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< Back RBI bars Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers digitally 24 Apr 2024 Despite repeated warnings over the last two years, Kotak did not fix its IT systems. On Wednesday, RBI barred new customer onboarding via online and mobile channels and issued new credit cards, citing “serious deficiencies and non-compliances” in Kotak Mahindra Bank's technology platforms. Kotak is the third-most valued bank in India in terms of market capitalisation. The move may also impact the bank’s existing co-branded card deals. The ban will not affect existing banking and credit card customers. Its branches continue to operate as usual. RBI found non-compliance in Kotak’s IT inventory management, user access management, patch and change management, vendor risk management, data security and leak prevention strategy, and business continuity and disaster management. As per RBI, the inadequate technological infrastructure caused severe and frequent Core Banking System failures in digital banking channels in 2022-2023. The latest service disruption occurred on April 15, 2024. RBI imposed a similar ban on HDFC Bank in 2020 and removed it in March 2022. Previous Next

< Back Old scooter brands Luna and LML Star to go electric in 2024 23 Jan 2024 The 70s iconic brands are relaunching the mega successful brands as electric scooters this year. Market demand and governmental push are driving old brands from the 70s and 80s to return this year revamped as EVs. Bajaj Chetak’s electric scooter, launched in January 2020, became a thrashing success. This prompted the two-wheeler makers to follow suit. 8,59,000 electric two-wheelers were sold in India in 2023, a jump of 36% compared to 2022. E-Luna will be launched by March with a price tag of around ₹80,000, and LML’s Star electric scooter between April and June this year for around ₹1 lakh . Bajaj, TVS, Ola, and Ather control over 90% of the EV two-wheeler market. Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda plan to enter the segment by this year's end. Kinetic’s e-Luna will be designed to carry B2B and last mile deliveries, too, and offer a top speed of up to 50-52 kmph. Besides, Okinawa and Gogoro 2 series electric scooters will also be launched by year end. Previous Next

< Back Ten int’l airlines in India receive show-cause notices over ₹10,000 crore unpaid taxes 8 Aug 2024 The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) issued notices regarding services imported by their Indian head offices from their headquarters. Ten international airlines, including Lufthansa, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Oman Air, and British Airways, operating in India received show-cause notices from DGGI demanding an explanation on the unpaid GST worth ₹10,000 crores for services imported from their headquarters. International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global trade body governing the movement of airlines worldwide, disagreed with DGGI’s claim that all airline headquarters must pay GST on the expenses incurred for rendering services like crew, rentals, and aircraft maintenance. It highlighted that Indian carriers flying abroad do not face such taxes. The notice covers the period from July 2017, when GST was introduced, to March 2024. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), issued a circular on June 26th, 2024, clarifying the applicability of GST on services provided by international airlines. It makes GST applicable on services imported by Indian carriers from head offices under the reverse charge mechanism. Previous Next

Une constellation commerciale à large bande en plein expansion a environ 5 500 satellites dans l’espace et l’utiliser par les agences gouvernementales, des sociétés commerciales, et des consommateurs. < Back La Chine lance le premier lot de satellites pour rivaliser avec SpaceX Une constellation commerciale à large bande en plein expansion a environ 5 500 satellites dans l’espace et l’utiliser par les agences gouvernementales, des sociétés commerciales, et des consommateurs. Shanghai Spacecom Satellite Technology (SSST), une entreprise publique chinoise va lancer le premier lot de satellites pour rivaliser avec le réseau internet mondial de Starlink, une compagnie de SpaceX appartenant à Elon Musk. Les pays déploient les satellites dans orbite terrestre pour rivaliser et pour des applications militaires. Le lancement s’appelle Thousand Miles Constellation ou G60 Starlink Plan. C’était commencé l’année dernière et prévoit de déployer plus de 15 000 satellites à basse altitude d’ici 2030. Ces fonctionnent à des altitudes comprises entre 300 km et 2 000 km, sont mois chers et offrent une transmission plus efficace que les satellites ont places en des orbites plus élevées. C’est de l’un des trois projets chinois de constellations d’étoiles à dix milles pour faire en face concurrant de Starlink. SSST prévoir de lancer 108 satellites cette année, 648 d’ici à 2025, et offrir un réseau mondial d’ici à 2027. Previous Next

