Category: Beyond

The Indian rupee hit a record low of ₹88.58 against the US dollar in early trade on September 23, following a weak opening and pressure from both domestic and international fronts. The currency had opened at ₹88.4137 against the greenback, compared with ₹88.3163 at the previous close.

Asian currencies broadly were under strain, with the South Korean won down about 0.22 percent, the Thai baht 0.16 percent, the Indonesian rupiah 0.08 percent and the Singapore dollar, Japanese yen and Hong Kong dollar each about 0.05 percent weaker. Analysts say these wider currency trends have exacerbated the rupee’s fall.

Experts point out multiple factors weighing on the rupee, including enhanced US tariffs on Indian goods and a steep hike in H1B visa fees. The move on visa fees—raised to US$100,000 for certain categories—has stirred anxiety among India’s IT and outsourcing sectors. Concerns are rising about reduced remittances and the risk of equity outflows as foreign investors reassess exposure in view of these policy changes. Foreign inflows into Indian equities have already been weak this year.

In commentary on the outlook, currency specialists suggest that despite current pressure, there may be limited room for further sharp depreciation if certain support levels hold. One such expert believes that “the rupee is likely to appreciate from current levels, with support around ₹87.90–88.00,” arguing that if these zones are maintained, the currency could avoid sliding further in the near term.

In addition to policy-induced risks, importers’ demand for the dollar to hedge against rising costs has added to demand pressure. Weak domestic equity markets, and subdued foreign portfolio inflows, further reduce support for the rupee. Traders and analysts are also watching US interest-rate policy closely: higher US yields tend to strengthen the dollar, making it costlier for other currencies, including the rupee.

While the drop to the all-time low underscores the intensity of current pressure, there are signals of possible intervention from the Reserve Bank of India if the rupee weakens significantly further. Such intervention has in past episodes helped stem sharp slides. Ultimately, whether the rupee stabilizes will depend on whether external pressures ease, foreign capital revives, and trade-policy frictions are addressed.

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Mumbai: The Indian rupee traded in a narrow range on Monday, September 22, 2025, and depreciated by 5 paise to 88.21 against the U.S. dollar. Strength in the American currency in overseas markets, coupled with a negative trend in domestic equities, weighed on investor sentiment.

Forex market participants noted that the recent increase in H-1B visa fees in the U.S. could impact the IT sector, potentially affecting company margins and reducing remittances due to slower employee deployments.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 88.20 before easing to 88.21. In the previous session on Friday, September 19, the currency had strengthened by 4 paise to close at 88.16.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, gained 0.13% to 97.77. Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.66% higher at $67.12 per barrel in futures trade.

Domestic equities opened lower on Monday, with the Sensex down 475.16 points to 82,151.07 and the Nifty slipping 88.95 points to 25,238.10. Despite the early weakness, foreign institutional investors had net purchases worth ₹390.74 crore on Friday.

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $4.698 billion to $702.966 billion for the week ended September 12, following a $4.038 billion increase in the prior week, according to Reserve Bank of India data.

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to lead an official delegation to the U.S. on Monday for trade talks aimed at advancing negotiations for a mutually beneficial agreement. The delegation will visit New York and engage with U.S. officials to push for an early conclusion of the trade discussions.

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Indian mutual funds saw nearly ₹13,000 crore wiped out from their holdings in the country’s top ten IT companies after a sharp sell-off triggered by the U.S. government’s sudden move to increase H-1B visa application fees.

The executive order, signed by President Donald Trump, has unsettled investors who fear a direct hit on profitability and future hiring strategies of the sector.

As of September 19, mutual funds held shares worth ₹3.41 lakh crore across the ten biggest IT companies by market value. By market opening on September 22, this had slipped to ₹3.28 lakh crore.

Infosys accounted for the largest exposure at ₹1.27 lakh crore, followed by Tata Consultancy Services at ₹62,000 crore and HCL Tech at ₹35,850 crore. Other significant holdings included Coforge at ₹21,720 crore, Persistent Systems at ₹18,900 crore, Mphasis at ₹13,240 crore, Wipro at ₹11,600 crore, LTIMindtree at ₹8,189 crore and Oracle Financial Services at ₹4,348 crore.

