1. Piyush Goyal launches India US Startup SETU - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling programme in San Francisco
Tags: National Economy/Finance Government Schemes International News
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goel launched the India US Startup SETU - Supporting Entrepreneurs in Transformation and Upskilling programme in San Francisco, United States on 6 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Aim of the Startup:
- Piyush Goyal said it will act as a bridge between Indian and American companies and will support entrepreneurs in transforming, upskilling and leveraging on the success stories of the Indian Diaspora in the US.
- The minister observed that some good ideas of startups don't take off for lack of mentorship, guidance, funds.
- The initiative would connect start-ups in India to US-based investors and start-up ecosystem leaders with mentorship and assistance in various areas including funding, market access and commercialization.
- The interaction will be supported through the mentorship portal under the Startup India initiative MAARG, or the Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth program, which is a single-stop solution finder for startups in India.
What is MAARG ?
- It is a portal which has been launched by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the startups India initiative.
- The portal has been developed with the idea that a mentor shall be accessible to the startups, anywhere in the country.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Points to remember :
- January 16 is observed as Startup day as on this day in 2016 the government of India launched its flagship Startup India initiative. The first Startup day was observed in 2022.
- India has become the third-largest Startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China.
- Bengaluru based Neobank Open is the 100th Unicorn Startup in India.
2. Number of demat accounts in India crosses 10 crore mark
Tags: National Economy/Finance
According to data released by depository firms National Securities Depository Limited (NDSL) and Central Depository Services (CDSL), over 22 Lakh new accounts were opened in August, taking the figure to 10 crore and five lakh. In March 2020, the total number of demat account holders in India was four crore and nine lakh.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- CDSL is currently the largest depository in the country in terms of active demat accounts.
What is the need for a Demat account ?
- If a person wants to buy and sell securities (shares, bonds etc.) on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) or other exchanges, he or she needs a trading account, demat account. Both the account has to be linked with the person's bank accounts.
- Trading accounts are needed for the purpose of buying and selling securities.
Then what is a Demat account ?
- Demat is an abbreviation of dematerialised. Dematerialised means which is not in physical form but in an electronic form.
- Market regulator securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made it compulsory for the companies to issue securities in electronic forms only. Earlier they were issued in physical or paper forms.
- So a person who buys the securities needs a place where to deposit the securities.
- Here the facility is offered by Depository Participants (DP).
- The investor opens Demat accounts with a SEBI registered Depository Participants (DP) to keep their shares, bonds, debentures etc. in electronic form.
- The Demat account is linked with the trading account so that the investor can smoothly buy and sell the securities.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Depositories Participants :
- They are financial institutions which are a member of Depositories and they offer the Demat account facilities to the investor. They could be banks, share broking companies etc.
Depositories :
- hey are set up in India after the enactment of the Depositories Act 1996. They are licensed and regulated by SEBI.
- There are two Depositories in India and both are based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- They are National Securities and Depositories Limited (NDSL) and Central Depositories Services India Ltd (CDSL).
- NSDL was the first depository to be set up in India in August 1996.
- CDSL was set up in 1999.
What do they do ?
- They convert the securities (shares, bonds, etc) issued by companies into electronic form, enabling their buying and selling in the capital market (popularly known as share market). SEBI has made the dematerialisation of securities compulsory in India.
3. All Approvals to Industry to be given by though NSWS by March 2023: DPIIT
Tags: National Economy/Finance
The Government of India intends to bring all the states and the Union Territories on board all states that are not a part of the National Single Window System (NSWS) by March 2023.
This was stated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India on 6 September 2022.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
What is NSWS ?
- NSWS was launched in September 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) along with Invest India.
- It is a digital platform that serves as a guide for investors to identify and to apply for approvals as per their business requirements.
- At present 15 States/UTs are integrated with the NSWS. They are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand and Nagaland.
Objective of the National Single Window System ?
- The main objectives of the NSWS are as follows:
- 1) To establish a single-window mechanism by integrating the services provided by various Central Ministries, Departments, and State Governments
- 2) To provide a one-stop-shop for procuring pre-establishment and pre-operation approvals and permits required to establish a business in India
- 3) To provide efficient, convenient, transparent, and integrated electronic service to investors, industries, and businesses
- DPIIT
- The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) was established in the year 1995 and was reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development.
