Issue: 1247
· Private sector push lifts
defence production to record Rs.1.78 lakh crore in FY26.
· Microfinance sector sees 17%
contraction in portfolio in FY26: SIDBI-Equifax report.
· India’s fraud rate almost
twice global average: TransUnion.
· Private banks tap global
peers for FCNR push – A $50 billion opportunity.
· SBI, insurers among biggest
NSE IPO sellers as early investors sit on gains, could cash out with Rs 30,600
crore.
· India mcap reclaims $5
trillion mark for the first time since May 8.
India-UK free trade pact to
take effect July 15 after breakthrough in steel deadlock: The India-UK free trade
agreement will officially enter into force on July 15, opening British markets
wider for Indian exports such as textiles, footwear, agri products and gems
& jewellery, following a last-mile breakthrough reached on a deadlock over
steel import quotas. The announcement on the deal, officially called the
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), followed a bilateral meeting
between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the
sidelines of the G7 meeting in Evian, France.
(Business Line)
US Federal Reserve keeps
rates unchanged in Kevin Warsh's first meeting as Chair, flags Middle East
risks: The
US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, delivering a
widely expected decision in the first policy meeting chaired by Kevin
Warsh. The policy makers weighed persistent inflation pressures against a
still-resilient economy. The Federal Open Market
Committee (FOMC) left the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5%-3.75%, extending
a pause that has been in place since late 2025. The decision comes as inflation
remains above the Fed's 2% target despite signs of moderation in recent months,
while economic growth and labor market conditions continue to hold up.
(Moneycontrol)
US, Iran unveil 14-point
interim pact to halt conflict, reopen Hormuz: The United States and Iran on
Wednesday unveiled a 14-point interim agreement aimed at ending the ongoing
conflict between the two countries, restoring commercial shipping through the
Strait of Hormuz and launching negotiations for a broader peace settlement. The
document, titled the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United
States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran, was read out to reporters
by a senior US official. It outlines a framework agreement that postpones some
of the most contentious issues—including the future of Iran's nuclear
programme—until a final accord is negotiated. The two sides are expected to
begin formal negotiations in Switzerland on Friday, with a target of reaching a
comprehensive agreement within 60 days.
(Business Standard)
RBI asks HDFC Bank to fast-track
chairman appointment: With a day left for Keki
Mistry’s tenure as interim chairman to come to an end, the banking regulator is
said to have urged HDFC Bank’s board to expedite the search for a non-executive
part-time chairman. People aware of the matter say
the Reserve Bank of India is of the view that critical decisions could remain pending
for want of a chairman. “Mistry's position is interim, and there are some
matters where he has limited bandwidth to take a call. It is important for the
bank to install a non-interim chairman,” said one of the people cited. He spoke
on condition of anonymity.
(Moneycontrol)
RBI withdraws interest rate
ceiling on fresh three-, five-year FCNR-B deposits: RBI said on June 17 that it
will temporarily withdraw the interest rate ceiling on fresh three- and
five-year FCNR-B deposits until September 30, 2026, as part of its review of
its deposit interest rate directives from 2025. The central bank further said
that it will withdraw the restriction on interest rates on non-resident
external (NRE) deposits of three-year tenors and above, including the deposits
that are renewed upon maturity, until September 30. As per existing guidelines,
For FCNR(B) deposits of one year to less than three years, the ceiling rate
will be 250 basis points (bps) above the overnight alternative reference rate,
while for those which are three years to five years, the ceiling rate can be
350 bps above the reference rate. Further, the existing guidelines say, Interest
rates on NRE or NRO deposits shall not be higher than those offered by the bank
on comparable domestic rupee term deposits.
(Moneycontrol)
PhonePe, Google Pay
combined market share falls below 80% for the first time: PhonePe and Google Pay
together held 79 percent of the UPI market share in May 2026, according to data
from NPCI, which runs the platform. The collective dominance of
the two leading entities dipped below 80 percent, marking a historic shift
since the NPCI began releasing app-specific transaction data. However, only six
months are left before the deadline for implementation of the 30 percent market
cap rule for a single UPI app. The gradual loss of market share indicates a
loosening grip of the top two players on the country’s popular payments
platform, which accounts for almost 86 percent of all digital transactions.
(Moneycontrol)
NPCI unveils Drunix to
support blockchain and tokenisation ecosystems: The National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI) rolled out Drunix, an open-source blockchain
platform, to help companies build and scale tokenisation platforms, digital
asset ecosystems, multi-organisation networks. Drunix enables blockchain
deployment at scale and is engineered for enterprise and public infrastructure
adoption. NPCI said it is a high-performance distributed ledger platform built
as an enhanced fork of Hyperledger Fabric. Hyperledger Fabric is an open-source
enterprise blockchain framework developed under the umbrella of the Linux
Foundation.
