Business & Economy

New Delhi, February 13:After steep losses on Thursday, gold and silver prices surged on Friday, bringing relief to investors. In early MCX trading, silver jumped over ₹6,000 per kilogram, while gold rose by more than ₹2,000 per 10 grams. MCX Rates Silver (May 5 delivery): Closed at ₹2,36,435 per kg on Thursday, opened at ₹2,39,626, and surged to ₹2,42,866 in early trade. By 9:50 AM, it was trading at ₹2,42,200, up ₹5,765. Gold (April 2 delivery): Closed at ₹1,52,836 per 10 grams, opened at ₹1,53,750, and reached ₹1,54,837 at its peak. By 10 AM, it was trading at ₹1,54,725, a 1.24% increase. International Markets Global markets mirrored this recovery: Spot gold rose 1% to $4,966.83 per ounce after dropping over 3% in the previous session. Spot silver gained 2.1% to $...

New Delhi, February 13:The Indian stock market witnessed sharp losses for the second consecutive day as selling pressure in IT stocks sent benchmarks tumbling. The BSE Sensex opened over 650 points lower, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped nearly 200 points in early trade. By 9:35 AM, Sensex had plunged 815.28 points (0.97%) to 82,859.64, and Nifty 50 fell 257.85 points (1%) to 25,549.35. This decline erased approximately ₹4.62 lakh crore from investors’ net worth, pushing BSE’s total market capitalization down to ₹467 lakh crore. IT Stocks Bear the Brunt The Nifty IT Index has fallen nearly 10% over two days, reflecting heavy selling. Among Sensex’s 30 stocks, 26 declined. Infosys dropped over 5% to ₹1,281.55, marking its 52-week low. TCS and HCL Tech shares fell over 4%, also hi...

New Delhi, February 13:Good news for India’s farmers: the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing significant reforms in the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme. A draft of the new guidelines has been released, and stakeholders—including regulated institutions and the public—can submit suggestions until March 6, 2026. The changes aim to expand the scheme’s reach, simplify operations, and address evolving agricultural needs. Key Proposed Changes Extended Validity: The KCC’s validity may be increased to six years, aligning the loan tenure with crop cycles. Short-duration crops will follow a 12-month cycle, while long-duration crops will follow an 18-month cycle. Standardized Loan Repayment: The draft proposes uniformity in loan approval and repayment schedules across crop seasons. C...

New Delhi, February 13:The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued stringent draft guidelines to tackle mis-selling by banks and financial institutions, ensuring that customers are fully protected from unfair practices. Under the proposed rules, financial institutions must refund 100% of the amount paid by a customer if a product or scheme was sold inappropriately. What Constitutes Mis-Selling According to the RBI draft: Selling a product that does not match the customer’s profile, even if the customer agrees. Providing incomplete, misleading, or false information about a product. Selling a product without the customer’s explicit consent. Forcing customers to purchase additional products alongside their desired product. These practices are considered mis-selling, and ...

Mumbai, February 13:The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed stricter guidelines for loan recovery agents to protect borrowers from harassment. Under the new draft rules, which apply to scheduled commercial banks (excluding regional rural banks) and housing finance companies, agents will no longer be allowed to intimidate or pressure customers during loan recovery. Key Highlights of the RBI Draft Rules Call Recording: Every call made by a recovery agent must be recorded to serve as evidence in case of disputes. Civil Conduct: Agents are required to interact with customers in a polite and professional manner, with strict prohibitions on abusive language. Timing Restrictions: Agents cannot call customers after 7 PM. Recovery attempts are prohibited during sensitive occasions...

New Delhi, February 13:At just 22 years old, Pavani Madugala of Andhra Pradesh made life-changing decisions that led to a remarkable entrepreneurial journey. After getting married, she gave up her MBA and went on to build a ₹1 crore business selling traditional halwa—without any capital, factory, or prior business setup—leveraging online sales to reach customers nationwide. Humble Beginnings Pavani hails from a remote village near Visakhapatnam, around 90 km from the city, where transport connectivity is limited and opportunities for women are scarce. She had completed her BSc in Agriculture and had secured an MBA seat at Symbiosis University, Pune, even paying the fees. However, a week before her program started, she got married and relocated to her husband’s village, which meant pu...

New Delhi, February 13:The domestic stock market closed lower on Thursday, with both major indices ending in the red amid weakening US interest rate cut expectations and concerns over AI-driven disruptions. The BSE Sensex fell 558.72 points (0.66%) to close at 83,674.92, while the NSE Nifty slipped 146.65 points (0.57%) to 25,807.20. During the day, the Sensex touched a low of 83,516.67, down 716.97 points at one point. Sectoral Performance The sharpest pressure was seen in IT stocks, with Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and TCS losing nearly 6%. Other notable laggards included HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Indigo, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Adani Ports. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Bharat...

New Delhi, February 12:India has gained significant advantages from the recently finalized India-US trade agreement, according to SBI Research. The analysis suggests that India’s annual trade surplus with the United States could rise to $45 billion, while exports may surge to $100 billion, signaling a transformative shift in bilateral trade relations. The report highlights that the agreement has cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods by up to 18%, making India one of the most competitive Asian exporters in the US market—lower than rates applied to Vietnam and most ASEAN economies. This tariff reduction substantially improves India’s relative pricing power across multiple sectors. Boost to GDP and Foreign Exchange SBI Research estimates that India’s GDP could rise by about 1.1% due...

New Delhi, February 12:In a surprising turn for bullion traders, silver prices remained unchanged on Thursday, defying the strong volatility witnessed over the past several sessions. The white metal closed flat at ₹2,68,500 per kilogram, leaving investors and market participants intrigued by its sudden stability. Meanwhile, gold prices recorded a mild decline, falling by ₹400 in the national capital’s bullion market. According to the All India Sarafa Association, 99.9% purity gold slipped 0.25% to close at ₹1,60,900 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes). On Wednesday, gold had settled at ₹1,61,300 per 10 grams. Experts Link Gold Decline to Global Signals Market experts attributed the decline in gold prices to a weak global trend and reduced expectations of an early interest rate c...

“Luniya Vinayak Nari Sashaktikaran – Women Empowerment Program” Target: 800,000 Women Entrepreneurs and 50 Million Employment Opportunities in 5 Years Indore/Siliguri | Special Correspondent With the objective of giving a new direction to women entrepreneurship across the country, Luniya Vinayak Group of Companies has announced an ambitious national campaign. According to the group, the initiative aims to connect 800,000 women across India with entrepreneurship opportunities over the next five years, making them financially self-reliant and generating approximately 50 million (5 crore) direct and indirect employment opportunities. The formal launch of the campaign will take place on February 15, 2026, on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri, with the blessings of Baba Mahak...