- The department was earlier called Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion; and was renamed as DPIIT in January, 2019.
- It comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry :
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Important Function of the DPIIT :
- It helps in making the Industrial policy of the Government of India
- It is the nodal body for matters related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
- It undertakes promotion of investment for industrial development of the country.
- It is the nodal body for matters relating to Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and administers law related to IPR.
vest India :
- Invest India is a National Investment and Promotion Agency to promote India as an investment destination and encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.
- It was set up as a company in 2009 and started its operation in 2010.
- It is a joint venture of the government and the private sector.
- The Central and State Government holds 49% of the shares in Invest India and the rest 51% is with Industrial bodies (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), National Association of Software Services Companies of India (NASSCOM), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
4. Government set up Kirit Parikh committee to review the gas pricing formula to tame inflation
Tags: committee Economy/Finance Person in news
The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on 6 September 2022, has set up a committee to review the pricing formula for locally produced gas to ensure a "fair price to the end consumer".
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Chairman of the committee :
- The committee will be headed by former planning commission member Kirit Parikh.
- It will include members from the fertiliser ministry, as well as gas producers and buyers.
Reason for setting up of the committee :
- The committee will suggest pricing of locally produced natural gas so as to lower inflation in the country and boost the use of cleaner fuel.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to raise the share of gas in India's energy mix to 15% by 2030 from 6.2%, helping it progress towards meeting a 2070 net zero carbon-emission goal.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Fixing of natural gas price in India :
- In 2014 the government linked the local gas price to a formula tied to global benchmarks, including Henry Hub, Alberta gas, NBP and Russian gas.
- In 2016 the government began fixing the maximum prices of gas produced from deep water and allowed marketing freedom to the producer of these gasses.
- ONGC and Reliance are the major producers of deep water natural gas in India.
- The prices of natural gases are now at a record high in India and abroad, and are expected to rise further due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This is expected to increase inflation further in India.
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas : Hardeep Singh Puri.
5. Union Government relaxes moong and Urad limit for Madhya Pradesh under the Price support Scheme
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in a relief to the Madhya Pradesh farmers has relaxed the existing purchase limit of 25 quintals for purchase of Moong and Urad under the Price Support Scheme during summer season 2021-22 .
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- It has been increased to 40 quintals per farmer per day.
- This order was issued on 6 September 2022.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Price Support Scheme :
- It has been launched by the government of India .
- Under this scheme when the prices of commodities fall below the Minimum Support price (MSP) , state and central notified procurement nodal agencies like NAFED(National Agricultural Marketing Federation of India), purchase commodities directly from the farmers at MSP under specified Fair Average Quality,
- This helps and protects the farmers against the economic loss in farming.
Madhya Pradesh as a leading Agricultural state :
- Madhya Pradesh is also known as Soyabean state.
- It ranks 1st in the country in the production of Soyabean, Urad, Tur, Massor and Linseed.
- It ranks 2nd in the production of Maize, Sesame, Ramtil, Moong.
- It ranks 3rd in the production of Wheat, Sorghum and Barley.
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmer Welfare : Narendra Singh Tomar
6. Smt. Anupriya Patel lays foundation stone of 'Chunar Logistics Park' in Mirzapur, UP
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
After Agra, Moradabad and Kanpur, now UP's fourth and Purvanchal's first logistics park is going to be established in Chunar, Mirzapur.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Who laid the foundation stone ?
- Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel laid the foundation stone of the logistic park on 5 September 2022. The Union Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually attended the event as a Chief Guest.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Who is constructing it ?
- The Logistics Park will be constructed by Container Corporation of India Limited.
- In the first phase, the park will be developed at a cost of Rs 30 crore. Other facilities will be developed in the second phase at a cost of Rs 70 crore.
Beneficial to the Business in the area :
- Speaking on the occasion Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said that with the start of Logistic Park in Chunar, there will be a revolutionary change in the business of Purvanchal including Mirzapur.
- Carpets, pottery and brass industries, handicrafts, grains and food items manufactured in these districts will get easy access to the international market.
- With the creation of the Logistics Park, goods manufactured in Mirzapur and surrounding areas will be facilitated to be sent abroad through major ports of the country in a short time.
