Issue: 1030
Nirmala Sitharaman flags Rs 1.84 lakh crore in unclaimed
financial assets with banks, regulators: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
on Saturday said financial assets worth Rs 1.84 lakh crore were lying unclaimed
with banks and regulators, and urged officials to ensure these funds reach
their rightful owners. Launching
the three-month “Apki Poonji, Apka Adhikar” (Your Money, Your Right) campaign
in Gandhinagar, Sitharaman asked officials to focus on “Awareness, Access and
Action” to help citizens reclaim their money. “Unclaimed monies are lying with
the banks or with the RBI or with the IEPF (Investor Education and Protection
Fund). We have to find the rightful owners and claimants of those funds and
hand the money over to them,” Sitharaman said.
(Moneycontrol)
India pushing to resolve ‘unfair’ US tariffs amid stalled trade
talks: Jaishankar: India
is working to resolve trade frictions with the United States as tariffs imposed
on Indian exports remain unresolved, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar
said on October 5, calling the duties “unfair” and urging a balanced
understanding between the two nations. Speaking at the Kautilya Economic
Conclave (KEC 2025), Jaishankar stated that India and the United States had yet
to “reach a landing ground” in ongoing trade negotiations. “We have issues with
the United States today — mainly that we haven’t yet reached a landing ground
in our trade discussions. This has led to certain tariffs being levied on us,
which we have publicly said are unfair,” said Jaishankar, Minister of External
Affairs.
(Business Today)
Bitcoin smashes records, soars past $125,000 amid demand and
favourable regulatory climate: Bitcoin hit a
historic peak on Sunday, breaching the $125,000 mark. The digital asset was
trading up nearly 2.7% at $125,245.57 at 05:12 GMT, surpassing its previous
all-time high of $124,480, set in mid-August. This latest surge is part of a
trend that saw Bitcoin climb for an eighth consecutive session, signaling
renewed confidence across the crypto landscape.
(Financial Express)
HDFC Bank Q2 update: Loan growth up 9%, deposits see
double-digit surge: Ahead
of its results, HDFC Bank released its business update for Q2. The bank’s gross
advances stood at Rs 27.69 lakh crore, up nearly 9.9% on year basis and up 4%
on quarterly basis. Its average advances under management stood at Rs 27.95
lakh crore for the September quarter, up 9% from Rs 25.64 lakh crore in the
same quarter last year. Sequentially, advances grew 1.9% from Rs 27.42 lakh
crore in the June quarter. As
of September 30, 2025, HDFC Bank’s total advances under management stood at Rs
28.69 lakh crore, reflecting a growth of 8.9% year-on-year and 3.1%
quarter-on-quarter. On the deposits front, HDFC Bank reported an average
deposit base of Rs 27.10 lakh crore during the September quarter, registering a
15.1% rise over Rs 23.54 lakh crore in the corresponding quarter last year, and
a 2% rise over Rs 26.58 lakh crore in the previous quarter.
(Financial Express)
PSB consolidation may resume by fiscal-end:
After a gap
of six years, the process of consolidation of public sector banks (PSBs) may
restart by the end of the current financial year. What is being considered is
the merger of 3-4 smaller PSBs with larger ones in the first phase. In the
subsequent phase, which will be implemented over the medium term, some of the
resultant combined entities may be merged among themselves, official sources
told FE. The move will reflect a
plan to create two PSBs large enough to be among the top 20 global banks, in
consonance with India’s rising stature in the global economic landscape.
(Economic Times)
Finance Minister launches nationwide financial awareness
campaign “???? ?????, ???? ??????” in Gandhinagar: The Union Finance
Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman launched the nationwide awareness campaign “????
?????, ???? ??????” in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat. “Unclaimed deposits, insurance proceeds, dividends,
mutual fund balances, and pensions are not mere entries on paper; they
represent the hard-earned savings of ordinary families - savings that can
support education, healthcare, and financial security”, the Finance Minister
added. Further, the Union Finance Minister underlined the importance of the “3
A’s” - Awareness, Accessibility and Action - as the guiding principles of this
campaign. Awareness aims to ensure that every citizen and community are
informed about how to trace unclaimed assets. Accessibility focuses on
providing simplified digital tools and district-level outreach.
(PiB)
UCO Bank logs 17% rise in loans in Q2:
UCO Bank reported strong financial growth for the second quarter of FY26.
Credit expanded by 16.6 percent, reaching Rs 2.31 lakh crore. Total deposits
increased by 10.8 percent to Rs 3.06 lakh crore. The bank's overall business
grew 13.2 percent, touching Rs 5.37 lakh crore. Its credit deposit ratio also
rose to 75.56 percent.
