1. AU Small Finance Bank and HDFC Life announce bancassurance tie-up
Tags: Economy/Finance
AU Small Finance Bank, and HDFC Life company has entered into a bancassurance agreement under which the customers of the Au bank can access the entire life insurance product the HDFC life company.
Bancassurance
It is the selling of insurance products through banking channels. In Bancassurance a bank enters into an agreement with an Insurance company. The Bank makes its customer database available to the Insurance companies. If the bank customer buys the insurance products then the bank will receive a commission from the Insurance companies.
Here both the bank and the Insurance companies benefit. The Insurance companies get new customers and banks earn extra income.
Regulator of Bancassurance in India
Bancassurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
AU Small Finance Bank
It is the largest Small Finance Bank in India which started its operation on 19 April 2017.
Headquarter s: Jaipur, Rajasthan
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Sanjay Aggrawal
Tagline of the bank: Badlaav Humse Hai
HDFC Life Insurance Company limited
It is a joint venture of HDFC Ltd and Standard Life Aberdeen (Mauritius Holdings) Limited. It started its operation in 2000.
It is one of the largest private sector insurance companies in India.
Headquarters: Mumbai
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Vibha Padalkar
Tagline: Sar Utha ke Jiyo
2. NMDC wins IEI Industry Excellence Award 2022
Tags: Economy/Finance Awards
National Miner National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) won the coveted IEI (Institution of Engineers, India) Industry Excellence Award 2022 on 16th December,2022 in Chennai.
Important facts
On behalf of NMDC, N R K Prasad, CGM (IE & MS), received the award from Dr K Ponmudy, Minister for Higher Education, Government of Tamil Nadu.
NMDC, the largest producer of iron ore in the country, was honoured at the 37th Indian Engineering Congress for its outstanding performance and high level of business excellence.
The Institution of Engineers (India) has given the Industry Excellence Award to NMDC , after reviewing the business operations, financial performance, environmental performance, research and development, CSR and corporate governance policies of a company.
With an eco-friendly, economic and efficient approach, NMDC is undertaking transformational projects to maintain its domestic leadership and move towards becoming a global mining company.
About NMDC
It was incorporated in 1958 as a Government of India public enterprise.
It is India’s largest producer of iron ore.
Since inception, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, it has been exploring minerals including copper, rock phosphate, limestone, magnesite, diamond, tungsten and beach sand, among others.
Headquarters: Hyderabad
3. UPICON and Jadooz to create 1,000 rural entrepreneurs in Edutainment in Uttar Pradesh
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
U.P. Industrial Consultants Limited (UPICON) and Jadooz Company have joined hands to create 1,000 rural entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh through rural edutainment centres called ‘Magic Rooms’.
The Magic room is based on the concept of common infrastructure usage for Education and Cinema’. It will perform the dual function of big-screen-based live interactive education in the day and will double up as a ‘First Day First Show’ cinema in the evening.
Both UPICON and Jadooz will train 1000 entrepreneurs in rural Uttar Pradesh. UPICON expects every Magic Room to create direct and indirect employment to more than 25,000 people and create a new direct and indirect economy of Rs 1,000 Crores annually.
The first two ‘Magic Rooms’ are expected to be inaugurated in rural clusters surrounding Lucknow and Basti.
Jadooz is an entertainment start-up based in NOIDA, is in the business of setting up mini theaters in rural areas with an average seating capacity of 30-50. The mini theaters are normally used for educational purposes in the daytime and for cinema at night time.
UPICON Managing Director: Pravin Singh
4. PNB Housing Finance opens 'Roshni' branches to push its affordable housing financing scheme
Tags: Economy/Finance
PNB Housing Finance on 16 December 2022 announced that it has opened 'Roshni' branches in various locations, including tier II and III cities, for deepening its customer base in the affordable housing segment.
Under the Roshini initiative, PNB Housing Finance will offer retail home loans to individuals in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
The company's Roshni branches have been inaugurated in Chennai, Coimbatore, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad, Indore/Ujjain, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot and Varanasi.
