Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 22, 23 and 24 February 2021

Topic: Indian Economy

1. Ministry of Corporate Affairs relaxed definition of Listed Companies.

• In order to deepen the corporate bond market, the union government has changed the definition of ‘listed companies’.
• The government has also provided compliance relief to the unlisted public and private companies whose debt securities are listed on a private placement basis.
• As per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), such companies, earlier categorized as listed companies whose equity capital was not listed, will not be considered ‘listed companies’ under Indian Company law.
• The compliances under Company law and SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations 2015 will not be applicable to such companies.
• Earlier, the companies without equity capital listed were treated on the same footing as the other equity listed companies in terms of compliances.
• What will be the impact of changing definition of listed companies?- This will promote unlisted private companies to issue non-convertible debt and get securities listed in stock exchanges. It will enable ease of doing business.
• The new rule shall also be applicable to public companies whose securities are listed abroad in a permitted jurisdiction without listing their equity shares in domestic stock exchanges. The public companies will now have a lower compliance burden.
• Private placement means a private alternative to issuing or selling a publicly offered security to raise capital. In this method, both the offering and sale of debt or equity securities are made between a business/firm or issuer and institutional investors.
• Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs):
  • They are financial instruments that are not convertible into shares or equities.
  • They are used for raising long-term funds.
  • In comparison to convertible debentures, NCDs provide higher returns.
  • In India, NCDs have a minimum maturity period of 90 days.

Topic: Appointments

2. Pravas Kumar Singh appointed as Member of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

• Pravas Kumar Singh has been appointed as Member (Law) of Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
• R K Singh, Minister of State for Power, administered the oath of office to him.
• He previously served as Member (legal) in Jharkhand SERC.
• Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC):
  • It is a statutory body formed on 24 July 1998 under the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998.
  • It is the central commission functioning under section 76 of the Electricity Act 2003.
  • It consists of a Chairperson and four other members. Chairperson of Central Electricity Authority is the ex-officio member of CERC.
  • Chairperson of CERC- P K Pujari
  • Functions of CERC:
    • Regulate tariff of generating companies owned or controlled by central government
    • Regulate the tariff of other generating companies having a composite scheme for generation and sale of electricity in more than one state,
    • Regulate the inter-State transmission of electricity
    • Determine tariff for inter-State transmission of electricity
    • Advice to central government for the formulation of National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy
    • Advice for promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in electricity sector
    • Advice for promotion of investment in electricity sector

(Source: CERC)

Topic: Appointments

3. K P Krishnan appointed as Chairman of Shriram Capital Ltd.

• Shriram Capital Limited (SCL) has appointed K P Krishnan as Chairman on the board of SCL.
• SCL is the holding company for the financial services and insurance entities of the Shriram Group.
• K P Krishnan is currently the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) Chair Professor of Economics at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) New Delhi.
• He is also the Chairperson of various committees of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and IFSCA of the Ministry of Finance.

Topic: MoUs/ Agreements

4. An agreement signed between Indian Oil and Greenstat Norway for hydrogen fuel.

• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has signed an agreement with Greenstat Norway to set up a Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen (CoE-H) in cooperation with Indo-Norwegian Hydrogen Cluster companies/ organizations.
• Recently, the government had announced the national hydrogen mission to promote generation of carbon-free fuel from renewable resources.
• This partnership will assist various stakeholders in creating business models based on feasibility studies on hydrogen storage, production, refueling stations, fuel cells, CCUS, etc.
• India is the third-largest energy consumer with growing demand in the world.
• Hydrogen blended CNG as a transportation fuel is being run as a pilot project in New Delhi.
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC):
  • It is a Maharatna PSU that was formed in 1959.
  • It is the largest commercial oil company in India.
  • Headquarters of IOC: New Delhi
  • Chairperson of IOC: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya
• Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) includes methods and technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the flue gas and atmosphere, followed by recycling of Carbon dioxide for utilization and searching safe storage options.

Topic: Banking System

5. RBI brought State Bank of Sikkim under its regulatory purview.

• State Bank of Sikkim has been brought under the regulatory purview of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• With this decision, the ownership structure of the bank will not change.
• State Bank of Sikkim:
  • It was established in 1968, five years before Sikkim became the State of India (1973).
  • It only functions within Sikkim and is fully owned by the State government.
  • Chairman of State Bank of Sikkim: Dal Bahadur Gurung

Topic: RBI

6. Reserve Bank of India issued directions to Deccan Urban Cooperative Bank.

• Reserve bank of India (RBI) has issued Directions to Deccan Urban Cooperative Bank in Vijaypur, Karnataka.
• As per the directions, the CEO of the Bank shall not grant or renew any loans and advances, make an investment, incur any liability, etc., without prior approval of RBI.
• The deposit withdrawals have been capped at Rs. 1,000 per depositor.
• The bank will continue its operations with restrictions till its financial position is improved.
• RBI had issued directions to two other urban co-operative banks- Sarjeraodada Naik Shirala Sahakari Bank (Shirala, Sangli District, Maharashtra) and Independence Co-operative Bank (Nashik, Maharashtra) since 2021.
• As per RBI’s report on the Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2019-20, since April 1, 2015, 52 UCBs have been placed under All Inclusive Directions by the RBI.

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