Current News (January) Economy/Business

Thomas Cook India acquired Ikya, the Human Resource Staffing Solutions Company
Thomas Cook India, an integrated travel services provider, has signed an investment agreement to acquire a 74% interest in IKYA Human Capital Solutions (Ikya), a human resources staffing solutions company for Rs. 256 crore. Ikya offers specialised human resources services including search, recruitment, project based hiring, general and professional staffing, skill development, and facilities management to over 500 leading Indian corporate clients through 32 offices. With this investment, Thomas Cook broadens its portfolio of service related businesses with an entry into one of the world's largest human resource markets.

Online retailer Zovi snaps up rival Inkfruit

Bangalore-based online fashion retailer Zovi has acquired rival firm Inkfruit as consolidation grips the domestic consumer internet sector, which is struggling to raise fresh funds. Global investors SAIF Partners and Tiger Global have triggered the latest e-commerce M&A. There have been 15 such deals in the past one year. The two investors have pumped $10 million into Zovi post the merger. The SAIF Partners-incubated Zovi is an online private label brand modelled along China's blockbuster online fashion brand VANCL. This third round of investment raised the total funding by Zovi to $25 million. Inkfruit is a community-based customized fashion and accessories retailer. The combined entity will have offerings for a wider age group of 16 to 45 year-olds, said Zovi CEO Manish Chopra.

A Google report said consumer interest in Indian e-commerce soared 128% in 2012.
The internet search giant said fashion and electronics verticals would dominate online shopping in the near future. A separate study from Accel Partners said Indian online shopping was worth $800 million with more than 13 million active users. In 2012, investors spent $298 million compared to $328 million in 2011, according to Venture Intelligence. More consolidation will happen in 2013. As the market expands, some of the bigger players will be on a lookout for acquisitions, but in all the cases it may not be driven by investors. There was a three-fold jump in e-commerce M&A deals last year as smaller players were unable to attract funds and were subsequently acquired at a discounted valuation. The first big consolidation move was made by the poster-boy of Indian e-commerce Flipkart when it bought out electronics retailer Letsbuy for an estimated $25 million a year ago.

Warren Buffett Company FlightSafety enters India

FlightSafety International, one of the world's leading aviation training companies, promoted by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has established operations in India through a consultancy and licensing agreement with Bangalore-based Aviators India. The 60-year-old New York-based aviation company delivers over a million hours of flight training each year to pilots, technicians, cabin attendants and aviation professionals, and is a supplier of flight simulators, visual systems and displays to commercial, government and military organizations around the world. FlightSafety's India play would start in the next four months and would begin with cabin attendant training for commercial and corporate flight operators. Aviators India has been in the business of aircraft charter services and sales of corporate jets to the Indian high net worth individuals for close to two decades. In India, airline operators conduct cabin crew training inhouse, with a few home grown third party training institutions offering just cabin crew grooming. FlightSafety is also looking at making India a hub, providing end-to-end training services, including training on simulators, to markets such as West Asia and South East Asia.

CCEA gave its nod to Price Pooling Mechanism on Coal to Control Prices of Coal
The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave an in-principle nod for the coal pool pricing mechanism. The in-principle decision has been taken. But there are some data that have to be put into these principles. The structure of the decision has been put in place. And the Ministries of Coal and Power would come back with the specifics. Basic principles and parameters have been identified. The plotting of real numbers has to be done. The Coal Ministry has proposed a two-phased mechanism. First, the pass-through pooling should be applicable only to plants set up before March 31, 2009. Second, it should be applicable to all the units set up before or after March 31, 2009. The Ministry also informed the CCEA that because of coal pool pricing the cost of coal would go up by Rs. 172 for 2013-14 and Rs. 193 in 2014-15. This would result in increase in cost of generation by 12-13 paise for every unit. The approval of pool pricing would help the stranded power plants. APP would prefer that incremental cost of imported coal is absorbed over the entire domestic production.

ICICI Partnered with Aircel to Launch Mobile Banking Service, Mobile Money
ICICI Bank, Indias largest private sector bank and Aircel announced the launch of a mobile banking service, Mobile Money. It is designed for the unbanked population to enable customers of these two organisations to transfer money securely and instantly through their mobile phones without getting connected to data services. ICICI Bank had earlier launched Mobile Money with Vodafone and Tata Docomo. Mobile Money aims at financial inclusion of those who face hurdles in transferring money due to lack of branches or ATMs close to them by offering a gamut of financial services such as deposits and cash withdrawals, transferring money to third parties, self-reload of prepaid mobile credit and various utility bill

payments. The service will be first available in Tamil Nadu to specifically cater to the needs of migrant working population from Tirunelveli now living and working in Chennai. Rollout to other parts of the state and rest of the country will happen during the year. VISA, the global payments technology company, has been chosen to provide and manage the mobile money platform.

