The Rajya Sabha has passed The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026, which aims to replace a British-era law and allow digital and virtual records to be admissible as evidence in courts. This legislation aligns with contemporary digital banking practices and extends a uniform evidential framework to various financial entities, including NBFCs and fintech companies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the bill's role in strengthening public confidence and safeguarding customer privacy. The bill's passage, however, saw an Opposition walkout over unrelated issues.
Meghalaya has shown significant progress in digital transactions and financial inclusion, recording 32.76 crore digital transactions and nearly 10 lakh Jan Dhan accounts by 2025-26. Efforts like the JAM Trinity and financial literacy programmes have expanded banking access, with a high percentage of bank account holders adopting digital modes. The next phase focuses on enhancing financial literacy and cyber resilience, especially in rural areas.
India's MSME sector faces a significant formal credit gap of approximately Rs 60 lakh crore, with traditional channels meeting only a fraction of the demand. A new report suggests that a centralised, interoperable digital layer could effectively bridge this gap and enhance productivity across the formal business sector by digitising workflows and enabling cash-flow-based underwriting.
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has completed a decade since its launch, becoming the backbone of India's digital payments ecosystem. It has seen exponential growth in transaction volume and value, expanding financial inclusion and setting a global benchmark for real-time payments.
Despite near gender parity in basic bank account ownership, women in India remain significantly underrepresented in the growing platform economy due to gaps in digital financial capability and access to credit, according to a joint report by the International Labour Organization and National Council of Applied Economic Research.
India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded an unprecedented 24.51 billion transactions valued at Rs 29.8 lakh crore in August, largely propelled by the Raksha Bandhan festival. This surge marks a 22% annual increase in volume and 20% in value, highlighting the expanding reach and depth of the UPI ecosystem. Experts anticipate further growth during the upcoming festive season, while UPI's international acceptance now spans 11 countries.
The incident involved compromise of an employee's email account, resulting in unauthorised access to certain data.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated it is "premature" to discuss the implementation of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for digital payments, advising a "wait-and-watch" approach. He emphasised that investment in public payment infrastructure is necessary and someone must bear the cost, whether through taxes or MDR. The government is currently working on amendments to relevant statutes, and the RBI is focused on strengthening this infrastructure.
A sophisticated cross-bank syndicate is systematically defrauding non-resident Indians (NRIs) and elderly citizens by exploiting their fixed deposits through forged documents and fictitious loans, often involving colluding bank employees and real estate deals.
IDFC First Bank has integrated with ICEGATE 2.0 to enable digital payment of customs duty, central excise, and service tax for its customers.
The NCP (SP) has demanded a complete rollback of the 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, effective October 15. The party termed the move a "direct assault" on small traders and shopkeepers, accusing the Modi government of "double standards" by burdening small merchants while large industrialists benefit from loan write-offs.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to extend tokenisation to various financial asset classes, building on its successful trials with certificates of deposit (CDs). This move aims to enhance the efficiency of issuance, trading, and settlement of financial assets, leveraging blockchain technology and wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for atomic settlements.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for banks to implement temporary debit holds on accounts or transactions suspected of being involved in money-mule activity and cyber-enabled financial fraud, with a maximum duration of 60 days.
A new report by FICCI, BCG, and IBA outlines that India's banking sector must grow significantly faster than nominal GDP to support a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, requiring banking assets of USD 45 trillion. The report highlights the sector's current strength, challenges in digitisation, and the need to enhance resilience against fraud and cyber threats, proposing a 13-point agenda for stakeholders.
Bhubaneswar police have busted a fraudulent digital escort service racket, arresting four individuals for allegedly misusing women's photographs on social media and cheating customers through online payments. The investigation, initiated by a woman's complaint, led to the seizure of digital evidence and a public advisory against such scams.
India's markets regulator Sebi has launched 'Demat 2.0', a pilot project for tokenisation of corporate bonds, enabling atomic settlement through integration with RBI's wholesale CBDC. This new market infrastructure uses Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to make bond issuance, trading, and settlement faster and more efficient. India is the first country to issue corporate bonds natively on a distributed ledger with central bank digital currency settlement. Additionally, RBI Governor announced new UPI innovations: 'Tap & Pay' for faster POS transactions and MyUPI, an AI-powered customer support solution.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Deepesh Bajoria, a principal bookie from Guwahati, in connection with a large-scale money-laundering investigation linked to an illegal T20 cricket-betting syndicate operating during IPL seasons across the Northeast. Bajoria allegedly used online platforms and encrypted channels to facilitate betting, routing over Rs 28 crore through a non-operational firm's bank account.
