General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2020

Aug 2020

Oct 23, 2020

Govt. Revises Base year for Consumer Price Index-IW from 2001 to 2016

The Union government revised the base year for computing Consumer Price Index (Industrial Workers) CPI-IW from the present 2001 to 2016 after a gap of 15 years.
As per the norm, base year of price index numbers should be revised at frequent intervals generally not exceeding 10 years to reflect the changes that take place in the consumption pattern of consumers.
The CPI-IW is used primarily for measuring the Dearness Allowance (DA) payable to workers in the organised sector including PSUs, banks and insurance companies, besides government employees.
It also provides inputs to government in macro policy planning.

Reserve Bank Bars Payment System Operators from Launching New QR Codes

The Reserve Bank barred Payment System Operators (PSOs) from launching any new proprietary QR code for payment transactions.
Currently, there are two interoperable QR codes—UPI QR and Bharat QR.
QR codes are two-dimensional machine-readable barcodes, which are increasingly used to facilitate mobile payments at the point-of-sale. QR codes can store a large amount of information.
The decision to continue with the two existing Quick Response (QR) codes was based on the recommendations of the committee which was set up by the Reserve Bank under the chairmanship of Deepak Phatak to review the current system of such codes in India and suggest measures for moving towards interoperable QR codes.

ONGC Wins 7 Oil Blocks, OIL 4 in Latest Bid Round

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has won 7 out of the 11 oil and gas exploration blocks offered for bidding in the latest licensing round. Oil India Ltd (OIL) won the remaining 4 blocks.
The government had offered 11 blocks for exploration and production of oil and gas in the fifth bid round under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OLAP).
A total of 12 bids — seven by ONGC and four by Oil India Ltd (OIL) — were received for the 11 blocks on offer at the close of bidding on June 30. Invenire Petrodyne Ltd was the only private bidder for one block.
While ONGC was the sole bidder for six blocks, OIL was the lone bidder in all the four blocks it bid for. ONGC won all six blocks where it was the sole bidder and also the one block where Invenire Petrodyne had bid.

SEBI Disposes off Proceedings against Bharti Telecom, Mittal

Markets regulator SEBI disposed off proceedings against four entities, including Bharti Telecom Ltd and Sunil Bharti Mittal, in a matter related to alleged violation of insider trading norms while dealing in Bharti Airtel's scrip.
The order follows a probe conducted by SEBI in respect of trading of certain entities in the scrip of Bharti Airtel to ascertain alleged violation of the Prohibition of Insider Trading norms.
During the period of investigation, Sunil Mittal was chairman of Airtel, Gopal Vittal was its director, Rohit Krishan Pal was the compliance officer and Bharti Telecom was the promoter.

Oct 22, 2020

World Economic Forum: The Future of Jobs Report, 2020

The world economic forum released the third edition of the future of jobs report 2020. According to the report, the Covid-19 and its impacts will disrupt more than 85 million jobs by 2025.
The report is based on the future of jobs. The report has been prepared by the forum based on the projections of senior business leaders from more than 300 global firms. These global leaders together employ over a million of workers.
As per the report, the automation and new division of labour between the machines and humans will be the major reason for disruption of jobs in the next five years.
According to the report, 50 percentage of the workers in the world require reskilling in order to secure their jobs in the next five years. The acceleration of technology might increase global inequality and reduce income of the workers. The most affected due to the acceleration of technology will be the young people, women and low skilled workers.
The report lists 20 market of tomorrow. These markets have the potential of transforming the economy in the future. They are antiviral, spaceflight, skills capital, water rights and quality credits, genes and DNA sequences, drugs, reskilling services, artificial intelligence, greenhouse gas allowances, satellite services, reforestation services and hydrogen.

RBI Finalises Contours for On-tap Liquidity Window

The RBI finalised the on tap long term repo lending (TLTRO) for Rs. 1 lakh crores where funds could be invested even in less than investment grade debt unlike the previous such special liquidity measures and in five sectors including agriculture, healthcare, secured retail, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), agri-infrastructure.
Banks will avail cash under this dedicated plan only to deploy through corporate bonds, commercial papers and non-convertible debentures. Such debt securities will be issued by companies from those five sectors. Liquidity availed under the scheme can also be used to extend loans to those companies.
this move may send bond yields of non-triple-A rated companies higher pulling prices down. At the same time, it is expected to raise demand for securitised loan portfolios with yields on those products dropping.
Investments made by banks under this facility will be classified as held to maturity (HTM) even in excess of 25 percent of total investment allowed to be included in the HTM portfolio.
All exposures under this facility will also be exempted from reckoning under the large exposure framework (LEF).