India, Gibraltar sign tax information exchange agreement

India and Gibraltar signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) that among other things calls for transparent sharing of information. The agreement was signed by Jaimini Bhagwati, High Commissioner of India to the UK and Gilbert Licudi QC, Minister with the responsibility of Financial Services, on behalf of Gibraltar.

This is the 13th TIEA being signed by India.

So far India has signed TIEAs with the Bahamas, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man, the Cayman Islands, Jersey, Macau, Liberia, Argentina, Guernsey, Bahrain and Monaco. According to the agreement, based on the international standard of transparency and exchange of information, information must be foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of domestic laws of the contracting parties concerning taxes covered by the agreement. It also provides for tax examination abroad and has specific provisions for providing banking and ownership information. The salient features of the agreement also say that the requesting state has to provide some minimum details about the information requested in order to justify the foreseeably relevance criteria. Information is to be treated as secret and can be disclosed only to specified persons or authorities, who are tax authorities or authorities concerned with the determination of tax appeal. The agreement also provides for exchange of past information in criminal matters.

General Awareness
Barack Obama Nominated Sally Jewell as the U.S. Interior Secretary
US President Barack Obama nominated Sally Jewell, a retail executive and outdoor enthusiast as the U.S. interior secretary for looking after the huge energy reserves as well as the national parks. Obama while nominating Jewell described her as an expert on climate issues and energy issues. It is important to note that Jewell is the first woman who is nominated to join second term of Obama.

Role of the U.S. interior secretary Apart from managing the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. interior secretary also looks after one fifth of the land mass of the country as well as offshore oil fields. The interior secretary also strongly voices out the opinions in rules, which govern the hydraulic fracturing on the public lands and drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic.

Mukund Rajan appointed Tata brand custodian

Tata Sons has appointed Mukund Govind Rajan as brand custodian and group spokesperson with the responsibility to oversee and manage all corporate communications and brand related activities for the group in India and overseas. Additionally, Rajan is to serve as the chief ethics officer of the group and also oversee all Tata Groups Corporate Social Responsibility activities as Chairman of the Tata Council for Community Initiatives. Rajan has been with the Tata Group for over 18 years, after starting his career as a Tata Administrative Service (TAS) Officer. Most recently, he was head of private equity advisory at Tata Capital and the Managing Partner of the advisory team of the $1 billion Tata Opportunities Fund.

Ahmadinejad is the first Iranian President to visit Egypt since 1979 Islamic Revolution
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran became the first Iranian leader to visit Egypt after Tehran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. He flew into the Egyptian capital city Cairo to attend the summit on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Ahmadinejads visit to Egypt was scheduled to improve the ties between the two countries. During this historic visit to Egypt, Ahmadinejad received a red carpet welcome by the President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi. The Presidents of the two nations discussed on the ways to improve relations between them and to resolve the Syrian crisis without resorting to military intervention. During his visit to the al-Azhar, an ancient mosque, a shoe was thrown at Ahmadinejad by a Syrian protestor. Reason for tensions between Iran and Egypt The relations between the two countries went sour since late 1970s, when Anwar Sadat (Egypt), the predecessor of Hosni Mubarak concluded a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 to became an ally with the Western Powers, namely Europe and United States. This was the time, when Iran stood against the influence of Western Power in the Middle East. The other reason for the tension is naming of a street in Tehran by the name of the Islamist, who was responsible for the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981.

India donates $2.5 mn for Syrian refugees

India has promised a donation of $2.5 million as humanitarian assistance for over 2 million Syrians displaced by the ongoing conflict in the country. India announced the aid in an international conference of donors on Syria inaugurated by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The assistance could be in the form of life saving drugs, food and other essential items. India also expressed opposition to foreign military intervention in Syria. Ban urged the international community to donate generously to raise $1.5 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced Syrians. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed pledged $300 million donation while the US promised $155 million. With this, the total US assistance to Syria will amount to $365 million, making it the single largest donor.

Top Careers & You

General Knowledge
GK Notes - February

Asian Development Bank Gave 100 Million US Dollar Loan to Uttarakhand

The Union Government of India signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of 100 million US dollar loan as the second tranche of urban sector development investment programme of Uttarakhand. The loan will provide support in terms of rehabilitation as well as expansion of the basic urban infrastructure in five main urban towns of Uttarakhand. The loan will also guarantee sustainable municipal service delivery. The loan will help the urban infrastructure programme, which was already started under the first tranche in Nanital, Haridwar and Dehradun. Apart from this, the loan will also include the towns Ramnagar, Roorkee and Haldwani.