The policy change, which raises the H-1B visa fee from about $1,000 to a staggering $100,000 per new application, represents a hundred-fold jump. While the process of sponsoring skilled workers remains intact, the costs are expected to reshape hiring economics and alter business models.

The immediate impact on margins is expected to be limited, but analysts caution that second-order effects, such as wage inflation in the domestic talent pool, could pressure profitability by up to 50 basis points.

On the other hand, companies are likely to counterbalance the hike through increased offshoring and price renegotiations, which could neutralise the effect over time.

Industry experts point out that top Indian IT players currently have only 1.2 to 4.1 percent of their workforce on H-1B visas, reducing the scale of disruption compared with earlier fears.

The consensus emerging among brokerages is that while the news rattled markets and pulled the Nifty IT index down by 3 percent, the long-term impact may not be as damaging.

Many believe that with this regulatory overhang now addressed, the sector could actually benefit from greater clarity, enabling firms to recalibrate their models with certainty.

The full financial implications of the new fee structure are expected to show up only in FY27, when petitions filed under the revised regime begin to affect cost structures in a material way.

Until then, investors are expected to closely track how IT majors adjust their strategies, whether through deeper reliance on offshore talent pools, higher local hiring in the United States or renegotiated client contracts to pass on a share of the additional costs.

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Shares of the Adani Group witnessed a strong rise on Friday, September 19, 2025, collectively adding around ₹66,000 crore to their market capitalization. This surge came in response to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) dismissing significant allegations leveled by the U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research against the conglomerate.

Leading the gains was Adani Power, which jumped 12.4% to close at its highest level since August 2024, buoyed further by the announcement of a forthcoming stock split. Other major group companies, including Adani Total Gas, Adani Enterprises, and Adani Green Energy, also saw notable increases, pushing the group’s total market value to roughly ₹13.96 lakh crore.

SEBI’s order cleared the group of key charges related to stock manipulation and questionable related-party transactions, restoring some investor confidence that had been shaken by the Hindenburg report. Analysts now believe the ruling may pave the way for a re-rating of Adani stocks, particularly encouraging foreign investors who had been cautious.

Gautam Adani welcomed the SEBI decision, urging an apology from those who propagated what he called “false narratives” based on Hindenburg’s “fraudulent and motivated” report. He reiterated the group’s commitment to transparency and integrity.

However, SEBI’s investigations are ongoing, with over a dozen other allegations still under review. These include potential violations of securities laws and shareholder misclassification, meaning further regulatory scrutiny remains possible.

Despite the positive momentum, some group firms are still recovering from the Hindenburg-triggered selloff. Adani Enterprises, for example, remains 28% below its pre-Hindenburg levels, while other companies continue to trade 20-80% lower. In contrast, Adani Power, Adani Ports, and Ambuja Cement have already surpassed previous losses, showing substantial rebounds.

The market’s favorable response to SEBI’s ruling signals a possible turning point for the Adani Group, as it seeks to rebuild investor trust and navigate ongoing regulatory challenges.

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the sweeping Goods and Services Tax reforms that come into effect from September 22, 2025 will leave about ₹2 lakh crore more in the hands of Indian households, boosting domestic consumption significantly. Speaking at the 80th anniversary of the Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association in Madurai, she emphasized that the simplification from the earlier four tax slabs to two—5% and 18%—is meant to ensure that the poor, middle-class families, and MSMEs benefit most from the changes.

Sitharaman explained that the new “GST 2.0” structure will move almost all items taxed at 12% into the 5% category, and a large portion of those taxed at 28% into the 18% slab. Essential items such as everyday household goods, certain foods, and agricultural inputs will see sharp reductions in tax rates, while the higher slab will apply to standard goods. There will also be a 40% rate reserved for luxury and “sin” goods—such as tobacco, pan masala and aerated drinks—but the implementation of that higher rate for some of these items will be phased.

