-term deal to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to beyond 2028.
Petronet has a deal to buy 7.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG from Qatar under a long-term deal expiring in 2028.

Aug 16, 2021

Indian Bank Signs MoU with Paralympic Committee

Public sector Indian Bank has signed an MoU with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) as one of the banking partners of the Paralympic Games scheduled to commence from August 24 in Tokyo, Japan. The bank, through its year-long association with PCI, will provide financial assistance to paralympic athletes. The President of the Paralympic Committee of India is Deepa Malik.
In a year-long association, the bank will provide financial assistance to Paralympic athletes to prepare for the coveted sporting events in the domestic arena as well as global platforms. Timely financial aid provided to these sportspersons will encourage them to focus their efforts on the game and win laurels for the country.

Jindal Stainless Hisar Ties up with MNIT Jaipur

Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Ltd has signed a pact with Jaipur-based Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) to conduct product research and development in the iron and steel industry.
The partnership is for three years.
JSHL said it has "signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with MNIT, Jaipur... With this partnership, JSHL envisions to take up research, new product development, solid waste management, and skill development along with MNIT."
It added that the three-year partnership kicked off with a joint research proposal submission under the government's 'promotion of research and development in iron and steel sector's scheme.

HCL Technologies Becomes 4th IT Firm to Hit Rs 3 Trillion Market-cap

HCL Technologies' market capitalisation (market-cap) touched Rs. 3 trillion for the first time. HCL became the fourth Indian information technology (IT) firm to achieve this milestone after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro.
HCL Tech is the third-largest Indian IT services company by revenue, after TCS and Infosys. The company has a strong globally diversified presence and provides comprehensive IT services to an established customer base. It has strong expertise in engineering and R&D services and its end customers are spread across industry segments.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio Close Spectrum Trading Deal

Bharti Airtel closed a pact to transfer the 'Right to Use' of its 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to rival Reliance Jio for Rs. 1,004.8 crore. In addition, Jio will assume future liabilities of Rs. 469.3 crore relating to the spectrum.
In April, Jio had signed an agreement with Airtel to acquire a portion of spectrum in 800 MHz band for Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Mumbai circles at an aggregate value of Rs 1,497 crore. Jio now has its holding in these circles to 10MHz, 10MHz and 15MHz, respectively.
This was the first such deal between the two competitors.

Tata Power Solar Bags Battery Storage System Project at Leh

Tata Power Solar Systems has received a notice of award to build 50MWp solar PV plant with 50MWh battery energy storage system project at Phyang village in Leh, Ladakh.
The order value is Rs. 386 crore and the commercial operation date is set for March 2023.
This will be India's first co-located large-scale battery energy storage system solution as well as the first large-scale solar PV project in the union territory of Ladakh to be set up at a high altitude of 3,600 meters above sea level.

MoHUA Launches Brand and Logo for Urban SHG Products 'SonChiraiya'

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched 'SonChiraiya', a brand and logo for marketing of the urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products. To make urban SHG products popular, the ministry has signed MoUs with e-Commerce Portals like Amazon and Flipkart, with an underlying narrative of women empowerment. Due to this partnership, more than 2,000 products of nearly 5,000 SHG members have been onboarded on the e-commerce portals.
This initiative is a significant step of increasing visibility and global access for the products made by urban SHG women. Under the initiative, a variety of professionally packaged and hand-crafted ethnic products will reach the doorsteps of customers worldwide.

RBI Cancels Licence of Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank, Panvel in Maharashtra

The Reserve Bank has cancelled the licence of Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank, Panvel in Maharashtra for not having adequate capital and being unable to pay its present depositors in full.
The bank ceased to carry on banking business with effect from August 13, 2021.
As per the data submitted by the bank, 95 per cent of the depositors will receive full amounts of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC)," the central bank said while announcing cancellation of the bank's licence.
The licence of the bank is cancelled as it does not have adequate capital and earning prospects.

