Issue: 1198
· In a first for India, AU SFB
has partnered with CheQ to launch a co-branded LED-powered credit card that
uses NFC fields for visual payment confirmation.
· The Services sector led the
market today with a stellar 5.22% jump, contrasting with a sharp decline in
energy stocks.
· The India VIX settled around
18.7, suggesting that while uncertainty remains, the market is pricing in a
slightly cooling volatility environment.
· The IMF's latest report
projects global growth to slow to 3.1% in 2026.
· Total banking asset size in
the GIFT IFSC has officially surpassed $4 billion.
· Thomas Cook India and ICICI
Lombard launched a new insurance product today offering protection for
travelers facing visa denials.
Moody's Ratings trims India's
FY27 growth forecast to 6%: India’s economy is expected to
grow slower at 6 percent in FY27, down from Moody’s Ratings’ earlier projection
of 6.8 percent, as the ongoing Middle East conflict raises energy prices,
widens trade deficits and weighs on consumption, the ratings agency said in a
report dated April 20. Moody’s said the downgrade
reflects weaker private consumption and softer industrial activity amid
elevated oil and gas prices and rising input costs. However, continued
government focus on infrastructure spending and a gradual easing of trade
barriers are expected to support investment activity.
(Moneycontrol)
Indian exporters may not
get US tariff refunds, but pricing power improves: Indian exporters are unlikely
to receive any direct share of the $166 billion in tariff refunds rolled out by
the United States, but the rollback of reciprocal duties is already
strengthening their pricing power and lifting order prospects. Roughly 53 per
cent of India’s exports to the US, led by textiles and apparel, had been
subject to the steep tariffs, making them the largest contributors to the
refund pool. According to calculations by the New Delhi-based think tank Global
Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), Indian exporters are linked to about $12
billion of the total refunds. Textiles and apparel account for roughly $4
billion of that amount, engineering goods another $4 billion, and chemicals
about $2 billion, with smaller shares spread across other sectors.
(Business Standard)
Renewable energies overtake
global electricity demand in India, China: Record growth in solar,
especially in China and India, was a driving factor for clean energy sources
surpassing the world's strong demand for electricity in 2025, according to a
new global power analysis. Clean power generation grew 887 terawatt hours last
year, exceeding overall global electricity demand growth of 849 terawatt hours,
according to a report by energy think tank Ember, released after midnight
Tuesday London time. Ember analyses electricity data from 215 countries, and
studied 2025 data for 91 countries, which the firm says represents 93 per cent
of global demand. Overall, the share of renewables - including solar, wind,
hydropower and other clean energies - hit more than one-third of the world's
electricity mix for the first time in modern history last year, growing 33.8
per cent to 10,730 terawatt hours.
(Business Standard)
SEBI’s panel approves NSE’s
co-location case settlement, panel of WTMs: Market regulator Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is likely to approve NSE’s settlement
application in the co-location case soon. As per sources, the regulator’s
High-Powered Advisory Committee (HPAC) on settlements and compounding has recommended
the exchange’s settlement application. NSE had filed a settlement application
with SEBI on June 20 last year, offering Rs 1387.39 crore to close the matter. Sources
within the legal fraternity suggest that the final settlement amount
recommended by HPAC could be around Rs 1,880 crore for resolving the
co-location and dark fibre cases.
(Moneycontrol)
RBI caps recurring payments
at Rs. 15,000 without OTP under new e-mandate framework: RBI has introduced a
consolidated e-mandate framework for digital payments, setting a clear
threshold of Rs. 15,000 per transaction for recurring payments without the need
for additional authentication such as OTP. The move aims to streamline
auto-debit systems while strengthening customer protection across cards, UPI,
and prepaid payment instruments (PPIs). Under the revised rules, customers can
register a one-time e-mandate using additional factor authentication (AFA).
Once approved, subsequent recurring payments up to Rs. 15,000 can be processed
automatically without requiring OTP each time. Transactions above this limit
will continue to require authentication, ensuring an added layer of security
for higher-value debits.
(Business Today)
Bajaj Housing Finance partners
with IMGC to provide mortgage guarantee based solutions to home buyers: Bajaj Housing Finance has
partnered with the India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to improve
access to affordable home loans through mortgage guarantees, specifically
targeting underserved and first-time homebuyers. IMGC is India’s first mortgage
guarantee company. This collaboration combines IMGC’s expertise in credit risk
protection with Bajaj Housing Finance Limited’s (BHFL) distribution and
last-mile lending capabilities. Their goal is to extend formal housing finance
to borrowers who are often excluded due to limited credit histories or informal
income profiles.
(Financial Express)
DBS Bank India
launches relationship banking for globally-mobile, emerging affluent Indians: DBS Bank India has launched DBS Aspire, a
new banking proposition targeting the emerging affluent segment with a total
relationship value of Rs. 10 lakh or a Rs. 2 lakh average savings balance. The
offering provides premium banking access, including a dedicated relationship
manager and zero forex mark-up on international spends, aiming to be a
long-term partner as customers grow their wealth.
(Economic Times)
RBI allows
issuers to map existing e-mandates if cards are reissued: The Reserve Bank on Tuesday allowed card
issuers to map existing e-mandates to reissued cards. In the consolidated
directions on digital payments governing the e-mandate framework, the central
bank directed issuers to provide details of the grievance redressal in a
post-transaction notification to the customer. The changes in instructions on
e-mandates were based on feedback from stakeholders, the RBI said. The notification
also said no charges shall be levied on customers for availing of the e-mandate
facility for recurring transactions, and an acquirer shall ensure compliance
with directions by merchants onboarded by them.
