Issue: 1152
Centre says 'fiscal
consolidation' key reason behind slashing exporters' RodTEP scheme benefits: Exporters across sectors are
urging the Central government to roll-back the recently notified changes in the
RoDTEP scheme, as they say the abrupt change will cause losses on their current
orders and decrease competitiveness of their exportsGovernment officials privy
to the matter say the restructuring of RoDTEP is a part "fiscal
rationalisation" of the scheme. However, any roll-back of the newly
announced measures is not under consideration at the moment, they say. DGFT on
February 23 notified that “RoDTEP benefits shall be restricted to 50 percent of
the notified rates and value caps with immediate effect,” triggering calls for
reconsideration from export bodies. RoDTEP was launched in 2021 as a
reimbursement for exporters for taxes which were not refunded through other
mechanisms. It had replaced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) to
align with WTO norms..
(Moneycontrol)
Outward remittances under
LRS decline for second straight year in FY26: Outward remittances under the Liberalised
Remittance Scheme (LRS) declined for the second consecutive year in FY26
(April-December), falling 4.1 per cent to $21.37 billion from $22.28 billion a
year ago. This follows a sharper 10.1 per cent contraction in FY25, after
remittances had peaked at $24.8 billion in FY24.
(Business Line)
India’s GDP may grow 8.1%
in Q3FY26 despite global headwinds: SBI report: The Indian economy is expected to remain
resilient, with gross domestic product likely expanding about 8.1% in the third
quarter of the current financial year, according to a report by State Bank of
India released Tuesday. High-frequency indicators suggest strong growth
momentum in Q3FY26, it noted. Rural consumption remained firm, buoyed by
positive signals from farm and non-farm activities, while urban consumption
picked up consistently, aided by fiscal stimulus and higher spending since the
last festive season. "Despite global headwinds, the Indian economy
has maintained strong growth momentum," the report said.
(Economic Times)
IMF calls for US fiscal
consolidation to bring down 'too big' current account deficit: The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday
called on the United States to reduce its growing fiscal deficit as the best
way to bring down current account and trade deficits that it views as too
large, sharing some concerns with the Trump administration. IMF Managing
Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters following the IMF's annual review
of U.S. policies that "the conclusion is that the current account deficit
is too big, to make it very simple for the audience. And that is recognized by
the administration.".
(Reuters)
NaBFID raises Rs
5,000 crore via maiden CD issuance: National
Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) on Wednesday raised
Rs 5,000 crore through one-year certificate of deposit (CD) at a coupon of
6.95%. This is the first such issuance by NaBFID. Market participants said the
pricing was better compared to other all-India financial institutions (AIFIs). The
fact that the issue was reportedly oversubscribed and closed at a tighter
spread indicates that NaBFID is being perceived not merely as a new issuer, but
as a high-quality, quasi-sovereign credit with a clear policy mandate
(Financial Express)
Kotak Mahindra AMC crosses
Rs 6L cr in AUM: Kotak
Mahindra AMC has crossed the milestone of Rs 6 lakh crore in its assets under
management (AUM). The AMC said the milestone reflects the collective confidence
of investors across the country. In a span of 14 months, the AUM has grown from
Rs 5 lakh crore to Rs 6 lakh crore, it said in a release. The
AMC’s monthly SIP book stood at over ?1,500 crore as of January while total SIP
AUM was at Rs 1,07,112 crore as of February 18. The fund house manages about
14.8 million folios serving over 7.4 million unique investors across India.
(Financial Express)
Banks' liquidity buffers
shrink as deposits lag credit growth: Banks are confronting mounting
liquidity pressures as loan portfolios expand faster than deposit bases. As a
result, liquidity coverage ratios have weakened across a broad set of
institutions. Even with abundant liquidity in the wider financial system, banks
are struggling to bring in new deposits, pushing up near-term funding costs. Liquidity
coverage ratios (LCR) across banks declined in the third quarter as strong
credit growth outpaced deposit accretion. While short term borrowing rates
remained subdued due to a largely surplus system liquidity, the record-high
credit-deposit ratio at 82% underscores the persistent strain on banks'
liquidity buffers.
(Economic Times)
Gold loans pip personal
loans in retail segment in Q3FY26, shows data: Gold loans have
overtaken personal loans to emerge as the second-largest retail loan segment
after housing at the end of the December quarter (Q3FY26). As of December 2025,
the gold loan portfolio stood at ?16.2 trillion, marginally higher than
personal loans at ?15.9 trillion. Housing loans continued to dominate the
retail credit landscape at around ?43 trillion during this period. According to
Macquarie Capital data, gold loans as a proportion of consumption loans have
doubled since Q1FY24.
(Business Standard)
Yes Bank's 5K forex card
customers hit with $280K fraudulent transactions: Around 5,000
customers of Yes Bank’s multi-currency prepaid forex card, issued in
partnership with BookMyForex, were hit by a spate of fraudulent transactions in
the early hours of February 24, 2026, and transactions worth $280,000 were
approved during the incident, the bank said on Wednesday. The bank, however,
managed to decline 688 unauthorised transaction attempts, safeguarding roughly
$100,000, it said. “The bank is working with the card network to raise
chargeback to ensure that the impacted customers do not face any financial
loss,” it said in a statement late on Wednesday.
