General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - July 2022

Jul 2022

Sep 21, 2023

Cricketer Deepak Chahar Launches New Brand 'DNINE Sports'

Cricketer Deepak Chahar, known for his stellar performances on the cricket field, ventured into the world of sports equipment with the launch of DNINE Sports. With an investment of Rs. 2.5 crore, this sports line promises to revolutionize athletic gear, offering a wide range of products catering to the needs of athletes, including professional cricketers.
DNINE Sports adopts a multi-pronged approach to distribution, both online and offline. It discusses the company's strategy for reaching consumers through various channels and the importance of word-of-mouth marketing in building brand awareness.

Competition Commission of India Gets Three New Members

The government appointed three new members to the Competition Commission of India (CCI). These include a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and a lawyer.
Among the new members is Anil Agrawal, a 1988-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. Agrawal earlier handled ecommerce and start-up policies at the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The other two members are Sweta Kakkad and Deepak Anurag.
Kakkad is the first member of the CCI purely from the private sector. She is a lawyer, who had served as an interim chief compliance officer at WhatsApp. Anurag is a former Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is the chief national competition regulator in India. It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The commission was established on 14 October 2003. It became fully functional in May 2009 with Dhanendra Kumar as its first Chairman.

Biocon Appoints Peter Bains as Group CEO

Biocon announced that its Board approved the appointment of Peter Bains as the Group CEO. He will be reporting directly to Biocon Group Chairperson, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
Bains stepped down from his role on the Biocon Board as an Independent Director and assumed this strategic executive responsibility.
As per Shaw, Peter has a unique fit and profile for the role having both extensive global leadership experience and success across the biopharmaceutical field and a comprehensive understanding of the Biocon Group, having led Syngene for 5 years, taking it through its very successful IPO in 2015.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Introduces Maxima Savings Account

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan SFB), a leading small finance bank, announced the introduction of the 'Maxima Savings Account and Business Maxima Current Account for the premium customer segment. These new offerings aim to improve the banking experience for both new and existing customers by providing a variety of services and benefits. The products are designed to provide customers with various benefits, superior features, and a premium experience to meet their various financial and banking needs.

Sep 20, 2023

ACKO Launches 'Health Insurance ki Subah ho Gayi Mamu' Campaign for Platinum Health Plan

ACKO, a leading insurance company, unveiled its latest health insurance offering called the 'ACKO Platinum Health Plan'. This comprehensive plan boasts several notable features, including 100% bill payment, no room rent capping, and zero waiting periods. To promote this new product, ACKO reintroduced the beloved characters of Munna Bhai and Circuit from the iconic Bollywood movie. The campaign is aptly titled 'Health Insurance ki Subah ho Gayi Mamu' and has been directed by renowned filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi reprise their original roles in the campaign.
The series of advertisements within the campaign focus on educating the audience about several critical aspects of the ACKO Platinum Health Plan:
Zero Waiting Period: The campaign highlights the plan's unique feature of zero waiting periods, ensuring immediate coverage for policyholders.
100% Bill Payment: ACKO emphasizes its commitment to covering 100% of the medical bills, alleviating financial burdens during health crises.

IREDA Signs MoU with Bank of Maharashtra for Financing Renewable Energy Projects

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), a Mini Ratna (Category – I) Government of India enterprise under the administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, signed a significant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank of Maharashtra (BoM). This collaboration aims to promote and facilitate co-lending and loan syndication for a diverse spectrum of Renewable Energy projects across the nation.
The MoU comprises several services including co-lending and co-origination support for all Renewable Energy projects, facilitating loan syndication and underwriting, management of Trust & Retention Account for IREDA borrowers, and a commitment to establishing stable fixed interest rates spanning a period of 3-4 years for IREDA borrowings. Under this agreement, Bank of Maharashtra can invest in the Bonds issued by IREDA in accordance with the specified terms and conditions of the offering.
The MoU was signed by General Manager (Technical Services), IREDA, Bharat Singh Rajput and General Manager (Retail & MSME Credit), Bank of Maharashtra, Rajesh Singh at IREDA's Business Centre, New Delhi.

Sashidhar Jagdishan Reappointed as HDFC Bank MD & CEO

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the reappointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank for three years starting from October 27, 2023.
In March 2023, HDFC Bank board had recommended the re-appointment of Jagdishan for a period of three years.
Jagdishan took charge as the MD & CEO of the largest private-sector lender in October 2020, after Aditya Puri retired.
Jagdishan, who has an overall experience of 31 years in the industry, joined the bank in 1996 as a manager in the finance function.

Dhananjay Joshi Appointed Chairman of Telecom Industry Body DIPA

Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) appointed Dhananjay Joshi, MD and CEO of Summit Digitel, as the Chairman.
DIPA also named Sandeep Girotra, CEO of American Tower India, as the new vice chairman of the association.
The Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) is a non-profit industry body that represents the digital infrastructure industry in India. It was founded in 2010 as the Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TIPA), but was renamed DIPA in 2020 to reflect the broader scope of its membership.
DIPA's mission is to promote the growth and development of the digital infrastructure industry in India.

Sep 19, 2023

Dhanlaxmi Bank Independent Director Sridhar Kalyanasundaram Resigns from Board

Dhanlaxmi Bank's independent director Sridhar Kalyanasundaram resigned from the board, citing factionalism to unethical business conduct. Kalyanasundaram, appointed on December 5, 2022, also referred to whistle-blower issues, rights issue of the bank and the belligerent attitude of Shivan J.K., Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, among other reasons for his exit.

Bob van Dijk Steps Down as CEO of Prosus and Naspers

Bob van Dijk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dutch-listed technology investor Prosus NV and its South African parent Naspers stepped down from his position effective immediately, after nearly a decade with the investing giant. He also gave up his board seats at the companies.
Van Dijk, who has led Naspers since 2014 and Prosus since 2019, has agreed to remain as a consultant until September 30, 2024.
Ervin Tu will assume the role of interim chief executive of both companies.