(Business Standard)
Gadkari pitches for E100
flex fuel vehicles to offset oil imports: Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin
Gadkari on Tuesday pitched for accelerating the shift to 100 per cent flex-fuel
vehicles (FFVs) in the backdrop of the ongoing West Asia conflict, saying
vulnerabilities in oil supplies make it imperative for India to push energy
self-reliance through higher ethanol use. The crux of the government’s evolving
fuel strategy, sources said, is that E20 (20 per cent ethanol) will continue as
the universal ‘monofuel’ available across the country, while higher ethanol
blends such as E25, E27, E35, E85 and even E100, will be introduced as optional
fuels for compatible vehicles, giving consumers the choice to opt for cheaper
blends depending on regional ethanol availability.
(Business Line)
India’s Seafood Exports Hit
All-Time High of Rs. 72,000 Crore: India’s seafood exports rose to a record Rs. 72,325.82
crore (US$ 8.28 billion) in FY 2025–26, with volumes reaching 19.32 lakh metric
tonnes, according to provisional data released by MPEDA. Frozen shrimp remained
the primary growth driver, contributing Rs. 47,973.13 crore (US$ 5.51 billion),
accounting for over two-thirds of total export earnings. Shipments of shrimp
grew 4.6% in volume and 6.35% in value, reinforcing its dominance in India’s
marine products export basket. The United States retained its position as the
largest export destination, with imports totalling US$2.32 billion. However,
shipments to the US declined by 19.8% in volume and 14.5% in value, reflecting
primarily the impact of reciprocal tariffs. This decline was offset by robust
growth in alternative markets such as China, EU and Southeast Asian countries.
Exports to China, the second-largest destination, rose 22.7% in value and 20.1%
in volume.
(PiB)
SBI moves Supreme Court
seeking review of spectrum ruling, flags impact on telecom insolvencies: The State Bank of India is asking the Supreme
Court to reconsider a recent ruling. The judgment prevents telecom spectrum
from being treated as an asset during insolvency. SBI warns this could
significantly impact banks and infrastructure financing. The bank argues the
ruling overlooks key issues for lenders. This decision affects recovery
prospects in various regulated sectors.
(Economic Times)
Odisha unveils India's
first platinum group metals extraction plant: Amid growing global attention
over critical minerals and intensifying competition to secure strategic
resources, Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has set up the country’s first pilot
plant for extracting platinum group metals (PGMs) from mineral ore. Set up at
the Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar, in
collaboration with South Africa’s mineral-technology institution Mintek, the
~10 crore pilot project, commissioned on Monday, is aimed at building India’s
first integrated ecosystem for beneficiation (the treatment of raw materials), smelting,
and refining of PGMs. The project assumes national significance because PGMs —
platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium, and ruthenium — are indispensable
for a range of sunrise and strategic sectors, including clean-energy
technologies, hydrogen fuel cells, electronics, catalytic converters, defence
systems, medical equipment, petrochemical processing, and advanced
manufacturing, besides jewellery.
(Business Standard)
India becomes
second-largest wind market in 2025, just behind China: BNEF: India became the largest wind market
outside China in 2025, surpassing the United States and Germany, according to
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The country commissioned a record 6.3
gigawatts (GW) of wind turbines in 2025, up 85 per cent from the previous year.
This record wind capacity addition propelled turbine maker Adani Wind to the
15th position globally. Adani Green Energy deployed more than 1 gigawatt (GW)
of wind turbines from its manufacturing division, Adani Wind, for a 30-gigawatt
renewable energy park under construction in Khavda, located in Kutch district
of Gujarat.
(Business Standard)
INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (IIP)
· The
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a composite indicator that measures the
short-term changes in the volume of production of a basket of industrial
products during a given period with respect to that in a chosen base period. In
India, the first official attempt to compute the IIP was made much earlier than
the first recommendation on the subject came at the international level. With
the inception of the Central Statistical Organization (now known as National
Statistics Office (NSO)) in 1951, the responsibility for compilation and
publication of IIP was vested with it.
· In
India, the eight core industries account for 40.27 per cent of the weighting of
items included in the IIP. The 8 core industries includes; Electricity, Steel,
Refinery products, Crude oil, Coal, Cement, Natural gas and Fertilizers.
·
The Index is used by
government agencies and departments such as the Finance Ministry and the RBI
for policymaking.
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 : 93.4404
INR
/ 1 GBP : 126.3252
INR
/ 1 EUR : 110.0167
INR
/100 JPY: 58.8300
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
79273.33 (+753.03)
NIFTY:
24576.60 (+211.75)
Bnk NIFTY: 57371.45 (+789.10)
Earth Day (or
International Mother Earth Day): April 22 is
celebrated annually as Earth Day (or International Mother Earth Day), a global
event focused on environmental protection, raising awareness, and taking action
against climate change and pollution. First held in 1970, it is now observed in
over 193 countries, with activities like tree planting, conservation efforts,
and sustainability education.
Historical
events: April 22 is
globally recognized as Earth Day (first celebrated in 1970) and marks
significant historical events like the 1915 German use of poison gas in WWI and
the 1996 NSE 50 index launch. Key Indian events include Subhash Chandra Bose
resigning from the Indian Civil Service (1921) and Admiral R.D. Katari becoming
the first Indian Navy Chief (1958)..
****Have a nice Day****
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