Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 10: The RBI raised its repo rate for the first time since February 2023. Meanwhile, August SIP contributions hit a record ₹32,297 crore. Airport, telecom and Asian Games numbers also stood out.
First hike since 2023
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has delivered its first rate hike since February 2023. The repo rate rose by 25 basis points, from 5.25% to 5.5%. The RBI also turned hawkish, signalling more increases could follow.
Higher energy prices and global trade uncertainty are adding to price pressures. Borrowing costs for housing and auto loans are expected to rise.
Economists expect more tightening. Yes Bank expects hikes totalling 1 percentage point this cycle. HDFC Bank sees increases of up to 0.75 percentage point. These remain forecasts, not decisions.
SIP flow holds
Retail investors kept faith with mutual funds despite a shaky stock market. Monthly inflows through systematic investment plans (SIPs) reached a record ₹32,297 crore in August. SIPs let investors put money in at regular intervals, usually monthly. That habit tends to keep flows steady.
Yet more plans also ended. Amfi data showed 5.38 million SIPs were discontinued or reached the end of their tenure. That was the highest count since January 2026. Still, stopped SIPs equalled about 81% of new ones started. That suggests more investors were joining than leaving.
Airport plan paused
The Centre has asked Adani Airport Holdings to pause a flight transfer plan. Adani operates both Mumbai airport and Navi Mumbai airport. Navi Mumbai began commercial operations in December 2025.
Airlines were asked to move a third of Terminal 2’s international flights to Navi Mumbai. Airlines said they were not consulted.
In August, Navi Mumbai handled 3,047 aircraft movements against Mumbai’s 26,017. Its movements have fallen over the past three months. The pause eases the standoff for now.
Other numbers
Icra projects states’ market borrowings will rise 26% year on year. That would take them to ₹3.6 trillion in October–December.
DLF sold all 172 flats at The Aureva, its first senior-living project. The Gurugram homes, worth ₹1,985 crore, went within days of launch.
Stock brokers accounted for 21% of commercial paper issuance in 2026. Their share was just 4% in 2021. Brokers raised about $33 billion, mainly to fund leveraged equity bets.
Airtel’s price move
Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom operator, raised postpaid plan prices by about 3–11%. It is the company’s biggest such hike since 2024.
The move comes days before the expected IPO of Jio Platforms. Jio Platforms owns Reliance Jio, the largest operator by subscribers. Airtel’s move could give Jio room to raise prices too.
Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU) was ₹264 in the first quarter of FY27. ARPU has kept rising, but FY26 saw the slowest growth in five years.
