Defence expenditure was pegged at 1.4 per cent of GDP in the Budget for 2025-26 but it may widen, depending on tensions between India and Pakistan.
Asset quality within the non-banking financial sector (NBFCs) deteriorated with the share of stressed assets rising to 5.9 per cent in March 2025 from 3.9 per cent in September 2024, according to the Reserve Bank of India's Financial Stability Report (FSR). Slippage ratios among upper layer NBFCs have been rising, along with an upward trend in loan write-offs.
The RBI is likely to reduce the key interest rate by 25 basis points this week after keeping it on hold for two years, complementing the Union Budget initiatives to push consumption-led demand, though the sliding rupee continues to be a concern. As the retail inflation has remained within the Reserve Bank's comfort zone (less than 6 per cent) for most of the year, the central bank can take rate action to boost growth hit by sluggish consumption, opined experts.
The change in stance to neutral from accommodative in the June monetary policy meeting does not necessarily signal that the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) rate setting body - monetary policy committee (MPC) - will go on a prolonged pause on rate cuts going forward, believe experts.
India's forex kitty declined by $1.18 billion to $695.49 billion during the week ended July 18, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped by $3.06 billion to $696.67 billion.
Fed rate hike 'makes sense,' says US reserve bank president.
RBI Deputy Governor Swaminathan J has asked banks to follow KYC guidelines with both "precision and empathy", failing which regulatory actions will be taken against them by the central bank. Addressing a Conference of Directors of Private Sector Banks here on Monday, the Deputy Governor also expressed concern that in many cases, customer grievance mechanisms, including the Internal Ombudsman structure, are treated more as a formality than as a robust, effective resource.
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.
Says impact of crisis in China won't be as big here as in some other countries
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
Kotak Mahindra Bank's net interest margin is likely to swell after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted its restrictions on the private lender that barred it from issuing fresh credit cards and onboarding new customers through digital mode, brokerages said on Thursday. The bank's net interest margin (NIM) has seen a decline of over 35 basis points (bps) since the restrictions were imposed by the regulator in April 2024.
State Bank of India has decided to classify the loan account of beleaguered telecom firm Reliance Communications as "fraud" and to report the name of its erstwhile director -- Anil Ambani to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), according to a regulatory filing. Reliance Communications in a regulatory filing said that it has received a letter dated June 23, 2025 from the State Bank of India (SBI) to this effect.
IPOs have been the flavour of the season for some time. But the coming together of three mega IPOs, from diverse businesses and historic relevance, could tell a story that's still in the making, points out Nivedita Mookerji.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday claimed that the Congress had been unwilling to accept Tejashwi Yadav as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) chief ministerial candidate and relented only after the Rashtriya Janata Dal pointed a 'katta', an unlicensed country-made gun, at its head.
India's forex reserves dropped by $1.99 billion to $652.87 billion for the week ended December 13, the RBI said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped by $3.235 billion to $654.857 billion.
Infrastructure bond issuances by commercial banks in the current financial year (FY25) are likely to surpass Rs 1 trillion, almost double that of FY24, market participants said. So far this financial year, banks have raised Rs 74,256 crore via infra bonds. In FY24, the total issuances stood at around Rs 51,081 crore.
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.
This is the longest winning streak for gold in the last three decades.
In response to the panic triggered by Trump's trade policies, the RBI net sold approximately $43 billion in the second half of FY25 to curb volatility, as the rupee plunged to a low of 87.95 per dollar in February this year.
Since February 2025, the RBI has reduced the policy rate by 100 basis points. In its previous policy review in April, it had also trimmed the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent.
Cracking down on repeated non-compliance of IT norms, the RBI on Wednesday barred Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and issuing fresh credit cards with immediate effect after the regulator found "serious deficiencies" in the lender's IT risk management. These actions, the RBI said, are necessitated based on significant concerns arising out of Reserve Bank's IT examination of the bank for the years 2022 and 2023 and the continued failure on part of the bank to address these concerns in a comprehensive and timely manner.
Among Sensex firms, Eternal, Sun Pharma, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HCL Tech, Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, ITC and Adani Ports were the major gainers. However, Tata Motors, Trent, Bajaj Finance and Asian Paints were among the laggards.
Indian economy grew by 7.8 per cent in April-June -- the highest in five quarters -- before the disruptive US tariffs were imposed.
Mixed views were expressed by top economists on the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to hold the repo rate at 5.5% and maintain a neutral stance. While some say the decision was as expected and one more rate reduction is expected this fiscal, there is also a view that rate cut by MPC was warranted given the evolving global situation.
Justice Surya Kant is set to become the 53rd Chief Justice of India, bringing extensive experience and a record of significant verdicts on key issues.
Who else will take on the might of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon if not the Adanis, Ambanis, Birlas, or Tatas?, asks R Jagannathan.
The Reserve Bank on Wednesday said 98.12 per cent of the Rs 2000 banknotes have been returned to the banking system, and only Rs 6,691 crore worth such notes are still with the public. On May 19, 2023, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.
India's consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation rate is likely to have cooled further in June, thus remaining below the 4 per cent target of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a fifth consecutive month, giving the central bank wiggle room to focus on growth. Economists reckon that the decline is on account of easing prices in various categories of goods, especially food items, and a favourable base effect.
India's forex reserves jumped by $2.97 billion to $619.07 billion for the week ended February 23, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had dropped by $1.13 billion to $616.10 billion. For the week ending February 23, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $2.40 billion to $548.19 billion.
Gold prices on Tuesday surged Rs 723 to touch an all-time high of Rs 110,312 per 10 grams in the domestic futures market, tracking strong global cues amid growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week. Traders said weak US labour market data has strengthened the case for monetary policy easing, putting pressure on the dollar and boosting demand for the safe-haven asset.
India continues to remain an attractive investment destination and rise in repatriation of funds is a sign of a mature market where foreign investors can enter and exit smoothly, Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday. Gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows remained strong, rising by around 14 per cent to $81 billion in 2024-25, from $71.3 billion a year ago.
The proposed reforms in goods and services tax (GST) announced by the government last week, coupled with the eighth pay commission dole-out, is likely to push consumption-driven stocks - such as air conditioners (ACs), select automobiles, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), retail, and counters of quick-service restaurants (QSRs) - into higher orbit over the next few months, believe analysts.
India's foreign exchange reserves declined in the week that ended on April 12, after having risen for the seventh straight week to hit an all-time high of $648.56 billion. As per the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's foreign exchange kitty declined by $5.40 billion to $643.16 billion in the April 12 week. India's foreign currency assets (FCA), the biggest component of the forex reserves, declined by $6.51 billion to $564.65 billion, the central bank's weekly statistical data showed.
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.
Internal discord within the INDIA bloc has led to alliance partners contesting against each other in at least eight assembly seats in Bihar. The Congress, RJD, and Left parties are facing challenges in seat-sharing arrangements for the upcoming elections.
New Delhi might have loudly welcomed an age of multipolarity, hedging and strategic autonomy. But it seems the winner in that game is Islamabad, not us, points out Mihir S Sharma.
The Indian financial and payments systems remained largely unaffected by the Microsoft services outage, though about 10 banks and NBFCs faced minor disruptions which have either been resolved or are being fixed.
India's forex reserves increased by $5.08 billion to $595.4 billion during the week ended November 17, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the kitty declined $462 million to $590.32 billion. For the week ended November 17, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased $4.39 billion to $526.39 billion, according to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty rebounded on Thursday after two days of decline, mirroring a rally in global markets as a US court blocked President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 320.70 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 81,633.02.
Among Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel were the major gainers. However, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were the laggards.
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