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BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - July 2022

Jul 2022

Aug 24, 2024

Mumbai Ranks 2nd in Global Housing Price Rise

Mumbai and Delhi ranked second and third positions, respectively, among 44 cities globally in annual price rise of prime residential properties during the June quarter, Knight Frank said in a report.
The annual price growth across the 44 cities globally slowed to 2.6 per cent in the second quarter of the 2024 calendar year, from 4.1 per cent in the preceding quarter, real estate consultant Knight Frank report said.
Manila ranked first with a 26 per cent annual rise during the quarter. Mumbai, with an annual price rise of 13 per cent in prime residences, ranked second, up from its 6th rank in the year-ago period. New Delhi, which recorded a rise of 10.6 per cent year-on-year in prime residential property prices, made a stupendous jump in rankings from 26th a year earlier to third during the quarter under review.
Among other global cities, Los Angeles was at the 4th position with an 8.9 per cent growth in prices, followed by Miami (7.1 per cent), Nairobi (6.6 per cent), Madrid (6.4 per cent), Lisbon (4.7 per cent), Seoul (4.6 per cent), and San Francisco (4.5 per cent). Dubai, after a 124 per cent increase since 2020, saw slight moderation, declining by 0.3 per cent annually.

Anil Ambani, 24 Others Banned From Securities Market by SEBI for 5 Years

Markets regulator SEBI barred industrialist Anil Ambani, 24 other entities, including former key officials of Reliance Home Finance from the securities market for five years for diversion of funds from the company.
SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs. 25 crore on Anil Ambani and restrained him from being associated with the securities market including as a director or Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) in any listed company, or any intermediary registered with the market regulator, for a period of 5 years.

MSDE Exchanges MoU with Flipkart's SCOA

Flipkart's Supply Chain Operations Academy (SCOA) exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) at the Samarth event with the mission to upskill thousands of employable youth across India. The collaboration between MSDE and Flipkart's Supply Chain Operations Academy (SCOA), formalised at the celebration of Flipkart Samarth's journey, is a significant step towards equipping our youth with the skills to thrive in the modern marketplace.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 4.0, this partnership aims to upskill thousands of youth across India, enhancing their employability in the e-commerce and supply chain sectors.

Aug 23, 2024

Wipro Extends Relationship with John Lewis Partnership for 4 Years

IT services major Wipro was selected by the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) to transform and modernise the firm's IT infrastructure. The transformation project will help the UK retailer advance its industry leadership and future-proof its business to drive ongoing, sustainable growth.
As part of this engagement, Wipro FullStride Cloud will extend JLP's current cloud infrastructure, network, and end-user services for another four years.

India Surpasses China to Become Russia's Top Oil Buyer in July

India overtook China as the world's biggest importer of Russian oil in July 2024 as Chinese refiners bought less because of lower profit margins from producing fuels, a comparison of import data showed.
Russian crude made up a record 44% of India's overall imports last month (July 2024), rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), 4.2% higher than in June 2024 and 12% more than a year ago, data on Indian shipments from trade and industry sources showed.

Dabur to Set up Maiden Plant in South India, to Invest Rs. 400 crore in Tamil Nadu

FMCG major Dabur India said it would set up a Rs. 400-crore manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram district, marking the company's maiden foray into the South.
State Industries Minister TRB Rajaa said that Dabur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government to this effect.
Dabur India said the MoU outlines an approved Phase 1 investment of Rs. 135 crore, scaling up to Rs. 400 crore over five years.
The new plant set up in SIPCOT Tindivanam at Viluppuram district of Tamil Nadu would help Dabur scale up its business from South India further, which currently accounts for around 18-20 per cent of its domestic business.
The MoU was signed between Guidance Tamil Nadu, the investment promotion agency of the state, represented by its Managing Director Vishnu and Dabur India CEO Mohit Malhotra in the presence of Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, Industries Minister TRB Rajaa and Chief Secretary N. Muruganandam.

Aug 22, 2024

Airtel Payments Bank Enhances Security with AI-Powered Face Match

Airtel Payments Bank introduced a new security feature called Face Match, leveraging AI to enhance account protection. This advanced tool uses machine learning algorithms to detect potential threats and prompts facial recognition verification when needed.
Face Match analyses a range of factors including user behavior, transaction patterns, location data, historical information, and device signals. If these elements indicate a potential threat, the system activates Face Match, requiring users to verify their identity via a selfie. This selfie is compared to the original photo taken during account onboarding using facial recognition technology and liveliness checks.
Upon activation, users receive a notification via the Airtel Thanks app to complete the verification process. A successful match allows the transaction to proceed, while an unsuccessful match requires a visit to a nearby banking point for biometric verification.

