RBI FI-Index rises 4.3% in FY25
The RBI had constructed the composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) in consultation with the concerned stakeholders, including the government. The annual index was first published in August 2021 for the fiscal ending March 2021.
'Index for the year ending March 2025 has since been compiled. The value of FI-Index for March 2025 stands at 67 vis-à-vis 64.2 in March 2024, with growth witnessed across all sub-indices, viz, access, usage and quality,' RBI said in a release. Improvement in FI-Index in FY 2025 is contributed by usage and quality dimensions, reflecting deepening of financial inclusion, and sustained financial literacy initiatives.
The FI-Index has been conceptualised as a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal, as well as the pension sector in consultation with government and respective sectoral regulators. It captures information on various aspects of financial inclusion in a single value ranging between 0 and 100, where 0 represents complete financial exclusion and 100 indicates full financial inclusion.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Economists split on interest rate cuts as inflation hits six-year low
Mumbai: Economists are divided on the trajectory of interest rate cuts . While some cite six-year low inflation as grounds for another rate cut in the upcoming August policy, the majority advocate for maintaining the status quo. Those calling for a pause argue that it is prudent to wait and assess inflation trends in the coming quarter and monitor developments around the US trade deal. Economists shared these perspectives with the Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra , deputy governor Poonam Gupta and her team during customary pre-policy consultative meetings held last week. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Public Policy Management MCA PGDM MBA Data Science Technology Project Management healthcare Healthcare Cybersecurity Degree Artificial Intelligence Data Analytics Finance Data Science Others Design Thinking CXO Product Management Operations Management Leadership Digital Marketing others Skills you'll gain: Economics for Public Policy Making Quantitative Techniques Public & Project Finance Law, Health & Urban Development Policy Duration: 12 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Public Policy Management Starts on Mar 3, 2024 Get Details Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Months IIM Calcutta Executive Programme in Public Policy and Management Starts on undefined Get Details Since February, the RBI has lowered the repo rate by 100 basis points, or a percentage point, to 5.5%. It has also announced lowering cash reserve ratio by 100 bps in a phased manner beginning September 2025, which is estimated to release ₹2.5 lakh crore in the banking system. When the central bank's six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meet from August 4 to 6, it is expected to deliberate on the policy repo rate using two key data points: the June quarter GDP projections and the latest retail inflation figures. Consumer Price Index-based inflation slowed to 2.1% in June, well below the RBI's medium-term target of 4%. Meanwhile, estimates suggest that economic growth for the April-June 2025 quarter is tracking above the RBI's projection of 6.5%. Live Events "After having given a steroid dose in the last policy (a 50-bps repo reduction in June), why cut when growth is not faltering? The timing also is not very convincing; there is a lot of uncertainty trade policy-wise and a lot of things are impending," said an economist who attended one of the RBI meetings. Ratings firm ICRA expects GDP growth to be between 6.0% and 6.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, according to a report published last week. IDFC First Bank does not expect any revision to the RBI's FY26 GDP estimate of 6.5%, saying "High frequency indicators continue to show moderation in urban consumption." Official GDP data for the quarter is expected in late August. "We maintain a view of a pause on rates. A 25-bps cut would likely cause real rates (based on 12M ahead inflation) to fall sharply for FY27-which the MPC would prefer to avoid," said Anubhuti Sahay of Standard Chartered in a report published on July 22. Speaking at an event on Friday, governor Malhotra reiterated that price stability remained the central bank's primary objective. He remarked that while the RBI has won the "battle" against inflation, the war continues. Given the forward-looking nature of monetary policy, decisions will be based on data reflecting a six-to 12-month outlook rather than current figures. "Monetary policy, being data driven and more on the outlook, will be guided by the revised numbers, if any, and take a call," Malhotra said. The RBI has projected retail inflation to be 3.7% for the current fiscal year, though the projection for the fourth quarter remains above 4% at 4.4%. "It may be, you know, revised downwards given the fact that the numbers that are coming in are lower than what we had projected even for Q1," Malhotra added. "If the food prices are lower, inflation would be around 4%. It's all statistical right now, and the base effect would be revised next year and because of low food inflation now, it could lead to lower inflation in Q1FY27," said another economist who has conveyed to the RBI that a rate cut in August would benefit the economy. DBS Bank expects another 50-bps rate cut this calendar year, with half that in August. "The ongoing disinflationary phase, coupled with moderation in growth indicators, provides room for the central bank to frontload rate cuts... Factoring in the current inflation series, we expect unfavourable base effects to prop FY27 inflation to average 4.3% yoy vs 3.0% in FY26," Radhika Rao of DBS Bank said in a report published on July 25 The RBI will release its inflation projections for Q1FY27 for the first time on August 6.
