France Signs Agreement to Accept UPI Payments and RuPay Cards from India
After Singapore, UAE, Nepal and Bhutan, India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay cards are going to make their services available in France, as confirmed by the Union Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Lycra Network of France for acceptance of UPI and Rupay Cards in France.
The NPCI international is also in talks to extend the UPI services in the US, other European countries, and West Asia.
With UPI service and RuPay cards available in France, Indian tourists will be able to make seamless payments during their travel to that country.
India, EU Resume Talks for Free Trade Agreement after more than 8 Years
India and the European Union (EU) finally restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement on Friday after a gap of over eight years.
The negotiations took place in Brussels, over a year after India and the EU announced to resume the talks for a balanced and comprehensive trade pact.
EU-India negotiations resumed towards a free trade agreement, and begin negotiations on an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications.
Pramod K. Mittal Named as Chairperson of COAI for 2022-23
Industry body Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) named Pramod K Mittal, President of Reliance Jio Infocomm, as the new Chairperson of the association for 2022-23. Mittal was previously the Vice-Chairperson of the COAI, whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (VIL).
Mittal will replace Ajai Puri as the COAI Chairperson. Mittal comes with a rich experience of 42 years in telecommunications. Prior to joining India's leading telecom operator, the Reliance Jio Infocomm President has also served in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for over 37 years.
Equitas Small Finance Bank to Launch Exclusive Savings Account for Kids
Equitas Small Finance Bank launched an exclusive savings account for kids named 'ENJOI'.
The savings account is aimed at introducing young kids to the financial world, and encourages them to develop the saving habit early.
ENJOI will allow kids of 0-18 years to open savings accounts under the supervision of their parents. Minors aged 10 and above will also get the option for a personalised debit card.
Canara HSBC Life Rebrands Due to PNB Exit
Canara HSBC OBC Life renamed itself as Canara HSBC Life following its third partner Punjab National Bank's (PNB's) decision to exit. PNB had acquired a stake in the company following the amalgamation of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC). Currently, Canara Bank holds 51% in the insurance arm, HSBC holds 26% and PNB 23%. Following PNB's decision to exit, the stake is likely to be acquired by existing shareholders.
Announcing the rebranding of the company, Canara HSBC Life MD Anuj Mathur said that the company has turned in a profit despite Rs. 500 crore of additional claims due to Covid-19. The strategy was to diversify business beyond bancassurance.
Jun 19, 2022
RBI Increases Limit of E-mandates for Transactions up to Rs. 15,000
The Reserve Bank raised the Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) limit from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15,000 per transaction for e-mandates on cards, Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and UPI for recurring transactions.
It implies that additional authentication will not be needed for payment of Rs. 15,000 per transaction.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, over the past decade, put in place various safety and security measures for card payments, including the requirement of AFA, especially for 'card-not-present' transactions.
Under e-mandate, an individual can give standing instruction to the bank to debit a specific amount automatically on recurring basis.
TCS, HDFC Bank, Infosys and LIC among Kantar's Global 100 most Valuable Firms
IT services and banking companies retained top positions in the Kantar Brandz, 2022 Most Valuable Global Brands report. This year the number of Indian brands in the Global Top 100 rose to four: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
That's more than the amount that Japan, Italy, or the UK placed – combined. TCS jumped 12 positions to 46th position from 58th in 2021. Its brand value was up 61 per cent.
HDFC Bank's rank was up five positions and its brand value increased 35 per cent. However, life insurance player LIC saw its rank slip 19 positions to 92, and its brand value was down by 4 per cent compared to 2021.
Infosys made its debut to the list at 64th position at a brand value of $33,551 billion, up 33 per cent.
RBI Lifts Restrictions on Mastercard, Allows it to Onboard New Customers
The Reserve Bank of India lifted restrictions on Mastercard that it had imposed in 2021 for failing to comply with local data storage norms.
The RBI had barred Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte from on-boarding new domestic customers (debit, credit or prepaid) onto its card network from July 22, 2021 until it complies with Storage of Payment System Data norms.
Jun 18, 2022
Global Start-up Ecosystem Ranking: Kerala Ranks Top in Asia in Global Report
Providing a boost for Kerala's start-up ecosystem, the State was ranked first in Asia in Affordable Talent in Global Start-up Ecosystem Report (GSER). The State was also ranked fourth in global ranking in the GSER, drawn up jointly by policy advisory and research organisation Start-up Genome and Global Entrepreneurship Network. In the first GSER published in 2020, Kerala was ranked 5th in Asia and 20th in the world.
