Business
Moody’s Cuts India GDP Growth Forecast To 6.1% For 2025
NEW DELHI: International research firm Moody’s Analytics has revised down India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.1% in 2025 from 6.4% in its March baseline, prompted by stiff new tariffs and tariff threats from the US. This anaylsis, however, was conducted before the US reciprocal tariffs were put in abeyance...
Retail Loans By NBFCs Set To Get Cheaper
MUMBAI: The non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) may soon offer retail loans at lower interest rates, following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) proposal to allow co-lending in non-priority sectors such as personal loans, auto loans and others. By partnering with banks under the co-lending model, NBFCs will be able...
Odisha, Assam, Tamil Nadu And Karnataka Steer Economic Recovery In FY20-FY25: India Ratings
NEW DELHI: Odisha, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were among the major states which spearheaded India’s recovery from pandemic lows during FY20- FY25, by witnessing a CAGR of over 6% in gross state domestic product (GSDP), India Ratings said in a report. India Ratings analysis of the latest GSDP...
RBI Slashes Repo Rate By 25 Basis Points To 6 Per Cent, Shifts Stance To ‘Accommodative’
MUMBAI: The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday unanimously lowered the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent, marking a second consecutive cut. It also changed its policy stance to “accommodative”, signalling the likelihood of further easing...
ADB Revises India’s FY26 Growth Forecast To 6.7 Per Cent Amid US Tariff Risks
NEW DELHI: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised downwards India’s GDP growth forecast for the financial year 2025-26 (FY26) to 6.7 per cent from the earlier 7 per cent in its April 2025 latest outlook report. “A major risk arises from US tariff levies on India’s and other...
RBI Expands Scope Of Co-Lending Arrangements To All Regulated Entities
MUMBAI: All regulated entities can now take part in colending, whose scope will extend beyond segments covered under priority-sector lending (PSL), according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Banks can enter into such arrangements with one another and not just with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Similarly, an NBFC...
Lower Crude Prices To Make Monetary Policy More Accommodative: CEA
NEW DELHI: Lower crude oil prices is likely to moderate inflation, creating space for more monetary policy accommodation, chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday cut interest rates by a quarter point and shifted from neutral to accommodative policy stance....
Govt To Amend Aadhaar Law To Align With Data Privacy Act
NEW DELHI: The government plans to amend the Aadhaar Act, 2016, to harmonise it with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has urged the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which manages Aadhaar to plug the loopholes in the law once...
REC Limited signs MoU with MMRDA
MUMBAI: REC Limited, a Maharatna CPSU under the Ministry of Power and a prominent NBFC, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to provide financial support of `1 lakh crore for infrastructure development in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The...
No Set Level On Rupee-Dollar Exchange Rate: RBI Chief
MUMBAI: Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday said the central bank does not target any level or band for the rupee-dollar exchange rate, but intervenes in forex market only when there is excessive volatility. Talking to reporters after the announcement of the April monetary policy, the Governor said...
Rupee Goes Lower Amid Global Turmoil
MUMBAI: The rupee extended its losing streak for the fourth straight session and settled 45 paise lower at 86.71 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, amid escalating tariff turbulence globally even as the Reserve Bank reduced key interest rate by 25 basis points as a growth-stimulus measure. Even...
India, Nepal Sign Pact, To Focus On Crop Production
KATHMANDU: India and Nepal on Wednesday signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in the field of agriculture and further deepen the partnership between the two countries. The agreement was inked by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Nepal’s Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ram Nath...
Chinese President Xi Jinping Pledges To Strengthen Ties With Neighbours Amid Trump’s Tariff War With China
BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday pledged to strengthen the strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by “appropriately” managing differences and enhancing supply chain ties as China’s tariff war with the US escalated. In his first public speech after US President Donald Trump’s steep global hike of tariffs, especially...
India-EU FTA Soon With Tariff Cuts On Merchandise
NEW DELHI: Faced with the deadline of 2025-end to conclude negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), India and the European Union (EU) are now considering completing the task in phases so that businesses on both sides can benefit from increased market access sooner. This could mean faster...
Climate Shocks Could Cause 6% Economic Loss In Asia-Pacific: UN Report
NEW DELHI: A new United Nations report warns that climate shocks could lead to annual economic losses (AAL) of at least 6 per cent in one-third of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, underscoring the region’s significant vulnerability to climate change. The report, titled Economic and Social Survey of Asia...
Centre Revises Norms For State Capex Loans
NEW DELHI: The Centre has issued new guidelines for the disbursal of Rs 87,000 crore, or nearly 60% of the Rs 1.5 lakh crore interest-free 50-year capex loans, to the state governments and union territories for FY26. The amount would be transferred to states and UTs largely as untied...
Banks May Write Off Stressed Loans Worth Rs 1.5 Trillion In FY26: ICRA
MUMBAI: Commercial banks in India are expected to write off bad loans worth Rs 1.51 trillion in the current financial year (FY26) to further clean up balance sheets, according to ICRA estimates. The rating agency also said bank credit growth in FY26 is expected to be around 10.8–10.9 per...
India Inflation In March Likely Steady After Four Months Of Decline: Reuters Poll
NEW DELHI: India consumer prices likely rose around the same rate in March as they did in February following four months of declining inflation, as a sharp rise in gold prices offset flat food prices, a Reuters poll showed. Food price rises had steadily moderated over the previous four...
