General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2020

Aug 2020

Nov 13, 2020

NMDC Board Approves Buyback Plan

The board of state-owned NMDC approved a share buyback proposal of up to Rs. 1,378 crore.
The decision was taken at a meeting of its Board.
The Board approved a proposal for buyback of 13,12,43,809 fully paid-up equity shares of a face value of Re. 1 each from the company's shareholders at a price of Rs. 105 per equity share payable in cash.
The buyback will be for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 13,78,05,99,945 (offer size), representing 5% and 5.05% of the total fully paid-up equity share capital and free reserves, respectively.
NMDC, under the steel ministry, is the country's largest iron ore miner. Besides iron ore, it is also involved in the exploration of a wide range of minerals like copper, rock phosphate, lime stone, dolomite and gypsum.

TCS Buys Assets of Pramerica

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) inked an agreement with Prudential Financial, Inc (PFI), under which the Indian firm will acquire over 1,500 employees and select assets of Pramerica Systems Ireland Ltd (Pramerica).
The move will help strengthen TCS's delivery capability in Ireland. Pramerica is PFI's subsidiary based in Letterkenny, Ireland.
PFI will retain the Pramerica Ireland entity, which will continue to operate from Letterkenny and will focus on providing regional business services, reporting under its global asset manager PGIM.
The transaction — whose financial details were not disclosed — is subject to completion of customary regulatory approvals. The enhanced partnership builds on a long relationship between the two organisations and will see over 1,500 of Pramerica's staff in Ireland transfer to TCS.

Moody's Revises the Gross Domestic Product forecast of India

Credit rating agency, Moody's Investors Service has revised the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast of India to -8.9 percent upwards for calendar year 2020 from the -9.6 percent contraction forecasted earlier. The agency forecasted in September 2020 that India's GDP will contract by 9.6%.
GDP forecast for calendar year 2021 for India has also been revised to from 8.1 percent to 8.6 percent now. The Indian economy had contracted by about 23.9% in the April-June quarter and is earlier seen contracting more than 10% in the financial year 2021. This was due to the impact of the nationwide lockdown for fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.
The report also pointed that geopolitical and trade risks would remain a major focus in the next year as the relationship between the two largest economies of the world, the U.S. and China had deteriorated.
Also, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India's GDP is expected to contract by 8.6% for the July-September period.

Stricter Foreign Funding Rules for NGOs

The government has issued a notification changing the rules of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act — FCRA — to tighten norms for flow of foreign fund to the voluntary sector in India.
The new rules require any organisation that wants to register itself under the FCRA to have existed for at least three years and to have spent a minimum of Rs 15 lakh on its core activities during the last three financial years for the benefit of the society.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also mentioned that office-bearers of the voluntary organisations seeking registration under the FCRA must submit a specific commitment letter from the donor indicating the overseas contribution amount and the purpose for which it is proposed to be given. Election candidates, government servants, members of any legislature and political parties have also prohibited from accepting foreign funding.

China's Tencent Profit Surges

Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent Holdings Ltd reported an 89 per cent rise in quarterly profit, with its blockbuster game Honour of Kings and solid advertising businesses helping it to beat forecasts and lift its shares.
The world's largest gaming firm by revenue has benefited from the healthy growth of paying users for video games in China and international markets.
Its flagship game Honor of Kings reported a record 100 million daily active users in the first 10 months of 2020.
Tencent made 38.5 billion yuan ($5.8 billion) profit for the three months through September. That was ahead of an analyst average estimate of 30.81 billion yuan.

Nov 12, 2020

Operation Greens Scheme

On November 11, 2020, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries announced that a 50% transport subsidy is being provided to 41 notified fruits and vegetables from the Himalayan and the North Eastern states.
Earlier, these notified fruits and vegetables were provided with rail subsidies under the Kisan Rail Scheme. This is being done after UDAN scheme has developed significant number of airports in these regions.
Operation Greens was launched in 2018. Operation Greens is a price fixation scheme that makes sure if farmers are provided with right price for their produce. The scheme aims to promote processing facilities, Farmer Producer Organizations and professional management of agri-produce. It mainly focuses on tomatoes, onions and potatoes by connecting farmers and consumers.

