Business
Reserve Bank of India faces trouble getting banks to cut rates

Lenders haven’t fully passed on the central bank’s latest interest rate cut to borrowers, pressuring the monetary authority to loosen policy even more to support economic growth.
A mismatch between deposits and credit growth, and competition from the government for small-savings mean banks face a high cost of capital, limiting their ability to transmit monetary policy easing. Bankers say the Reserve Bank of India’s 25 basis-point reduction in the repurchase rate to 6.25 % in February was a start, but was probably too little to have any impact on lending rates just yet.
Latest data from the central bank shows the main overnight lending rate offered by commercial banks has been sticky in a range of 8.15 percent to 8.55 percent since the beginning of the year. Most banks have trimmed lending rates by a ‘token’ 10 basis points, said Ashutosh Khajuria, chief financial officer at Federal Bank Ltd. in Mumbai, adding that the RBI needs to move by a bigger-than-usual 50 basis points to spur lending.
“If it is a 50 basis points cut, it will be an accelerated transmission,” Khajuria said. “If inflation behaves the way it has been,” rates will certainly go down in the first quarter of the next financial year starting April.
Subdued Inflation
Calls for rate cuts have been building, given benign inflation and weak demand. Inflation has been subdued at about 2 %, much lower than the central bank’s medium-term target of 4 percent. The latest inflation data is due on Tuesday, with economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecasting consumer prices to rise 2.4 %.
Shaktikanta Das, the new RBI governor, has been trying to nudge bankers to lower lending rates, holding meetings with bank chiefs last month to discuss the monetary policy transmission. In India, rate adjustments take about six to nine months to work its way through the economy.
The State Bank of India, the country’s largest bank, Friday linked some of its deposits and and short-term loans to the repurchase rate. Its managing director P.K.Gupta told Bloomberg Quint that a quarter percentage repo rate change will have an impact of 7-10 basis points on the bank’s floating lending rate.
Most bankers remain cautious though and “are not willing to cut rates as deposits and household financial savings are at historical lows,” said Prachi Mishra, chief India economist at Goldman Sachs India Securities. “Even while policy rates are down, the rates paid by the government on small savings are significantly higher than bank deposit rates.”
Savings programs offered by the government through post offices return between 7 percent and 8 percent annually along with tax benefits, while a one- to two-year time deposit with the State Bank earns an interest of 6.8 percent.
Bank deposits are also growing at a slower pace than loans, putting pressure on commercial lenders to offer attractive rates to lure depositors and boost resources to lend, analysts say. While bank lending has been growing at more than 14 % year-on-year as of February, deposit growth has been a laggard at 10 %, according to central bank data.
“We believe the monetary transmission in terms of banks’ lending and deposit rates will be partial and delayed due to a wide gap between credit and deposit growth,” said Tanvee Gupta Jain, an economist at UBS Securities India Pvt.
The problem is unlikely to go away soon, posing a headache for banks already struggling with soured loans and tight financial conditions.
“When you’re thinking of mobilizing deposits, you can’t cut interest rates. The entire problem on monetary policy transmission lies there,” said Khajuria of Federal Bank.
Business
Breaking News: Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Sends Shockwaves Through Financial World – Is India’s Banking System Next to Crumble?

Image Source: maxpixel.net
Are Indian Banks Ready to Face the Heat of Rising Interest Rates?
As Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) faces the heat of collapsing amidst rising domestic interest rates, Indian banks are left wondering if they are next in line. With the Indian economy still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospect of rising interest rates could lead to a devastating blow to the country’s banking sector. Will Indian banks be able to weather the storm or will they collapse like SVB?
Indian banks have already faced a tumultuous few years with multiple frauds and defaults taking place, leaving many questioning their resilience. With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) indicating that it may hike interest rates in the near future, the pressure on Indian banks is set to increase. The question remains – are Indian banks prepared to face the heat of rising interest rates or will they buckle under the pressure? Only time will tell.
Business
Delhi: Businesses can now remain open 24×7, over 300 applications cleared by L-G

Photo by Rehan Fazal on Unsplash
From restaurants to transport services and BPOs to online delivery services, all those who apply for exemptions will be allowed to operate 24×7 in Delhi starting next week, with Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena approving the proposal to exempt 314 such places to operate all day long, some of them pending since 2016, officials said.
“The L-G has directed that notification to this effect be issued within seven days. The decision of providing exemption under Sections 14, 15 & 16 of the Delhi Shops & Establishment Act, 1954, is expected to boost employment generation and promote a positive and favorable business environment that is a prerequisite for economic growth. The decision will also provide a fillip to the much desired ‘nightlife’ in the city,” said an official.
Source: IndianExpress
Business
Swiggy Instamart figures, Mumbaikars ordered 570 times more condoms in the last one year

Customers are also ordering medical-related things through online shopping platforms. In metros like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bangalore, people are buying goods online in large numbers. People living in metro cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai ordered an average of 6 million eggs in the last year.
These days people are doing online shopping fiercely in the country. Through Grocery Service Platforms, the goods of need are easily reaching people’s homes. From vegetables to medicines, just a few clicks on the smartphone are reaching people’s doorsteps. According to a survey, Swiggy Instamart has provided service to more than 9 million users between June 2021 and June 2022. In metros like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bangalore, people are buying goods online in large numbers.
Healthcare products orders
Customers are also ordering medical-related things through online shopping platforms. According to a survey, Mumbaikars have ordered 570 times more condoms in the last 12 months. At the same time, in 2021, Instamart received orders for about two million sanitary napkins, menstrual cups, and tampons. Apart from this, a lot of orders have also been received for grocery items.
56 lakh packets of noodles ordered
According to the survey, between April and June last year, there was a 42 percent increase in the demand for ice cream in these metro cities. It was also learned that most of the orders were placed after 10 pm. In metro cities, people have ordered 5.6 million packets of instant noodles. In Hyderabad, users ordered around 27,000 bottles of fresh juice during the summer months.
60 lakh eggs ordered
The demand for eggs has increased manifold in the last two years. People living in metro cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai ordered an average of 6 million eggs in the last year. According to the report, customers from Bangalore and Hyderabad ordered the maximum number of eggs for breakfast. At the same time, people of Mumbai, Jaipur, and Coimbatore have ordered the maximum number of eggs online at the time of dinner.
Demand for dairy products
There has been a huge jump in orders for both tea and coffee. According to the report, there has been an increase of 2,000 percent in its demand. At the same time, 3 crore orders of milk have come for milk. People from Bangalore and Mumbai have placed more orders in the morning. Regular milk, full cream milk and toned milk are the most ordered dairy products.
Ordering fruits and vegetables
Orders for 62,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables have been received in the last year. With 12,000 orders, Bengaluru tops the list of organic product buyers. At the same time, Hyderabad and Bangalore together have ordered more than 290 tonnes of green chilies in 12 months. Over 2 lakh orders have been received for bathroom cleaners, scrub pads, drain cleaners, and more in the last year.
Source: Aajtak
-
Books & Authors1 week ago
Top 10 Books of The Month | March [Editor’s Choice]
-
Books & Authors1 week ago
‘Revenge shows that you are weak, It’s a sign of a weak person.’ | Ravleen Sabharwal and Amit Dubey (Exclusive Interview)
-
News5 days ago
Covid cases increasing in Delhi, more than 150 cases in 24 hours, infection rate also increased.
-
News2 days ago
Justice Served: UP Gangster Atiq Ahmed and 2 Others, Sentenced to Life Term for Kidnapping