General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2020

Jun 2020

Aug 05, 2020

RBI May Not Cut Lending Rate; Announce Other Measures to Boost Growth

As per reports, the RBI may refrain from cutting the benchmark lending rate but can announce other measures like restructuring of loans amid the urgency to revive the coronavirus-hit economy.
The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by the RBI Governor, is scheduled to announce its decision very soon. This is the 24th meeting of the MPC.
Although opinions are divided on the rate cut, experts believe loan restructuring is more essential at this juncture to combat the impact of Covid-19.
"The focus is on restructuring. Finance ministry is actively engaged with RBI on this. In principle, the idea that there may be a restructuring required, is well taken," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said last week.
Besides, the central bank is expected to issue directions regarding the loan moratorium which is coming to an end on August 31 amid bankers opposing further extension of this facility on concerns over its misuse.

National Bank of Bahrain Selects Infosys Finacle to Digitally Transform its Transaction Banking B...

National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, announced that the bank has decided to adopt the Finacle Cash Management Suite to digitally transform its transaction banking business.
This partnership is a part of NBB's digital transformation, with the upgrades provided by the suite to equip the bank with a modern system that will provide simple and seamless service to the clients.
NBB will implement the Finacle Liquidity Management platform and upgrade its existing Finacle Corporate Online Banking platform to a full-fledged Digital Engagement Suite with the latest versions of the Finacle Corporate Online and Mobile Banking solutions, along with the Finacle Digital Engagement Hub.
The front-to-back integrated cash management solution will provide a world-class banking experience to the corporate and institutional customers, thereby driving the growth of our transaction banking business
It will enable NBB manage their customer preferences and entitlements effectively across channels.

Sashidhar Jagdishan to Succeed Aditya Puri as HDFC Bank CEO

After months of speculation, HDFC Bank named Sashidhar Jagdishan new managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) who would take over from India's longest-serving CEO Aditya Puri when he retires in October 2020.
Jagdishan joined the bank in 1996 and heads finance, human resources, and some other departments. In August last year, he was named "change agent" in the bank, and it is understood he had the strong backing of Puri as successor. Kaizad Bharucha, head of HDFC's wholesale banking division, and Sunil Garg of Citibank were among the other candidates in the race for the post.

Nokia to Set up Robotics Lab to Study 5G's 'Socially Relevant' Uses

Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru to establish a network robotics laboratory for research on socially relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies.
The Nokia Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Networked Robotics will promote interdisciplinary research involving robotics, advanced communication technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop use cases across areas like emergency management, agriculture and industrial automation, the company said.
The centre will promote engagement and cooperation between academia, start-ups and industry ecosystem partners in research and development of use cases.
The centre supports and aligns with the government's initiatives of Start-up India.

Canara Bank Partners with 3 Insurers to Provide Individual Short-Term Corona Kavach Policy

As part of a social commitment to compensate the unprecedented expenses of ordinary people, Canara bank partnered with 3 insurers namely, New India Assurance Company Ltd, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd and HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Co Ltd to offer individual short-term Corona Kavach policy to cover COVID-19 related health expenses.
The premium of the policy starts from Rs 300.
Purchase can be made on an individual basis and family floater basis.
The policy will be available for a maximum period of 9 and half months (or 285 days).
A minimum 24 hours hospitalisation is required.
The minimum sum insured is Rs. 50,000 and maximum is Rs. 5 lakh.
There is no capping on room rent, and home care treatment up to 15 days.
It will cover Ayush treatment up to 100% of sum assured and cover co-morbid conditions.
It also covers the Optional hospital cash.

Aug 04, 2020

IFSCA Set Up Expert Committee to Suggest Ways to Develop of International Retail Businesses

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) announced the establishment of an expert committee headed by Pradip Shah, Chairman of Indasia Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd. to suggest on how to develop the international retail businesses in International Financial Services Centres (IFSC).
The member of the committee includes:
G. Srinivasan, Ex-Chairman and Managing Director, New India Assurance Ltd.
Siddhartha Sengupta, Ex-Deputy Managing Director of State Bank of India
Shyamal Mukherjee, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Prakash Subramanian, Head of Strategy, Standard Chartered Bank
Dipesh Shah, Head – IFSC Dept., GIFT IFSC
Nitin Jaiswal, Head – Govt Affairs & Strategic relations, Bloomberg, Singapore

BOB Financial Solutions Partners with Innoviti Payment

BOB Financial Solutions Limited partnered with Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd to launch New Credit Card Equated Monthly Installments (EMI) offering on Point of Sale (POS) terminals. The association of Bank of Baroda (BOB) Credit Card with Innoviti Payment Solutions will enable BOB credit card holders to access EMIs that can be repaid conveniently through their credit cards.
The offering is in terms of convenient and affordable EMI options.
The Bank of Baroda credit cardholders pan India can receive the service from over 70,000 Innoviti POS terminals across more than 1,000 cities.

