India's foreign exchange reserves have surged by $12.42 billion, reaching a new all-time high of $729.33 billion for the week ended August 21, driven by increases in foreign currency assets and gold reserves.
India's foreign exchange reserves saw an increase of USD 963 million, reaching USD 672.587 billion for the week ending June 19, as reported by the RBI. This rise follows a previous week's drop. While foreign currency assets decreased, the value of gold reserves significantly increased, contributing to the overall growth.
Indian benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, saw early gains driven by strong buying in IT stocks like HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, TCS, and Infosys, alongside a significant boost from HDFC Bank.
Opposition MPs have voiced strong criticism against the government's new fee on UPI payments exceeding Rs 2,000 to merchants, calling it "anti-people" and expressing widespread "outrage". The issue was raised in a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting, where concerns were also flagged regarding the methodology of GDP growth calculation and the government's stance on Virtual Digital Assets.
Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR (B), deposits mobilised under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) concessional swap facility may have already surpassed the amount raised during the 2013 scheme in just about 45 days, prompting SBI Research to sharply raise its estimate for inflows under the facility to $65-70 billion.
India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $9.9 billion to $716.9 billion for the week ended August 14, as reported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This surge follows a previous jump of $14.14 billion in the week prior, indicating a robust recovery after a period of decline earlier this year.
Bharti Airtel is strategically shifting its focus towards data centres, cloud services, and financial services as key drivers for its next phase of growth, leveraging significant past investments in digital infrastructure, as outlined by Chairman Sunil Mittal in the company's Annual Report for 2025-26.
A 68-year-old Mumbai resident was defrauded of Rs 7.21 crore by cyber criminals who threatened her with false accusations of money laundering and terror funding. The fraudsters coerced her into transferring funds to bank accounts and a cryptocurrency wallet after impersonating officials from various agencies.
Indian mutual fund holdings in overseas equity securities increased by 37.5 per cent year-on-year to approximately '93,602 crore by March-end, according to RBI data. This growth is attributed to mark-to-market gains from a global market rally and heightened investor interest, with the US remaining the primary destination for these investments.
The Supreme Court has directed the Reserve Bank of India to prepare a standard operating procedure (SOP) within four weeks to deal with bank accounts linked to cyber frauds, including mule accounts. This directive is part of a broader effort to strengthen responses to cyber-enabled financial frauds, with the court also urging states and UTs to adopt and operationalise grievance redressal and money restoration modules.
State Bank of India Chairman C S Setty stated that banks will take three to four months to deploy the significant funds mobilised through foreign currency non-resident (bank), or FCNR(B), deposits, which is unlikely to cause "abnormal lending". He also highlighted the need for agentic artificial intelligence (AI) costs to fall sharply for its widespread deployment in India, envisioning its role in transforming banking from fraud detection to personalised financial assistance.
Indian banks anticipate a reduction of up to 50 basis points in their funding costs due to a surge in liquidity from robust Foreign Currency Non-Resident (Bank), or FCNR (B), flows, lessening their reliance on more expensive certificates of deposit (CDs).
A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to impose a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI person-to-merchant transactions exceeding Rs 2,000. The plea argues that the levy was introduced without adequate statutory safeguards, transparency, or public consultation, and questions its constitutional validity and potential adverse effects on merchants and consumers.
'A balance had to be struck between the economic cost of taking action at this point against the need not to fall behind the curve in controlling inflation and anchoring inflation expectations.'
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India's real GDP grew by 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter, surpassing the RBI's forecast. She attributed this strong performance to government reforms and agile economic management, reaffirming the government's commitment to expanding economic opportunities.
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced plans to launch long-lasting polymer currency notes by the next financial year. He also discussed the central bank's data-dependent approach to interest rates, its focus on aligning inflation with the 4 per cent target, and the orderly trajectory of the rupee amidst geopolitical tensions.