SAT Stays SEBI Penalty against LIC,SBI and BOB

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has stayed a penalty the market regulator had imposed on three public-sector units for their supposed failure to comply with mutual fund regulations.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India had in August imposed a fine of Rs. 10 lakh each on Life Insurance Corp (LIC), State Bank of India (SBI), and Bank of Baroda (BoB) in a matter related to UTI Mutual Fund.
In its August order, SEBI observed that SBI, LIC and BOB were the sponsors of SBI Mutual Fund, LIC Mutual Fund and Baroda Mutual Fund, respectively, and they also hold more than 10% in these mutual funds. In addition, LIC, SBI and BoB are also sponsors of UTI MF and hold more than 10% stake individually in the asset management company (AMC) and the trustee company of UTI MF.
This ownership pattern was in conflict with a new set of MF ownership norms introduced by SEBI in March 2018. Under the new rules, a shareholder or a sponsor owning at least 10% stake in a fund house is not allowed to have 10 % or more stake in another mutual fund house operating in the country. Sebi had given time until March 2019 for the entities to comply with this new requirement.
However, currently all the three entities are in compliance with the SEBI requirements as they diluted their stakes through the initial public offering (IPO) of UTI MF. The share sale concluded on October 1, post which the stake of BOB, SBI and LIC came down to 9.99% each.

Ola to Set up New Tech Centre in Pune

Ride hailing platform Ola plans to set up a new technology centre in Pune and hire about 1,000 engineers over the next few years.
As per reports, the tech centre in Pune will be the second such centre for the company in India after Bengaluru, and will cater to global and local solutions for all businesses of Ola across the group.
The Pune facility - which will be operational by the end of this quarter - will help create jobs for 1,000 skilled technology professionals over the next three years.
In June last year, Ola had opened an Advanced Technology Centre in San Francisco Bay to accelerate its work across electric and connected vehicles.
Pune is well-known for its tech talent and IT infrastructure, making it a favoured destination for many tech-led companies like Ola.

Oct 21, 2020

Singapore-based Bond Trade Platform Set for New Year Launch in India

Singapore-based bond exchange, BondEvalue, developed by India-origin entrepreneurs, is targeting to launch a blockchain-platform in the New Year to facilitate investment in bonds by individuals and common man.
The RMO allows BondbloX Bond Exchange (BBX), the world's first blockchain-based bond exchange, to trade globally a wide range of fixed-income securities to the mass markets.
BondEvalue officially graduated from the MAS' regulatory sandbox on October 1, 2020. The move means that BondEvalue has successfully concluded proof of technology and business model.

India-ADB Sign Agreement to Develop Roadways

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement of 177 million USD to upgrade 450 km of district roads and state highways in the state of Maharashtra.
The loan agreement was signed between the Department of Economic Affairs operating under Ministry of Finance, Maharashtra State Road Improvement Project and ADB. These roads will improve the connectivity between urban and rural areas.
It will enable better access to markets in the rural areas. Also, the roads will improve mobility and livelihood opportunities outside the major urban centres reducing income disparities.
The project will also train Public Works Department staff to build their capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster resilient features.
The power supply loan is being provided under results-based lending (RBL) modality of ADB.

Sweden Bans Huawei, ZTE Gear for Use by Firms Taking Part in 5G Spectrum Auction

The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) banned the use of products from China's Huawei and ZTE by companies taking part in a 5G spectrum auction scheduled for next month.
The PTS said that the setting of the licence conditions followed assessments made by the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Service.
It has approved the participation of Hi3G Access, Net4Mobility, Telia Sverige and Teracom in the planned auction of 3.5 GHz and 2.3 GHz bands.

InvITs to Buy Rs. 4 Lakh crore of Infra Assets

According to a domestic ratings agency, Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are likely to acquire infrastructure assets worth over Rs. 4 lakh crore in the next five years as the market matures. At present, there are six InvITs which have raised over Rs. 27,600 crore from investors, while a seventh entity is in advanced stage of raising Rs. 25,200 crore.
The total value of assets under these seven InvITs is estimated at Rs. 1.3 lakh crore and InvITs are likely to gain significant traction in the next few years.
An InvIT is like a mutual fund, which enables direct investment of small amounts of money from individual/institutional investors in infrastructure projects to earn a portion of the income as return.
InvITs have the potential of channelising significant long-term capital (like pension and insurance funds) into the infrastructure sector.