Aug 15, 2021

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Launches Guaranteed Annuity Plus

Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) has launched an annuity plan – ABSLI Guaranteed Annuity Plus – a single premium plan with a guaranteed regular income for one's retirement and future financial needs, ensuring a stress-free and sustained lifestyle.
The insurance company claims this annuity plan with multiple annuity options can be customised to perfectly suit customers' unique financial needs during retirement. This non-linked, non-participating plan also provides policyholders with the flexibility to choose either an immediate or deferred annuity.

IDFC FIRST Bank Signs up with Indian Navy to Offer 'Honour FIRST'

IDFC FIRST Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Navy to offer Honour FIRST, a premium banking solution, to serving personnel and veterans of the Indian Navy.
Keeping in mind the needs of the Armed Forces and its veterans, the bank claims that the Honour FIRST Defence account was specially designed. Account-holders of Honour FIRST is supported by a dedicated team of defence veterans. The MoU for Honour FIRST was signed at the Naval Headquarters in New Delhi between Commodore Neeraj Malhotra, Commodore – Pay and Allowances, Indian Navy and senior officials of IDFC FIRST Bank.

Aug 14, 2021

KreditBee Launches a New Age Card for the New India

KreditBee, one of India's leading digital lending platforms, entered into the card segment with the launch of 'KreditBee Card'. The card provides the unserved and underserved banking customers, quick and secured access to short-term liquidity with multiple repayment options, eliminating the need to avail a separate loan. KreditBee has partnered with RuPay and RBL Bank for the launch of this product. KreditBee Card is a credit-line backed prepaid card for the end consumer, where the amount is loaded into the KreditBee card account once the user sends a purchase or drawdown request.
KreditBee intends to offer 1 million cards by the end of FY22. It offers versatility and flexibility in terms of ticket size and repayment options. The customer can avail credit limit of up to Rs. 10,000 that can be repaid within a single billing cycle not going beyond 45 days.

NPCI Bharat BillPay Appoints Noopur Chaturvedi as CEO

National Payments Corporation of India announced the appointment of Noopur Chaturvedi as the Chief Executive Officer of NPCI Bharat BillPay.
As CEO, Chaturvedi's mandate is to work on RBI's vision to scale up the Bharat Bill Pay (BBPS) platform and make it the preferred solution for all bill payments. She will work closely with the BBPS ecosystem to grow digital bill payments with superior customer experience.
NPCI Bharat BillPay is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI. It came into effect from April 1, 2021.

Aug 13, 2021

DCB Bank Gets RBI Nod to Conduct Govt. Related Transactions

The Reserve Bank has empanelled DCB Bank as an agency bank to facilitate banking and payment transactions for the central and state governments.
This empanelment follows the announcement by the Finance Ministry in May 2021 lifting the embargo on further allocation of government business to private sector banks.
Through this arrangement, DCB Bank will carry out specific banking services on behalf of both the central and state governments, while continuing to offer SME, micro SME and individual customers the convenience of routine financial transactions through its advanced banking platform.

Royal Enfield CEO Vinod Dasari Quits

Eicher Motors announced that Royal Enfield CEO Vinod K Dasari resign from his post. Dasari also stepped down from the post of Director (Whole Time) of Eicher Motors Ltd. The resignation came into effect from August 13.
The firm has approved the appointment of B. Govindarajan as Executive Director - Royal Enfield (Whole Time, Additional Director) of Eicher Motors Ltd. with effect from August 18, 2021. Govindarajan has been roped in for five years subject to provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. Govindarajan is currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Royal Enfield.
Dasari had been appointed as the CEO of Royal Enfield in April 2019. Before joining Royal Enfield, Dasari was the CEO and managing director of Ashok Leyland, a position he held since 2011. He had joined Ashok Leyland as the CEO in 2005.

RBL Bank Selects AWS as Preferred Cloud Provider

RBL Bank has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, as its cloud provider.
AWS would help RBL Bank strengthen its AI-powered banking solutions and drive digital transformation at the lender.
The bank is building on its analytics practice and investing in AI capabilities to implement various use cases across multiple segments, including risk, customer service, human resources, and operations," RBL Bank said in a statement on Monday.
It will leverage Amazon Textract, a machine learning service that automatically extracts text, handwriting, and data from scanned documents, across the bank's risk and operations divisions to analyse documents such as financial statements, stock statements, and stock audit reports to predict default risk.

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