Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 15, 16 and 17 August 2020

By PendulumEdu | Last Modified: 17 Aug 2020 18:12 PM IST

Main Headlines:

1. EY India report shows decline in EBIDTA of 159 listed companies

EY India report shows that aggregated EBIDTA (Earnings before interest, depreciation and taxation) of 159 listed companies have declined by 15% in March quarter.
The report shows that the aggregate provision of companies has recorded an increase of approximately Rs25, 000 crore in the March quarter. But, EBIDTA declined by Rs 22,938 crore in March quarter.
The report is titled “Early Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on Indian corporate reporting” and is based on an analysis of 159 of the top 300 BSE companies by EY India.
The report also finds delays in reporting March 2020 quarterly results in comparison with March 2019.

As per Indian Ports’ Association (IPA), imports of thermal and coking coal have declined by 31% to 36.7 million tonnes (MT) at major ports in April-July 2020.
In April-July 2020, the imports of thermal coal declined by 30% to 23.19MT and the imports of coking coal declined by 32.26% to 13.51 MT.
The imports of coal at 12 major ports declined for the fourth continuous months in July 2020.
Thermal coal is used for power generation and coking coal is used for steel making.
In the list of largest coal producers, India comes in third place after China and the US.
The number of major ports in India is 12. They are under the control of the central government.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed new norms for construction equipment vehicles.
Proposed norms will be implemented in a phased manner. The aim of proposed rules is the safety of the operator and safety from construction machines on public roads.
Proposed norms are aimed at introducing AIS (Automotive Industry Standard) 160 and other safety requirements.
Currently, Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, provide for safety requirements for construction equipment vehicles.

BEML has signed MoUs with IIT, Kanpur and NASSCOM-CoE (Centre of Excellence).
Under the MoU, two organizations (BEML & IIT Kanpur) will jointly develop Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).
The aim of BEML’s MoU with NASSCOM – CoE (Centre of Excellence) for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) related areas is the implementation of AI and IoT in BEML products.
The partnership with NASSCOM-CoE is also aimed at setting up incubation centres for start-ups.
BEML Limited:
- It was earlier named as Bharat Earth Movers Limited.
- It is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- It is a Defence PSU Company.
- It is the biggest Defence, Mining & Construction and Rail Coach Manufacturer in India.

Sagar MSW Project has been commissioned by Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd.
It is an integrated waste management project, and it is located in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
The project will cover 10 urban local bodies to manage 350 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste every day.

Infrastructure for low-cost fly ash transportation has been developed by NTPC Limited at the Rihand project in UP.
The infrastructure will ensure cheaper transport of fly ash to cement plants at a lower cost.
3,450 Metric Tonnes (MT) of fly ash has already been sent from NTPC’s Rihand Super Thermal Power station to ACC Cement Manufacturing Plant, Tikaria, Uttar Pradesh.
For fly ash management, NTPC is exploring options such as fly ash based geo-polymer road. Another option being explored is to replace fine aggregate (sand) in cement concrete with bottom ash.
NTPC may also set up a fly ash classifier unit for export purposes.
NTPC Limited is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) with Maharatna status. It was founded in 1975. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

World’s tallest pier bridge is being constructed by the Indian Railways in Manipur.
The bridge is being constructed across river Ijai near Noney, a town in the western part of Manipur.
The height of the tallest pier (pillar) of the bridge will be 141 meters.
The bridge is located in the Marangching village in Noney district.
The bridge will exceed the current record of 139 meters of Mala-Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro, in Europe.
The deadline for completion of the bridge is March 2022, and the estimated cost of the bridge is 280 crore rupees.
The bridge is being constructed as part of the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new BG line project.
Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new BG (Broad Gauge) line project of North East Frontier Railway has a total of 45 tunnels in the project. Tunnel No. 12 is the longest with a length of 10.280 km.
Tunnel No. 12 will be the longest railway tunnel in the North East.