General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2020

Jun 2020

Jul 16, 2020

NABARD Disburses Grant Assistance to SHGs

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) disbursed Rs. 2.51 crore of grant assistance to Self Help Groups (SHGs) for promotion, skill development and digitisation of records in Karnataka. This funding is a part of E-Shakti or Digitisation of SHGs an initiative of Micro Credit and Innovations Department (mCID) of NABARD. The project is being implemented in 250 districts across the country.
In Karnataka, the project E-Shakti for is under implementation in seven districts. So far, 1.17 lakh SHGs are digitised. The cumulative grant assistance of Rs. 6.47 crore was released for SHG promotion.
In Karnataka, NABARD has extended a grant assistance of Rs. 221.89 crore to support 298 watershed projects in over three lakh hectares benefitting 66,500 families. The State has about 75% of rainfed area. The projects have resulted in improving the crop productivity, diversification, soil and water conservation and socio-economic condition of the beneficiaries.
NABARD celebrated its 39th Foundation Day on July 13, 2020 and has announced Rs 5,000 crore of refinance scheme for banks and financial institutions for providing finance to the beneficiaries of its 2,150 watershed development projects.

Coal Ministry to Link Mining Plan Portal with PARIVESH Website

The ministry of coal is planning to link the mining plan portal with PARIVESH website, a single-window hub for online submission, monitoring, and management of proposals submitted to the Environment Ministry by project proponents to seek various types of environment clearances.
This announcement was made by Coal Secretary Anil Kumar Jain during a stakeholder consultation on auction of coal mines for commercial mining organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
In June 2020, the government launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, a move that opens India's coal sector for private players, and termed it a major step in the direction of achieving self-reliance.

India Posts First Trade Surplus in 18 Years

According to official data released, India registered a trade surplus after almost two decades with the balance in June turning in the country's favour at $790 million. Economists have termed the surplus unpalatable and temporary. The previous trade surplus was in January 2002.
India's exports contracted for the fourth consecutive month and shrank 12.41% to $21.91 billion in June led down by lower shipments of petroleum, textiles, engineering goods, and gems and jewellery.
With 26 of the 30 major items of imports contracting in June, overall imports plummeted a steep 47.59% to $21.11 billion.

AAI Signs MoU with BEL for Co-operation in Civil Aviation Industry

Airports Authority of India (AAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) to collaborate and support the emerging global opportunities in the airport business, including those in the Asia Pacific region.
As AAI will act as the development partner, it will assist BEL in its domain of expertise to enable execution of the MEA projects outside India by BEL.
The Organisations will work in cooperation with each other in the civil aviation sector, in present and future projects handled by BEL.
This MoU will provide for the synergy of capabilities of both the organisations in their particular field.

Google Picks Stake in Jio Platforms

US tech giant Google invested Rs. 33,737 crore in Jio Platforms for a 7.7% stake. This makes Google the 13th investor in the Reliance Industries subsidiary, valuing the mobile to digital firm. The investment makes it a zero debt company. Ambani said that Jio's target of capital raising was now complete.
Google became the second largest investor in Jio after Facebook which has a 9.9% stake in the company.
This would be the first time Facebook and Google, competitors for user data, will be investors in the same company.
Jio Platforms and Google have also entered into a commercial agreement to jointly develop an entry level affordable smartphone with optimizations to the Android operating system and the Play Store.

Jul 15, 2020

Britain Bans China's Huawei from 5G Network

The UK's mobile providers are being banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment after 31 December, and they must also remove all the Chinese firm's 5G kit from their networks by 2027.
Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden told the House of Commons of the decision.
It follows sanctions imposed by Washington, which claims the firm poses a national security threat - something Huawei denies.
As per Mr. Dowden, the supply ban would delay the UK's 5G rollout by a year.
Mr. Dowden added that the cumulative cost of the moves when coupled with earlier restrictions announced against Huawei would be up to £2bn, and a total delay to 5G rollout of "two to three years".
This has not been an easy decision, but it is the right one for the UK telecoms networks, for our national security and our economy, both now and indeed in the long run.

