General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2020

Jun 2020

Jul 21, 2020

RITES Likely to Pick up 24% Stake in IRSDC

Railway consultancy firm RITES is likely to pick up 24 per cent stake in the Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).
IRSDC was incorporated as a Joint Venture of Ircon International Limited (IRCON) and Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA), with the aim to develop the Railway Stations across India with primary objective of augmenting and maintaining passenger amenities at stations in a holistic manner.
The Equity stake of IRCON and RLDA in IRSDC is in the ratio of 50:50. However after the stake acquisition of RITES in IRSDC, the share of IRCON will be reduced to 26 per cent.

Indian Direct Selling Industry Records USD 2.47 bn Sales in 2019

As per a report by World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), the Indian direct selling industry recorded sales of USD 2.47 billion in 2019, reporting a growth of 12.1 per cent.
This has helped the direct selling industry improve its ranking to the 15th from the earlier 19th a year before.
Moreover, in terms of the number of direct sellers, India has been ranked at sixth position, proving employment to 57.50 lakh people.
However, the global direct selling industry has reported an overall decline of 4.3 per cent in sales to USD 180.47 billion in 2019.
According to the report, the US is leading in the list contributing 20 per cent of the global direct selling industry with sales of USD 35.21 billion, though it has registered a marginal de-growth of 0.4 per cent.
It is followed by China with 13 per cent contribution, Korea and Germany with 10 per cent each and 9 per cent by Japan.

Exports from India-based Sellers Cross $2 billion: Says Amazon

As per reports, Amazon.com Inc's total exports from small and medium sellers in India, part of a company programme to export products to global markets, have crossed the $2 billion mark. Amazon's "Global Selling" programme was launched in India, a key growth market for the company, in 2015. The programme, also operational in other markets, has helped more than 60,000 Indian sellers export products to 15 Amazon websites.
According to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, the US e-commerce company would invest $1 billion in digitising small- and medium-businesses in India and expected to export Indian-made goods worth $10 billion by 2025.

India Plans to Reduce Number of State-owned Banks to Just Five

As per government and banking sources, India is looking to privatise more than half of its state-owned banks to reduce the number of government-owned lenders to just five as part of an overhaul of the banking industry.
The first part of the plan would be to sell majority stakes in Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab & Sind Bank, leading to an effective privatisation of these state-owned lenders.
At present, India has 12 state-owned banks.

Ayala's Energy Unit Eyes 140 MW Peak Solar Farm in India

AC Energy Inc. is making its first major investment in India by developing the $68 million Sitara solar plant through a joint venture with UPC Renewables China Holdings Ltd.
The 140-megawatt peak solar farm is expected to start generating by the first quarter of 2021 and will supply the Solar Energy Corp. of India via a 25-year agreement. It won the agreement via a competitive bid at Rs. 2.48 per kilowatt-hour. The facility will be located in Rajasthan, which gets some of the most intense sunlight in the country.
The energy unit of Ayala Corp., one of the Philippines' oldest conglomerates, also announced on Thursday it would build a 210-megawatt wind farm that would be the biggest in Vietnam. The investments will take AC Energy's total renewables capacity to more than 1,200 megawatts, in line with its target to reach 5,000 megawatts by 2025 and fully divest from coal by 2030.

Jul 20, 2020

India Revives Initiative to Conclude Preferential Trade Agreement with S. African Customs Union

Discussions between Southern African Customs Union (SACU) (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini) and India to achieve a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) were revived with the two sides holding a virtual meeting last week to discuss various aspects of the PTA.
The Indian side was led by Srikar Reddy, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce while SACU was led by Amb. Steve Katjiuanjo, Executive Director, Ministry of Industrialisation,Trade and SME Development of Namibia.
Reddy underlined India's historically close ties with Southern Africa and its steadfast commitment to deepen economic engagement with this region. He informed that in 2019-20, trade between India and Africa as a whole stood at $ 66.7 billion, of which the India-SACU trade was $ 10.9 billion with an immense potential to expand further.
Amb Katjiuanjo called India as a strategic partner for SACU. Trade is currently in SACU's favour, thus showing that the region is benefiting from access to the vast Indian market.

Jul 19, 2020

Railways Terminates Chinese Firm's Contract for Signaling, Telecommunication Work

The Railways terminated the contract of a Chinese firm for signaling and telecommunication work on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor due to poor progress. The work was to be executed on a 417-km section of the corridor between Kanpur and Mughalsarai.
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) DFCCIL is the implementing agency for the project. The termination letter was issued after a 14-day notice to the Beijing National Railway Research and Design Institute of Signal and Communication Group, which had bagged the Rs. 471-crore contract in 2016.
The process to oust the Chinese firm from the project had started as early as in January 2019 as it had failed to complete its work within the given timeframe.
The DFCCIL approached the World Bank, which is funding the project, in April this year informing them of their decision to terminate the contract.

