India's central bank is set to double to 10 per cent a cap on investment by individual foreign investors in listed companies, as it aims to boost capital inflows, according to two senior government officials and documents reviewed by Reuters.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), pressured by poor earnings, high valuations and prospects of US tariffs, have pulled more than $28 billion out of Indian stocks since September's record high in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50.
To boost foreign investment, India is widening to all foreign investors benefits it had until now restricted to overseas Indians,
while also raising applicable investment limits, the officials said.
The plans envisage allowing all foreign individual investors to invest a maximum of 10 per cent in a listed company, the document showed.
That is up from the 5 per cent holding in an Indian company allowed to overseas Indian citizens by special rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), will also raise to 24 per cent the combined holding limit for all overseas individual investors in an Indian listed company, from 10 per cent now, the officials added.
The plan to hike foreign investor limits in Indian listed firms is in the final stages of discussion between the government, the RBI, and Sebi.
The Union government has approved the direct procurement of 2.8 million tonnes of chana (gram), 2.82 million tonnes of mustard, and 0.94 million tonnes of lentils at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) during the current rabi season to ensure farmers receive remunerative prices for their crops.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), in collaboration with IIIT-Hyderabad has launched a large-scale competition to test age invariance in biometric algorithms.
The first phase of the Biometric SDK Benchmarking challenge focuses on fingerprint authentication, testing 1:1 matching algorithms for children aged 5-10 years, with updates after 5-10 years.
UIDAI ensures that participant submissions are evaluated securely, with anonymized datasets and no sharing of data with participants.
The challenge offers prizes worth Rs. 7.7 lakhs (USD 9,000) and the opportunity to collaborate with UIDAI in advancing biometric technologies.
Following the fingerprint challenge, UIDAI will also launch SDK benchmarking competitions for iris and face authentication.
Aadhaar is serving as a key pillar of good governance and digital inclusion in India and Aadhaar number holders are carrying out nearly 90 million authentication transactions daily for availing various services and benefits.
Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with Armoured Vehicle Nigam Limited for the procurement of Nag Missile System (NAMIS) Tracked version of anti-tank weapon platform and Force Motors Ltd & Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd for around 5,000 Light Vehicles for the Armed Forces at a total cost of around Rs 2,500 crore.
These contracts under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category were inked in the presence of Defence Secretary Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi on March 27, 2025.
The total cost of contract for the procurement of NAMIS(Tr) weapon system, developed by Defence Research & Development Laboratory of DRDO, is Rs 1,801.34 crore.
These modern vehicles are designed as per contemporary vehicle technology with enhanced engine power to cater to a payload of 800 kgs. It will provide mobility to the Armed Forces in all types of terrain and operational conditions.
The 8th State Level Coordination Committee (SLCC) Meeting was conducted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Gangtok on March 26, 2025, at Tashiling Secretariat. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Shri Ravindra Telang, Chief Secretary, Government of Sikkim, and was convened by Shri Thotngam Jamang, Regional Director of RBI.
During the meeting, the committee discussed the implementation of the BUDS Rules for the State of Sikkim under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019. They also deliberated on various types of financial frauds being reported on Helpline 1930 and the total recovery done by the Sikkim Police.
The RBI Manager discussed the various types of digital frauds rampant and the initiatives taken by RBI to curb the growth of fraudulent activities. RBI and SEBI also discussed various programs on Investor Awareness and Customer Grievance Redress Mechanism conducted by them to educate the public about common digital frauds and mechanisms to safeguard their financial rights.
The Union Government has released the second installment of the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV FC) Grants for rural local bodies in Tripura and Karnataka for the financial year 2024–25, strengthening local governance and driving rural transformation.
Fintech firm MobiKwik has formally entered the securities broking business by establishing its wholly owned subsidiary, MobiKwik Securities Broking Private Limited (MSBPL). The strategic move is to diversify MobiKwik’s financial services business beyond its existing digital payments and lending businesses.
This will make Mobikwik a competitor to industry leaders like Zerodha, Groww, and AngelOne.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs approved MSBPL’s incorporation on March 3, 2025, as revealed in a recent filing with the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The subsidiary will trade shares, stocks, securities, debt instruments, commodities, currencies, and derivatives.