7. NTPC acquires Jhabua Power Ltd through Insolvency and Bankruptcy resolution route
Tags: Economy/Finance State News
India’s largest power generating company NTPC ltd. has acquired the 600 MW Jhabua Power limited company of the bankrupt Gautam Thapar owned Avantha Group through Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process initiated by National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata, (NCLT).
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- Jhabua Power Limited (JPL) has an operational thermal power capacity of 1 x 600 MW located in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.
- It is the first asset that NTPC is taking over through the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) route. The estimated deal size is Rs 1,830 crore.
- A consortium of secured lenders led by Axis Bank approached the NCLT after JPL failed to repay the loan it had taken.
- Under the deal which was worked out between the lenders, NTPC and JPL, NTPC will hold 50 percent equity shares of the JPL and will also have all the management rights and control over the company.
- NTPC will pay Rs 1830 crore to the lenders of JPL and also will offer 50 % share in the JPL to the lenders.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
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
8. Binesh Kumar Tyagi takes over as CMD of the Shipping Corporation of India
Tags: Economy/Finance Person in news
The government of India owned Shipping Corporation of India has said that Binesh Kumar Tyagi has taken over as its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD).
Binesh Kumar Tyagi was heading the Liner and Passenger Services Division as Director (L&PS) since January 7, 2021 in the company
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Shipping Corporation of India :
- It is the largest shipping company in India.
- The Shipping Corporation of India was set up on 2 October 1961.
- It comes under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
9. Tea export in the first 6 months of the year increases to 96.89 million Kg
Tags: Economy/Finance
According to the Tea Board of India, Kolkata, the total export of tea during the first six months January to June 2022 has increased to 96.89 million kg as compared to 86.46 million kg in the similar previous period.
Total value of exports in rupee terms increased to Rs 2,532.67 crore in the current first half as compared to Rs 2306.77 crore in the previous similar period.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Major Tea Export Market for India :
The largest export market for India is still the Commonwealth of Independent countries (CIS). CIS is a group of 9 countries who were once part of the Soviet Union. It includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
The export of tea has decline to the CIS countries in the first six month of the current year due to Russia-Ukraine war. It has declined to 20.58 million kg during the current six months against 21.04 million kg in the previous period of 2021.
Country wise :
The largest export market for Indian tea was the United Arab Emirates (UEA). It imported 15.86 million kg during the current first six months as against 6.76 million kg in the previous similar period.
In second place was Russia with an import of 14.76 million kg.
At the third place was Iran with an import of 11.43 million kg in the current first half as against 10.04 million kg in the previous period.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Largest Exporter of Tea in the world (2021 data) :
India is the 2nd largest producer of tea in the world after China. It is the fourth largest exporter of tea in the world.
The largest exporter of tea in the world is Kenya (28% of global export) followed by China (19%), Sri Lanka (14%) and India (11%).
10. CCI approves the acquisition of BillDesk by PayU Payment
Tags: Economy/Finance
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 5 September 2022, through a tweet said it has approved payments major PayU's $4.7 billion (about Rs 34,400 crore) acquisition of online payments firm Bill Desk.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
- It has approved the acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of IndiaIdeas.com Limited (IIL) owner of BillDesk by PayU Payments Private Limited (PayU India) under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
- Last year in August, Netherland based global consumer internet group and technology investor Prosus NV had announced that an agreement had been reached between PayU and the shareholders of BillDesk to acquire BillDesk for $4.7 billion.
- The PayU-BillDesk deal is the second-largest buyout in the Indian internet sector after Walmart’s $ 16 billion acquisition of e-commerce major Flipkart in 2018. This will involve the merger of the payments gateway business of two of India's largest players
- PayU India and BillDesk primarily provide payment aggregation services that enable merchants (and other entities) to receive payments from their customers across various digital payment methods.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Competition Commission of India (CCI) :
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is the chief national competition regulator in India.
- It was set up under the Competition Act, 2002
- It comes under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
- It promotes healthy market competition and prevents activities that have an adverse effect on competition in India.
- CCI also approves combinations under the act so that two merging entities do not overtake the market.
Headquarter - New Delhi
Current Chairman - Ashok Kumar Gupta