India to Stockpile Oil in Washington Vaults

In a signal of trust in Washington, India has decided to store emergency stockpiles of crude petroleum in American salt caverns. As per reports, India is the first country to be offered petroleum storage facilities in the US.
Maintaining crude stockpiles is not a new concept, but storing another country's emergency energy supplies denotes a great degree of confidence that the country maintaining the reserve will actually return it during an emergency.
India has offered its storage facilities to the UAE and Saudi Arabia while Japan, New Zealand and South Korea have an agreement to draw upon each other's reserves in case of need.

Dharmendra Pradhan's and Dan Brouillette's 2nd Meeting of India-US Strategic Energy Partnership

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Steel Dharmendra Pradhan and United States (US) Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette co-chaired the 2nd ministerial meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) virtually to review progress, highlight major accomplishments, and prioritise new areas for cooperation.
Several Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) were signed at US-India SEP ministerial meeting. Think tanks, policy researchers, NGOs and Government agencies from India have collaborated with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Labs and respective U.S. Government and private agencies to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas signed MOU to begin cooperation on Strategic Petroleum Reserves operation and maintenance, including exchange of information and best practices. This MoU was based on a proposal from the US after the recent historic drop in oil prices during the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. DOE signed a MOU to collaborate with India U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) in order to support India in the establishment of Solar Decathlon India in 2021. The aim of this competition is to prepare the next generation of building professionals to design and build high efficiency buildings powered by renewables.

Single-window Clearance Mechanism to Expedite Aviation Sector Proposals

The civil aviation ministry has set up a single-window clearance mechanism to expedite various investment proposals in the domestic aviation industry.
MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation) has an Investment Clearance Cell (ICC) for prompt assistance and clearance.
The setting up of the ICC was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2020-2021 Union Budget in February this year.
According to the MoCA, the 10-member ICC will be headed by Amber Dubey, joint secretary in the aviation ministry.
The ICC has been mandated to serve as a single-window system for attracting investment and its terms of reference include accelerating investments, bringing projects to the Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) which require special incentive, policy interventions, expeditious clearances and systematic references, among others.
The ICC will also identify projects and report to EGoS and maintain active contacts with investors and work with the states, duly adopting ways of on-boarding the states to make them a part of the institutional set-up.

Jul 18, 2020

L&T Tech Services to Acquire 100% Stake in Orchestra Tech

L&T Technology Services (LTTS), the engineering services arm of Larsen and Toubro Group, will acquire a 100 % stake in Texas-based Orchestra Technology (Tech). The acquisition is an all cash deal of USD 25 million, or about Rs. 187 crores.
The amount will be paid in two tranches of USD 11 million (Rs. 82.6 crore) and USD 14 million (Rs. 105 crore). The deal is expected to close by December 2020.
The acquisition will facilitate LTTS to strengthen its footprint in the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and service provider space.
OrchestraTech will strengthen the investments of LTTS as part of open network forums, Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and Telecom Infra Project (TIP) on key elements of 5G like Open RAN (ORAN), private networks, NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NB-IoT).
LTTS offerings in the areas of Network Engineering & Enterprise Mobility will be enhanced.
Orchestra Tech will provide LTTS a strategic access to Telecom service providers, who invest in next generation digital systems for 5G and IoT networks.

FamPay Launches India's First Numberless Payments Card

FamPay launched FamCard in India. FamCard is a numberless debit card that can be used by teenagers to make payments independently without asking their parents for their debit card or physical cash.
FamPay, which is India's first payment app for teenagers and their families, worked with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch FamCard in India. The numberless debit card was launched in partnership with IDFC Bank and the company said that it is accepted across the RuPay payment network of merchants.
As FamCard has no numbers, all the card details are saved on the FamPay app and the company said that there is no need to refer to the physical card to fill in details during online transactions.
As far as the security aspect of FamCard is concerned, the company saaid that the UPI allows users to transfer money safely and securely on a real-time basis, across multiple bank accounts. Additionally, there's no fear of card information getting disclosed. And in case it gets stolen or lost, FamCard can be paused, blocked and managed using the Fam Pay app.
FamCard has a special feature of 'Flash PIN', which is dynamic and is generated for every transaction. Teens can just flash this PIN to the cashier for offline payments, without the need of entering the PIN by themselves on the POS machines, allowing for true contactless payments amidst COVID-19.

Federal Bank Gets RBI Nod to Reappoint Shyam Srinivasan as MD, CEO

Federal Bank received the Reserve Bank of India's approval for the reappointment of Shyam Srinivasan as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer till September 22, 2021.
Srinivasan took charge as MD and CEO of the bank on September 23, 2010.
He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, and Regional Engineering College, Tiruchirapally.

