Business
GST cut drives MSME loan demand – The Times of India
CHENNAI/MUMBAI: The GST rate cut is driving MSMEs to seek additional funding from banks for expansion. After the GST rejig, banks have seen a spike in enquiries for advances from the MSMEs. It comes amid lenders having moved closer to their annual targets for the MSME segment in the first half of the current fiscal. For instance, state-owned Indian Overseas Bank has recorded its MSME portfolio touching Rs 48,000 crore as of Sept 30, 2025, out of the total target of Rs 51,000 crore for the full financial year, a 16.7% increase YoY.
Indian Overseas Bank’s MD & CEO Ajay Kumar Srivastava said govt has taken several initiatives to accelerate MSME growth, such as their classification and turnover. Noting that the bank is likely to reach Rs 55,000 crore in its MSME portfolio this fiscal, he said, GST will be one of the major factors. “We are focusing on the manufacturing (in the MSME) sector,” he added.To target the high-growth MSME segment, the country’s largest lender SBI has launched digital MSME loans. These loans offer MSMEs end-to-end sanctions in 45 minutes. The bank has processed nearly 2.3 lakh such accounts with credit limits of Rs 74,434 crore up to Aug 2025. Indian Bank MD & CEO Binod Kumar said, there has been good traction from the MSMEs, with the YoY growth tripled from 5-6% to around 17% (FY25 vs FY26). “We are seeing demand mainly from the services sector, including hospitality. It is for their expansion plans or setting up new hotels both during pre- and post-GST 2.0. Major demand is also coming from the ancillary units. We will exceed our target for MSMEs this year,” he said. PNB has launched a slew of products, including comprehensive financing up to Rs 100 crore, digital MSME loans enable paperless lending up to Rs 25 lakh. The bank has also introduced a fully digital MSME loan of up to Rs 5 crore backed by CGTMSE guarantee and concessional rates.Bankers said that another reason for the thrust on MSME loans is that the new regulations on expected credit loss make it less capital intensive for banks to lend to MSMEs.
Business
Limited flights leave UAE while disruption continues amid Iran strikes
From the UK, flights have also been cancelled for many Middle East destinations, including all flights to Israel and Bahrain, three-quarters of the day’s scheduled flights to the United Arab Emirates, and more than two-thirds (69%) of flights to Qatar.
Business
IIP sees 4.8% YoY growth in January; manufacturing & electricity support rise – The Times of India
India’s Index of Industrial Production saw a 4.8% increase year-on-year in January 2026, according to the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation. The rise in industrial output was largely driven by a 4.8 per cent expansion in manufacturing and a 5.1 per cent improvement in electricity generation. Mining activity also supported overall growth, registering a 4.3 per cent uptick during the month.Estimates placed IIP at 169.4 for January 2026, compared with 161.6 in January 2025. This follows a stronger reading in December 2025, when industrial production had grown by 7.8 per cent. For January 2026, the sector-specific indices stood at 157.2 for mining, 167.2 for manufacturing and 212.1 for electricity.Within manufacturing, 14 of the 23 industry groups at the NIC two-digit level posted year-on-year gains in January. The strongest contributors were manufacture of basic metals, which rose 13.2 per cent; manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, up 10.9 per cent; and manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products, which increased 9.9 per cent. Growth in basic metals was supported by items such as flat products of alloy steel, MS slabs, and hot-rolled coils and sheets of mild steel.The automobile category advanced on the back of higher output of auto components and spare parts, commercial vehicles, and bus and minibus bodies or chassis. In the non-metallic mineral products segment, cement of all types, cement clinkers and stone chips were key contributors.According to use-based classification, output of primary goods grew 3.1 per cent, capital goods rose 4.3 per cent and intermediate goods increased 6 per cent compared with January 2025. Infrastructure and construction goods recorded the sharpest rise at 13.7 per cent, while consumer durables expanded 6.3 per cent. In contrast, consumer non-durables declined by 2.7 per cent. The ministry identified infrastructure and construction goods, intermediate goods and primary goods as the leading drivers of growth under this classification.
Business
Will petrol and diesel prices go up now?
There might also be a more direct impact on food. “Some elements of crude oil are used in fertiliser, and so there could be a cost implication in terms of food prices,” Benjamin Goodwin, partner at banking advisory firm PRISM Strategic Intelligence told the BBC.
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