General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2020

Jun 2020

Jul 05, 2020

Bharti, UK Govt. Win Bid for OneWeb

Telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal's Bharti Enterprises Ltd and the UK government jointly won satellite operator OneWeb in a bankruptcy auction in New York, helping the company complete its satellite deployments and bring wireless internet to remote areas across the world.
Bharti Global, the foreign arm of Bharti Enterprises, and the UK government will invest $500 million in equity in OneWeb, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March, statements by Bharti Enterprises and the UK government said. The two investors will hold 45% each in the company post the transaction with existing shareholders holding the rest.
OneWeb, which operates 74 satellites in the low-earth orbit, had planned to launch 550 more by the end of 2021. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to secure $2 billion financing from lead shareholder SoftBank Group. The company has the second largest low-earth orbit satellite broadband network, which makes it a direct rival to Elon Musk's Starlink that has more than 500 in operation and plans at least 50 more.
The deal will enable OneWeb to complete the construction of a global satellite constellation that will provide enhanced broadband and other services to mobile and fixed terminals in countries around the world.

Jul 04, 2020

Kotak Mahindra Bank & Innoviti Collaborates to Offer EMIs on Kotak Debit Cards

Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd. have collaborated to provide Equated Monthly Installments (EMI) billing options on Kotak Debit Cards which are swiped on Innoviti Point of Sale (POS) terminals.
This facility will enable about 10 million(1 crore)Kotak customers to pay for their purchases in instalments by using the EMIs on debit cards facility at over 70,000 Innoviti POS terminals across more than 1,000 cities.

HDFC Bank to Offer 'ZipDrive', an Online Instant Auto Loans

HDFC Bank announced that it will offer 'ZipDrive', an online instant auto loan to its customers in 1,000 cities. The auto loan disbursal product is only for customers with pre-approved offers. It is a technology-enabled loan product where credit assessment is done by banking software.
The product will be available to tier 2 and 3 cities across India, such as Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh, Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, Thalassery in Kerala, and Balasore in Odisha among other places.
The customers can avail the loan from anywhere, anytime, through Netbanking or by scanning QR code or through phone banking or through assistance from the bank's phone banking team within 10 seconds. It is claimed to be the country's fastest online auto loan disbursement offering.

HUL Rebrands Fair & Lovely'as 'Glow & Lovely'

FMCG major HUL rebranded its popular skincare brand 'Fair & Lovely' as 'Glow & Lovely' after dropping the word 'fair' in its name.
According to the company, it is taking a more inclusive vision of positive beauty while introducing 'Glow & Lovely' — the new name for the brand.
Meanwhile, the men's range of its products will be called 'Glow & Handsome'.
As per HUL, over the next few months, Glow & Lovely will be on the shelves, and future innovations will deliver on this new proposition.

ADB Joins Network For Greening the Financial System as Observer

Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank, joined the Paris (France)-based Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) as an observer.
The NGFS is a global forum that brings together central banks and supervisors committed to understanding and managing the financial risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
ADB now joins the ranks of the World Bank (WB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as NGFS observers.
Following the joining of ADB, NGFS now includes 46-member institutions and 10 observers that participate in 3 various work related to reducing climate risks, including supervision, macro-financial issues, and mainstreaming green finance.
ADB's inclusion to the NGFS is aligned with the goals in its corporate strategy, the Strategy 2030, particularly in tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability; fostering regional cooperation and integration; and strengthening governance and institutional capacity.

Intel Capital to Buy Stake in Jio Platforms

Reliance Industries (RIL) announced a stake sale of 0.39 per cent in its digital services subsidiary, Jio Platforms, to Intel Capital for Rs. 1,894.50 crore.
The latest fundraising comes two weeks after RIL announced that it had turned net debt-free well ahead of its deadline of March 2021.
Intel Capital is an arm of Intel, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer. It joins 11 other investors, including sovereign funds and private equity firms, which now collectively own 25.09 per cent in Jio Platforms.
In the past two months, Jio has raised Rs. 1.17 trillion through stake sales to ramp up its digital services business and expedite its debt reduction goals.

Jul 03, 2020

JSW Group Will Bring Down China Imports to Zero

As the clamour to boycott Chinese products grows amid a stand-off between the Indian and Chinese armies in eastern Ladakh, several companies have indicated they would cut imports from the neighbouring country and support the government's self-reliance theme.
As per Parth Jindal, managing director of JSW Cement, the JSW group, would be bringing down its imports from China to zero within two years.
The firm's defence division does not import from China, its other businesses source products from that country.

