India

Stock Watch — August 12, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Close (Aug 11) Change vs Aug 10 % Change Direction Nifty 50 24,471.70 -112.10 -0.46% ↘️ Nifty Bank 57,158.10 -528.85 -0.92% ↘️ FinNifty 26,432.40 -112.90 -0.43% ↘️ Nifty IT ~31,825.40 ~+194.00 +0.61% ↗️ Sensex 78,154.25 -388.19 -0.49% ↘️ Pre-market cues: Markets ended in the red on Tuesday (Aug 11) — Nifty fell 112 points (-0.46%), closing below the key 24,500 level. Sensex dropped 388 points (-0.49%). Financials dragged — Nifty Bank fell -0.92% as PSU and private banks both slid. IT was the outperformer (+0.61%) — TCS +0.68%, Infosys +0.36%. Pharma also gained (Dr Reddy’s +3.99%). Crude oil surged ~2.6% to near $90/barrel on Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions — only 6 vessels transiting as US-Iran peace hopes fade. INR weakened to ₹95.43/USD (-0.14%). India July CPI data due today (Aug 12) — key event. GIFT Nifty was trading around 24,525 (down 0.55% from previous close) — signalling a negative-to-flat open. SGX Nifty futures narrowly range-bound (24,601–24,627). ...

Fintech Brief — August 12, 2026 RBI Governor: AI Could Do for Lending What UPI Did for Payments RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra delivered a landmark address at the FIBAC 2026 conference in Mumbai, declaring that AI could reshape banking the way liberalisation did in the 1990s and digitalisation did in the 2010s. He urged banks to move beyond pilot projects and adopt AI as a core strategic capability. Key takeaways: Credit inclusion: AI models using alternative data — cash flows, GST filings, utility payments — can expand the “frontier of bankability” by assessing borrowers without traditional credit histories. Digital Payment Intelligence Platform: The RBI will build a new platform to help banks deploy AI/ML for detecting increasingly sophisticated digital payment fraud (Storyboard18). Human oversight is non-negotiable: Malhotra warned that banks cannot transfer responsibility for decisions to AI systems or vendors. Boards must approve AI governance frameworks, and banks should conduct red-team exercises and stress tests on models. UPI as foundation: India’s DPI stack — UPI, Aadhaar, Account Aggregators, ULI — gives banks a unique structural advantage to build AI-driven financial services. The Governor also revealed that BRICS nations are discussing linking fast payment systems with digital currencies, signalling continued momentum for cross-border UPI expansion. ...

Stock Watch — August 11, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close (Aug 10) Change vs Aug 7 % Change Direction Nifty 50 24,583.80 +13.15 +0.05% ➡️ Nifty Bank 57,686.95 -59.50 -0.10% ↘️ FinNifty 26,545.30 +79.30 +0.30% ↗️ Nifty IT 31,631.45 +83.75 +0.27% ↗️ Sensex 78,542.44 +43.27 +0.06% ➡️ Pre-market cues: Markets ended largely flat on Monday (Aug 10) — Nifty added just 13 points (+0.05%) while Sensex gained 43 points (+0.06%). IT stocks supported the market (Infosys +1.39%, Tech Mahindra +1.66%) while PSU banks dragged (SBI -2.39%). Titan jumped 3% on strong Q1 results. Bajaj Finance +2.24%. GIFT Nifty was trading around 24,621 in early Tuesday trade — marginally lower, signalling a negative-to-flat open. Crude oil prices remain elevated on Hormuz stalemate. INR weakened 11 paise to close at 95.28/USD. US markets closed mixed overnight — S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq -0.27%. India VIX elevated. ...

Fintech Brief — August 11, 2026 RBI Finalises Landmark Recovery Guidelines for NBFCs — Device-Locking Gets Strict Guardrails The RBI issued its Third Amendment Directions to the NBFC — Responsible Business Conduct framework on August 6 (Notification DOR.MCS.REC.No.199/01-01-039/2026-27), effective 1 January 2027. The final text transforms debt recovery from an outsourced back-office function into a governed, audited, and accountable process. Key provisions: Device-locking rules: NBFCs financing smartphones/laptops may only restrict devices tied to the specific loan, after 30 days past due. Full restrictions kick in at 60 days. Essential functions — incoming calls, SMS, emergency SOS — can never be cut off. Unlocking must happen within one hour of payment; wrongful delays attract compensation of ₹250 per hour, capped at the loan amount. No data access: Neither the NBFC nor its tech partner may access personal data (contacts, photos, location) on the borrower’s device. Recovery agent certification: All agents must hold an IIBF Debt Recovery Agents certificate. Existing agents get a one-year grace period. Transparency: NBFCs must publish empanelled recovery agencies on their websites. Borrowers must be notified of agency details at least one day before in-person visits. Contact hours restricted to 8 AM–7 PM. Borrower distress framework: Lenders must build a documented pre-escalation engagement process — a pause before pressure — for borrowers in genuine financial difficulty. Why it matters: This is the RBI’s most comprehensive recovery governance framework. Device-financing NBFCs and small-ticket digital lenders face the biggest compliance lift. With barely four months to the January 1 deadline, NBFCs need to start re-papering loan agreements, re-onboarding vendors, and building grievance channels now. ...

