General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - August 2020

Aug 2020

Sep 03, 2020

Vedanta Arm among 11 Bidders for Videocon

As per reports, a Vedanta affiliate company and US-based Eight Capital are among a group of 11 bidders who have submitted binding offers for Videocon Industries that are undergoing insolvency proceedings at the national company law tribunal (NCLT).
Delhi-based television sets manufacturer Dixon Technologies is also amongst the bidders.
The bids will be vetted for legal compliance before they are opened and the financial offers discussed.
Videocon's promoters, the Dhoot family, have also submitted a competing offer for the company to the lenders consortium led by State Bank of India, but the offer was described as a 'non-starter' by one of the bankers.
The SBI-led consortium is looking to recover Rs. 20,000 crore in dues from the company.

ICAI to Come out with Forensic Accounting, Investigation Standards

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) plans to come out with a detailed set of forensic accounting and investigation standards by the end of December.
As per ICAI President Atul Kumar Gupta, there would be 30 standards under six groups.
The decision to have the standards comes at a time when there are rising instances of forensic accounting and investigation assignments related to ascertaining facts in corporate and banking frauds.
There are no standardised processes for forensic accounting and investigation, and the institute will be developing the first-ever standards in this regard. These standards are expected to be ready by the end of December.
According to the institute, the standards would also be useful for law enforcement agencies, corporates, banks and other stakeholders to appreciate the common practices and finer nuances of conducting forensic accounting and investigation engagements.
The standards would help in improving the quality of work as well as ensure more reliability. Enhanced processes will also help in increasing acceptability of forensic assignments.

Tech Mahindra Launches Dedicated 'Microsoft Business Unit

Tech Mahindra launched a dedicated 'Microsoft business unit' that will help accelerate digital transformation for its customers worldwide.
The new business unit will focus on developing enterprise cloud solutions leveraging Microsoft platforms and technologies to meet the dynamic needs of customers and pursue their growth agenda.
It will house a centre of excellence (CoE) to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions across Microsoft Azure, Business Applications (Dynamics 365) and Modern Work (Microsoft 365). The CoE will harness the dedicated talent pool working to build intellectual property (IP) and personalised solutions for enterprise customers.
Tech Mahindra is a tier-1 cloud solutions provider and an Azure Networking partner focused on working towards unlocking new 5G use cases with Azure Edge.
The new business unit will leverage Tech Mahindra's digital expertise across industries and will bring together a talent pool of more than 2,500 professionals to meet the needs of about 900 customers globally. This unit will provide a platform for teams across competencies, industries and go-to-market strategies to collaborate and enable digital transformation for customers.

Govt. Caps Key Export Benefit to Rs. 2 crore Per Exporter

The government capped the benefits under the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) at Rs. 2 crore per exporter on exports made between September 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 without changing the coverage of the scheme and the applicable rates.
It also said that the new Import Export Code (IEC) obtained on or after September 1 will be ineligible to submit any MEIS claim for exports, and the ceiling would be subject to a downward revision to ensure that the total claim doesn't exceed the allocated Rs. 5,000 crore for the period.
Under MEIS, the government provides duty benefits depending on product and country. Rewards under the scheme are payable as percentage of realised free-on-board value (of 2%, 3% and 5%) and MEIS duty credit scrip can be transferred or used for payment of a number of duties including the basic customs duty.
The commerce and industry ministry had proposed a fresh round of incentives under the key scheme after the finance ministry said the MEIS failed to deliver the desired result of boosting exports. India's merchandise exports have hovered around $300 billion in the last five years, despite the scheme's liberal application across sectors. The liability under MEIS was around Rs. 45,000 crore in FY20.

Tiger and Kora in $250 Million Zomato Funding Round

Zomato has roped in two new investors - Tiger Global and Kora Capital - in an ongoing funding round valuing the food ordering and restaurant discovery platform at around $3 billion.
The company has raised around $250 million collectively from Tiger, Kora and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek, an existing investor. Tiger may pump in another $100 million if Zomato is able to regain pre-Covid business volumes.
For Zomato, the new round of financing led by US and Singapore-based financial investors comes amid uncertainty surrounding the India strategy of its prominent backer - China's Ant Financial.
Alibaba's sister company, Ant, which holds 25% in Zomato, had committed to investing $150 million in January. However, Zomato has been able to access only $50 million so far. The changing stance by Chinese investors such as Ant comes amid a wave of anti-China sentiment sweeping across India and also globally, especially in the US.
In addition, India's new FDI rules introduced in April require regulatory approval for any investment from a country that shares a land border with the country.

