1)The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which included new external members, held its meeting on October 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2024. After reviewing the current macroeconomic and financial landscape, the MPC voted by a majority of 5 out of 6 to keep the policy repo rate steady at 6.50%. As a result, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains unchanged at 6.25%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate stay at 6.75%. In a significant move, the MPC unanimously shifted its stance to ‘neutral,’ signaling a clear focus on ensuring inflation aligns with the set target while continuing to support economic growth.
2)The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), has projected real GDP growth for 2024-25 at 7.2 percent. Growth for Q2 is estimated at 7.0 percent, Q3 at 7.4 percent, and Q4 at 7.4 percent. Additionally, real GDP growth for Q1 of 2025-26 is projected at 7.3 percent.
3)In its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has forecasted CPI inflation for 2024-25 to be 4.5 percent overall. For the individual quarters, inflation is expected to be 4.1 percent in Q2, rise to 4.8 percent in Q3, and then ease to 4.2 percent in Q4. Looking ahead, the RBI has projected CPI inflation for Q1 of 2025-26 at 4.3 percent.
4)The additional measures announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting are as follows:
Responsible Lending Conduct:
RBI extended the prohibition on foreclosure charges/pre-payment penalties for floating rate term loans to include Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). A draft circular will be issued for public consultation.
Discussion Paper for UCBs:
A discussion paper on capital-raising avenues for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) will be issued to offer greater flexibility and seek feedback from stakeholders.
Climate Risk Information System (RB-CRIS):
RBI will create the Reserve Bank – Climate Risk Information System (RB-CRIS) to address data gaps and help regulated entities with robust climate risk assessments.
UPI Limits Enhancement:
UPI123Pay per-transaction limit increased from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000.
UPI Lite wallet limit raised from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000, and per-transaction limit from ₹500 to ₹1,000.
Beneficiary Account Name Look-up Facility:
RBI plans to introduce the name verification facility for RTGS and NEFT, allowing remitters to verify account holder names before transfers, reducing the chances of wrong credits and fraud.
These measures are aimed at enhancing consumer protection, strengthening financial systems, and fostering innovation in digital payments.
5)FTSE Russell has announced the inclusion of Indian government bonds in the FTSE Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI) starting from September 2025, with the move to add to the hefty foreign inflows that domestic debt markets have received over the past year. The Market Accessibility Level for India will be reclassified from 0 to 1. FTSE’s decision comes after two other major global bond index providers – JP Morgan and Bloomberg – have included Indian sovereign debt in their indices.
6)After hitting a record high last week, India’s forex reserves contracted by $3.7 billion to $701.18 billion as of October 4, data shared by the Reserve Bank of India showed on Friday. According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, Foreign currency assets (FCAs) dipped by $3.51 billion to $612.6 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
7)The World Bank has raised India’s economic growth forecast to 7% for the fiscal year ending in March 2025. This is up from April’s 6.6% estimate. The growth is attributed to increased agricultural output and private consumption. The central bank maintained inflation forecasts and highlighted a resilient domestic growth outlook driven by private consumption and investment.
8)India’s industrial production data for August reveals a downturn, with year-on-year growth recorded at -0.1%, significantly lower than the previous figure of 4.8% and falling short of the estimated 1.0%. Cumulatively, industrial production for the same month stands at 4.20%, a decrease from the prior rate of 5.20%. Additionally, manufacturing output month-on-month showed a modest growth of 1.0%, down from 4.6% in the previous month. Overall, these figures indicate a decline across key industrial metrics.
9)The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for August stood at 145.6, dropping slightly from 145.8 in the same month last year.
10)India’s net direct tax collections rose 18.35 per cent year-on-year to Rs 11.25 lakh crore, government data showed on Friday (11 October). The collection Included Corporate tax of Rs 4.94 lakh crore and personal income tax of Rs 5.98 lakh crore.
