Issue: 1144
India’s trade deficit
widens to $34.68 billion in January amid
gold import surge: India’s trade deficit widened
to $34.68 billion in January 2026 from $25.04 billion in December, even as the
country recorded steady growth in overall exports, driven by resilient services
shipments and improving demand in key markets, Commerce Secretary Rajesh
Agrawal said on February 16. The
increase in the deficit was largely attributed to a surge in gold and silver
imports amid elevated global prices. Merchandise exports during
January stood at $36.56 billion, declining from $38.51 billion in December,
while imports rose sharply to $71.24 billion from $63.55 billion, reflecting
higher inbound shipments of precious metals. Despite the monthly widening,
cumulative export performance remained positive. Exports between April 2025 and
January 2026 rose 2.22% year-on-year to $366.63 billion, with the government
expressing confidence that total goods and services exports could cross $860
billion in the current fiscal year.
(Business Today)
Wholesale price inflation
rises to 1.81% in January: Wholesale price inflation extended upward
momentum for the third straight month, at 1.81 per cent in January, driven by
an uptick in prices of food, non-food articles, and manufactured items on a
month-on-month basis, government data showed on Monday. Wholesale Price Index
(WPI)-based inflation was 2.51 per cent in January last year, while in the
previous month (December 2025), it was 0.83 per cent. “Positive rate of
inflation in January 2026 is primarily due to increase in prices of manufacture
of basic metals, other manufacturing, non-food articles, food articles, and
textiles, etc,” the industry ministry said in a statement.
(Business Line)
Rural slowdown pushes
January unemployment rate to 5%: The unemployment rate (UR) in January rose to
5 per cent from 4.8 per cent in December, the Statistics Ministry reported on
Monday. This result is based on a survey conducted among 3.73 lakh persons. The
estimates of the unemployed in CWS (Current Weekly Status) provide an average
picture of unemployment over a short period of seven days during the survey
period. A person is considered unemployed in a week if he/she did not work even
for one hour on any day during the reference week, but sought work or were
available for work at least for one hour on any day during the week.
(Business Standard)
UPI beats cash:
Over 50% users prefer digital payments; govt plans rural push for RuPay cards: UPI
has emerged as the most preferred mode of transaction, surpassing cash
transactions, and there is a need for targeted interventions to strengthen
RuPay debit card usage, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas, a report by
Finance Ministry said on Monday. According to the Finance Ministry report, UPI
has emerged as the most preferred mode of transaction, accounting for 57%,
surpassing cash transactions at 38%, primarily due to ease of use and instant
fund transfer capability. The report also highlighted that digital payments now
dominate everyday transaction behaviour, with 65% of UPI users reporting
multiple digital transactions per day.
(Financial Express)
In-Solutions Global secures
RBI's nod across online, physical & Cross-Border Payment Aggregation: In-Solutions Global Ltd has
secured crucial authorization from the Reserve Bank of India. This approval
covers online, offline, and cross-border payment aggregation. ISG now joins a
select group of companies enabling unified merchant payment solutions. The
company can manage domestic and international transactions, offering a
comprehensive payment aggregation stack for businesses and financial
institutions.
(Economic Times)
RBI Governor Sanjay
Malhotra says improving timely credit access to MSMEs remains key policy
priority: BI
Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Monday said improving access to timely and adequate
formal credit for MSMEs remains a key policy priority of the central bank. As a
part of the Reserve Bank of India's continued engagement with stakeholders, the
governor held a meeting with select micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)
and representatives of MSME associations. In a statement, the RBI said Malhotra
underscored the pivotal role of the MSME sector in India's economic landscape,
contributing significantly to GDP, exports and livelihoods.
(Economic Times)
Cash in circulation at
record high despite rise in UPI use: SBI report: Even as Currency in
Circulation (CIC) touched an all-time high of around ?40 trillion for the
fortnight ended January 31, 2026, the cash-to-gross domestic product (GDP)
ratio has been steadily declining, according to a report by State Bank of India
(SBI). “Intriguingly, though the volume of cash in circulation has continued to
grow but the ‘cash-to-GDP’ ratio has declined in recent years to 11 per cent in
2025-26 (FY26) from 14.4 per cent in FY21,” the report said. The models showed
that the direction of change of currency and GDP may be the same, but
incremental GDP growth is now being less financed by cash and more through UPI
(Unified Payments Interface).
(Business Standard)
Anthropic opens Bengaluru
office; announces partnerships in India: AI giant Anthropic has officially opened its
Bengaluru office, it’s first in India, and has announced partnerships across
enterprise, education, and agriculture to deepen its commitment to India across
sectors. The new Bengaluru office—Anthropic’s second in Asia after Tokyo—is led
by its Indian Managing Director Irina Ghose, an enterprise and start-up
technology leader. The office will focus on hiring local talent across roles
like Solutions Architect, Applied AI and Partner Sales Manager among others.