ICICI Bank Launches a Facility, 'Insta Loans against Mutual Funds'

ICICI Bank launched 'Insta Loans against Mutual Funds', a facility in partnership with Computer Age Management Services (CAMS). The facility is an extension of the Insta Loan Against Shares (LAS).
The facility enables the retail customers to avail loans upto Rs. 1 crore instantly by pledging their holdings in both debt and equity Mutual Funds (MFs).
It is a full digital and paperless facility. It empowers customers to get this loan as an overdraft (OD) within a few minutes without having to visit a branch and submit physical documents.
Customers can avail the loan against a vast range of debt and equity schemes of mutual funds serviced by CAMS and approved by the Bank.
Minimum loan amount for debt and equity schemes of MFs is Rs. 50,000. Maximum loan amount for debt schemes of MFs is Rs. 1 crore and for equity schemes of MFs is Rs. 20 lakh.

KKR to Acquire Controlling Stake in JB Chemicals

Global investment firm KKR & Co. Inc. will pick up a controlling stake in Mumbai-based branded formulation player JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (JB Chemicals).
As part of the deal, KKR will acquire stake from the founding Mody family at Rs. 745 per share (or 5 per cent premium to the closing price of Rs. 715 on the BSE).
According to a BSE notification, KKR has entered into an agreement to acquire 41.7 million equity shares of JB Chemicals, representing 54 per cent, from the promoters of the company.
After this transaction, an open offer will be launched to acquire 20.93 million fully paid-up equity shares of JB Chemicals, representing 26 per cent. The open offer, too, is being made at a price of Rs. 745 per share, said the company statement.
The deal size is estimated to be around $500 million (Rs. 3,750 crore).
This is the second KKR investment in the past two months. In May, it agreed to invest Rs. 11,367 crore ($1.5 billion) in Reliance Industries' digital assets subsidiary Jio Platforms to acquire 2.32 per cent stake — its largest investment in Asia to date.

Carlyle Group to Acquire 25% Stake in Nxtra Data

American multinational private equity company Carlyle Group has decided to acquire about 25% stake in India's second largest telecom company Bharti Airtel's data centre business –Nxtra Data Ltd– for $235 million (about Rs. 1,780 crore) through a company called Comfort Investments II, which is an affiliated entity of CAP V Mauritius Ltd, an investment fund managed and advised by affiliated firms of the Carlyle.
At the same time, Airtel will continue to hold the remaining 75 % stake.
The deal, which helps Airtel to open up massive growth opportunities for data centers to accelerate the investment , is yet to get regulatory approval, including permission from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

HDFC Life To Replace Vedanta in Nifty

As per reports, NSE's index maintenance sub-committee is replacing Vedanta with HDFC Life Insurance Co in its flagship Nifty50 index, effective July 31 due to the proposed voluntary delisting of the mining major.
HDFC Life Insurance will cease to be a part of Nifty Next 50, and will be replaced by SBI Cards and Payments Services.
Vedanta will also cease to be a part of Nifty 500, Nifty 100, Nifty LargeMidcap 250, Nifty 200, and will be replaced by SBI Card in each of these indices.
Vedanta will be replaced in Nifty Metal, Nifty Commodities, Nifty MNC, Nifty 50 Value 20, Nifty 500 Value 50 and Nifty High Beta 50 indices by Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Coromandel International, Nippon Life India Asset Management, Hindalco Industries, SJVN and IDFC First Bank, respectively.
The index maintenance sub-committee also decided to exclude Total Transport Systems and Univastu India from Nifty SME Emerge index effective July 9, as these companies shift to the main board.

Jul 02, 2020

Indian Oil Corp Agrees to Form Joint Venture with Beximco LPG

Indian Oil Corp has agreed to form an equal joint venture with Bangladesh's Beximco LPG to set up a terminal to import liquefied petroleum gas in Bangladesh.
Indian Oil's Dubai unit IOC Middle East FZE and Beximco's holding company RR Holdings Ltd, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE have signed an agreement for LPG business in Bangladesh, as per a statement by Indian Oil.
The joint venture would begin with acquiring Beximco's existing LPG assets in Bangladesh.
The JV also intends to diversify into other downstream oil and gas businesses such as lube blending plant, LNG, petrochemicals, LPG export to north east India through pipeline between two nations and renewable energy.

World Bank Approves $750 mn to Aid MSMEs

The World Bank approved $750-million loan to increase flow of finance to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India, which have been severely impacted by the covid-19 crisis. This will support the MSME package announced by the government under its 'Self-reliant India' programme.
The World Bank's MSME Emergency Response programme will address the immediate liquidity and credit needs of some 1.5 million viable MSMEs to help them withstand the impact of the current shock and protect millions of jobs.
India's MSME sector, which contributes 30% of India's GDP and 40% of exports, is currently facing severe stress. The sector, which employs 150-180 million people, is now burdened with cancelled orders, loss of customers and supply chain disruptions, causing a sharp fall in revenues. This cash flow shortage is worsened by constraints to accessing finance, potentially creating solvency problems. The broad-based loss of cash flows has triggered a chain of non-payments throughout the economy, including to the financial sector.