Zomato Acquires Paytm's Entertainment Ticketing Business

Zomato approved the acquisition of Paytm's entertainment and ticketing business for Rs. 2,048 crore in a cash deal. This move marks Zomato's expansion into the broader lifestyle services sector, including dining, movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, and staycations. Meanwhile, Paytm aims to refocus on its core financial services.
The acquisition is set to enhance Zomato's position in the lifestyle services market. With the introduction of the new app 'District,' Zomato plans to consolidate various services under one platform. The company's past performance and lack of significant competition in the 'going-out' segment suggest strong potential for growth.

IndusInd Bank Gets RBI Nod for Undertaking Mutual Funds Business Via New Subsidiary

IndusInd Bank said that the Reserve Bank of India accorded approval to the lender to set up unit to undertake asset management business of mutual fund.
In a regulatory filing, the lender said that a wholly owned subsidiary will undertake asset management business of Mutual Fund along with infusing equity capital in the said asset management subsidiary.
The new asset management company (AMC) will handle mutual fund operations and benefit from an equity infusion by the bank. Previously, IndusInd Bank distributed mutual fund products but without significant scale.

Aug 21, 2024

Petronet LNG Signs Agreement with Sri Lankan Govt. for power generation

The Sri Lankan government and a state-run Indian firm signed an agreement to develop infrastructure for storage, regasification and LNG supply for a combined cycle power plant in the island nation.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Sri Lanka's LTL Holdings Limited and India's Petronet LNG Limited for the infrastructure development of the Sobadhanavi Combined Cycle Power Plant at Kerawalapitiya, north Colombo.
The Sri Lankan Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekera, and the Deputy High Commissioner of India, Satyanjal Pandey, signed the MoU at a ceremony.

Amul Tops Global Food Brand Rankings in 2024

Amul was named the world's strongest food brand in Brand Finance's Global Food & Drinks Report 2024. With a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 91 and a valuation of $3.3 billion, Amul achieved an 11% increase in brand value from 2023. The company's dominance in India's dairy market and strong metrics in familiarity, consideration, and recommendation contributed to its AAA+ rating. Hershey's, which shared the AAA+ rating with Amul, saw a slight dip in its brand value, and was placed second.

TCS Launches Latest Pace Studio in Stockholm, First in Nordic Region

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced the launch of a Pace Studio in Stockholm to offer customers in the Nordic region access to its innovation ecosystem. It is the IT company's fourth international Pace Studio and the first in the Nordic region.
TCS Pace Studio nurtures a start-up culture as an incubator that solves problems and creates business opportunities. The network includes three other TCS Pace Studios in Riyadh, Sydney, and Letterkenny (Ireland) and seven TCS Pace Ports in Tokyo, Amsterdam, New York, Pittsburgh, Toronto, London and Paris.

Aug 20, 2024

Ashok Kumar Singh Takes Over Director General, ESIC

Ashok Kumar Singh, IAS took over the charge of Director General of Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India at its Headquarters in New Delhi.
Ashok Kumar Singh is an IAS Officer of 1999 batch of Kerala cadre. Earlier, he has worked as a Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department, Govt. of Kerala. He has got vast experience of governance and management of District and State level organisations.

NCLT Approves Slice and North East Small Finance Bank Merger

Fintech company Slice received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for its merger with North East Small Finance Bank. The Guwahati bench of the NCLT sanctioned the scheme of arrangement and amalgamation involving several entities, including Garagepreneurs Internet, Quadrillion Finance, Intergalactory Foundry, RGVN (North East) Microfinance, and North East Small Finance Bank.

NPCI Launches 'UPI Circle' for Secure Delegated Payments with Trusted Users

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) introduced a new feature called 'UPI Circle' on its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform. This feature allows primary UPI account holders to securely delegate payment responsibilities to trusted secondary users.
The Reserve Bank of India introduced this facility during its August MPC meeting. "Delegated Payments" would allow an individual (primary user) to set a UPI transaction limit for another individual (secondary user) on the primary user's bank account. This product is expected to add to the reach and usage of digital payments across the country. Detailed instructions will be issued shortly." the central bank said in its MPC meeting.

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