The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in no rush to launch the central bank digital currency (CBDC) nationwide, as its most promising use case - cross-border payments - depends on other countries rolling out their own CBDCs simultaneously for the system to work effectively. That said, the CBDC pilot is progressing well, with the user base in India expanding to about seven million, said RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar.
India's forex reserves dropped $1.71 billion to $651.99 billion for the week ended June 28, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped $2.92 billion to $652.89 billion. The reserves had touched an all-time high of $655.82 billion as on June 7 this year.
Retail inflation dipped to an over six-year low of 2.82 per cent in May due to subdued food prices, remaining below the RBI's median target of 4 per cent for the fourth consecutive month, according to government data released on Thursday. Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation was 3.16 per cent in April and 4.8 per cent in May 2024.
Sir Osborne Smith was the first governor of the Reserve Bank, serving from April 1, 1935, to June 30, 1937.
In 2023-2024, 95 scheduled commercial banks received over 10 million complaints from their customers. The process of KYC at many banks has become 'HYC' -- harass your customer, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
'...aggressive pricing amid volatility, but these are exceptions.'
'Unless banks focus on the Rs 10-15 lakh loan segment, growing affordable housing will remain a challenge.'
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday lowered India's growth forecast for FY26 to 6.5 per cent from 6.7 per cent on account of trade uncertainty and higher US tariffs that are expected to impact exports and investment. Despite the downward revision from the April 2025 Asian Development Outlook (ADO), India remains one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world.
With inflation comfortably below the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) 4 per cent median target and likely to undershoot its 3.7 per cent projection for 2025-26 (FY26), there is room for the monetary policy easing cycle to be sustained, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. The comments, featured in the ministry's Monthly Economic Review for June 2025, assume significance ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) scheduled to begin from August 5.
India's merchandise trade deficit widened to a record $41.68 billion in October, as gold imports trebled and outbound shipments registered their sharpest contraction in 14 months, according to data released by the commerce department.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) stayed in negative territory for the second consecutive month at (-) 0.58 per cent in July, as prices of food articles and fuel saw deflation, even though prices of manufactured items increased, government data showed on Thursday.
Banks are set to make treasury gains in the fourth quarter of the current financial year (2024-25) as the yield on government bonds has softened so far this quarter, driven by strong inflows into the debt segment, market participants said. The yield on the 10-year benchmark government bond fell 8 basis points (bps) in the previous week - the steepest weekly decline in four months, since November 30, 2024 - to settle at 6.62 per cent.
'The frenzy for gold is primarily due to the uncertainty surrounding the tariff war.'
Net profit of 19 listed banks is likely to decline by 4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) for the quarter ended March (Q4FY25) mainly due to pressure on net interest margins (NIM) as a result of rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to analysts' estimates. Additionally, loan growth is expected to further slowdown amid low demand in certain secured products, stress in the unsecured segment, and a high cost to deposit (CD) ratio across the system.
The rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the US dollar after a volatile trade on Wednesday, amid suspected aggressive central bank intervention.
'Calibrated depreciation will help rebalance external fundamentals, offset some of the tariff differentials with competitors, improve the competitiveness of domestic substitutes vis-a-vis Chinese imports, and contribute to the easing of financial conditions at a time when the inflation rate is unusually low,' explains Sajjid Z Chinoy, head of Asia Economics at JP Morgan.
For the time being, the RBI is done with the cuts. A cut in October, which many are still predicting, is not certain. Of course, if growth nosedives, the script will be different, expects Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure is not an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Infrastructure bonds, which were relied upon the most in 2024-25 (FY25) by commercial banks to raise funds through the domestic debt capital market amid lagging deposit growth, seem to have lost their sheen in FY26. So far in FY26, no bank has tapped the domestic debt capital market to raise funds via infra bonds, and the expectation is that the amount raised through this route will be significantly lower than that last year, unless credit demand picks up.
Among Sensex firms, Bharat Electronics, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Motors and Power Grid were the gainers. However, Adani Ports, ITC, UltraTech Cement and Titan were among the laggards.
Private sector banks in India are taking the lead in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in areas like fraud detection, customer segmentation, and chat automation, according to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) study. The asset size and capital adequacy ratio are influencing the rate of adoption.
