Latest Business and Economics General Knowledge(GK) Questions and answers

1 .

Which comapny announced a strategic partnership with Sri Lanka-headquartered Maliban Biscuit Manufactories Limited?

A)

Reliance Retail

B)

DMart

C)

Future Retail

D)

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail

Correct Answer : Reliance Retail Ventures Limited

Reliance Consumer Products Limited, the FMCG arm of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, has announced a strategic partnership with the Sri Lanka’s Maliban Biscuit Manufactories.

Maliban, a heritage brand and a household name in Sri Lanka, is a pioneering biscuit manufacturer well-known for the last 70 years for its range of quality products.

The company has expanded its products to reach global markets and now exports to over 35 countries across 5 continents.

Speaking on the partnership, the Group Managing Director of "Maliban Kumudika Fernando" said that the complementary strengths of the two organisations will bring the unique and highly sought-after taste of Maliban to Indian consumers.

With this partnership, Reliance and Maliban will develop unique value propositions that RPCL will utilise to strengthen their portfolio in the biscuit segment...

Source : AIR

2 .

Who acquired a 100% equity stake in Khargone Transmission at an enterprise value of around ₹1,497.5 crores?

A)

IRB InvIT Fund

B)

Brookfield India

C)

Virescent Renewable

D)

India Grid Trust (IndiGrid)

Correct Answer : India Grid Trust (IndiGrid)

India Grid Trust (IndiGrid) to acquired a 100% equity stake in Khargone Transmission at an enterprise value of around ₹1,497.5 crores.

IndiGrid signed a share purchase agreement on January 21, 2023.

Khargone Transmission was incorporated on November 28, 2015.

The transmission project was awarded by the ministry of power for a 35-year period from the scheduled commercial operation date on a build, own, operate, and maintain (BOOM) basis..

Source : India Times

3 .

Which company signed an MoU with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for setting the annual performance target for the year 2022-23?

A)

GAIL

B)

Coal India

C)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited(IREDA)

D)

SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited)

Correct Answer : Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited(IREDA)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India, setting annual performance target for the year 2022-23.

The MOU was signed by Shri Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary, MNRE and Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), IREDA 20th Jan 2023 in the presence of senior officials from MNRE & IREDA.

The Government of India has set a target ₹ 3,361 crores for Revenue from Operation, up by approx. 18% from the previous year achievement.

The Government of India has also set various performance-related key parameters such as Return on Net Worth, Return on Capital Employed, NPA to Total Loans, Asset Turnover Ratio and Earning per share, etc.

Shri Pradip Kumar Das highlighted that IREDA has been delivering exemplary performances for the previous two financial years and is fully geared to meet these targets.

The company has posted 67% jump in Profit After Tax (PAT) in 2nd Quarter of FY 2022-23, as compared to corresponding period during FY 2021-22. Most importantly, Net NPAs have been reduced from 4.87% to 2.72% in Quarter 2, as compared to corresponding period during FY 2021-22.

IREDA has demonstrated exceptional performance by securing 96.54 marks for the MoU of FY 2021-22. The company as on date, has financed more than 3,068 Renewable Energy projects loan accounts with cumulative loan sanction and disbursement to the tune of

₹ 1,41,622 crores & ₹ 90,037 crores respectively and has supported Renewable Energy capacity addition of 19,502 MW in the country.

Source : PIB

4 .

Which company has overtakes Apple as world's most valuable brand in 2023?

A)

Microsoft

B)

Google

C)

Walmart

D)

Amazon

Correct Answer : Amazon

Billionaire Jeff Bezos’s e-commerce company Amazon has become the most valued brand, overtaking Apple, last year’s topper.

Amazon has reclaimed the top spot as the world’s most valuable brand despite its brand value falling 15 per cent this year from $350.3 billion to $299.3 billion.

According to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance’s report, “Global 500 2023”, while Amazon is back at No 1, its brand value has fallen by over $50 billion this year, with its rating slipping from AAA+ to AAA. This is as consumers evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world.

Apple slipped to the second spot : iPhone maker Apple slipped to the second slot to be ranked the world’s second most valuable brand (brand value down 16% to $297.5 billion from $355.1 billion).

This year’s fall in brand value relates to a fall in forecast revenue with supply chain disruptions and a constrained labour market expected to limit the supply of its marquee hardware products. Among all, 48 tech brands featured in the ranking, which is two less than the earlier 50 rated in 2022.

This is after Snapchat and Twitter dropped out.

* Amazon- Worth $299.3 billion

* Apple- Worth $297.5 billion

* Google-Worth $281.4 billion

* Microsoft-Worth $191.6 billion

* Walmart-Worth $113.8 billion

* Samsung Group-Worth $99.7 billion

* ICBC-Worth $69.5 billion

* Verizon-Worth $67.4 billion

* Tesla-Worth $66.2 billion

* TikTok/Douyin-Worth $65.7 billion..

Source : Times now News

5 .

Which bank and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) signed an agreement to provide financial assistance to the dealers of SAIL across the country?

A)

Canara Bank

B)

South Indian Bank

C)

Union Bank of India

D)

State Bank of India

Correct Answer : South Indian Bank

South Indian Bank and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) on Friday (13th Jan 2023) signed an agreement to provide financial assistance to the dealers of SAIL across the country.

With the vast network of the bank, they will be able to serve the MSME and corporate customers of SAIL located in different geographies.

SAIL has a vast network of dealers who ensure availability of quality steel in virtually all districts of the country.

MD & CEO, South Indian Bank : Murali Ramakrishnan..

Source : Mint

6 .

Which Company has signed a partnership agreement with Manchester City to become the Official Mobile Communications Network Partner of Club in the country?

