Economy In The News

The economy is an important part of any country’s existence. A study of the economy will tell you a lot about any country. We have had the Economy in the news because of a number of reasons like the demonetization, The GST and so on. Here we will see the recent developments in the economy. Now let us see the economy in the news – Jan.

January 2017

FGII ties up with Bank of Maharashtra

Future Generali India Insurance Company announced an agency tie-up with Bank of Maharashtra for bancassurance.

Currently, bancassurance accounts for 5% of Future Generali’s total business. It has a tie-up with over 100 banks across the country.

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Vodafone-Idea merger

Vodafone Plc, the British telecom company has confirmed: “ongoing talks” of a merger with Aditya Birla Group-owned telecom operator Idea Cellular, to cushion itself against a price war with Reliance Jio.

The merger would make the joint entity the largest telecom operator in the country, with 43% revenue market share.

Vodafone will hold a sizeable share in the merged entity.

Hubali to have the largest Incubator

Indian-American entrepreneur, philanthropist and venture capitalist Gururaj Deshpande has decided to launch India’s largest startup incubation centre at Hubballi, Karnataka.

The new incubator centre would be spread over an area of 85000 sq ft and will be built at a cost of 30 cr.

It will be ready by September 2017.

1st North East Investors’ Summit in Shillong

The Union Textiles Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the 1st North East Investors’ Summit in Shillong.

It is being organized jointly by the Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of DoNER, at the State Convention Centre.

Summit is an attempt to promote the rich textiles of NER said Union Textiles Minister.

Telangana govt signs MoU with Aquitaine

The Telangana govt signed a MoU with French Aero campus Aquitaine to set up a world-class aero skills academy in the city in collaboration with academia and industry of the state.

The MoU was signed between Jerome Verschave, General Manager, Aerocampus and Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary IT, Telangana.

India Post gets payments bank license

India Post has received payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start the rollout of banking operations commercially under the permit.

It is the third entity to receive payments bank permit after Bharti Airtel and Paytm. Payments banks can accept deposits up to Rs 1 lakh per account from individuals and small businesses.

Fiscal deficit for FY16 was 4.31 %: CAG

The CAG has estimated the Centre’s fiscal deficit in FY16 to be Rs 53,146 crore
higher than estimated in the Budget. According to India’s top auditor, fiscal deficit stood at 4.31 percent of the GDP in FY16 versus the provisional actuals of 3.9 percent. The gap was Rs 97,452 crore in FY09. Although difference has since narrowed and become negligible in FY14, it is again looking up.

Karnataka Bank Launches KBL Suraksha

Karnataka Bank has launched a campaign to promote a group personal accident insurance scheme for savings bank account-holders, ‘KBL Suraksha’.

KBL Suraksha provides coverage against all types of accidental deaths. All savings bank account-holders of the bank in the age group of 18-70 years can subscribe to this scheme. The bank expects a significant increase in new savings bank accounts.

Modi Announces New Housing Schemes

PM Modi has announced new schemes to provide subsidized housing for the poor. Housing for the rural poor will be increased by 33%. For home loans of up to 9 lakhs, the underprivileged will get a 4% interest benefit. For home loans of up to 12 lakhs, they will get a three percent interest benefit. In villages, will get loans of up to 2 lakh, with a three percent interest relief.

February 2017

Rajasthan 2nd largest crude oil producer

Rajasthan has become the second largest crude oil producer in the country after the offshore field at Bombay High, Governor Kalyan Singh said in the Assembly by highlighting the achievements of the state government.

Vizag – India‟s first ‘less cash’ city

Global payments network Visa has signed a MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government to help transform Vishakhapatnam into India’s first ‘less cash’ city. This initiative is designed to provide the foundation for the city to emerge. Another focus area of Visa will be to provide support to FinTech start-ups by providing access to Visa’s APIs.

Telangana Govt Signs MoU With NABARD

The Telangana Government lead by K. Chandrashekar Rao signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NABARD for a loan of Rs 874 crore. This loan will be used for Horticulture Development Corporation to cover 3.15 lakh acres under Micro Irrigation scheme for 2016-17 and 2017-18. NABARD was founded on July 12, 1982 with headquarters in Mumbai.

March 2017

SBI launches ‘Unnati’ credit card

Economy In The News - Jan

With the aim to achieve the government’s vision of Cashless India, State Bank of India’s credit card venture SBI Card launched its new credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ which will have an annual fee for the first 4 years of its subscription. The SBI Card Unnati will be offered to all SBI customers including Jan Dhan account holders, through 20,000 plus SBI branches across India.

Paytm to become a member of ASCI

Paytm is set to be a member of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). The move is significant because advertising violations by e-commerce companies, which are big spenders on television, print, and digital media, have been on the rise in recent years. ASCI members include key advertisers from various sectors, such as fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG), media, auto, and telecom.

SEBI bans Reliance equity for one year

Securities and Exchange Board of India has banned Reliance Industries and 12 other entities from equity derivatives trading for one year. The case relates to alleged fraudulent trading in the futures and options (F&O) space in the securities of RIL’s erstwhile listed subsidiary Reliance Petroleum Ltd.

World Bank signs US$100 million credit agreement

The World Bank has signed a $100 million credit agreement with the Centre and Uttarakhand in New Delhi to improve quality of healthcare services in the state. WB said that most public health facilities in mountainous areas or are unable to function optimally. The project also aims to reduce the financial risk for its citizens and make affordable, quality health care available to all.

Airtel acquires Tikona’s 4G

The ongoing consolidation in the telecom space has forced Tikona Digital Networks to sell its 4G spectrum to Airtel seven years after acquiring it. Though both companies declined to share the financial details, investment banking sources pegged the deal at around 1,600 crores.

Practice Question

Q 1: The following was true for the Vodafone-Idea merger:

A) It will make the joint entity the largest telecom operator in the country, with 43% revenue market share.

B) Reliance Jio will see a lesser share of the market.

C) Aditya – Birla group will have no share in the business anymore.

D) Both A) and B)

Ans: A) It will make the joint entity the largest telecom operator in the country, with 43% revenue market share.

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Economy In The News – Jan to March

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