General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2020

Aug 2020

Nov 07, 2020

Saudi's Public Fund Invests in Reliance Retail

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries Ltd's retail arm raised Rs. 9,555 crore from Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, taking total fund raise in the last two months to Rs. 47,265 crore.
PIF will take a 2.04% stake in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL). The investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs. 4.587 lakh crore. This is second investment by the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund in an Ambani firm. It had previously picked up 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom arm of Reliance, for Rs. 11,367 crore.
This investment will further strengthen PIF's presence in India's dynamic economy and promising retail market segment.

Greenko and Snam Enter Agreement to Develop Hydrogen Value Chain

Snam, an Italian energy infrastucture firm, signed an agreement with Greenko, a renewable energy company in India, to develop the hydrogen value chain in the country.
As per Hyderabad based Greenko, under the agreement, the two companies would collaborate on the study of hydrogen production methods from renewables on the design of hydrogen-ready infrastructure and on potential final applications in both industry and transport, including fuel cell mobility.
Hydrogen produced from conventional methods has been used for centuries in various applications, however there is a renewed and rapidly growing attention for green hydrogen globally.

Amazon to Invest Rs. 20,761 cr in India

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced setting up of its second data centre region in India in Telangana that will be operational by mid-2022, and will see the tech giant investing about Rs. 20,761 crore.
Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said that this is the largest FDI in the history of Telangana. After a series of meetings, AWS has finalised investment of Rs. 20,761 crore ($2.77 bn) to set up multiple data centres in Telangana.
Amazon Web Services said the new 'AWS Asia Region' will consist of three Availability Zones (AZs) at launch and join the existing nine AWS Regions and 26 AZs across Asia in India, Australia, Greater China, Japan, Korea and Singapore.

Australia Adani Changes Name to Bravus

Indian energy giant Adani Group, which has been at the centre of controversy over its Carmichael mine in central Queensland, changed the name of its Australian mining division to Bravus Mining and Resources.
The rebrand comes as the company readies to ship out its first coal next year.
The company has made a significant investment in Queensland, and we will be here for the long haul employing local people, and doing business in Australia. It will continue to stand up and deliver for the good of the community, no matter how courageous it requires us to be, and Bravus, our new name, reflects this intent.

WhatsApp Gets Nod to Start Payment Services in India

WhatsApp is rolling out its payments services in India after receiving nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
In 2018, the Facebook-owned company had started testing its UPI-based payments service in India, which allows users to utilise the messaging platform to send and receive money. The testing was limited to about a million users as it waited for regulatory approvals.
NPCI — which runs the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) used for real-time payments between peers or at merchants' end while making purchases — allowed WhatsApp to start its payments service in the country in a "graded" manner, starting with a maximum registered user base of 20 million in UPI.
Now, people across India will be able to send money through WhatsApp. This secure payments experience makes transferring money just as easy as sending a message.

RBI Announces Co-lending Scheme for Banks, NBFCs for Priority Sector

The Reserve Bank of India came out with a Co-Lending Model (CLM) scheme under which banks can provide loans along with NBFCs to priority sector borrowers based on a prior agreement.
The CLM, which is an improvement over the co-origination of loan scheme announced by the RBI in September 2018, seeks to provide greater flexibility to the lending institutions.
Under the CLM, banks will be permitted to co-lend with all registered NBFCs (including HFCs) based on a prior agreement; the co-lending banks will take their share of the individual loans on a back-to-back basis in their books.
However, NBFCs shall be required to retain a minimum of 20 per cent share of the individual loans on their books.

Nov 06, 2020

ICICI Bank launches 'Mine' for millennials

ICICI Bank announced the launch of India's first comprehensive banking programme for millennials.
Inspired by 'Millennial Network', the proposition is called 'ICICI Bank Mine' and offers an instant savings account, a feature driven iMobile application that offers investment guidance to suit the demand of millennials, curated credit and debit card, instant personal loans & overdrafts, and even an experiential branch with social engagement space.
Any millennial aged up to 35 years can apply digitally for an 'ICICI Bank Mine' account.

