Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness

1. mooPay, a fully-automated direct payment platform launched

• Stellapps has launched mooPay, a fully-automated direct payment platform for dairy farmers in Rajasthan.
• mooPay helps dairies in making payments to registered farmers without risks and costs of transferring money.
• mooPay has been launched in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan on 15 October.
• It automatically collects payment data from IoT devices installed at every village dairy cooperative society.     
• In 2019, India FinTech Forum’s Financial Inclusion Initiative of the year award was won by mooPay.
• Stellapps is dairy-tech start-up and is a part of the World Economic Forum’s technology pioneer community. Rahul Mallick is its CEO.

2. DIPAM to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to appoint an actuary

• Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) will issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to appoint an actuary to decide the Indian Embedded Value of LIC.
• Through Indian Embedded Value, the consolidated value of shareholders’ interest in life insurance business within the Insurance Act 1938 and IRDAI regulations is measured.
• Indian Embedded Value is required as it is a precondition of IPO for LIC. An actuary will decide the Indian Embedded value.
• As per IRDAI regulations, an applicant company should file embedded value before an IPO. An independent actuary should prepare a valuation report and another actuary should review it.
• The last date for submitting an Expression of Interest (EoI) to buy a controlling stake (53%) in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is 16 November. It is not likely to be extended further.   
• Government is also in the process of strategic sale of Central Electronics Ltd and two plants (Salem and Bhadrawati).
• Government will soon issue EoIs for the strategic sale of Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL), CONCOR, Shipping Corporation and Pawan Hans.
• LIC was formed on 1 September 1956. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India. Its chairperson is M R Kumar. Its slogan is yogakshemam vahamyaham (Your welfare is our responsibility).
• DIPAM was formed by renaming the Department of Disinvestment on 14 April 2016. It comes under the Ministry of Finance. 

3. Jana Small Finance Bank partners with Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited

• Jana Small Finance Bank has partnered with Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited.
• Jana Bank has become first bank to partner under RBI’s sponsorship programme.
• Under its sponsorship programme, RBI has allowed Core Banking Solution (CBS)-enabled cooperative banks to issue ATM cards, ATM-cum-debit cards in partnership with a sponsor bank.
• So, Ashoknagar Co-operative Bank Limited will now provide ATM and e-commerce services to its customers.
• Jana Small Finance Bank is a Bengaluru-based small finance bank (SFB).

4. Indian Bank signs MoU with MoHUA and SIDBI

• Indian Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
• The MoU is for payment of subsidy to street vendors under PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.
• Indian Bank has developed an integrated online system to pay interest subvention and cash incentives to all street vendor-beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Indian Bank has also completed digitisation programme for Deendayal Atyoday Yojana and a revolving fund for Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
• Indian Bank was founded in 1907. Its headquarters are in Chennai. Ms. Padmaja Chunduru is its MD & CEO. From 1 April 2020, Allahabad bank has been merged with Indian Bank.
• PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme was launched on 1 June 2020 to help street vendors affected by COVID-19. It is a central sector scheme fully funded by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• PM SVANidhi provides a working capital loan of Rs. 10,000 to street vendors without any collateral.
• SIDBI is the implementing agency of PM SVANidhi Scheme. For this, an MoU was signed between SIDBI and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

5. Stallion and Maximus launched by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India

• Two new hot-rolled coil brands, Stallion and Maximus have been launched by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.
• Stallion will be manufactured at Hazira (Gujarat) and distributed through its retail network Hypermart.    
• ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India is joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Japan’s largets steel producer, Nippon Steel.
• ArcelorMittal is a Luxembourg headquartered steel manufacturing company formed by merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel.

6. Indian government banned imports of air conditioners with refrigerants

• The government has banned imports of air conditioners with refrigerants to promote domestic manufacturing and cut imports of non-essential items.
• The import policy for air conditioners with refrigerants has been changed from free to prohibited as per the notification issued by DGFT.
• India imports more than 30% of air conditioners of its demand.
• The import of non-essential electronic goods has been under the purview of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT):
  • It is an attached office under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • It is responsible for administering laws regarding foreign trade and foreign investment in India.
  • Its headquarters is in New Delhi.
  • Amit Yadav is currently serving as Director-General of DGFT.