5 Key Business News In Power, Banking & Education Sectors

Business news in India is an ongoing process. Every day we come across a bulk of business news in print, audiovisual, or social media. It’s not feasible to highlight all of them. In this blog, I choose five (5) key business news stories, divided into three sectors: power, banking, and education, for my readers. I welcome all my visitors to become readers on board and feel free to comment in the comment box below.

1 . Key Business News (Power Sector): GAIL Strengthens Global Energy Portfolio With ADNOC Gas Plc Through Ten-Year LNG Purchase Agreement

GAIL (India) Limited signed a ten-year agreement on January 30, 2024, to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) from ADNOC Gas (Abu Dhabi Natural Oil Company), a globally famous gas processing company that is a subsidiary of a State-owned Oil company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Let us know about the basics of Liquid Natural Gas.

DEFINITION: A form of natural gas converted into a liquid state for ease of transportation and storage. Upon reaching the destination, it is again regasified and converted back into a gaseous state for distribution and use.

LNG-Driven Sectors
Natural gas is predominantly utilized by various sectors, with the fertilizer industry leading as the largest consumer at 29%, followed by power generation at 18%, and transportation at 15%. As per the government of India, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, a few applications of LNG in major sectors are as follows:

• Long-distance carriers like buses and trucks.
• Transportation fuel in inland waterways.
• Sea-going fishing vessel.
• Cold warehousing chain.

Source:
https://mopng.gov.in/en/pdc/investible-projects/oil-amp-gas-infrastructure/liquefied-natural-gas

Current Reserve of LNG In GAIL

• GAIL has an LNG portfolio of around 14 million tons per year, comprising supplies from countries including the USA, Qatar, Australia, and Russia, based on the 2022–23 Annual report as reported by REUTERS

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uaes-adnoc-gas-signs-10-yr-lng-supply-agreement-with-indias-gail-2024-01-30/

The Ensuing Future Of LNG In India

• Gas consumption in India will ascend to 500 million metric standard cubic meters per day [mmscmd] by 2030, as against the present consumption of 155 mmscmd, as announced by Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
• The focus on the Gas market is high as LNG is seen as a transitional fuel that helps reduce planet-warming emissions and competition for LNG has stepped up since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022
• India’s endeavour to raise natural gas’s percentage in the energy sector to 15%.

GAIL & ADNOC Collaboration Highlights

• GAIL will purchase approximately 0.5 million metric tons per year of LNG from ADNOC Gas.
• A MOU [memorandum of undertaking] was signed on October 30, 2022, between the two nations to cater to the increased demand in the power sector.

2 . Key Business News (Banking Sector): The Dynamic Partnership Of HSBC And Google Cloud To Fuel Climate Tech Innovations

Leading global bank HSBC has partnered with Google Cloud to support climate tech start-ups in the Google Cloud Ready Sustainability Program (GCRSP).
Google Cloud’s cloud-based software will help to attain decarbonization, resulting in climate neutrality.
HSBC aims to deploy $1 billion in the program by 2030. This initiative has thirty (30) companies participating, including Deloitte, Watershed, and Airbus. HSBC will provide venture debt financing options to these companies to support the initiative.

3 . Key Business News (Banking Sector ): Reserve Bank Of India Grants Approval: PAYTM Authorized To Expand Payment Business Across Other Banks

The Reserve Bank of India has issued directives that Paytm can transfer its Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based payments business from Paytm Payments Bank to four (4) to five (5) other banks. Paytm is advised not to register new users until the formalities for migration are completed, and as per the RBI’s direction, Paytm Payments Bank has to stop banking services after March 15, 2024.

Besides, Paytm FasTag and the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) will be inoperative from March 15, 2024, and Paytm food and prepaid wallets will cease to operate from March 16, 2024. This closure validates the fact that Paytm’s banking and mobile wallet business will now provide payment services through the UPI platform under NPCI and rank at par with other Fintechs like Google Pay, Phone Pe, etc. Besides, Paytm is trying to become a third-party application provider (TPAP) through the Paytm app, working under the UPI platform operator NPCI.

4 . Key Business News (Banking Sector ): PAYMART INDIA Teams Up With 5 Major Banks To Unveil India’s Pioneering Virtual ATM Network

Paymart India (P) Limited, a fintech company based in Chandigarh, launched India’s first virtual ATM in partnership with five (5) banks like IDBI, Indian Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, and Karur Vyasa Bank.
A virtual ATM allows the withdrawal of cash without a card or visiting a traditional ATM. It means it is a cardless, hardware-less service of cash withdrawal, which is going to be reined in the coming days.
The virtual ATM service is currently operated in selected cities but plans to expand nationwide and requires a smartphone, internet connection, the bank’s mobile app, withdrawal requests, a one-time password (OTP), and collecting cash from a participating shop.

5 . Key Business News (Education Sector): Empowering Education Flywire Corporation And State Bank Of India (SBI) Join Forces For The Digital Payment Revolution

Flywire Corporation has collaborated on a partnership with India’s largest public sector bank, SBI, to digitize cross-border education payments from India

• Students and families must have an account in the local currency of India (INR) with the State Bank of India.
• Indian payers can pay international high-value education-related fees in the local currency of India (INR).
• Payments must comply with the rules of the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS).
• Students can make payments from the SBI net banking platform in Indian currencies via three simple steps and can track payments till they are deposited into their university-designated account.
• On the contrary, the recipient educational institution will accept payments through Flywire Corporation in their respective local currencies, resulting in ease in the reconciliation process of all payments received from India.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

Q1: What does GAIL (India) stand for?

Ans. A central public sector undertaking (formerly known as Gas Authority of India Limited) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which deals with natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquid petroleum gas (LPG) transmissions, and many more. The company was awarded Maharatna status on February 1, 2013.

Q2. What is a Maharatna?

Ans. The Government of India divides Central Public sector enterprises into three (3) categories: Maharatna, Navaratna and Miniratna, in descending order., based on many categories like turnover, net worth, net profit, etc.

Q3. What does Flywire stand for?

Ans. Global Payments Enablement is a software company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with offices spread globally. It leverages vertical-specific software clubbed with next-gen payment technology. It merges with the leading ERP system “Netsuite” to smooth the account receivable workflows for its clients and optimise the payment experience for its customers.

Q4. What does LRS stand for?

Ans. LRS means Liberalized Remittance Scheme. A scheme of outward remittance from India by resident individuals only, including minors, for any permissible capital or current account transaction as regulated by the Reserve Bank of India in 2004. The overseas outward remittance must be within a maximum limit of USD 2,50,000/-[ <= US$ 2,50,000] per financial year and will attract tax collection at source (TCS) at a rate of 20% from October 1, 2023.

Q5. What does HSBC stand for?

Ans. HSBC stands for The Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. Founded in 1865, the current head office is in London, United Kingdom (UK).

Q6. What is Decarbonization?

Ans. Removal or reduction of carbon dioxide output in the atmosphere.

Q7. Who is NPCI?

Ans. NPCI stands for National Payments Corporation Of India. It is a non-profit organisation created in 2008 to operate India’s retail payment and Settlement systems

Q8. Who owns Paytm?

Ans. Paytm stands for Pay Through Mobile. The parent company that owns Paytm is One97 Communications Limited, a multinational financial technology company (Fintech) founded in 2010 by Vijay Sekhar Sharma, whose headquarter is in Noida, Delhi (NCR), and listed in India.

Q9. What is UPI?

Ans. UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface, an open-source application programming interface regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. It is an instant interbank payment system owned and developed by NPCI in 2016. It uses mobile devices to transfer funds between two bank accounts.