Presidential engagement: President to attend RBI commemorative closing ceremony, representing state presence at central bank event.
President Droupadi Murmu will travel to Mumbai and will grace the closing ceremony of the Reserve Bank of India's commemorative year, providing formal state representation at the central bank's event; the announcement notes arrival the evening before and attendance the following day.

ATM withdrawal fees risk undermining financial inclusion by incentivising excess withdrawals and burdening low-income beneficiaries.
The RBI has authorised banks to charge fees for ATM withdrawals beyond a monthly limit, allowing banks to impose charges for excess cash withdrawals. This regulatory change is criticised for increasing transactional costs and for its likely disproportionate impact on low-income and cash-dependent welfare beneficiaries, undermining objectives of financial inclusion and imposing greater burdens on economically vulnerable account-holders.

Cronyism and regulatory mismanagement alleged to trigger banking crisis and widespread workplace harassment in private banks.
Cronyism and regulatory mismanagement are alleged to have caused a banking sector crisis by enabling preferential loan write offs and unethical lending, leading private banks to adopt profit driven practices that compromise employment standards. The article reports patterns of abrupt terminations without due process, dismissals during medical leave, forced transfers, and retaliation against staff who exposed improper lending, with two reported suicides linked to these workplace practices.

Regulatory permission to raise ATM charges prompts criticism that banks are being turned into collection agents increasing consumer fees.
The regulatory change permits banks to raise ATM cash withdrawal charges beyond the free monthly entitlement while retaining a specified number of free transactions at own-bank and other-bank ATMs; political critics cite this change as increasing household banking costs and highlight a suite of bank fees - minimum-balance penalties, inactivity fees, statement and SMS charges, loan processing and pre-closure fees, NEFT and demand-draft charges, and KYC update fees - alongside concerns about reduced transparency in aggregated fee data.

Doctor Loan financing offers cashback rewards and rapid disbursal under a limited-time Loan Fest promotion for medical professionals.
Bajaj Finserv's Doctor Loan provides unsecured financing in multiple variants (Term, Flexi Term, Flexi Hybrid) with up to 96 months tenure, a fully digital application process, and rapid disbursal within 48 hours to fund clinic setup, equipment, or working capital. A limited-time Loan Fest promotion adds tiered cashback rewards for a capped number of successfully disbursed doctor loans each promotional month, with cashback credited to the lender's digital wallet following loan activation and subject to terms and eligibility distinctions for new and existing customers.

Government securities auction: re-issue of two dated securities via multiple-price method with non-competitive allotment and when-issued trading eligibility.
Re-issues of two dated government securities will be sold by price-based auction using the multiple-price method, with the issuer able to retain additional subscriptions. Auctions will be conducted electronically via the Reserve Bank of India E-Kuber system on the scheduled date, with separate submission windows for non-competitive and competitive bids, results announced the same day, and payment due on the stipulated settlement date. Up to five percent of each issue is reserved for eligible non-competitive bidders; securities are eligible for When Issued trading per RBI guidance.

Foreign exchange violations probed over cross-border receipts for adult content services, triggering FEMA searches and seizures.
Allegations concern cross border receipts for adult content services routed to a Cyprus based operator and collected by an India based company and its promoters, triggering a probe under FEMA. Searches were executed, cash seized, and foreign inward remittances identified as payments for adult content services disguised as advertising or market research, including transfers to overseas accounts and cash withdrawals in India via international debit cards.

Currency appreciation driven by foreign inflows boosts local unit, but import demand and oil prices may curb further gains.
Rupee appreciation was driven mainly by renewed foreign fund inflows and a rise in forex reserves, while equity weakness, higher crude oil prices and month-end importer dollar demand limited sharper gains; traders expect near-term movement to be shaped by capital flows and incoming US economic data within a defined trading range.

Government receipts and devolution: consolidated through February show fiscal receipts versus estimates and increased transfers to states.
Consolidated accounts up to February 2025 show total receipts at 80.9% of the revised estimate, led by Tax Revenue (Net to Centre), with Non Tax Revenue and Non Debt Capital Receipts also contributing; transfers to states as Devolution of Share of Taxes exceed the prior year. Total expenditure is 82.5% of the revised estimate, split between Revenue and Capital Accounts, with interest payments and major subsidies comprising substantial portions of Revenue Expenditure.

Current account deficit rises due to higher merchandise trade deficit, moderating from previous quarter in latest quarter.
The current account deficit increased to US$ 11.5 billion in Q3:2024 25 from US$ 10.4 billion year on year, driven principally by a larger merchandise trade deficit, while sequentially it moderated from a larger deficit in the preceding quarter; on an April-December year to date basis the deficit widened to US$ 37.0 billion, mainly due to the expanded merchandise trade shortfall as shown in the official balance of payments release.

