General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - June 2020

Jun 2020

Jun 30, 2020

Swiggy Launches its Own Digital Wallet

Food delivery platform Swiggy launched its own digital wallet to enable single-click checkout experience on its platform.
Called 'Swiggy Money,' the full-fledged digital wallet in partnership with ICICI Bank will enable customers to store money and be used for all food orders.
Users choosing 'Swiggy Money' can avail instant refunds and use the money for easy checkouts and hassle-free payment processing on future food orders.
If the Swiggy customer is an existing ICICI Bank customer, he or she can instantly start using the wallet.

India and Bhutan Sign Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project Agreement

India and Bhutan signed concession agreement on the 600 MW Kholongchhu hydroelectric project (KHEL). The hydroelectric project will be the first-ever joint venture project to be implemented in Bhutan. The joint venture partners of the project are India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) and Bhutan's Druk Green Power Corporation Limited (DGPC).
Speaking at the signing ceremony via video conference, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that commencement of the construction activities of the Project will create economic and employment opportunities in Bhutan in this critical time.
KHEL will be the first joint venture project to be implemented under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed in 2014.

Jun 29, 2020

Amazon India to Hire 20,000 Employees

E-commerce major Amazon India said that it is offering close to 20,000 'seasonal' or temporary employment opportunities in its customer service (CS) organisation to help customers in India and globally with a seamless online shopping experience.
The new temporary positions -- being added to meet the anticipated demand in customer traffic in the next six months -- are open in Hyderabad, Pune, Coimbatore, Noida, Kolkata, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Mangaluru, Indore, Bhopal and Lucknow.
Most of the positions are part of Amazon's 'Virtual Customer Service' programme that provides flexible work-from-home options.
The new positions will see associates support customer services through e-mail, chat, social media and phone. The eligibility criteria for these positions include having minimum educational qualification of 12th standard pass and proficiency in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Kannada.

Government Extends Deadline to Bid for Air India

The government has again extended the deadline to bid for Air India by two months till August 31 as the COVID-19 fallout has disrupted economic activities globally.
The divestment process for the national carrier was initiated on January 27.
While issuing the EoI in January, the last date for bids was kept at March 17, which was later extended till April 30. This was further extended to June 30, and now till August 31.

Nokia Wins Taiwan Mobile 5G Contract

Finnish telecoms equipment maker Nokia Oyj won a 5G contract worth about €400 million ($449.48 million) from Taiwan Mobile to build out the telecom operator's next-generation network as the sole supplier.
Taiwan Mobile's earlier networks, Nokia will prepare for the deployment this month and complete the migration to 5G standalone within a three-year period.
Nokia, along with Nordic rival Ericsson, has picked up most of the 5G contracts in Taiwan.
While Nokia also won 5G contracts from Taiwan Star and Chunghwa Telecom, Ericsson picked up the deal with Far Eas Tone and a part of the contract from Chunghwa.

Jun 28, 2020

Carlyle to Buy Stake in Piramal Pharma

The Carlyle Group's CA Clover Intermediate II Investments has agreed to buy a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises Ltd. (PEL), for $490 million (Rs. 3,700 crore).
Based on milestone achievements, Piramal Pharma will be paid an additional $70 million. The transaction is expected to close in 2020.
The transaction values PEL's pharma business at an enterprise value of $2,775 million with an upside component of up to $360 million depending on the company's FY21 performance.

Microsoft to Permanently Close All Physical Stores

Microsoft is permanently closing nearly all of its physical stores around the world. Like other retailers, the software and computing giant had to temporarily close all of its stores in late March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to its website, Microsoft has 83 stores worldwide, including 72 stores in the US, and several others abroad where they showcase and sell laptops and other hardware. This announcement reflects what the company calls a strategic change for its retail business as sales increasingly shift online.
Microsoft said it would reimagine the physical spaces at its four high-profile Microsoft Experience Centers in New York City, London, Sydney, Australia and at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Amazon Acquires Zoox

Amazon has just taken its boldest step yet into self-driving vehicles, acquiring six-year-old start-up Zoox.
The deal will help bring Zoox's vision of autonomous ride-hailing to reality. Zoox will continue to operate as a standalone business within Amazon, with CEO Aicha Evans and Jesse Levinson.

