Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness

1. Committee of Directors (CoD) approved for LVB

• A Committee of Directors (CoD) consisting of three independent directors have been approved by RBI for Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB).
• Meeta Makhan is the Chairperson of the Committee. Shakti Sinha and Satish Kumar Kalra are members of the committee.
• Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has said that its deposit-holders, bond-holders, account-holders and creditors are safe and it is having a Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) of nearly 262%.
• LVB shareholders have not passed a resolution to appoint seven directors, including the MD and CEO and to appoint statutory auditors of the bank.
• In the first quarter of this fiscal, Lakshmi Vilas Bank has reported a net loss of Rs 112.28 crore. It has been looking for investors.
• Since September 2019, the bank is under RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework due to bad loans and a lack of capital.
• Lakshmi Vilas Bank is headquartered in Chennai. It was founded in 1926. Subramanian Sundar is its MD & CEO.
• As part of Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), banks should keep High-Quality Liquid Assets (HQLAs) for meeting 30 days net outgo under stressed conditions. Banks should keep LCR of 100% from January 1, 2019.

2. NTPC Limited invites bids to procure biomass pallets

• NTPC Limited has invited bids to procure biomass pallets as part of its efforts to reduce crop residue burning on farmlands.
• In 2017, NTPC first took the initiative on a pilot basis and replaced coal with pallet based fuel at its plant in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.
• The company wants to copy the initiative in its 17 plants.
• National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC):
  • NTPC was formed in 1975. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • NTPC deals in energy generation, sale, gas exploration and coal mining. Gurdeep Singh is its chairman and MD.
  • NTPC comes under the Ministry of Power.

3. TCS opens its NQT for other corporates

• Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) has opened its National Qualifier Test (NQT) to other corporates and participating corporates will be able to hire through this test.
• TCS’ strategic unit TCS iON, conducts NQT and it was only for hiring for TCS. It was started in 2018.
• NQT tests a candidate’s abilities and competence for entry-level jobs.  It will be carried out on a quarterly basis and scores will be valid for two years.
• Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is headquartered in Mumbai. Its MD & CEO is Rajesh Gopinathan.

4. Centaur Pharma partners with CytoTools to launch WOXheal

• Mumbai-based Centaur Pharma has partnered with Germany’s CytoTools AG to launch WOXheal.
• WOXheal will be a drug for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. WOXheal will be available in India by this month and in Germany in the next 6 to 12 months.
• WOXheal will use a new chemical developed by Germany’s CytoTools AG.
• Drugs Controller General of India has given approval to Centaur Pharma for the marketing of the product in India.
• Mumbai-based Centaur Pharma also markets Sinarest in India. It is used to treat common flu.
• Drugs Controller General of India:
  • It is a department of Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
  • CDSCO comes under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. CDSCO has six zonal offices.
  • It approves licenses of various categories of drugs in India.
  • Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

5. Dr. P.D. Vaghela to become chairman of TRAI

• Dr. P.D. Vaghela will become chairman of TRAI by replacing current chairman Ram Sewak Sharma (R.S. Sharma) from 1 October for a period of three years or until the age of 65 years.
• The name of Dr P.D. Vaghela has been approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• Dr P.D. Vaghela is an IAS officer of Gujarat cadre and is currently serving as Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, since August 1, 2019.
• He has played an important role in the launching of GST in 2017 and also served as chairman of Kandla Port Trust.
• Ram Sewak Sharma (R.S. Sharma) has served as chairman of TRAI since August 2015.
• Appointment Committee of Cabinet:
  • It is the committee that finalizes the appointment to some senior positions like chairman and member of Railway Board, Chiefs of three military services, RBI governor, etc.
  • The committee is chaired by Prime Minister and has Union Home Minister onboard.

6. COAI against delicensing of spectrum in E and V bands

• Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has written a letter to the Minister of Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad and said that it is against the delicensing of spectrum in E and V bands.
• COAI has said that the government would lose revenue due to the delicensing of the spectrum in E and V bands.
• It has been said that the spectrum in E and V bands has a high capacity for data transfer rates of maximum 7Gbps.
• Spectrum in E and V bands can be used as backhaul link spectrum to link the backbone (core) network and small subnetworks of telecommunications network and for providing 5G services.
• Spectrum in E and V bands can also be used for providing 5G services. So, COAI thinks that the allocation methodology of spectrum in E and V bands and spectrum in other 5G bands should be same.
• Government has yet not decided allocation methodology of spectrum in E and V bands. TRAI has recommended light-touch regulation and fix fee mechanism for the allocation of spectrum in E and V bands.  COAI is also against TRAI’s proposal.
• COAI thinks that spectrum in E and V bands should be assigned to mobile service providers or auctioned if they want to use them for mobile services.
• Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI):
  • It is an association of the Indian telecom industry.
  • It was formed in 1995.
  • Chairman: Ravinder Takkar

7. Sikkim to be connected to Indian Railways network through Sevoke-Rangpo Rail Line project

• Sikkim will be connected to the Indian Railways network through the Sevoke-Rangpo Rail Line project.
• Sevoke-Rangpo Rail Line project was part of the Budget in 2008-09. It will be 44.96 km long.
• 41.55 km of the Sevoke-Rangpo Rail Line project will come up in West Bengal and 3.41 km will come up in Sikkim.
• The work is being done on 12 out of total 14 tunnels under the project. West Bengal government is yet to relocate structures from Melli yard site and Riyang yard site.
• The foundation stone for the project was laid in 2009. The project comes under the Northeast Frontier Railway zone.