General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - July 2022

Jul 2022

Jun 16, 2023

Uttam Lal Takes Over as Director (Personnel), NHPC

Uttam Lal assumed the role of Director (Personnel) at NHPC Limited India, a leading hydropower company in India. Before joining NHPC, Lal held the position of Chief General Manager (HR-CSR/R&R/LA) at NTPC Limited. With an extensive background of over 35 years, he brings immense expertise in Personnel Management, Industrial Relations, and Corporate Social Responsibility. Lal's profound knowledge and extensive experience in the power sector make him a valuable asset, as he aims to effectively leverage the potential of human resources to contribute to the organization's goals and vision.
NHPC Limited is a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Power, Government of India. It is the largest hydropower development organization in India, with an installed capacity of over 8,000 MW. NHPC has also diversified into other renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. The company was incorporated in 1975 with an authorized capital of Rs. 2,000 million. The first project undertaken by NHPC was the Baira Suil Power Station in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh.

Indian Oil Corp Partners with LanzaJet to Establish Aviation Fuel Plant in Haryana

Indian Oil Corp (IOC), one of India's largest oil refiners, announced its collaboration with LanzaJet, a leading sustainable fuels technology company, to establish an aviation fuel plant in Haryana. With an investment of approximately 23 billion rupees ($280.1 million), this strategic partnership aims to promote the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the country.
The proposed 80,000-tonne aviation fuel plant will contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation industry by producing sustainable alternatives to traditional jet fuel. SAF, also known as biojet fuel, is produced from renewable sources such as agricultural and municipal waste, non-edible plant oils, and other sustainable feedstocks. By partnering with LanzaJet, which specializes in advanced biofuel technologies, IOC is emphasizing its commitment to sustainable practices and environmental stewardship in the aviation sector.
In addition to its collaboration with LanzaJet, IOC is actively involved in a pilot project for green fuel in partnership with Praj Industries.
The establishment of the aviation fuel plant and the ongoing pilot project highlight IOC's proactive approach in driving the transition towards sustainable energy solutions.

RITES Signs Contract Agreements with National Railways of Zimbabwe

RITES signed Contract Agreements with National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) for supply of rolling stock (3000 HP Diesel Electric Locomotives and High Sided Open Wagons) valuing USD 81,175,500. However, the Contract Agreements are subject to approval of funding by funding agency.
RITES is a Miniratna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Railways. It is a multidisciplinary engineering and consultancy organization.

Jun 15, 2023

Forbes' Global 2000 List: Reliance Rises by Eight Positions

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) climbed eight spots to the 45th rank, the highest for an Indian company, on Forbes' latest Global 2000 list of public companies worldwide.
The Global 2000 ranks the largest companies in the world using four metrics: sales, profits, assets, and market value.
JPMorgan, America's biggest bank with USD 3.7 trillion in assets, was at the top of the list for the first time since 2011.
Saudi oil behemoth Aramco is at 2nd position followed by three giant-sized state-owned Chinese banks. Technology giants Alphabet and Apple are at 7th and 10th place, respectively.

Fino Payments Bank Partners Hubble for `Spending Account'

Fino Payments Bank entered into a tie-up with Sequoia Capital-backed fintech Hubble to introduce India's first spending account.
As per the bank, customers can park their funds, spend (on categories such as food ordering, shopping, travel, entertainment etc.) and save up to 10 per cent on all purchases made from the account.
Further, users can track spends across categories of over 50 brands that Hubble has partnered with and save up to Rs. 20,000 a year.
"The spending account is integrated with the bank's digital savings account operated through its mobile app FinoPay.

Samsung India Opens its Largest Premium Experience Store in Telangana

Samsung India inaugurated its largest premium experience store in Telangana at Hyderabad's Inorbit Mall.
According to the company, the new store highlights Samsung's entire product ecosystem through exciting zones centred on its connected ecosystem SmartThings, smartphones, laptops, audio, gaming, and lifestyle televisions.
The store, which is spread across 3,500 sq ft, is also said to host a variety of entertainment activities with a special focus on local culture, music, and art, offering a Samsung experience tailored to the city of Hyderabad.

