the Oracle Placement News Bulletin: 2017-18

October Edition | Edition 4

On this issue: Finance World Business Focus Business Focus Current Affairs

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)

EESL was set up under Union Ministry of Power to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects. It
is a Joint Venture of NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC)
and POWERGRID. It also leads market-related actions of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficien-
cy (NMEEE). It also acts as the resource centre for capacity building of State DISCOMs.
Recently, EESL has decided to procure 10,000 electric vehicles (EVs) from Tata Motors. It is worlds largest
single electric vehicle procurement. EESL had selected Tata Motors through international competitive bid-
ding for this procurement. Other companies, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Nissan had also participat-
ed in the tender.
Tata Motors will supply EVs in two phases with 500 e-cars in first phase in November 2017 and remaining
9,500 EVs in second phase. The EVs will be provided for Rs 11.2 lakh, inclusive of GST. It will also provide
comprehensive 5 year warranty which is 25% below the current retail price of a similar e-car with 3 year
warranty.
EESLs this move aims to make Indias passenger mobility shared, electric, and connected to cut countrys
energy demand by 64% and carbon emissions by 37% in 2030. It will result in reduction of 156 (million
tonne oil equivalent) in diesel and petrol consumption pear year and net savings of roughly Rs 3.9 lakh
crore by 2030.

Global Competitiveness Index

WEFs GCI assesses competitiveness of countries to provide insight into drivers of their productivity and pros-
perity. GCI scores are calculated on basis of 12 categories called pillars of competitiveness which covers both
business and social indicators. It includes pillars such as institutions, infrastructure, health and primary educa-
tion, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness and market size.

India was placed at 40th spot among 137 countries in World Economic Forums (WEF) Global Competitiveness
Index (GCI) 2017-18. India has slipped by one position compared to 39th spot in 2016 GCI.

FTSE SBI Bond Index: Indias first bond index series launched by SBI
State Bank of India (SBI) along with FTSE Russell, global index and data provider launched FTSE SBI Bond Index
series at London Stock Exchange (LSE). It is Indias first bond index series for overseas investors.
FTSE
SBI Bond Index Series FTSE SBI Bond Index is positioned as first-of-its-kind transparent and reliable benchmark
for investors in international markets to analyse Indias government bond market. It will significantly contribute
to development and broadening of Indian bond market.
Background
Indian government bond market is worth around $1.7 trillion. Prior to launch of FTSE SBI Bond Index, the bond
market was not having any reliable international indices on which international investors can invest in the coun-
try. Investors are eager to invest in India, but lacked enough depth in terms of the various types of bond prod-
ucts.

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 the Oracle Placement News Bulletin: 2017-18
October Edition | Edition 4
On this issue: Finance World Business Focus Business Focus Current Affairs

Emerging Issues relating to GST

Impact on small businesses: The low threshold, under which only companies with annual revenue below
Rs20 lakh are exempt from registration, has hurt hundreds of thousands of companies. These companies
were earlier exempt from paying excise duty under the small-scale industry exemption which let off firms
with revenue of up to Rs1.5 crore. Experts warn that the huge compliance cost to small businesses may be
disproportionate to the revenue generated by them. Also, mismatching of invoices due to technical glitches
could hold up credits, a situation that has been seen in China and Brazil, further burdening small businesses.
These hurdles, compounded by the complicated rate structure, may actually end up pushing enterprises to
evade taxes.
Impact on Jewellery and associated industries: Tata group firm Titan has said its July sales were impacted
by the GST rollout as the company is likely to have taken a hit of Rs 250-300 crore during the current quar-
ter. This impact was also enhanced from the applicability of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to the
jewellery business, the company said.

H&Ms Entry into Indian Markets and changing industry dynamics

H&M, the worlds second-largest clothing firm, had said it would open 50 stores in India with an investment
of Rs 700 crore by 2020. So far, it has opened 20 doors. The Stockholm-based brand stocks fast fashion
items created in-house and teams up with designers for one-time collections. It keeps a large inventory of
basic, everyday items sourced from places including India and Bangladesh that carry a lower price tag than
most of its rivals.
This is unlike the Zara model that is essentially based on imitating the latest fashions, making affordable
versions and stocking them for just a few days. H&Ms entry into India prompted Zara to slash prices by 10-
15% for some of its merchandise last year. The Indian retail market was worth $641 billion in 2016 and is
expected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2026, according to the India Business of Fashion 2017 report.
As the worlds second most-populated country, India is an attractive market for US and European brands,
and has attracted some of the worlds largest private labels that are banking on young consumers increas-
ingly embracing western-style clothing. Ecommerce companies could have added to their sales as well, con-
sidering that apparel accounts for 25-35% of overall sales for Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. Zara plans to
launch its online store in India in October while H&M plans to enter the online market by 2018.

Indias Current Account Deficit

Indias current account deficit stands at 2.4% of GDP as compared to 0.1% last year. This is because of large vol-
ume of imports and weakening exports. But India has been able to finance this import bill because of strong cap-
ital account surplus because of more and more foreign investors investing in India. As compared to last year, FDI
investment has doubled and foreign portfolio investment has risen 6 times. Foreign reserve holdings has become
stronger and RBI is constantly buying dollars to weaken the rupee. Forex were at an all-time high last week. Low
oil prices has also helped India save money on import bills. The combined impact has led to 6% appreciation of
rupee vis-a-vis last year.