Under the Roshini scheme the borrowers can get loans for purchase of house property, self-construction, home extension/renovation, plot purchase plus construction, loan against property, among others.
PNB Housing Finance Limited
PNB Housing Finance Limited is a subsidiary company of Punjab National Bank.
It is a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) which provides housing loans to individuals and corporations.
Headquarters: New Delhi
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer: Girish Kousgi
Tagline: Ghar Ki Baat
Housing Finance Companies in India are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.
5. RIL lunches its FMCG Brand ‘Independence’
Tags: place in news Economy/Finance
India’s largest private sector company Reliance Industries limited (RIL) entered into the highly competitive Indian Fast Moving Consumer Goods(FMCG) market with the soft launch of its “Independence” brand in Ahmedabad ,Gujarat on 15 December 2022.
The company will offer packaged indigenous consumer goods including processed foods, edible oils, pulses, grains, staples and daily essentials under the Independence brand.
The FMCG business of RIL is being handled by Reliance Consumer Products, a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. Reliance Retail Ventures limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL.
Speaking on the occasion, Isha Ambani, Director Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd said that soon the ‘Independence’ brand will be extended all over India.
Some of the top FMCG companies in India are Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Nestle, Dabur, Marico, Parle etc.
What are Consumer durable goods and FMCG?
Consumer goods on the basis of its usage has been broadly divided into durable and non -durable goods.
Consumer non-durable goods or Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are consumer goods which are almost used daily by the consumer and are generally sold at a low cost so that it is affordable to many. It has a low shelf life and needs to be replenished more frequently. Some of the examples of the FMCG products are tea, biscuit, milks, soaps, perfumes etc.
Consumer durables goods are those goods which are not frequently purchased by the consumers and have longer shell life. For example electronics items like TV, mobile phones, or cars etc.
6. 48th meeting of GST Council
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
The 48th meeting of the GST Council was held on 17th December via video conferencing.
Important facts
The meeting was chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary, Finance Ministers of States & Union Territories and Senior officers from Union Government & States.
In June 2022, the GST Council had its 47th meeting.
Agenda of 48th GST council meeting
Certain offences relating to GST are expected to be decriminalised.
A decision will be made in areas on online gaming, casinos, gambling, and horse racing.
Establishment and powers of GST Appellate Tribunal in 2023.
Reduction in GST rate on health insurance from 18% to 12%.
To define the scope of CCI's power to act as an anti-profiteering authority.
Applicability of the special composition scheme for selling brick kilns with a 6% GST rate without the input tax credit.
Converting to capacity-based GST valuation principles for tobacco taxes.
About GST Council
To implement GST, the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both the Houses of the Parliament in 2016.
The GST Council has been notified as a constitutional body to deal with issues related to GST.
It is a joint forum of the Center and the States which was established by the President in accordance with Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution.
Members of GST Council
Union Finance Minister (Chairman), Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre.
Each state minister in charge of finance or taxation or any other minister may be nominated as a member.
Functions of GST Council
To make recommendations to the Center and the States on important issues relating to GST.
It also decides on various rate slabs of GST.
What is the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?
It was introduced through the 101st Constitution Amendment Act, 2016.
It is one of the biggest indirect tax reforms in the country and was introduced with the slogan of ‘One Nation One Tax’.
GST subsumes indirect taxes like excise duty, value added tax (VAT), service tax, luxury tax etc.
7. ADB keeps India growth rate forecast at 7% for 2022-23
Tags: Reports Economy/Finance
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) in its latest report “Asian Development Outlook” Supplement December 2022 issued on 14 December 2022 has kept its forecast on the Indian economy growth rate for 2022-23 to 7%. In 2021-22 the Indian economy grew by 8.7%.
The ADB in its last report issued in September had forecasted the growth rate of 7% for the Indian economy in 2022-23. The ADB expects India to grow by 7.2% in 2023-24.
According to the National Statistical Office (NSO), the Indian economy grew by 6.3% in Q2 (July-September) of the fiscal year 2022-23.
However in its recent Monetary policy statement the Reserve Bank of India had revised the Indian economy growth rate in 2022-23 to 6.8% from its earlier 7% forecast.
