Issue: 1156
Crude sustaining at $80
threatens to stoke CPI Inflation by 0.4%, widen CAD by 0.3-0.5%: Tensions in the Middle East is
pushing up prices of crude oil, which if sustained is likely to stoke inflation
in India, widen the current account deficit, and impact growth, economists say. RBI
has assumed India's crude oil basket price to average $70 per barrel in 2025-26
for its inflation and growth assumptions. However, the Middle East conflict
going on at the moment at lead crude oil prices to reach $78 per barrel. Moreover,
movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20 percent
of the world's crude, has come to a standstill, as Iran continues to hit
targets across West Asia in response to attacks by the US and Israel, as per
industry sources. According to economists, if
Brent crude sustains above $80 post US–Israel strike on Iran, this would stoke
CPI inflation by 0.2-0.4 percentage points.
(Moneycontrol)
India, Canada launch CEPA
talks in New Delhi, target $50 billion trade by 2030: India and Canada on Monday formally launched
negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), marking
a renewed push to expand bilateral trade and economic ties. The
Ministry of Commerce & Industry said the two sides signed the Terms of
Reference (ToR) for the India-Canada CEPA in New Delhi. The document was signed
by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Canada’s Minister of
International Trade Maninder Sidhu on March 2, 2026, and exchanged in the
presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark
Carney at Hyderabad House.
(Business Today)
Rupee hits one-month low as
Middle East conflict escalates: The Indian rupee fell to a one-month low amid
escalating Middle East tensions, driving crude oil prices up to $82 per barrel.
The domestic currency declined 50 paise or 0.55% to 91.48 against the dollar on
Monday, the worst single-day fall since January 21. The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) likely stepped in through its dollar sales, traders said. They added that
the RBI defended the currency at 91.48 and capped further depreciation. The RBI
is expected to sold around $4.5 billion on Monday to curb the volatility,
according to currency dealers.
(Financial Express)
CAD widens to 1.3% in Q3,
reserves shrink by $24.4-bn: India’s current account deficit (CAD)
increased to $13.2 billion or 1.3% of the gross domestic product in Q3 2025-26
from $11.3 billion (1.1%) in the year-ago period mainly due to a higher
merchandise trade deficit, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) on Monday. The merchandise trade deficit was $93.6 billion in Q3
this fiscal year, which is higher than the $79.3 billion recorded in Q3FY25.
(Financial Express)
Niva Bupa
receives show cause notice from IRDAI: Niva
Bupa Health Insurance has received a show cause notice and a letter of advice
from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India over alleged
violations related to health insurance business, policyholder protection and
corporate governance norms. The Show Cause Notice relates to certain business
and operational aspects of the company. Along with Show cause notice, IRDAI has
also issued a Letter of Advice on certain matters, recommending compliance
measures.
(Financial Express)
SEBI removes over 1.2 lakh
misleading finfluencer posts, deploys AI tool ‘Sudarshan’: The Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) has removed more than 1.2 lakh misleading social media
posts by unregistered financial influencers as it steps up digital surveillance
using artificial intelligence tools, chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey told ANI in an
interview. Speaking to news agency ANI, Pandey said the regulator had taken
down “more than 120,000 such pieces of content” after identifying “egregious
behaviour violating our norms.”
(Financial Express)
State Bank of India
announces exit of Nitin Chugh as Deputy MD: State Bank of India (SBI) on
Monday said Nitin Chugh has been relieved from his position as Deputy Managing
Director and Head (Digital Banking & Transformation) with effect from March
2, 2026. SBI said the move follows the
completion of his contractual term. The bank did not name a successor in the
filing.
(Economic Times)
Fino Payments Bank denies
GST evasion, rejects betting links: Fino Payments
Bank said it has not evaded GST or promoted betting after its MD & CEO
Rishi Gupta was arrested by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence in a
probe into alleged illicit fund flows via shell firms and payment aggregators.
The bank said the investigation relates to third-party programme managers, not
its own compliance, and that all onboarding and invoicing followed regulations.
(Economic Times)
HDFC Bank hikes locker
rentals by up to 184%, introduces ‘Metro Plus’ category from April 1, 2026: HDFC Bank is set to revise its safe deposit locker
rental structure, introducing a new ‘Metro Plus’ category and increasing annual
charges across locker sizes. The updated rates will come into effect from April
1, 2026. Under the new framework, locker rentals will vary based on locker size
and branch location classification- Metro Plus, Metro, Urban, Semi-Urban and
Rural with GST charged additionally.
(Economic Times)
M&M to exit Japan
agri-machinery business in portfolio reset: Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Monday
said it will exit its agri-machinery business in Japan as part of a broader
portfolio rationalisation and disciplined capital allocation strategy following
a strategic review. The board of Mitsubishi Mahindra Agricultural Machinery Co
Ltd (MAM), which operates the business in Japan, has approved a withdrawal from
the agricultural machinery operations, the Mumbai-based automaker said in a
regulatory filing.
