Credit card payment flexibility supports seasonal shopping and travel through eligible EMIs, rewards, tracking tools and conditional merchant benefits. Credit-card spending features include conversion of eligible purchases into EMIs, selected no-cost EMI options, reward points, cashback, merchant discounts and payment flexibility. Travel-related benefits may include domestic airport lounge access, travel-booking discounts, fuel-surcharge waiver and anniversary-linked rewards. The AU 0101 application enables transaction tracking, balance and interest-rate monitoring, EMI conversion and bill-payment management. Features and offers are subject to change, customer eligibility, internal policies and partner-merchant terms.
Foreign-exchange market conditions weakened the rupee as stronger dollar and crude prices offset support from reserve growth and inflows. Foreign-exchange market conditions saw the rupee weaken against the US dollar in early trading, influenced by a stronger dollar and higher global crude oil prices. Foreign institutional equity inflows and increased foreign-exchange reserves moderated pressure on the rupee. Market attention remained focused on developments in West Asia and the Reserve Bank of India, alongside movements in the dollar index, crude oil prices and domestic equity markets.
GI-tagged Mithila Makhana export facilitation expands sea-route market access while supporting quality compliance and farmer-linked value chains. Export facilitation for GI-tagged Mithila Makhana enabled the first commercial sea-route shipment from Bihar to Australia. APEDA, in association with the Bihar agriculture department, supported market access, coordination, capacity building and stakeholder engagement. The export model is intended to improve farmer price realisation, require adherence to global quality standards, and strengthen growers, processors and exporters. A separate HS Code for Makhana has taken effect under the Finance Bill, 2025, supporting product-specific trade classification.
Startup ecosystem support expands through digital payments, cloud access, AI innovation, investment readiness, governance support and global market programmes. DPIIT has entered into strategic MoUs to support DPIIT-recognised startups through payment infrastructure, entrepreneurship development, cloud technology, mobility innovation, investment readiness and global-market access. Eligible startups may receive payment and cloud support, technical training, mentorship, startup formalisation assistance, market and investor connections, AI and mobility enablement, and programmes addressing governance, financial readiness, compliance and international expansion. The collaborations promote innovation across digital payments, clean energy, artificial intelligence, climate technology, advanced manufacturing, mobility and automotive technology.
UPI transaction charges remain unavailable for consumers and person-to-person payments, while limited threshold-based merchant MDR may be considered. Proposed amendment of section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 is intended to support UPI sustainability, technological advancement and resilience. Consumer payments and person-to-person transactions are to remain free. Any future merchant discount rate would apply only to limited merchant transactions above a threshold, at a nominal rate, while most merchant transactions remain free. The framework supports investment in cybersecurity, fraud prevention and infrastructure, alongside a self-sustaining and inclusive digital-payment ecosystem.
Fair competition cooperation in renewable energy markets advances knowledge-sharing and evidence-based enforcement across interconnected digital and energy markets. BRICS competition authorities adopted a Joint Statement strengthening cooperation to promote fair competition, including in renewable energy markets. Cooperation focuses on dialogue, knowledge-sharing and consideration of cross-border competition challenges in digital markets, emerging technologies and the energy transition. Competition enforcement is to remain principled and evidence-based, supporting efficiency, consumer welfare, innovation and merit-based competition. A collaborative renewable-energy competition study identified evolving market dynamics and areas for future cooperation.
Cost optimisation in public finance strengthens investment decisions, risk allocation, indigenous manufacturing and value-driven government expenditure through specialised financial expertise. ICoAS cost optimisation supports public financial management through prudent resource utilisation, financial oversight and improved cost management across government. Its role includes supporting indigenous manufacturing, better investment decisions, efficient public expenditure and maximum value for public spending. With greater private-sector participation and Public-Private Partnerships, ICoAS officers are expected to promote cost efficiency, appropriate risk allocation and sound project structuring. Capacity building emphasises integrity, financial modelling, data visualisation, analytical frameworks and artificial intelligence for improved public-finance management.
Co-operative development financing would expand through direct assistance, share-capital participation and wider operational powers for sectoral support. National Cooperative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 proposes to broaden the Corporation's mandate to promote co-operative development. It would permit direct loans and grants to co-operative societies and other entities engaged in co-operative development, where funds are used for co-operative purposes. With Central Government approval, the Corporation could participate in the share capital of such entities. The proposals also expand the meaning of foodstuffs, remove geographical restrictions for industrial-goods assistance, and provide additional functional powers.