Cognizant Bets on M&As to Grow Digital Business

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp is betting on mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to build its digital business, which the company believes is still in a nascent stage.
The Nasdaq-listed company has already made five digital-based acquisitions this year, all of which are primarily in the cloud computing space.
In February, it acquired Code Zero, provider of cloud-based billing solutions, and the French operations of EI-Technologies, a Paris-based independent Salesforce specialist. In March, it acquired Lev, a digital marketing consultancy that helps businesses modernize their marketing campaigns with data-driven insights.
In May, it acquired Collaborative Solutions, which is expected to add new finance and HR advisory and implementation services to its cloud offerings and, in June, it entered into a deal to acquire New Signature, an independent Microsoft public cloud transformation specialist.
Except EI-Technologies, the four other acquired companies are based in the US, Cognizant's largest market, which contributed 75.8% to the overall revenue in 2019.

Adani Group, Suraksha, Sunteck Realty Submit EOI to Acquire Debt-laden HDIL

Adani Properties, Suraksha Asset Reconstruction and Sunteck Realty are among six players which have shown initial interest to acquire debt-laden HDIL through the insolvency resolution process, according to a regulatory filing. Adani Properties and Suraksha group had participated in the insolvency resolution process of Jaypee Infratech, which eventually was acquired by the state-owned NBCC.
HDIL is under corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) pursuant to the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.
In a regulatory filing, Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) shared the provisional list of prospective resolution applicants.

Amazon Launches New Warehouse in Ludhiana

With just days to go before its Prime Day' sale, Amazon India expanded its warehouse network with the launch of a new specialised fulfilment center (FC) for large appliances and furniture in Ludhiana, Punjab.
The new warehouse has a storage capacity of nearly 3 lakh cubic feet and is located in Doraha, Ludhiana.
With the new launch, Amazon India will have two warehouses with more than 4.5 lakh cubic feet of storage space in Ludhiana, Punjab.
The latest move would also enable faster delivery of products to customers with a wider product selection this Prime Day on August 6-7, 2020.
Amazon India offers over 4,500 products in the large appliances category including air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and TVs from brands such as LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, Bosch, IFB and Haier.

Aug 03, 2020

Listed Entities Get 3 Years to Meet Criteria of Minimum 25% Public Shareholding

The government has notified changes in the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957, providing more time to listed entities to meet criteria of minimum public shareholding of 25 per cent.
The changes have come into force from the date of their publication in the official gazette.
Once a company is listed, its promoters are required to bring down their shareholding down to 75 per cent within the stipulated minimum shareholding period so as to meet minimum public float of 25 per cent.
The latest notification is the second major relief companies have got in this regard on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 14, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed the applicability of action on non-compliant entities.

Global Investors Drive Record Inflows into Chinese Bonds in July

Foreign investors made record net purchases of Chinese bonds traded through the country's Bond Connect programme in July, boosted by record yield premiums over U.S. debt.
Net inflows into Chinese bonds through Bond Connect, which gives global investors access to the country's onshore bond market through Hong Kong, totalled 75.5 billion yuan ($10.83 billion) in July.
Bond Connect Co. is a joint venture between the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.
Total trading volumes stood at 446.9 billion yuan in July. That was up 5.9% from a month earlier, but below a record 478.2 billion yuan in March, when the rapid international spread of the new coronavirus drove a global flight to safety.

Grants Given under Women Entrepreneurship & Empowerment Cohort Initiative

The Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment, WEE cohort initiative helps women ranging from college going students to middle-aged housewives to take up entrepreneurship as a viable, fulfilling career option. It is India's first of its kind initiative to strengthen women's ecosystem at IIT Delhi, supported and sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology.
The cash awards in the form of a grant totalling Rs. 25 lakh have been presented to 11 Women entrepreneurs.
Kalpana Arora, who has done a Doctorate in wastewater management from IIT Delhi, has been awarded for her products like sanitizers from wastewater. She is a social entrepreneur and works for tribal women and farmers in the hilly region of Uttarakhand through Self Help Groups.

