Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 11, 12 and 13 April 2021

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

1. Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam issues India’s first municipal green bonds.

• Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam (GNN) has issued India’s first municipal green bonds.
• India’s first Green Municipal bond has been successfully raised and listed by Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam.
• Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam raised ₹150 crore. The money will be used to clean up dirty water by establishing a tertiary water treatment plant.
• It will also be used to supply piped water. K Capital was the lead manager for the issue bonds.
• Ahmedabad, Surat, Visakhapatnam, Amravati, Indore, Bhopal, Pune, Hyderabad and Lucknow are nine cities that have earlier issued municipal bonds.
• Green Bonds are financial instruments designed to fund environment related and climate related projects. European Investment Bank and the World Bank launched green bonds in 2007.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

2. Government of Haryana approves allotment of 140 acres of land to Flipkart.

• Government of Haryana has approved the allotment of 140 acres of land to Flipkart for setting up its largest fulfilment centre in Asia.
• It will be located in Patli Hajipur in Manesar of Gurugram district.
• The allotted land belongs to Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC).
• The approval was given in a meeting of the Haryana Enterprise Promotion Board (HEPB).

Topic: Corporates/Companies

3. Flipkart enters into strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group.

• Flipkart has entered into a strategic and commercial partnership with the Adani Group.
• Flipkart will also establish its third data centre at Chennai-based facility of Adaniconnex Private Limited.
• Adaniconnex Private Limited is a Joint Venture that was formed between EdgeConneX and Adani Enterprises Limited.
• Under the partnership, Adani Logistics Ltd will build a fulfilment centre in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai and the centre will be leased to Flipkart.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

4. Government likely to increase FDI limit in pension sector to 74%.

• Government is likely to increase the FDI limit in the pension sector from 49% to 74%.
• To increase FDI limit in pension sector, the government is likely to bring a bill in the next session.
• Amendment bill may also separate NPS Trust from PFRDA. Currently, powers, functions and duties of the NPS Trust are given in the PFRDA (National Pension System Trust) Regulations 2015. 
• Last month, Parliament gave approval to a Bill increasing the FDI limit in the insurance sector from 49% to 74%.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

5. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories gets permission from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V.

• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories has got permission from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for restricted emergency use of Sputnik V.
• Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories has also got permission to import Sputnik V vaccine into India.
• In September 2020, Dr. Reddy’s had entered into a partnership with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct the clinical trials of Sputnik V.
• Russian-made Sputnik V ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by governments.
• With the approval of Sputnik V, India now has three vaccines against COVID-19. Other two are Covishield — the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India — and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

6. India’s first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) reaches at H-Energy’s Jaigarh LNG regasification terminal in Maharashtra.

• India’s first Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) reached at H-Energy’s Jaigarh LNG regasification terminal in Maharashtra.
• The name of FSRU is ‘Höegh Giant’. India’s first FSRU-based LNG regasification terminal will increase India’s LNG terminal capacity to 51 million tonnes (mt) from 45 mt.
• Government aims to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy mix from the present 6% to 15% by 2030.
• The FSRU is hired from Höegh LNG Holdings Ltd for 10-years by H-Energy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Western Concessions Pvt Ltd.
• Peak regasification capacity of ‘Höegh Giant’ is about six mt a year. It will deliver regasified LNG to the Jaigarh-Dabhol pipeline.

Topic: Regulatory Bodies/Financial Institutions

7. ₹25 crore penalty imposed by SEBI on Yes Bank in AT-1 bond case.

• ₹25 crore penalty has been imposed by SEBI on Yes Bank in AT-1 bond case.
• It also imposed a ₹1 crore fine on members of Private Wealth Management Team of Yes Bank.
• All penalties imposed SEBI have to be paid within 45 days. Yes Bank sold AT-1 bonds to investors, terming them as Super Fixed Deposits. 
• In March 2020, Yes Bank wrote of ₹8,415 crore of these bonds. All the investors approached SEBI.
• In October 2020, SEBI appointed an adjudicating officer and issued show cause notices. SEBI started hearing this year.

Topic: Appointments

8. S Ramann appointed as SIDBI’s new Chairman and Managing Director.

• S Ramann has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) by the central government.
• He is appointed for a three-year tenure.
• Banks Board Bureau had suggested his name for the post in December last year.
• He is the current CEO of India’s first Information Utility, National E-Governance Services Ltd.
• SIDBI:
  • It is the principal financial institution in the MSME sector.
  • It works under the Department of Financial Services.
  • It is regulated and supervised by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
  • It was established in 1990.
  • Headquarters: Lucknow, UP

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