GST compliance failures and electricity subsidy controls raise allegations of financial irregularities and potential losses to the public exchequer. Allegations based on a Comptroller and Auditor General report identified purported GST compliance failures involving outstanding tax liabilities, e-way bills generated after cancellation of GST registrations, limited bill scrutiny, non-compliance, and turnover mismatches. The allegations also concerned electricity subsidies extended to consumers with prolonged zero bills or apparent non-residence, presenting these issues as possible financial irregularities and losses to the public exchequer.
Money-laundering prosecution complaints allege fund diversion through shell entities, credit-facility evergreening, layered transactions and fictitious project expenditure. Money-laundering prosecution complaints allege that funds from toll-road projects and credit facilities were diverted through group companies, contractors, shell entities and conduit accounts. In the toll-road matter, allegedly sham or back-dated subcontracting arrangements and subsequent documentation were used to portray transfers as genuine project expenditure. In the credit-facilities matter, fresh facilities were allegedly used to repay, rotate and evergreen earlier liabilities rather than for sanctioned end-use, with funds layered and presented as legitimate business expenditure or receipts. Attached assets are sought to be confiscated as alleged proceeds of crime.
Direct Benefit Transfer pension disbursement replaces cooperative-bank doorstep delivery, while preserving home payments for beneficiaries unable to use bank accounts. Direct Benefit Transfer of social security and welfare pensions to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts is intended to replace cooperative-bank doorstep delivery, except for bedridden and similarly situated beneficiaries. The change addresses delays in remitting undistributed pensions, deficient record updates and reconciliation, duplicate payments, delivery incentives, and compliance with Direct Benefit Transfer norms. Criticism focuses on beneficiary access to linked commercial-bank accounts, possible minimum-balance deductions, exclusion of cooperative banks, and the effect on doorstep-delivery workers.
Engineering business growth supported Raymond's first-quarter performance, with export expansion, capacity investment and net-debt-free financial flexibility. Raymond Limited reported unaudited first-quarter FY27 growth in total income, EBITDA and profit before tax before exceptional items, while remaining net-debt-free with a net cash surplus. Its Engineering business comprises Precision Technology & Auto Components and Aerospace & Defence. Growth in the former was attributed to export expansion, operating leverage, product mix and cost reductions. Aerospace & Defence growth was linked to production for global OEMs, portfolio expansion and increased capacity, although margins were affected by targeted research and development investment. Forward-looking statements remain subject to regulatory, political, economic and technological risks.
Savings account selection requires comparison of effective interest, fees, digital service, access, and individual banking needs. Savings-account selection should compare effective interest returns under slab-based rates, recurring operating charges and the customer's actual banking needs. Net value depends not only on advertised rates but also on relevant minimum-balance, card, ATM, alert and transfer fees. Digital reliability, customer support, branch availability and ATM access should be assessed according to the customer's average balance, cash use, transfer frequency, travel patterns and need for in-person assistance. The suitable account is one that matches real banking behaviour.
Urban cooperative bank regulation promotes licensing, governance, compliance support and cybersecurity measures to strengthen stability and depositor confidence. Urban cooperative banks are encouraged to recognise regulatory support through liberalised branch opening, doorstep banking, demand drafts, life certificates, dedicated regulatory coordination, enhanced gold-loan limits, one-time settlements and progress towards on-tap licensing. Sound governance is material to sectoral stability, while small-borrower lending is presented as a comparatively safe lending segment. The umbrella body can support member banks through technical expertise, compliance assistance, cybersecurity solutions and participation in a security operations centre to strengthen depositor confidence.
Korean food export promotion combines buyer consultations, regulatory guidance and consumer experiences to support entry into Indian and South Asian markets. Korean food export promotion in India and South Asia combined business consultations with consumer-facing activities. Individual meetings connected Korean exporters with regional buyers and generated memoranda of understanding for products including frozen gimbap, ginseng wine and kombucha. Exporters received on-site guidance concerning non-tariff barriers, including food import customs clearance and certification requirements. Preparatory online sessions addressed import procedures, regulatory matters and consumer trends, while consumer events promoted Korean food through tasting, retail and experiential activities.
Illegal immigration enforcement prioritises dismantling entry, documentation and employment networks while requiring citizens to report information through police channels. Illegal immigration enforcement involves continuous identification and verification operations, coordination with relevant officials, and confidential investigation of networks facilitating entry, identity documentation, accommodation and employment. Enquiries extend to intermediaries, contractors, Aadhaar procurement and verification practices, rather than focusing only on apprehended individuals. Citizen vigilantism, moral policing and social-media targeting of suspected migrants are discouraged because they may compromise investigations; information should instead be given through proper police channels.