P.R. Vasudeva Rao appointed as the Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research
P.R. Vasudeva Rao succeeded S.C Chetal as the new Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam. Dr. Rao was earlier the Director, Chemistry Group in IGCAR and is also a specialist in the field of actinide chemistry as well as a few areas of chemistry of nuclear fuel cycle. In IGCAR, Dr. Rao led various R&D programmes related to the field of chemistry.

About Dr. Rao Dr. Rao did graduation from Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Chennai in 1972. He later became a part of the Department of Atomic Energy after he graduated from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Training School, Trombay. He got his Ph.D. degree in actinide chemistry from Bombay University. In 1978 after resigning from BARC, he joined IGCAR. He played a crucial role in establishing Radiochemistry Laboratory in IGCAR. Various awards were bagged by him, which also include Indian Nuclear Society award in 2007. Dr. Raos specialty is designing and developing breeder reactors.

Manoj Kohli to become Bharti Airtel MD

Another round of top level management changes is being done at Bharti Airtel. Manoj Kohli will be appointed as the new Managing Director of the company. Sunil Mittal was holding the post of Managing Director earlier. Now, Mittal will be the Executive Chairman of the company. Gopal Vittal, who will take over as the CEO of Airtels India operations, will be appointed as Joint Managing Director on Bhartis board. Both Kohli and Vittal will report to Mittal. While Kohli will still be the CEO of Airtels international business, Vittal will lead the India operations.

India, Austria ink social security pact The benefit available under the social security pact India inked with Austria will provide cooperation in area of labour market expansion with the country where over 17,000 Indian professionals are working. The agreement was signed by Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Austria's Minister for Labour and Social Security Rudolf Hundstorfer in Vienna. Under the agreement, Indian workers on short-term contracts of up to five years will not be required to make any social security contribution in Austria provided they continue to make social security payments. As per the pact, Indian workers will be entitled to "export" of their social security benefits if they relocate to India after completion of their service in Austria. Self-employed Indians will also be entitled to export of the benefits on their relocation to India. According to Indian labour laws, all employees and employers falling under the purview of the Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952, are required to make mandatory contribution towards provident fund. A mandatory contribution fund is known by different names in different countries, such as social security in the US. India has already signed similar agreements with Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Denmark, Czech Republic, South Korea, Norway, Finland, Canada and Japan.

Rohinton F. Nariman Solicitor General of India resigned from his office

Rohinton F. Nariman, the Solicitor General of India resigned from his office. He was appointed at the second highest law official of India on 23 July 2011 after Gopal Subramanium resigned from his office on 14 July 2011, following the issues with Government in context to the 2G Spectrum Allocation Scam. In the history of last four decades, only three Solicitor Generals who have successfully completed the five year term in the office are - L N Sinha from 1972-77, Dipankar Gupta from 1992-97 and G E Vahanvati from 200409.

China gives go ahead for three new Brahmaputra Dams

In news that is bound to raise eyebrows in India, China has approved three new hydropower dams on the mighty Brahmaputra river. The go-ahead ends a two-year hiatus during which Beijing refrained from approving any new projects. The three new dams would be constructed on the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra, as part of a new energy development plan for 2015. The dams were given the go-ahead by Chinas State Council, or Cabinet, amid concerns from India and environmental groups. The daily reported that construction is currently underway on one major dam on the main stream of the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra River, which is known in China as Yarlung Zangbo. The construction on the 510 MW hydropower project in Zangmu in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) had started in 2010. Among the three new projects approved, one is even bigger than the Zangmu project. A 640 MW dam will come up in Dagu, 18 km upstream of Zangmu. A 320 MW dam will be constructed at Jiacha, which is downstream of Zangmu. The third dam will be built at Jiexu, 11 km upstream of Zangmu.

Sports
Rebecca Adlington retires from swimming
Britain-based Rebecca Adlington, the Olympic champion announced retirement from all forms of competitive swimming.

Rebecca Adlingtons medals are as follows: 2008 - Olympic Games 400m gold 2008 - Olympic Games 800m gold 2009 - World Championship 400m bronze 2010 - European Championship 400m gold 2010 - Commonwealth Games 400m gold 2010 - Commonwealth Games 800m gold 2011 - World Championship 400m silver 2011 - World Championship 800m gold 2012 - Olympic Games 400m bronze 2012 - Olympic Games 800m bronze

Allan Border Medal 2013 Michael Clarke wins fourth medal

Michael Clarke, the Australian cricket captain won the fourth Allan Border Medal in Melbourne. Apart from Clarke, the only other player to win this medal four times is Captain Ricky Ponting. Michael Clarke also won the Test cricketer of the year award for the second consecutive time after he scored 1080 runs in nine tests from 25 February, 2012 to January 28, 2013.