Bank of Baroda (BoB) is pushing its start-up focused banking services offering range of solutions for these firms at Gift City in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat.

It provides transaction-based internet banking facility to retail customers, corporate and start-ups in three major foreign currencies - US Dollar, Euro and British Pound Sterling at its GIFT City banking unit. The public sector unit claims that it’s the only bank to provide these services in the country.

This facility provides start-ups with 24/7 access to their accounts and the convenience and flexibility to conduct banking transactions and fund transfers with ease in a secure manner. The bank offers start-ups with a range of global banking solutions locally such as foreign currency current and savings accounts, fixed deposits in foreign currency.

Mortgage lender HDFC on Mar 27  received board approval for raising Rs 57,000 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in multiple tranches. The funds will be used for business requirements mainly for meeting lending demand.

“The Board granted its approval for issuance of unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures under a Shelf Placement Memorandum, aggregating Rs 57,000 crore, in various tranches, on a private placement basis, in accordance with the approval granted by the shareholders of the Corporation at the 45th Annual General Meeting held on June 30, 2022,” said HDFC in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The board also approved increasing the overall borrowing powers of the Corporation from Rs 6 lakh crore to Rs 6.50 lakh crore, outstanding at any point of time.

The board meeting was held on Mar 27 . The mortgage lender had raised Rs 25,000 crore on February 26 through bonds at 7.97% coupon rate. It was the country’s largest-ever bond issue. HDFC is expected to merge into HDFC Bank by the third quarter of the next financial year, creating a banking giant with a combined balance sheet of Rs 17.87 lakh crore and a net worth of Rs 3.3 lakh crore.

Termed as the biggest transaction in India’s corporate history, HDFC Bank on April 2022 agreed to take over the biggest domestic mortgage lender in a deal valued at about $40 billion, creating a financial services titan. The proposed entity will have a combined asset base of around Rs 18 lakh crore. The merger is expected to be completed by the second or third quarter of FY24, subject to regulatory approvals.

In a bid to stop growing menace of the financial fraud in the country, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) on Mar 27  directed telecom operators to implement artificial antelligence by 1 May 2023.

The technology will enable telcos to check pesky messages , eventually blocking them. “We have directed the telcos to implement the technology soon so that we can stop this menace. We will review its progress on a fortnightly basis,” said P D Vaghela, Chairman of TRAI.

The menace of unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) have increased manifold in the country.  As per survey by LocalCircles, 66% of mobile users continue to get at least three pesky calls every day, most of which originate from personal mobile numbers.

TVS Motor Company on Mar 27  said it has introduced seven new products in Ghana, Africa.

The company has launched various new models like Apache 180 and Neo NX among others.

The Supreme Court on Mar 27  said a borrower must be accorded a hearing before an account is classified as "fraud" and a reasoned order must follow if such an action is taken.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, while upholding a Telangana High Court verdict, said the classification of accounts as fraud results in civil consequences for borrowers, and hence, an opportunity for hearing must be given to such persons.

The verdict came on a plea of the State Bank of India.

Foreign investors have pumped Rs 7,200 crore into the Indian equities so far this month, mainly driven by bulk investment in the Adani Group companies by the US-based GQG Partners.

The stress appeared in the US banking system after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month.

Most global equity markets witnessed a sharp recovery, even as macro sentiments remained volatile as frailties in European and US banks were under focus.

According to the data with the depositories, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested Rs 7,233 crore in Indian equities till March 25.

This came after a net outflow of Rs 5,294 crore in February and Rs 28,852 crore in January. Prior to that, FPIs infused a net amount of Rs 11,119 crore in December, data showed.

The government has capped the maximum rate of GST compensation cess that would be levied on pan masala, cigarettes and other forms of tobacco and linked the highest rate to their retail sale price.

The capping of the cess rate was brought in as part of the amendments to the Finance Bill, 2023, which was passed by the Lok Sabha

As per the amendment, the maximum GST compensation cess rate for pan masala will be 51 per cent of the retail sale price per unit.

In the current regime, the cess is charged at 135 per cent ad valorem.

Nikhat Zareen continued to grow in stature as she added a second World title to her swelling trophy cabinet while Lovlina Borgohain broke her 'bronze jinx' to claim her maiden gold medal at the marquee event  in New Delhi  on Mar 26 .

Nikhat upstaged two-time Asian champion Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Tam by a 5-0 verdict to take the light flyweight title in front of a packed KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.

Two-time bronze medallist Lovlina, on the other hand, defeated Caitlin Parker of Australia 5-2 to win her maiden World title.

With the win, Nikhat becomes only the second Indian after the legendary MC Mary Kom to win the title of the prestigious tournament twice.

On  Mar 25 , Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Saweety Boora (81kg) were crowned world champions in their respective weight categories.

Hosts India matched their best-ever performance in terms of gold medals.