< Back Reader’s Digest UK closes after 86 years 18 May 2024 The iconic magazine succumbed to the financial pressures of the competition in today’s ruthless publication scenario. Reader’s Digest was first published in the US in 1922 and in the UK in 1938. During its peak, the magazine circulated two million copies in the UK. In 2000, it was selling over a million copies per month. By the second half of 2013, its sales had plummeted to less than 187,000 copies per month, 89.3% of which were paid copies. Better Capital acquired Reader’s Digest UK in April 2010 for £13-14 million and further invested £9 million. However, the magazine struggled financially and was saved by Mike Luckwell, an entrepreneur known for creating the hit kids’ TV show Bob The Builder . He bought the magazine for just one pound! Reader’s Digest set the benchmarks of direct marketing strategies in the publishing industry. It carved a niche in targeted mail campaigns and sweepstakes. However, the magazine failed to adapt to changing consumer preferences and the dynamism of the media industry. Previous Next

< Back 1,238 Bank of Baroda branches issued fake gold loans to meet targets 7 Feb 2024 BoB branches with Gold Loan Shoppes issued disbursed the fake loans. Some friendly customers were in on it. In another case of bank fraud, some Bank of Baroda employees in the South India carried on the scheme in an alliance with friendly customers. The branches with Gold Loan Shoppes would sanction the fake loan without collateral and disburse the money to customer's account. A lien (a block on a sum of money) was created on it so the customer couldn't use the money. After some time, the money would be returned to the bank to show a regular loan repayment. The branch would pay processing fees from its internal expense account. Interest payments were avoided by back-dating the loan repayments. So the system would show that the loans were repaid the same day as they were disbursed, which reversed any interest charges. An offside audit identified anomalies in some gold loan accounts closed within three-month periods between April and September. Previous Next

< Back New law to impact Indian firms offering AI products to the European Union 31 May 2024 Last week, the Council of the European Union approved the world’s first law regulating AI development, the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act. The EU’s new AI Act, expected to come into effect by June end, will raise compliance expectations and associated costs for Indian firms selling AI systems in Europe. Companies will have six months to conduct a risk assessment to ascertain the category of their AI systems and prepare for compliance. While the generic AI applications will get a year to comply, the high-risk systems must fully comply within three years. The Act will ban any AI applications posing unacceptable threats within six months of implementation. Indian SMEs offering AI products to the EU market at reasonable rates are worried about losing their competitive edge. Becoming and staying compliant will demand excessive costs and administrative resources. Non-compliance can attract penalties of up to €1,50,00,000 or 3% of the turnover. The new Indian government may pass the Digital India Act, replacing the twenty-five-year-old IT Act. It may also regulate AI. Previous Next

< Back SEBI invites financial influencers to register, stick to guidelines Ishita Nigam 22 Sept 2023 SEBI limited the number of interactions between its regulated entities and unregistered finfluencers. It plans to ban unregistered finfluencers from partnering with mutual funds and stockbrokers from promotional activities. Striking a whiplash on financial influencers, or finfluencers, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed new guidelines on August 25th.. It invited all finfluencers to register before partnering with SEBI-registered financial businesses for marketing or knowledge-sharing through social media posts. It asked registered entities not to share confidential information with unregistered finfluencers and companies. It intends to disrupt the referral-based commission system that forms a significant revenue model for the finfluencers. However, it will allow registered entities a limited number of referrals. So, only those certified by SEBI can become financial gurus. It is bound to curb the mushrooming of financial advisors offering misleading or biased financial advice to lure customers. SEBI has already banned finfluencers like P.R. Sundar, with a million followers, from the securities market for providing investment advisory without proper registration and asked him to pay back over ₹ 6 crore fees and interest. Previous Next

