Reliance Infrastructure accounts seized over alleged FEMA violations and diversion of project funds abroad via shell companies.
The enforcement agency seized 13 bank accounts of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd holding Rs 54.82 crore for alleged contravention of FEMA, asserting that R Infra and its SPVs diverted funds from NHAI highway contracts through sham sub contracting arrangements and transfers to shell companies abroad; a summoned corporate principal did not depose.

OPTCL and NABARD agreement secures a long-term loan to fund new transmission projects and refinance costly debt.
NABARD extended a long-term loan of Rs 1,685.27 crore to OPTCL at a reduced interest rate of 7.75% per annum, with about Rs 900 crore allocated to new transmission projects and the remainder to swap higher-cost loans, constituting NABARD's first project financing to a State PSU in Odisha.

RBI draft requires disclosure of transaction costs for retail foreign exchange transactions; comments due by Jan 9, 2026.
The draft circular proposes that authorised dealers must disclose itemised transaction cost components-including remittance fees, the foreign exchange rate used and currency conversion charges-for foreign exchange cash, tom and spot contracts sold to retail users, building on prior requirements to provide mid market bid/ask prices in deal confirmations and term sheets.

Bank account holders declared fraud face written show cause procedures; dispute over need for personal oral hearings versus written responses.
The core issue is whether an oral personal hearing is required for account holders declared fraudulent under the RBI Master Directions, 2017. Banks contend the Directions envisage backend due diligence, issuance of show cause notices, and written opportunities to respond, and that mandating personal hearings would prejudice banks and impair regulatory integrity given the scale of fraud. Account holders counter that written responses alone may not satisfy natural justice and prevent adequate presentation of their case.

Gold and silver prices fell ahead of the Fed policy decision as markets weighed rate-cut expectations and bond yield pressures.
Gold fell Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,31,600 per 10 grams and silver fell Rs 4,500 to Rs 1,80,500 per kg as markets awaited the US Federal Reserve's policy decision. Traders focused on the Fed statement and Chair Powell's remarks because anticipated monetary easing and shifting US Treasury yields-driven by large bond issuance and fiscal/inflation concerns-could influence the US dollar and bullion prices.

Unclaimed financial assets campaign returns about Rs.2,000 crore to rightful owners through multi-regulator tracing and district camps.
The Government launched the "Your Money, Your Right" campaign to expedite settlement of unclaimed financial assets using a 3A Framework-Awareness, Accessibility and Action-through standardized SOPs, multilingual outreach and district-level assisted digital camps. Major financial regulators coordinated via existing asset-tracing platforms (UDGAM, Bima Bharosa, MITRA) to trace and resolve claims, resulting in roughly Rs. 2,000 crore returned in the campaign's first two months.

DBS named Global Bank of the Year 2025 for leadership and AI and blockchain-driven customer innovations.
DBS was named Global Bank of the Year 2025 by The Banker and won multiple regional and segment awards, recognized for technological innovation including AI-driven customer protection against financial scams and smart-contract work to speed cross-jurisdictional payments; the release also highlights DBS's Asia-focused footprint, broad service offering, high credit ratings, and social-impact activities through its foundation.

IDFC FIRST Bank launches FIRST WOW! Black: an FD-backed secured credit card with zero forex markup and UPI-enabled spends.
IDFC FIRST Bank's FIRST WOW! Black is an FD-backed secured credit card offering a physical Mastercard and a UPI-enabled RuPay virtual card on a single credit limit, with fully digital issuance from an FD of ?20,000. Key features include zero forex markup on international spends, differentiated reward point rates for everyday and UPI spends, travel and lifestyle benefits (lounge access, trip cancellation cover, insurance), a ?750+GST fee (waived on annual spends of ?1,50,000), and specific cash withdrawal and welcome-benefit mechanics.

Financial literacy outreach promotes responsible investing, fraud prevention and digital banking via a nationwide community educator programme.
Community-led and bank-run financial literacy initiatives promote safe banking, digital payments and consumer protection through CFLs, FLC camps, mandated monthly rural branch sessions, Financial Literacy Week and multimedia campaigns. Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority's Niveshak Didi program, partnered with a postal bank, has conducted extensive outreach and Phase II expands to nationwide camps focused on responsible investing, fraud prevention and digital banking while training women postal workers as community financial educators.

UPI recognized as world's largest real-time payment system, accounting for 49% of global transactions; PIDF supports expansion.
UPI is the world's largest retail fast-payment system by transaction volume, accounting for roughly 49% of global real-time payment transactions. Comparative data show India with 129.3 billion transactions. To promote adoption, authorities have deployed incentive schemes for low-value BHIM-UPI transactions, expanded RuPay UPI acceptance, and used the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund to subsidise POS and QR deployment in tier 3 to tier 6 centres, materially increasing merchant digital touchpoints.