Cabinet Approves Pact between India and Finland for Cooperation in Geology

The government approved a memorandum of understanding between India and Finland for cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources.
The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The pact facilitates cooperation in the field of geology, training, mineral prognostication and suitability analysis, seismic and other geophysical surveys among others finalised with the intent of reinforcing and strengthening scientific links between the two organisations.
This MoU aims to provide with a framework and a platform to promote and foster cooperation in the fields of geology, and mineral resources between the participants for mutual economic, social and environmental benefit; and share experiences on geological data management and information dissemination to promote exploration and mining, in the areas of geology and mineral resources.
Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a premier geo-scientific organisation of international repute for creation and updation of national geo-scientific information and mineral resource assessment.

Federal Bank & Innoviti Partner to Provide Affordable Options of Federal Bank Debit Cards

To provide convenient and affordable options of Federal Bank Debit Cards through Innoviti Point of Sale (POS) terminals, the Federal Bank and Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd(Innoviti) have entered into a partnership, which will offer Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) options to over 7.5 million Federal Bank Debit Card holders at over 70,000 Innoviti POS terminals across 1000 cities.
The partnership is in view of COVID-19 crisis as people are cautious about their spending and still will need affordable options in essential categories such as healthcare, education and IT (computers and laptops).
Through this partnership customers can access the credit, which can be repaid in convenient Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) through their Federal Bank Debit Card, particularly in smaller Tier 2/Tier 3 towns.

Cabinet Approves MoU between India and Japan for Cooperation in the Field of Good Quality Textiles

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Textiles Committee, India and M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan for improving quality and testing of Indian textiles and Clothing for the Japanese market.
The MoU would enable M/s Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan in assigning Textile Committee as their cooperative Testing and Inspection service providers in the Republic of India for Textiles & Apparel products including Technical Textiles and any other products mutually agreed upon at a later date for both domestic and overseas clients/buyers.

Sep 02, 2020

Centre Launches 'Green Term Ahead Market' For Renewable Energy Sector

Union Power Minister R. K. Singh launched a pan-India Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity as a first step towards greening the Indian short term power market.
The GTAM platform will lead to an increase in the number of participants in the renewable energy sector. It will benefit buyers of RE through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement. It will also benefit RE sellers by providing access to the pan-India market.
The Modi government has laid out an ambitious target of 175 GW RE Capacity by 2022 and GTAM contracts will allow additional avenues to the RE generators for sale of renewable energy; enable obligated entities to procure renewable power at competitive prices to meet their RPO; provide a platform to environmentally conscious open access consumers and utilities to buy green power.
Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for RPO.

Govt. Gives Nod to 27 Projects under Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

The government approved 27 cold chain projects in 11 states with a grant-in-aid of Rs. 208 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY). These projects were "approved" in Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meetings under the 'Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure' of PMKSY.
The meetings, held during second fortnight of August, were chaired by Food Processing According to the ministry, the 27 new integrated cold chain projects will leverage a total investment of Rs. 743 crore for creation of modern, innovative infrastructure and effective cold chain facilities for food processing sector across the nation.
These projects will help increase efficiency and sustainability in India's food supply chain," it said. The new integrated cold chain projects are likely to generate direct and indirect employment for 16,200 people and are likely to benefit 2,57,904 farmers.

Telcos Get 10 Years to Clear AGR Dues

The Supreme Court granted 10 years to telecom companies, including Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices, to pay thousands of crores of rupees due from them on account of adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
A Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra directed the telecom companies to pay 10 per cent of their Rs. 1,43,271.74 crore AGR-related dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by March 31, 2021.
The top court made it clear that the companies could not dispute the demand raised by the DoT in respect of the AGR dues on the basis of its October 2019 judgment and that there shall not be any re¬assessment.
The payment had to be made in yearly instalments commencing from April 1, 2021, up to March 31, 2031, payable by March 31 of every succeeding financial year, directing the telecom firms and DoT to file compliance reports by April 7 of each succeeding year.

Adani Ranks as the Largest Solar Power Generation Owner Globally

The latest ranking of global solar companies by Mercom Capital ranked the Adani Group as number one global solar power generation asset owner in terms of operating solar projects.
As per Adani, its renewable energy portfolio exceeds the total capacity installed by the entire United States solar industry in 2019 and will displace over 1.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide over the life of its assets.
The group is one of the most fully integrated solar players in the world, manufacturing solar cells and modules, undertaking project development, construction, financial structuring and owning and operating its assets through its internal asset management platform.
According to the ranking, Adani is roughly 70 per cent larger than the next largest global solar power generation company.
Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) established its first solar project in 2015. In 2017, the company completed two solar projects. It went public in 2018 and has accelerated its presence to reach the current milestone of being the largest solar player in the world in a short span of just five years with a stated target of reaching 25 gigawatts of renewable power by 2025.

