1. Asian Development Bank provides $100 million loans to Shriram Finance limited
Tags: Economy/Finance
India’s largest Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Shriram Finance Ltd has secured a $100 million loan from the Manila based Asian Development Bank on 30 December 2022. The loan amount will be used by the Shriram Finance to provide loans to customers to buy new or used BS VI compliant vehicles and electric vehicles", besides providing financial support to women entrepreneurs and under-developed states.
Shriram Finance Limited is the largest retail NBFC in India. It was formed after the merger of mainly Shriram City Union Finance and Shriram Transport Finance.
The headquarters of the company is in Chennai.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Y S Chakravarti
Asian Development Bank was set up in 1966 as a regional development bank for Asia and Asia-Pacific region. The total number of member countries of ADB is 68.
Its headquarters is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
2. N Chandrasekaran appointed as the head of the Maharashtra government advisory council
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news State News
The Maharashtra government has appointed Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran as the head of the new Economic Advisory Council of Maharashtra. This was announced by the deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the state Legislative Council in Nagpur on 29 December 2022.
He said that the government has set up the Economic Advisory Council, to make Maharashtra a trillion dollar economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of India becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.
The Economic Advisory Council will function as a private research organization with focus on issues related to agriculture, banking, engineering and education.
The State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) of Maharashtra in 2021-22 was $430.62 billion. It is the biggest state economy in India and its contribution to the Indian Economy is 15%. (Source India Brand Equity Foundation, Government of India)
Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde
3. FDI investment still more in service sector than manufacturing sector: Ind-Ra report
Tags: Reports Economy/Finance
According to a research report published on 28 December 2022 by the India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India was still limited to few sectors and maximum investment was still in the service sectors.
According to Ind-Ra despite the government’s effort to attract more investments in the manufacturing sector through “Make in India" campaign, the FDI inflow is still tilted in favour of the services sector,"
Ind-Ra believes this could be because doing business in the services sector is less complicated than doing business in the manufacturing sector in India. This could also be the reason for the majority of the FDI coming in the manufacturing sector is not a Greenfield investment.
Main points of the report
The share of the services sector and computer software & hardware in the FDI between April 2014 and March 2022 were as high as 41.3% and 19.6%, respectively, while manufacturing accounted for just 25.4%.
Between April 2000 and March 2014, the share of the services sector and computer software & hardware in such inflows were 37% and 5.9%, respectively, and that of manufacturing was as much as 35.4%.
Of the total FDI inflow of $146.7 billion during October 2019 and March 2022, just four states attracted 83.0% of the FDI with Maharashtra accounting for 27.5%, Karnataka 23.9%, Gujarat 19.1% and Delhi 12.4%.
According to the report three distinct FDI corridors have emerged in India. They are the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) in the North, Maharashtra-Gujarat in the west and Karnataka-Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh-Telangana in the South.
Among the emerging market economies, India has done reasonably well in attracting FDIs. Only China has been consistently ahead of India.
According to the World investment Report 2022 of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India is ranked 7 FDI destinations globally.
India Rating and Research (Ind-Ra)
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) is a subsidiary of the global rating company Fitch. It is a credit rating agency headquartered in Mumbai. Ind-Ra is recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and Reserve Bank of India.
Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Rohit Karan Sawhney
4. Government extends free import of Urad and Tur pulses till March 2024
Tags: National Economy/Finance
The government of India has extended the free import of Urad and Tur pulses by one more year to 31 March 2024. Earlier in March 2022 the government had allowed free import of tur and urad till 31 march 2023. Now importers can import any quantity of urad and tur dal without any quantitative restrictions. The government has taken this step to ensure adequate domestic supply in the country and to control the prices of these pulses.
Pulses and India
India is the largest producer, importer and consumer of pulses in the world accounting for nearly 25% of global production, 15% of International trade and 27% of world consumption.
In 2020-21 the total pulse production in India was 26.96 million tonnes.
India meets around 10-12 % of its demand for pulses through import.
Source of pulse import
India buys maximum pulses from Canada followed by Myanmar.