SBI Card Along with Paytm Launch Credit Cards

SBI Cards and Payment Services (SBI Card) has launched credit cards in partnership with the digital payment platform Paytm.
Available in two variants, Paytm SBI Card and Paytm SBI Card SELECT, the product has been launched on the Visa platform.
This launch is in line with SBI Card's endeavour to offer customers tailored products which bring maximum value in line with spending needs and to encourage digital forms of payments for a safe and enhanced customer experience.

RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das chaired SAARC FINANCE Governors' Group

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das and other central bank governors in the South East Asian nations vowed to work in tandem to fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
At the 40th meeting of the SAARC FINANCE Governors' Group, they reaffirmed their commitment to continued co-operation and sharing of central bank experiences.
Das chaired the meeting and highlighted the close partnership and co-operation among the member countries.
The group took stock of the macroeconomic situation in the SAARC region; discussed the current initiatives by the member countries.

Nov 05, 2020

Indonesia in Recession for First Time in 22 Years

Indonesia has fallen into its first recession in 22 years as the coronavirus pandemic continues to take its toll.
South East Asia's biggest economy saw growth fall 3.49% in the third quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2019.
Following a fall of 5.32% in the second quarter of 2020, this has pushed Indonesia into a recession.
The last time this happened was during the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
Authorities in Indonesia have predicted that 3.5m people could lose their jobs due to the coronavirus downturn.
Indonesia has the highest infection rate in the region.

Adani Buys City Gas Licence for Ldh, Jalandhar

Adani Gas announced acquisition of city gas licences for Ludhiana and Jalandhar in Punjab and Kutch (East) in Gujarat from Jay Madhok Energy. It, however, did not disclose the name of the city gas licence holder for the three cities and the acquisition price.
The deal, which adds high potential towns to Adani's kitty, will make it the nation's largest city gas operator.
Jay Madhok Energy has been show-caused by the oil regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) over defaulting on timelines and alleged irregularities in acquisition of the city gas licence.

Luhri Stage-I Hydro Power Project Gets CCEA Nod

The government approved the 210 MW Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project in Himachal Pradesh with an approved investment of Rs. 1,810.56 crore.
The project will be implemented by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) on the Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) basis in next five years.
The Luhri Stage-I Hydro Electric Project shall be commissioned within a span of 62 months. The power generated from the project will help in providing grid stability and will improve the power supply position.
The construction activities of the project will result in direct and indirect employment to around 2,000 persons and will contribute to overall socio-economic development of the state.

Nov 04, 2020

India and UAE Held High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments

India and UAE held the High-Level Joint Task Force on Investments. The task force was created in 2012.
The points discussed in the task force are: the positive outcomes achieved by the Joint Task Force, the India and UAE sectors with potential for economic growth were identified, the existing UAE Plus (a special desk) and the Fast Track Mechanism created in 2018 to resolve challenges faced by the UAE investors in India were reviewed and India and UAE are implementing a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.

Modi to Chair Virtual Global Investor Round Table

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the Virtual Global Investor Roundtable (VGIR) on November 5, 2020.
The VGIR is being organised by the Union Ministry of Finance and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. It is an exclusive dialogue between leading global institutional investors, Indian business leaders and the highest decision-makers from the Government of India and Financial Market Regulators. Union Finance Minister, Union Minister of State for Finance, RBI Governor and other dignitaries will also be present on the occasion.
The Roundtable will witness participation from twenty of the world's largest pension and sovereign wealth funds with a total Assets Under Management of about US$6 trillion.

