General Awareness

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY - July 2022

Jul 2022

Apr 04, 2023

Sudha Shivkumar Takes over as FICCI Ladies Organisation President

Chennai-based Sudha Shivkumar took over as the 40th President of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the oldest women-led and women-centric business chamber of Southeast Asia, at the 39th annual session.
As the 40th National President of FLO, Shivkumar will focus on empowering women by facilitating an enabling environment that promotes entrepreneurship, industry participation and economic development of women.
She is a lawyer and investment banker by profession. At present, she is a director at her family run business focused on auto ancillaries. She was the Chairperson of FLO Chennai Chapter in 2016-17.

RBI Appoints Neeraj Nigam as Executive Director

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Neeraj Nigam as executive director (ED) with effect from April 3, 2023.
Prior to being promoted to the position executive director, Nigam was heading the Bhopal regional office of the bank as regional director.
Nigam has, over a span of more than three decades, served in regulation and supervision, human resource management, premises, currency management, bank accounts, and other areas in the RBI.
As executive director, Nigam will oversee the departments of consumer education and protection, financial inclusion and development, besides the legal and secretary units.
Nigam holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Barkatullah University, Bhopal. He also has a professional degree from the Certified Associate of the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (CAIIB).

Finance Ministry Launches 3-month campaign to Boost Micro-insurance Schemes

To achieve saturation under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), the Finance Ministry launched a three-month campaign.
"A special 3 months campaign has been launched by Department of Financial Services (DFS) at Gram Panchayat Level covering all districts in the country to saturate all eligible persons under the PMJJBY and PMSBY, w.e.f April 1, 2023 to the June 30, 2023.
Under the campaign, camps are going to be organised at the Gram Panchayat level across all districts in the country by the banks with active participation of the State administration and other Ministries of Government of India to ensure that benefits of the two Jan Suraksha schemes reach the masses.

Sheenu Jhawar Becomes the First Woman President of TiE Rajasthan

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Rajasthan has appointed Sheenu Jhawar as the new President for a term of two years, from 2023 to 2025. This marked a historic moment as Jhawar became the first woman to hold this position in the 21-year history of TiE Rajasthan. She took over from Ravi Modani, who led the chapter effectively since 2021.
TiE Rajasthan is a chapter of TiE Global, and in 2021, it was recognized as the Best Chapter. Since its inception in 2002, TiE Rajasthan has been a leader in the State of Rajasthan, and has contributed significantly to the start-up ecosystem. The founding members, the Governing Council, and past leadership of TiE-R have implemented a strategy that has facilitated access to funding, mentoring, and other resources, thereby making it easier for start-ups to thrive in the state. Over the last two decades, TiE Rajasthan has played a crucial role in supporting start-ups in the region.
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a non-profit organization established in 1992 in Silicon Valley, which operates globally with 58 chapters in 14 countries, with a primary goal of promoting entrepreneurship. Through various initiatives such as mentoring, networking, education, incubation, and funding, TiE aims to support and foster the next generation of entrepreneurs worldwide.

Apr 03, 2023

Adani Ports Acquires Karaikal Port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) completed the acquisition of Karaikal Port Pvt Ltd (KPPL) pursuant to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval.
Karaikal Port is an all-weather deep-water port in Puducherry with five operational berths, three railway sidings, total land area of over 600 hectares and a built-in cargo handling capacity of 21.5 MMT.
The Karaikal Port was commissioned in 2009 and was developed in the Karaikal District of the Union Territory of Puducherry, around 300 km south of Chennai.
It is the only major port between Chennai & Tuticorin, and its strategic location allows the port easy access to the industrial-rich hinterland of Central Tamil Nadu.

European Commission Grants GI Tag for Himachal's Kangra Tea

The European Commission (EC) awarded protected geographical indication (PGI) status to Kangra tea, a unique variety of tea grown in the Kangra district of India's Himachal Pradesh. This move came at a time when the EC has been delaying granting a similar status to Basmati rice, for which India applied in 2018. However, the EU wants India and Pakistan to hold discussions so that Basmati rice from Pakistan can also be recognised, but Pakistan is currently not meeting the necessary requirements for the recognition.
Grown since the mid-19th Century, Kangra tea is known for its unique flavour and taste. It is available as black and green teas.

India Post Payments Bank Partners Airtel to Launch Banking Services on WhatsApp

India Post Payments Bank partnered with Bharti Airtel to launch banking services through WhatsApp for its customers.
The newly launched IPPB WhatsApp Banking channel will enable IPPB customers to connect with the bank on WhatsApp and effortlessly avail a host of banking services, including doorstep service requests and locating the nearest Post Office.

India, Malaysia Can Now Trade in Indian Rupee

India and Malaysia agreed to settle trade in the Indian rupees, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on April 1, 2023.
The announcement came in the backdrop of ongoing official efforts to Safeguard Indian trade from the impact of Ukraine crisis. The shift away from The U.S. dollar which has been the dominant reserve currency for international trade so far has added significance as it indicates India is willing to take concrete steps towards de-dollarisation of its international trade.
The Union Bank of India became the first bank in India to operationalise this option by opening a Special Rupee Vostro Account through its "corresponding bank" in Malaysia — India International Bank of Malaysia.

Apr 02, 2023

Axis Bank, Shriram Housing Finance Announce Partnership for Co-lending

Private sector lender Axis Bank and Shriram Housing Finance Limited (SHFL) announced partnership under the co-lending model through the Yubi Co.Lend platform.
Through this partnership, both the lenders will offer secured MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) loans and home loans to the middle and low-income segment borrowers based in rural and semi-urban regions, a joint statement said.
The partnership will leverage the financial expertise of Axis Bank, and loan processing technology of SHFL to assess the credit profile of borrowers and provide them loans at competitive interest rates.

BharatPe Ties up with NITI Aayog's WEP to Support Women Entrepreneurs

BharatPe under its corporate social responsibility initiative BharatPe Cares partnered with NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to support women entrepreneurs in the country. The core focus area of the company will be to facilitate the development of a first-of-its-kind aggregator platform that gives access to peer support, mentorship, networking channels and learning resources to women entrepreneurs.
The initiative is under BharatPe's company PAYBACK's CSR programme. BharatPe had acquired PAYBACK, a multi-brand loyalty programme in 2021 from American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund.

Chemical Firm Aether Industries Inks Pact with Saudi Aramco Technologies

Specialty chemical manufacturer Aether Industries entered into a pact with Saudi Aramco Technologies Company to manufacture and commercialise the converge polyols technology and product line.
Saudi Aramco Technologies and Aether had previously developed and validated this manufacturing process on a pre-commercial scale.
Aether Industries aims to generate revenue of Rs. 150-200 crore from this agreement.
During the last few years, Aether has been working with Aramco on the CRAMS (Contract Research and Manufacturing Services) business model.

Apr 01, 2023

Niranjan Gupta New CEO of Hero MotoCorp

Hero MotoCorp Ltd, India's biggest two-wheeler maker by volume, named company insider Niranjan Gupta as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Gupta played a role in forming the bike maker's partnerships with Harley Davidson and electric-motorcycle maker Zero Motorcycles.
Pawan Munjal, Hero MotoCorp's current chief executive, will remain with the company as an executive chairman and full-time director on the board.
The development came months after the company named Gupta as its head of strategy and M&A in December 2022.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance, UCO Bank Sign Bancassurance Pact

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL), the health insurance joint venture of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. (ABCL) announced its bancassurance partnership with leading public sector lender, UCO Bank, for the distribution of health insurance products through the bank's branches across India.
This partnership will enable ABHICL to expand its national footprint by leveraging UCO Bank's widely distributed network of 3,164 branches and reach out to more than 40 million customers of the bank across India.

Bihar Discovers Deposits of Critical Minerals

The Bihar government is preparing to auction mining rights for minerals such as limestone, vanadium-bearing magnetite ilmenite, magnetite and glauconite that were discovered in various non-forest areas of the state.
Explorations near Patalganga in Gaya, parts of Rohtas district and Majos in Jamui district found the presence of millions of tonnes of mineral reserves.
The state government will engage SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS) as the transaction advisor for the auctions, and also to suggest the terms and conditions based on which the auctions would be held.

Mar 31, 2023

IRDAI Removes Commission Limit for Agents

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) lifted limits on the payment of commissions to insurance intermediaries. With this, life and non-life players will have more freedom in offering commissions – the compensation paid to and received by an insurance agent from an insurer for soliciting and procuring an insurance policy.
However, the commission will have to be within their overall Expenses of Management (EOM) and insurers can have board-approved limits for paying commissions to their agents.
IRDAI has asked insurance companies, including life and non-life, to fix an overall cap on commission to agents, brokers and other intermediaries, giving more flexibility to insurers in managing their expenses.
This means the regulator has replaced the earlier cap on different commission payments to various types of intermediaries with an overall board-approved cap which should be within the allowed expenses.

Rajib K Mishra Takes over as Chairman and Managing Director of PTC India

Power trading company PTC India appointed Rajib Kumar Mishra as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD).
Mishra was holding the additional charge of CMD of the company. He joined the PTC Board in February 2015 as Director (Marketing and Business Development).
Prior to this, Mishra worked as Executive Director of PTC since October 2011 and was responsible for Operations, Business Development, Retail & Advisory Services.
He has 38 years of professional experience and has served at state-run NTPC and Power Grid in various capacities. He has authored four published books and twenty-four technical and management papers.

Tata Power re-appoints Praveer Sinha as CEO, MD

Tata Power re-appointed Praveer Sinha as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director.
His re-appointment to the top post is for a period of four years from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2027, subject to the approval of the members of the company.
His present tenure as a CEO and MD is scheduled to conclude on April 30, 2023.

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