While the economy will wait for a rate cut in December, the banking industry should be happy with the wave of liberalisation -- a big push for growth in bank credit, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
India's forex reserves jumped $4.7 billion to $702.97 billion for the week ended September 12, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased $4.04 billion to $698.27 billion.
As a protege of Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to scale bilateral ties much higher. Trade and investment shall grow. People-to-people contacts shall be scaled up, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
The rupee continued to face pressure in the first half of the current financial year (FY26), hitting fresh lows against the dollar, due to strengthening of the greenback, rising crude oil prices, and foreign outflows. Rupee has depreciated by 3.7 per cent so far in the current financial year after starting at a good note in April.
'The frenzy for gold is primarily due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariff war.'
Public-sector banks (PSBs) are attracting the attention of investors and the PSU Bank Index has gained nearly 10 per cent in the past month. PSBs have seen return on assets (RoA) climbing to 1 per cent in 2024-2025 (FY25) and margins are believed to have moved up further in the first half of this financial year (H1FY26) with asset quality remaining stable.
PhonePe on Friday said it has got the final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. With RBI authorisation in place, PhonePe will be able to expand its reach and tap into online merchants, with a particular focus on small and medium businesses (SMEs) across the country, according to a release.
Tata Capital is set to launch India's largest ever initial public offering (IPO) by a non-banking financial company (NBFC), valuing the Tata group firm at Rs 1.38 trillion. This will make the company India's fifth-most-valued NBFC after Bajaj Finance (Rs 6.12 trillion), Bajaj Finserv (Rs 3.2 trillion), Jio Financial Services (Rs 1.87 trillion), and IRFC (Rs 1.59 trillion).
Among Sensex firms, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Eternal and ITC were the major laggards. Selling in HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank also dragged the key indices. However, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Maruti and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain pleas against the Kerala High Court order dismissing petitions challenging the Travancore Devaswom Board's decision to conduct a global conclave of Ayyappa devotees.
The rupee is undervalued as compared to its peers, shows the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), even as the local currency keeps hitting new lows.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra, with Deputy Governors Poonam Gupta, Swaminathan J, T Rabi Sankar, and M Rajeshwar Rao, responded to a range of queries in the post-policy interaction with the media
With the price of gold entering a strong bull run, gold-loan non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are under the spotlight, even though their performance is not directly linked to gold price. Muthoot Finance outperformed in the April-June quarter (Q1) of 2025-26 (FY26), with its assets under management (AUM) growing 10 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) and 42 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), an improvement of 88 basis points (bps) Q-o-Q in net interest margin (NIM), and a fall in credit cost. Gold AUM rose 40 per cent Y-o-Y and 10 per cent Q-o-Q. The company recorded recoveries of 350 crore, including 100 crore from an asset reconstruction company (ARC), resulting in a 100-bp Q-o-Q yield increase.
Among Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Bharat Electronics, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Trent and UltraTech Cement were the major gainers. However, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, ITC and Tata Steel were among the laggards.
Despite a strong 7.8 per cent growth in the first quarter, the Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent in the current financial year as the impact of US tariffs on Indian exports will reduce prospects, particularly in the second half, ADB said on Tuesday.
UPI crossed 20 billion monthly transactions for the first time in August 2025, with a transaction value of Rs 24.85 trillion.
'While we expand into other areas, banca remains our primary channel, and we continue to be a banca-led organisation.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
Three masked men robbed a State Bank of India branch in Vijayapura, Karnataka, making off with over Rs 20 crore in cash and gold ornaments after tying up the staff. Police are investigating.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) returned to the positive zone after two months at 0.52 per cent in August, as prices of food articles and manufactured items inched up, government data showed on Monday. WPI-based inflation was (-) 0.58 and (-) 0.19 per cent in July and June, respectively.
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
Some public sector banks, including State Bank of India (SBI), Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, and Bank of India, are increasing the spread on home loans for new customers to protect margins.
'This marks a turning point for Paytm, with the regulatory environment looking much clearer than it has been in the last two years.'
Gold prices are expected to maintain their upward momentum though some consolidation could set in ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision on September 17, analysts said. Traders will focus on the trade inflation data to gauge the impact of tariffs, inflation numbers from major economies including UK and Euro zone, along with monetary policy meetings of Bank of England and Bank of Japan which will provide more guidance for bullion prices, they added.
At least 51 people, including an Indian national, have died in Nepal during protests against corruption and a ban on social media. The violence included attacks on government buildings and political offices.
Dr Ramakanta Panda's unique exhibition, titled Heartbeats -- Wildlife, Our Shared Future, features a compelling collection of over 200 photographs centred around the theme of wildlife conservation.
An e-auction of over 1,300 items gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun, featuring items such as a statue of Goddess Bhavani, an Ayodhya Ram Temple model, and sports memorabilia from the 2024 Paralympic Games. Proceeds will go to the Namami Gange project.
'They are positioned as defensive products and can potentially give marginally higher returns than liquid funds.'
The Supreme Court has ruled that a bank's one-time settlement (OTS) scheme cannot be invoked as a matter of right and that borrowers must strictly comply with its mandatory conditions, including upfront payment of a specified portion of dues, to avail themselves of the benefits of the scheme.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has planned a slew of further relaxations to facilitate easier registrations of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), including a common know-your-client (KYC) and smoother documentation through India digital signature.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked India Inc to take advantage of the policies and reforms undertaken by the government and no longer hesitate to invest more and expand capacities. Sitharaman also asked the industry to partner with the government for skilling the youth and also to engage with the government throughout the year, and not just before the Budget.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against Reliance Communications and its promoter-director Anil Ambani, for an alleged bank fraud that caused a loss of over Rs 2,000 crore to State Bank of India, officials said on Saturday. The agency is carrying out searches at the residence of Anil Ambani and premises linked to RCOM in connection with the case, they said.
India's forex reserves dropped $4.39 billion to $690.72 billion for the week ended August 22, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. The overall reserves had jumped $1.49 billion to $695.11 billion in the previous reporting week.
ICICI Bank has reversed its decision to raise the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) for new savings accounts in metro and urban locations to Rs 50,000, revising it instead to Rs 15,000, effective August 1. The MAB for new savings accounts in semi-urban locations has been revised from Rs 25,000 to Rs 7,500, and for rural locations from Rs 10,000 to Rs 2,500.
The State Bank of India (SBI) in its latest research report said that reforms in GST through reduction in rates will cause a minimal revenue loss of Rs 3,700 crore. The government estimates the net fiscal impact of GST rates rationalisation will be Rs 48,000 crore on an annualised basis.
An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the ED's equivalent for a police FIR, has recently been filed by the federal probe agency, taking cognisance of a CBI complaint registered on August 21, the sources said.
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
The high-value Rs 2000 notes worth Rs 5,956 crore are still in circulation, more than two years after the Reserve Bank's withdrawal of the currency notes, according to official data released on Monday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023.
Rajesh Gola slipped and fell to her death, the long-planned pilgrimage to Pashupatinath temple in the Nepal capital gone horribly wrong for the couple from Ghaziabad.
Cloudbursts and heavy rains caused widespread destruction in Dehradun and surrounding areas, leaving people stranded and causing damage to infrastructure.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances