Issue: 1200
· India’s private sector
activity rose sharply in April, with HSBC Composite PMI increasing to 58.3 from
57.0.
· Sensex fell over 850 points
and Nifty slipped below 24,200, on rising crude oil prices and inflation
concerns.
· Global crude oil prices
climbed above $100/barrel, driven by escalating tensions in the Middle East.
· ECB is expected to raise
interest rates in June, as inflation in the eurozone rose to 2.6%, mainly due
to the energy shock.
· Manufacturing PMI rose to
55.9, indicating robust factory growth.
· Reserve Bank of India
announces ?32,000 crore G-Sec auction, including fresh issuance and re-issuance
of government securities for April 24.
US sets preliminary
antidumping duties on solar imports from India, Indonesia and Laos: The U.S. Commerce Department
on Thursday announced preliminary antidumping duties on solar cells and ?panels
?imported ?from India, Indonesia and
Laos, the latest in a string of tariffs imposed over ?a decade ?on cheap solar
imports from ?Asia. According to a fact sheet
posted on the Commerce Department's website, the agency calculated preliminary
duty rates, known ?as dumping margins, of 123.04% for ?imports from India, 35.17% for
imports from Indonesia, and 22.46% for imports from Laos.
(Economic Times)
West Asia crisis: Supply
woes could trigger demand shock, says RBI Bulletin: Supply dislocations arising
out of the West Asia conflict, which is close to two months now, can turn into
demand shock that needs careful assessment, said an article on the State of the
Economy in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) monthly bulletin released on
Thursday. Supply disruptions and weather-related uncertainties also increased
the upside risks to inflation, though it contained within the tolerance band,
the article added. The India Meteorological Department has forecast that
southwest monsoon in 2026 is likely to be “below normal” for the first time
since 2023 at 92 per cent of the long-period average. “Possible second-round
effects, with the supply shock transforming itself into demand shock, also
warrant careful and continuous assessment,” the article said. It highlighted
that the temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran has, however, provided
some breather to the global economy.
(Business Standard)
Rupee breaches 94 to the
dollar to hit a three-week low on crude surge: The rupee weakened for the
fourth consecutive trading session to breach the 94 per dollar mark on
Thursday, tracking the rise in crude oil prices amid uncertainties around the
West Asia crisis, dealers said. The local currency settled at 94.11 per dollar,
the lowest since March 30, against the previous close of 93.80 per dollar. “Driven
by high hedging dollar demand and a broader shift towards safe-haven assets,
the Indian rupee has weakened past the 94 level against the greenback. Central
bank interventions failed to arrest the slide as a simultaneous rally in crude
oil and the US dollar exerted additional downward pressure. In the near term,
the rupee retains its bullish momentum, with support around 93.80 per dollar
and resistance at 94.60 per dollar,” HDFC Securities said.
(Business Standard)
Union Bank January-March
PAT up 6.6% YoY, core income moderates: Union Bank of India’s net
profit for the quarter ended March was up 6.6% on year to Rs 5,316, on the back
of lower provisions. The bottom line for the public sector bank was pegged at
Rs 4,249 crore as per Bloomberg estimates. The growth in the net profit was
hindered due to decline in the bank’s net interest income and a rise in
slippages. The net interest margin
moderated to 2.64% as against 2.76% a quarter ago.
(Financial Express)
RBI tightens capital norms
for non-bank PPI issuers; clamps down on small wallets: RBI has proposed stricter
capital requirements for non-bank prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers and
tightened norms governing low-KYC “small” wallets, as part of a comprehensive
overhaul of its wallet framework. In the new draft master direction on PPIs
released on Wednesday, the central bank said that non-bank applicants must have
a minimum net worth of Rs 5 crore at the time of seeking authorisation and
scale it up to Rs 15 crore by the end of the third financial year, after which
the minimum net worth must be maintained on an ongoing basis. The draft also
tightens the regulatory perimeter around Small PPIs — wallets issued with
minimum customer due diligence. While the existing caps of Rs 10,000
outstanding balance and Rs 10,000 monthly debit remain, the RBI has clarified
that only one small PPI can be issued to a customer at any point in time, and
no fresh small PPI can be issued after expiry of the earlier one. For
full-KYC PPIs, the draft retains the Rs 2 lakh cap on outstanding balance and
monthly debits.
(Financial Express)
Govt extends tenure of Bank
of India, Bank of Baroda MDs by 3 years: The government has extended
the terms of Rajneesh Karnatak, MD and CEO of Bank of India, and Debadatta
Chand, MD and CEO of Bank of Baroda. Both will continue in their roles for
three more years. These extensions are effective from April 29, 2026, and July
1, 2026, respectively.
(Economic Times)
FM Nirmala
Sitharaman meets heads of banks on AI risks following concerns over Anthropic's
Mythos:
Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman convened a meeting with bank heads to address
Artificial Intelligence (AI) risks, particularly concerning Anthropic's Mythos
model and its potential to compromise financial system data security. Banks
have been urged to implement preemptive measures to safeguard their systems,
customer data, and funds following discussions on AI's implications for the
financial sector. According to a senior finance ministry
official, the ministry and the RBI are studying the extent of risks that the
Indian financial sector faces from this breach.