Doctor Loan Offer with expedited disbursal and time limited cashback for qualifying online applicants under the Loan Fest.
A special Doctor Loan programme offers unsecured lending with multiple product structures, repayable over tenors up to 96 months, 100% digital application, and promised disbursal within 48 hours. A time limited Loan Fest rebate awards cashback to qualifying first disbursed applicants each month of the offer window, payable to the lender's wallet within 90 days after successful loan activation, subject to online application and standard terms and conditions.

Foreign exchange reserve management: reserve composition and valuation shifts reflect central bank interventions and volatility control.
Aggregate foreign exchange reserves rose in the latest reporting week due to increases in foreign currency assets and gold reserves, while SDRs and the IMF reserve position fell slightly. Valuation effects from non US currency holdings influenced foreign currency assets. The RBI's foreign exchange market interventions, undertaken to reduce rupee volatility, and reserve revaluation dynamics are identified as key drivers, illustrating active reserve management and the multi component structure of external buffers.

ATM withdrawal fee cap raised; banks may charge an increased per-transaction fee beyond free monthly transactions from May.
Reserve Bank permits banks to raise the ATM withdrawal fee cap for transactions beyond free monthly usage, while preserving free entitlements of five transactions at customers' own bank ATMs and three (metro)/five (non metro) free transactions at other-bank ATMs; the instructions apply mutatis mutandis to cash recycler machine withdrawals, and banks may charge the prescribed maximum once free limits are exhausted.

Reserve Bank leadership meeting with the President underscores institutional engagement and protocol following recent gubernatorial assumption.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank met the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan; the President's office published a photograph of the meeting, and the Governor's recent assumption of office is noted as contextual information about the incumbent.

Tariff jitters dent market sentiment as global weakness and FII flows shape early trading activity.
Equity benchmarks opened lower on weak global trends and concerns over US reciprocal tariff threats, with selling among major index constituents and gains in some defensive stocks. Foreign institutional investor net buying provided support, while market focus shifted to the upcoming central bank monetary policy decision and the corporate fourth quarter results as key near term influences; a modest decline in the global oil benchmark was also noted.

Government borrowing plan sets first-half issuance across multiple maturities with dated securities, Sovereign Green Bonds, switching and greenshoe options.
Government borrowing plan for the first half of FY 2025-26 sets the portion of annual gross market borrowing to be raised through dated securities and Treasury Bills, allocates issuance across a structured maturity profile including Sovereign Green Bonds, and provides for weekly auctions, switching and buyback operations and a reserved greenshoe option to smooth the redemption profile.

Government securities issuance calendar published with retail reservation, issuance flexibility, and greenshoe option for additional subscriptions.
The government published an indicative issuance calendar for dated securities April-September 2025, listing weekly auction windows and security-wise allocations including Sovereign Green Bonds. Auctions will include a non-competitive bidding facility reserving five per cent for specified retail investors. The government and the central bank may modify the calendar, amounts, maturities or instrument types and may exercise a greenshoe option to retain additional subscriptions per security. Switch auctions will occur monthly, and all auctions follow the General Notification terms.

Treasury bill auction schedule may be modified for market conditions, subject to general notification terms.
Notification sets a calendar of weekly auctions and issue dates for 91 day, 182 day and 364 day Treasury Bills for the quarter ending June 2025, with notified allocations and aggregated quarter totals, and provides that the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, may modify notified amounts and timing as warranted by funding needs or market conditions, subject to the terms of the governing General Notification and market notice via press release.

Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes focuses enforcement and coordination to curb digital financial frauds and enhance investor awareness.
Implementation and enforcement coordination focused on the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes framework for Sikkim, with stakeholders sharing market intelligence, using the Sachet portal for reporting, and reviewing law enforcement recoveries. Concurrently, regulators described investor awareness programs and customer grievance redress measures aimed at preventing digital financial frauds and strengthening interagency cooperation for detection, reporting, recovery, and enforcement.

Gold price surge driven by geopolitical and trade-policy risk boosts safe haven demand ahead of key US economic data.
Gold prices in the domestic market rose, with both 99.9% and 99.5% purity grades gaining and domestic futures approaching record levels, propelled by global risk sentiment, trade-policy concerns following new US tariffs, expectations of weaker US economic growth, and heightened geopolitical tensions driving safe-haven demand; analysts also cited central bank accumulation and imminent US economic data and central bank commentary as key near-term market drivers.