Hitachi and Microsoft Ink Multi-year Deal

Hitachi and Microsoft have announced a multi-year strategic alliance to accelerate the digital transformation of the manufacturing and logistics industries across Southeast Asia, North America and Japan.
Hitachi will integrate its industry-leading solutions such as Lumada, and its Internet of Things (IoT)-ready industrial controllers HX Series, with the Microsoft cloud platform, leveraging Azure, Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365 to help businesses increase their workforce productivity and operational efficiency.
The first joint solutions will be available in Thailand in July 2020.
With this collaboration with Microsoft, Hitachio will be able to accelerate our customers' digital transformation and continue to deliver social, environmental and economic value.
Hitachi and Microsoft will also work together to support skilling initiatives that empower businesses to grow their digital capabilities and unlock new business opportunities.

Jun 27, 2020

Lt. Governor G. C. Murmu Launches Two Customised Loan Schemes of J&K Bank

Girish Chandra Murmu, the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), rolled out 2 customised loan schemes of J&K Bank namely 'J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20' and 'J&K Bank Business Support Loan Scheme 2019-20 for Hotels and Guest Houses' with the aim to overcome business challenges that have stemmed up due to the prevailing conditions.
This scheme is valid up to October 31, 2020, this loan scheme offers 10% enhancement in existing working capital limit in the form of a 3 year working capital term loan (including one year moratorium on principal) with a maximum limit of Rs. 5 crore for SMA2 (special mention accounts 2) borrowers and Rs. 20 crore for other standard loans including SMA1 (special mention accounts 1).

Yes Bank Launches Digital Wallet Solution 'Yuva Pay' in Partnership with UDMA Technologies

Yes Bank launches a digital wallet solution(app)'Yuva Pay' in partnership with UDMA Technologies Pvt Ltd to enable contactless payments for its customers. The wallet is issued under minimum Know Your Client (KYC) regulations.
The solution aims to help the low income group to access the digital and contactless transactions, which will enable broad access to secure electronic payment services.
Through this wallet utility bills like municipal, house, water tax, electricity, Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG), Direct to Home(DTH), mobile phone bill, licence fee, windmill and solar park fee, building sanction fees and billboard taxes can be paid through Bharat Bill Pay and Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

IOC Launches Battery Swapping Facility for Quick Recharge of Electric Vehicles

India's top oil firm IOC launched a battery swapping facility for electric vehicles (EVs) at its petrol pumps, offering to replace discharged batteries with fully charged ones in just couple of minutes.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will begin with a pilot of battery swapping at one of its outlets in Chandigarh and gradually scale it up to 20 stations.
Battery swapping technology offers the best alternative to slow charging and helps the drivers make optimum use of the operational hours, he said adding the battery swapping model is initially targeted at the commercial vehicles such as electric autos, rickshaws and electric two-wheelers and EVs that are either factory fitted or retrofitted.
IOC is the country's top fuel retailer, controlling close to half of the market. But, it is now making a foray into EV charging. It has partnered with Sun Mobility for setting up battery swapping facility, called Quick Interchange Station (QIS).

Jun 26, 2020

Olympus Quits Camera Business

Olympus, once one of the world's biggest camera brands, is selling off that part of its business after 84 years.
The firm said that despite its best efforts, the "extremely severe digital camera market" was no longer profitable.
The arrival of smartphones, which had shrunk the market for separate cameras, was one major factor, it said.
It had recorded losses for the last three years.
The Japanese company made its first camera in 1936 after years of microscope manufacture. The Semi-Olympus I featured an accordion-like fold-out camera bellows, and cost more than a month's wages in Japan.
The company continued to develop the camera business over the decades, becoming one of the top companies by market share.
Olympus will now focus on its much larger business of supplying industrial and medical imaging equipment.

