Issue: 1201
· Credit growth in India surges
38% in FY26, driven by RBI’s accommodative policy stance.
· RBI cancels licence of Paytm
Payments Bank, initiates winding-up process over regulatory non-compliance.
· Senior citizen FD rates touch
up to 8.5%, boosting fixed deposit attractiveness amid market volatility.
· JPMorgan promotes 135 new
Managing Directors amid strong global banking performance.
· Telangana to raise ?6,300
crore monthly via bonds under RBI’s new borrowing framework.
· ank of England warns of
potential global stock market correction due to overvalued assets.
· IMF flags global growth
slowdown risks due to inflation and geopolitical tensions.
India’s ultra-rich count
jumps 63% in 5 years, now home to 19,877 bllionaires: Knight Frank: India’s ultra-wealthy
population is expanding at a pace that’s hard to ignore. The country now has
19,877 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) in 2026 — those with assets
exceeding $30 million (Rs 283 crore or more) — and that number is projected to
jump 27% to 25,217 by 2031, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2026.
London-based Knight Frank is the world’s largest privately owned real estate
consultancy. In just five years, India’s UHNWI base has surged 63.4%, pushing
it to sixth place globally and raising its share of the world’s ultra-rich to
2.8%..
(Financial Express)
India's forex reserves up
$2.36 billion, led by foreign currency assets: India’s foreign exchange
reserves increased by $2.36 billion to $703 billion during the week ended April
17 on the back of a rise in foreign currency assets, the latest data from the
Reserve Bank of India showed. Foreign currency assets increased by $1.48
billion during the reported week. Meanwhile, gold reserves rose by $790 million
to $122 billion during the same period. The Special Drawing Rights were up by
$78 million at $18.8 billion during the reported week. India’s reserve position
with the International Monetary Fund was up by $14 million to $4.87 billion.
(Business Standard)
JPMorgan downgrades India
to 'neutral' on valuations, earnings risks: JPMorgan has downgraded Indian
equities to ‘neutral’, citing elevated valuations, rising earnings risks, and
limited exposure to next-generation technology. “While India’s structural
growth story remains strong, multiple idiosyncratic factors have made other EM
markets appear more attractive to us on a risk/reward basis,” said Rajiv Batra,
head of Asia and co-head of global emerging markets equity strategy at JPMorgan
in a note on Friday. The brokerage has turned more constructive on Asian
technology stocks, upgrading Taiwan to ‘overweight’ amid a renewed artificial
intelligence (AI) rally. JPMorgan has set a base-case target of 27,000 for the
Nifty 50, with a bull-case of 30,000 and a bear-case of 20,500..
(Business Standard)
RBI cancels banking licence
of Paytm Payments Bank: The
Reserve Bank of India on April 24 said it has cancelled the banking licence
issued to Paytm Payments Bank. Business has been done in
manner harmful to depositors' interest, said RBI, adding that Paytm Payments
Bank failed to comply with norms stipulated in the payments bank licence issued
to it. RBI also said it would make an application for winding up of the bank
before the High Court.
(Moneycontrol)
FM Nirmala Sitharaman flags
AI cyber threat, asks banks to act: Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman on Friday said the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has been directed
to help banks counter cybersecurity threats arising from Anthropic's Claude
Mythos AI. Banks will discuss investments, technologies and the use of AI to
tackle the emerging AI-borne threat, Sitharaman said after inaugurating State
Bank of India's Maharashtra circle local head office in Pune. IBA's efforts
will be led by SBI chairman Challa Srinivasulu Setty.
(Economic Times)
HDFC Bank alerts clients on
card swipe for overseas deals: HDFC
Bank has alerted its customers to refrain from swiping credit, debit, and forex
cards to buy stocks, float companies and own properties abroad. In recent times
many resident individuals, banking with various financial institutions, have
used cards to carry out such international capital account
transactions-oblivious that they were violating foreign exchange and banking
rules. Some probably did it consciously to dodge the tax collected at source
(TCS) or sidestep restrictions on overseas forex remittance. The bank, in a
customer mailer this week, has unambiguously stated that "as per
regulatory guidelines capital account transactions outside India are not
permitted" using HDFC cards. Opening offshore bank accounts are also
covered under such transactions.
(Economic Times)
RBI imposes
penalty on Bandhan Bank, Muthoot Housing Finance Company: RBI has imposed a Rs 41.8 lakh penalty on
Bandhan Bank for non-compliance with certain norms, including directions on
Know Your Customer. While imposing a penalty on Bandhan Bank, the RBI said the
bank failed to carry out periodic review of risk categorisation of certain
categories of accounts, and had sanctioned director-related loans."The
action is based on deficiencies in statutory and regulatory compliance and is
not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement
entered into by the bank with its customers," the RBI said. In another
statement, the central bank said it has slapped a penalty of Rs 80,000 on
Muthoot Housing Finance Company for non-compliance with certain directions
issued by the RBI on 'Fair Practice Code'.
(Economic Times)
Jan Dhan
deposits cross Rs 3.09 lakh crore: he
deposits in accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
crossed Rs 3.09 lakh crore as of April 8, indicating a shift from mass account
opening to active savings and usage, especially in rural and semi-urban India.
According to data shared by BLS E-Services, one of India’s largest business
correspondent (BC) networks, the total number of PMJDY accounts stood at 580.6
million as of April 8. This marks a healthy increase from 552.8 million in
April last year and 520.1 million in April 2024. Deposits have grown
consistently, rising from Rs 2.62 lakh crore in April last year and Rs 2.34
lakh crore in April 2024 to the current Rs 3.09 lakh crore level.