Jun 14, 2023

EPFO is Set to be an Affiliate Member of ISSA

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is set to upgrade its membership status within the International Social Security Association (ISSA) from an associate member to an affiliate member. This upgraded status will provide the EPFO with valuable access to professional guidelines, expert knowledge, and a range of services and support that will benefit its pension subscribers. The affiliation with ISSA will enhance the EPFO's capabilities and enable it to better serve its members in terms of pensions and social security.
This will help EPFO to improve its services and better protect the interests of its members. It will also help EPFO to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in social security and to share its experiences with other countries.
The move to become an affiliate member of ISSA was approved by the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPFO in March 2023. The CBT is the highest decision-making body of EPFO.

Cummins India Receives CPCB IV+ Norm Compliance Certification from ARAI

Cummins India Ltd received its CPCB IV+ compliance certification from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) effective from July 1.
The certification shows that the company can provide its customers with various CPCB IV+ emission norms-compliant gensets.
CPCB IV+ standard is implemented by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It is one of the most comprehensive and stringent emission norms for power generation engines till date.
The new CPCB IV+ emission standards will cover all fuel types for engine power output of up to 800 kWh. It is a single standard for both prime and standby usage of gensets.

Keytrade Bank Selects Infosys Finacle Suite for Core Banking Transformation

Belgium's Keytrade Bank selected Infosys Finacle, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, as the preferred partner for the modernisation of its core banking system.
The company said that the Infosys Finacle suite will replace Keytrade Bank's legacy platform and help the bank leapfrog its digital maturity, enabling it to innovate, operate, and engage with customers better.
This collaboration will streamline the bank's core banking ecosystem to enable greater efficiency, faster time to market for products, and state-of-the-art technology architecture, and ensure the best experience for its customers.

Jun 13, 2023

Deepika Warrier Steps Down as Diageo CMO

Deepika Warrier, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Diageo India, is moving on from her current role.
Ruchira Jaitly is expected to succeed Warrier. Jaitly is currently the executive vice-president of marketing at Diageo.
Warrier joined Diageo as its CMO in July 2020. She managed a portfolio of 22 brands for PepsiCo for nearly two decades, including eight brands with annual sales exceeding Rs. 2,000 crore.
She also served as MD and CEO of NourishCo, a joint venture between PepsiCo and Tata Global Beverages, in her last position with the beverage giant.

UAE Emerges as Fourth Largest Investor in India in FY23

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), with which India implemented a comprehensive free trade agreement in May 2022, emerged as the fourth largest investor in India during 2022-23, according to government data.
In the last fiscal, foreign direct investment (FDI) from the UAE to India jumped over three-fold to USD 3.35 billion from USD 1.03 billion in 2021-22, the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showed.
Singapore was the largest investor in India with USD 17.2 billion investment in FY23, followed by Mauritius (USD 6.1 billion) and the US (USD 6 billion).

MRF Creates History on Dalal Street

Tyre manufacturer MRF created history on Dalal Street by becoming the first Indian company to hit a share price of Rs. 1 lakh apiece.
While MRF is India's costliest stock on paper, it is not the most expensive when it comes to metrics such as price-to-earnings (P/E) or price-to-book value (P/BV).
Madras Rubber Factory, commonly known as MRF or MRF Tyres, is an Indian multinational tyre manufacturing company and the largest manufacturer of tyres in India. It is headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1946.

Indian Overseas Bank Launches 'My Account My Name' Feature

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) introduced a scheme that lets customers choose any name as their savings account number with the Chennai-based lender.
As per IOB, the scheme is the first in the banking industry to let a customer choose his or her name or any name as an account number that can be used for all transaction purposes. The bank's managing director and chief executive officer launched the scheme called 'My Account My Name' virtually from its Central Office in Chennai. The scheme will be available at all 49 regional offices of the IOB in India.
As per the scheme, the account name can be a combination of seven letters, or seven numbers, or seven alphanumeric only like AJIT007, PRADHAN, or 2424707 etc. Customers will not be required to remember their 15 digits account numbers.