Gadkari Inaugurates, Lays Foundation Stone for 11 National Highway Projects in Haryana

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stone for 11 national highway projects worth Rs. 20,000 crore in Haryana as part of the new economic corridor.
In the 'new economic corridor', more than Rs. 20,000 crore will be invested to ensure smooth connectivity from Haryana to other states, including Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Mukesh Ambani Becomes World's 6th Richest Man

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index ranked Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd(RIL) as the World's 6th richest man with a worth USD 72.4 billion after surpassing Elon Musk, co-founder & CEO of Tesla and Alphabet Inc co founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
Ambani's net worth rose as he has sold his shares in Jio Platform.
Larry Page is ranked in 7th position with a net worth of USD 71.6 billion, Sergey Brin in 9th position(USD 69.4B) and Elon Musk in 10th position(USD 68.6 billion).
Warren Buffett is ranked in 8th position with a net worth of USD 69.7B, after he gave away USD 2.9 billion to charity.

Ministry of Shipping Approves Rs. 107 crore for Modern Firefighting Facilities in Haldia Dock

Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Union Minister of Shipping approved Rs. 107 crore to improve the firefighting facilities on five jetties of Haldia Dock Complex of Kolkata Port. The modern firefighting facilities will enable safe and secure handling of petrochemical goods in the Haldia Dock Complex.
The current facility does not ensure the safety in handling the Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other petroleum products according to the guidelines of the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The LPG and Liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo at the Haldia dock is expected to increase in the future, prioritising the safety and security of the cargo operation in the major.

BSE Signs MoU with IIT Alumni Council

The BSE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IIT Alumni Council to encourage listing culture for start-ups and develop a high investor depth start-ups platform.
The newly-formed partnership will ensure a complete end-to-end ecosystem for the proposed social stock exchange.
It will also look at revitalising the Startup platform by attracting a wide range of VC/PE funds to act as underwriters and market makers (backed by the BSE members in the frontend).
The alliance will help reduce listing time, complexity and cost for SMEs and start-ups by streamlining, automating and standardising the documentation processes.
Besides, category 1 merchant banks will be empaneled to help automate the listing process so as to reduce time and cost of listing on the Startup Platform of the Exchange.
IIT Alumni Council is the body of alumni, students and faculty across all the 23 IITs with over 100 city chapters globally.

Jul 14, 2020

Visa Partners with Federal Bank to Deploy Visa Secure to the Bank's Cardholders

Visa entered into partnership with Federal Bank to deploy Visa Secure to the bank's cardholders. Visa Secure will provide additional authentication layers for issuers and merchants to combat online frauds. In addition to this, the upgraded technology provides a quick and smooth checkout experience to consumers.
This partnership will also enhance the focus of the bank on customer-centric digital solutions that make online shopping experiences seamless.
Visa Secure is a global authentication program that uses the latest standards of the EMV 3DS (3D Secure) protocol.
It is built on the EMVCo 3DS 2.0 protocol which makes e-commerce more protected. It will minimise customer friction at point of purchase.

Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund Launches Motilal Oswal Multi Asset Fund

Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company launched a Multi Asset Fund that will invest in equity, international equity index funds/ equity Exchange Traded Funds Debt and Money Market Instruments and Gold ETF.
The fund will open for subscription from July 15. Investors can invest through lumpsum or minimum SIP of Rs. 500 during NFO and ongoing period.
The open ended fund targets to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio in four different asset class. Having a right asset allocation is the key to navigate such volatile periods.

Pakistan to Allow Afghan Exports to India through Wagah Border

Pakistan will allow Afghanistan to send goods to India using the Wagah border from July 15. The decision, which is part of Islamabad's commitment under Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit Trade Agreement, is expected to boost Afghanistan's exports to India.
Both Pakistan and India had suspended trade through the Wagah border in March to deal with the pandemic challenge.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs is yet to respond to Pakistan's decision as Islamabad is silent about allowing the same facility to India for exports to Afghanistan. India-Afghanistan trade is expected to grow because of the Pakistani move though India-Pakistan trade remains stunted. India had cancelled the Most Favoured Nation status for Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack in February 2019.

Jio Gets Rs. 42,000 Cr in Fresh Tranche of Investment

Reliance Industries Ltd's Jio Platforms received another tranche of payment from PE funds KKR, TPG, Vista Equity Partners and sovereign wealth funds ADIA and Mubadala. Collectively, Jio Platforms received Rs. 42,057.9 crore from these investors.
The latest tranche of payments comes after Jio received Rs. 30,062.43 crore on Saturday from L Catterton, PIF, Silver Lake, and General Atlantic Singapore.
With the latest tranche of payments, Jio awaits investment money from only two more investors - Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures.