Technology, transparency and governance strengthen urban cooperative banks through modern customer services, depositor protection and cooperative-sector support. Technology adoption, transparency, sound governance and modern customer services are identified as necessary for urban cooperative banks to remain competitive. Banks are encouraged to join the sector's umbrella organisation and self-regulatory body, which provides capital, information-technology infrastructure and liquidity support. Protection of depositors' money remains a regulatory responsibility, while banks are expected to improve governance, train staff, adopt technology and enhance customer-centric services. Customer prosperity and reduced perception gaps between the central bank and urban cooperative banks are emphasised as measures to strengthen the sector.
Authorised Dealer Category-II licensing expands permissible FEMA current account and foreign trade transaction services for cross-border payment customers. An Authorised Dealer Category-II approval under the Foreign Exchange Management (Authorised Persons) Regulations, 2026 enables Paul Merchants to undertake additional permissible non-trade current account transactions under FEMA, excluding gifts and donations, and foreign trade transactions within the applicable per-transaction limit. The approval supports foreign exchange and cross-border payment services, including overseas remittances for education, medical treatment, travel, and conference or event participation.
Integrated investor claim portal modernisation advances digital KYC, streamlined verification, stakeholder-informed safeguards, and efficient investor claim settlement services. Integrated IEPFA Portal 2.0 is proposed to modernise investor claim processing through digital KYC, pre-filled Form IEPF-5, entitlement search, and a simplified e-Verification Report filing workflow. Stakeholder feedback included Aadhaar eKYC address validation, KYC for authorised representatives, entitlement-letter validation checks, bulk DSC and eSign functionality, integration of approved IEPF Form-4 data, lower-value share valuation using NSE and BSE data, and alerts for frequent address changes to prevent fraud.
Foreign capital inflows supported the rupee despite geopolitical uncertainty, oil-price pressures, and volatile global market sentiment. Foreign capital inflows supported a marginal strengthening of the rupee against the US dollar despite global risk aversion arising from uncertainty surrounding negotiations affecting the Strait of Hormuz. Higher crude oil prices and weak domestic equity sentiment remained relevant pressures. Near-term currency movement was expected to depend on developments in the negotiations, weekend decisions, US employment data, the dollar index, crude oil prices, and the reported increase in foreign exchange reserves.
The Government has been concerned about the impact of the global financial crisis on the Indian economy and a number of steps have been taken to deal with this problem.
The first priority was to re-assure the people of the stability of the financial system in general and of the safety of bank deposits in particular. To this end, steps were taken to infuse liquidity into the banking system and also to address problems being faced by various non-bank financing companies. These steps have ensured that the financial system is functioning effectively without suffering the kind of loss of confidence experienced in the industrialised world.
Having assured stability of the system, the Government has focussed its attention on countering the impact of the global recession on India's economic growth. On the monetary side, the RBI has sought to pump sufficient liquidity into the banking system to enable bank credit to meet the expanded requirements of the economy keeping in mind the contraction in credit from non-bank sources. Banks have been provided adequate liquidity through a series of reductions in the CRR and additional flexibility in meeting the SLR requirement. Interest rate reductions have also been signalled by reductions in the repo and reverse repo rates, the most recent of which was announced on Saturday when both the repo rate and the reverse repo rate were cut by 100 basis points. Access to external commercial borrowings has also been liberalised so that borrowers capable of accessing funds from abroad are allowed to do so. The banks are being encouraged to counter what might otherwise become self-fulfilling negative expectations by enhanced lending to support economic activity.
These measures in the area of money and credit are being supplemented by fiscal measures designed to stimulate the economy. In recognition of the need for a fiscal stimulus, the government had consciously allowed the fiscal deficit to expand beyond the originally targeted level because of the loan waivers, issue of oil and fertilizer bonds and higher levels of food subsidy. In addition, the following steps are being taken:
1. Plan Expenditure:
In order to provide a contra-cyclical stimulus via plan expenditure, the Government has decided to seek authorisation for additional plan expenditure of upto Rs 20,000 crore in the current year. In addition, steps are being taken to ensure full utilisation of funds already provided, so that the pace of expenditure is maintained. The total spending programme in the balance four months of the current fiscal year, taking plan and non-plan expenditure together is expected to be Rs.300,000 crore.
The economy will continue to need stimulus in 2009-2010 also and this can be achieved by ensuring a substantial increase in plan expenditure as part of the budget for next year.
2. Reduction in Cenvat:
As an immediate measure to encourage additional spending, an across-the-board cut of 4% in the ad valorem Cenvat rate will be effected for the balance part of the current financial year on all products other than petroleum and those where the current rate is less than 4%.
