Updates on Indian and Global Economy

1. WhatsApp unveiled payments services in India following approval by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It will, however, be allowed to expand its payments user base to only 20 million users in the first phase and WhatsApp has almost 40 million users in India. 

The NPCI also imposed a cap of 30% of the total volume of transactions processed in UPI, applicable to all third-party app providers, effective January 1, 2021. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, had started testing its UPI-based payments system in 2018 and would now compete with players such as Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and PhonePe.

2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 10th November 2020 has urged banks not to shy away from lending, especially when the economy is facing major challenges. Lenders should also offer all Indian customers the Rupay card first, discourage non-digital payments, and link every account with the customer’s Aadhaar number by March 31, 2021.

3. Wipro founder Azim Premji topped the EdelGive Hurun India list of ‘India’s most generous’, with donations of ₹7,904 crore in 2019-20, surpassing Shiv Nadar and Mukesh Ambani. That sum was a 17-fold jump from the ₹453 crore, Mr. Premji donated in FY19. 

4. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 10th November 2020 has proposed extending the requirement of constituting a risk management committee to the top 1,000 listed entities from 500 at present. 

The risk management committee should also meet at least twice a year from the current practice of minimum one meeting. Considering the multitude of risks faced by listed entities, the regulator said risk management had emerged as a very important function of the board.

Notes:

*The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. Founded in 2008, the NPCI is a not-for-profit organisation registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, established by the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks' Association. The organisation is owned by a consortium of major banks and has been promoted by the country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India. 

*The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) which is the regulator of the securities and commodity market in India owned by the Government of India.