< Back 22 years later, Veer Savarkar Airport welcomes 1st int’l flight 19 Nov 2024 Air Asia’s inaugural international flight from Malaysia landed at Veer Savarkar International Airport, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The airport, just 2 kilometres from Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was given international status in 2002. Twenty-two years later, it welcomed its first international flight from Malaysia, Air Asia’s inaugural AK 55. Starting November 16th until October 25th, 2025, Air Asia kicked off three flights weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The Airports Authority of India upgraded the Veer Savarkar Airport to grade II from III earlier this year, thus granting it more autonomy and administrative prowess for development. The airport inaugurated a new state-of-the-art terminal on July 18, 2023, well-equipped to handle 5 million passengers every year. It has three levels for arrivals, departures, and waiting lounges. With 28 check-in counters, three aerobridges, and four conveyor belts, the terminal can accommodate 1200 passengers during peak hours. Seashells inspire the new terminal design, and it is among the largest clear-span enclosure airports in the country. Previous Next

La loi américaine considère la mauvaise manipulation ou la divulgation non autorisée d’informations classifiées comme une infraction pénale. < Back En quoi la communication militaire américaine est-elle différente de celle du reste du monde ? La loi américaine considère la mauvaise manipulation ou la divulgation non autorisée d’informations classifiées comme une infraction pénale. Le conseiller à la sécurité nationale américain a accidentellement inclus une journaliste dans leur groupe de discussion Signal où il planifiait son action militaire contre le group houthi du Yémen qui bloqué la mer Rouge. Les démocrates et les républicains ont demandé l'ouverture d'une enquête. L’armée américaine déploie la communication par satellite avancées, d’IA et la blockchain pour la transmission de données en temps réel et en toute sécurité. Elle utilise des protocoles de communication standard tels que Zulu Time et Military Alphabet pour plus de clarté et de précision. Elle se targue d’un cryptage de sécurité inégalé et de mesures de cybersécurité. Le partage d’informations confidentielles sur des plateformes non sécurisées ou avec des personnels non autorisés constitue une infraction criminelle au regard du droit américaine. Le code uniforme de justice militaire régit l’espionnage et les communications non autorisées. Les peines encourues sont celles de la cour martiale. Ne manquez pas un autre article de SalestorrsNouvelles150. Suivez Salestorrs sur WhatsApp , LinkedIn , Facebook , X , et Instagram . Previous Next

< Back Epic Games wins antitrust lawsuit against Google in the US 15 Dec 2023 The jury agreed with the video game maker, calling out Google’s Play Store practices monopolistic. On Tuesday, San Francisco-based video games maker and software developer Epic Games won a lawsuit against Google in the US. The gaming startup claimed that Google’s 30% commission on Play Store promotes monopoly, affects competition, and reduces innovation. Epic Games alleged that in 2021, Google made a $12 billion operating profit on the Play Store by enforcing dominating policies in the app market. The jury agreed with the startup, thus making it a momentous win against the digital giant. However, Google plans to challenge Epic Games in the US Federal Court. The win has encouraged startups worldwide and in India to fight against the hefty commission they call the ‘Google Tax’. The Competition Commission of India identified these issues in October 2020. It fined Google ₹936 crore for Competition Act violation, including making its in-house payment and billing system mandatory for paid apps and within-app purchases on the Play Store. Previous Next

< Back Tata Group takes over Wistron’s iPhone assembly line in Tamil Nadu 9 Nov 2023 The deal is worth $750 million, including debt. It will make Tata Group the first Indian company to assemble iPhones in India. Tata Group took over the iPhone assembling facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, from Wistron for $750 million, including debt. Tata Electronics signed the deal on Wednesday. Wistron is among India's top three Apple vendors, besides Pegatron and Foxconn. Since 2018, Wistron had four iPhone assembly lines in the country and was about to open another manufacturing facility in Kolar by November-end, with production commencing in January 2024. Tata was initially focused on making iPhone cases in the Hosur facility, with around 20% locally sourced consumables. But now it will be able to scale up. Wistron’s facility was vandalized by workers in December 2020 on the grounds of poor working conditions and non-payment of dues. Apple had put Wistron on probation in December 2022 until it sorted out worker issues. This deal comes in light of Apple’s plans to shift 25% of iPhone manufacture to India from China by 2025. Previous Next