Virgin Australia to Fly with New US owner Bain Capital

Virgin Australia has been bought by US private equity group Bain Capital after falling into administration due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
The airline was struggling with long-term debt of A$5bn (£2.55bn; $3.17bn) even before the pandemic struck.
Australia's second biggest carrier had unsuccessfully asked for government loans before its collapse in April.
Virgin Australia is currently owned by a number of major shareholders including Sir Richard Branson.
Administrators for the airline, Deloitte, said that Bain would become the new owners, with the deal expected to be completed by the end of August.

Hindustan Unilever to Drop "Fair" from its "Fair & Lovely" Range of Products

The Indian unit of Unilever it will drop the word "fair" from its "Fair & Lovely" range of products, which have long been criticised for promoting negative stereotypes against people with darker skin.
The move comes as cosmetics companies have seen an increasing amount of backlash on social media in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Products marketed as skin lightening have a huge market in South Asia due to a societal obsession with fairer skin tones, but those notions are being questioned more frequently.
Unilever's 'Fair & Lovely' brand dominates the market in South Asia. Similar products are also sold by L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble.
The 'Fair & Lovely' brand name change is subject to regulatory approvals, Hindustan Unilever said. The company did not say what the new brand name would be.

Carlyle Eyes Stake in Piramal Pharma

Global private equity major The Carlyle Group has emerged as the frontrunner to buy a significant stake in Ajay Piramal owned Piramal Group's pharma businesses for close to Rs. 3,500 crore. The proposed stake sale has attracted bids from several other global investors.
As per Piramal's current strategy, the pharma businesses will be demerged from Piramal Enterprises Ltd and combined into a new entity, 20% of which will be owned by Carlyle and possibly another private equity investor, while at least 25% will be owned by the public and the remainder will remain with the promoters.
Investment bank Rothschild is advising Piramal on this transaction. The stake sale, once completed, may value the Piramal Group's overall pharma business at approximately $2.5 billion.

RSWM Ties Up with HeiQ

Textile manufacturer RSWM Ltd. of the LNJ Bhilwara Group has unveiled anti-viral fabric 'ViroSecure' via a technology partnership with Swiss firm HeiQ. ViroSecure fabric range offers anti-COVID protection against the spread and transmission of the pathogen.
Tests conducted by HeiQ in association with the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia (Doherty Institute) highlighted that treated fabric demonstrated a rapid antiviral action against the SARS-CoV-2 virus strain.

Cabinet Okays Additional Investment by ONGC Videsh in Myanmar

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved additional investment of $121.27 million by ONGC Videsh Ltd for further development of block A-1 and A-3 block in Myanmar.
The CCEA, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the additional investment for the Shwe oil and gas project in Myanmar blocks.
OVL, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), had picked up a stake in the Shwe Project in Myanmar in 2002. The firm has invested $722 million in the project till March 31, 2019.
The participation of Indian PSUs in oil and gas exploration and development projects in neighbouring countries is aligned with India's Act East Policy, and also part of India's efforts to develop Energy Bridges with its immediate neighbours.

Indian Money Parked in Swiss Banks Down

According to annual data from Switzerland's central bank, funds parked by Indian individuals and enterprises in Swiss banks, including through India-based branches, fell nearly 6 per cent in 2019 to 899 million Swiss francs (Rs. 6,625 crore).
This marks the second consecutive year of decline in aggregate funds of Indian clients with all Swiss banks, taking the figure to the third lowest level in more than three decades since 1987 when the Swiss National Bank (SNB) began compiling the data.
The total amount of CHF 899.46 million, described by SNB as aggregate 'liabilities' of Swiss banks or 'amounts due to' their Indian clients at the end of 2019, included CHF 550 million (over Rs 4,000 crore) of customer deposits; CHF 88 million (Rs. 650 crore) held via other banks; 7.4 million (Rs. 50 crore) through fiduciaries or trusts; and CHF 254 million (Rs. 1,900 crore) as 'other amounts due to customers' in form of securities and various financial instruments.

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