Banking, Financial and Economic Awareness of 30 and 31 January 2020

1. Arvind Krishna to replace IBM’s CEO, Ginni Rometty

• Arvind Krishna will replace International Business Machine (IBM) CEO Ginni Rometty in April.
• Ginni Rometty will continue to be the executive chairman of IBM.
• CEO of Red Hat, James Whitehurst, will be the president of IBM. 
• Under the leadership of Ginni Rometty, IBM had acquired Red Hat on July 9, 2019.
• Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company.

2. Kotak Mahindra Bank withdraws petition against RBI

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has withdrawn a writ petition against RBI and agreed to limit promoter's voting rights at 20 % of paid-up voting equity share capital up to March 31, 2020.
• The bank has also agreed to limit promoter's voting rights at 15% of the paid-up voting equity share capital from April 1, 2020.
• The bank will lower promoters’ shareholding to 26% within six months after RBI's approval. Currently, promoters’ stake in the bank is 29.96%.
• As per RBI's licensing rules for new banks in the private sector, promoter of a private bank should reduce their holding to 40% of paid-up voting equity capital of bank in three years, 20 % in 10 years and 15% in 15 years after the starting of bank's businesses.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank is a private sector bank in India. Its CEO is Uday Kotak. It was established in 2003.

3. India's demand for gold may increase in 2020

• World Gold Council (WGC) has said that India's demand for gold in 2020 may increase to 700-800 tonnes.
• WGC report also says India's gold consumption at 690.4 tonnes in 2019 was lowest since 2016.
• Currently, India is the world’s second-biggest gold buyer.
• Even after the increase, gold demand will be below a 10-year average demand of 843 tonnes.
• In July 2019, the government increased the import tax on gold from 10% to 12.5%. This led to an increase in gold smuggling in India from 90-95 tonnes in 2018 to 115-120 tonnes in 2019.
• World Gold Council (WGC) is an association of the gold industry.

4. Government announces the retrospective withdrawal of MEIS benefits

• The government has announced the retrospective withdrawal of 4% benefits under Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) benefits.
• As per the notification, the government will 4% MEIS benefits on exports of made-ups and garments from March 7, 2019.
• Earlier, the government has also announced that it will recover the MEIS incentive given to the textile industry till July.
• In March, the government has announced that it will repay taxes on exports under the Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) scheme. But, it is not implemented yet.
• Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)
  • It was launched along with SEIS (Service Exports from India Scheme) under the Foreign Trade Policy of India (FTP 2015-20).
  • It is being implemented since 1 April 2015 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • MEIS aims to promote exports and increases the competitiveness of India's exports.

5. Shipping Ministry extends the discount to roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships by 2 years

• Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has extended the discount to coastal transportation of vehicles through roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships by 2 years till January 2022.
• The scheme for 80% discount to Ro-Ro ships was started in September 2016 for two years till September 2018. Now, the discount will stay until January 2022.
• Before September 2016, Ro-Ro ships were given a 40 % discount.
• Ro-Ro ships are merchant vessels that carry vehicles like cars, trucks capable of loading and unloading on their wheels. They are different from Lift-on/lift l off (LoLo) ships.
• Lift-on/lift l off (LoLo) ships carry cargo that is loaded or unloaded by using the crane.
• Currently, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways is headed by Mansukh L. Mandaviya.

6. Pine Labs launches Paper PoS

• Pine Labs has launched Paper PoS, which can be used to accept different Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Bharat QR payments from Amazon Pay, Google Pay, PhonePe, and others.
• Pine Labs Paper PoS allows merchants to accept different UPI and Bharat QR payments through a single merged static QR (Quick Response) code at the point of sale.
• PIne Labs machines, named Plutus and Plutus Smart, allow merchants to print slips for customers immediately. 
• Pine Labs is an Indian merchant platform company that makes software for point of sale (PoS).

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Who will replace Ginni Rometty, current CEO of International Business Machine (IBM)?

1. James Whitehurst
2. Lokvir Kapoor
3. Arvind Krishna
4. Rajul Garg
5. Tarun Upadhyay

2. As per RBI's licensing rules for new banks in the private sector, promoter of a private bank should reduce their holding to 40% of paid-up voting equity capital of bank in

1. 3 years
2. 5 years
3. 7 years
4. 10 years
5. 15 years

3. As per the World Gold Council (WGC) report, India's demand for gold in 2020 is expected to increase to

1. 600-700 tonnes
2. 700-800 tonnes
3. 800-900 tonnes
4. 900-1000 tonnes
5. 1000-1100 tonnes

4. Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) is being implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry since

1. 1 April 2015
2. 1 April 2016
3. 1 April 2017
4. 1 April 2018
5. 1 April 2019

5. Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways has extended the discount to coastal transportation of vehicles through roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships till 

1. January 2022
2. January 2023
3. January 2024
4. January 2025
5. January 2026

6. Which of the following has launched Paper PoS that allows merchants to accept different UPI and Bharat QR payments through a single merged static QR (Quick Response) code at the point of sale?

1. Amazon Pay
2. Google Pay
3. PhonePe
4. Pine Labs
5. Plutus Smart

Correct Answers:

1. C
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. A
6. D