To increase the supply of pulses in India and to keep its prices down, the government of India has signed a number of agreements with foreign countries to import pulses.
- It will import 2 lakh tonnes of tur per year from Mozambique for the next five years starting from 2021.
- It will import 50,000 tonnes of tur from Malawi per year till 2025.
- It will import 100,000 tonnes of tur from Myanmar per year till 2025.
The Government of India has notified import of pulses from Myanmar, Malawi and Mozambique will be allowed through five ports – Mumbai, Tuticorin, Chennai, Kolkata and Hazira. The Mumbai port is in Maharashtra, Tuticorin and Chennai in Tamilnadu, Kolkata in West Bengal and Hazira in Gujarat.
Domestic Production of Pulses
In 2020-21 the total pulse production in India was 26.96 million tonnes.
Largest Producer of pulses in India (2020-21) (in descending order)
- Madhya Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Maharashtra
Largest Producer of Tur in India (2020-21) (in descending order)
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
- Telangana
Source: Economic Survey 2021-22
5. IT minister launches 'Stay Safe Online' campaign to tackle cybercrime
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
As part of India's G20 presidency, the Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw has launched the "Stay Safe Online" campaign and the “G20 Digital Innovation Alliance” (G20-DIA), at Delhi on 28th December.
Important facts
MeitY, the nodal ministry for the G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG), has represented India in several working groups and ministerial sessions.
During India's G20 presidency, MeitY will focus on three priority areas, namely Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Cyber Security, and Digital Skill Development, together with the Stay Safe Online campaign and DIA programme under the DEWG.
MeitY aims to advance the vision of digital transformation of the global digital economy for public service delivery through innovation in a secure cyber environment and a future-ready digitally skilled workforce.
About Stay Safe Online Campaign
It aims to raise awareness among citizens to stay safe in the online world due to the widespread use of social media platforms and rapid adoption of digital payments.
Rapid growth in the number of Internet users in India and rapidly evolving technology have presented unique challenges.
The campaign will sensitise citizens of all age groups, especially children, students, women, senior citizens, teachers, officials of Central/State Governments, etc., about cyber risk and ways to deal with it.
The campaign will be run in English, Hindi and local languages to reach out to a wider audience.
About G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA)
It aims to identify and enable adoption of innovative and impactful digital technologies developed by startups from G20 countries.
It can address the needs of humanity in the critically important sectors of agri-tech, health-tech, ed-tech, fin-tech, secured digital infrastructure, and circular economy.
Startup products in the aforementioned six themes enabled through Digital Public Goods Infrastructure can create a global population-scale impact and reduce the digital divide and enable sustainable, and inclusive techno-socio-economic development.
6. Government owned WAPCOS ranked as top consulting firm by the Asian Development Bank
Tags: Reports National Economy/Finance
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The Asian Development Bank(ADB) in its annual Procurement report 2022 has ranked the Government of India owned Water and Power Consultancy Services India Limited (WAPCOS) Company as the top Consulting Services Firm in Water and other Infrastructure Sectors.
In another report on its Members’ Fact Sheet - 2022 released by the ADB, WAPCOS figured amongst the top 3 Consultants from India involved in Consulting Services Contracts under ADB Loan, Grant and Technical Assistance Projects in Energy, Transport and Water & other Urban Infrastructure Sectors. WAPCOS is the only Indian Public Sector to feature in the above categories.
The Manila, Philippines based Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank for Asia and Asia-Pacific region. It has 68 member countries and it is headed by Masatsugu Asakawa. It also releases the Asian development Outlook report.
WAPCOS
It was established by the government of India in 1969 under the aegis of the Ministry of Water Resources to utilize India’s knowledge and expertise in the field of water resources by sharing and exporting technology to friendly developing nations.
In 1979 the name of the Company was changed from “Water and Power Development Consultancy Services (India) Limited” to “Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited.”
Apart from India, the Company has successfully completed/on-going consultancy assignments in more than 51 Countries covering Asia, Africa, CIS, Pacific Islands and South America.