European Investment Bank To Invest 650 Million Euro In Kanpur Metro Project

The European Investment Bank (EIB), will invest 650 million euros into the construction of Kanpur's first city metro line, which will enable around 3 million people in the city to benefit from fast and affordable public transport.
The new metro rail system will reduce commuting hours and unlock new employment and education opportunities in Kanpur, the industrial capital of Uttar Pradesh.
According to Andrew McDowell, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Kanpur is the fifth metro rail project to receive EIB funds in India and the biggest investment made by the Bank outside the EU.
This is the second metro rail project supported by the EIB in Uttar Pradesh, following the 450 million euro investment in the development of a metro rail system in the city of Lucknow.
The second biggest EIB operation outside the EU to date will finance the construction of a 32.4 km urban rail line, with 18 elevated and 12 underground stations. Once completed, Kanpur metro rail will create 1 100 new jobs and enable around 116 million more affordable commutes each year.

Sep 01, 2020

DoT & SEBI Approves Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Proposal to Acquire Reliance Telecom Tower...

The Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) and The Securities and Exchange Board of India-SEBI (with certain clauses) has given approval to Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio), to sell units worth Rs. 25,215 crore in Tower Infrastructure Trust to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. It also approved a downstream foreign investment of Rs. 105.35 crore to acquire remaining 49% paid up equity share capital in Reliance Jio Infratel Pvt Ltd (RJIPL) and increase the foreign capital in the firm to 100%
Earlier the deal was approved by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and The Ministry of Home Affairs-MHA (only the equity part of the deal).
RJio and RJIPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
SEBI and DoT gave their approval separately.

Vedanta Ties Up with SBI for Long Term Syndicated Loan

Vedanta announced its tie up for a long term syndicated loan facility for Rs. 10000 crore with State bank of India (SBI) as facility agent and SBICAP Trustee Company limited (SBICTCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Market Limited (SBICAP) as the security trustee with door to door tenor of 7 years.
Syndicated loan is a loan offered by a group of lenders to provide credit to a large borrower.
As a lender State Bank of India (SBI) has committed Rs. 5000 crore.
The facility end use stipulates refinancing of near term debt maturities of Vedanta and for the capital expenditure of the metals and mining giant.
This loan increases the average debt maturity profile of Vedanta Limited and also improves the liquidity ratios as the near term maturities are replaced by a long term loan.

Qatar Raises Minimum Wage by 25%

Qatar announced changes to its labour laws, raising the minimum wage by 25 per cent to 1,000 riyals ($275) a month and scrapped a requirement for workers to get permission from their employers to change jobs.
They are the latest in a series of labour reforms by the 2022 FIFA World Cup host, which in the lead up to the tournament, has faced accusations that migrant workers are exploited.
The new minimum wage, which comes into effect in six months and is 250 riyals more a month than the old one, is non-discriminatory and applies to all workers.
Companies must also provide accommodation and food or a combined monthly stipend of 800 riyals.
The removal of employer permission to change jobs is effective immediately.
The United Nation's labour agency hailed the changes, which it said were significant and gave workers more freedom and protection, and employers more choice.

World's Largest Solar Tree Set up at Durgapur

The CSIR-CMERI has set up the world's largest solar tree at its residential colony in Durgapur, West Bengal. The solar tree has an installed capacity above 11.5 kWp.
According to CSIR-CMERI Director Harish Hiranoi, the annual capacity of the solar tree will include generating about 12,000-14,000 units of clean and green power.
The Solar Tree has been designed and developed in a way to ensure maximum exposure of each Solar PV Panel to sunlight and create least amount of shadow area beneath. There are a total of 35 Solar PV Panels in each tree with a capacity of 330 wp each.
The Solar Trees have been designed to ensure minimum shadow area, which will make these Solar Trees available for widespread usage in agricultural activities such as high capacity pumps, e-tractors and e-power tillers.
The solar trees can be used as an alternative to the energy generated from fossil fuels. Each solar tree is capable of saving 10-12 tons of CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere as Greenhouse Gases when compared with fossil fuel-fired energy generation.
The excess power generated can be directed into an energy grid. This will not only help provide a consistent economic return but also help the farmers counter the effects of the uncertain variations in Agriculture related activities.

Aug 31, 2020

GVK Agrees to Cede Control of Airport Business to Adani Group

GVK Power & Infrastructure said that the Adani Group will take over its debt and have control over the Mumbai Airport and the Navi Mumbai Airport project.
The Adani Group will have a 74% stake each in the current Mumbai Airport and the Navi Mumbai Airport project.
The terms of cooperation include acquisition of debt by Adani from various GVK lenders including a Goldman Sachs led consortium and HDFC; releasing GVK of various obligations, securities and corporate guarantees given in respect of debt to be acquired by Adani; the ability for Adani to convert the acquired debt to equity of its airport subsidiary on mutually agreed terms.
Adani will also infuse fresh funds into the Mumbai International Airport MIAL consortium and support the achievement of financial closure of the Navi Mumbai airport project. No amount was specified.
Separately, GVK has notified the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund and PSP that the transaction documents stand terminated, as it is no longer effective and implementable.