(Economic Times)
Outward
remittances under RBI's LRS rise 19.06% in February 2026: Outward remittances under the Liberalised
Remittance Scheme (LRS) of RBI registered a strong double digit growth for the
first time in 2025-26 (FY26). The
remittances grew 19.06 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in February 2026 to $2.34
billion supported by healthy growth in remittances across segments. In February
last year, the remittances under the scheme stood at $1.96 billion. According
to the monthly data, international travel which accounted for over 55 per cent
of the total outward remittance by Indians grew 19.8 per cent Y-o-Y to $1.31
billion against $1.09 billion in February 2025.
(Business Standard)
Infosys Q4 FY26 results:
Net profit rises 21% YoY to Rs 8,501 crore; revenue up 13%: IT major Infosys Ltd on Thursday reported a
strong performance for the March quarter, with consolidated net profit rising
20.87 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 8,501 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with
Rs 7,033 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue from operations
for the quarter grew 13.38 per cent YoY to Rs 46,402 crore, up from Rs 40,925
crore in the year-ago period, reflecting steady business momentum. On the cost front, total
expenses increased 13.28 per cent to Rs 36,764 crore in the March 2025 quarter,
as against Rs 32,452 crore a year earlier.
(Business Today)
HSBC downgrades Indian
stocks for 2nd time in a month: In less than a month, HSBC Securities has
downgraded Indian equities for the second time. This was triggered by the
market’s less attractive risk-reward due to concerns caused by the West Asia
crisis such as a likely shoot up in energy prices and hit on earnings growth.
The brokerage now has an an ‘underweight’ view compared to its ‘neutral’ stance
earlier. Thailand and Indonesia are the other Asian
countries that HSBC has an ‘underweight’ view on. On the other hand, it has an
‘overweight’ stance on Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore and a ‘neutral’
view on five others – Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and Taiwan.
(Financial Express)
Cabinet nod to Rs
2.5-lakh-cr credit guarantee plan soon: The Union Cabinet is likely to
give its nod to the Rs 2.5-lakh-crore credit guarantee scheme soon, to protect
small businesses from the adverse impact of the war in West Asia. The scheme is
expected to help businesses stay afloat, meet fixed expenses such as rent and
utilities, and avoid layoffs by ensuring continued access to credit. The
conflict, now in its eighth week, is creating headwinds for fiscal parameters
and the economic growth rate in FY27, with many agencies trimming their growth
forecasts by 0.5 to 1 percentage point. The proposed credit scheme
could guarantee up to 90% of loans of as much as Rs 100 crore, providing
lenders with the confidence to extend fresh credit, sources said.
(Financial Express)
IBBI proposes 11
key changes: Govt set to allow mid-CIRP sale of guarantor assets: The government may allow creditors to
sell or transfer assets of a guarantor even while insolvency proceedings are
underway. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed a
framework under which a creditor that has already taken possession of a
guarantor’s asset can ask the resolution professional (RP) to value it and
place a proposal before the committee of creditors (CoC) for its
transfer—subject to approvals and treatment of proceeds. At present, the sale
or transfer of a guarantor’s asset is not permitted once the corporate
insolvency resolution process (CIRP) or personal insolvency proceedings have
begun.
(Financial Express)
NSE changes
framework for SME listings, tweaks metric definition: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has
changed the formula it uses to assess the financial health of small and medium
enterprises seeking a listing on the SME platform NSE Emerge. In a circular,
NSE said it is revising the definition of free cash flow to equity (FCFE) — a
metric it made mandatory for SME listing applicants in September 2024. Under
the new formula, proceeds from the issuance of share capital, including equity,
preference shares and securities premium, will now be counted as a positive
component in the FCFE calculation. The earlier formula did not include this
line item.
(Business Standard)
FOREIGN TRADE ZONE (FTZ)
· A
Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), also known as a free trade zone, is a designated area
within a country where goods can be imported, stored, processed, or
manufactured, and then re-exported, without being subject to customs duties or
other regulations until they enter the country's domestic market.
· FTZs
are geographically defined areas within a country that are treated as if they
are outside the country's customs territory for the purpose of trade.
·
The primary goal of FTZs is to
encourage international trade and investment by providing businesses with a
duty-free environment for certain activities.
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 : 94.0802
INR
/ 1 GBP : 126.9568
INR
/ 1 EUR : 110.1428
INR
/100 JPY: 58.9300
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
77664.00 (-852.49)
NIFTY:
24173.05 (-205.05)
Bnk NIFTY: 56305.00 (-819.45)
National
Panchayati Raj Day: April 24th is
primarily celebrated as National Panchayati Raj Day in India, commemorating the
73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1993, which brought local self-governance
to rural areas. First celebrated in 2010, this day highlights decentralized
decision-making and empowers Gram Panchayats across the nation.
Historical
events: April 24 marks
National Panchayati Raj Day in India (since 1993) and the birth anniversary of
cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (1973). Globally, it commemorates the launch of
the Hubble Space Telescope (1990), the start of the Armenian Genocide (1915),
and the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI (2005).
****Have a nice Day****
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