Chairman cum Managing Director: Rajni Kant Aggrawal
Headquarters: New Delhi
7. IOCL to help in the TB elimination effort of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
Tags: National Economy/Finance Science and Technology State News
The government of India owned Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central TB Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the states of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to undertake an intensified TB elimination project. This effort of the IOCL is part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
The MoU was signed in presence of Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya and Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri in New Delhi on 28 December 2022.
According to the World Health Organisation 26% of Tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world in 2020 was reported from India. Within India Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh share the highest burden of TB cases among large states in India. The Indian Government has set a target to eliminate TB in India by 2025.
Indian Oil has emerged as the first corporate to supplement state efforts in Active Case Finding campaign (ACF) by investing close to Rs. 64 crore in all 75 districts of UP, covering approximately 10% of its population once a year for three years.
Indian Oil will also introduce handheld X Ray Units, Mobile Medical Vans, equipped with cutting-edge diagnostic technology in Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. This would aid diagnosis of TB in rural areas and hard-to-reach communities leading to improved early case detection and thereby ensuring early treatment.
Under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) certain public or private sector companies have to spend a minimum 2% of the average net profits made during the 3 immediately preceding financial years on certain sectors identified by the government...
Every year March 24 is observed as World Tuberculosis Day in the world.
8. RBI releases web publication entitled ‘Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India: 2021-22’
Tags: Economy/Finance Books and Authors National News
The Reserve Bank released its web publication entitled ‘Statistical Tables relating to Banks in India: 2021-22’ covering the activities of the Indian banking sector on 27 December.
Important facts
The publication presents entity-wise information on major items of liabilities and assets along with their maturity profile, income and expenses, select financial ratios, number of employees, and details of priority sector advances for scheduled commercial banks excluding regional rural banks.
In addition, capital-to-risk-weighted asset ratios, non-performing assets, exposure to sensitive sectors, contingent liabilities, and unclaimed deposits are included.
State-wise distribution of consolidated balance sheet of rural cooperative banks are also presented.
The publication can be accessed on the RBI website through the link ‘Time Series Publications’ under the Database on Indian Economy.
9. ADB to provide $125 million loan to improve Urban Services in Tamil Nadu
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide USD 125 million loan to India to develop climate-resilient sewage collection and treatment, and drainage and water supply systems in three cities in the state of Tamil Nadu.
In 2018 ADB agreed to provide USD 500 million loan to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in strategic industrial corridors across 10 cities in Tamilnadu. The loan amount was to be provided in three tranches. Under the third tranche $125 million will be provided and the amount will be used to build priority water supply, sewerage, and drainage infrastructure in Coimbatore, Madurai and Thoothukudi.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
It is a regional multilateral financial institution which focuses on the countries of Asia and Pacific region.
At present it has 68 members—of which 49 members are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters: Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
10. NTPC inks pact with Italy based firm for green methanol production
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
India's largest power generation company 'National Thermal Power Corporation Limited' (NTPC) has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Technimont Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of Italy-based Maire Tecnimont Group, on 26 December.
Important facts
The objective of this MoU is to jointly evaluate and explore the possibility of developing a commercial scale green methanol production facility at NTPC's project in India.
This green methanol project involves capturing carbon from NTPC's power plants and converting it into green fuel.
This agreement will make a significant contribution to the energy transformation in India.
Green Methanol
Green methanol has a wide range of applications. It also includes use as a base material for chemical industries, storage of renewable electricity and as a transportation fuel.
It is also considered as a substitute fuel for maritime fuel applications.
The pilot scale green methanol project is in line with NTPC's commitment towards sustainability and renewable energy.
About NTPC
The NTPC which was earlier known as National Thermal Power Corporation of India is owned by the Government of India. It was set up in 1975.
The Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, with an installed capacity of 4,760MW, is currently the biggest thermal power plant in India.
It is a coal-based power plant owned and operated by NTPC.
The total installed commercial capacity of the company was 69454 MW before the JPL deal.
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairman and Managing Director: Gurdeep Singh
