1. Bharti Enterprises to have 45% stake in OneWeb
- Bharti Enterprises has won auction for 45% stake in UK-based Company, OneWeb.
- $500 million dollars will be invested by Bharti Enterprises in OneWeb.
- Along with Bharti Enterprises, $500 million (45%) will be invested by UK government.
- Remaining 10% will be invested by current shareholders of the OneWeb. Remaining shareholders include Hughes, Qualcomm and Virgin Group.
- A mega-constellation of satellites in low earth orbit (1,200 km above surface the Earth) was proposed by OneWeb.
- Mega-constellation of satellites was proposed to provide wireless internet services.
- Bharti Enterprises is owned by Sunil Mittal.
2. Security exceptions under the GATS at WTO may justify India's ban on Chinese mobile apps
- Security exceptions under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) at WTO may be used by India to justify its ban on 59 Chinese mobile apps, including TikTok.
- General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is in force since 1995 and India has no separate obligation on digital services at WTO. India's obligations on digital services are part of GATS schedule.
- The names of banned apps are TikTok, CamScanner, SHAREit, Baidu Map, Helo, Mi Community, Club Factory and WeChat. The ban was imposed on June 29.
3. Insurance products to be offered by Union Bank of India
- Insurance products will be offered by Union Bank of India after its merger with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank.
- The merger of banks has become effective on April 1, 2020.
- The insurance products to be offered by Union Bank of India include insurance products of three life insurers listed below.
- SUD Life Insurance Company,
- India First Life Insurance Company
- Life Insurance Corporation of India
- The bank will also offer non-life insurance products of following four non-life insurers.
- Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company,
- New India Assurance Company,
- Chola MS General Insurance Company
- United India Insurance
- Health insurance products of two health insurers will be offered by bank. The names of two health insurers are Religare Health Insurance and Manipal Cigna Health Insurance.
4. Deal between KKR and JB Chemicals
- KKR has signed a deal to take 54% stake in JB Chemicals.
- Earlier, the Carlyle Group has taken up 20% stake in Piramal Pharma. In May, it has taken 74% equity in SeQuent Scientific.
- KKR has also made investments in Max Healthcare, Radiant Life Care and Gland Pharma.
- JB Chemicals was in news for producing ranitidine, which is a heart-burn drug with carcinogenic contaminant as per the warning of US Food and Drug Administration.
- Carlyle Group is a private equity firm. It is based in US.
5. RITES Ltd renews MoU with CIL
- RITES Ltd has renewed its MoU with Coal India Ltd (CIL) for five years.
- Earlier, RITES has received fee income of nearly Rs 100 crore per year. The fee income may increase after the extension of MoU.
- RITES Ltd was formerly called as Rail India Technical and Economic Service. It is an engineering consultancy company.
6. G Srinivasan panel to assess Surety bonds for road contracts
- IRDAI has formed G Srinivasan panel to assess Surety bonds for road contracts in India.
- As of now, insurance companies do not offer surety bond for contractors.
- Surety bonds are three-party agreements and involve following three parties.
- A principal who needs the bond
- An obligee that requires the bond
- A surety company, which sells the bond
- Surety bonds offer financial guarantee about completion of the contracts as per pre-defined and mutual terms.
- If the bond's terms are violated by a principal, claim can be made by harmed party to recover the loss.
7. Rs 1.10 lakh crore sanctioned by public, private sector banks
- Rs 1.10 lakh crore has been sanctioned by public sector banks and private sector banks under Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS).
- Under ECLGS, government incentivizes member lending institutions for providing extra credit of maximum 3 lakh crore at low interest rates.
- The scheme aims to help MSMEs in meeting their operational needs at the time of COVID-19 crisis.
- ECLGS will remain applicable till 31 October or till sanctioning of Rs 3 lakh crore.
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