NTPC Signs MoU with NIIF to Explore Business Opportunities in India

The National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), acting through National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) to seek investment opportunities in areas like renewable energy, power distribution and other areas of mutual interest in India.
The collaboration seeks to support India in achieving its vision of building sustainable and robust energy infrastructure in India.
The partnership of NTPC and NIIF will utilise the technical expertise of NTPC and the ability of NIIF to scale up the capital and bring in the best practices around the world with their relationship with leading players in the field.

Roshni Nadar Malhotra Succeeds Father Shiv Nadar as HCL Tech Chairman

IT firm HCL Technologies announced that its Chairman Shiv Nadar has stepped down and named Roshni Nadar Malhotra, Nadar's daughter as the new Chairman.
Roshni succeeds him with immediate effect. Shiv Nadar would continue to be the Managing Director of the company.

Jul 17, 2020

India Ranks Third in Global Manufacturing Locations

According to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, India was ranked third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions.
China and the US retained the top two positions, while India moved one place higher to rank third, the consultant said in its Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) report.
In its annual ranking of the most suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in Europe, Americas, and the Asia-Pacific, the consultant said India is in top-3 countries this year and an upcoming manufacturing hub globally from an operating conditions and cost-competitiveness perspective.

Government Puts Curbs on Import of Power Tillers, its Components

The government imposed limits on import of power tillers and components with an aim to target China and discourage inbound shipments of these products. "Import policy of power tillers and its components is amended from free to restricted," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in a notification on Thursday. Following this move, the importer would have to seek a license from the directorate for the imports of power tillers and components including engine, transmission, chassis and rotavator.
DGFT, in its public notice, has laid out a procedure for giving import licenses. According to new rules, the cumulative value of authorisation issued to any firm or all firms in a year would not be exceeding 10 per cent of the value of power tillers imported during FY20 by that company.
Chinese power tillers and components are much cheaper than Indian-made ones. It puts local companies at a disadvantage when compared with China's.

British Airways Retires Entire 747 Fleet

British Airways said that it will retire all of its Boeing 747s as it suffers from the sharp travel downturn.
The UK airline is the world's largest operator of the jumbo jets, with 31 in the fleet.
Airlines across the world have been hit hard by coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
BA, which is owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), said that the planes will all be retired with immediate effect. The 747s represent about 10% of BA's total fleet.
It had planned on retiring the planes in 2024 but has brought forward the date due to the downturn.

Cochin Shipyard Limited Signs Contract for Construction of Autonomous Electric Vessels for ASKO M...

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) signed a contract for the construction and supply of two autonomous electric ferries for ASKO Maritime AS, Norway with an option to build two more identical vessels. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
ASKO Maritime AS is a subsidiary of NorgesGruppen ASA, one of the largest players in the Norwegian retail segment.
According to CSL, the project is expected to catapult CSL into the league of premier shipbuilding yards in the world, capable of handling high tech vessel construction.
This project is an ambitious one in Norway, partially funded by the Norwegian government, and aimed at emission-free transport of goods across the Oslofjord.
These vessels will be managed by Massterly AS, the first company setup to take technical management and operate autonomous vessels, a joint venture between Kongsberg, an autonomous technology company, and Wilhelmsen, one of the largest maritime shipping companies.

CCI approves Aceso Company's Acquisition of Stake in HealthCare Global Enterprises

The Competition Commission gave its nod to Aceso Company Pte Ltd's acquisition of 58.92 per cent stake in HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd.
According to the combination notice, the proposed transaction involves investment by Aceso by way of subscription to equity shares and warrants representing the right to subscribe to the equity shares of HealthCare Global.
HealthCare Global Enterprises and its group are engaged in providing services through cancer treatment clinics, multispecialty hospitals, fertility treatment centres, apart from others, while Aceso Company forms a part of the CVC Network.
The CVC Network consists of CVC Capital Partners SICAV-FIS S.A. and its subsidiaries, and CVC Capital Partners Advisory Group Holding Foundation and its subsidiaries, which are privately owned entities whose activities include providing investment advice and managing investments on behalf of certain investment funds and platforms.

Mansukh Mandaviya Flags Off First Container Ship from Kolkata Port to Agartala via Chattogram Port

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off the first trial container ship from Kolkata carrying cargo meant for Agartala that will reach the city via Chattogram Port in Bangladesh.
After reaching Chattogram, the consignment will move to Agartala on Bangladeshi trucks.
With the move, the northeastern region of India will now be connected by seaports in Bangladesh.
This has been done under the agreement on use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of India''s transit cargo through Bangladesh.

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