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Best ways to invest in gold that hit record highs in H1
Gold, which has never ceased to be the safe-haven asset so far, has gained 26% in the first half of 2025 becoming one of the top-performing major asset classes. The precious metal has scaled 26 new all-time highs during this period in global markets—including once crossing the sensitive Rs 1 lakh/10 grams mark in the domestic markets when the metal crossed $3,500/ounce-mark in the third week of April. This 26 new life-time highs came in after breaking through a 40-new-record streaks in 2024 when it had rallied 24% over a 22% rally in the previous year. What makes the metal so alluring to investors? There are many a reason, with the shining allure it has for women as a jewellery (our households are sitting over close to 26,000 tonnes of gold in jewellery alone) and its ready fungibility/encashability when in need of ready cash being the top reasons for its allurement. Let's look at some of the best ways to invest in this metal, even though investment experts recommend allocating only a small portion (5–10%) of your portfolio to precious metals. According to the World Gold Council, a combination of a weaker US dollar, range-bound interest rates and a highly uncertain geo-economic environment has resulted in strong investment demand for gold. Another equally important driver is the continuing central bank demands led by the Reserve Bank and the central bank of China among others. The council sees at least 5% more spike in prices during the course of the year and 10-15% more if current volatile economic conditions deteriorate further exacerbating stagflationary pressures—that's the metal reaching $3,840/ounce by end December and translating into an annual return of 40%. But many Wall Street watchers have predicted the metal hitting the $4,000/ounce mark by December. Experts recommend allocating only a small portion, say 5–10% of your investment portfolio to precious metals, including silver and the following are the best ways to take exposure to this metal. The easiest way is investing in sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) launched in 2015, but since last year the SGBs have been discontinued. Starting 2015, the RBI had launched 67 SGB tranches-- each being an eight-year instrument with a five-year lock-in--issuing 14.7 crore units. They were listed and traded in the cash segment of the BSE and the NSE and investors could buy and sell them through demat accounts. Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) Given that no new SGBs are being issued, the best option available to own non-physical gold is to go in for gold ETFs which track the domestic physical prices of the metal. Each gold ETF unit represents the physical gold and is based on gold prices and invest in physical bullion. One gold ETF unit equals 1 gram of gold, backed by high-purity physical metal. Why ETFs? Because they are safe and have higher liquidity as they are listed and are traded every day. Though, there are brokerage charges they are way less than the making charges on physical jewellery. The expense ratio in gold ETFs is also lower than that of gold MFs. On the negative side, since ETFs track the price of gold, they are subject to volatility. To invest in an ETF, one needs to have a demat account. There are entry and exit loads and the investor has to pay brokerage every time. Gold Mutual Funds Gold mutual funds are open-ended funds that invest in the units of a gold ETF with the ultimate goal of creating wealth using the potential of gold as a commodity. Gold MF units are priced differently-- in the form of net asset value disclosed at the end of the trading session—as opposed to gold ETFs which are linked to physical prices. Since gold MFs are actively managed, they have the potential to outperform the metal price over time. They also offer the convenience of investing through a fund house. On the negatives, gold MFs take a higher expense ratio than ETFs, typically around 1-2% apart from the risk of underperformance-- the return can be lower than gold price over time. In comparison to gold ETFs, gold MFs have low minimum investment requirements, making them more accessible for retail investors. Also, you don't need a demat account to invest in this form of gold.
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Wall Street Week Ahead: Spotlight on Fed rate decision, earnings from Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, Amazon
Wall Street in the week ahead will receive plenty of economic data, Big Tech earnings, and the US Federal Reserve's fifth interest rate decision of the year. The economic calendar will see the release of data such as jobs report, second quarter GDP (Gross Domestic Product) numbers, personal income and spending data, PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) Index, and S&P manufacturing PMI report among others. For the Q2 earnings, investors will closely watch financial results from tech giants Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Apple, and e-commerce giant Amazon. On the monetary policy front, market participants were keenly awaiting the interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to hold it steady. Post-rate decision, Jerome Powell's press conference will be heavily scrutinized amid enormous criticism from US President Donald Trump. On Friday, Trump said that he believed that Fed Chair Jerome Powellmight be ready to lower rates. He made a rare visit to the central bank on Thursday after calling Powell a "numbskull" earlier in the week for failing to cut rates. On July 29 (Tuesday), separate reports on advanced US trade balance in goods for June, S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (20 cities) for May, consumer confidence for July, job openings for June will be released. On July 30 (Wednesday), separate reports on ADP employment for July, GDP Q2, pending home sales for June, FOMC interest rate decision will be declared. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference is also scheduled on Wednesday. On July 31 (Thursday), separate reports on Employment Cost Index Q2, personal income and spending for June, PCE Index for June, and Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) for July will be released. On August 1 (Friday), US employment report for July, S&P final US manufacturing PMI for July, ISM manufacturing for July, construction spending for June, consumer sentiment (final) for July, and TBA Auto sales for July will be released. Following companies are due to report second quarter results in the week ahead — Waste Management, Nucor, Visa, Procter & Gamble, UnitedHealth, Boeing, PayPal, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Qualcomm, Robinhood, eBay, Apple, Mastercard, Exxon Mobil, and Chevron. data-vars-page-type="story" data-vars-link-type="Manual">US stocks ended higher and dollar firmed on Friday ahead of a big week for market risk. The S&P 500 gained 26.73 points, or 0.42%, to end at 6,390.08 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 53.95 points, or 0.26%, to 21,111.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213.74 points, or 0.48%, to 44,907.65. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.38% from 4.43%. The 2-year Treasury yield held steady at 3.91%.
