The Economic Times

Modi and Trump have spoken on the phone on eight occasions during 2025, covering different aspects of our wide-ranging partnership, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday. Lutnick had said that India was given three Fridays to clinch a trade deal with Washington last year and that Modi had to call Trump to close it.

The Reserve Bank of India has reduced its holdings in US Treasuries. This strategic move sees the central bank increasing its gold reserves. The shift aims to diversify foreign exchange reserves. This diversification is a response to global economic uncertainties. India joins other nations in this trend. The RBI's forex reserves remain stable overall.

India's upcoming budget may target a nominal growth rate of around 10 percent. This is an increase from the estimated 8 percent for the current fiscal year. Economic growth is expected to remain strong. Inflation is also projected to rise in the next fiscal year due to base effects.

The central bank has introduced initiatives such as MuleHunter.ai to combat mule accounts used for fraudulent transactions. The AI tool delivers high accuracy and precision with significantly low false-positive rates and is currently deployed across 20 commercial banks.

India apparel exports: The industry is already under pressure after the US imposed 50% tariffs on India last August, marked by deep discounts, diversion of idle capacity to domestic brands and rerouting of export orders through neighbouring countries.

Delivering the first Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture on the them Indian Economy: A Story of Rising Credibility, Shaktikanta Das, principal secretary 2 to prime minister, said the global economy is at an inflection point, with geopolitical rivalries, protectionist trade policies and weakening multilateral institutions reshaping cross-border commerce and investment flows.

Bank of America acquired over 2 lakh shares of MTAR Technologies for Rs 55 crore in a bulk deal, paying a 6% premium. MTAR Technologies shares surged 6.69% to Rs 2,688.30, hitting a 52-week high. The company, involved in high-precision engineering for aerospace and energy, reported a decline in net profit and revenue for the September 2025 quarter.

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 4.4%, potentially easing Federal Reserve concerns about labor market weakness. Traders now anticipate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's final rate cut has occurred, with future easing decisions likely falling to his successor. While job growth was weaker than expected, the jobless rate decline offers the central bank breathing room.

Markets regulator Sebi on Friday proposed an overhaul of the trading-related framework at stock exchanges, aimed at simplifying rules, removing duplication, and reducing the compliance burden for market participants.

Societe Generale bought 14.33 lakh Tata Capital shares via a Rs 51 crore block deal after anchor lock-in expiry, while Marshall Wace exited an equal stake. The stock rose to Rs 359.85 following Indias largest 2025 IPO this week today

The U.S. Supreme Court will not issue a ruling on Friday in a major case testing the legality of President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs.

Budget Session will start on 28 January 2026 and continue till 2 April 2026. President Droupadi Murmu has approved the summoning of Parliament for the Budget Session 2026 and the Union Budget is likely be presented on February 1, a Sunday, followed by a recess for committee examinations. The session will reconvene on March 9.

T Rabi Sankar said collaboration between banks and central bank owned Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) will both quicken and enhance the capability of these risk mechanisms.

India's markets regulator on Friday proposed to issue a uniform set of trading-related disclosure requirements to standardise compliance across India's three stock exchanges and two commodity exchanges.

Wall Street's main indexes opened slightly higher on Friday, as investors digested weaker-than-expected jobs data, while awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The Reserve Bank of India has set the Ways and Means Advances limit for the Delhi government at Rs 890 crore. This move will assist the city government in managing temporary gaps between its income and expenses. The central bank will also conduct the Delhi government's general banking business starting January 09, 2026.

Market veteran Gurmeet Chadha credited retail investors and DIIs for supporting Nifty amid heavy FII selling, citing record SIP inflows as proof of resilient long-term domestic capital and urging policy incentives to reward patient investors.

U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in December amid business caution about hiring because of import tariffs and rising artificial intelligence investment, but the unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, supporting expectations the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged this month.

The Indian exchange NSE will operate for regular trading on January 15, despite Maharashtra's public holiday for civic polls. While trading will proceed, January 15 is designated a settlement holiday, meaning T+0 settlements will not be processed. Consequently, T+1 trades from both January 14 and 15 will be settled on January 16.

SEBI simplified the accredited investor framework for AIFs, allowing agreements before certification, easing documentation norms and reducing bottlenecks, while preserving prudential safeguards and corpus rules to promote ease of doing business in capital markets.

StocksEdge data highlights ten mid-cap non-financial companies delivering over 50% EBITDA margins in FY25, led by NTPC Green Energy and SJVN, reflecting superior operating efficiency, resilient profitability and strong execution across diverse sectors.

Six BSE 200 stocks, including ITC, Siemens Energy India and Jubilant FoodWorks, hit fresh 52-week lows on Friday as market weakness dragged them down up to 21% over the past month.

Indian stock exchanges NSE and BSE will conduct a mock trading session on Saturday, allowing brokers to test systems, risk controls and contingency mechanisms under simulated conditions. The drill includes call auctions, block deals and an outage scenario to validate Sebis alternate trading venue framework. No live trading will occur.

SEBI revamped technical glitch norms for brokers, easing compliance by limiting applicability to firms with over 10,000 clients, simplifying reporting, granting exemptions, and rationalising penalties, offering relief to smaller brokers while maintaining technology, risk management and market integrity standards nationwide.

Budget 2026: India's industry body PHDCCI anticipates new government reforms. These include deeper divestment and privatization of public sector enterprises. The aim is to boost corporate activity and protect the economy from export uncertainty. The upcoming budget may clarify the future of public sector banks. Reforms are also expected to support MSMEs and the financial sector.

India's foreign exchange reserves saw a significant drop of $9.809 billion. Reserves stood at $686.801 billion in the week ending January 02, 2026. This follows a rise in the previous week. Foreign currency assets and gold reserves also decreased. The Reserve Bank of India monitors these movements closely.

