NITI Aayog launched the report titled “From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story”. The report launched by CEO NITI Aayog, Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam reveals that more women in India are seeking credit and actively monitoring their credit scores. As of December 2024, 27 million women were monitoring their credit,
marking a 42% increase from the previous year, signaling growing financial awareness. The report has been published by TransUnion CIBIL, Women Entrepreneurship Platform’s (WEP) of NITI Aayog and MicroSave Consulting (MSC).
The report highlights that women’s share of the total self-monitoring base increased to 19.43% in December 2024, up from 17.89% in 2023.
More women from non-metro regions are actively self-monitoring their credit compared to those in metro areas, with growth of 48% in non-metro regions and 30% in metro areas. In 2024, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana accounted for 49% of all self-monitoring women, with the southern region leading at 10.2 million.
Northern and central states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, saw highest compounded annual growth rates (CAGR) in active women borrowers over the past five years.
Since 2019, women’s share in business loan origination has increased by 14% and their share in gold loans has grown by 6%, with women accounting for 35% of business borrowers by Dec. 2024.
Maintaining its strong growth trajectory, MOIL has delivered its best-ever February performance in 2025 in terms of:
Best ever February production of 1.53 lakh tonnes Manganese (Mn) ore.
Best ever February exploratory core drilling of 11,455 meters, scaling an impressive growth of 43% over CPLY.
During April-February, 2025 period also, MOIL has registered the following notable achievements:
Sales of 14.32 lakh tonnes, higher by 3% over CPLY.
Exploratory core drilling of 94,894 meters , which is higher by 20% over CPLY.
Shri Ajit Kumar Saxena- CMD.
The star Indian batter Virat Kohli has been on top of the world ever since he finally found his form again with a century against Pakistan in India’s last game at the ICC Champions Trophy. He even became the fastest player to reach 14,000 ODI runs during his epic innings, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara.
He has now officially become the seventh Indian batter to represent India in 300 ODI games or more. Sachin Tendulkar (463 games) is at the top, while the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni (347 games) is in second place.
Jay Shah, chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has been honoured with the prestigious Icon of Excellence award at the 14th edition of the Forbes India Leadership Awards (FILA 2025). This award recognises his exceptional contributions to cricket administration and his role in driving innovation and inclusivity in the sport.
Under his leadership, cricket has witnessed a remarkable transformation, making the game more accessible and globally competitive.
The Icon of Excellence award was presented to Jay Shah at a prestigious event held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. The award was handed over by Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico Limited, and
KVS Manian, MD & CEO of Federal Bank, in recognition of his dynamic leadership in sports administration.
At the age of 36, Jay Shah made history by becoming the youngest-ever chairman of the ICC. Through his strategic decision-making and futuristic approach, he continues to play a crucial role in elevating cricket to new heights.
City Union Bank (CUB) announced a strategic partnership with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), to introduce a new co-branded credit card. This collaboration offers fans of the franchise a chance to enhance their financial journey while enjoying exclusive perks related to their love for cricket.
Cardholders will earn exciting rewards on every purchase, with bonus points for CSK-related merchandise, match tickets, and experiences. The program includes special access to events, fan meetups, and much more. And CSK fans will get exclusive discounts and offers on official team merchandise, enabling them to show off their team pride.
Vijay Anandh- Executive Director of City Union Bank.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) announced that Manan Kumar Mishra, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India and Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), has been re-elected unopposed as the Chairman of the Bar Council of India for a historic seventh consecutive term.
A statement issued stated that elected representatives of India's nearly 27 lakh vibrant legal fraternity have once again reaffirmed their trust in his distinguished leadership.
He emphasized the necessity of introducing welfare measures and structured training programs for young lawyers within the Advocates Act and Advocate Protection Act to strengthen and empower them.
World Wildlife Day 2025, observed on March 3, focuses on the theme “Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet.” This global event aims to raise awareness about the urgent need for financial investments in wildlife conservation, amidst a triple planetary crisis affecting over one million species.
Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013, the day commemorates the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973. Stakeholders, including governments and NGOs, are encouraged to collaborate on sustainable financial models to protect biodiversity.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States.
The order rescinds a policy introduced by former President Bill Clinton that required federal agencies and organisations receiving government funding to offer language assistance to non-English speakers.
The move aligns with a long-standing campaign promise by Trump and reflects efforts by lawmakers who have attempted for decades to pass similar legislation. More than 30 states have already declared English their official language.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced stricter Key Performance Indicator (KPI) disclosures for initial public offers (IPOs).
These new standards, developed in collaboration with industry associations, aim to enhance transparency and provide investors with a clearer understanding of a company’s valuation and business performance.