Government Pushes Strategic PSU Sales

The department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) is ready to push ahead with the strategic sale of several public sector companies with bids and expressions of interest (EoIs) for oil marketing company BPCL, Shipping Corporation, Concor and BEML planned next month.
These four companies can help the government realise close to Rs. 49,000 crore, based on current market value of their shares.
In the case of Air India, one of the most keenly watched disinvestment deals, a ministerial panel headed by the home minister is expected to clear the process this month, paving the way for calling expressions of interest around mid-December. But the transaction is only expected to be closed during the first quarter of the next financial year.

Oct 20, 2020

Fino Payments Bank to Add 300 More Points at BPCL Outlets in TN

Fino Payments Bank is planning to add another 300 points at BPCL outlets to its existing 1,075 in Tamil Nadu, to help truck drivers to get fleet cards recharged by paying equivalent cash, without any hassles.
Recharging the Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) SmartFleet cards that are used to pay for fuel has been a challenge to truck drivers for quite some time and in order to ease this discomfort, Fino with BPCL has started such facilities.
The digitised cash in the form of prepaid fleet cards allows drivers to make payments for fuel at BPCL outlets, which also completely frees BPCL from handling the cash given by the drivers.

Bank of Baroda Inks Pact With Mahindra & Mahindra for Tractor Finance Biz

To push agriculture finance, state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) said it has entered into a pact with Mahindra and Mahindra for tractor finance business.
The lender, through its over 5,000 rural and semi-urban branch network, will provide tractor loan facility to customers of Mahindra and Mahindra.
This memorandum of understanding (MoU) will give a boost to agri business and will help farmers in availing hassle-free credit facilities for buying tractors.
The bank has tied up with Gromax under the Mahindra stable as the preferred brand.

Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Launches Invest 4G Plan

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has launched a new Unit Linked insurance plan (Ulip) titled 'Invest 4G'.
It is an individual life insurance savings plan which can be customized as per the goals and changing requirements of the individual.
This Unit Linked Individual Life Insurance cum Savings Plan provides a combination of Portfolio Management Options and flexibilities which gives choice to opt for protection suiting the demand for every individual as well as provide an opportunity to save for future goals.

50% Deposit of Decreed Amount to File Appeals not Retrospective: NCDRC

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has done away with the requirement of asking individuals or companies to deposit half the payment ordered by the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions as a precondition for admitting their appeals.
The Commission said that this condition was introduced in the Consumer Protection Act on July 20, 2020 and won't apply to complaints or orders passed before this date.
The new condition was inserted as an amendment to Section 51(1) of the newly amended Consumer Protection Act 2019 and was challenged by several individuals and companies before a two-member bench of the NCDRC.

Oct 19, 2020

Jewar to Catapult Gautam Budh Nagar into First Aerotropolis

With a global airport arising at Jewar in Gautam Budh Nagar, it would turn out to be the primary aerotropolis of the nation, ushering in financial actions, primarily within the MSME and agriculture sectors.
Spread over 5,000 acres, the Jewar airport, to be managed by Flughafen Zürich AG (FZAG), based mostly in Kloten, Switzerland, could be the nation's largest airport having six runways.
In reality, the Jewar Aerotropolis (JA) would increase up enterprise actions, leading to extra job avenues for locals in addition to from outdoors the district.

Religare Health Insurance renamed to Care Health Insurance

Religare Health Insurance Company, subsidiary health insurance entity of Religare Enterprises, changed its name to 'Care Health Insurance'.
"The name of 'Religare Health Insurance Company Limited', subsidiary of the company, has been changed to 'Care Health Insurance Limited' w.e.f. August 19, 2020," the company mentioned in a regulatory exchange.
The company did not disclose any particular reason for changing the name is its health insurance subsidiary.

Tata Motors Partners with HDFC Bank for Financing of Passenger Vehicles

Tata Motors has partnered with HDFC Bank for financing of its passenger vehicles. Through the partnership, the company said it has introduced two new schemes -- 'Gradual Step Up Scheme' and 'TML Flexi Drive Scheme' with an eye on making its products more accessible and driving up sales in the festive season.
The schemes will be available till the end of November 2020 and can be redeemed on the entire new BS-VI range of cars and SUVs along with the company's EV range.
Under the Gradual Step Up scheme, customers can avail EMI options as low as ₹799 per lakh per month, depending on the product and variant. The EMI payments gradually increase over a period of 2 years depending on the payment convenience of the buyer.

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