Other key points of the report
ADB expects the Asia Pacific region to grow by 4.2% in 2022 (January -December) and 4.6% in 2023.
The South Asian region is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2022 and by 6.3% in 2023 due to slow down in the Bangladesh economy and flooding in Pakistan.
Asia’s largest economy China is expected to grow by 3% in 2022 down from its earlier forecast of 3.3%.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
It is a regional multilateral financial institution which focuses on the countries of Asia and Pacific region.
It was set up after a resolution was passed at the first Ministerial Conference on Asian Economic Cooperation held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East in 1963.
It started functioning from 19 December 1966 with 31 member countries.
At present it has 68 members—of which 49 members are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
Japan is the largest shareholder of the ADB and a Japanese has always been the head of the ADB.
President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters: Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
8. National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd signs MoU with NIT Manipur
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) has signed MoU with NIT Manipur through Video Conference on 14th December 2022.
Important facts
The MoU was signed between Prof Gautam Sutradhar, Director NIT Manipur and Chanchal Kumar, Managing Director, NHIDCL.
National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), works under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India.
It is looking for innovative technologies to find practical solutions to the challenges faced in the construction of highways that withstand extreme climatic conditions.
In the same process NHIDCL has signed MoU with prestigious institutes like IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur, CSIR-CRRI, NSDC, IIT Patna, NIT Srinagar, NIT Agartala, NIT Silchar, NIT Uttarakhand, NIT Nagaland NIT Sikkim, IIT Kharagpur\
9. Atal Innovation Mission and UNDP India launch 5th edition of Youth Co:Lab for Young Entrepreneurs
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
The 5th edition of Youth Co:Lab, Asia Pacific’s largest youth innovation initiative was jointly launched by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and UNDP India on 15 December, 2022.
Important facts
The applications for this edition were launched by Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog and Dennis Curry, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP India.
Entrepreneurs are an important factor in leading social change and accelerating the effort to meet the SDG targets.
All young innovators and entrepreneurs are invited to participate in this incredible opportunity to unleash their creativity and build their solutions through Youth Co:Lab.
About Youth Co: Lab
It is an initiative launched in 2019 by UNDP India in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
Its aim is to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.
It is supporting young social entrepreneurs who can play an important role in leading social change and furthering the implementation of SDG targets.
This initiative, till date, has been implemented in 28 countries and territories, reaching over 200,000 participants, benefitting more than 11,000 young social entrepreneurs and supporting over 1,240 social enterprises.
10. MoU signed between CCI and TEXPROCIL on Branding and Certification of “Kasturi Cotton India”
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
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A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Limited and TEXPROCIL on Branding, Traceability and Certification of “Kasturi Cotton India” in Varanasi on 15th December.
Important facts
The Cotton Corporation of India, along with the textile industry and exporters, is striving to ensure that India's cotton farmers get their due in the world markets.
This collaboration will benefit cotton farmers who will get the actual value of their produce due to brand building and quality assurance.
Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal announced the creation of an advisory group on ‘Man-Made Fibre’ on the lines of Cotton Group.
The MoU will encourage the Industry to work on the principle of self-regulation by owning complete responsibility of Traceability, Certification and Branding of Indian cotton, Ministry of Textiles.
The Government of India will contribute an equal share of Rs 15 crore over a period of three cotton seasons starting from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
What is Kasturi Cotton?
India’s premium Cotton is known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton Trade.
The Kasturi Cotton brand represents whiteness, brightness, softness, purity, uniqueness and Indianness.
World Cotton Day is observed on 7th October every year.
Cotton is a Kharif Crop which requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
Top Cotton Producing States in India - Gujarat > Maharashtra > Telangana > Andhra Pradesh > Rajasthan.
Cotton Corporation of India (CCI)
It was established in 1970 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles as a Public Sector Undertaking under the Companies Act 1956.
It undertake price support operations, whenever the market prices of cotton fall below the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) announced by Govt of India, without any quantitative limit.
Headquarters: Belapur, Navi Mumbai
