Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 18 and 19 September 2020

1. India’s proposal for fishery subsidies discussed at WTO

• India’s proposal for allowing fishery subsidies in certain developing countries was discussed at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
• India has proposed that developing countries with national incomes below a certain threshold level should be allowed to continue with fishery subsidies.
• Some countries have supported India’s proposal and some countries have opposed India’s proposal at WTO.
• As per India’s proposal at WTO, developing countries fulfilling the following three criteria should not be allowed to continue with fisheries subsidies.  
  • Developing countries had GNI per capita of $5,000 for three consecutive years
  • Developing countries having more than 2% share in global marine capture
  • Developing countries with less than 10% share of agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors in their GDP.
• As per the above criteria, China, which is the world’s largest fisheries subsidizing country, should not provide fisheries subsidies.
• US and Australia are among nations that are against S&DT (special and differential treatment) for countries providing fishery subsidies.
• World Trade Organization (WTO):
  • It is the only international organization that deals with the rules of trade between nations.
  • It was formed in 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement (April 1994) and replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • Director-General: Roberto Azevêdo

2. HDFC bank ranked at top in BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands rankings

• HDFC bank has been ranked at the top for 7^th consecutive year in BrandZ Top 75 Most Valuable Indian Brands rankings.
• LIC, Tata Consultancy Services, Airtel, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Jio, Flipkart, Paytm and State Bank of India have been ranked in the top 10.
• WPP and Kantar have released the ranking. In terms of increasing brand value, Retail, telecom and personal care brands have shown the fastest growth.
• Reliance Retail has shown a 102 % growth in brand value. Dove, Indraprastha Gas, Close Up, and Crompton are the brands that have been included in the ranking for the first time.
• Kantar is the largest marketing data consultancy company in the world. WPP is a British multinational advertising company.
• HDFC Bank is India’s largest private sector bank by assets and India’s largest bank by market capitalization. It is headquartered in Mumbai. Its CEO is Aditya Puri, till 26 October 2020.

3. i-Lead 2.0 launched by Canara Bank

• Lead management system (LMS)-i-Lead 2.0 (Inspiring Leads System version 2.0) has been launched by Canara Bank.
• LMS made it possible for customers to get services through internet banking, mobile banking, call center, SMS and missed call.
• Through LMS, the bank will send a unique reference number to customers at the time of lead generation from internet banking, mobile banking, call center, SMS and missed call.
• Canara Bank was established in 1906. It is headquartered in Bengaluru. Lingam Venkat Prabhakar is its CEO. Recently, the government has merged syndicate bank with Canara bank. It is the fourth-largest bank in India.

4. MRPL may be merged with its subsidiary OMPL

• Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) may be merged with its subsidiary OMPL (ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Ltd).
• M Venkatesh, Managing Director of MRPL, has informed about the merger during the 32^nd annual general meeting of the company.
• Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) is a Miniratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE). It is a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC). It is located in Katipalla, Karnataka.

5. Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation & Amendment of Certain Provisions) Bill, 2020 has been introduced by Finance Minister in Lok Sabha

• The bill will replace the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance issued on 31 March 2020.
• The ordinance was issued to give relaxation in compliance with the Income Tax Act, 1961 (IT Act), some Finance Acts, the Central Excise Act, 1944, the Customs Act, 1962, and the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988.
• The ordinance has also increased deadlines under Vivad Se Vishwas scheme. The bill will extend the date for payment of dues under the scheme to December 31.
• As per the provisions of the bill, Income Tax Act would be amended and donations made by a person to PM CARES Fund will be eligible for 100% deduction in taxable income under section 80G of the I-T Act.
• As per the provisions of the bill, the faceless assessment scheme would be extended to at least eight processes in income tax law and revision and effect of orders, inquiry or valuation, approval or registration will be made faceless.
• The provisions of the bill will amend the Finance Act, 2020, to limit surcharge at 15% on the dividend income of foreign portfolio investors.
• The bill will introduce new Section 168A in CGST Act and allow the government to extend the deadline for incomplete GST-related compliances and actions due to force majeure (war, epidemic, natural calamity).

6. Government allows 74% and more than 74% FDI in defence.

• The government has allowed up to 74% FDI through automatic route and more than 74% FDI through the government (approval) route in defence.
• More than 74% of FDI will be allowed through government approval if it will provide access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded.
• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’s notification says that FDI is dependent on security clearances by the Ministry of Home Affairs and will be as per Defence Ministry’s guidelines.
• In July 2018, the government allowed up to 49% FDI in defence under the automatic route.
• The government has increased the FDI limit with certain conditions. It is aimed at supporting the domestic industry.
• Currently, India imports nearly 72 % of its military equipment.  

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