(Business Standard)
NBFCs' bank licence set to
figure at DFS meet on Thursday as reforms loom: The Department
of Financial Services (DFS) will hold a meeting of shadow banks on Thursday in
which their future as potential banks would be taken up. The DFS communique on
the agenda to self-regulatory organisations, which has been seen by Business
Standard, listed the following: “Governance reforms to include better
leadership rotation and clarity on non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) as
potential banks.” It also mentions the ‘introduction of a comprehensive reform
index for NBFCs.’
(Business Standard)
As solar exports face
near-term hit from Trump's 126% duty, manufacturers to double down on home
market:
The US
decision to slap a 126 percent duty on Indian solar imports is likely to
disrupt exports in the near term, which will prompt manufacturers to double
down on domestic capacity and diversify markets, industry players said on
February 25. On February 24, the US
commerce department set a preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) of 126 percent
on solar cells and modules imported from India, claiming the manufacturers
benefited from government subsidies. A leading solar PV modules manufacturer, Waaree
Energies said the company remains committed to expanding localised manufacturing
in the US but also diversifying its supply-chain to build resilience.
(Moneycontrol)
NSE IX launches ‘Global
Access’ platform; allows easy access to overseas markets for Indian retail
investors:
Marking a
significant step in India’s effort to connect domestic investors with
international capital markets, the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) on
Wednesday said it has soft launched a Global Access platform, enabling Indian
investors to directly trade in equities, debt and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The platform will initially go live with access to the US markets, with plans
to expand to as many as 30 international markets over the next three-six months. The Global Access
platform has been designed to facilitate outbound investments under the
Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) framework of the Reserve Bank of India,
which permits resident individuals to remit up to $250,000 per financial year
for overseas investments. Funds for investments can be remitted through a
Gift City-based bank account linked to the platform.
(Business Line)
Housing prices in Jaipur,
Kanpur, Chennai drive All India House Price Index up 1.2%: The All India House Price
Index (HPI) rose to 115.6 in Q3 (October-December) FY2026, from 114.2 in the
previous quarter (Q2), reflecting a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth of 1.2
per cent, driven by rise in housing prices across major cities such as Jaipur,
Kanpur and Chennai, according to the Reserve Bank of India. The HPI is based on
transaction-level data received from registration authorities in 18 cities –
Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kanpur,
Kochi, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune, Ghaziabad, Thane, Gautam Buddha
Nagar, Chandigarh and Nagpur.
(Business Line)
Prime Minister addresses
the Israeli Parliament - Knesset: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed a
Special Plenary of the Knesset in Jerusalem. He is the first Indian Prime
Minister to address the Israeli parliament. He expressed gratitude for
being bestowed with the "Speaker of The Knesset” medal, which he dedicated
to the enduring friendship and shared democratic traditions of the two
countries. He offered India’s support to
all efforts that contribute to durable peace and stability in the region. In
this context, he highlighted India’s firm support for the Gaza Peace Initiative
endorsed by the UN Security Council. Noting the ongoing collaboration between
India and Israel in the plurilateral arena, he called for deeper interaction
between the two countries in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor
[IMEC] and the I2U2 frameworks.
(PiB)
Centre mandates sale of E20
petrol with minimum RON 95 from April 1: The government has mandated
the sale of petrol with up to 20 per cent ethanol and a minimum Research Octane
Number (RON) of 95 across all states and Union Territories from April 1, 2026. The
oil ministry in a February 17 notification, said, "the central government
hereby directs that oil companies shall sell ethanol-blended motor spirit
(petrol) with percentage of ethanol up to 20 per cent as per the Bureau of
Indian Standards specifications and having minimum Research Octane Number (RON)
of 95, in states and the Union Territories". The central government can
allow exceptions in special situations, for specific regions and for a limited
time. Ethanol is made from sugarcane, maize, or grain. It is renewable,
domestically produced and has cleaner burning than pure petrol.
(Business Standard)
BAIT AND SWITCH
§ The
practice of advertising a particular outcome based on the user’s action but
deceptively serving an alternate outcome.
§ Illustrations:
(i) Advertising a lower interest rate initially and charging a higher interest rate
at the time of actually applying for a loan, at times accompanied by non-disclosure
of processing fees and other charges upfront. (ii) Advertising a higher interest rate in
savings accounts, without specifying the requirement of minimum balance for the
same. (iii) Nudging customers to make
more number of transactions to receive cashbacks / rewards, whereas the fine
print imposes certain additional conditions for actually availing the cashback
/ rewards.
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 : 90.9502
INR
/ 1 GBP : 123.0144
INR
/ 1 EUR : 107.3594
INR
/100 JPY: 58.4400
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex: 82276.07 (+50.15)
NIFTY: 25482.50 (+57.85)
Bnk NIFTY: 61043.35 (-3.95)
Historical events: February 26 marks
significant milestones, including the 2019 Balakot airstrike by India, the 1966
death of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and the 1993 World Trade
Center bombing. Globally, it commemorates Napoleon's 1815 escape from Elba, the
1935 start of the Luftwaffe, and the 1991 launch of the first web browser.
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