Issue: 1161
Gold price will continue to
rise as central banks continue to diversify into non-dollar reserves: SBI
Research: As
central banks continue to diversify into non-dollar reserves, with a marked
increase in their gold holdings, the gold price is expected to rise further,
per an assessment by SBI’s Economic Research Department. Since
end-August 2025, international gold prices have increased by 47.6% to
$5092/Ounce on 06 March 2025, from $3448/Ounce on 29 August 2025. “Central
banks are shifting away from treasuries to gold holdings. The transition
happened in June 2025, for the first time since 1996. There has been a marked
increase in the gold holdings across the central banks. “Gold as a percentage
of total reserves has risen to as much as 80.4 per cent for the USA and
Germany, followed by 79.4% for Italy...India has around 17.6 per cent of its
reserves in the form of gold,” said SBI economists.
(Business Line)
Indo-US trade talks reset;
deal now expected in 3-4 months: The March deadline for the
proposed India-US trade deal will be set aside as it may take another
three-four months to reassess the situation and conclude the deal after the U S
Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a senior government source has said.The official
said the court’s decision has created a pause in the talks but India will keep a
keen eye on what tools are employed by the US administration to impose
additional tariffs. “We will have to see what tools they use. If they use
another provision, we will assess whether the deal still makes sense. It will
take three to four months,” the source said.
(Business Line)
West Asia conflict puts
$11.8 bn of India's agri exports at risk: GTRI: India's agri and food products
exports worth $11.8 billion to West Asia are at risk as the conflict in the
region is disrupting shipping routes, raising insurance costs and creating
uncertainty in logistics, think tank GTRI said on Saturday. In 2025, India
exported about $11.8 billion of agricultural and food products such as cereals,
fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and spices to West Asia, accounting for
21.8 per cent of India's total exports in this sector. "The Gulf region's
geographic proximity and large expatriate Indian population have historically
made it a natural market for India's food exports. "However, the conflict
in the region is disrupting shipping routes, raising insurance costs and
creating uncertainty in logistics," the Global Trade Research Initiative
(GTRI) said.
(Business Line)
SBI launches
$500 million social loan to boost women's economic empowerment: Country's
leading lender SBI on Saturday announced the launch of a $500 million
syndicated social term loan facility, focused exclusively on women empowerment
with a greenshoe option, on the eve of International Women's Day. This
syndicated transaction is a milestone for SBI and the global ESG financing
landscape, for the noble cause of women empowerment, the bank said in a
statement. This financing is focused on accelerating social impact and
demonstrates SBI's commitment to reduce 'the gender gap' and contributes
meaningfully to United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 --
'Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls'.
(Business Line)
Upper-layer NBFCs seek
risk-weight rejig amid heightened regulatory scrutiny: NBFCs, especially the ones
classified under upper-layer category, are seeking lowering of risk weights
across loan categories, saying regulatory scrutiny by the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has increased sharply over the past years and on par with universal banks.
“Large NBFCs’ regulatory scrutiny has increased sharply. We have to mark higher
risk-weights across loan categories in comparison to banks, while also making
higher provisions as we follow the ECL model and also maintain higher capital
adequacy ratio,” said a senior official at a large NBFC, adding that NBFCs have
nudged the regulator about lowering risk weights in their last meeting with the
RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.
(Business Line)
NBFCs move to weekly credit
reporting: With
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stepping up scrutiny of cases where lenders
have extended fresh loans to borrowers with existing overdues, NBFCs are
increasingly moving toward weekly credit bureau reporting, said industry
executives. Lenders said faster reporting cycles would reduce information gaps
that earlier allowed borrowers with recent payment delays to obtain credit from
multiple lenders. Credit bureau reporting, which previously had a lag of over a
month, has already moved to fortnightly updates, with several lenders
voluntarily shifting to weekly reporting.
(Financial Express)
RBI eases NOHC norms for AU
Small Finance Bank: BI has revised
its earlier approval for the bank's transition to a universal bank, allowing
promoter shareholding to continue without creating a Non-Operating Holding
Company (NOHC) for now. The central
bank said an NOHC would be needed only if the group later sets up additional
financial services entities. The RBI had first issued an in-principle approval
on Aug 7, 2025 for the transition from a small finance bank to a universal bank
(Economic Times)
CBI registers FIR against
Anil Ambani, Reliance Communication in Rs 1,085 crore bank fraud case: The Central Bureau of Investigation has
registered a case against industrialist Anil Ambani in connection with a Rs
1,085 crore bank fraud case. The case was filed on the basis of a complaint by
Punjab National Bank, and also names his company Reliance Communications
Limited and its former director Manjari Ashok Kacker. The development mere days
after the Enforcement Directorate summoned Ambani for questioning in a money
laundering case.
