India's Central government is likely to see its fertiliser subsidy bill double to a record 3.4 trillion in FY27, up from the Budget estimate of 1.7 trillion, due to surging global fertiliser prices exacerbated by the West Asia war. This significant increase, coupled with revenue losses from excise duty cuts for oil-marketing companies, is straining the government's fiscal space, though capital expenditure plans remain unchanged.
A 15-day protest against the Ken-Betwa Link Project and other development initiatives in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, concluded after police cleared the agitation site and dispersed protesters. While police denied arrests, protesters alleged their leader, Amit Bhatnagar, was detained amidst claims of project irregularities and corruption. The project aims to provide irrigation and drinking water to the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
Global oil prices fell on Thursday to their lowest levels since before the outbreak of the Iran conflict, offering a significant economic tailwind for India, the world's third-largest crude importer, by easing inflation risks, reducing the import bill and improving the government's fiscal position.
Analysts predict that developments in US-Iran negotiations, fluctuations in crude oil prices, and key global economic data will be the primary drivers of gold and silver prices in the coming week, with a strong focus on talks in Switzerland.
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran stated that India's economy is projected to return to a 7 per cent-plus growth trajectory by 2027-28 (FY28), or sooner if external conditions improve, despite near-term challenges from the West Asia crisis.
WhatsApp is finally letting you hide your phone number behind a custom username. While it's a massive win for privacy, cybersecurity experts warn it could unleash a wave of identity scams. Here is what you need to know.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated that the central bank is closely monitoring whether the supply shock from the West Asia conflict will lead to a generalised price rise, potentially necessitating monetary policy action.
The BJP alleged that the move would undermine existing reservation norms and was aimed at consolidating a particular vote bank.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra is now confronting the classic growth-inflation tradeoff, a situation exacerbated by the West Asia war, which threatens to end the 'goldilocks period' of low inflation and robust growth.
The Indian rupee saw a significant appreciation against the US dollar following President Trump's suspension of military strikes against Iran and the Reserve Bank of India's decision to maintain its key interest rate. Market sentiment was further buoyed by positive comments from the RBI regarding the health of the banking sector.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opted to keep its key interest rates unchanged at 5.25%, anticipating a global economic recovery following a ceasefire in the US/Israel-Iran conflict, despite ongoing inflationary pressures and currency fluctuations.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has reached a record Rs 314 lakh crore in transaction value in FY26, representing more than a 4,000-fold increase since inception.
Indian stock markets recovered from early losses to close higher, driven by value buying in IT and banking shares and a rebound in the rupee.
India's privatisation push, once projected as a cornerstone of economic reform, has suffered another setback, with the Centre set to call off the IDBI Bank stake sale, highlighting the political and structural constraints shaping the country's disinvestment policy, experts say.
The measures announced by it risk backfiring, disrupting the foreign exchange market, and intensifying the very pressures they seek to contain, with broader consequences for the economy points out Rajeswari Sengupta.
'When there is such an elaborate and a strong process, one would have expected anyone to either place the issues so that they can be addressed or go to the regulator and probably tell them rather than creating a kind of uncertainty for the stakeholders.
The Reserve Bank of India's 2024 norms for the voluntary conversion of Small Finance Banks (SFBs) into universal banks, particularly the subjective 'diversified loan portfolio' criterion, are proving to be a significant hurdle, with Ujjivan SFB and Jana SFB having their applications returned.
'What exactly is on the prime minister's mind, we do not know. But it feels like the government wants the country to be prepared for unseen challenges ahead.'
Indian benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, extended their rally for a fifth consecutive session, driven by optimism surrounding a potential US-Iran peace deal and a significant drop in crude oil prices. Despite hawkish remarks from the US Fed, investors remain hopeful that easing energy prices could temper inflationary pressures.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated that recent regulatory measures to address foreign exchange market volatility, such as capping banks' net open positions, are temporary and aligned with current market conditions, not signalling any structural shift in policy.