First Commercial Shipment from Bangladesh through Water Route

India has received the first commercial shipment from Bangladesh through water route in November 2020. The shipment was received Assam's Karimganj on the Protocol for Inland Water Trade and Transit (PIWTT) route. This is a step towards utilizing the inland waterway connectivity for trade and prosperity between both the countries.
India and Bangladesh have a Protocol on Trade and Transit through inland waterways. The protocol was first signed in 1972 and renewed in 2015.
The protocol allows making mutual arrangements for using the waterways of both the countries for commerce.
The protocol now has a provision of automatic renewal after 5 years.
A second addendum was added to the protocol in May 2020 which includes new Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes and port of call.
According to the 2nd addendum, the number of IBP routes has been increased to 10 from 8 and new locations have also been included.

Govt. Notifies Mandatory E-invoicing by Businesses with Rs. 100 cr. Turnover

The government has notified mandatory requirement of e-invoicing for B2B transactions for businesses with a turnover over Rs. 100 crore with effect from January 1, 2021.
Under Goods and Services Tax (GST) law, e-invoicing for business-to-business (B2B) transactions is mandatory for companies with turnover of over Rs. 500 crore from October 1.
In a notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said e-invoicing will be extended to businesses with a turnover over Rs. 100 crore from January 1.
Under e-invoicing, taxpayers have to generate invoices on their internal systems (ERP/accounting/billing software) and then report it online to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).

Union Ministry of Textiles launches "Local4Diwali"

The Union Ministry of Textiles has launched a campaign for Diwali- "Local4Diwali". The campaign has been launched to promote the Indian handicraft which is the cultural heritage of the country and also a source of livelihood for many. As per the available data, the handicrafts sector is a major sector of women empowerment as almost 55% of the workers and artisans are women.
The main aim of the #Local4Diwali campaign is to urge people to buy and gift Indian handicraft products on this Diwali.
The basic aim of the campaign is to give a boost to Indian handicrafts and artisans.
This campaign will help the handicraft artisans and workers in increasing their sales and promoting their business. After the promotion of idea of "Vocal for Local" by PM Modi, every sector is working towards promoting local businesses and strengthening Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

Nov 11, 2020

SEBI Orders Attachment of Bank, Demat, MF Accounts of 11 Entities

Markets regulator SEBI has ordered attachment of bank as well as share and mutual fund holdings of 11 entities to recover dues totalling over Rs. 1 crore.
These defaulters are—Minesh Devendra Shah, Saraf Equity Services, Sunil Kumar Agarwal, Shreenath Finstock, Gedalia Multitrading, Rushabh Jitendra Shah, Bhavin Sureshbhai Thakkar, Bipin Jayant Thakker, Bharat Shantilal Thakkar, Hemant Madhusudan Sheth and Kiran Madhusudan Sheth.
The recovery proceedings have been initiated against these 11 entities after they failed to pay the fines imposed on them.
The fines were imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) between 2018 and 2020 for violating provisions of securities market norms.
The pending dues, Rs. 1.3 crore, include the initial fine amount, interest and recovery cost.

RBI Imposes Rs. 50 lakh Penalty on Central Bank of India

The Reserve Bank imposed a penalty of Rs. 50 lakh on state-run Central Bank of India for non-compliance with its directions on disbursal of some housing loans.
Giving details, it said an off-site examination of the records pertaining to some housing loans disbursed by the bank was conducted by RBI.
The examination and related documents revealed non-compliance with the directions issued by RBI.

States Likely to Cut Capital Outlay on Infra by up to 40%

According to rating agency ICRA, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic states are likely to cut capital outlay on infrastructure by up to 40 per cent.
States account for 37-40 per cent of the total infrastructure capital expenditure.
The rating agency said that major states together had a budgeted capital outlay of over Rs. 5.7 lakh crore for 2020-21 as against revised estimate of Rs 5.1 lakh crore in 2019-20.
Some states could witness a steeper decline depending on the extent of additional borrowings, which is availed.

India Bid to Expand Alternative Supply Chain

India is keen on expanding its current conversations with Japan and Australia on a proposed supply-chain partnership to include other countries in the region.
India proposed that some ASEAN countries can be added to the India-Australia-Japan discussions on China-free supply chains. The proposal comes against the backdrop of these very two countries planning to launch a regional economic cooperation partnership (RECP) framework pact in partnership with China, South Korea, New Zealand and 10 countries of the ASEAN bloc.
The 15 Asia-Pacific countries, barring India, aim to ink the RCEP on November 15 to set up an economic bloc equal to third of the global GDP and population.