Sundar Pichai Announces $10 Billion Investment in India

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $10 billion investment in India at the Google for India virtual live-stream event. The event focused on contributing to accelerate India's digital economy with this investment over the next five to seven years.
As per Pichai, the investment will be through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy.
Firstly, the Rs. 75,000 crore investment will focus on help in enabling affordable access and information to every Indian irrespective of the language. Secondly, India's unique needs to be met by products and services. The huge investment will also help local businesses to move towards digital transformation. Also, it will work towards using Artificial Integellince (AI) in areas like health, education, etc.

Banks and Post Offices Can Now Find out TDS on Large Cash Withdrawals

Banks and post offices can now ascertain the tax deducted at source (TDS) of those withdrawing large cash just by entering permanent account number of these assesses on the facility provided by the income tax department.
The department has facilitated a new functionality for banks and post offices through which they can ascertain the TDS applicability rates.
So far, more than 53,000 verification requests have been executed successfully on this facility.
TDS is deductible at the rate of two per cent if cash withdrawal exceeds Rs 1 crore by a person who is filer of income tax returns.
However, if a person is non-filer of ITR, TDS is deductible at the rate two per cent if cash withdrawal is Rs. 20 lakh and at the rate of 5 per cent if it exceeds Rs. 1 crore.

Jul 13, 2020

CCI Approves Kubota's 9.09% Acquisition of Escorts and Escorts's 40% Acquisition by KAI

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the acquisition of 9.09% equity stake in Escorts Limited (Escorts) by Kubota Corporation (Kubota) and of 40% in Kubota Agricultural Machinery India Private Limited (KAI) by Escorts under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
As per the proposed combination, Kubota will subscribe to the 1,22,57,688 equity shares (9.09% of the total issued, subscribed and paid-up share capital) of Escorts on a pre-capital reduction and 10 % on a post-capital reduction basis.
Kubota will acquire 40% shares held by Sumitomo Corporation in KAI, which will be acquired by Escorts. After this, Kubota will hold 60% and Escorts will hold 40% in KAI.

India Second-Largest Foreign Investor in the UK

According to the United Kingdom's government's figures released in July 2020, India became the second largest Forign Direct Investor (FDI) in the United Kingdom (UK) after the United States in 2019, by investing in 120 projects and creating 5,429 new jobs in the UK.
The United States of America remains as the top source of Forign Direct Investment (FDI) of the UK, delivering 462 projects and 20,131 jobs.
The List is followed by India, Germany, France, China and Hong Kong.

US India's Top Trading Partner for Second Consecutive Year

The US remained India's top trading partner for the second consecutive fiscal in 2019-20, which shows increasing economic ties between the two countries.
According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $88.75 billion as against $87.96 billion in 2018-19.
The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. The trade gap between the countries has increased to $17.42 billion in 2019-20 from $16.86 billion in 2018-19, the data showed.
In 2018-19, the US first surpassed China to become India's top trading partner.
The bilateral trade between India and China has dipped to $81.87 billion in 2019-20 from $87.08 billion in 2018-19. Trade deficit between the two neighbours have declined to $48.66 billion in 2019-20 from $53.57 billion in the previous fiscal.

Tata Eyes Exit from AirAsia JV

As per reports, Tata Sons Ltd is plotting an exit from loss-making AirAsia India where it holds a majority stake.
Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, has a 51% stake in AirAsia India. Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd owns the remaining 49%. The budget airline had a 7.8% share of the domestic market in May, placing it in the fifth position.
AirAsia Bhd, which is facing headwinds due to airline industry disruptions from covid-19, had in June approached the Tata group to sell its stake, as mandated by the terms of the joint venture (JV) under which Tata Sons has the right of first refusal.
The offer was, however, turned down by Tata Sons, which is not keen to continue investing in the airline and wants to focus on its full-service carrier ,Vistara, which it jointly owns with Singapore Airlines as the minority partner.

Jul 12, 2020

India 2nd-Largest Source of FDI for Britain

According to new UK government figures released in July 2020, India invested in 120 projects and created 5,429 new jobs in the UK to become the second-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) after the US in 2019.
The Department for International Trade (DIT) inward investment statistics for 2019-2020 found India moving up from its previous third-largest spot, representing an overall 4% FDI increase for the UK on 2018-2019 with 1,852 new inward investment projects in the 2019/2020 financial year.
The US remains the number one source of FDI for the UK followed by India, Germany, France and China and Hong Kong. Australia and New Zealand were responsible for 72 projects and the Nordic and Baltic region 134.

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