Top headlines: India Inc commits Rs 11.87 trn to AP, RBI fines Amazon Pay

NCLT allows merger of HDFC’s two subsidiaries with HDFC Capital Advisors

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday gave its approval for the merger of HDFC Property Ventures and HDFC Venture Capital with HDFC Capital Advisors, taking the merger of the parent with HDFC Bank a step closer.

The tribunal is yet to approve the merger of its two insurance arms and the asset management company as also the patent into the bank as part of the USD 40-billion reverse merger.

In its final order, the NCLT sanctioned a composite scheme of amalgamation of HDFC Property Ventures and HDFC Venture Capital into HDFC Capital Advisors, HDFC said in an exchange filing. Read more

India Inc commits Rs 11.87 trn to Andhra on Day-1 of investor summit

The renewable energy sector received the maximum attention on Day-one of the Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit (GIS) on Friday. As many as 92 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed for investments worth about Rs 11.87 trillion and an employment generating potential of 392,000 jobs.

State-run power major NTPC signed three MoUs for investments amounting to Rs 2.35 trillion, while industry majors Adani Group, Reliance Industries, ABC Ltd, Renew Power and JSW Group announced big-ticket investments in the state. On Saturday, another Rs 1.15 trillion worth of MoUs are set to be signed, taking the total to Rs 13 trillion. Read more

Chatbot firms in India to generate over 20% of digital customers’ revenue

With a rising number of digital commerce firms employing their services, chatbots may generate about $12 billion in business revenue in three years. This is according to Swapan Rajdev, the chief technology officer and co-founder of Jio Haptik, a leading player in the chatbot world. Digital commerce firms range from companies engaged in e-commerce and insurance to financial services, banking, travel, hotels, and gaming.

Over the next three years, chatbot companies in India are projected to generate over 20 per cent of business revenues of their customers that run digital commerce platforms, thanks to technologies such as the artificial intelligence (AI)-based ChatGPT. Read more

RBI fines Amazon Pay (India) Rs 3 cr for not complying with PPI & KYC norms

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 3.06 crore on Amazon Pay (India) Pvt Ltd for non-compliance with provisions of the Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) norms and Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Other entities such as Ola Financial Services, Obopay Mobile Technologies, and Manappuram Finance Ltd have also been fined by the RBI for disregarding the same norms. While Obopay was fined Rs 5.93 crore, Ola Financial Services and Manappuram Finance were fined 1.67 crore and Rs 17.63 lakh, respectively. Read more

Big shift from China: Foxconn commits $700 mn for new plant in Karnataka

Apple partner Foxconn is stepping up its India business plans and investments significantly, in a move that is being seen as a shift from China just like its key customer. In the latest development, Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn has decided to invest an estimated $700 million to set up a new plant in Karnataka. The proposed plant, to be located near the Bengaluru airport, is expected to manufacture and assemble devices including the iPhone.

Experts described Foxconn’s bet on India as part of a strategy to reduce its over-dependence on China, where 75 per cent of its production is located. Read more