Business Standard

Annie George Mathew, Janmejaya Sinha and Syed Akbaruddin have been appointed part-time, non-official directors on the RBI's central board for four-year terms

The central bank absorbed 1.41 trillion through seven-day and overnight VRRR auctions at 5.24 per cent, and announced a 1.75 trillion two-day auction for Tuesday

Mining, electricity, e-way bills and domestic air traffic weighed on growth in July, while cement and coal output strengthened and unemployment declined

Women remain under-represented in India's platform economy despite near parity in bank-account ownership, as digital capability and credit-access gaps persist

The central government has appointed former diplomat Syed Akbaruddin, ex-bureaucrat Annie George Mathew, and consultancy BCG India Chairman Janmejaya Kumar Sinha to RBI central board.

The Centre has started moving bulk onion stocks through dedicated railway rakes the 'Kanda Express' from Nashik in Maharashtra to major consuming centres, as part of efforts to augment supplies and check the seasonal rise in prices, a Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said on Monday. Stocks currently being loaded onto these rakes are expected to reach the identified centres by Wednesday, she said. PRICES UP SHARPLY ------------------------- Data maintained by the ministry shows the all-Indi

Finance minister will hold bilateral and investor meetings in Canada and the US, and lead the Indian delegation at the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Asheville

Sugar prices are expected to ease within 10 days as early crushing, duty-free imports and government measures boost supplies, while India lifts its wheat export ban

The income tax department on Monday nudged taxpayers with business or professional income who are not subject to audit to file ITRs for AY 2026-27 before August 31. Till August 20, over 2 crore ITR 3 and 4 were filed on the e-filing portal, taking the total Income Tax returns filed for AY27 to over 6.5 crore. This also includes over 5.9 crore ITR-1 and ITR-2, which were filed by the due date of July 31. 31st August 2026 is the due date for filing ITRs for AY 2026-27 for taxpayers with business o

Annual UPI transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in FY17 to over 24,162 crore in FY26, while transaction value climbed to around 314 lakh crore

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in India and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Monday announced a new phase of their partnership to strengthen an inclusive circular economy for plastics, with a target to support 50,000 Safai Mitras and waste management systems across 50 cities by 2028. Building on seven years of collaboration, the partnership will focus on four areas -- social inclusion, strengthening urban waste management systems, improving recycling efficiency, and knowledge tra

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which was launched on August 25, 2016, has completed a decade of transforming India's digital payments landscape, emerging as the backbone of the country's digital payments ecosystem and a global benchmark for real-time payments. Annual UPI transaction volume rose from 1.78 crore in 2016-17 to more than 24,162 crore in 2025-26, an almost 13,000-fold increase, the finance ministry said in a statement. During the same period, transaction value jumped from Rs 0

The government has permitted exports of wheat, including the durum variety, as well as flour and other products

Air passenger service prices rose nearly 32 per cent year-on-year in Q1 FY27, while banking and securities transaction services recorded declines, provisional data showed

India has reviewed the negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), as the country's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Vipul, held wide-ranging talks with the secretary general of the six-nation bloc, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, in Riyadh. The meeting took place on Sunday, where both sides discussed ways to strengthen India-GCC relations, exchanged views on regional and international developments, and reviewed preparations for a ministerial meeting scheduled next month,

India is in negotiations with at least 8-9 more groups of countries and individual nations that together account for another USD 15 trillion of GDP, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. He added that the country's free trade agreements would eventually cover about 75 per cent of global trade and help position India as a trusted partner in global value chains. India has a large domestic market and it opens its doors to the world with nine free trade agreements signed in the

The week's policy calendar will focus on RBI liquidity management, industrial production and forex reserves

The rupee traded in a narrow range and rose 7 paise to 95.64 against the American currency in early trade on Monday, supported by a softer US dollar, but simmering geopolitical tensions kept it from making strong gains. Forex traders said the Dollar Index has weakened, but elevated Brent crude and persistent importer demand limited the rupee's gains. Moreover, investors are treading a cautious path as Washington is set to unveil a fresh wave of sanctions on Iran, targeting its oil trade, banking

The trade is emerging as RBI seeks to bolster foreign-exchange reserves and ease pressure on rupee, while creating opportunities for global banks to provide financing offshore

The nationwide initiative will target 150,000 learners for foundational cloud and AI training, with 10,000 participants receiving intensive, job-ready skills

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is leading a 200-member business delegation to Japan for a four-day visit starting August 24 to discuss ways to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries. The visit assumes significance as Japan last year set an investment target of 10 trillion yen (about Rs 60,000 cr) in India over a decade. The minister will be travelling to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The business delegation has representatives from various sectors, ranging from manufac

The Petroleum Ministry has asked states and Union Territories to provide district-level administrative support to accelerate the shift of households from LPG to piped natural gas (PNG), seeking appointment of nodal officers to coordinate with gas distributors and oil marketing companies. In an August 21 letter to state chief secretaries, Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal said PNG, as a safer, cleaner and more efficient cooking fuel, has an important role in advancing India's energy transition wh

