MUMBAI, July 17:  Reserve Bank has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Monetary Authority of Hong Kong for exchange of supervisory information.
“The RBI today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for supervisory cooperation and exchange of supervisory information with the Monetary Authority, Hong Kong,” RBI said in a notification.
The MoU with Monetary Authority, Hong Kong, was signed by Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive, Banking, the Monetary Authority, Hong Kong and Harun R Khan, Deputy Governor, RBI.
The signing ceremony was held at the Monetary Authority office in Hong Kong.
RBI has been signing the MoU and Letters for Supervisory Cooperation with supervisors of other countries to promote greater co-operation, including sharing of information about the supervised entities among the national authorities.
With this, RBI has signed MoUs with 21 supervisors for supervisory co-operation. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 17:  Nickel prices moved down by 0.22 per cent to Rs 1,152.90 per kg in futures trade today as participants reduced their exposures, tracking a weak trend overseas and sluggish demand from alloy-makers in the spot market.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, nickel for delivery in July month declined by Rs 2.50, or 0.22 per cent, to Rs 1,152.90 per kg in a turnover of 538 lots.
Similarly, the metal for delivery in August traded lower by Rs 2.90 or 0.22 per cent, to Rs 1,159.20 per kg in 32 lots.
Analysts attributed the fall in nickel prices at futures trade to a weak trend in metal at the London Metal Exchange (LME) and low demand from alloy-makers at domestic spot markets also influenced prices. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 17:  Following the success of its ‘onion deal’ last year, eCommerce firm Groupon India has partnered Spice Safar to offer a new ‘Rail Deal’ under which consumers will get Rs 100 off on rail tickets.
Under the deal, which goes live today, Groupon India will offer 1,000 coupons everyday for Rs 9. Using the coupon, consumers can book rail tickets using Spice Safar app to get Rs 100 off on a transaction.
“Last year, we had the onion deal under which we sold 23,000 kgs of onions. We wanted to bring a deal that would have the wow factor. Rail journey is something all of us have done at some point in time but there are never discounts on that,” Groupon India CEO Ankur Warikoo told PTI.
With today’s deal, consumers will get that benefit as well, he added.
The discount will be borne by the two firms as Railways does not offer any discounts. He, however, declined to divulge any details.
“There are offers on air travel but not on railways, which is one of the most used mode of travel in the country. We wanted to give our users a unique offer on that,” he said.
Warikoo added that he expects this deal to also take off well with students and small business owners taking the lead.
Starting today, the offer would be available for five days and each day, 1,000 coupons would be put up for purchase at 12 noon everyday.
Saket Agarwal, CEO of Spice Safar, said: “Consumers today rely on mobile apps whether it is for booking tickets or paying bills. Our association with Groupon aims to reach out to our valuable customers and make ticket booking a hassle-free experience.”
Spice Safar has 90,000 users in the country.
Last year, Groupon India announced a unique marketing strategy to offer onions at Rs 9 a kg to the first 3,000 bidders every day for seven days. The offer became so popular that it resulted in a flood of traffic that temporarily overloaded the company’s servers, crashing the site.
Launched in 2008 and publicly listed on the NYSE in 2011, Groupon offers daily deals across categories like food and beverages, wellness and travel. It has a presence in over 48 countries and has over 200 million subscribers.
“India is the fastest growing country for Groupon. We have seen business growing upwards of 100 per cent year-on-year. F&B and wellness comprise 60 per cent of our sales here,” Warikoo said. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, July 17:  Country’s fifth largest software services firm Tech Mahindra has inked a pact with US-based Wichita State University (WSU) to collaborate in the areas of aerospace engineering, certification, information technology and automotive testing.
Tech Mahindra will collaborate with WSU and its National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), the largest academic aviation R&D institution in the US, on multiple areas of engineering including composites, advanced materials and structural testing, it said in a statement.
“I strongly believe that this synergy can help reach the next level of solution offerings to our marquee customers addressing their custom needs and industry specific requirements in the areas of certification and testing,” Tech Mahindra Head of Americas (Aerospace and Defence) Krishna Balasubramaniam said.
The Indian IT firm plans to invest in equipping the engineering talent available in the region to enhance their employment opportunities in the Wichita aerospace community.
“This investment will enable Tech Mahindra to provide end-to-end solutions from design, to testing and certification for global aerospace and automotive customers and prospects in the region,” it said.
Apart from creating a local pool of trained aerospace, IT and automotive engineers, the partnership will also facilitate cooperative initiatives in the area of innovation and R&D projects, including possible involvement with WSU’s Innovation Campus.
The partnership will also enable WSU to further expand its footprint into the automotive industry and provide its students an opportunity to develop industry skills through involvement in Tech Mahindra’s research and testing projects.
“WSU will get firmly connected to the automotive and industrial sector, allowing students to gain real-world engineering skills in a unique sector,” WSU VP (Research and Technology Transfer) John Tomblin said. (PTI)