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 the Oracle Placement News Bulletin: 2017-18
October Edition | Edition 4
On this issue: Finance World Business Focus Business Focus Current Affairs

Relevance of Digital for FMCG Sector

Digital to drive FMCG consumption worth $45 billion by 2020 - Google India
According to the report by Google India and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), there will be 650 million Inter-
net users by 2020 -- with the highest growth coming from non-metros owing to increasing mobile penetra-
tion. The report also said that the share of digital advertising spends by FMCG companies, which was only
10 per cent in 2016, is expected to grow substantially to reach 25 to 30 per cent by 2020.
Online consumers spend twice more on FMCG purchases than offline consumers and the e-commerce seg-
ment within FMCG is expected to grow to become a $6 billion market, the report noted. The number of
online video users has grown by three times and they are seeking the 3Vs Video, Vernacular content and
Views.
As local language contents are increasingly becoming important, there has been 10 times growth in vernac-
ular 'searches', over two times growth in watch time of vernacular YouTube content and five times faster
growth of Hindi content consumption on websites versus English in the last one year, the report added.

Indian Oil, HPCL, BPCL eyeing electric vehicles, renewables business

Wary of being left behind in the race for renewables and electric vehicles, oil marketing companies are quietly
drawing up plans to expand their modest presence in renewable energy space.
Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, the largest of the three big oil marketers, is exploring opportunities for setting up battery
charging stations and battery replacement facilities for electric vehicles in its petrol pumps.
The centre is pushing solar and wind energy as well as electric vehicles, to curb oil imports and pollution, and
meet its commitments under the Paris accord on climate change. India pledged to reduce carbon emissions rela-
tive to its gross domestic product by 33-35% from 2005 levels by 2030, under the accord.
By 2021-22, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) sees 5% of its revenue coming from non-fossil fuel sources. BPCL
has shortlisted 10 oil depots and liquefied petroleum gas bottling plants for installation of rooftop solar plants.
By March 2017, rooftop solar units had been installed in 1,001 of its retail outlets. BPCL is carrying out a detailed
feasibility and system design study at 19 company-owned and company-operated retail outlets in a pilot for so-
larizing (putting solar panels) large-format retail outlets, the firm said in its annual report for 2016-17.
HPCL operates wind farms of 100.9MW capacity installed in Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

Elon Musk's new vision: Anywhere on Earth in under one hour

Elon Musk is planning to create a much larger rocketship code named BFR capable of travelling anywhere on
Earth in under an hour. If the concept becomes reality, a journey from New York to Shanghai can be completed
in about 30 minutes.
Musk said that SpaceX, which has launched 13 rockets so far this year, aims to complete 30 missions for custom-
ers next year. SpaceX has many commercial satellite operators as customers, and the revenue from those con-
tracts will help fund the development of BFR, which will also help set up a base on the Moon.
SpaceX would send cargo to Mars in 2022 and plans for crewed missions in 2024.

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 the Oracle Placement News Bulletin: 2017-18
October Edition | Edition 4
On this issue: Finance World Business Focus Business Focus Current Affairs

Tez: Googles UPI-based digital payment service launched

Tech Giant Googles Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based digital payment service Tez (meaning fast in
Hindi) was launched recently. With this, Google become latest international giant to enter into Indias fast
growing digital payment ecosystem.
Key Facts
Google Tez is standalone payments application, available on Android and iOS. The app can be used to pay
for movie tickets, utility bills, and make other transactions online. It supports several local languages in-
cluding Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu and will work with 55 banks. Google
has partnered with Axis, HDFC Bank, ICICI, and State Bank of India (SBI) for backend processing. On security
front, all transactions on Google Tez app are guarded by Tez Shield to detect fraud, prevent hacking, and
verify identity.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
UPI is a payments protocol built by government-backed National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and
regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It facilitates the instant fund transfer between two bank ac-
counts on the mobile platform using unique virtual address without putting details of card details, net bank-
ing, IFSC code, wallet password etc.
End of Blockade in Darjeeling
The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha led by Bimal Gurung announced the end of 104 day long bandh at Darjeeling. The
blockade had hit the lives of local people and their support was waning off day by day. Tourist footfall has de-
creased affecting the life of residents whose sole income depends on these visitors. Union home minister
Rajnath Singhs appeal to Gurung has brought this change. A section of the GJM, led by Binay Tamang, had
shown an inclination to negotiate with the State government. Taking advantage of this rift between Gurung and
Tamang, Mamata Banerjee declared Tamand as chairperson of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. But as the
agitation ended only after Gurungs advice, it shows that he still enjoys majority support in the hills. All this start-
ed with Mamata Banerjees demand of making Bengali compulsory in all the schools of Darjeeling. The demand
for statehood led to this strike and a total of 11 people died within a span of 104 days. But after normalcy re-
sumed, GTA started functioning effectively, schools and shops were opened and internet restrictions were lifted.

Power Problem and the Saubhagya Scheme

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, also known as Saubhagya was launched by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi to provide electricity to 40 million urban and rural people by December, 2018.
This scheme helps in providing last mile connectivity to families willing to get their home electrified
Post Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana launched in July 2015, there are still many villages which are
not electrified. In order to make them electrified, this scheme was launched.
This scheme will help India meet Global climate change commitments as electricity will act as substitute of
kerosene for lighting purpose and thereby reduce pollution
Free connections will be provided to BPL houses and others can avail it by paying Rs 500 at once or 10 instal-
ments of Rs 50 each
In case electricity cannot be provided to a particular household, solar panels will be given to them
A village is said to be electrified if 10% of the households in a particular village have access to electricity