The US has announced the suspension of additional tariffs on India for 90 days until July 9 this year, according to the White House executive orders. On April 2, US President Donald Trump slapped universal duties on about 60 countries exporting goods to America and additional steep levies on countries like India, potentially impacting sales of products from shrimp to steel.
The US imposed an additional import duty of 26 percent on India. The tariffs were high on its competitors like Thailand, Vietnam and China. This suspension of tariffs is not applicable to China, including Hong Kong and Macau.
The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the New Development Bank (NDB) creating a deep and sustainable infrastructure financing market and developing a supportive ecosystem around it.
NDB is a multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the purpose of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs).
The MoU also lays the foundation for both organisations to participate in infrastructure projects through thematic-level collaborations within their respective mandates, it said. Additionally, NaBFID and NDB will partner in research and capacity-building initiatives, including seminars and workshops, to promote knowledge sharing and enhance institutional capabilities.
State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) announced the immediate transmission of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy rate cut of 25 basis points to its customers. The bank has reduced its external benchmark-linked lending rates for loans catering to retail and MSME segments by 25 basis points, ensuring that customers benefit quickly from the RBI's monetary policy move.
The Reserve Bank slashed key interest rates by 25 basis points for the second time in a row to support growth facing the threat of reciprocal tariffs by the US. Meanwhile, the bank has left the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) unchanged. The benchmark one-year tenor MCLR, which is used to price most consumer loans like auto and personal, has been kept at 9%.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology services firm, announced the appointment of Aarthi Subramanian as executive director-president and chief operating officer of the company. The appointment is for a term of five years, commencing from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2030.
She is also a board member of the firm. The last time TCS had a chief operating officer role was before 2009, when N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons, was appointed to that position.
Aye Finance, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), has got the green light from the Securities and Exchange Board of India for its initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs. 1,450 crore. This is a major milestone in the journey of Aye Finance as it seeks to access the public markets to fuel growth and further strengthen its roots in India’s lively MSME credit ecosystem.
The IPO consists of a fresh issue of Rs. 885 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs. 565 crore by various shareholders, such as LGT Capital Invest Mauritius PCC, CapitalG LP, and A91 Emerging Fund I LLP. The proceeds from the fresh issue will be used to reinforce Aye Finance’s capitalization base, finance future growth, and meet general corporate aims.
In a landmark moment for Indian literature, Heart Lamp, a story collection by Banu Mushtaq translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, has become the first book written in the Kannada language to be shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. In 12 stories, Banu Mushtaq captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India.
Spanning more than three decades of Mushtaq’s career (1990–2023), Heart Lamp is a literary portrait of life on the margins, blending everyday detail with social critique, and filtered through the lens of resistance, feminism, and faith. Mushtaq, a lawyer and activist from Karnataka, began writing within the progressive protest literary circles in southwestern India.
The shortlist for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction features six novels that explore themes of identity, transformation, love, and human connection. The list includes a mix of established authors and debut novelists, each offering a distinct narrative voice and perspective. The winner will be announced on June 12 and will receive a prize of £30,000, along with "Bessie".
The prize, established in 1996, is awarded annually to a female author of the best full-length novel written in English.
The Reserve Bank of India carries out the general banking business of the Central and State Governments through its own offices and through the offices of the agency banks appointed under Section 45 of the RBI Act, 1934, by mutual agreement. RBI pays agency commission to the agency banks for the government business handled by them.
Payment of pension to retired government employees, including payment of basic pension, increased dearness relief (DR), and other benefits, as and when announced by the governments, is governed by the relevant schemes prepared by concerned Ministries/Departments of the Government of India and State Governments.
Reserve Bank of India has been regulating the financial activities of the Non-Banking Financial Companies under the provisions of Chapter III B of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. With the amendment of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 in January 1997, in terms of Section 45 IA of the said Act, and amendment of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987 in August 2019,
in terms of Section 29 A of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987, all Non-Banking Financial Companies including Housing Finance Companies have to be mandatorily registered with the Reserve Bank of India.
The Department of Chemicals and Petro-Chemicals is implementing the Scheme for Setting up of Plastic Parks under the umbrella scheme of New Scheme of Petrochemicals, to support setting up need-based Plastic Parks, with requisite state-of-the-art infrastructure, enabling common facilities through cluster development approach.
For the purpose of setting up Plastic Parks, the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals seeks preliminary proposals from state governments, highlighting the proposed location, financial details, broad cost estimates etc. India stands 12th in the world export of plastics, as per the 2022 World Bank estimates.