Issue: 1146
MCX, NSE remove additional
margin on gold, silver: MCX, the country’s largest
commodity derivatives exchange and the largest stock exchange NSE, have removed
the additional margin levied on gold and silver futures contract with the
prices cooling off in the last few weeks. The additional margin of 3 per cent
levied in Gold Futures (all contracts of all variants) and 7 per cent levied in
Silver Futures (all contracts of all variants) will be withdrawn with effect
from Thursday, said MCX in a statement. Similarly, with reference to the
circular dated February 4, NSE said the additional margin of 3 per cent levied
on Gold Futures contracts and 7 per cent levied on Silver Futures contracts
will be withdrawn from February 19, it said.
(Moneycontrol)
India relaxes Chinese
equipment import curbs for power, coal amid project delays: India has begun easing ?its restrictions on
buying Chinese equipment after a deadly 2020 border ?clash, allowing state-run
power and coal companies to start ?limited imports as shortages and project delays
mount, two government officials told Reuters. This is the first significant
easing of five-year-old curbs that have largely shut Chinese ?firms out of
India’s $700 billion-$750 billion government contract market.
(Business Line)
States' fiscal arithmetic
tightens in FY27; deficit seen at 3% of GDP: India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) has
projected the aggregate fiscal deficit of states to rise to 3 per cent of gross
domestic product (GDP) in 2026-27 (FY27), from an estimated 2.8 per cent in
2025-26 (FY26), citing higher revenue expenditure amid election-related
pressures and scheme cost-sharing requirements. However, if funds under the
Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) worth
?1.85 trillion are included, the fiscal deficit is expected to increase to 3.5
per cent of GDP in FY27 from an estimated 3 per cent in FY26. The 16th Finance
Commission has excluded SASCI transfers while estimating states’ fiscal
deficits and has recommended capping the deficit at 3 per cent of gross state
domestic product for individual states.
(Business Standard)
SBI Funds
Management plans $1.5 billion IPO in March: SBI
Funds Management Ltd. may file draft papers for an initial public offering next
month, according to people familiar with the matter, in what could be the
biggest listing by an asset management company in India. The nation’s biggest
asset manager plans to submit its draft red herring prospectus for the IPO that
could raise as much as $1.5 billion in the first half of March, the people
said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
(Business Line)
Private credit deployment
remain flat in H2’25: Private credit investments
remained flat at $ 3.4 billion in H2 2025 as against $3.3 billion in H2 2024, according
to a report by auditing and consultancy firm EY. However, for the full year
2025, the investments saw a 35% YoY jump in 2025 at $ 12.4 billion, the report
said. Over 35% of capital deployed in H2 2025 was allocated towards
refinancing, acquisition financing and capital expenditure, indicating
sustained demand for both balance-sheet optimization and growth-oriented
funding, EY said. Real estate received the highest allocation from the private
credit funds followed by healthcare and industrial products, with capex funding
and refinancing as key drivers.
(Financial Express)
NPCI collaborates with
NVIDIA to advance India's sovereign AI infrastructure for digital payments: National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI) on Wednesday announced its collaboration with NVIDIA to scale
and advance its sovereign AI model capabilities purpose-built for India's
payments ecosystem. The initiative will support the evolving requirements of
large-scale, real-time payment systems, with an emphasis on trust, resilience,
security, and ecosystem enablement, NPCI said in a statement. As
part of this engagement, NPCI will use NVIDIA Nemotron - a family of open
models with open weights, training data and recipes - in its model development
journey to create a payments-native AI foundation model aligned with India's
regulatory and data sovereignty requirements. NPCI's use of AI has been guided
by practical requirements emerging from operating payment systems at scale.
(Economic Times)
Fixed-price ATM pacts are
the new normal for banks: Indian banks are moving to
fixed-price contracts for ATM management. This change replaces older
transaction-based models. Banks seek cost stability and assured service
quality. This shift aims for predictable expenses and better performance from
vendors. Many new ATM and cash recycler contracts are being awarded under this
fixed-fee structure. This ensures consistent service and improved customer
convenience.
(Economic Times)
India rolls out three
sovereign AI models Sarvam AI, Gnani.ai, BharatGen to take on Big Tech: India on February 18 unveiled three sovereign
artificial intelligence (AI) models at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi,
as domestic startups and national initiatives stepped up efforts to build
homegrown alternatives to global AI systems dominated by Big Tech. The launches come against
the backdrop of the IndiaAI Mission, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in
March 2024 with an initial outlay of Rs 10,000 crore to build India’s sovereign
AI capabilities, including a domestic foundational model, large-scale compute
infrastructure, and AI applications for public use. The mission gathered
momentum in late 2024 and early 2025, with the government operationalising GPU
subsidies and inviting startups to apply for compute support. Since then, over
Rs 100 crore has been disbursed as subsidies for high-performance GPUs and over
a dozen companies selected for the mission.