A)

Jio Platforms Limited

B)

Bharti Airtel

C)

Adani Data Network

D)

Vodafone Idea

Correct Answer : Jio Platforms Limited

Jio Platforms Limited (Jio) has signed a partnership agreement with Manchester City to become the Official Mobile Communications Network Partner of Club in the country.

Man City's OTT platform 'CITY' will be integrated into the JioTV platform.

The English Premier League club’s over-the-top platform — called CITY+ — will also be integrated into the JioTV platform “providing fans in India further access to exclusive club content including match highlights, live Manchester City Women’s team” and other fixtures, according to a statement Thursday (5th Jan 2023) from Reliance Industries Ltd., Jio Platforms’ parent. ..

Source : CNBC

7 .

Which company to complete the acquisition of Ford India's manufacturing plant at Sanand through its subsidiary on 10th January 2023?

A)

Hyundai Motor

B)

Tata Motors

C)

Maruti Suzuki

D)

Mahindra and Mahindra

Correct Answer : Tata Motors

The auto major on Friday (30th Dec 2022) said that the acquisition of Ford India's (FIPL) manufacturing plant at Sanand, through its subsidiary, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEML) will be completed on 10 January 2023.

On 7 August 2022, Tata Motors said that its subsidiary, TPEML and FIPL had executed a unit transfer agreement for the acquisition of FIPL's manufacturing plant situated at Sanand, Gujarat.

The agreement includes land and buildings, a vehicle manufacturing plant along with machinery and equipment and transfer of all eligible employees of FIPL's vehicle manufacturing operations at Sanand, for a total consideration, exclusive of taxes, of Rs 725.7 crore.

The auto maker stated, Pursuant to the fulfilment of the necessary condition precedents for the transaction, including receipt of relevant government approvals, the parties have decided to proceed towards completion of the transaction on 10th January 2023..

Source : Business Standard

8 .

Google has announced a partnership with the _______ in the Google for India 2022 event on 19th Dec 2022.

A)

Zerodha

B)

DigiLocker

C)

State Bank of India

D)

National Securities Depository Limited

Correct Answer : DigiLocker

A partnership with DigiLocker was announced by Google On Monday(19th Dec 2022). It was announced in the Google for India 2022 event.

DigiLocker is a government authorised identification storage system that brings government issued ID to the local storage of Android devices.

This partnership is a part of Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) which involves on-device processing of images and texts that help to identify important documents and organise them in ‘Files’- the local storage folder. The Android operating system of Google will also tap into the DigiLocker application programming interface (API).

Government issued and authorised verification documents will be stored locally on the smartphone itself. The President and chief executive of National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Abhishek Singh said that the developed application by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) now has equal authority as that of an official document and DigiLocker will be available on Android devices as a pre-installed service by default “very soon”.

Google also mentioned that the AI identification system that it has will make use of AI processing capabilities which is locally located on each device and will not expose any sensitive document on the Internet.

Identification of government issued documents such as PAN card to Aadhaar card will be identified by the AI system locally. Also, a pattern lock will be provided to secure storage of the identification documents locally.

The Chief Executive Officer of Google, Sundar Pichai, in a conversation with Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India has offered references for a host of technological tools built by Google. Pichai said, “UPI is one of the biggest examples that I cite in terms of a successful digital tool, thanks to our learning with Google Pay..

Source : Financial Express

9 .

Which company has acquire Jaypee Group's cement assets for Rs 5,666 crore?

A)

ACC Limited

B)

Ramco Cements

C)

Dalmia Cement

D)

UltraTech Cement

Correct Answer : Dalmia Cement

The Jaypee Group on Monday(12th Dec 2022) said that a binding agreement had been signed to sell the group’s cement business to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd at an enterprise value of Rs 5,666 crore.

* The binding agreement has been signed by Jaiprakash Associates and Jaiprakash Power Ventures.

* The divestment includes cement plants with an aggregate capacity of 9.4 million tonne, clinker assets with a capacity of 6.7 million tonne, and 280 MW capacity thermal power plant, the Jaypee Group companies said.

* Proceeds from the divestment of the cement assets to Dalmia Bharat will be primarily used to repay Jaiprakash Associates’ debt.

* The cement and clinker capacities currently being sold to the Dalmia Group are situated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh..

Source : Economictimes

10 .

Which company acquisition of two digital first brands 'OZiva' and 'Wellbeing Nutrition'?

A)

Tata

B)

Godrej

C)

Britannia Industries

D)

Hindustan Unilever

Correct Answer : Hindustan Unilever

The acquisition by Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) of the Oziva and Wellbeing Nutrition brands is unlikely to turn the needle for India’s biggest packaged consumer goods maker, either in terms of size or scale of the business, just yet, analysts say.

The acquisitions, nevertheless, will strengthen HUL’s intent of broadening its presence in the health and wellness segment and the company will likely use its vast distribution network and the expertise of parent Unilever to expand the newly acquired premium brands.

With the two purchases, HUL is taking control of companies that were selling their products only digitally. HUL is widely expected to strengthen its offline presence through its own formidable distribution clout.

Besides, with the acquisition of digital-only brands, HUL also gets to target consumers in the higher-income category as well as the younger population.

Millennials, particularly Gen-Z, which are driving the market towards health supplements and wellness, would be priceless acquisitions via these companies for HUL.

Analysts believe that alongside online sales, HUL would also scale up the newly acquired brands in the medium- to long-term through market development, coupled with its Research and Development (R&D) strengths.

Unilever already has a health, wellness, and nutrition portfolio worth a billion euros and as HUL embarks on the expansion and deepening of this product category in India, the product portfolio of the parent company could also slowly find its way to the country..

Source : Moneycontrol

Business and Economics - General Knowledge Questions