India posted a current account surplus of $13.5 billion or 1.3 per cent of GDP in March quarter 2024-25 as compared with $4.6 billion in the year-ago period mainly on account of surge in services exports and higher remittances, according to RBI data released on Friday.
Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) in India saw their overall credit growth accelerate to 14.2 per cent year-on-year in May, primarily driven by significant increases in loans against gold jewellery and commercial real estate, according to recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data.
India's foreign exchange reserves saw one of their largest weekly expansions, surging by USD 14.136 billion to reach USD 707.002 billion during the week ended August 7, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
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.
Indian benchmark equity indices, Sensex and Nifty, rebounded in early trade after a three-day slide, driven by strong buying in blue-chip bank stocks and a firm trend in global markets, supported by easing US bond yields and record foreign-currency deposit inflows.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reported processing 99.9% of applications under its Citizen's Charter within the stipulated timeframe in March 2026, demonstrating a high level of efficiency.
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.
India's foreign exchange reserves saw a significant increase of $10.512 billion, reaching $692.866 billion for the week ending July 31, driven by a rise in foreign currency assets and gold reserves.
'...A new challenge has emerged in the form of Mythos.'
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reported a significant increase in the use of the Indian Rupee (INR) for import and export invoicing and settlement, highlighting its growing internationalisation and mutual benefits for trading partners.
The Indian government has introduced a 0.4% transaction fee on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments exceeding Rs 2,000 for merchants, effective October 15, marking the end of nearly six years of free service. Person-to-person transfers and small-value transactions below Rs 2,000 remain free. The new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is capped at Rs 300 for transactions above Rs 75,000, with differentiated rates for essential sectors and investments, and safeguards to prevent costs from being passed to consumers.
Overseas travel spending by Indians, including holiday trips, decreased by $212.43 million to $1.09 billion in March compared to February, according to the Reserve Bank of India's latest data.
While opening new accounts, banks can check if the name appears in any mule data. In case it does, the bank can conduct enhanced due diligence.
The Indian equity market is set for an event-heavy week, with analysts pointing to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) interest rate decision, developments in the US-Iran situation, and crude oil prices as the primary determinants of market trends.
The Indian government has introduced a 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on UPI person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions exceeding Rs 2,000, effective October 15. This move ends nearly six years of fully free UPI payments, though person-to-person (P2P) transfers and small P2M payments remain free. The charges aim to bolster investment in UPI infrastructure, with specific exemptions and caps for essential sectors.
"Our endeavour is to bring headline inflation in line with the target over the medium term," said RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, addressing concerns about the central bank's policy stance and economic outlook.
India's banking system liquidity has fallen into a deficit for the first time in nearly three months, prompting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to inject 1.41 trillion through a seven-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction to ease the temporary tightness.
India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation marginally eased to 9.78 per cent in July 2026, down from 9.87 per cent in June, primarily due to a cooling in the prices of fuel, power, and food items, marking the first month-on-month drop under the new 2022-23 base year.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India is likely to sustain economic growth of 7 per cent or more in 2026-27, continuing the pace recorded since the Covid-19 pandemic, despite geopolitical uncertainties and supply-chain disruptions.
India's trade deficit reached a six-month high of $31.98 billion in July, driven by a sharp increase in imports, particularly crude oil, electronic goods, coal, and fertilisers. Both merchandise exports and imports recorded their second-highest levels during the same period.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with bank heads to discuss risks related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) following global concerns over Anthropic's Mythos model threatening data security of financial systems.
Banking credit in the economy grew by 11.1 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the fortnight ended March 7, while deposits grew at 10.2 per cent during the same period, which is a gap of around 90 basis points (bps), according to the latest data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
India's net foreign direct investment (FDI) surged more than fourfold to $6.58 billion in April 2026, driven by a significant increase in equity inflows and reduced repatriation by foreign investors, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Credit card spending in India has consistently topped Rs 2 trillion for three consecutive months, with July 2026 recording Rs 2.08 trillion, indicating a new normal for consumer expenditure, according to the latest RBI data.