(Economic Times)
Share of manufacturing in new projects at all-time high in Q2: The share of the manufacturing sector in
the total new investment projects announced surged to 73.2% for the three
months to September this year, the highest since the period for which data is
available (Q3FY11), according to CMIE, reports Saikat Neogi. While the value of
new projects announced was Rs 5.2 lakh crore in Q2FY26, the manufacturing
sector accounted for Rs 3.8 lakh crore. In
absolute terms, the value of manufacturing projects peaked at Rs 8.3 lakh crore
in Q4FY24, and it was also much higher than Q2FY26 in a few other quarters like
Q3FY25 (Rs 5 lakh crore), Q4FY25 (Rs 6.5 lakh crore) and Q3FY23 (Rs 7.3 lakh
crore).
(Financial Express)
SBI aims to be one-fourth of India's GDP by assets: Chairman C S
Setty: SBI Chairman C S Setty has said the country’s
largest lender aims to expand its asset size from the current 20 per cent of
India’s GDP to 25 per cent by 2047. “SBI is often seen as a proxy for the
Indian economy, as it has a 23 per cent share in deposits and a 20 per cent
share in loans. For more than 15-20 years, the bank’s asset size has
consistently been around 20 per cent of the country’s GDP. As India advances
towards the Viksit Bharat goal, SBI is positioned to support this growth,”
Setty said
(Business Standard)
Piyush Goyal to visit Qatar for talks on comprehensive trade
pact: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will
begin his two-day visit to Qatar on Monday, during which he will hold
discussions on a proposed comprehensive trade deal between India and the West
Asian nation, including steps to finalise the framework of the deal, the
commerce department said on Sunday. Both sides will also hold discussions on
reviewing the bilateral trade performance, addressing existing trade barriers
and non-tariff issues, and exploring avenues to enhance trade and investment
flows.
(Business Standard)
UIDAI makes Aadhaar biometric updates free for children for one
year: The
Unique Identification Authority of India has waived off all charges for
mandatory biometric update of Aadhaar for children, the Ministry of Electronics
and Information Technology said in a statement on Saturday. The fee waiver has
already kicked in, effective October 1 and will be in force for a period of one
year. As per existing rules,
children's fingerprints, iris and photo are mandatorily required to be updated
Aadhaar after attaining the age of five years and second update is required to
be done between the age of 15-17 years. These updates are allowed without any
fee for children aged 5-7 years and those in the age group of 15-17 years. When
the child turns five, fingerprints, iris, and a new photograph must be
mandatorily updated — known as the first Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU). A
second update is required at age 15, referred to as MBU-2.
(Moneycontrol)
ECL norms to have bigger impact on banks with higher unsecured
loans: Commercial banks with higher proportion of
unsecured loans - like personal loans, credit card and microfinance exposure are
likely to have a higher impact of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) expected
credit loss (ECL) norms, according to analysts. During the monetary policy
review meeting, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced that the transition to
ECL framework from the current incurred loss framework will start from April 1,
2027. RBI is yet to announce draft ECL norms. A discussion paper was floated in
early 2023.
(Business Standard)
SPVs with anchor partners to be set up under ?60,000 cr PM-SETU
scheme: Special purpose vehicles with credible anchor
industry partners will be set up under the Rs 60,000-crore PM-SETU scheme to
manage clusters and ensure outcome-based training, the Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship said. Under the Pradhan Mantri Skilling and
Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs (PM-SETU), launched by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, new, demand-driven courses will be
introduced in a bid to transform 1,000 government ITIs across India into
modern, industry-aligned training institutions. Besides, existing courses will
be revamped in collaboration with industries. The scheme will also help create
pathways for long-term diplomas, short-term courses, and executive programmes. PM-SETU
will follow a hub-and-spoke model, with 200 hub ITIs linked to 800 spoke ITIs.
(Business Standard)
QUANT FUND
§ A
quant fund is an investment fund that uses quantitative analysis for its
investment selection process. It relies more on algorithmic, data-driven
strategies than human judgment. Such non-traditional and passive funds use
customized software models for investment decisions.
§ The
history of quant funds is rooted in decades-old quantitative analysis
principles, with notable early influences from influential works like
"Security Analysis" by Benjamin Graham and David Dodd. Supporters of
quant funds believe that using computer programs reduces risks and losses
compared to human fund managers.
§ Yet they carry unique risks, such as high trading costs and the potential for failures due to unpredictable market events or excessive reliance on historical data.
RBI KEY RATES
Repo
Rate: 5.50%
SDF:
5.25%
MSF
/Bank Rate: 5.75%
CRR:
3.50%
SLR:
18.00%
FOREX RATES (RBI REF. RATE)
INR /
1 USD : 88.7775
INR /
1 GBP : 119.3211
INR /
1 EUR : 104.0804
INR
/100 JPY: 60.1600
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 81207.17 (+223.86)
NIFTY: 24894.25 (+57.95)
International Geodiversity Day: According to the
UN calendar, the observance held on October 6th is International Geodiversity
Day. It is celebrated to promote awareness of the importance of Earth's
non-living natural resources, such as minerals, fossils, and landscapes.
Historical events: Globally, October
6 is noted for the Yom Kippur War (1973), where Egypt and Syria attacked
Israel, the October 6 Massacre in Thailand (1976), the assassination of
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (1981), and World Cerebral Palsy Day.
****Have a nice Day****
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