The Indian government has notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026, establishing IST as the sole reference for all official purposes nationwide. These rules, effective in 180 days, aim to synchronise digital systems, reduce reliance on foreign time sources, and enhance coordination across critical sectors like banking, railways, and telecommunications.
The investigation into the murder of pharmaceutical trader Vineet Manocha has intensified, with his son Subrat now under police scrutiny. New evidence reveals that the alleged shooter made multiple calls to Subrat from a newly purchased SIM card. While Subrat's wife Shalu and two others are already arrested, police are examining call detail records and financial affairs to uncover Subrat's potential involvement in the conspiracy.
The challenge for India lies in navigating complex landscape to its best advantage. The BRICS Summit will test its navigation skills, asserts former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions in India reached Rs 29.8 lakh crore in August, approaching record levels. Volume also hit a new high of 24.51 billion transactions, driven by festive activities like Raksha Bandhan. The digital payment system continues its rapid growth, expanding its global presence to 11 countries, with further growth anticipated during the upcoming festive season and new use cases like credit on UPI.
A college student in Kochi has been arrested for allegedly morphing photographs and videos of teachers and female students into obscene content and circulating them on social media platforms like Telegram and Instagram. The arrest followed a complaint from the college management, which also dismissed the student. Police are investigating the extent of the network and potential financial motives.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Kirshanu Sharda, an alleged middleman for suspended Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, in a money laundering case. Sharda is accused of facilitating illegal gratification for Bhullar, with investigations revealing unexplained cash deposits and frozen assets worth over Rs 1.42 crore.
Opposition leaders have questioned how caste responses will be recorded without state-wise pre-prepared lists.
Dark patterns are no longer just a consumer protection concern, but a broader macroeconomic challenge affecting the long-term sustainability of India's digital commerce ecosystem.
Investors opening new brokerage accounts must choose a broker suited to their style.
The National Stock Exchange's (NSE) initial public offering (IPO) is expected to shrink in size to Rs 25,000-27,000 crore, down from an earlier estimate of Rs 30,000 crore, as some shareholders are reducing their offer for sale (OFS) stake.
Indian listed companies experienced their fastest revenue growth in 15 quarters during Q1FY27, with combined net sales rising 18.4% year-on-year, while net profit grew 16%, primarily driven by mining, metals, and banking sectors, despite a contraction in operating margins due to higher input costs.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has set its initial public offering (IPO) price band at Rs 1,700-1,785 per equity share, with the subscription period running from September 17 to September 21, aiming to raise up to Rs 22,569 crore.
A top SBI official has highlighted the challenges bankers face in lending to MSMEs using only GST data, advocating for the integration of alternative data sources like power consumption and telecom records through credit bureaus to improve credit assessment.
Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran highlights the challenges of digital access, data governance, interoperability, and cyber security in India's digital public infrastructure (DPI), despite its world-class scale.
A data breach does not end when the headlines fade. For victims, stolen personal information can fuel fraud, identity theft and financial losses for years.
The highest number of frauds was reported under the card, Internet, and digital payments categories in FY24 and FY25. 'Advances' accounted for the largest share (85.5 per cent) in FY26.
Public-sector banks (PSBs) in India have reported an 11.2 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit, reaching a record 1.98 trillion in FY26, marking their fourth consecutive year of profitability, driven by sustained business growth, improved asset quality, and strong capital positions.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at multiple locations in Chandigarh and Panchkula in connection with a Haryana bank scam case and seized financial records and digital evidence linked to the alleged fraud.
Led by the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI), public sector banks logged a record cumulative profit of Rs 52,603 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting an 18 per cent year-on-year growth.
In addition to caste details, the Census will, for the first time, collect personal information such as the total number of bank accounts held by individuals, along with their mobile number, Aadhaar number, voter ID number, passport number and driving licence status, according to the 40 questions notified by the Registrar General of India on Friday.
Customers will qualify for compensation even if they mistakenly share the OTP.
For millions of Indians, this number has become one of the most important financial indicators. It can influence not only whether a bank approves a loan but also the interest rate you pay, the credit limit you receive and, in some cases, how quickly your application is processed.
A bank employee in Lucknow allegedly shot dead his wife and sister before taking his own life, reportedly due to marital discord. The incident involved shootings outside an ICICI Bank branch and at his home, with the accused posting a WhatsApp status alleging 'betrayal' by his wife.
