Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 11: The central bank’s first hike since 2023 marked a week of tighter money. Retail investors kept buying, while Mumbai’s airport dispute eased for now.
The Reserve Bank of India raised its repo rate by 25 basis points. The benchmark rate now stands at 5.5%, up from 5.25%. It was the first increase since February 2023. The repo rate is what the RBI charges banks for short-term funds. Its new hawkish stance signals that further hikes are possible.
Higher energy prices and global trade uncertainty have added to price pressures. For households, the hike is expected to push up home and car loan costs. It could also slow credit growth. Yes Bank sees cumulative hikes of one percentage point this cycle. HDFC Bank expects increases of up to 0.75 percentage point. Both are forecasts, not policy decisions.
Retail investors, however, showed little sign of retreat. Monthly SIP inflows hit a record ₹32,297 crore in August. SIPs, or systematic investment plans, let investors put fixed sums into funds regularly. Yet closures also rose sharply. Amfi data showed 5.38 million SIPs were stopped or matured in August. That was the highest since January 2026. Closures include matured plans, so they do not signal outright exits. The ratio of stopped to new SIPs stood at about 81%. So new registrations still outnumbered closures.
In aviation, the Centre asked Adani Airport Holdings to pause a flight shift. Adani, which runs both Mumbai-region airports, wanted a third of Terminal 2’s international flights moved. The target was Navi Mumbai, which opened in December 2025. Airlines said they had not been consulted. Navi Mumbai logged 3,047 aircraft movements in August, against 26,017 at Mumbai. Its traffic has fallen for three straight months. The gap shows the difficulty of drawing airlines to a second city airport.
Elsewhere, Icra expects states’ market borrowings to rise 26% year-on-year. It projects ₹3.6 trillion in October–December. DLF sold all 172 apartments at The Aureva, its first senior-living project, within days. The Gurugram homes averaged ₹28,000 per sq ft, totalling ₹1,985 crore. Stockbrokers’ share of commercial paper issuance reached 21% in 2026, up from 4% in 2021. They have raised about $33 billion, mostly to fund leveraged equity bets.
Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, raised postpaid tariffs. Higher prices could lift revenue per user and fund network spending. Much will depend on whether rivals follow.
In sport, India finished fourth at the Asian Games, behind China, Japan and South Korea. Its 85 medals were 21 fewer than the 106 won at Hangzhou in 2022. India won medals in 20 of 43 sports, but 11 sports produced 76. Athletics and shooting led again, though both yielded fewer medals than in 2022. Boxing and golf improved. India is also among seven countries interested in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics.
The week pointed to tighter money alongside resilient household investment. How the RBI balances inflation and growth will shape the months ahead.
