Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Ltd. has joined hands…

Concept

Current-affairs questions on corporate tie-ups test recall of a specific announcement: which two named entities partnered, for what purpose, and when. Companies sometimes announce more than one similar-sounding partnership within the same year, so the key is to match the exact wording and date of the announcement in the question to the corresponding news event, rather than guessing the most familiar bank.

Application

On 26 May 2020, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the country's largest carmaker, announced its partnership with ICICI Bank to offer retail financing schemes to its customers -- the exact wording carried in the tie-up's own coverage. Under this tie-up, ICICI Bank offered:

• Flexi EMI Scheme, with EMI starting at Rs. 899 per lakh for the first three months

• Balloon EMI Scheme

• Step-Up EMI Scheme

• Up to 100% on-road funding

These schemes reached customers across Maruti Suzuki's 3,000+ outlets and ICICI Bank's 5,380+ branch network. Hence the correct answer is ICICI Bank.

Cross-check

Maruti Suzuki separately announced a similar-sounding financing collaboration with Axis Bank about six weeks later. The table below contrasts the two announcements against this question's exact wording:

Only the ICICI Bank announcement matches the question's exact phrasing. HDFC Bank runs its own auto-loan products for Maruti Suzuki buyers but was not the partner named in either announcement. Since the announcement referenced by the question names one specific bank among the listed options, "None of these" cannot hold.