The guidelines, issued by the Industry Standards Forum, mandate unambiguous definitions of KPIs, inclusion of non-traditional financial metrics relevant to valuation, and enhanced oversight by the audit committee and board of directors.
Effective April 1, investment bankers and issuer companies must comply with these standards, ensuring proper disclosure of KPIs in draft and final offer documents.
KPIs are critical for investors to evaluate a company’s performance, assess risks, and compare with other industry peers.
The new standards exclude business-sensitive data, unverifiable information, and projections to ensure only relevant and reliable metrics are disclosed.
Under the guidelines, KPIs identified or certified by the issuer company’s management must be approved by its audit committee before inclusion in the offer document.
Companies will also need to disclose “operational measures” — non-financial data points that provide insights into valuation and business models. These metrics must be included in the “basis for offer price” section of the offer document.
Additionally, companies must disclose key information shared with investors who were allotted securities in any primary issuance within three years prior to the filing of the offer document, excluding employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). This includes details provided during secondary sales and any rights granted to such investors.
KPIs must also encompass information from private placement or rights issue offer letters issued within the same three-year period.
The guidelines also mandate that KPIs disclosed in the offer document be certified by a professional.
Post-listing, companies must continue to disclose these KPIs periodically, either annually or until the issue proceeds are fully utilised.
Magma General Insurance Limited (Magma) has forged a strategic alliance with Hyundai India Insurance Broking Pvt. Ltd. (HIIB) to enhance motor insurance accessibility across the country.
Under this collaboration, HIIB will offer Magma’s motor insurance policies for private and commercial passenger vehicles through its extensive network of 600+ dealerships across India.
This partnership is aimed at providing vehicle owners with comprehensive insurance coverage against risks such as accidents, theft, natural calamities, and third-party liabilities. By joining forces, both companies seek to deliver seamless, cost-effective, and easily accessible insurance solutions to customers nationwide.
Mr. Rajive Kumaraswami- Managing Director and CEO of Magma General Insurance.
Markets regulator Sebi has allowed all non-banking financial companies (NBFC), including housing finance companies, to invest in security receipts issued by Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs), a move aimed at encouraging investments in the bad loans space.
This has widened the scope of participants who can acquire security receipts from ARCs, thereby boosting liquidity in the distressed asset market.
ARCs are set-up to acquire bad loans from banks and financial institutions after appropriate haircuts and issue security receipts (SRs).
This comes with safeguards to avert defaulting promoters from claiming back the secured assets through SRs.
Sebi said that such "NBFCs including HFCs will have to ensure that the defaulting promoters or their related parties do not directly or indirectly gain access to secured assets through security receipts;
and such NBFCs including HFCs shall comply with such other conditions as the RBI may specify from time to time".
As per the SARFAESI Act, only qualified buyers can invest in security receipts.
Economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth was given additional charge of the post of secretary, Department of Revenue, according to a personnel ministry order.
The vacancy was necessitated following the appointment of revenue secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on February 27.
Pandey assumed charge as the chief of the Mumbai-based capital markets regulator.
The competent authority has approved the assignment of the additional charge of the secretary of the Department of Revenue to Ajay Seth, secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs till the appointment of a regular incumbent, the order said.
In February 2025, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) released draft regulations titled The Competition Commission of India (Determination of Cost of Production) Regulations, 2025. These draft regulations seek to replace the earlier 2009 regulations on the subject.
The proposed regulations aim to modernise the framework for assessing predatory pricing under the Competition Act, 2002, aligning it with contemporary economic theories in other jurisdictions and global best practices. The draft regulations invite public consultations from stakeholders until March 19, 2025, via the CCI portal.
Predatory pricing is an anti-competitive practice under Section 4(2)(a)(ii) of the Competition Act, defined as selling goods or services below cost by a ‘dominant firm’ with the intent to eliminate competitors. For a pricing strategy to be classified as predatory, all three conditions must be met:
(i) Dominant market position (defined under the Act, under Section 4 explanation (a), with the ability to control prices and restrict competition).
(ii) Pricing below cost (as defined under the new draft regulations).
(iii) Intent to eliminate competition (creating a monopoly after eliminating competitors, rather than simply engaging in competitive pricing).
The most significant change in the new draft regulations is the removal of “market value,” which previously caused ambiguity, and the addition of “average total cost (ATC).” Average variable cost means total variable cost divided by total output during the referred period.
In specific cases, the CCI may consider other cost assessment measures as outlined in the new regulations, such as average total cost, average avoidable cost, or long-run average incremental cost, depending on the industry, market conditions, and technology involved. The CCI or the director general may seek assistance from experts to determine cost figures.
Enterprises disputing the cost determination can request an independent expert review at their own expense, ensuring a fair and transparent process.