She said that because of the two-slab structure, many goods consumers buy regularly will become cheaper, encouraging greater spending. Industries are expected to respond by increasing production, thereby creating more jobs and expanding the tax base. Sitharaman pointed out that entrepreneur registrations under GST have risen sharply since 2017: from about 65 lakh to 1.51 crore, which she says reflects growing participation in the formal economy.

The government is also easing procedural burdens: registration and return filing processes will be simplified, refunds sped up, and compliance for MSMEs reduced. These reforms follow decisions taken at the 56th GST Council meeting, and official notifications have been issued to operationalize the changes.

Critics, however, have questioned why the rate-cuts have taken eight years to implement and whether the benefits will reach all categories of consumers equally. Some business analysts warn that while the tax burden will fall on many products, certain goods still in higher slabs or under the luxury/sin category may not see relief, and the timing of adjustments will matter for low income households.

Overall, the government’s claim is that GST 2.0 will stimulate demand, improve affordability, and ensure that taxation is simpler, fairer, and more inclusive, especially for those who were previously bearing heavier indirect tax burdens.

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India has taken a significant leap in its quest for AI self-reliance with the government approving ₹988.6 crore in funding for BharatGen, a consortium led by IIT Bombay, to develop a groundbreaking trillion-parameter multilingual AI model. This move, part of the flagship IndiaAI Mission, underscores the country’s commitment to building advanced, sovereign AI technologies that cater specifically to India’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape, while positioning the nation as a global player in artificial intelligence innovation.

Announced by Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the funding marks the largest allocation under the IndiaAI Innovation Centre’s mandate to foster cutting-edge AI development across the country.

“With BharatGen, India is building its sovereign AI capabilities to serve our linguistic, cultural, and governance needs at a global scale,” said Vaishnaw.

BharatGen is among eight organisations chosen by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to develop large language models (LLMs) and multimodal AI systems under the flagship initiatives of the IndiaAI Mission. The selected entities—IIT Bombay Consortium (BharatGen), Tech Mahindra, Fractal Analytics, Avataar AI, Zeinteiq Aitech Innovations, Genloop Intelligence, NeuroDX (Intellihealth), and Shodh AI—will be responsible for creating foundational AI models aimed at driving innovation across critical sectors such as governance, education, healthcare, agriculture, and more.

BharatGen aims to build one of the world’s largest AI models — with over one trillion parameters — alongside smaller, domain-specific and language-inclusive models tailored to India’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape. These tools will also support speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and vision-language applications for low-resource Indian languages.

To support the development of such large-scale models, the government is also investing in public compute infrastructure, including GPU clusters and high-performance cloud access. Additionally, a responsible AI governance framework is being formulated jointly by MeitY and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to ensure safe and ethical deployment of AI systems.

The announcement follows previous rounds of IndiaAI funding, which saw startups like Sarvam AI, SoketAI, Gnani.ai, and Gan AI selected to build models focused on specific domains and regional languages.

With BharatGen and the broader IndiaAI Mission, India is taking a strategic leap toward building a self-reliant AI ecosystem, blending open innovation, academic leadership, and private sector expertise.

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In a major digital upgrade, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a new facility called ‘Passbook Lite’, aimed at making it easier for members to access and track their provident fund (PF) details. This comes alongside the rollout of a single-login portal, streamlining access to various services for over 29 crore EPFO subscribers.

The newly launched ‘Passbook Lite’ offers a simplified, mobile-friendly summary of a member’s provident fund account, including current balance, contribution history, and withdrawal details. Unlike the existing detailed passbook system, this lighter version is accessible directly through the Member Sewa Portal, doing away with the need for separate logins to the older passbook portal.

EPFO officials say the move is part of their broader push to improve digital accessibility and reduce the time it takes for members to retrieve essential information.

In another key update, members can now directly download Annexure K, a critical document required when transferring PF accounts between employers. Previously available only through field offices or by request, the online availability of this document is expected to streamline the transfer process and reduce delays during job changes.

