'Economic activity appears to have peaked in the second quarter of FY26, with industrial output, exports, and business confidence all softening from October 2025.'
The previous largest weekly decline was recorded in the week ended November 15, 2024.
The relation between a regulator and its regulated entities is collaborative and not adversarial with the common objective of maintaining the stability and credibility of the financial system. However, the action on regulated entities like penalties and business restrictions are the last resort, Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday.
India's household debt climbed to 41.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of March 2025, marking a sustained rise from its five-year average of 38.3 per cent, with consumption-related loans accounting for bulk of the borrowings, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report.
The country's banking system, while remaining "resilient" with bad loans at over a decade low and strong capital buffers, will continue to face intense competition from non-bank sources for resource mobilisation, said the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2024-25 report.
Sanjay Malhotra has made structural changes to banking regulation to bring down costs and increase efficiency. Plus, he kicked off a benign interest regime. But there are challenges ahead.
In order to optimise branch efficiency, public sector banks (PSBs) are reworking their strategies to streamline operations and reduce cost amid changing customer behaviour. The strategies include closing or merging low traffic branches and reducing their size in smaller centres.
The consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation hitting an all-time low in October would encourage the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut the policy repo rate in its upcoming December 3-5 meeting. However, the July-September GDP growth, expected to be above 7 per cent, may act as a deterrent.
Notwithstanding global headwinds, the Indian economy saw further momentum in October on the back of goods and services tax (GST) rate rationalisation and festival spending, as indicated by high-frequency indicators, the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) monthly State of the Economy report said.
Bajaj Finance's shares fell more than 7 per cent on Tuesday after it trimmed growth guidance for FY26, from 24-25 per cent projected earlier to 22-23 per cent.
For commercial banks to float subsidiaries, approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not remain mandatory, according to highly placed sources.
'As the team builds, each of them will bring in a different perspective, new thinking.'
'There are no additional benefits for banks and market participants to use CBDC...'
Even if the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold interest rates in the October meeting, it acknowledged the scope for further rate cuts while waiting for the impact of the past steps to play out.
Credit quality of Indian corporate is expected to be stable in the second half of the current financial year (H2FY26), supported by easing monetary cycle, and declining inflation, coupled with income-tax relief and rationalisation of the goods and service tax (GST) rates, among others.
Private sector banks slipped in market capitalisation (mcap) during the July-September quarter, underperforming their government-owned peers as trade uncertainties dragged market sentiment, said S&P Global Market Intelligence. According to its analysis, HDFC Bank shed 4.8 per cent in mcap during the third quarter, while ICICI Bank's dropped 6.7 per cent.
Banks and NBFCs are launching festival offers, including lower loan rates, cashback, EMI schemes and GST-linked benefits to tap rising demand ahead of Diwali
'Given the lag in transmission, further softening of lending rates may happen in the coming months.'
'The statistical confidence bands of the fan charts of the forecasts will provide a better sense of the potential variability of outcomes.'
Uncertainties over the impact of the United States' (US') tariffs on India, along with the ongoing transmission of past rate cuts, prompted the members of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to maintain the status quo during the August meeting, the minutes showed. While some of the external members highlighted their concern over growth, the internal members cited the one-year headline inflation rate overshooting the 4 per cent target.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances