Business Updates: Repo rate may be cut thrice by August, monthly installment of loan will reduce
New Delhi| People troubled by high loan interest will get relief. By August, RBI may cut repo rates by 0.75 percent in three times. Earlier in February, there was a decrease of 0.25 per cent. In this way, within just 7 months, a total reduction of one percent in the repo rate could lead to a huge reduction in the installment in the future.
Economists’ estimates
54 out of 60 economists estimate that the RBI will reduce the repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 6 per cent in the April 7-9 meeting. There aren’t too many strong factors for growth in FY2026, said ANZ economist Dheeraj Nim. RBI needs to maintain support for growth. Inflation has also created a lot of scope for relief for them. RBI has injected about $64 billion into the banking system in a few months to increase the money supply. Now there is a need to decline in rates, because there is a slowdown in expenditure and investment and real rates need to be adjusted from that perspective.
It will take time for liquidity to improve
Liquidity will start improving in the new financial year starting from April, as government expenditure will also increase. HDFC Bank chief economist Sakshi Gupta said, RBI will cut the rate a maximum of three times. There could be a 0.25 percent cut in April, India Ratings and Research said. However, if the impact of US tariffs exceeds expectations, the RBI may relax more.
The government approved the purchase of 37.39 lakh tones of gram and lentils
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the government has approved the procurement of 37.39 lakh tonnes of gram, lentils and 28.28 lakh tones of mustard for the 2025 Rabi marketing season. Chouhan urged state governments to ensure that procurement is not done at less than the minimum support price (MSP). Procurement of Commodities Central Nodal Agencies National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers Union of India Ltd. (NCCF). Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are their major producing states. Chauhan said the procurement of pulses included 27.99 lakh tonnes of gram and 9.40 lakh tonnes of lentils. Regarding kharif (summer) pulses, the minister said that procurement of tur has reached 2.46 lakh tonnes, benefiting 1.71 lakh farmers. Tur, urad and lentils are being procured from nine states including Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Chauhan said, procurement at MSP is going on in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana. Tur prices in Uttar Pradesh are currently higher than MSP and the Centre is committed to 100 per cent procurement through nodal agencies. The procurement period in Karnataka has been extended by 30 days to May 1.
Leaving TV behind, the biggest segment will be the digital media entertainment sector
Digital media in India will overtake traditional television in 2024. This will become the largest segment in the media and entertainment sector. It will account for 32 per cent of total revenue. Digital media could become the first segment to cross Rs 1 lakh crore in advertising revenue in 2026, reports FICCI and Ernst & Young.
According to the report, the Indian media and entertainment sector (M&E) will grow at the rate of more than seven percent to cross Rs 3 lakh crore in the next three years. The total reached an assessment of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in 2024 and contributed 0.73 per cent to India’s GDP in 2024. The Indian media and entertainment sector is expected to grow by 7.2 per cent to reach Rs 2.7 lakh crore in 2025. The compound annual growth rate of 7 per cent is projected to increase to Rs 3.1 lakh crore by 2027. According to the report, this development will be made possible by innovative business models and strategic alliances.
Income Tax Department offices will be open on 29-31 March
Income Tax Department offices will be open from 29 to 31 March across the country to facilitate taxpayers to settle pending tax related business for the current financial year 2024-25. All Income Tax offices will remain open on March 29, 30 and 31, 2025, despite Eid al-Fitr falling on weekends and Mondays, the Central Board of Direct Taxes said. March 31, 2025 is the final day of the current fiscal year.
Banks will also open on March 31
Banks performing government functions will also remain open on March 31 for the convenience of taxpayers. RBI said, necessary arrangements have been made to facilitate accounting of government receipts and payments in the current financial year itself.
America imposed sanctions on six companies of China’s Inspur group
Put dozens of Chinese companies, including six subsidiaries of China’s leading cloud computing and big data service provider Inspur Group, on its export ban list. Of Inspur’s total units, more than 50 are in China, while others are located in Taiwan, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. According to the US Commerce Department, these units of Inspur are involved in developing supercomputers for the Chinese military. For this reason they were included in the export restricted list. Of these, five units are located in China and one in Taiwan.
IPOs worth Rs 30,000 crore postponed due to stock market crash
IPOs worth Rs 30,000 crore have been postponed due to the huge fluctuations that have been going on in the domestic stock market for the last six months. Companies fear that if they enter the market, their issues may get less response. This may also reduce their evaluation.
According to the data, in the last one year, the pace of initial public offering i.e. IPO has come to a complete standstill in March. Analysts say market volatility has made investors more cautious and risk-averse. This is affecting the primary market. As a result many companies planning to launch IPOs in the first half of 2025 have now put these off. Analysts believe that India’s long-term growth story is strong. In such a situation, companies can accelerate IPOs in the second half of the next financial year.