Aug 02, 2020

Government Allows Export of Indigenous Ventilators

According to the the Union Health Ministry, the export of indigenously manufactured ventilators was approved by group of ministers (GoM) on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at their 19th meeting.
The Group of Ministers (GOM) on Covid-19 has considered and agreed to the proposal of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare allowing the export of made-in-India ventilators. This decision has been communicated to the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for further needed action to facilitate the export of indigenously manufactured ventilators.
India now has the capacity to manufacture ventilators indigenously, allowing it to export the machines.
A couple of big manufacturers who earlier used to produce about 50-100 ventilators in a month can now manufacture anywhere between 5,000 and 10,000 ventilators.
DGFT had prohibited the export of ventilators in March to ensure domestic availability of the machines to effectively fight the viral disease.

Government Widens Ambit of Rs. 3 lakh crore MSME Credit Guarantee Scheme

The government widened the scope of the Rs. 3-lakh crore MSME credit guarantee scheme by doubling the upper ceiling of loans outstanding to Rs. 50 crore and including certain individual loans given to professionals like doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants for business purposes under its ambit. The tweaking of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was done based on demand from trade bodies and in line with new MSME definition approved by the Union Cabinet in June.
As per Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the scheme will now include individual loans given for business purposes within the ambit of the ECLGS, subject to the eligibility criteria of the scheme.
Finance Secretary Debasish Panda said that to include more companies to take benefit of the scheme it has been decided to increase the upper ceiling of loans outstanding as on February 29 for being eligible under the scheme from Rs. 25 crore to Rs. 50 crore.
The maximum amount of guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) funding under the scheme would also correspondingly increase from Rs. 5 crore at present to Rs. 10 crore

China's ByteDance Offers to Forgo Stake in TikTok to Clinch US Deal

As per reports, China's ByteDance has agreed to divest the US operations of TikTok completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, after President Donald Trump said that he had decided to ban the popular short-video app.
ByteDance was previously seeking to keep a minority stake in the US business of TikTok, which the White House had rejected. Under the new proposed deal, ByteDance would exit completely and Microsoft Corp would take over TikTok in the United States.
Under ByteDance's new proposal, Microsoft will be in charge of protecting all US user data, the sources said. The plan allows for another US company other than Microsoft to take over TikTok in the United States.

Apple Vendor Eyes Production Shift to India

In a major relocation from China as part of global business' effort for derisking of manufacturing bases by diversifying supply chains, a contract manufacturer for Apple is shifting six production lines looking forward to exporting around $5 billion worth of iPhones from India apart from catering to the domestic market.
The establishment of the facility is expected to generate employment for around 55,000 Indian workers over a year or so. The vendor may expand the operations beyond phones to include tablets and even computers and laptops in the coming years.

Aug 01, 2020

Craft Silicon & PayU Partnered to Advance Digital Loan Repayment Solutions

Craft Silicon, a global financial software solution provider has entered into a strategic partnership with PayU, India's online payment solutions provider to innovate and accelerate the digital loan repayment solutions for small finance banks, micro-lending institutions and Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC).
The partnership focuses on redefining a secured digital payment platform.
The association offers a consolidated settlement across multiple apps and payment.
The partnership will enable NBFCs, Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), and small finance institutions to offer their customers easy loan repayment solutions on their own mobile applications or through consumer apps of their choice.

Eight Core Industries Output Down 4th Month in a Row

Contracting for the fourth consecutive month, the output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by 15 per cent in June due to fall in the production of coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, cement and electricity.
The eight core sectors had expanded by 1.2 per cent in June 2019, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday showed.
Barring fertiliser, all seven sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity - had recorded negative growth in May.
The output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity declined by 15.5 per cent, 6 per cent, 12 per cent, 8.9 per cent, 33.8 per cent, 6.9 per cent, and 11 per cent, respectively.
During April-June 2020-21, the sector's output dipped by 24.6 per cent as compared to a positive growth of 3.4 per cent in the same period previous year.
These eight industries account for 40.27 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Kotak Mahindra Bank Launches 'Kona Kona Umeed' Campaign