A Panama-flagged cargo ship sank in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday, about 240 nautical miles from the Paradip coast in Odisha, officials said. The ship, with 24 crew members on board, was heading towards Singapore carrying iron ore from Odisha, they said. The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have launched a rescue operation, they added We are not sure how many of the crew members have been rescued, a senior IPS officer told PTI, adding that most of the crew members were Chinese. Other vessels i

The Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday released a job calendar for over 8,500 jobs in three phases, which will supplement more than 1,500 jobs already notified under the first phase in May. Principal Finance Secretary Peeyush Kumar said 3,231 jobs will be notified under the second phase on September 15 and 2,311 jobs and another 2,995 jobs will be notified under the third and fourth phases on October 15. On May 15, Kumar said 1,523 jobs were already notified by the Higher Education Department

An estimated 8.7 crore Indian youth aged 15 to 29 are not studying, working, or receiving training, a recent Niti Aayog report said, highlighting the urgent need for subsidised training programmes to encourage self-employment and align with local demand and emerging sectors. The Aayog, in the report titled 'Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat@2047', said the estimate is based on data from the 78th round of the National Sample Survey conducted in 2021. To ensure the highest impact, the Aayog o

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday described preventive healthcare as the future model of the healthcare system, citing changing disease patterns, rising treatment costs and India's ageing population as key reasons for shifting the focus towards early detection and prevention. Addressing the inauguration of a Mahajan Imaging and Labs facility here, Singh said non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, kidney failure and mental health disorders were i

FCNR(B) deposits accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the total at $65.40 billion, while ECBs and OFCBs contributed $2.59 billion and $4.86 billion, respectively

Indian Oil will supply Mauritius' entire import requirement of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel under a long-term agreement with the State Trading Corporation

FCNR(B) deposits dominate inflows under RBI's special forex swap facility ahead of the August 31 deadline; ECB and OFCB windows remain open until December 31

FCNR(B) deposits dominate inflows under RBI's special forex swap facility ahead of the August 31 deadline; ECB and OFCB windows remain open until December 31

Oil sector regulator has authorised the development of nearly 1,800 km of new LPG pipelines at an estimated investment of Rs 7,000 crore, expanding the country's common-carrier LPG pipeline network by almost a quarter as it seeks to make fuel supplies more resilient and reduce dependence on road transport. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has approved three strategically important LPG pipeline projects across Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and

India and Mauritius have deepened their energy partnership with a five-year agreement under which Indian Oil Corporation will supply the island nation's entire import requirement of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel, strengthening New Delhi's role as a key energy-security partner in the Indian Ocean. The agreement was exchanged during Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's official visit to Mauritius on August 20-21, alongside a government-to-government memorandum of understanding (MoU)

Amfi will conduct workshops and awareness programmes targeting women, first-time investors and underserved communities, while training 10,000 mutual fund distributors

The banking system had a liquidity surplus of Rs 3.5 trillion on Thursday, while banks parked Rs 95,970 crore in the three-day VRRR auction on Friday

Odisha has approved 14 projects across 10 districts, spanning food processing, textiles, chemicals, electronics and steel, with potential to create 14,104 jobs

Sources said the directions have also been issued to prepare a model for increasing employability and upskilling opportunities for ITI students and rejigging the method of granting them degrees

Reserves have risen by nearly $50 billion since the last week of June, while foreign currency assets increased by $7.23 billion and gold reserves gained $2.68 billion

Normally, India has had a surplus of sugar, with 32-34 mmt produced annually, against domestic consumption of around 28-29 mmt

Investments span sectors including information technology, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, data centres and transport services, government says

The RBI's Central Board also reviewed various areas of the central bank's operations, including the functioning of its committees and the Ombudsman Scheme

Benchmark 10-year government bond yield rose to 6.85% during the week, while the rupee weakened to 95.71 per dollar amid higher crude prices and hawkish MPC signals

Centre is discussing the issue with states amid industry concerns that denial of input tax credit on construction of own-use assets raises the cost of large investments

Gold loans could gain from a structural shift towards monetising household gold, lower borrowing costs and rising financial literacy, with penetration remaining relatively low

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday cancelled the registration certificates of 15 investment advisers after they failed to pay the mandatory renewal fees. Under the Sebi (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013, registered investment advisers are required to pay a renewal fee every five years to keep their registration valid. Sebi found that the 15 advisers had failed to pay the renewal fees within the stipulated period. The regulator issued notices to these entities in June, asking them to

Establishments and employment remained above year-ago levels but contracted sequentially, with rural India accounting for much of the decline in the June quarter

Finnish companies are looking to expand their India presence from next year, though local manufacturing requirements could pose challenges for some high-end products

India's forex reserves jumped USD 9.905 billion to USD 716.907 billion during the week ended August 14, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday. In the previous reporting week ended August 7, the overall kitty had jumped USD 14.136 billion to USD 707.002 billion. Reserves had expanded to an all-time high of USD 728.494 billion during the week ended February 27 this year before the onset of the Middle East conflict that led to several weeks of a drop as the rupee came under pressure and th

The selloff in bonds was amplified by a spike in crude prices that intensified inflation and rate hike fears for the world's third-largest oil importer

Credit growth is shifting from traditional strongholds such as Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra towards Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, but penetration still trails developed markets

Fixed Income Channel Partners would work with online bond platforms to distribute permitted securities and facilitate retail transactions, particularly in smaller cities