XLRI establishes Rural Business Incubation Centre to support scalable, sustainable rural and agribusiness entrepreneurship across eastern India.
XLRI Jamshedpur established the XLRI Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (XCITE), a Rural Business Incubation Centre funded by a NABARD grant, to support early-stage agribusiness and allied non-farm enterprises across twelve states. The centre will provide a structured incubation ecosystem-mentorship, business development, market access, and financial linkages-to help rural enterprises scale, generate employment, and strengthen regional entrepreneurial capacity, formalised by a Memorandum of Agreement signed on December 19, 2025.

Genpact India compounding order: RBI accepted a one-time penalty after ED issued no objection to settlement.
RBI issued a compounding order settling alleged FEMA contraventions by Genpact India for a one-time payment of Rs 4.72 lakh, following the company's compounding application and the ED's provision of a no objection; this order terminated adjudication proceedings that had arisen from an October 2018 complaint alleging contraventions of about Rs 26 crore.

Monetary policy: repo rate cut to 5.25%, SDF 5.00%, neutral stance maintained to support growth.
The MPC unanimously reduced the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent, with SDF at 5.00 per cent and MSF/Bank Rate at 5.50 per cent, and decided to continue with a neutral stance. This action was taken after review of macroeconomic projections, surveys of confidence and inflation expectations, and an assessment that headline inflation was materially softer-driven chiefly by broad-based food price declines-while underlying inflation excluding precious metals remained contained; risks were judged to be evenly balanced.

NABARD exhibition in Patna promotes market access for rural artisans, featuring handloom, handicrafts and organic products.
A nine-day national-level exhibition in Patna provides market access and commercial support to rural artisans, farmers, and entrepreneurs by showcasing handloom, silk, handicrafts and organic products, aiming to connect producers with buyers and strengthen rural incomes through direct-market exposure and cooperative participation.

Tribal leader detention and SHG loan demands: protest urges immediate release and stricter regulation of microfinance institutions.
The article challenges an alleged arbitrary delay in verifying surety and executing a court-granted bail for a detained tribal leader, urging police to complete verification and effect release. It also records protest demands seeking interest-free loans to Self-Help Groups via public banks, branch-level SHG lending mechanisms, district and block grievance redressal cells, stricter oversight and regulation of microfinance institutions and NBFCs, and lawful settlement of displaced families consistent with the Forest Rights Act.

NABARD retirees protest delay in pension revision, seeking implementation of revised family pension and removal of benefit caps.
Retirees of NABARD, representing over 3,500 pensioners, are protesting delays in administrative implementation of post retirement benefit adjustments. They demand revision of pension for NABARD recruited employees retired on or before November 1, 2017; implementation of government approved revised family pension and removal of its upper limit; grant of full pension after 20 years' service; and pension fixation based on last drawn pay or a ten month average, arguing a July 21, 2023 order excluded certain pensioners and produced discriminatory treatment.

MUFG to acquire 20% stake in Shriram Finance, subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
MUFG Bank will acquire a 20% minority stake in Shriram Finance via preferential equity shares for Rs 39,618 crore, subject to shareholder approval, regulatory clearances and customary closing conditions; completion will make Shriram Finance an equity-method affiliate of MUFG and MUFG Bank and enable MUFG to appoint two directors.

Monetary policy: 25 bps repo cut to support growth while retaining a neutral, data dependent stance amid disinflationary trends.
The Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent while five of six members voted to retain a neutral stance to preserve flexibility for data-dependent action; one member preferred an accommodative stance. Members cited faster-than-anticipated moderation in headline and core inflation-driven largely by food price deflation and low core inflation excluding precious metals-as justification for supporting growth with the current easing, while keeping future moves contingent on incoming data and noting external risks to business sentiment.

Forex reserves rose to USD 688.949bn as foreign currency assets, gold, SDRs and IMF position all increased.
Reserve Bank of India weekly disclosure reports forex reserves at USD 688.949 billion for the week ended December 12, up USD 1.689 billion. Foreign Currency Assets rose by USD 906 million to USD 557.787 billion; gold reserves increased by USD 758 million to USD 107.741 billion; Special Drawing Rights grew by USD 14 million to USD 18.745 billion; and the IMF reserve position rose by USD 11 million to USD 4.686 billion. Foreign currency asset values reflect valuation effects of non US currencies.

Household finance conference examines lifecycle decision-making, savings, insurance roles, portfolio rebalancing, and housing finance disparities.
ISB and NBER hosted a two-day conference on household finance across the lifecycle focusing on consumption and savings, responses to financial windfalls, inflation-driven portfolio rebalancing, disparities in home loans, and the roles of deposit and health insurance in household financial stability, with research presentations and panels to inform policy and practice.

