Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 14, 15 and 16 August 2021

Topic: Corporates/Companies

1. CCI approves acquisition by Zomato of about 9.3% stake in Grofers.

• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition by Zomato of about 9.3% stake in each of Grofers India and Hands on Trades (HoT) Private Limited.
• This marks Zomato’s entry into the online grocery retail segment. Grofers International is holding company of both Grofers India and HoT.
• Zomato had recently invested $100 million for acquiring a minority stake in Grofers.
• CCI has also approved the acquisition of shares by Plum Wood in ANI Technologies.
• Plum Wood is an investment holding company. ANI is engaged in operating mobile technology platform which provides taxi aggregation services under the brand name of Ola.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

2. 100 MW solar project commissioned by Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd at Raghanesda Solar Park, Gujarat.

• 100 MW solar project has been commissioned by Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd at Raghanesda Solar Park, Gujarat.
• The project will reduce 2,00,000 tonnes of carbon emission every year. It was awarded by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL).
• Raghanesda Solar Park is located in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat. It is one of the biggest solar parks in India.
• Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power.

Topic: Indian Economy/Financial Market

3. ONDC will not be limited to products but also be available for services.

• Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will not be limited to products but also be available for services.
• Government may also think about setting up an independent regulatory authority for e-commerce like SEBI for capital market.
• The advisory council for ONDC was constituted on July 5. It includes Nandan M. Nilekani, R S Sharma, Adil Zainulbhai, Anjali Bansal, Arvind Gupta, Dilip Asbe, Suresh Sethi, Praveen Khandelwal and Kumar Rajagopalan.

Topic: Banking/Financial Schemes

4. Continuation of input duty rebate scheme for garments and made-ups notified for three years.

• Continuation of input duty rebate scheme for garments and made-ups has been notified for three years from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024.
• Last month, the Union Cabinet has approved the extension of Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL), till March 2024.
• Textile Ministry has fixed maximum rate of rebate for the scheme at 6.05% for apparel and 8.2% for made-ups.
• The eligibility criteria for the scheme will remain the same. The scheme will be available for only the export of garments and made-ups (including bed sheets, curtains, pillow covers and towels).

Topic: Reports and Indices

5. State Bank of India’s business activity index for the week ended August 9, 2021 stood at 101.6.

• State Bank of India’s business activity index for the week ended August 9, 2021 stood at 101.6.
• The index reading for May 22, 2021 was 61.4 and for July 21, 2021, was 94.2.
• Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, SBI said that recovery is visible in labour participation rate, electricity demand, Google mobility and Apple mobility index.
• In the report “Covid-19: Vaccinate, Vaccinate & Vaccinate!” Ghosh observed that the month-on-month (m-o-m) rural recovery in July is expected to be steady.
• As per the report, critical mass (70%) may be covered with 1^st dose of Covid-19 vaccination by November-end 2021 and the second dose by March 15, 2022 at the present vaccination rate of 45 lakh per day.

Topic: Corporates/Companies

6. Digital payments firm MobiKwik adds four independent directors to its Board of Directors.

• Digital payments firm MobiKwik has added four independent directors to its Board of Directors.
• The four independent directors are Punita Kumar Sinha, Navdeep Singh Suri, Sayali Karanjkar and Raghu Ram Hiremagalur.
• On July 12, MobiKwik had filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI for an IPO to raise ₹1,900 crore.
• MobiKwik was founded in 2009 by Bipin Preet Singh and Upasana Rupkrishan Taku. Bipin Preet Singh is its MD and CEO.

Topic: Miscellaneous

7. Parliament passed General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.

• On 11 August 2021, Parliament passed the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021.
• It has made amendments to the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972.
• It allowed the privatization of state-run general insurance companies.
• It has removed the mandatory shareholding of 51 percent of government in General Insurance Corporation of India, National Insurance, New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance, and United India Insurance companies.
• It will encourage greater private sector participation in the public sector insurance companies.
• Earlier, Parliament had passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 to increase the FDI limit in the insurance sector to 74% from 49%.

Topic: Banking System

8. License of Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited cancelled by RBI.

• License of Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited has been cancelled by RBI.
• It has directed Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank to cease all its operations from 13 August 2021.
• It has requested the Commissioner for Cooperation and Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Maharashtra to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator for the bank.
• As per RBI, 95% of depositors will get full amounts of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation.
• On liquidation of bank, every depositor would be given right to get deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of 5 lakh rupees.
• Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank is based in Raigad, Maharashtra. Its license has been cancelled because of inadequate capital and earning prospects.

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