(Moneycontrol)
Google plans new
fiber-optic routes between the US and India: Alphabet Inc. unveiled several new initiatives
to support its expansion in India, including new fiber-optic routes that will
connect the country with the US and other locations in the Southern Hemisphere. Chief Executive Officer Sundar
Pichai talked up the company’s efforts at a high-profile AI summit in New
Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making the case that his country
can lead in artificial intelligence. Pichai is one of a long list of prominent
CEOs supporting the effort.
(Moneycontrol)
Go Digit partners Anvayaa
for elderly care services: Go Digit General Insurance has
partnered with Anvayaa Kin Care. This collaboration provides Digit
policyholders access to elderly care services at special rates. Services
include medical emergency assistance and consultations with geriatric
specialists. Virtual check-ins by health managers will also be available. This
initiative aims to support caregivers and families.
(Economic Times)
ICAI urges MCA to tweak PM
Internship Scheme to allow CA firms: The top accounting body has
been discussing a proposal with the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) to
tweak the PM Internship Scheme (PMIS) so that chartered accountant (CA) firms,
especially in tier-II and III cities, can provide internships to professionals.
While the discussion is still at an early stage, the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India (ICAI) president Prasanna Kumar D. said that the current
eligibility criteria of PMIS needs modifications to make CA firms, including
dropping the corporate social responsibility (CSR) requirements for the firms.
“CA firms don’t have CSR funds but they are willing to participate in the
scheme. Our outreach is more than the corporate sector,” Kumar said.
(Financial Express)
Govt asks EPFO to conduct
study on impact of workforce formalisation: The central government has asked the
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to conduct a study to assess
whether moving informal workers into formal jobs really improves their income
stability, benefits, and job security within the next three months. “The
committee noted that in response to the original recommendation made to the
Government, to periodically study whether formalisation leads to sustained
income security, social protection and long term employment, especially among
informal workers, it has been stated by the Government in the reply that EPFO
has (been) tasked with conducting a study through Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya
National Academy of Social Security (PDNASS) within 3 months and submit Action
Taken Report in the matter. The committee desires that the study be conducted
within the prescribed time limit and that its findings be shared with the
committee,” the 29th report of the standing committee on finance tabled in the
Parliament last week said.
(Business Standard)
Relaxed ECB norms may lift
foreign borrowings by Indian companies: The easing of external commercial borrowing
(ECB) norms by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to significantly
boost overseas fundraising by Indian companies, market participants said. The
revised framework widens the pool of eligible borrowers and recognised lenders,
raises borrowing limits, relaxes maturity restrictions, and removes the cap on
the all-in-cost for certain ECB categories. The changes are aimed at making the
regime more flexible and aligned with evolving global funding conditions. Under
the amended rules, companies can raise up to $1 billion or 300 per cent of
their net worth, substantially enhancing headroom for large corporates to tap
foreign capital markets. The removal of pricing caps for longer-tenor
borrowings allows firms to negotiate rates based on market conditions rather
than regulatory ceilings, improving execution flexibility.
(Business Standard)
CONFIRM SHAMING
§ This
is a trick of mis-selling using a phrase, video, audio or any other means to create
a sense of fear or shame or ridicule or guilt in the mind of the user so as to
nudge the user to act in a certain way that results in the user purchasing a product
/ service from the platform or continuing a subscription of a service, primarily
for the purpose of making commercial gains by subverting consumer choice.
§ Illustration:
Displaying a message like, "Are you sure you want to miss out on exclusive
offers and updates?" or "No, I prefer to stay uninformed about great
deals," while customer attempts to unsubscribe from marketing emails,
implying that opting out is unwise..
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 : 90.6669
INR
/ 1 GBP : 122.9262
INR
/ 1 EUR : 107.3901
INR
/100 JPY: 59.0900
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 83734.25 (+283.29)
NIFTY: 25819.35 (+93.95)
Bnk NIFTY: 61550.80 (+376.80)
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti: Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Jayanti is celebrated on 19 February to mark the birth
anniversary of the founder of the Maratha Empire, born in 1630 at the Shivneri
fort.
Historical events: In world history, this date is notable for the 1942 signing of Executive Order 9066, authorizing the internment of Japanese-Americans, and the 1878 patenting of the phonograph by Thomas Edison.
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