3. Measures to Support Exports
i) Pre and post-shipment export credit for labour intensive exports, i.e., textiles (including handlooms, carpets and handicrafts), leather, gems & jewellery, marine products and SME sector is being made more attractive by providing an interest subvention of 2 percent upto 31/3/2009 subject to minimum rate of interest of 7 percent per annum
ii) Additional funds of Rs.1100 crore will be provided to ensure full refund of Terminal Excise duty/CST.
iii) An additional allocation for export incentive schemes of Rs.350 crore will be made.
iv) Government back-up guarantee will be made available to ECGC to the extent of Rs.350 crore to enable it to provide guarantees for exports to difficult markets/products.
v) Exporters will be allowed refund of service tax on foreign agent commissions of upto 10 percent of FOB value of exports. They will also be allowed refund of service tax on output services while availing of benefits under Duty Drawback Scheme.
4. Housing
Housing is a potentially very important source of employment and demand for critical sectors and there is a large unmet need for housing in the country, especially for middle and low income groups. The Reserve Bank has announced that it will shortly put in place a refinance facility of Rs.4000 crore for the National Housing Bank. In addition, one of the areas where plan expenditure can be increased relatively easily is the Indira Awas Yojana. As a further measure of support for this sector public sector banks will shortly announce a package for borrowers of home loans in two categories: (1) upto Rs.5 lakhs and (2) Rs 5 lakh-Rs 20 lakh. This sector will be kept under a close watch and additional measures would be taken as necessary to promote an accelerated growth trajectory.
5. MSME Sector
The Government attaches the highest priority to supporting the medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) sector which is critical for employment generation. To facilitate the flow of credit to MSMEs, RBI has announced a refinance facility of Rs.7000 crore for SIDBI which will be available to support incremental lending, either directly to MSMEs or indirectly via banks, NBFCs and SFCs. In addition, the following steps are being taken.
(a) To boost collateral free lending, the current guarantee cover under Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small enterprises on loans will be extended from Rs.50 lakh to Rs.1 crore with guarantee cover of 50 percent.
(b) The lock in period for loans covered under the existing credit guarantee scheme will be reduced from 24 to 18 months, to encourage banks to cover more loans under the guarantee scheme.
(c) Government will issue an advisory to Central Public Sector Enterprises and request State Public Sector Enterprises to ensure prompt payment of bills of MSMEs. Easing of credit conditions generally should help PSUs to make such payments on schedule.
6. Textiles
(a) An additional allocation of Rs.1400 crore will be made to clear the entire backlog in TUF Scheme.
(b) All items of handicrafts will be included under 'Vishesh Krishi & Gram Udyog Yojana'.
7. Infrastructure Financing
A large number of infrastructure projects are now being cleared for implementation in the Public Private Partnership mode. These projects may experience difficulty in reaching financial closure given the current uncertainties in the financial world. In order to support financing of such projects, Government has decided to authorise the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) to raise Rs.10,000 crore through tax-free bonds by 31/3/2009. These funds will be used by IIFCL to refinance bank lending of longer maturity to eligible infrastructure projects, particularly in highways and port sectors. In this way it is expected that IIFCL resources used for refinance can leverage bank financing of double the amount. Depending on need, IIFCL will be permitted to raise further resources by issue of such bonds. In particular, these initiatives will support a PPP programme of Rs.100,000 crore in the highways sector.
8. Others
(a) Government departments will be allowed to take up replacement of government vehicles within the allowed budget, in relaxation of extant economy instructions.
(b) Import Duty on Naphtha for use in the power sector will be eliminated.
(c) Export duty on iron ore fines will be eliminated and on lumps will be reduced to 5%.
The Government is keeping a close watch on the evolving economic situation and will not hesitate to take any additional steps that may be needed to counter recessionary trends and maintain the pace of economic activity.
Fiscal stimulus expands public expenditure and tax relief to sustain credit flow and support exports and MSMEs.
The Government announced monetary measures to ensure bank liquidity and credit supply via reduced reserve requirements, lower policy rates, SLR flexibility and liberalised external borrowings, together with fiscal stimulus through increased plan expenditure authorisation, a temporary across the board 4% cut in ad valorem Cenvat for most products, targeted export supports including interest subvention and enhanced refunds and guarantees, housing refinance facilities and bank packages for home loans, expanded MSME refinance and credit guarantee provisions, and IIFCL authorisation to raise tax free bonds for infrastructure refinancing.
Note: It is a system-generated summary and is for quick reference only.
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