(Financial Express)
Reliance Ind Q4 net dips
12.6% sapped by energy business: Reliance Industries reported a 12.6 per cent fall
in consolidated net profit in the March quarter, well under analyst estimates,
the bottomline under pressure due to weakness in its energy businesses, which
offset strong earnings growth in Digital Services and positive contribution
from Retail. Consolidated revenue for the quarter rose nearly 13 per cent
year-on-year to Rs. 2.99 lakh crore, while EBITDA remained largely flat at Rs. 48,588
crore. EBITDA margin shrank 200 basis points to 14.9 per cent. For the full year,
however, India’s most valuable company delivered record financials. Annual
revenue rose 9.8 per cent to Rs. 10.76 lakh crore, while EBITDA increased 13.4
per cent to Rs. 2.08 lakh crore. Profit after tax jumped 16 per cent to Rs. 80,775
crore, supported by strong contributions from telecom and retail, along with
gains from investments.
(Business Line)
Sensex, Nifty fall over 1%
for third straight session on surging oil prices, massive selling in IT stocks: The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 999.79 points,
or 1.29 per cent, to settle at 76,664.21. During the day, it plunged 1,260.13
points or 1.62 per cent to 76,403.87. Unabated foreign fund outflows, a
negative trend in global markets amid prolonged conflict and continued
disruption in the Strait of Hormuz added to the gloom. The wider gauge NSE
Nifty slumped 275.10 points, or 1.14 per cent, to end at 23,897.95. From the
Sensex constituents, Infosys dived 7.09 per cent after its revenue growth
forecast for FY27 came in lower than market expectations. On the other hand,
HCL Tech, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Asian Paints
and ICICI Bank were also among the major laggards. Trent, Bajaj Finance, State
Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the winners.
(Business Line)
Google to invest up to $40
billion in Anthropic amid AI race: Report: Alphabet Inc. is set to invest up to $40
billion in Anthropic, according to a Bloomberg report. This will mark one of
the largest funding commitments in the fast-escalating global AI race. The move
deepens Alphabet’s ties with Anthropic even as the two compete in advanced
artificial intelligence development. The report said Alphabet has committed an
initial $10 billion in cash at a $350 billion valuation. An additional $30
billion investment is contingent on Anthropic meeting performance milestones
and expanding its computing capacity, according to the report. Anthropic, the
creator of the Claude model family, has seen demand surge sharply, with its
annualised revenue run rate crossing $30 billion this month, up from roughly $9
billion at the end of 2025.
(Financial Express)
Employees cannot be denied higher pension due to employer’s
lapse; EPFO must verify claims: Bombay High Court: The Bombay High Court has ruled that
employees cannot be denied pension benefits solely because their employer failed
to submit the necessary records. It emphasised that the Employees' Provident
Fund Organisation must assess all available evidence and carry out its own
independent verification before rejecting any such claims. “The Court strongly criticised the EPFO’s
mechanical rejection of claims based solely on the absence of specific
documents, emphasising that pension is not a matter of discretion but a right
earned through long years of service. Reiterating that social welfare
legislation must be interpreted to advance, and not defeat, employee
entitlements, the Court directed the EPFO to undertake a holistic verification
based on all available materials.
(Moneycontrol)
GST cut to 5% for household insecticide recommended:
A joint report by EY and the Home Insect Control Association
(HICA) has recommended slashing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on household
insecticides from 18% to 5%, citing their critical role in preventing
mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, and chikungunya. The report,
titled “GST rationalization for household insecticides: A public health
imperative,” stated that lowering the tax rate, along with introducing a clear
and distinct product classification under the GST framework, would
significantly improve affordability in rural and low-income households, which
are the most vulnerable to vector-borne illnesses.
(Financial Express)
Sebi proposes easing rules on handling unpaid client securities
framework: The Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) on Friday proposed changes to the framework governing the handling
of clients’ unpaid securities by trading and clearing members. At present,
unpaid securities are required to be transferred to a separate client account
or pledged in favour of brokers, with strict timelines for either release to
clients upon payment or liquidation in case of default. These provisions were
introduced earlier to prevent misuse of client assets and ensure segregation of
securities. The latest proposals aim to revisit these norms to make the system
more efficient while maintaining safeguards for investors.
(Business Standard)
DARKWEB
·
The dark web or darknet is a
part of the World Wide Web only accessible through special software or tools.
This keeps its users and visitors hidden because they often exchange illegal
and stolen information, such as people’s personally identifiable information.
This information may include Social Security numbers, phone numbers, and credit
card numbers.
·
The dark web is also used in
certain extortion-related processes. It is common to observe data from
ransomware attacks on several dark web sites, for example data sales sites or
public data repository sites.
·
Commercial darknet markets
mediate transactions for illegal goods and typically use Bitcoin as payment.
Bitcoin is one of the main cryptocurrencies used in dark web marketplaces due
to the flexibility and relative anonymity of the currency.
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 : 94.2958
INR /
1 GBP : 126.9467
INR /
1 EUR : 110.1362
INR
/100 JPY: 59.0200
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
76664.21 (-999.79)
NIFTY:
23897.95 (-275.10)
Bnk
NIFTY: 56089.75 (-215.25)
Historical events: April 25th marks
significant milestones in history, including the transition to color television
in India (1982), the 1915 Gallipoli landing during WWI, and the first
identification of DNA’s structure (1953). Globally recognized as World Malaria
Day, this day also commemorates Elbe Day, marking the 1945 meeting of US and
Soviet troops.
****Have a nice Day****
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