Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 20, 21 and 22 September 2020

1. DWS Limited (DWS) to be acquired by HCL Technologies

• HCL has announced that it will acquire DWS for nearly 158 million Australian dollars (A$).
• HCL will acquire 100% shares of DWS Limited (DWS) after approval by shareholders of DWS.
• Thy acquisition will not only strengthen HCL’s client portfolio across key industries but also expand its digital offerings in Australia and New Zealand.
• The acquisition will be completed in December.
• DWS Limited (DWS) is an Australian IT, business and management consulting company.
• HCL Technologies Limited is an Indian IT company and a subsidiary of HCL Enterprise. It is headquartered in Noida. Roshni Nadar is chairman of HCL Technologies. She was recently appointed in July 2020.

2. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (2nd Amendment) Bill 2020 passed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (2nd Amendment) Bill 2020 has been passed in Lok Sabha on 21 September and in Rajya Sabha on 19 September.
• The bill replaces Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, which was issued on June 5, 2020.
• It temporarily suspends the initiation of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.
• While replying to a discussion over the bill, the Finance Minister talked about three important sections of IBC 2016 given below.
  • Section 7:  Under Section 7, a financial creditor is allowed to file for the initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against a corporate debtor.
  • Section 9: Under section 9, operational creditors can apply for insolvency.
  • Section 10: Under section 10, a corporate applicant can initiate insolvency proceedings.
• Rajya Sabha also observed silence to respect a former Member Nazneen Farooqui, who recently died.
• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016:
  • It provides for the resolution of insolvency cases within 180 days.
  • The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed on 1 August 2019.
  • It fixed a time-limit of 330 days for completion of the resolution process. 

3. India Inc's business sentiment improves in July-September

• CII’s business outlook survey has shown improvement in India Inc's business sentiment during July-September quarter.
• CII Business Confidence Index has increased from 41.0 in April-June 2020 to 50.3 in July-September 2020.   
• Expectations Index has increased from 46% in previous quarter to 55.2% in current quarter of of fiscal year.
• CII publishes business outlook survey on quarterly basis. 111^th edition of survey was published in July 2020. So, current edition is 112^th edition of the business outlook survey. It is based on responses from more than 150 firms across different sectors.
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII):
  • It is a non-government and not-for-profit organization.
  • It was founded in 1895. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • President: Uday Kotak

4. A direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives started

• A direct cargo ferry service was started between India and Maldives on 21 September.
• The service is likely to increase trade between two countries and reduce transportation time and cost.
• In June 2019, PM Modi had first announced the ferry service during his visit to Maldives.
• Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has e-flagged off the ferry service jointly with his Maldivian counterpart.
• Shipping Corporation of India ship will operate the ferry service. It will have a capacity of 380 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units).
• The ferry service will connect India’s Tuticorin and Cochin ports with Maldives’ Kulhudhuhfushi and Male ports.   
• India is the fourth largest trade partner of Maldives after China, UAE and Singapore.
• Maldives is a country that is completely dependent on imports.
• Maldives:
  • It is a small island nation in South Asia, located in the Arabian Sea.
  • It is located about 700 km from the mainland of the Asian continent to the southwest of Sri Lanka and India.
  • Its capital is Male and currency is Maldivian rufiya.

5. IFSCA’s expert committee submits interim report

• Expert committee formed by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on 3 August has submitted its interim report to IFSCA’s chairperson, Injeti Srinivas.
• IFSCA has formed the committee to recommend ways for development of international retail business in International Financial Services Centres (IFSC).
• In the interim report, the committee has focused on banking verticals. The committee will focus on insurance, asset management and capital markets in next reports.
• The chairman of the committee, Pradeep Shah has said that international retail business can be promoted in IFSC.
• The promotion of retail business in IFSC will meet objectives of boosting job creation, generating additional revenue for India and attracting investment from Indian diaspora for building infrastructure.
• The report says that GIFT IFSC can become a gateway for international investors and business.
• IFSC is a jurisdiction that provides for both residents and non-residents the financial services in foreign currencies.   The first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) was set up at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• International Financial Sevices Centres Authority (IFSCA) is a statutory body. It comes under the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. It regulates the financial service market in IFSCs. Its chairperson is Injeti Srinivas.

6. SENS, an AI-based contactless and wireless thermal scanner developed

• SENS, an AI-based contactless and wireless thermal scanner has been developed by Bluesemi, a start-up doing Research & Development (R&D) in Internet of Things (IoT).
• SENS uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and finds out temperature of person with 15 centimeters in 3 to 5 seconds.
• BlueSemi is a T-Hub-incubated start-up and has filed for patent and installed 400 SENS in pilot phase.   
• BlueSemi has also developed EoN and BlueSemi SecureOne, an anti-counterfeiting solution.
• EoN is a zero-power IoT technology. It harvests energy from ambient sources to power wearables. BlueSemi SecureOne protects premier products from imitations.
• Sunil Kumar Maddikatla is Chief Executive and Founder of Bluesemi.

7. SBI Life has signed agreement with Yes Bank

• SBI Life has signed agreement with Yes Bank and Yes Bank will offer the insurance products of SBI Life to its customers through its branches in India.
• Such type of agreement in which a bank sells products of insurance company to its customers through its branches is called bancassurance agreement.
• Yes Bank is an Indian public bank. It was founded in 2004 by Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapoor. It is headquartered in Mumbai.
• SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between SBI and BNP Paribas Cardif, a French multinational bank. Its CEO is Mahesh Kumar Sharma.

Read Banking Awareness PDF - 20, 21 and 22 September 2020