Stock Watch — August 10, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close Change % Change Direction Nifty 50 24,570.65 -65.35 -0.27% ↘️ Nifty Bank 57,739.95 -323.70 -0.56% ↘️ FinNifty 26,466.00 -397.50 -1.48% ↘️ Nifty IT ~31,404.00 +297.80 +0.96% ↗️ Sensex 78,499.17 -455.83 -0.58% ↘️ Pre-market cues: Nifty 50 closed at 24,570.65 on Friday (Aug 7), snapping a two-day winning streak as financials and private banks dragged. Markets logged their second consecutive positive week (+0.5% WoW for both Nifty and Sensex). Gift Nifty was ~24,560 in early Monday trade — flat-to-mildly negative, pointing to a cautious open. India VIX at ~12.5. US S&P 500 at record high after soft jobs data. Iran-Hormuz crude tensions persist. RBI held repo rate steady at 6.50% in Aug MPC — status quo. ...

Fintech Brief — August 10, 2026 SEBI’s Closing Auction Session Survives a Rocky First Week SEBI’s Closing Auction Session (CAS) — the new mechanism replacing VWAP-based closing price discovery — completed its first week of operations on August 8, and it was anything but smooth. The 20-minute auction window (3:15–3:35 pm), introduced for stocks with listed derivatives from August 3, triggered widespread confusion among retail traders and brokers unfamiliar with the new order-matching logic. ...

Fintech Brief — August 09, 2026 RBI Proposes Barring NBFCs from Revolving Credit — Flexi Loans Under Threat The Reserve Bank of India has released draft amendments to its Credit Facilities Directions, 2026, proposing to restrict non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to term loans only — effectively banning revolving credit facilities. If finalised, this would eliminate flexi-loans, overdraft-style facilities, and digital credit lines that have become staples of NBFC-fintech partnerships. The proposal builds on the Credit Facilities Directions issued in November 2025 and aims to create sharper structural distinctions between loan products. The RBI has invited stakeholder comments by August 28, 2026. ...

Fintech Brief — August 08, 2026 Lok Sabha Passes Bill Opening Door to UPI Merchant Charges The Lok Sabha passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 on August 7, amending the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 to remove the legal bar that prohibited banks and payment service providers from levying charges on notified electronic payment modes — including UPI. The amendment replaces Section 10A’s reference to Section 269SU of the Income Tax Act with a provision authorising the Central Government to notify specific electronic payment modes where charges may be permitted. Crucially, no MDR rate or implementation timeline has been announced yet — the Bill only creates the legal framework for a future decision. ...

Stock Watch — August 7, 2026 Market Day Summary | Not investment advice 📊 INDICES Index Prev Close Change % Change Direction Nifty 50 24,636.00 +11.35 +0.05% ➡️ Nifty Bank 58,063.65 +323.70 +0.56% ↗️ FinNifty 26,863.50 +19.60 +0.07% ➡️ Nifty IT 31,106.20 -297.85 -0.95% ↘️ Sensex 78,955.00 +373.76 +0.48% ↗️ Pre-market cues: Gift Nifty ~24,650 (+0.04%) — flat-to-mildly positive, pointing to a muted open. India VIX at 12.11. Bank Nifty outperformed on Thursday (+0.56%) while Nifty IT lagged (-0.95%) — profit-taking in tech, rotation into banks. FIIs were ~flat (net -₹17.86 cr) while DIIs bought ₹4,013.60 cr on Aug 6. ...

Fintech Brief — August 07, 2026 Lok Sabha Clears Bill Paving Way for UPI Charges The Lok Sabha passed a bill amending Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, enabling the government to permit banks and payment systems to levy charges on UPI transactions. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that end-users will not face charges — the framework targets merchant-side MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) recovery. The actual MDR policy will be set by NPCI’s UPI Services Steering Committee after the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 becomes law. ...