While telling banks and other regulated entities to continue to improve their tools, techniques and processes in preventing and tackling digital frauds, Malhotra urged for collaborations in building analytics and tools to detect mule accounts and suspicious transactions timely and pre-emptively.

Indian markets extended losses for a fifth straight session as tariff concerns weighed on sentiment. Stocks such as Manappuram Finance, IEX and Elecon Engineering declined sharply, while Mazagon Dock, BHEL, NALCO and Hindustan Zinc saw buying interest.

BSE Index Services launched the BSE All Derivative Stocks Index to track derivative-eligible BSE 500 stocks, using market-cap and momentum weighting, reflecting Indias growing equity derivatives depth and offering a new benchmark for passive and active investment products nationwide participants.

Indian equities suffered a brutal start to the year as global trade fears, Trump tariff threats and heavy foreign selling dragged Sensex down over 2,000 points, erasing Rs 9 lakh crore and pushing markets into a risk-off, high-volatility phase nationwide.

India is shifting its focus towards generating skilled employment and improving job quality, an essential step for sustainable economic development. With a target growth rate of 7.7 percent from 2022-23 to 2025-26, the nation envisions a future where investments, domestic savings, and exports flourish. Emphasizing the manufacturing sector is seen as key to creating more labor-intensive job opportunities.

India has firmly countered the statements made by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick regarding stalled trade discussions. Officials affirmed that Prime Minister Modi and President Trump are in regular communication, with the Ministry of External Affairs underscoring ongoing high-level interactions.

Monthly SIP inflows crossed 31,000 crore as investor confidence in mutual funds stayed strong, says Kotak Mahindra AMCs Ovais Bakshi. He explains why the rise is in line with expectations, highlights the shift toward flexicap and multi-asset funds, rising interest in gold ETFs, and why NFO momentum has slowed in 2026.

Reliance Industries Ltd. is off to bruising start to the year, with shares down more than 6% as investors digest weak retail outlooks and tougher US rhetoric on Indias Russian oil purchases putting the onus on upcoming earnings to arrest the slide.

Binance achieved a major milestone by becoming the first crypto exchange fully authorized under ADGM's regulatory framework, coinciding with its user base surpassing 300 million. The report highlights a shift towards assessing crypto platforms as financial infrastructure, emphasizing governance, resilience, and user protection.

In FY26, only ten actively traded stocks with market capitalisation above Rs 2,000 crore delivered consistent gains across three consecutive quarters. Strong participation and sustained momentum turned these stocks into multibaggers within the fiscal year, rewarding early investors with substantial wealth creation.

WazirX has completed the allocation of Recovery Tokens to eligible users under its court-approved scheme and distributed around 85% of rebalanced net liquid platform assets within 10 business days, enabling users to participate proportionally in future recoveries.

Manappuram Finance shares fell 10% after a Reuters report said the RBI has objected to Bain Capitals plan to acquire a controlling stake. Heavy volumes marked the sell-off as investors assessed regulatory risks surrounding the proposed investment.

Bernstein expects Blinkit to maintain its lead over rivals in 2026, backed by stronger operating metrics and lower cash burn, though competition may keep profits and stock returns volatile. The brokerage names Eternal as its top pick and sets a target price of Rs 370, implying 31% upside.

BNP Paribas sees the Nifty 50 rising to 29,500 by end-2026, driven by earnings growth. The brokerage favours large, domestically focused stocks, citing policy support, easing financial conditions and a gradual recovery in consumption.

India's economic landscape is navigating turbulent waters, cautions former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian. He highlights the looming threats posed by US tariffs and the competitive pressures from Chinese exports. Moreover, he notes the challenges of domestic fiscal health in this climate.

The Indian rupee slipped on Friday, pressured by dollar demand linked to maturing non-deliverable forward positions and corporate hedging as global markets awaited a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling on trade tariffs. The currency closed at 90.1625 against the U.S. dollar, down 0.1% on the day but little changed week-on-week.

Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra called for financial institutions to adopt the spirit of regulations. He stressed collaboration to fight digital frauds. Digital channels offer benefits but also risks. The Governor emphasized partnership between regulators and regulated entities for system stability and consumer protection.

Japanese multinational investment firm SoftBank, has sold 2.15 per cent of its holdings in Ola Electric mobility through its investment vehicle SVF II Ostrich (DE) LLC, according to a regulatory filing.

Reliance Jio Platforms is reportedly considering an IPO this year, potentially raising over $4 billion by floating 2.5% of the company. This move could make it India's largest-ever IPO. The telecom giant, led by Mukesh Ambani, has diversified into AI and attracted significant investor interest.

Bangladesh has halted new onion import permits from India, prioritizing domestic farmers. While 10 lakh tonnes are exported to Bangladesh, Indian onions remain sought after globally. Imports under existing permits will proceed until January 30, as Indian exporters seek government subsidies to compete internationally.

RBI Monetary Policy Committee 2026: PwC expert Ranen Banerjee advises the Reserve Bank of India against cutting interest rates. He believes a rate cut now would be a wasted opportunity. Growth is strong and inflation is under control. The Monetary Policy Committee is unlikely to change rates in its upcoming February 2026 meeting. Private investment is not currently driven by interest rates.

Steel and steel-linked companies are gearing up to mobilise around Rs 4,000 crore through IPOs over the next 12-18 months, buoyed by the government's decision to impose a three-year safeguard duty on select flat steel imports, merchant bankers said.

Parliament's Budget session is slated to begin on January 28 with President Murmu's address, followed by the Economic Survey on January 30. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1, a Sunday. Following discussions, Parliament will adjourn for a recess on February 13, reconvening on March 9 and concluding on April 2.