Nihar Malaviya is Permanent CEO of Penguin Random House

Nihar Malaviya was named as permanent CEO of Penguin Random House, nine months after he was appointed the interim chief executive. Malaviya succeeded Markus Dohle, who departed weeks after a federal judge struck down Penguin Random House's attempted merger with Simon & Schuster, a deal Dohle had pushed for. Penguin Random House, the world's largest trade publisher, has been undergoing a company-wide reorganization in 2023, with numerous senior editors either laid off or departing under a voluntary retirement plan.
Bertelsmann, the German media conglomerate, has owned Random House since 1998. Random House and Penguin merged in 2013.

Kisan Rin Portal Launched

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the 'Kisan Rin Portal' to help farmers avail subsidised loans under the Kisan Credit Card (KCC). A door-to-door KCC campaign and a manual of the Weather Information Network Data Systems (WINDS) portal was also launched at an event.
According to the agriculture ministry, the Kisan Rin digital platform offers a comprehensive view of farmer data, loan disbursement specifics, interest subvention claims, and scheme utilisation progress, fostering seamless integration with banks for more focused and efficient agriculture credit.

Sep 18, 2023

Srinivasan K. Swamy Elected Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)

Srinivasan K. Swamy, Executive Chairman of R. K. Swamy Hansa Group, was unanimously elected Chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for the year 2023-2024.
Srinivasan K. Swamy is a highly regarded figure in the advertising and media world. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations and has held pivotal leadership roles in numerous prominent organizations.
Mr. Swamy was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI).
In addition to Swamy's election as Chairman, several other distinguished individuals have been appointed to crucial positions within the Audit Bureau of Circulations:
Deputy Chairman: Riyad Mathew, Chief Associate Editor and Director of Malayala Manorama, will serve as the Deputy Chairman representing publisher members on the council.
Secretary: Mohit Jain, Executive Director of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited, was elected as the Secretary of the Bureau, representing publisher members on the council.
Treasurer: Vikram Sakhuja, Partner & Group CEO Media & OOH of Madison Communications Private Limited, was re-elected as the Treasurer of the Bureau, representing advertising agencies members on the council.

Ashok Leyland, UP Govt Sign MoU to Set up Greenfield Bus Plant

Ashok Leyland signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Uttar Pradesh to set up an integrated commercial vehicle bus plant focused on green mobility in Uttar Pradesh.
Manoj Kumar Singh, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner, government of Uttar Pradesh and Shenu Agarwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ashok Leyland, signed the MoU.
Under this partnership, Ashok Leyland, the Indian flagship of the Hinduja Group, will focus on producing electric buses, assembling other vehicles powered by available fuels, and emerging alternative fuels.

Indian Bank Launches 'IB SAATHI' to Enhance Financial Inclusion Services

Indian Bank launched a new initiative called 'IB SAATHI' (Sustainable Access and Aligning Technology for Holistic Inclusion) to bolster its financial inclusion efforts. The primary goal of IB SAATHI is to provide essential banking services to various stakeholders through the business correspondent (BC) channel.
Under this revamped model, Indian Bank is committed to offering basic banking services at all its centres for a minimum of four hours each day through fixed outlets. This initiative is a significant step towards ensuring widespread access to banking services.

Tata Steel Signs 500 Million Pound-deal with UK Government

The United Kingdom announced a joint investment package with Tata Steel worth £1.25 billion (about $1.55 billion), including a government grant of £500 million ($621 million,) to secure the future of Port Talbot operations in Wales, the country's largest steelworks, giving a fresh lease of life to the structurally weak business.
The joint investment package said to be the largest in the UK steel industry in decades would pave the way for greener steelmaking at the Welsh unit, by replacing coal-powered blast furnaces nearing the end of their effective life with a state-of-art 3 million tonne electric arc furnace (EAF).
The move is aimed at reducing the UK's entire carbon emissions by around 1.5 per cent.

Sep 17, 2023

Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar is Chairman of Mastercard India

Mastercard appointed Rajnish Kumar, former Chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI), as the Chairman of Mastercard India. Kumar will guide Mastercard's South Asia executive leadership team led by Gautam Aggarwal, Division President for South Asia & Country Corporate Officer, India, in navigating the domestic payments landscape.
Kumar will be keenly involved in augmenting the local leadership team in its efforts to expand our domestic footprint, while bolstering Mastercard's ongoing commitment to forging strategic partnerships with stakeholders across the payments ecosystem – from banks to fintechs to governments, non-profits and more.

India Becomes 13th Country in World that Can Issue OIML Certificates

India became the 13th internationally accepted authority for issuing International Organisation of Legal Metrology (OIML) certificates.
Domestic manufacturers of weighing and measuring equipment, like BP meters, oximeters and cloth scales, can now get the instruments tested in India itself before selling them in the international market.
An OIML Pattern Approval certificate is mandatory to sell a weight or measure in the international market, which the Department of Consumer Affairs can now issue. Domestic manufacturers can now export their weighing and measuring instruments worldwide without incurring additional testing fees, resulting in significant cost savings.
Twelve other countries, including Australia, Switzerland, China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom, are authorised to issue these certificates.

IndusInd Bank Launches 'Virtual Commercial Card' for Cross-border Payments

IndusInd Bank announced the launch of a 'virtual commercial card', a credit card that will redefine cross-border transactions for corporates and travel agents.
In partnership with Visa, the global leader in digital payments and Juspay, a payments operating system, the virtual card has additional layers of security that give users complete control over their international expenses, thus making it safe and hassle-free.

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