Jun 12, 2023

Star Health Founder Venkatasamy Jagannathan Resigns from Company's Board

In May 2006, when Venkatasamy Jagannathan started Star Health and Allied Insurance Company (Star Health), he and his 12 employees were sitting in a dingy room on Madha Church Road in Chennai with a monthly rent of about Rs. 30,000. Today when he resigned as the non-executive chairman and director, the market capitalisation of Star Health was close to Rs. 30,100 crore with over 14,000 employees, scripting an unparalleled growth story for the country's first standalone health insurance company.
For the 79-year-old industry veteran, this is not the first retirement in his 53-year stellar career. Before Star Health, he had scripted a real turnaround saga with state-run United India Insurance Company (United India). When he took over as chairman and managing director (CMD) of United India in 2001, the company was ratcheting up losses of Rs. 50 lakh. When he retired in October 2004, it chalked up a profit of over Rs. 400 crore.

Colliers Appoints Ramaiy Kapoor as MD for its Data Centre Business in India

Commercial real estate company Colliers announced the appointment of Ramaiy Kapoor as the Managing Director for Data Centre for its India business. This came at a time when the company has been increasing its focus on the data centre business in the country.
Kapoor joined Collies from CapitaLand, where he was heading the investment and commercials division for their India Data Centre business. According to the company, Ramaiy will work closely with the top India leadership to capture a higher market share and drive profitability for the firm's Data Centre business.

India Tops World Ranking in Digital Payments

According to data from MyGovIndia, India with 89.5 million digital transactions in the year 2022 topped the list of five countries in digital payments.
As per the data, India in the year 2022 accounting for 46 per cent of the global real-time payments, adding that the digital payment transactions in India is more than the other four leading countries combined.
Second, on the list is Brazil which amounted to 29.2 million transactions followed by China with 17.6 million transactions. Fourth was Thailand with 16.5 million digital transactions followed by South Korea with 8 million worth of transactions, the data from MyGovIndia stated.
MyGovIndia is a citizen engagement platform of the Government of India, giving people the opportunity to work towards Surajya with their ideas and grass root level of contribution.

Anantharaman is New TransUnion Cibil Chairman

V. Anantharaman, a seasoned banker with extensive experience in the banking industry, was appointed as the non-executive chairman of credit bureau TransUnion CIBIL. Anantharaman has held leadership positions in corporate and investment banking teams at renowned international firms such as Standard Chartered Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America.
TransUnion CIBIL Limited is a credit information company operating in India. It maintains credit files on over 600 million individuals and 32 million businesses. TransUnion is one of four credit bureaus operating in India and is part of TransUnion, an American multinational group.
TransUnion CIBIL was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company's mission is to "provide accurate and comprehensive information to help businesses make informed decisions and consumers build their financial future."
TransUnion CIBIL collects data on credit accounts, loans, and other financial information from lenders and other financial institutions. The company then uses this data to create credit reports and scores for individuals and businesses. Credit reports and scores are used by lenders to assess the risk of lending money to borrowers.

FSIB Announces New Leadership for GIC Re and NIC

The Financial Services Institution Bureau (FSIB) selected N. Ramaswamy, General Manager, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), as the next Chairman and MD (CMD) of the company, while M Rajeswari Singh, General Manager & Director (GMD), United India Insurance, was selected as the CMD of National Insurance Company (NIC).
After due approval of the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC), Ramaswamy will get a two-year term. The post of CMD at GIC Re will fall vacant after Devesh Srivastav completes his four-year tenure in September-end after reaching 60 while NIC CMD post will be filled up after Suchita Gupta leaves in August end. FSIB chose Sat Pal Bhanoo and R. Doraiswamy as new Managing Directors of Life Insurance Corporation.
The Financial Services Institution Bureau (FSIB) is an autonomous body of the Government of India. It was established in 2017 with the objective of improving the governance and performance of financial institutions in India. The FSIB has the following powers and functions:
To recommend persons for appointment as whole-time directors and non-executive chairpersons on the boards of financial institutions
To advise on certain other matters relating to personnel management in financial institutions
To monitor the performance of financial institutions and to take appropriate action, if necessary
To promote good governance practices in financial institutions

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