PMC Bank invites EoI from Potential Investors for Reconstruction

Fraud-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank invited expression of interest (EoI) from potential investors for investment or equity participation in the bank for its reconstruction.
The objective of the process of invitation of EoI is to identify a suitable equity investor/group of investors willing to take over management control so as to revive the bank and commence regular day-to-day operations.
Subsequent to commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investors to convert the bank into a small finance bank by making an application to the RBI.
The conversion will be subject to compliance of the RBI guidelines on Voluntary Transition of Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks (UCBs) into Small Finance Banks (SFBs) dated September 27, 2018.

L&T Bags another Civil Contract for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor

Financial bids for Tender Package C-6 for the design and construction of 88 km (approx.) length of the viaduct between Vadodara and Ahmedabad in Gujarat including the construction of Anand/Nadiad Station for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail corridor (508 km) were opened on 2nd November, 2020 and Larsen & Toubro Ltd was the lowest bidder.
Total of three bidders involving 7 (seven) major Indian infrastructural companies had participated in the competitive bidding.
The other bidders were: Afcons Infrastructure Limited – IRCON International Limited – JMC Projects India Ltd- Consortium, NCC Limited – Tata Project Ltd.- J. Kumar Infra Projects Ltd. – HSR Consortium.

No Hike in Service Charges by PSU Banks

According to the Finance Ministry, there has been no increase in service charges by any public sector banks even as Bank of Baroda decided to withdraw changes made with regard to the number of free cash deposit transactions in a bank account per month.
Bank of Baroda had made certain changes with effect from November 1, 2020, with regard to the number of free cash deposits and withdrawals per month.
The number of free cash deposits and withdrawals has been reduced from five each per month to three each per month, with no change in the charges for transactions in excess of these free transactions.

IBA and PCI in Talks to Set up Regulatory Body for Digital Payments

The digital payments industry may soon get a self-regulatory if things go as per plan.
Banking lobby group Indian Banks' Association (IBA) and its payment industry counterpart, Payment Council of India (PCI), are in talks to set up a non-profit joint venture that will regulate the digital payments ecosystem.
This will be under the Reserve Bank of India's newly issued Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) framework for Payment System Operators.
Members from both the banking and the payments industry are likely to manage the proposed entity.

Engie Pulls Out of US LNG Deal

French gas and power utility Engie has pulled out of a major US liquefied natural gas (LNG) import deal after government concerns about its environmental implications.
Late last month the French government had asked Engie to hold off from signing the deal with NextDecade Corp amid growing scrutiny of the effects of shale gas extraction methods such as fracking and their impact on climate change through methane emissions.
Engie has decided not to pursue commercial negotiations with NextDecade about this gas supply project.
The contract, estimated to be worth $7 billion was for the import of shale gas via a Texas-based terminal as part of a project called Rio Grande LNG.

Nov 03, 2020

Adani Group Takes Over Lucknow Airport Operations

The Adani Group took over the operations, management and development of the airport at Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport from the AAI.
The Adani Group has already taken over the operations Mangaluru in October while it would be taking over the operations for the Ahmedabad from November 11, 2020.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) previously said in its release that the Aviation Ministry had signed MoUs (memorandums of understanding) with three entities of the Adani Group to provide services like customs, immigration and security at the aforementioned three airports.
The central government had in February 2019 privatised the following six major airports -- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, Adani Enterprises won the rights to run all of them.

Indian Data Centre Market to Touch $5bn by 2025

As digital adoption grows amid the pandemic across the spectrum, the data centre industry in India is likely to touch $1.2 billion in the fiscal 2020 and is expected to log a rapid 25-30 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach $4.5-$5 billion by fiscal 2025.
According to a Crisil Research report, the Indian data centre industry, which accounts for 1-2 per cent of the global pie, is estimated to have clocked a modest CAGR of 15-20% since fiscal 2016 to touch $1 billion in fiscal 2019.
The data centre growth rode on a sharp increase in Internet penetration from 30 per cent in fiscal 2016 to 55 per cent in fiscal 2019.
The data centre industry has been largely concentrated in top four cities, with Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai accounting for 60 per cent of total data centre sites and more than 75 per cent in terms of IT load capacities.

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