NATIONAL NEWS
UP govt declares 4 villages near Nepal border as revenue villagesThe Uttar Pradesh government declared four villages located near the Nepal border in the district as revenue villages, an official said.
- These four villages are Bhavanipur, Tedhia, Dhakia and Bichhia located in Mihinpurwa tehsil of the district. All these villages are Vantangiya villages.
- A revenue village is a small administrative region with defined borders. One revenue village may contain many hamlets. A village administrative officer is the head officer of a revenue village.
From now, Indian Railways’ Kevadiya station to be known as Ekta Nagar railway station. The Ministry of Railways has approved the renaming of the Statue of Unity’s Kevadiya railway station.
- This Gujarat’s railway station which falls under the Vadodara division has been renamed as ‘Ekta Nagar’ railway station. The station code of Ekta Nagar railway station will be EKNR and the numerical code of the station will be 08224620.
BANKING & FINANCE
LazyPay forays into card segment partnering with SBM Bank IndiaLazypay, a Buy Now Pay Later solution by PayU Finance, has partnered with SBM Bank India to launch LazyCard, a payment instrument backed by a credit line, thus foraying into the card segment.
- The card aims at empowering financially underserved Indians, who struggle with limited credit options, with easy access to credit.
- Available to the 62 million pre-approved users of LazyPay, LazyCard will empower customers with a credit limit of up to ₹ 5 lakh. Consumers can avail the card at zero joining fee and zero annual fee. It also offers users multiple transactional benefits and rewards-earning potential such as welcome rewards, retention rewards and Visa Platinum Rewards in the form of cashbacks.
Deposits in bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme, launched about seven and half years ago by the government, have crossed the Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark.
- As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 44.23 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts was at Rs 1,50,939.36 crore at December end, 2021.
Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB), the Dharwad-headquartered regional rural bank, and the Bengaluru-based Mecwin Technologies Ltd, which is involved in the manufacture and supply of solar-powered pump-sets for farmers, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to introduce farmer-friendly solar-powered pump-sets using bank finance.
- KVGB, which was the first bank to introduce solar loan schemes, has been in the forefront in financing solar lights and sustainable energy solutions to underserved households and businesses in association with SELCO for the last 25 years.
Sova Capital, a London-based emerging markets broker-dealer, said it has entered into an agreement with India INX to allow the latter's clients to access the Russian market.
- The partnership will create a cost-effective bridge for Indian investors to access trading on the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), Russia’s main trading venue for equities, bonds, derivatives, FX and money markets.
AIC STPINEXT Initiatives (STPINEXT), a special purpose vehicle of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs), one with HDFC Bank and another with Excelpoint Systems India Pvt Ltd, a niche technology player, for fostering entrepreneurship and nurturing tech startups in the country.
- These partners would play critical role in supporting and handholding the startups in the growth journey through technical guidance and assistance, mentoring, pitching to investors, funding support, and market connect and access, etc.
Reserve Bank of India, RBI has laid down eligibility norms for entities tapping into data from credit information companies (CICs), or credit bureaus.
- The rules said that a company must be owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens to become a specified user with a credit bureau, amid reports of lending apps with Chinese links operating in India.
- In order to be eligible as a ‘specified user’ under the Credit Information Companies (Amendment) Regulations, 2021, an entity must be a company incorporated in India or a statutory corporation established in India.
- It added that in the case of a company, it should have a net worth of not less than 2 crore rupees as per the latest audited balance sheet, and shall meet the requirement on a continuing basis.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Forex reserves down by USD 1.466 bn to USD 633.614 bnThe country's foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 1.466 billion to USD 633.614 billion in the week ended December 31, RBI data showed.
- In the previous week ended December 24, the reserves dipped by USD 587 million to USD 635.08 billion. It touched a life-time high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 3, 2021.
- Gold reserves rose by USD 14 million to USD 39.405 billion. India’s forex touched a lifetime high of USD 642.453 billion in the week ended September 03, 2021. Forex reserves include foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, SDRs and the country’s reserve position with the IMF.
SPORTS
Tata Group to replace Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo as IPL titlesponsors from this year One of India’s largest business conglomerates, the Tata Group, is all set to replace Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo as the Indian Premier League’s title sponsor from this year, the event’s governing council decided in a meeting.
- As per reliable sources, the Tatas will be paying around Rs 670 crore for two years of title sponsorship while Vivo will pay a total of Rs 454 crore for termination of contract, which makes it a win-win situation for the BCCI as it is set to earn a whopping Rs 1,124 crore for seasons 2022 and 2023 respectively.
APPOINTMENTS
Ortega sworn in for 4th straight term as Nicaragua's presidentNicaragua's President Daniel Ortega was sworn in for a fourth consecutive term, following elections considered rigged and on a day marked by sanctions from the United States and the European Union against members of his government.
- Alongside him was first lady Rosario Murillo, sworn in for her second term as his vice president.
- Ortega, 76, and Murillo, 70, oversaw the jailing of opposition leaders, including seven potential challengers for the presidency, months before the November election. They have remained defiant under foreign pressure.
Adani Power announced that it has appointed Shersingh Khyalia as the chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from 11 January, 2022.
- Shersingh B. Khyalia is a Chartered Accountant (CA) with over 32 years of experience in managing complex business in power industry, including generation, transmission and distribution. His experience spans across power trading, legal, regulatory and commercial, finance & accounts and PPA management aspects of the power business.
AWARDS
Chennai airport ranked 8th in global list for on-time performanceThe Chennai International Airport has been ranked eighth for on-time performance among large international airports worldwide for 2021 by Cirium — a top aviation analytics firm. It is the only airport in India ranked in the top 10, and none of the other Indian airports has made it to the list. The top three airports are Miami Airport in the United States, Fukuoka Airport and Haneda Airport in Japan.
- According to the latest traffic figures of Chennai Airport, it has done recovery of 80 % in domestic traffic. It is the sixth busiest airport in India.
OBITUARIES
Oscar, Emmy, Grammy-winning lyricist Marilyn Bergman passes awayMarilyn Bergman, the Oscar-, Emmy- and Grammy-winning songwriter whose lyrics written with her husband, Alan Bergman, graced such hits as 'The Way We Were', 'The Windmills of Your Mind', 'In the Heat of the Night' and the songs from 'Yentl', has died aged 93.
- Bergman was the first woman president and chairman of the board of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a post she held from 1994 to 2009.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Ratan Tata's authorized biography to hit the stands in November 2022The Authorized Biography by Dr Thomas Mathew will be published globally by HarperCollins in all formats in November 2022. Udayan Mitra at HarperCollins India acquired world rights in all languages from Anish Chandy at Labyrinth Literary Agency.
- The biography will be penned by former senior bureaucrat and retired IAS officer Dr. Thomas Matthew.
- The biography chronicles the 84-year-old Ratan Tata's childhood, college years, and early influences. It also entails formerly unreported details about events such as Tata's Nano project, the ouster of former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, and Tata Steel Ltd.'s acquisition of Corus.
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