(Business Line)
PM Modi inaugurates India’s
first AI Summit in Delhi: The fourth edition of India AI Impact Summit
2026, scheduled from February 16 to 20 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, marks a
historic milestone. It is being touted as the first major global AI gathering
hosted in the Global South. The event has been inaugurated by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, centres on the themes of “People, Planet, and Progress.” The event features a
massive AI Impact Expo showcasing over 300 exhibitors and 600 startups,
alongside high-level policy discussions and the launch of knowledge compendiums
focusing on AI’s role in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and education.
(Financial Express)
Govt to launch ‘Create in
India' mission to boost jobs and industries: Union Minister Ashwini
Vaishnaw, on Monday, 16 February, at AI Impact Summit, announced that the
government will launch the 'Create in India' mission. This initiative is aimed
at enhancing industries, creating jobs, and preparing a future-ready talent
pipeline. At India AI Impact Summit, Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was quoted by
ANI as saying, "Very soon, the govt will launch 'Create in India' mission,
which will be an industry, employment and future-oriented mission. It will look
at strengthening what we have, making sure we become the most preferred
platform for the world and create a future-ready talent pipeline..."
(Business Standard)
RBI expected to maintain
liquidity support: Market participants do not
expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to drain excess liquidity in the
short-term despite levels above 1% of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL)
and standing deposit facility (SDF) nearing its all-time high. This will help
transmission in the money markets, they said. With overnight rates falling
and the RBI avoiding liquidity drains, banks are parking large sums in the
RBI’s SDF to capture the spread—which has risen 60 basis points (bps) – between
overnight rates and the SDF. In the last week, banks parked an average of Rs
4.47 lakh crore with the SDF. They placed a record Rs 5.3 lakh crore on
February 6.
(Financial Express)
RBI notifies amended ECB
framework, eases cost and maturity norms: RBI on Monday notified the Foreign Exchange
Management (Borrowing and Lending) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026,
introducing a series of changes to the external commercial borrowing (ECB)
framework. The amended regulations seek to rationalise the ECB regime through
expansion of the eligible borrower and recognised lender base, rationalisation
of borrowing limits and restrictions on average maturity, removal of
restrictions on the cost of borrowing for ECBs, a review of end-use
restrictions, and simplification of reporting requirements, the regulator said
in a release. Among the key changes accepted by the central bank, the
requirement to maintain a “current account” to qualify as a designated
authorised dealer (AD) bank has been removed. The RBI clarified the end-use of
ECB proceeds, including utilisation for the purchase of land and immovable
property, subject to specified restrictions, and confirmed that acquisition of
“control” is a permitted end-use. RBI-regulated entities will be allowed to
on-lend ECB funds to individuals, though on-lending for real estate business,
as defined in the regulations, will not be permitted.
(Business Standard)
Govt weighs making National
Pension System mandatory for gig workers: The government is examining the possibility of
making the National Pension System (NPS) mandatory for gig workers and other
segments of the unorganised workforce, as part of a broader push to expand
pension coverage across the country, according to senior government officials. “The
proposal is being discussed under the wider agenda of extending pension
coverage to all citizens. Further deliberation will be carried out to decide
whether to make it voluntary or mandatory for gig workers and other unorganised
workforce,” said the official.
(Business Standard)
FALSE URGENCY
§ A
type of Dark pattern relevant to Banks, which occurs by falsely stating or
implying the sense of urgency or scarcity so as to mislead a user into making
an immediate purchase. This is a technique used in mis-selling of products
defined by RBI. Following are some of its examples;
§ Advertising
/ notifying customers that charges / fees for certain products / services will
increase after a specific date, thereby, pushing customers to sign up quickly
without comparing with other available options.
§ Offering
pre-approved loans at attractive interest rates and luring the customer that
the interest rate of the loan is likely to rise if the offer is not availed.
§ Displaying
countdown timers on the bank's website or app for promotional offers / cash
back / reward points, forcing users to act fast to benefit from the deal.
§ Using
phrases like ‘Act Now’, ‘Hurry’, ‘Limited Time Only’, or ‘Offer Ends Soon’ in
communications, thereby, inducing a sense of urgency, leading customers to act faster than they might
otherwise.
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 : 90.7125
INR
/ 1 GBP : 123.7572
INR
/ 1 EUR : 107.6497
INR
/100 JPY: 59.2400
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 83277.15 (+650.39)
NIFTY: 25682.75 (+211.65)
Bnk NIFTY: 60949.10 (+762.45)
Historical events: February 17 marks
major historical milestones, including Shivaji’s forces winning the Sinhagad
fort (1670), Aurangzeb capturing Jinji fort (1698), and the deaths of thinker
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1986) and revolutionary Vasudeo Balwant Phadke (1883).
Globally, it marks the first NASA NEAR spacecraft launch (1966) and the VW
Beetle breaking production records (1972).
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