(Business Standard)
HDFC Bank raises $750 mn
via 5-year bond issue from GIFT City unit: HDFC Bank, India's largest
private-sector lender, has raised $750 million through a five-year senior
unsecured bond issue, marking one of the largest offshore fundraisings by an
Indian bank this year and the first such issuance since the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) operationalised its concessional hedging window for overseas
borrowings by lenders. More banks including State Bank of India, Bank of India,
Bank of Baroda are likely to follow suit. The bonds, issued through the bank's
International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) Banking Unit at GIFT City, carry
a fixed coupon of 5.067 per cent and will mature on June 24, 2031.
(Business Standard)
Centre clears Rs.22 crore
aid for startups under Green Hydrogen Mission: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday announced
the approval of the first batch of Rs.22 crore support to nine startups under
the National Green Hydrogen Mission’s (NGHM’s) Rs.100 crore startup support
programme. During a workshop on NGHM organised by the Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy (MNRE) on Wednesday, Joshi also launched the Green Hydrogen
Certification Portal of India (GHCI) to facilitate certification and regulatory
compliance under the Green Hydrogen Certification Scheme of India. He also
urged states to expedite the finalisation of their green hydrogen policies. He
said, “Wherever the policy is finalised, execution and implementation should be
expedited to achieve their set ambition. We will support all the states.”
(Business Standard)
Adani Green seeks to raise
$1 billion via offshore loan after US settlement: Adani Green Energy Ltd. is seeking to raise as
much as $1 billion through an offshore loan, according to people familiar with
the matter, its first overseas borrowing since emerging from legal troubles in
the US. The company is in early talks with lenders and advisors to raise a
dollar loan, which may be raised in two tranches over the next three months,
the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is
private. The five-year facility will be priced over the benchmark Secured
Overnight Financing Rate, or SOFR, they said.
(Business Standard)
Govt's 5% GIC Re
offer for sale fully subscribed; boosts FY27 divestment drive: The government's offer for sale (OFS) of
a 5% stake in state-owned reinsurer General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC
Re) was fully subscribed on Wednesday, with investors taking up both the 2%
base offer and the 3% greenshoe option, according to the Department of
Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam). The government held 82.4% in
GIC Re before the share sale. Following the divestment, its stake is expected
to decline to about 77.4%, meaning it comfortably retains majority ownership in
the company.
(Mint)
SC's Rs.30,000 homemaker
benchmark may lift accident compensation payouts: A Supreme Court ruling has
assigned a notional monthly value of Rs.30,000 to unpaid household work. This
decision is expected to significantly increase compensation payouts in motor
accident claims. Insurers will likely need to reassess their reserves for
third-party claims. The ruling recognizes the economic contribution of
homemakers, potentially leading to higher awards in death and injury cases.
(Economic Times)
Irdai proposes framework
for regulation-making, public consultations: The Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority of India (Irdai) on Wednesday proposed a framework for
making regulations and issuing subsidiary instructions under the Sabka Bima
Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025. The draft regulation
seeks to standardise the process for framing, amending and reviewing
regulations, while codifying existing practices relating to stakeholder
engagement, public consultation and publication of draft regulations. Under the
proposal, Irdai will be required to publish draft regulations on its website
along with a statement of particulars detailing the statutory provisions
invoked, regulatory intent and, where applicable, relevant global best
practices.
(Business Standard)
Sebi warns
investors against trading unlisted stocks on unauthorised sites: SEBI on Wednesday issued a fresh warning
to investors regarding transactions in unlisted securities of public limited
companies conducted through unauthorised electronic platforms and websites. “Investors
are once again cautioned about the risks in conducting any transactions/trading
on such electronic platforms or sharing any sensitive personal details on the
same as these platforms are neither authorised nor recognised by Sebi,” the regulator
said in a press release. Sebi had earlier issued similar cautions in December
2024 and August 2016, advising investors against conducting any transactions or
sharing personal details on such platforms. However, the regulator has noted
that such platforms continue to operate and facilitate trading in unlisted
stocks.
(Business Standard)
WEAK SISTER
·
A "weak sister" describes the least
dependable component in a process or group that can undermine the whole. The
term is often used in finance to describe an underperforming investment,
business, or even an economy that creates problems for stakeholders.
·
Spotting a weak sister helps investors and advisors
manage risk and improve portfolio results. For example, one lagging asset in a
diversified portfolio can drag down overall returns.
· Weak sisters are what hold
someone or something back. It could be a malfunctioning part of a team-oriented
task, such as the slowest member of an assembly line or a sluggish marketing
team. Alternatively, it may describe a security, economy, or business unit that
performs worse than others.
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 : 94.3758
INR
/ 1 GBP : 126.5988
INR
/ 1 EUR : 109.5401
INR
/100 JPY: 59.8900
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
77155.62 (+347.14)
NIFTY:
24085.70 (+96.55)
Bnk NIFTY: 57585.05 (+287.90)
Historical
events: June 18 is marked
by monumental events in both Indian and world history, famously including the
Battle of Haldighati in 1576 and Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815. India
also reveres this day as the death anniversary of the brave Rani Lakshmibai in
1858 and celebrates it as Goa Revolution Day to honor the 1946 freedom movement
against Portuguese rule.
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