Issue: 1177
· Indian stock markets
witnessed a sharp sell-off on March 27, 2026, with the Sensex plunging 1,690
points (2.25%) to 73,583 and the Nifty dropping 486 points (2.09%) to 22,819.
· The Indian rupee fell to a
new all-time low, crossing the 94-per-dollar mark, driven by energy-driven
inflation risks.
· Government to borrow ?8.2
trillion via bonds in first half of FY27.
· CCI approves MUFG Bank’s Rs. 39,618
crore investment in Shriram Finance.
· GIFT City launches Women in
Fintech Accelerator to support women-led fintech startups.
· Former SBI MD Arijit Basu
appointed part-time chairman of IndusInd Bank.
· Energy price pressures may
push India CPI inflation to around 4.5% in FY27 (ICICI Bank report).
· Global markets fall; Wall
Street hits six-month low due to Middle East tensions and oil price surge.
· Oil prices surge above $110
per barrel due to Strait of Hormuz supply concerns.
· IMF economic review
highlights slow growth outlook for some European economies.
Unemployment rate falls to
3.1% in 2025: The
unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years and above in the usual status was
3.1% in 2025, down from 3.2% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2022, according to the
Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025 released by the Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday. However, the unemployment rate
using the current weekly status approach increased to 8.9% in 2025 from 8.2% in
2024. MoSPI said the CWS approach determines an individual’s activity status
based on the seven days preceding the survey date. Under this method, a person
is considered unemployed in a week if they did not work even for one hour on
any day during the reference week but sought or were available for work for at
least one hour on any day during the same period. However, under the usual
status approach, the activity status is determined based on the reference
period of the last 365 days preceding the date of survey.
(Financial Express)
Govt. of India to raise Rs
8.20 trillion via bonds in April–September, less front-loaded borrowing plan
indicates relief for yields: The Central government will
raise 8.20 trillion rupees ($86.38 billion) through bonds between April and
September, amounting to 51% of its annual borrowing plan, the finance ministry
said on Friday. The share is slightly lower than market expectations, as
traders had anticipated borrowing to be between 53% and 56% in the first half
of the fiscal year starting April 1. Borrowing through ultra-long
bonds of 30-to-50-year duration will be lowered to 24.9%, down from 35% in
April-September 2025 and 30% in October-March. At the same time, the government
has increased the share of benchmark 10-year bonds to 29% from 26.2% last year,
and raised the auction size for these papers to 340 billion rupees from 320
billion rupees.
(Financial Express)
Monetisation Reserve Fund
should be considered: Parliamentary Panel: As monetisation proceeds play
a significant role in raising funds for capital expenditure, a parliamentary
panel has suggested that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)
explore the creation of a Monetisation Reserve Fund. The fund can host proceeds
from monetisation that are in excess of annual targets, providing a buffer in
years where market sentiment is less conducive, the Department Related Standing
Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said in its report.
(Financial Express)
Japan commits $1.73 billion
in loans for four projects in India: Japan has extended an Official
Development Assistance loan of 275.86 billion yen ($1.73 billion) to India for
four key projects spanning urban transport, healthcare and agriculture. The
funding aims to boost infrastructure, improve public services and support
sustainable development.
(Economic Times)
Qatar's Doha Bank to bid
India 'goodbye': Doha
Bank is exiting its branch operations in India. The Qatari bank will close its
Mumbai and Kochi branches after more than a decade. It will now operate solely
through a representative office in the country. This strategic shift was
approved by the bank's board of directors. Doha Bank had launched its India
operations in June 2014. The board of directors
approved to shift the bank's business strategy in India from branches to a
representative office, and to proceed with the gradual exit of the operations
of the bank's branches in India, subject to obtaining the necessary approvals
from the relevant regulatory authorities," the bank said in a statement.
(Economic Times)
Former SBI MD Arijit Basu
appointed part-time chairman of IndusInd Bank: Arijit Basu is the new
part-time chairman of IndusInd Bank. Shareholders have approved his
appointment. Basu has a strong background in banking. He previously chaired HDB
Financial Services. He also held leadership roles at State Bank of India and
SBI Life Insurance. Sunil Mehta will step down as chairman on January 30. The
bank thanked Mehta for his service.
(Economic Times)
Deposits continues to lag
credit growth, credit-deposit ratio at record high: Banks' deposit growth
continued to lag credit growth with the gap widening as much as 300 basis
points as of March 15, Reserve Bank of India showed. Deposits mobilisation grew at
10.8% year-on-year rate while advances rose 13.8%. In comparison, credit had
expanded at 14.5% rate a fortnight back, while deposits had grown at 11.9%.Consequently,
the credit-deposit ratio rose to above 83% for the first time ever even as
credit expansion slowed for the fortnight to March 15 as compared to preceding
fortnight amid concerns over the West Asia crisis.
(Economic Times)
Fino PB
withdraws resolution seeking shareholders' nod to reappoint CEO: Fino Payments Bank has withdrawn a
proposal seeking shareholders’ approval to reappoint Rishi Gupta, its managing
director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), citing the need for due
process and corporate governance practices. Gupta was granted bail on Thursday,
nearly a month after his arrest in connection with alleged goods and services
tax (GST) evasion.“The candidature of Mr Rishi Gupta for his reappointment as
MD & CEO of the bank remains unaffected and is in no manner withdrawn,
abandoned or prejudiced by this action,” the bank said in an exchange filing.