In a bid to cut red tape and reduce processing time, EPFO has also delegated more powers to local field offices, allowing them to approve certain PF operations that earlier required higher-level authorization. By decentralizing these processes, EPFO aims to significantly reduce turnaround time for claim settlements, fund transfers, and account verifications.

These digital upgrades come as part of EPFO’s ongoing effort to modernize its service ecosystem and bring member services in line with contemporary digital standards. With over 29 crore subscribers, the EPFO’s renewed focus on user-centric reforms is seen as a much-needed shift to cater to the growing demand for faster, transparent, and more accessible services.

Officials also hinted at more tech-based improvements in the pipeline, including enhanced mobile app functionality and integration of AI-driven help systems to further support users.

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India’s major equity benchmarks declined early Friday amid profit‐taking in blue-chip names following a three-day rally. As of 10:25 a.m. IST, the BSE Sensex was down to 82,641.38, and the NSE Nifty 50 stood at 25,323.70.

Among Sensex constituents, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, and HCL Technologies were among the biggest drags, posting notable losses. On the upside, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics, Larsen & Toubro and NTPC saw gains. All Adani group stocks were trading higher in the morning session.

Adani group’s surge came after SEBI cleared the group and its chairman Gautam Adani of significant stock manipulation allegations put forth by Hindenburg Research. Adani Total Gas jumped about 13.3%, Adani Power gained nearly 8.9%, Adani Green Energy rose roughly 5.5%, and Adani Enterprises increased about 5.2%.

In regional markets, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng reported modest gains, while South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite were lower. U.S. markets, meanwhile, had closed higher the previous day.

Among commodities, Brent crude oil dipped slightly, trading near US $67.34 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth approximately ₹366.69 crore in the preceding session.

On Thursday, the Sensex had closed up 320.25 points, or 0.39%, at 83,013.96, and the Nifty had gained 93.35 points, or 0.37%, to settle at 25,423.60.

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Global financial markets responded strongly to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, a move that had been widely anticipated. The benchmark federal funds rate now stands in the range of 4.75% to 5.00%, marking the first reduction since the central bank began its tightening cycle in 2022.

Wall Street closed higher following the announcement, with the S&P 500 rising 1.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite adding 1.6%. Investors welcomed the cut as a signal that the Fed is prioritizing growth amid signs of cooling inflation and a slowdown in the U.S. labor market.

Asian and European markets followed suit. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 1.7%, and South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.2%. In Europe, the FTSE 100 rose 0.8%, while Germany’s DAX index gained 1.1%. Emerging markets also saw an uptick in investor sentiment, with India’s Sensex and Brazil’s Bovespa posting notable gains.

Currency markets reflected the shift in U.S. monetary policy, with the dollar weakening against most major currencies. The euro appreciated to $1.11, while the yen strengthened to 143 per dollar. The softer dollar supported gains in commodity markets, particularly gold, which rose to $2,420 per ounce, and oil, with Brent crude climbing above $86 per barrel.

While the Fed’s move was widely anticipated, analysts have raised concerns about its potential inflationary effects. A rate cut reduces borrowing costs, spurs consumer spending, and can boost investment, but it also carries the risk of reigniting price pressures. U.S. inflation has eased from its peak above 9% in 2022 to 3.2% in August, but remains above the Fed’s 2% target.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in his press conference, emphasized that the cut was a “calibrated adjustment” rather than the beginning of a large easing cycle. He noted that while inflation is trending downward, risks remain, particularly from energy markets and supply chain disruptions. Powell added that the Fed would continue to monitor incoming data closely and adjust policy as necessary.

The decision also carries significant implications for global central banks. Some, like the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, are weighing their own rate paths amid mixed signals on inflation and growth. Emerging market central banks, many of which raised rates aggressively in recent years, may find additional space to cut as U.S. monetary tightening recedes.

In the bond market, yields on U.S. Treasuries fell sharply, with the 10-year yield dropping to 3.85% from 4.05% prior to the announcement. Lower yields reflect increased demand for government debt and signal expectations of looser financial conditions ahead.

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