HSBC inaugurates Lucknow branch; regulatory approval enables planned expansion to multiple Indian cities including major commercial centres.
HSBC inaugurated a Lucknow branch as part of an authorised expansion after Reserve Bank of India approval earlier in the year; the Lucknow location is its 30th in India and the bank plans further branch openings across multiple Indian cities to enhance client access to domestic and cross-border banking services.

KIIFB Masala Bond show-cause: appeal challenges FEMA adjudication, penalty pre-determination, and permitted use of proceeds.
The dispute concerns a FEMA show cause notice alleging approximately Rs 467 crore in contraventions connected to KIIFB's masala bond issuance. Key issues are whether KIIFB must reply to the notice before seeking judicial relief, whether the enforcement agency pre-determined a penalty at the notice stage, the requirement to raise jurisdictional and factual objections before the Adjudicating Authority under FEMA, and the proper interpretation of the RBI ECB framework regarding use of bond proceeds for land acquisition versus development on state-owned land.

Japan's rate hike could push yen higher and unsettle global carry trades and crypto markets.
The Bank of Japan raised its policy rate to 0.75% and signalled further increases if the outlook remains unchanged, marking a move toward monetary policy normalisation after inflation rose above target. The hike is expected to support yen appreciation, undermine yen-funded carry trades, and cause global market repricing, with future BOJ actions to be guided by wage trends, inflation persistence, and incoming economic data.

Rupee strengthens to 89.96/USD as RBI intervention, corporate inflows and easing oil prices support stability.
The rupee strengthened to 89.96 per US dollar in early trade, supported by corporate dollar inflows, easing crude oil prices and likely Reserve Bank intervention. Market movements showed intra day swings and a recent breach of 91.00, while foreign institutional investor purchases and broader indicators-dollar index, Brent crude and domestic equities-framed the exchange rate dynamics. Commentary highlighted the RBI's use of foreign exchange reserves to curb excessive volatility and positioned the currency's weakness within historic patterns during growth phases under the FEMA/RBI policy framework.

The Valsad Mahila Nagrik Sahakari Bank faces RBI directions prohibiting customer withdrawals and restricting lending and investments.
The Reserve Bank has issued Directions restricting The Valsad Mahila Nagrik Sahakari Bank from granting or renewing loans, making investments, incurring liabilities, disposing property, and permitting withdrawals from depositor accounts (though set-off of loans against deposits is allowed), effective for six months to address liquidity and supervisory concerns and to protect depositors, with eligible depositors able to claim deposit insurance up to Rs 5 lakh.

Indian rupee supported by RBI dollar sales to curb weakness; traders eye US data, FII flows and crude.
Reserve Bank of India intervention by selling dollars to stem rupee weakness is the operative mechanism cited for the INR's appreciation to 90.20. Market participants link exchange rate movements to reserve intervention, FII flows, US economic releases, central bank decisions abroad and Brent crude prices. Analysts foresee a negative bias from FII outflows and trade-deal delays and set an anticipated USDINR trading band, while a policy commentator describes reserve use as a tool to limit excessive volatility rather than to fix the currency level.

Nucleus Software unveils FinnOne Neo GA 8.5 enhancing digital lending compliance, onboarding, and AI-driven decisioning capabilities.
Nucleus Software released FinnOne Neo GA 8.5 as a future-ready digital lending platform that strengthens compliance readiness, accelerates digital onboarding and credit decisioning, and improves performance, security, automation, and ecosystem integration to enable institutional scalability across multiple international markets.

Rupee rises to 90.26 as RBI reportedly sells dollars to support the currency amid market pressures.
The rupee appreciated 12 paise to close at 90.26 against the US dollar after reported Reserve Bank of India sales of dollars to prevent further weakness. Brent crude provided support while a firmer dollar index and potential FII outflows limited gains. Analysts warned of downside risk from delayed trade talks and advised watching US economic data and global central bank decisions; USDINR was expected to trade between 90 and 90.60.

India's Top 200 self-made companies ranked by enterprise value, using market cap and comparative valuations as of Sept 25, 2025.
A ranking of the 200 most valuable India-headquartered companies founded on or after 2000, using market capitalisation for listed firms and multiple-based or recent funding valuations for unlisted firms as of 25 September 2025; exclusions include state-owned entities and foreign subsidiaries, with financial inputs from latest annual or audited statements and noted reliance on investor-reported valuations and prevailing industry multiples.

Indian rupee weakness is not inherently worrying; RBI intervenes to curb volatility while trade talks with the US and EU proceed.
Sanjeev Sanyal says rupee weakness alone is not a sign of economic trouble; high-growth economies often see exchange-rate weakness while the RBI uses reserves to curb excessive volatility. He links recent depreciation to US tariff hikes but notes it has not caused domestic inflation. India is pursuing parallel trade talks with the US and EU-one for a framework to address high tariffs and another for a comprehensive bilateral agreement-making trade-offs to protect national interest and remaining close to finalising a US framework.