This month, two fintech startups Decentro and Juspay, and enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm, Zoho, have received final authorisation from the RBI for payment aggregator (PA) licences. Food delivery major Zomato, and fintech firms Stripe and Tata Pay were among the companies to have bagged the licence in January.
They joined the likes of Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, and EnKash, among others, who got approval last year. Decentro allows neo-banks, marketplaces, and fintech companies to integrate and offer banking solutions though APIs, while Juspay operates as a full-stack payment gateway that offers card, wallet and UPI-based transactions.
HDFC Bank has raised $300 million through its first ever sustainable finance bond issue. The fund raise is part of an overall raise of $750 million through Regulation S Bonds. The lender has raised $300 million for three years with a 95 bps spread over US Treasury, and another $450 million for 5 years with a 108 bps spread over US Treasury.
The bonds will be listed on India International Exchange (India INX) in Gift IFSC. The paper was rated Baa3 (stable) by Moody’s and BBB- (stable) by S&P. The bank had mandated Barclays, BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank as joint global coordinators and joint lead managers.
The board of Tata AIA Life Insurance has approved the appointment of President and Chief Distribution Officer Venkatachalam H as MD and CEO, subject to regulatory approval. Venkatachalam will take over from incumbent Naveen Tahilyani, who moves to another role in Tata Group but will continue as a non-executive director of the insurance company.
Reserve Bank of India has kept repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent in its bi-monthly monetary policy announced. The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by 5:1 majority to keep the repo rate unchanged in its last meeting of the current financial year as retail inflation continues to be above its target of 4 percent.
The repo rate is the interest rate at which banks draw funds from RBI to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches. RBI has projected the inflation based on Consumer Price Index at 5.4 percent in the current fiscal and 4.5 percent during the next financial year. RBI has pegged real GDP growth for the next financial year at 7 percent.
ONGC and NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) have signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to focus on offshore wind energy projects. The agreement signed at India Energy Week in Goa. Besides offshore wind projects, the agreement extends to ventures in storage, e-mobility, carbon credits, and green hydrogen business, including derivatives like Green Ammonia and Green Methanol.
Microsoft announced an initiative to equip 2 million people in India with skills in artificial intelligence by 2025. Called ADVANTAG(I)GE INDIA, the program intends to push India’s AI transformation and empower its workforce for jobs in the future. The goal is expanding AI fluency nationwide for inclusive growth.
The program has three main components:
– Partnering with the national government and 10 states to train 500,000 students at rural vocational centers in basic and advanced AI skills. This expands an existing collaboration on digital and cybersecurity training.
Providing in-depth AI training for 100,000 young women through higher education institutions in smaller cities. This involves distributing Microsoft’s AI Trainer Toolkit and industry mentorships.
– Raising AI career awareness for 400,000 students in remote, tribal areas through Microsoft’s TEALS, Farm Beats and AI Guidance for Schools initiatives.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the second edition of India Energy Week 2024 in Goa. PM Modi emphasised India’s commitment to unprecedented levels of investment in the energy sector while addressing the gathering of global energy leaders. The Prime Minister underlined that the massive government spending in the sector will create new avenues for investment.
Mir Mohammad Farooq Nazki, veteran broadcaster, poet and Sahitya Akademi winner, passed away. Nazki held several important positions in All India Radio Kashmir and Doordarshan and inn 1995, Nazki was awarded the Sahitya Academi award in Kashmiri for his poetry book Naar Hyutun Kanzal Wanas (Fire in the eyelashes).
State Bank of India (SBI) has teamed with Flywire Corporation to revolutionise the landscape of international education payments for Indian students. This strategic partnership aims to simplify the traditionally complex payment process, offering students a seamless and fully digital experience and complete their international education payments effortlessly in Indian rupees
Life Insurance Corporation of India announced the launch of unit-linked, regular premium, individual life insurance plan Index Plus. The plan offers life insurance cover-cum-savings throughout the term of the policy.
LIC Index Plus policy: Key features
Minimum age at entry: 90 days (completed).
Maximum age at entry: 50 or 60 years depending on the basic sum assured.
Minimum age at maturity: 18 years (completed)
Maximum age at maturity: 75 or 85 years (nearer birthday) depending on the basic sum assured.
Minimum policy term: 10 or 15 years depending on Annualized premium and Maximum Term is 25 years. The premium paying term is the same as the policy term.
7)Minimum premium: Range from ₹30000/-(Yearly), ₹15000/-(Half- yearly),
HDFC Bank and its group companies have received RBI approval to acquire stake in ICICI, Axis, IndusInd Bank, YES Bank, Bandhan Bank and Suryoday SFB. HDFC Bank, including group companies HDFC Mutual Fund, HDFC Life Insurance and HDFC ERGO General Insurance, have received the Reserve Bank of India’s approval to acquire an aggregate stake of up to 9.5 per cent in six banks
According to the central bank’s guidelines, ‘aggregate holding’ includes shareholding by the bank, entities under the same management/ control, mutual funds, trustees and promoter group entities, among others.
As of December 2023, HDFC Mutual Fund held 2.76 per cent voting right in ICICI Bank, 2.49 per cent in Axis Bank, and 2.23 per cent in IndusInd Bank. HDFC Life Insurance held 2.92 per cent stake in Suryoday SFB, whereas HDFC Pension Management had 1.88 per cent stake in IndusInd Bank. HDFC Bank held 3 per cent stake in YES Bank as of December 31.
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has joined hands with Munitions India Limited, a key player in defence manufacturing, to create the nation's first domestically designed 155 Smart Ammunition. This collaboration aims to enhance accuracy and lethality in defence operations, marking a crucial stride towards self-reliance in defence production.
The smart ammunition project focuses on increasing accuracy and lethality at the terminal impact point. This involves housing guidance, navigation, and control systems, alongside advanced technologies such as miniaturized electronics and sensors. Notably, the ammunition will utilize the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, ensuring independence from foreign system.