Business & Economy
India's GST Council approved a sweeping administrative reform package that removes arrest powers for GST officers, raises the prosecution threshold to Rs 5 crore and eases several compliance burdens for businesses, a shift officials say is aimed at improving ease of doing business and reducing coercive enforcement.
Reliance Industries announced Jio Platforms will launch an initial public offering on October 21, 2026, seeking at least Rs 30,000 crore and positioning the telecom and digital arm for rapid expansion and debt reduction at the group level.
The Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate by 25 basis points and signalled a calibrated tightening stance, prompting a spike in bond yields, fresh foreign investor selling and early bank rate adjustments on October 8, 2026.
The Reserve Bank of India on October 7 raised its policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent, ending a nearly four year pause and shifting policy stance to calibrated tightening. The move responds to a stronger growth backdrop and renewed inflationary pressures, and will affect borrowing costs, the rupee and market expectations for further hikes.
With the Reserve Bank of India convening its Monetary Policy Committee from October 5 to 7, Indian equities and bond markets opened the week under pressure. Investors are pricing in a likely 25 basis point repo rate increase, while foreign outflows and higher global oil prices are deepening the selloff.
New Delhi and Ottawa open a five day round of negotiations on October 5 with a target to conclude a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by year end, a push that could reshape goods, services and investment ties between the two countries.
NITI Aayog member Arvind Virmani reaffirmed a 7 percent GDP forecast for the year on October 4, 2026, but emphasised a plus or minus 1 percent uncertainty range as global trade tensions, oil prices and monetary pressures cloud the outlook.
India cautioned on October 3 that tariffs, export controls and other trade restrictions are increasingly serving strategic purposes, injecting new uncertainty for exporters, global supply chains and foreign investors. The remarks, delivered at a major economic conclave, outline a policy tension between resilience and openness that businesses and trade partners will need to navigate.
Tata Sons on Saturday formally rejected objections from Tata Trusts over the board decision to reappoint N. Chandrasekaran, setting up a high stakes governance fight that risks unsettling group stocks and intensifying pressure from regulators who want the holding company listed.
India’s markets regulator on September 24 approved allowing foreign portfolio investors to trade a broader set of non agricultural commodity derivatives and cleared changes to portfolio management services, a move aimed at boosting liquidity, attracting global capital and aligning India with international markets.
India has warned that new US measures targeting countries that continue buying Russian energy could affect bilateral trade and energy security, adding another layer of uncertainty for businesses and global oil markets.