(Business Line)
India tightens tax compliance
on crypto and digital assets: New rules from January 1 will bring
crypto-assets, CBDCs, and electronic money under financial account reporting.
Service providers and financial institutions must report transactions and
holdings. Banks and depositories will track accounts with greater detail. This
aims for better tax compliance on digital assets for non-US accounts.
(Economic Times)
Small towns surge ahead of
cities in mutual fund folios, shows data: Investors from smaller towns have taken the
lead over those in the country’s largest cities in terms of mutual fund (MF)
investor folios for the first time, signalling a sharper rise in participation
from regions beyond the major urban centres in recent years. The MF industry
classifies investors into two broad categories: T-30 and B-30. The top 30
cities with the highest MF investments fall under the T-30 category, while the
rest of the country is classified as B-30. The latest industry data shows that
B-30 locations accounted for 50.1 per cent of total individual investor folios
in January 2026, edging past the T-30 segment in their overall share of folios.
(Business Standard)
DGFT Extends Export
Obligation Period for Advance Authorisations and EPCG Authorisations till
August 31, 2026: In view of the prevailing geopolitical
developments impacting global shipping routes, logistics corridors and
international supply chains, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT),
under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has announced a facilitation
measure for exporters by extending the Export Obligation (EO) period for certain
export promotion schemes. On March 06, 2026, DGFT has provided for automatic
extension of the Export Obligation (EO) period or Block-wise EO fulfillment
period up to August 31, 2026, for specified Advance Authorisations and Export
Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Authorisations where the EO period is expiring
between March 01, 2026, and May 31, 2026. The extension shall be granted
automatically, and exporters will not be required to submit any separate
application or pay any composition fee to avail the benefit. This measure has
been introduced to provide additional operational flexibility to exporters
facing disruptions arising from current geopolitical developments affecting
global trade and logistics.
(PiB)
IBBI steps up monitoring of
insolvency cases for personal guarantors: In a bid to streamline the
insolvency framework for personal guarantors, IBBI has come out with a set of
forms that makes it mandatory for resolution professionals (RPs) to file
information with the board at different stages of an insolvency process involving
personal guarantors. These forms are aimed at strengthening the IBBI’s
monitoring system and to inform key stakeholders about the various transactions
carried out during the ongoing process. “These forms are crucial under the IBC
as they facilitate systematic and transparent record-keeping and seamless
reporting. Their key benefits include allowing RPs to easily access and submit
forms online, reducing delays, improving efficiency and minimising the
likelihood of errors and omissions, ensuring more accurate and reliable
information,” the circular said.
(Financial Express)
RBI asks banks to give
client info on forex deals, positions: The Reserve Bank of India is
gathering information on foreign exchange deals from banks. This move aims to
understand if significant bets are being placed against the Indian rupee. The
central bank is looking at client transactions and bank positions. This data
will help the RBI manage currency fluctuations and make informed decisions to
control volatility in the coming days.
(Economic Times)
COINSURANCE
§ Coinsurance
is the amount, generally expressed as a fixed percentage, an insured must pay
toward a covered claim after the deductible is satisfied. It is common in
health insurance.
§ Some
property insurance policies also contain coinsurance provisions. In this case,
coinsurance is the amount of coverage that the property owner must purchase for
a structure.
§ Coinsurance
is the percentage under an insurance plan that the insured person pays toward a
covered expense or service.
§
The coinsurance clause in a
property insurance policy requires that a home is insured for a percentage of
its total cash or replacement value.
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 : 91.6829
INR
/ 1 GBP : 122.4932
INR
/ 1 EUR : 106.4139
INR
/100 JPY: 58.0800
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 78918.90 (-1097.00)
NIFTY: 24450.45 (-315.45)
Bnk NIFTY: 57783.25 (-1272.60)
Commonwealth Day: In 2026, March 9
is primarily celebrated as Commonwealth Day (second Monday of March), focusing
on cooperation among 56 member nations. It is also recognized as World Kidney
Day to raise awareness about kidney health.
Historical events: March 9th in
history marks significant events, including the 1776 publication of Adam
Smith's The Wealth of Nations and the 1959 debut of the Barbie doll. In India,
notable moments include the birth of renowned musician Zakir Hussain (1951), and
the death of actress Devika Rani (1994).
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