Additionally, MSBPL intends to join stock and commodity exchanges domestically in India and abroad. This action is an indication of MobiKwik’s vision to expand its reach and influence across the global financial markets.
MobiKwik Securities Broking has been incorporated with a paid-up share capital of Rs. 1 lakh.
The holding company will invest another ₹2 crore in MSBPL in one or multiple tranches to fund its business growth. This investment underscores MobiKwik’s commitment to making a significant impact in the competitive stockbroking landscape.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) YuWaah have signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) to empower rural women and youth across India. This three-year partnership focuses on creating livelihood opportunities by connecting women from Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to jobs, self-employment, entrepreneurship, and skill-building initiatives,
thereby boosting female labour force participation in rural areas.
As part of the collaboration, efforts will be made to strengthen digital infrastructure through the establishment of Computer Didi Centers and Didi ki Dukan in five blocks across five states, namely- Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.
This pilot project has the potential to scale up and reach 35 lakh women across more than 7000 blocks after being successful.
The partnership will also feature innovative initiatives, such as Youth Hub, a cutting-edge aggregator platform for jobs, skilling, and volunteering.
The 72-year-old Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as the first woman president of the southern African nation of Namibia. Outgoing 83-year-old President Nangolo Mbumba handed over power in a ceremony yesterday. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s SWAPO party, which has ruled the country for over three decades, won both the presidential and parliamentary elections in November.
She previously served as vice president and won 58 percent of the vote. Nandi-Ndaitwah’s inauguration came a day after the Namibian parliament elected its first female speaker, former Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila. Nandi-Ndaitwah is the latest in a small group of women to hold the presidency in Africa.
The Khelo India Para Games 2025 concluded at JLN Stadium, New Delhi.
The second edition of the Khelo India Para Games witnessed outstanding performances, with para-athletes securing more than 550 medals. In the medal tally, Haryana topped the chart with 34 gold, 39 silver, and 31 bronze medals.
Tamil Nadu secured second place with 28 gold, 19 silver, and 27 bronze medals, while Uttar Pradesh finished third with 23 gold, 21 silver, and 20 bronze medals. This eight-day Khelo India Para Games saw the participation of more than 1,300 para-athletes competing across six sports, including Para Archery, Para Athletics, Para Badminton, Para Powerlifting, Para Shooting, and
Para Table Tennis.
Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Nikhil Khadse highlighted that 18 national records were broken in this event, also launched the Handbook on Accessibility of Sports Facilities.
Indian wrestlers continued their good run on the second day of the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship 2025, with Nitesh clinching the second bronze medal for the country in Amman, Jordan. Nitesh showcased remarkable skill and determination in the Greco-Roman category as he added another bronze medal to the one that Sunil Kumar had won in the men’s 87kg.
In the bronze medal match, Nitesh handed Amanberdi Agamammedov of Turkmenistan a dominant 9-0 defeat.
India’s doubles specialist B. Sumeeth Reddy, a member of the 2022 Commonwealth Games mixed team silver medal-winning squad, has announced his retirement as an active badminton player to focus entirely on coaching.
The 33-year-old from Hyderabad, who formed the men’s doubles pair with Manu Attri and also played mixed doubles with several shuttlers,
including his wife N. Sikki Reddy, made the announcement through social media.
Sumeeth and Manu, who achieved the highest world ranking of 17, won the 2016 South Asian Games gold medal, qualified for the Rio Olympics, and were also part of the men’s team at the Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad.
He represented India at the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games and won the 2015 Mexico City Grand Prix and 2016 Canada Open, along with finishing as runner-up at the US Open and Dutch Open in 2015.
Along with Ashwini Ponnappa, Sumeeth also finished second at the 2017 Syed Modi International.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has launched the state-of-the-art artificial intelligence-powered chatbot 'Sarathi' for the Chief Secretary's office website.
This chatbot is aimed at bringing revolutionary changes in citizen engagement by providing easy access to important government directives, notifications, and circulars published over the years, a release said.
During the meeting, officers informed the Chief Minister about the chatbot's capabilities. It can process and retrieve information from a vast database of over 17,820 official documents, covering 73,622 scanned PDF pages. Key documents in its knowledge base include directives, agendas, circulars, acts, policies, notifications, and government orders.
