RBI, interest rates and bonds
3 articles · 26 insights
2018's 2.5% gold bond cost the government 21% a year
The government repays its October 2018 gold bond at ₹14,425 a gram, 4.59x the ₹3,146 it raised. With interest, that is about 21.3% a year, against 7.97% on an ordinary bond sold the same week.
23 October 2026Read more →Prices, not output, drove Hindustan Zinc's 142% profit jump
Hindustan Zinc's September quarter profit rose 142% while it sold only 8% more metal. Its own bridge credits higher prices and a weaker rupee with 81% of the EBITDA rise.
20 October 2026Read more →Yes Bank's ₹8,415 crore AT-1 bonds return after court ruling
The Supreme Court restored ₹8,415 crore of Yes Bank's AT-1 bonds, written off in its 2020 rescue. The bank's core equity ratio falls from 14.0% to about 11.5%.
17 October 2026Read more →India's Mauritius tax test leaves pre-2017 share gains alone
India can now refuse Mauritius treaty tax discounts to companies using Mauritius mainly to pay less tax. Pre-2017 share gains keep their exemption; lower dividend and interest rates can be refused.
16 October 2026Read more →RBI puts a 20% cash rule on large dollar hedges
From October 10, banks must keep cash equal to 20% of every dollar-buying hedge above $2 million with the RBI. Exporters selling dollars are not affected.
11 October 2026Read more →RBI brings back its 2011 ban on rebooking cancelled hedges
The RBI has banned rebooking cancelled rupee hedges, as it last did in December 2011, and cut the no-paperwork hedging limit from $100 million to $5 million.
11 October 2026Read more →RBI opens its 3rd dollar window for state oil companies
From October 12 the RBI will sell dollars straight to Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL, as it did in 2008 and 2013. This time it is an outright sale, not a swap.
11 October 2026Read more →A primer on the recent RBI developments
5 steps between 9 and 12 October: tighter bank cash, a squeeze on hedging and dollars for the oil firms. The rupee likely opens stronger, bank shares weaker.
11 October 2026Read more →Households expect 10% inflation while the RBI forecasts 5.2%
The RBI's September survey finds city households expect 10% inflation a year ahead, up from 8% in November 2025, while the RBI's own forecast for 2026-27 is 5.2%.
11 October 2026Read more →RBI expects inflation near 6% for the next 3 quarters
The RBI raised its 2026-27 inflation forecast to 5.2% from 5.0%, but the next 3 quarters average almost 5.8%, just under the 6% limit.
7 October 2026Read more →RBI raises India's 2026-27 growth forecast to 7.1%
The RBI raised its 2026-27 growth forecast by 40 bps to 7.1%, mostly on April to September; its forecast for April to June 2027 went down.
7 October 2026Read more →Overnight loans could cost more than the 25 bps hike
The RBI raised the repo rate 25 bps to 5.50%. With the call rate 14 bps below repo, overnight money could get dearer than the hike suggests.
7 October 2026Read more →India's forex reserves fell US$ 18.3 billion in a week
India's forex reserves fell US$ 18.3 billion in a week, mostly foreign currency, while bank deposits and loans grew 17% to 18% on a year.
6 October 2026Read more →India's forex reserves reached US$ 765.9 billion
India's forex reserves reached US$ 765.9 billion on September 18, 2026, helped by US$ 133 billion of NRI deposits that banks raised through an RBI swap window.
2 October 2026Read more →Private firms filed ₹5.6 lakh crore of project plans in FY26
The RBI counted 1,839 private projects worth ₹5.6 lakh crore in 2025-26, up from ₹5.0 lakh crore, with power, Maharashtra and Gujarat taking the biggest shares.
2 October 2026Read more →RBI makes it easier to build stakes in payments banks
Mutual funds, insurers and pension funds can now rebuild a stake of up to 10% in a payments bank under one RBI approval, without applying again each time.
2 October 2026Read more →What the US yield curve has signalled since 1962
From 2022 to 2025, short US loans paid more than long ones. That has usually meant a recession. None has come yet.
29 September 2026Read more →From the secret Red Book to the Beige Book
The Beige Book is what US businesses tell the Fed before each rate meeting. A Fed paper finds its tone flags recessions better than the yield curve.
28 September 2026Read more →Banks lent ₹102 for every ₹100 of new deposits
Loans have outrun deposits since FY2023. An RBI Bulletin article says that is not a warning sign: capital, borrowing and fewer bonds filled the gap.
28 September 2026Read more →India's first blue bond is for ports and coastal roads
Sagarmala Finance took bids for India's first blue bond: up to ₹600 crore for 10 years, for ports and coastal roads. Only ₹100 crore is the base issue.
28 September 2026Read more →RBI fines Hero FinCorp 6 days before IPO approval lapses
The RBI fined Hero FinCorp ₹10 lakh for charging some borrowers too much interest. The fine is small. The deadline for its IPO, 30 September, is the bigger problem.
25 September 2026Read more →Bharat Connect forex carries 1 rupee in 6,000 sent abroad
The RBI added 5 currencies to forex on Bharat Connect, a service that handled ₹11.19 crore in 4 months while Indians sent $7.23 billion abroad in 3.
21 September 2026Read more →The Fed raised rates, then America's leading index slipped
The Fed raised rates even though it said the US economy was doing well. 2 days later the Leading Economic Index fell again and warned that the economy could be heading into a less certain period.
20 September 2026Read more →Of 224 central bank meetings, 165 left rates unchanged
The Fed, the RBI and the Bank of Japan met 224 times in 10 years. 74% of those meetings left interest rates exactly where they were.
20 September 2026Read more →RBI rejects Tata Sons' bid to avoid a stock market listing
The RBI has refused to let Tata Sons escape the NBFC rules, so the unlisted Tata holding company may finally have to list.
16 September 2026Read more →Tokenised bonds raise ₹1,025 crore, settled in digital rupee
Three issuers raised ₹1,025 crore in tokenised corporate bonds settled against RBI's digital rupee, a tiny sum that hints at faster settlement and wider access.
13 September 2026Read more →How does India borrow and lend?
Understanding how the money flows in the Indian economy and how fixed income instruments react to macroeconomic events along with Monetary Policy Decisions.
21 April 2026Read more →Greasing the wheel
How the price of a barrel of Gulf oil limits RBI policy, widens the fiscal deficit, weakens the rupee and raises the discount rate on Nifty growth stocks.
5 April 2026Read more →Inflation with the fine print
January's retail inflation was 2.75%, back inside the RBI's 2% to 6% band. The bigger news: MoSPI moved the CPI base year from 2012 to 2024.
19 February 2026Read more →