The country's forex reserves touched a record high of $675 billion on August 2, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday. The previous all-time high for the kitty was $670.857 billion on July 19 this year, and the last reported reserve was $667.386 billion as on July 26. Das said overall, the country's external sector "remains resilient" as indicated by an improvement in key indicators.
Mehli Mistry is backed by three other trustees -- Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambata and Jehangir HC Jehangir -- against Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and the two vice-chairmen, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh.
Capital investment by the private sector is likely to rise 21.5 per cent to Rs 2.67 lakh crore in 2025-26 aided by robust macroeconomic fundamentals, and a 100-bps policy rate cut, according to an RBI article. Despite global uncertainties, Indian firms entered the 2025-26 fiscal year with healthier balance sheets, higher cash buffer, improved profitability, and greater access to diversified funding sources, said the article 'Private Corporate Investment: Growth in 2024-25 and Outlook for 2025-26' published in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) August bulletin.
India's forex reserves jumped by $5.74 billion to $622.47 billion for the week ended February 2, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous week, the overall reserves had increased by $591 million to $616.73 billion. In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion.
For those, like me, who backed the Reddy-Mohan approaches to monetary and regulatory policies, the continuity shown by Subbarao's RBI is very heartening. For earlier critics of these approaches there may be some disappointment and discomfort.
Fitch Ratings on Wednesday raised India's GDP growth forecast to 6.9 per cent for current fiscal year, from 6.5 per cent earlier, citing strong June quarter growth and domestic consumption-led demand.
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.
Gold's glittering rally is expected to continue, with prices likely to climb towards $4,500 per ounce in overseas markets, supported by sustained global central bank purchases, persistent geopolitical tensions, and strong Asian demand, according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. Silver, which has outperformed gold in terms of returns so far this year, is projected to climb to around $75 per ounce, aided by robust industrial consumption and a widening supply deficit, the report said.
Championship side Oxford United beat League Two's MK Dons on penalties after their match ended 1-1, while a couple of League One teams moved on, with Wigan Athletic beating Championship side Preston North End 1-0, and Port Vale defeating League Two's Fleetwood Town 1-0.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) softened to 0.13 per cent in September on easing in prices of food articles and manufactured items, government data showed on Tuesday. WPI-based inflation was 0.52 per cent in August and 1.91 per cent in September last year.
Bad loans in the agriculture sector remain elevated, with several public-sector banks (PSBs) reporting higher slippages in the April-June quarter of FY26. For many banks, non-performing assets (NPAs) in farm lending were 5 per cent or more, with some nearing double digits.'
India's forex kitty decreased by $462 million to $590.32 billion for the week ended November 10, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $4.67 billion to $590.78 billion. In October 2021, the country's forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billio
India's forex reserves dropped $2.412 billion to $637.922 billion as on April 26, in the third consecutive weekly decline in the reserves, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had declined $2.28 billion to $640.33 billion. For the week ended April 5, the reserves had hit an all-time high of $648.562 billion following multiple weeks of increases.
While participants in the domestic financial market are expecting a 25 basis-point policy repo rate cut in the December meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), economists remain torn between a reduction in rate cut and a pause.
Nationalist Congress Party minister Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet after a court upheld his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. This marks the second NCP minister to resign this year.
'This is an area where good lending can happen, and that is one of the priorities for the next quarter.'
The overall number of frauds, including those related to loan accounts and digital payments, jumped by three times in FY25, primarily due to reclassification of 122 cases as per a Supreme Court order, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday. The fraud value jumped to Rs 36,014 crore in FY25, up from Rs 12,230 crore in the previous fiscal year, while the number of fraud cases went down to 23,953 in FY25 from 36,060 in FY24.
Public-sector banks, including Canara Bank and Bank of India, are tapping the infrastructure bond market. Canara Bank on Tuesday raised Rs 10,000 crore at a coupon rate of 7.40 per cent through 10-year infrastructure bonds. This comes after SBI on July 10 raised Rs 10,000 crore also through infrastructure bonds with a 15-year tenor at a coupon rate of 7.36 per cent.
The exemption of individual life and health insurance premiums from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) enables the insurance industry to make products affordable and attractive, said Ajay Seth, chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025.