(Business Standard)
RBI imposes
penalties on Union Bank, Central Bank, Bank of India, Pine Labs: RBI on Friday imposed monetary penalties
on Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Bank of India, and Pine Labs for
non-compliance with regulatory norms. The penalties amount to ?95.40 lakh on
Union Bank of India, ?63.60 lakh on Central Bank of India, ?58.50 lakh on Bank
of India, and ?3.10 lakh on Pine Labs. In the case of Union Bank of India, the
RBI’s supervisory evaluation, based on its financial position as of March 31,
2025, revealed that the bank failed to credit (shadow reverse) amounts related
to unauthorised electronic transactions to certain customers’ accounts within
10 working days of notification. Bank of India was penalised for
non-compliance with RBI directions on Priority Sector Lending (PSL) — Targets
and Classification, and Interest Rate on Deposits. Central Bank of India faced action for
deficiencies in adherence to RBI guidelines on KYC and Financial Inclusion,
particularly relating to BSBDA. Pine Labs was found to be non-compliant
with RBI directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs). The RBI noted that
the company issued several full-KYC PPIs without completing proper KYC
verification of customers.
(Business Standard)
SEBI bars ‘Trading Tip
Guru’ Yash Garg, orders Rs 93 lakh refund in illegal advisory case: SEBI has barred Yash Garg, proprietor of Yash
Trading Academy, from the securities market and directed him to refund Rs 92.98
lakh collected from investors through unregistered investment advisory and
portfolio management services. In its order issued on Friday, the regulator
found that Garg was running multiple Telegram channels in the name of Yash
Trading Academy/ ‘YTA’ (www.yashtradingacademy.com) offering paid trading calls
and ‘account handling’ services without obtaining mandatory registration as an
investment adviser or portfolio manager.
(Moneycontrol)
Centre cuts special
additional excise duty on petrol, diesel by ?10; windfall gain tax reintroduced: Offering relief to Oil Marketing Companies
from under-recoveries due to rising crude oil prices due to the West Asia
conflict, the Finance Ministry on Friday reduced the Special Additional Excise
Duty (SAED) on petrol and diesel by ?10 per litre, with immediate effect, while
re-introducing windfall gain tax on export bound diesel and Aviation Turbine
Fuel (ATF) by refiners. Besides, the Government has also mandated domestic
refiners to supply 50 per cent of exported petrol and 30 per cent of exported
diesel to the domestic market.
(Business Line)
JICA plans to scale up
private investment operations in India: Japan International Cooperation Agency plans
to boost its private sector investments in India. The agency will focus on
projects with significant development impact. This includes sectors like
energy, agriculture, and women's empowerment. JICA aims to attract more private
capital for impact investments. The agency is also providing substantial loans
for key infrastructure projects in India.
(Economic Times)
NFRA finds gaps in the
audit work of top firms: The National Financial Reporting Authority
(NFRA) on Tuesday released inspection reports finding gaps in the practices of
six audit firms, including the affiliates of Deloitte and Grant Thornton. The
NFRA report on Walker Chandiok & Co (WCCL), an affiliate of Grant Thornton
International (GTIL), said that even though GTIL has significant influence and
control over WCCL through its policies, procedures and key decision-making, the
firm was not ready to accept that it’s part of the GTIL network. This stance,
as per NFRA, undermines the independence requirements mentioned under Section
141 and Section 144 of the Companies Act, 2013.
(Financial Express)
WMA Limit for Government of
India for April - September 2026: RBI, in consultation with GoI,
has decided that the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the first half
of the financial year 2026-27 will be ?2,50,000 crore. RBI may trigger fresh
floatation of market loans when the Government of India utilises 75 per cent of
the WMA limit. Reserve Bank of India, in consultation with the Government of
India, retains the flexibility to revise the WMA limit at any time taking into
consideration the prevailing circumstances. The interest rate on WMA/Overdraft
will be at Repo Rate for WMA and Two percent above the Repo Rate for Overdraft
(RBI Press Release)
Finance Commission nudges
CAG to override states on subsidy classification: The Sixteenth Finance
Commission (FC-16) has indicated that the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India (CAG) may not be bound by how states classify subsidies, urging the
government auditor to ensure a “uniform and comparable” presentation across
states. In a letter to the CAG, reviewed by Business Standard, the Commission
said that although classifying all expenditure “in black and white” may not be
possible, consistency in reporting is essential. It added that since subsidies
are presented in a separate statement in Finance Accounts, the auditor “may not
be bound by how states are classifying expenditure under subsidies and
transfers while deciding what goes in this statement and what doesn’t”. The
issue has drawn significant attention and public debate in recent times as
states often announce a spate of freebies, particularly before Assembly
elections.
(Business Standard)
POSITIONAL GOODS
·
Products
that confer status and are thus both limited in supply and carry premium
prices. Examples include properties in highly desirable residential areas,
fancy sports cars and upmarket hotels.
·
The existence of positional
goods helps explain why rising living standards have not been accompanied by a
substantial reduction in working hours; people work hard so they can feel a cut
above the rest.
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 : 94.5988
INR
/ 1 GBP : 126.1986
INR
/ 1 EUR : 109.1594
INR
/100 JPY: 59.2600
EQUITY INDEX
Sensex:
73583.22 (-1690.23)
NIFTY:
22819.60 (-486.85)
Bnk NIFTY: 52274.60 (-1433.50)
Historical
events: March 28 holds
significant events in both Indian and world history, marking milestones in
politics, technology, and sports. In India, this day is notable for the
formation of the Morarji Desai government in 1977, marking the end of the
Emergency era, and for the Indian Independence League being founded in Tokyo by
Rashbehari Bose in 1942. In 2015, badminton star Saina Nehwal became the
world’s number one female player, while 1998 saw the dedication of the PARAM
10000 supercomputer to the nation. Historically, March 28th witnessed the initiation
of the Fasli era by Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1556..
****Have a nice Day****
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