Digital lending apps now face a regulated directory, mandatory data privacy and grievance rules, and mechanisms to block unauthorised apps.
The Reserve Bank has operationalized a Digital Lending Apps directory for Regulated Entities and issued the RBI (Digital Lending) Directions, 2025 imposing mandatory requirements on recovery, data privacy and customer grievance redressal for Regulated Entities, Lending Service Providers and Digital Lending Apps; unauthorised apps may be blocked from public access under the IT legal framework following prescribed procedural safeguards.

Rupee softened to 90.15 amid corporate and FPI dollar demand, Fed caution and RBI liquidity management.
Rupee depreciated by 10 paise to 90.15 against the US dollar as corporate, importer and foreign portfolio investor dollar demand combined with pre Fed caution; analysts flagged Fed expectations, softer dollar momentum and active Reserve Bank liquidity management as supporting a consolidation range of 89.20-90.30, while dollar index levels, lower oil futures, weak local equities, FPI outflows and US India trade talk uncertainty further influenced the exchange rate.

Bangladesh faces a fiscal crisis as tax revenue plunges and debt-servicing rises, creating mounting economic vulnerability.
Bangladesh faces fiscal deterioration as tax revenue fell from above 10% of GDP to about 7%, increasing dependency on borrowing and creating a "debt trap"; interest payments have become the second-largest budget item, external debt and debt-service burdens rose markedly, and a sharp increase in nonperforming loans has strained financial governance and investment prospects.

Rupee falls amid market pressures; RBI says it allows currency to find its level and may intervene.
The Reserve Bank does not operate a predefined band and permits the currency to be determined by market forces, while retaining the option of Currency Intervention to support orderly conditions; current downward pressure on the rupee stems from crude oil prices, importer dollar demand, and foreign institutional investor outflows, with potential offset from a weaker US dollar and central bank action.

Sensex falls below 26,000 amid FII outflows, RBI rate cut context and US Fed policy uncertainty.
Foreign institutional investor selling, within the FEMA and RBI context, depressed Indian equity benchmarks as investors booked profits and turned defensive ahead of an anticipated US Federal Reserve decision. Sensex fell below 26,000 and Nifty to 25,960.55 amid broad-based declines while DIIs provided partial support through net purchases; currency depreciation and rising global yields amplified volatility.

Rupee weakens amid oil price pressure, foreign fund outflows and policy uncertainty ahead of major central bank decision.
Rupee depreciation to a provisional close at 90.09 was driven by elevated crude oil prices, sustained importer demand for dollars, and net foreign fund outflows, coinciding with declines in domestic equity indices and a weekly reduction in foreign exchange reserves; the central bank reiterated a non-interventionist stance, refusing to target exchange rate bands and allowing market determination of currency levels amid contemporaneous policy expectations and trade negotiation uncertainty.

SmartRBI: analytics-driven risk based inspection services to prioritise inspections and enable predictive maintenance across industrial assets.
TU V Rheinland's SmartRBI is an analytics-driven Risk Based Inspection methodology that combines engineering expertise with intelligent algorithms and data models to prioritise equipment inspections by actual operating conditions. The service portfolio includes complete RBI studies, screening and prioritisation assessments, targeted inspection plans for specific degradation mechanisms, data gathering and validation, integration support for RBI software and periodic review and revalidation to maintain standards-aligned, audit-ready integrity management.

Monetary policy: repo rate cut to 5.25%, neutral stance maintained, inflation projections revised downwards.
The Monetary Policy Committee reduced the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent, adjusted the SDF to 5.00 per cent and the MSF/Bank Rate to 5.50 per cent, and maintained a neutral stance, citing materially eased headline CPI inflation driven by benign food prices and contained core pressures that provide policy space to support growth; one member preferred an accommodative stance.

Rupee reacts after RBI cuts repo rate and announces large OMO purchases plus a USD 5bn buy sell swap to boost liquidity.
The central bank cut the policy repo rate, announced open market purchases of government bonds up to Rs. 1 lakh crore and a three year USD/INR buy sell swap of USD 5 billion as liquidity measures intended to restore durable liquidity and reduce abnormal volatility, while stating it does not target a specific rupee level.

KIIFB masala bonds probe questions FEMA compliance over end use of funds amid political criticism.
The legal issue is whether KIIFB's issuance of masala bonds and the end use of proceeds complied with the Foreign Exchange Management Act and central bank guidelines; the Enforcement Directorate's show-cause notice alleges FEMA non-compliance concerning application of funds, while KIIFB and state officials maintain the bonds and expenditures followed prescribed regulatory procedures for state infrastructure financing.