Daily Bulletin- 28/ 09/ 2022

1. Government explores IDBI stake sale options

The Indian Government is looking forward to strategically disinvesting and privatizing the IDBI bank following a two stage approach. The first stage will effectively examine the best bidders, and the second stage will actually begin the process of sale of its stocks. IDBI bank has been under the RBI’s prompt corrective action framework from May 2017 to March 2021. Two months after the bank exited the framework, the cabinet committee on Economic Affairs approved the decision of its disinvestment and privatization. Currently the Indian government and LIC jointly hold 45.48% and 49.24% of shares in the IDBI bank.

2. LIC buys over 2% stake in Bharat Petroleum

Life Insurance Corporation of India has disclosed its shareholding in the government owned Bharat Petroleum on Tuesday. Since December 2021, LIC has acquired over 2% of shares in Bharat Petroleum worth Rs. 1598 (One thousand five hundred and ninety eight) crores. The shares LIC holds is 9.04% of the paid-up capital of Bharat Petroleum.

3. Australia and India Start FTA negotiations

India and Australia have begun negotiations on a 100% free trade agreement between the two nations. The free trade agreement will model the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement or CECA between India and other nations. A free trade deal between India and Australia will double the trade between them and almost 95% of Indian goods will receive a Zero-duty free access to the Australian Market. As of now, India and Australia have already signed the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement which is expected to come into effect by February 2023. With the ECTA coming into effect the tariffs between the two countries on the trade of minerals will sharply get reduced or completely eliminated.

4. Nirmala Sitharaman sets out 3 principles for Income Tax Officials

Speaking at a public event, the Finance Minister highlighted the importance of 3 R’s for the efficient functioning of the Income Tax Department. The first R related to the Filing of Income Tax Returns, the process for which will be quicker, more efficient, and systematic with the introduction of newer technologies. The second R related to the Refunds of the tax returns, which can be improved to be speedier than before. The third R related to the redressal of grievance where pendency of cases can be avoided with the timely redressal of grievances. The principle of 3 R’s were brought up at an event where the Finance Minister was distributing awards to Income tax officers for their exceptional work.

5. Cyber extortionists intensify attacks on small Indian Firms

Even as small businesses are struggling to comply with the cybersecurity rules of the Indian Computer Emergency Team, Cyber extortionists are increasingly targeting small businesses. A report published by Security firm Nordlocker on Tuesday, showed that companies having less than 500 employees accounted for more than half of India’s ransomware attacks, between January 2020, and July 2022.

Cyber extortionists are cyber attackers who hack a company’s network, block access to all its confidential data, and demand ransom to return the access. Many of these attackers are now offering Ransomware as a Service to other cyber attackers in the market.

6. WTO Chief warns world heading towards recession

The director General of WTO warned on Tuesday, that the world is heading towards recession and urged national governments to adopt radical policies as soon as possible. She highlighted Russia-Ukraine geopolitical tensions, climate crisis, food price hike, and interruptions in energy supply chain as the key causes of the worsening global financial crisis.

7. China's Industrial Profit slump accelerates as demand weakens

China’s industrial firms are yet to recover from the slump caused by the global covid pandemic. The profit yield by the Industries in China declined sharply between January and August 2022 owing to reduced domestic demands and a slower growth of the Property industry. According to the National Bureau of statistics, the profits of China’s Industrial sector fell by 2.1% from January to July 2022.

8. Bitcoin rally past 20,000 DOLLARS helps cryptos scale 1 trillion dollars mark

Bitcoin’s value in the global market rose to 20,000 dollars, increasing the overall value of cryptocurrencies to 1 trillion dollars. The increase in value came after a consistent stability in the global markets. In the past few months, Digital assets have been more promising in comparison to traditional assets in the global market. The MVIS Cryptocompare Index showed a 1% decline in the values of crypto assets for a 6% decline in the value of bonds, 10% decline in the value of stocks, and 11% decline in the value of commodities across the world.

9. Japan's Yamanashi to invest in India

Japan’s Hydrogen producing company, Yamanashi, is looking forward to investing in the Indian Hydrogen Industry and is planning to set up a Hydrogen Electrolyzer Manufacturing Facility in India. Electrolyzers are equipment to manufacture Green Hydrogen for a climate friendly use. The development will not only better the global supply crisis of electrolyzers, but also increase domestic employment in the Indian Hydrogen Industry.

10. Non-farm sector employment rises

The Ministry of Labour released its Quarterly Employment Survey on Tuesday. The survey reported a whopping increase of employment opportunities to 31.8 million in 9 key non-farm sectors. The total employment in all these sectors remained at 30.8 million during the previous year.