Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 23 and 24 October 2020

By PendulumEdu | Last Modified: 24 Oct 2020 17:36 PM IST

Main Headlines:

1. Amazon would not appear before Joint Committee of Parliament on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019

Amazon has said that that it would not appear before the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 on 28 October.
JPC examining Data Protection Bill has tried to get the views of Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Paytm and other companies on data security and protection.
Facebook’s policy head Ankhi Das has appeared before JPC on 23 October. Twitter officials will appear on 28 October and Google and Paytm officials on 29 October.
Amazon’s refusal will be considered a breach of parliamentary privileges. Action may be taken against Amazon if it will not appear next Wednesday.
In December 2019, Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha. The bill was referred to the Joint Committee.
Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019:
- It was formed in December 2019. Meenakshi Lekhi is its chairperson.
- It will submit its report in winter session 2020.
- It has 20 members from Lok Sabha and 10 members from Rajya Sabha.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has allowed recognized Provident Fund trusts to invest in A-rated instruments.
CBDT issued the notification to replace AA with A in sub rule (2) of Rule 67 of Income Tax Rules, 1962.
Rule 67 is for investment by recognized PFs in various instruments. It permits investment in instruments having a minimum ‘AA’ rating.
As per provisions of sub rule (2) of Rule 67, investment instruments include rupee bonds, debt securities and Basel III Tier-I bonds issued by scheduled commercial banks.
Outstanding maturity of rupee bonds included in investment instruments under sub rule (2) of Rule 67 should be minimum three years.
They should be issued by institutions of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank.
Recognized PFs are allowed to invest 35% to 45% of the investible fund under a scheme for the organization with 20 or more employees.

India’s first women-led manure cooperative society, Mujkuva Sakhi Khad Sahakari Mandli was granted NDDB’s trademark Sudhan for making bio slurry-based organic fertilizers.
Mujkuva Sakhi Khad Sahakari Mandli will now process slurry and manufacture organic fertilizer. NDDB will also support two such projects in Begusarai, Bihar and Cuttack, Odisha.
Next phase of the Manure Management Initiative supported by NDDB was launched at Mujkuva Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS) campus in Gujarat.
Under the Manure Management Initiative, dairy farmers put biogas plants in their backyard and use them to produce gas, which is used as cooking fuel.
Biogas plants also produce bio-slurry. Farmers use this bio-slurry in their fields. Surplus bio-slurry is sold to other farmers or converted to organic fertilizers.
National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) was founded in 1965. It is headquartered in Anand, Gujarat. It is a statutory body. Mother Dairy is its subsidiary. Dilip Rath is the chairman.

Biocon’s US partner, Equillium, has held a meeting with USFDA for phase-3 clinical trials of Itolizumab.
Biocon has started Itolizumab’s phase-4 clinical trials in India after approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) in September 2020.
Itolizumab is a humanized recombinant IgG1 monoclonal antibody used for Psoriasis and developed by Biocon.
It can be repurposed for (adapted for use in) Covid-19. In July 2020, DGCI has approved its use for Covid-19 patients.
Biocon is a Bangalore based Indian pharmaceutical company. It was founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Its CEO is Siddharth Mittal.

After a gap of 35 years, India has taken the chairmanship of Governing Body of International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Apurva Chandra, Labour Secretary, has been elected as chairperson of the Governing Body of ILO.
He will remain chairperson from October 2020 to June 2021. He is an IAS officer of Maharashtra Cadre.
Governing Body of ILO:
- It is the executive organ of ILO.
- It elects the Director-General of ILO.
- It also decides policies, programmes, agenda and budget of ILO.
- It meets thrice in March, June and November months of a year.
International Labour Organisation (ILO):
- Established in 1919 under the auspices of the United Nations, it is the first and oldest specialized agency of the United Nations.
- It is created to ensure social and economic justice through the establishment of international labor standards.
- It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its Director-General is Guy Ryder.
- Currently, it has 186 members. India is a founder member of ILO.

Adani Group will take over Mangaluru, Lucknow and Ahmedabad airports from the Airports Authority of India by November 11.
After the take over from AAI, Adani Group will operate, manage and develop the three airports.
Ministry of Civil Aviation has signed MoUs with Adani Group’s entities to provide customs, immigration and security services at these airports.
Six major airports were privatized in February 2019. They are Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. Adani Enterprises won bidding for all six airports.
Airports Authority of India (AAI):
- AAI is under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and headquartered in New Delhi.
- Arvind Singh is its current chairman. It is a statutory body.
- It is responsible for the construction, upgrade, maintenance and management of civil aviation infrastructure.
- It was established on 1 April 1995.