Kotak Mahindra Bank launched a special two-month campaign with offers and discounts across its suite of products, including for loans, savings accounts, current accounts, corporate salary accounts as well as curated deals on Kotak debit cards, credit cards and digital payments.
Called Kona Kona Umeed, it also includes competitive rates and attractive offers across customer segments including retail, business and agri segments.
In addition, Kotak has tied up with over 100 brands to provide exclusive deals to its customers in categories such as shopping, essentials, personal care, education, fitness, health and wellness, kids and parenting, entertainment, cyber care and security, among others.

Fifteenth Finance Commission's HLEG on Agricultural Exports Submits Report

The High Level Group (HLEG) on Agricultural Exports set up by the Fifteenth Finance Commission submitted its report to the Commission.
The HLEG was set up to recommend measurable performance incentives for states to encourage agricultural exports and to promote crops to enable high import substitution. After intensive research and consultations from stakeholders and the private sector, the HLEG has made its recommendations.
The recommendations include demand driven approach and focus on 22 crop value chains. The group has also suggested creation of state led export plan with participation from all stakeholders.
The group has recommended that private sector players should play an anchor role in driving outcomes and execution of the agricultural export plan. The group has stated that the additional exports generated after implementation of the recommendations is likely to create an estimated 7 to 10 million jobs in the country. It said that it will also lead to higher farm productivity and farmer income.

MobiKwik Launches Mpay.me, a Personalised UPI Payment Link

MobiKwik launched mpay.me, a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) payment link service that allows users to send and receive money from any UPI payment app. Through mpay.me, users and merchants can set up a personalised link using their mobile number. The link can be created through the MobiKwik app or the MobiKwik website and can be shared anywhere with anyone over chat, SMS, email etc.
mpay.me accepts payments from all UPI apps such as MobiKwik, GooglePay, PhonePe and Paytm among others.
Even though UPI payments are popular, there is still the problem in case the sender and the receiver are on different UPI apps. mpay.me simplifies the process.

Flipkart's Samarth Programme Helps Artisans Sell their Products Online

Walmart-owned Flipkart said that it supports over six lakh artisans, weavers and craftsmen across the country through its Samarth programme and is working on onboarding more such sellers to the platform. The Samarth programme was launched last year, wherein the e-commerce major had partnered with five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help artisans use the online marketplace to sell their products.
With the help of government partnerships, Flipkart has been able to bring artisans online from the remotest parts of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab and Karnataka till now.
Flipkart also supports MSMEs through Walmart Vriddhi, a supplier development programme that aims to empower 50,000 MSMEs to 'Make in India' for local and global markets. It leverages the supply chains and expertise of the Flipkart businesses and Walmart, and provides tailored training and advice along with access to an ecosystem of peers and mentors.

Tata Capital Growth Fund Invests $30 Million for Stake in Biocon Biologics

Biocon Biologics India approved the primary equity investment of around Rs. 225 crore (30 Million USD) by Tata Capital Growth Fund for a 0.85% minority stake in Biocon Biologics, biosimilar business, at an equity valuation of around Rs. 26,250 crore (3.5 billion USD) and enterprise valuation of around Rs. 30,400 crore (4 billion USD).
Biocon gained 0.78% to Rs. 406.55 and holds 95.25% stake in Biocon Biologics after the completion of this transaction.
This equity infusion by TATA Capital will support the growth of Biocon Biologics through the prudent capital allocations.
Through the investments in the Research and Developments (R&D) and high quality manufacturing infrastructure Biocon Biologics will meet the requirements of the patients across the globe.

R-Power and JERA Ink Loan Agreement with Banks for New Power Project in Bangladesh

Reliance Power and JERA Co., Inc. through their project company, are developing a new gas-fired power generation project in Bangladesh.
The project company now signed a loan agreement for full financing totaling $642 million with a group of banks that includes the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
This project is to build, own, and operate a 745 MW (net output: 718 MW) natural gas combined-cycle power project in Meghnaghat, Naranganj, located approximately 40 km southeast of Dhaka.
The electricity generated will be sold under a long-term power purchase agreement with the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) for a period of 22 years from the start of commercial operation. Reliance Power and JERA have taken the initiative in promoting the project.

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