Trade unions' had demanded 8.9 per cent interest rate.
It would be beneficial for the economy to hold on to high interest rates till inflation numbers are under control.
The country's largest private lender ICICI Bank on Monday said that interest rates are expected to come down in the next one-and-a-half months.
As deposit growth lags credit expansion, Indian banks face shrinking low-cost Casa inflows, rising funding costs, and structural shifts driven by UPI, e-Kuber, and digital savings trends, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank on Thursday said lending rates will start going up any time now, quite contrary to the SBI chairman's projection that borrowers can breathe easy till Diwali.
The Reserve Bank kept bank rate unchanged at 6 per cent, short-term borrowing (reverse repo) was kept intact 6 per cent, lending (repo) at 7.75 per cent. Cash Reserve Ratio, a statutory deposit by commercial banks with the central bank, was retained at 7.5 per cent.
RBI is likely to keep interest rates stable in the near term, revealed Moody's. It may also ease its monetary policy stance later in the year.
Bankers see upward pressure on interest rates after the Reserve Bank raised two key short-term rates in the busy season credit policy of October.
With inflation moderating slightly in recent weeks, HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh, hoped that there would be no further interest rate hikes even though there was a feeling in the market that the peaking interest rates could go up by another 0.5 per cent.
Investors must account for currency depreciation in their financial plans and use instruments that can cushion the erosion in purchasing power.
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Chairman Deepak Parekh on Tuesday said that interest rates may rise owing to higher inflation, but lending rates are unlikely to change in the next one month.
Among the Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the laggards. However, Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
Sebi is working with other regulators to expand the CAS framework.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 17,955 crore (Rs 2 billion) from Indian equities in the first two weeks of this month, taking the total outflow to Rs 1.6 lakh crore (Rs 18.4 billion) in 2025.' This sharp withdrawal follows a net outflow of Rs 3,765 crore in November, extending the pressure on domestic equity markets.
'Do exhaustive research and then select the one that best fits your budget and requirements.'
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
'...a mix of asset classes.' 'Include equities for growth (across market caps), debt for stability and liquidity, gold as a hedge against macro and currency risk, and global assets for geographical and economic diversification.'
Mumbai recorded its strongest housing market performance in 14 years in 2025, with property registrations rising to 150,254, amid a sustained end-user demand and supportive supply-side ecosystem, according to Knight Frank India.
Analysts have sharply reduced cigarette maker ITC's earning estimates for the next two years, fearing a significant dent in the company's profitability and margins. This is owing to a steep hike in excise duty on tobacco by the government.
Mutual fund industry extended its bull run in 2025, adding a staggering Rs 14 lakh crore to its asset base and pushing total AUM to a record Rs 81 lakh crore by November, powered by surge in retail participation and record SIP inflows. Venkat Chalasani, chief executive officer of AMFI, told PTI that the industry's outlook remains positive, with steady SIP inflows continuing to offset foreign portfolio investor outflows and strengthening market resilience.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan on Wednesday said the apex bank's stance on soft interest rate environment will continue while it will remain flexible for repo rate.\n\n\n\n
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
As India start their T20 World Cup title defence in less than 72 hours, one is tempted to look at Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's working relationship which has been fantastic, at least so going by the results -- a whopping 31 wins in 39 games with a winning percentage of 79.48.
An investigation into an illegal kidney racket, triggered by a farmer's complaint, has revealed a pan-India kidney transplant network involving agents, donors, doctors, and hospitals.
One of the implications of rising interest rates that deserves more attention than it gets in the current discourse is that of deteriorating credit quality.
In an event-heavy week, stock investors will track ongoing quarterly earnings, the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, and macroeconomic data for market direction, analysts said. Moreover, progress in India-US trade negotiations will remain a key focus for investors, an expert said.
"Clearly there is a slowdown in the number of deals. . . interest rates have gone up from eight per cent in the past to now 12 per cent and prices too have gone up but an asset bubble is not there," ICICI Bank Joint Managing Director Chanda Kochhar told PTI. She said that a correction was expected as the present slowdown was in number of deals and not so much in prices.
The country's largest public sector lender State Bank of India on Thursday said that it does not expect the interest rates to go up in the short term.
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said the central bank will have to raise interest rates to tame inflation and the hikes need not be considered by politicians and bureaucrats as some "anti-national" activity. Known for his frank views, Rajan also said it was important to remember that the "war against inflation" is never over. "Inflation is up in India. At some point, the RBI will have to raise rates, like the rest of the world is doing," he said in a LinkedIn post.
The government is closely watching the movement of prices of five essential items -- steel, cement, sugar, wheat and rice -- besides that of oil in the global market despite inflation dropping to over a two-year low of 3.35 per cent, Finance Minister
Asset quality stress has ballooned recently, as growth slowed and interest rates continued to rise.
State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Sunday said it has cut its benchmark lending rate linked to repo rate by 50 basis points in line with the RBI's rate reduction. Meanwhile, private sector HDFC Bank reduced its Marginal Cost of Funds-based Lending Rates (MCLR) by 10 basis points across tenure, which will benefit borrowers whose loans are linked to this benchmark.
Advertisers will pay 18 lakh to 25 lakh per 10 seconds, a 10% to 20% increase over the last Asia Cup final.
Credit rating agency ICRA expects interest rates in the Indian economy to harden, which together with a slowdown in agriculture growth, will put pressure on industrial activity and profitability of the banking sector.
RBI's deregulation drive on saving interest rates has created a competitive environment.
The government's Budget announcements providing tax holiday for data centres, setting up of city economic regions (CERs) and funding to improve infrastructure in Tier-II and -III cities may give an indirect boost to India's realty sector, said industry executives.
Economic growth projected at 8.5 per cent for 2007-08; Inflation to be close to 5 per cent.
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