(Financial Express)
IIP growth slows to 4.8% in
January; India to shift base year to FY23 from May: India’s Industrial Production (IIP) recorded a
4.8 % year-on-year (YoY) growth in January 2026 from 7.8% reported in December
2025. The government release noted that the IIP growth was supported by 4.8%
growth in Manufacturing sector and 5.1% growth in Electricity sector. The
general index for the month of January 2026 stood at 169.4, compared with 161.6
in January 2025. Manufacturing and electricity sectors supported
overall industrial growth during the month. Manufacturing output rose 4.8%,
while electricity generation increased 5.1%. Mining output grew 4.3%
year-on-year.
(Financial Express)
India market capitalisation
slips below $5 trn for first time in 10 months: India has lost its $5 trillion
market capitalisation (mcap) tag following Monday’s sharp selloff in equities
and a simultaneous slide in the rupee. According to BSE data, the country’s
total market cap now stands at $4.99 trillion — the lowest since May 9. In US
dollar terms, India’s mcap has declined nearly 13 per cent from its peak and is
down about 5.6 per cent on a year-to-date basis, marking the steepest drop
among major global markets. With the exception of the US, most large global
markets have posted strong gains this year. China, Japan, and Taiwan have
delivered double-digit returns, underscoring India’s relative underperformance.
(Business Line)
EPFO fixes 8.25% interest
rate on employees' PF deposits for 2025-26: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)
on Monday fixed the interest rate on employees' provident fund (EPF) deposits
for FY26 at 8.25 per cent, retaining the rate for the second consecutive year,
news agency PTI reported citing a source. "The EPFO's apex decision making
body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), has decided to provide 8.25 per cent
rate of interest on EPF for 2025-26 at its meeting on Monday," the source
told PTI. After the CBT decision, the interest rate on EPF deposits for FY26
will be sent to the Ministry of Finance for concurrence. After the government's
ratification, the interest rate for 2025-26 will be credited into the accounts
of over 70 million subscribers of EPFO.
(Business Standard)
Marquee PSUs slipping on
corporate governance standards, says survey: A large number of
public-sector companies —Maharatna and Navratna — are coming up short on
several parameters of corporate governance, including having a minimum number
of independent directors and appointing women directors, apart from doing
succession planning and a shareholder-satisfaction survey. The fifth “Annual
Corporate Governance Survey”, by Excellence Enablers, found 36 such companies
in FY25 had fewer than the prescribed minimum number of independent directors
and 17 companies had no woman on their board. The Companies Act, 2013, mandates
that every listed company have at least one-third of the number of directors as
independent directors. “It is our expectation that if public-sector
undertakings are not exempt from the provisions applicable to private
companies, there would be value addition, leading to better corporate
governance,” the report said.
(Business Standard)
Manufacturing PMI climbs to
four-month high in Feb, rises to 56.9: India’s private sector
manufacturing activity growth surged to a four-month high in February even as
exports plummeted, according to data compiled by S&P Global on Monday. HSBC’s
India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P
Global, which measures monthly change in manufacturing output, rose to 56.9 in
February. This is the highest since October last year, and up from 55.4 in
January. However, the latest figure — a weighted average of new orders, output,
employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases indices — was
significantly lower than the Flash India Manufacturing PMI of 57.5, released
last month.
(Business Standard)
LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE (LFPR)
·
LFPR is defined as the
percentage of persons in the labour force, either working, seeking or available
for work, in the population. In the current weekly status (CWS), the activity
status is determined based on the seven days prior to the survey date.
·
LFPR is calculated by dividing
the number of people in the labor force (employed or unemployed and available
for work) by the total working-age population, and then multiplying by 100.
·
In India, PLFS, launched in
2017, used to publish quarterly statistics for urban areas only, following CWS,
and, on an annual basis, for both urban and rural areas in the usual status as
well as the CWS, until it was revamped in January 2025.
RBI KEY RATES
Repo
Rate: 5.25%
SDF:
5.00%
MSF
/Bank Rate: 5.50%
CRR:
3.00%
SLR:
18.00%
FOREX RATES (RBI REF. RATE)
INR
/ 1 USD : 91.4514
INR
/ 1 GBP : 122.4499
INR
/ 1 EUR : 107.3920
INR
/100 JPY: 58.2600
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 80238.85 (-1048.34)
NIFTY: 24865.70 (-312.95)
Bnk NIFTY: 59839.65 (-689.35)
World Wildlife Day: On 20 December 2013,
the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to
proclaim 3 March as World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of the
world's wild fauna and flora.
Historical events: 3rd March marks
significant events including the birth of industrialist Jamsetji Tata (1839),
the Battle of Tukaroi (1575), and the death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1707).
Globally, it is observed as World Wildlife Day and World Hearing Day. Key
historical moments include the 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the 1971 India-Pakistan
war start.
****Have a nice Day****
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