As per the report released by the policy advisory and research firm Start-up Genome, the city of Bengaluru has moved up to number 22 in the Global Start-up Ecosystem ranking.
Bengaluru's tech ecosystem value is at $105 billion which is higher than that of Singapore at $89 billion and Tokyo at $62 billion, report showed.
The GSER was released in the backdrop of the ongoing London Tech Week 2022, which brings together global governments and corporate leaders, inspirational start-up founders and investors to discuss the power of technology for societies.
The report includes ranking of the leading 140 ecosystems, continental insights, and founder-focussed articles from thought-leading experts. Top Asian emerging ecosystems were measured on the basis of talent, experience, long-term trends over the most significant performance factors and the ability to generate and keep talent in the ecosystem.
Levi Strauss Appoints Zivame Ex-CEO Amisha Jain as MD of South Asia-Middle East and Africa
Apparel brand Levi Strauss & Co. appointed Amisha Jain as its senior vice president and managing director for South Asia-Middle East and Africa (SAMEA). Amisha Jain previously served as the chief executive of lingerie brand Zivame. She took over from Sanjeev Mohanty who had moved to the senior vice president and managing director for the US and Canada market last year.
During her stint at Zivame, Amisha lead the scale-up of the company's business nine times in three years before it was acquired by the Reliance Group in 2020.
Amisha Jain will lead Levi's operation in the SAMEA region with a focus on driving expansion and growth in the region while contributing to the company's success in Asia and around the globe.
Jun 17, 2022
RBI Approves Shriram Group's Financial Services Business Merger
The Reserve Bank of India approved Shriram Group's composite scheme of arrangement and amalgamation of financial services business.
Reserve Bank of India vide its letter dated June 15, 2022 issued No Objection to the Scheme with usual and normal conditions as generally stipulated in such similar approvals.
Kotak General Insurance Partners with PhonePe to Offer Motor Insurance
Betting big on the digital distribution and direct-to-customer space, Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited (Kotak General Insurance) partnered with PhonePe Insurance Broking Services Pvt. Ltd (PhonePe), a digital payments platform to offer motor insurance to 380 million customers on the PhonePe platform. Through PhonePe, Kotak General Insurance will provide quick and seamless car and two-wheeler insurance policies to its customers.
This tie-up will empower PhonePe customers to buy car and two-wheeler insurance end-to-end online in just a few clicks from the comfort of their smart phones. At Kotak General Insurance it has been our endeavour to provide simple and easy to understand products for customers and the partnership with PhonePe will help us to connect and engage with customers who are digital natives, seeking convenience.
Jun 16, 2022
Russia Overtakes Saudi Arabia to Become India's 2nd Biggest Oil Supplier
As per industry data, Russia overtook Saudi Arabia and became India's second-biggest supplier of oil behind Iraq as refiners snapped up Russian crude available at a deep discount following the war in Ukraine.
Indian refiners bought about 25 million barrels of Russian oil in May or over 16 per cent of all their oil imports.
Russian-origin crude hit 5 per cent of India's total seaborne imports in April for the first time, rising from under one per cent throughout 2021 and Q1 2022.
India, the world's third-biggest oil-importing and consuming nation, has long defended purchases of crude oil from Russia following President Vladimir Putin ordering the invasion of Ukraine.
Equitas Small Finance Bank Gets RBI Nod to Reappoint Vasudevan as MD & CEO
Equitas Small Finance Bank said that the Reserve Bank of India okayed its proposal to reappoint MD and CEO Vasudevan P N for one year.
Earlier in May this year, ESFB founder and CEO Vasudevan P. N. had asked the lender to look for his successor as he wanted to step down to pursue a distinct set of goals.
He is also the Managing Director of Equitas, which began as a micro finance institution in 2007 and was later converted into bank in 2016.
Adani Group Fastest in Valuation Growth at 88%, Ambani's RIL up 13%
The Adani Group gained the most in terms of value in the six months to April 2022, with 88.1 per cent jump to Rs. 17.6 lakh crore. In comparison, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, which houses nearly all its ventures, saw a 13.4 per cent rise in value to Rs. 18.87 lakh crore, which helped it retain the top rankings in Burgundy Private Hurun India 500 rankings.
Tata Consultancy Services came second at Rs. 12.97 lakh crore, and was followed by HDFC Bank, Infosys and ICICI Bank.
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