PPF Rates, Small Savings Schemes Remain Unchanged

The government kept interest rates unchanged for small savings schemes, including that of popular Public Provident Fund or PPF, for the July-September quarter despite a fall in the interest rate in the overall financial system. Post office savings accounts will continue to fetch 4% interest, while the interest rate on post office deposits between 1 year and five years remain between 5.5% to 6.7%.
The 5-year recurring deposit will fetch 5.8% interest. The interest rate on Senior Citizen Savings Scheme will continue to fetch 7.4% interest while Monthly Income Scheme or MIS will offer 6.6% interest. Public provident fund or PPF will offer 7.1% interest rates while NSC or National Savings Certificate 6.8%.
Kisan Vikas Patra will offer 6.9% interest rate and will mature in 124 months. Among the small savings schemes Sukanya Samriddhi Account will fetch the highest interest rate, at 7.6%.
Amid excess liquidity in the financial system and weak credit growth, banks have been sharply cutting interest rates. For example, SBI retail fixed deposits with maturity between 5 years and 10 years currently offer interest rate of 5.4%.
Since 2016, the government has been revising interest rates on small savings schemes on a quarterly basis, depending on the trend in interest rate in the financial system. Prior to that, interest rates were revised once a year. The government had cut interest rates on small savings schemes for the April-June quarter by up to 140 basis points. The interest rate on PPF was cut by 80 basis points for the April-June quarter to 7.1%.

HDFC Bank Launches 'e-Kisaan Dhan' App for Farmers

HDFC Bank has launched 'e-Kisaan Dhan' app for farmers in India.
This app provides information and knowledge to farmers which will help them to meet the needs of the rural ecosystem. With this app, farmers can access a bouquet of services in banking and agriculture, through their mobile phones.
It will provide users information in regard to new government schemes and ways to access them.
The e-Kisaan Dhan app provides value added services like mandi prices, latest farming news, weather forecast, information on seed varieties, SMS advisory, e-pashuhaat and Kisan TV among others.

Jul 01, 2020

Asia's First Continuous Galvanised Rebar Production Facility in Punjab

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Steel & Petroleum and Natural Gas virtually inaugurated Asia's first Continuous Galvanised Rebar (CGR) Production Facility near Gobindgarh, Punjab launched by Madhav KRD Group in association with International Zinc Association(IZA) with the support of Hindustan Zinc Limited.
The facility will produce the new Continuously Galvanised Rebar (CGR).
The annual capacity of the facility is over 30,000 tonnes.
Under the brand "Jyoti", the facility will manufacture ZNCOAT TEMPCORE TMT bars.
Jyoti is the first of its kind in Asia to apply CGR technology with enhanced life and low maintenance cost.

The Most Innovative Companies Of 2020

According to BCG's analysis of the 50 most innovative companies of 2020Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Samsung, are considered the five most innovative companies.
Companies who are strongest at innovation most value advanced analytics, digital design and technology platforms.
JD.com, Bosch, ABB, FCA, Novartis and Volvo join the list of the top 50 most innovative companies for the first time this year.
Fastest movers include Huawei, who jumped from 48th to 6th, Walmart, who jumped from 42nd to 13th, HP, who jumped from 44th to 15th and Dell, who jumped from 41st to 20th.
Only eight companies have made the list every year, and they include Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Samsung, and Toyota.

WTO Sets Up Dispute Panel on India's Import Duties on ICT Products

The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to a second request from the EU to establish an adjudication panel over India's customs duties on imports of certain information and communications technology (ICT) products, including mobile phones, taking the dispute up a notch.
However, New Delhi blocked the complaints by Japan and Chinese Taipei to setup panels.
While the EU asked India to agree to establish a single panel to review the three complaints, India was disappointed with the EU request. Since India had blocked the EU's request for a panel in February, it cannot do so a second time as per WTO rules.
China, the US, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Canada, Turkey, Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Norway, Singapore, Thailand, Russia and Pakistan reserved their third party rights to participate in the proceedings.
Consultations on the issue took place last year (2019) but failed to settle the dispute prompting the EU's request for a panel.
The dispute is crucial for India as losing it will directly benefit China, from where India imported telecom equipment parts worth $3.4 billion and mobile phones worth $665.21 million in the April-February period of 2019-20. While China is involved in consultations on the issue with India, it has not asked for a panel.

GoI and World Bank Sign Agreement to Increase Access to Affordable Housing

The World Bank and the Government of India signed an agreement along with the Government of Tamil Nadu to help the low-income groups in the state of Tamil Nadu to get access to affordable housing.
Legal agreements of two projects were signed to strengthen the state's housing sector policies, institutions, and regulations.
First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme worth $200 million(Rs 1,510 crore),
Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project worth $50 million (Rs 377 crore).
The loans from the IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) have a maturity period of 20 years (including grace period: 3.5 years).

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