Paytm Introduces Payout Links

Fintech major Paytm launched 'Payout Links' for businesses, enabling them to instantly process payouts to customers, employees and vendors without collecting their bank details.
Payout Links offer seamless payment integration for businesses to quickly send incentives and refunds to customers through a simple payout link.
Removing the need to store thousands of bank details, the facility benefits partnered SMEs in diverse sectors such as gaming, e-commerce, retail, export and manufacturing, to transfer salaries, vendor payments, commissions and gratification instantly.
The sender can create Paytm Payout Links and share with the receiver. The receiver needs to open the link and is then provided a list of saved accounts such as Paytm Wallet, Paytm UPI and connected bank accounts that can be chosen to receive money instantly.

Nov 10, 2020

NeoBenk Launches Global Partners Program for Innovative Financial Services

NeoBenk, a worldwide digital payment corporation, announced the launch of its Global Partners Program that spurs wider availability and mass adoption of digital assets.
NeoBenk's Global Partners Program is designed to enable a full range of financial solutions and infrastructure that empowers millions of people.
NeoBenk announces a total reward distribution of $1 Million (about Rs. 750 Lakh) for celebrating its official launch on 20th November. Any customer who joins NeoBenk till 20th November will take part in this reward distribution.
NeoBenk Ventures, the strategic investment arm of NeoBenk, last week said it sets up $10 Million (about Rs. 7.5 Crore) for Indian Startups in Digital Payments.

TCS to Acquire Deutsche's Postbank Systems AG

India's largest IT services provider Tata Consultancy Services is acquiring Postbank Systems AG from Deutsche Bank AG.
Postbank Systems AG provides IT services to Deutsche Bank. TCS will acquire 100% of the shares of Postbank Systems and its 1,500 employees will become part of TCS. The technology is based in Germany and will help TCS expand its presence in the region.
Postbank Systems AG provides IT services to Deutsche Bank. TCS will acquire 100% of the shares of Postbank Systems and its 1,500 employees will become part of TCS. The technology is based in Germany and will help TCS expand its presence in the region.

Tata Steel and POSCO Join Forces to Develop Hyperloop Tubes

Tata Steel Europe and South Korea's POSCO will collaborate to develop steel tubes needed for high-speed hyperloop transportation systems.
Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop completed the world's first passenger ride on their levitating pod system, which it hopes will transform human and cargo transportation while slashing carbon emissions.
Tata Steel Europe, a unit of India's Tata Steel, in a joint statement with the world's fifth biggest steelmaker POSCO said that they would develop high-quality steel grades needed for the huge vacuum tubes that allow high-speed transport using very little energy.
POSCO has been conducting hyperloop related research such as feasibility, design and structural optimisation of various types of steel tubes for more than 10 years.

RailTel Corporation Gets SEBI's Approval to Float IPO

State-owned RailTel Corporation of India Ltd received capital markets regulator SEBI's go-ahead to raise Rs. 700 crore through an initial share-sale.
The initial public offer (IPO) is entirely an offer-for-sale through which the government will offload 8.66 crore equity shares, according to draft papers filed with SEBI.
The company, which filed its IPO papers in October, obtained the regulator's observation in November.
The regulator's observation is necessary for any company to launch public issues like initial public offering, follow-on public offer and rights issue.

Nov 08, 2020

Industry Asks Govt. to Conduct Overseas Borrowings

At a time when high frequency economic and business indicators have turned positive in recent months, the industry has suggested demand creation measures to sustain this growth trajectory.
According to PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sanjay Aggarwal, demand creation along with increased spending on infrastructure will have multiplier effects on the economic growth trajectory by boosting private investments, creating new employment opportunities in the country and generating demand for commodities such as steel, cement and power.
To give a fillip to the economy, the financing of the planned Rs 111 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), could be through borrowings from overseas markets by issuance of overseas bonds through an SPV, he suggested.

Punjab Steel Firms Hike Prices

Secondary steel producers in Punjab have increased the prices by Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 4,000 per tonne in the past one month. Due to goods trains off track in the state due to farmers' protest, the steel producers are facing shortage of scrap resulting in high prices.
On an average, monthly consumption of steel in Punjab is around 6 lakh tonnes. Out of this, three lakh tonne is imported from primary steel producers. Another two lakh tonne is produced from scrap by steel companies in the state. As much as 70% of the scrap is imported and the rest is sourced from other states. Further, one lakh tonne of scrap is procured from within the state and is converted into steel.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

October GK, September GK, August GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services and Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26