Canara, HSBC, OBC Life Insurance & Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank Enter into a Strategic Partnership

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) Life Insurance Company Limited(Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance)and Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank (APGB) entered into a strategic tie up virtually. The distribution tie up is to sell life insurance, health and pension products at all the branches of APGB. It is the 1st virtual launch of Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance tie up with APGB.
Initially, through this tie up, 20 insurance products (majorly traditional insurance) will be offered by Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance to APGB customers.
Further, the alliance will strengthen the insurance penetration in Tier 2 and 3 markets of Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh.
The tie up will provide an opportunity and responsibility to the insurance company to create awareness in the rural market about the purpose of having a life insurance, health insurance and pension plans in unanticipated times like COVID-19 pandemic.
The insurance company aims to connect with the rural areas and help them to financially secure their future.
With the partnership, Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance expects efficient technology synergies between 2 companies to provide a seamless customer experience with an extended reach.

CBDT Asks Banks to Refund any Fees Levied on UPI Transactions in 2020

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) asked banks to return to customers and merchants any fees levied for making Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions in 2020, adding that such charges violate the law. The lenders were asked to stop all such impositions or face penal actions.
Private banks such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank recently began charging customers for UPI transactions beyond a prescribed limit. Any cap on free UPI transactions is a breach of the PSS and IT Act.
Processing refunds and not imposing levies in the future on transactions could mean an added burden on the banking system, given the volumes.
The Finance Act of 2019 had made it mandatory for every business with a turnover of more that Rs 50 crore in the previous financial year to mandatorily provide a mechanism for electronic payment. Further, it was provided that no bank or system provider should impose any charge on a payer using electronic modes such as RuPay powered debit cards, UPI and BHIM UPI and QR code-based UPI payments.

Nestle to Buy Aimmune

Nestle offered $34.50 per share for the remaining 74.4% in peanut allergy treatment maker Aimmune Therapeutics it does not already own as it adds what it hopes will be a lucrative treatment to its portfolio.
The offer values the California-based biopharmaceutical company at $2.6 billion, including the $473 million that Nestle had already invested in Aimmune.
In January, Aimmune Therapeutics got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Palforzia, making it the first medication approved for food allergies in children and teens.
As per Nestle, the acquisition is expected to add to organic growth in 2021 and to cash earnings by 2022/23.

Aug 30, 2020

Reliance Retail to Buy Future Group's Retail Business

Reliance Industries said that its unit Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) is acquiring the retail & wholesale business and the logistics & warehousing business from the Kishor Biyani-promoted Future Group as going concerns on a slump sale basis for a lumpsum amount of Rs. 24,713 crore.
Analysts say the deal marks the company's transition away from its energy business, towards becoming a consumer-focused retail and telecom company.
The sale would include key formats such as Big Bazaar, fbb, Foodhall, Easyday, Nilgiris, Central and Brand Factory.
Reliance Retail and Fashion Lifestyle (RRFLL) and RRVL will take over certain borrowings and current liabilities related to the business and discharge the balance consideration by way of cash.
Under the scheme, the retail & wholesale undertaking is being transferred to RRFLL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures, along with the logistics & warehousing undertaking.

Toy Cluster at Koppala Can Generate 40,000 Jobs in 5 Years

As per Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, India's 'first toy manufacturing cluster' to come up at Koppal has the potential to create 40,000 jobs in five years and attract over Rs. 5,000 crore investment.
Modi said that India has talent and ability to become a toy hub for the entire world and called upon startups to work towards realising this potential while being "vocal about local toys".
The global toy industry is over Rs. 7 lakh crore, but India's share was very small. PM Modi stressed on the need to work to increase it.
The Karnataka government is inviting global toy makers to the "first of its kind" toy manufacturing cluster in India at Koppala and had recently held a webinar cum panel discussion with a panel of leading toys manufacturers.
Karnataka is the third-largest market for toys in India (USD 159 million) 9.1 per cent of the national market.

Rival Social Video App Triller Makes $20-bilion Bid for TikTok

Joining the race to buy TikTok, rival social video platform Triller has approached its China-based owner ByteDance directly with a $20 billion bid via London-based global investment firm Centricus.
Triller claimed it made the bid directly to TikTok owner ByteDance and not to TikTok itself.
As TikTok acquisition turns messy, retail giant Walmart has already confirmed that it is teaming up with Microsoft in a bid for China-based short-video making platform that has 700 million users globally and 100 million in the US.
According to the reports, TikTok's parent company ByteDance is inching closer towards a pact amid the 90-day deadline set by the US President Donald Trump to sell its US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand operations in a deal that is likely to be in the $20 billion to $30 billion range.

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