11)India’s gross direct tax collection was at Rs 13.57 lakh crore, including Rs 6.11 lakh crore in corporate tax and Rs 7.13 lakh crore in personal income tax.
12)Securities Transaction Tax (STT) stood at Rs 30,630 crore, while other taxes (including equalisation levy and gift tax) earned Rs 2,150 crore. Refunds worth around Rs 2.31 lakh crore were issued between 1 April and 10 October, a growth of 46 per cent. The corporate tax refund stood at over Rs 1.16 lakh crore and that for personal income tax was more than Rs 1.14 lakh crore.
13)Life insurers in New Delhi reported a 14% increase in new business premiums in September, collecting Rs 35,020 crore compared to Rs 30,716 crore last year. The first half of FY25 saw a 19% growth in premiums. LIC led with a 25% rise, while the private sector grew 12%.
14)Non-life insurers have reported a 6.53 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in premiums in September, owing to underperformance of state-owned general insurers, slowdown in auto sales impacting motor insurance segment, and weak performance in the crop insurance segment. Data released by the General Insurance Council said that in September, non-life insurers, which include general insurers, standalone health insurers, specialised PSU insurers, got Rs 27,551 crore as premiums.
15)The mutual fund data for September 2024, released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), indicated a mixed trend across debt funds, with a significant outflow of ₹1,13,833.95 crore. Liquid funds experienced a sharp reversal, recording an outflow of ₹72,666 crore, compared to an inflow of ₹13,594.9 crore in August. Meanwhile, hybrid funds saw inflows of ₹4,901 crore in September, a decline from ₹10,005.3 crore the previous month.
16)In September 2024, mutual fund data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) revealed mixed trends across equity funds. Net equity inflows stood at ₹34,393 crore, marking a 10% decline from ₹38,212.4 crore in August, although this maintained positive inflows for the 43rd consecutive month. Large-cap funds saw a drop in inflows to ₹1,769 crore, down from ₹2,636 crore in August, while small-cap funds recorded ₹3,071 crore in inflows, slightly lower than ₹3,209.3 crore last month. Mid-cap funds experienced a modest increase with ₹3,130 crore compared to ₹3,054.7 crore in August. However, Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) funds witnessed an outflow of ₹349 crore, worsening from the ₹205.2 crore outflow in August.
17)Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) in India achieved a new milestone in September 2024. For the first time, monthly SIP contributions crossed the ₹24,000 crore mark. The inflows reached an all-time high of ₹24,508.73 crore. Data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) also revealed that the number of new SIP registrations in September surged to 66,38,857. The total number of active SIP accounts also hit a record, standing at 9.87 crore, up from 9.61 crore in August. The assets under management (AUM) of SIPs soared to a new high, reaching ₹13.81 lakh crore in September, compared to ₹13.38 lakh crore in the previous month. The overall AUM of the mutual fund industry touched ₹67.09 lakh crore, setting a fresh record.
18)The gap between credit and deposit growth in the banking system narrowed to an 18-month low of 176 basis points in September, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data shows. This could be due to some pullback by banks on loan growth and their push to raise deposits, analysts said. According to the RBI data, deposit growth remained at 11.34 percent and bank credit grew 13.1 percent as on September 20.
19)Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have, for the first time, amassed holdings in Indian securities exceeding the $1 trillion mark, a milestone underscoring the country’s growing allure among global investors. As of the end of September 2024, FPIs’ assets under custody in India reached $1.1 trillion (Rs 84.4 trillion), with $930 billion (Rs 78 trillion) invested in equities and the remainder allocated to debt and hybrid instruments, according to data from National Securities Depository Limited.
20)Foreign investors turned net sellers in October, withdrawing shares worth Rs 58,711 crore in the month so far owing to escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a sharp rise in crude oil prices, and the strong performance of the Chinese market.
21)The World Bank raised its growth forecast for South Asia to 6.4% in 2024 from an earlier estimate of 6.0%, citing the strength of domestic demand in India and quicker recoveries in crisis-hit countries such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