There are respected names arguing both for and against this recommendation of the Urjit Patel committee.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced its 'Payments Vision 2028' document, outlining initiatives to enhance digital payment security, introduce electronic cheques, and expand regulatory oversight to include e-commerce entities.
In a move aimed at curbing the mis-selling of financial products, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed banning incentives paid to bank staffers by third parties such as insurance companies and mutual fund houses for selling their products and services. It has also proposed that banks must ensure their user interfaces do not deploy "dark patterns" to lure customers.
Indian stock markets experienced a significant rally following the announcement of a US-Iran ceasefire, coupled with a drop in crude oil prices. The Sensex and Nifty both closed nearly 4 per cent higher, mirroring gains in global markets.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar has proposed a Joint Working Group with the RBI and banks to address the issue of mule bank accounts used in cyber fraud. The proposal follows 'Operation Octopus,' which exposed vulnerabilities in KYC verification. Sajjanar also recommended strict directives for banks to fix accountability and adopt advanced technology to detect suspicious transactions.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to grant need-based working capital loans to manufacturers using gold as raw material, extending the provision currently available only to jewellers. Banks are generally prohibited from lending for the purchase of gold/silver in any form, or lending against the security of primary gold/silver.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it processed 99.8% of applications within the prescribed timeline under its Citizen's Charter in February, demonstrating high efficiency in its operations.
Private sector lender IDFC First Bank has lowered its savings account rates and introduced new slabs for small and medium balance categories, effective January 9, 2025, as per its website. The interest slabs and rates for higher balance accounts remain unchanged. Despite the revision, the bank continues to offer one of the highest savings account interest rates in the industry among mid-sized banks.
The Reserve Bank on Tuesday proposed greater flexibility to authorised persons to undertake foreign exchange transactions for hedging their exposures, balance sheet management and market-making, as well as to ease reporting obligations, after a review of the current regulations.
India's forex reserves jumped by $3.29 billion to $696.61 billion in the week to December 26, the RBI said on Friday. The overall kitty had increased by $4.368 billion to $693.32 billion in the previous reporting week.
India's forex reserves jumped by another $14.36 billion to a new all-time high of $723.77 billion during the week ended January 30, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.
Government officials said the system proposed by the finance ministry, which would be akin to the mechanism followed for auction of investment rights in bonds, would result in Mint Road losing control over overseas fund raising by companies and that was RBI's major concern.
India's mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market is projected to maintain an annual run-rate of approximately $200 billion, evenly split between domestic, inbound, and outbound transactions, despite global geopolitical turbulence, according to Rajesh Singhi, global co-head, M&A Advisory, Standard Chartered Bank.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has expressed concerns that India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, particularly the lack of a deemed consent mechanism for credit information companies, and the Information Technology (IT) Rules of 2021, along with frequent internet shutdowns, could negatively impact the ability of US companies to operate and trade in India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may be brought under the category of other regulators, who might have to park their funds with the government. Banking sources said the move would deal a final blow to the financial autonomy of regulatory bodies.
Police in Kanpur have arrested a suspected mastermind behind a network of fake firms, forged documents, and suspected hawala transactions worth over Rs 3,200 crore.
The rupee declined 31 paise to settle at 90.65 against the US dollar on Friday, weighed down by geopolitical uncertainties over the US-Iran talks, and a sharp rise in global crude oil prices.
The NTA has also confirmed that the upcoming re-examination, scheduled for June 21, 2026, will be conducted entirely free of cost for all previously registered candidates, funded fully through the agency's internal reserves.
Fuel prices have risen by about Rs 7.5 per litre since May 15, as global crude oil prices surged due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia and supply concerns around the Strait of Hormuz.
The central bank has nine executive directors, and one of them -- S Karuppasamy -- retired recently. R Gandhi, who was executive director, has now been promoted to the post of deputy governor.
