FINANCEOUTLOOKINDIAMAY, 20268REPORTSILVER IMPORT CURBS RAISE SUPPLY RISKS FOR INDIA'S ETF MARKETUPI DOMINATES INDIA'S DIGITAL PAYMENTS WITH 85.5% SHARE: RBI REPORTTCS SALARY HIKES COME WITH OFFICE ATTENDANCE PAY CONDITIONSFUEL PRICES RISE AGAIN AS PETROL AND DIESEL GET SECOND HIKE IN A WEEKINDIAN MARKETS REBOUND AFTER 1,000-POINT CRASH, SENSEX RECOVERSINDIA LOSES GLOBAL TOP 100 MARKET CAP SPOT AMID EQUITY SLIDEThe Indian government's silver import curbs has triggered fresh concerns across bullion markets, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and industrial users. Under the revised import policy notified by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), imports of silver bars and certain semi-manufactured silver products have been shifted from the "free" category to the "restricted" category with immediate effect. The change means importers will now require government licences before bringing silver into India, introducing a new layer of regulatory oversight for one of the country's most actively traded precious metals. The move has sparked widespread debate across India's bullion and investment ecosystem, particularly around the possible impact on Silver ETFs, industrial supply chains, and spot market pricing. Indian stock markets staged a remarkable intraday comeback on Monday, recovering sharply from steep morning losses as value buying in IT and banking stocks helped benchmark indices erase most India's digital payments revolution has reached a defining milestone, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now accounting for 85.5 percent of total payment transaction volumes during the second half of 2025, according to the Reserve Bank of India's latest Payment Systems Report. The data underscores UPI's transformation from a convenient payment tool into the core infrastructure powering India's everyday financial activity.The RBI report reveals that India now processes 77.6 crore payment transactions daily, reflecting the extraordinary pace at which digital payments have become embedded in both urban and rural commerce. From small QR-code payments at local kirana stores to e-commerce purchases and instant peer-to-peer fund transfers, UPI has emerged as India's most dominant payment platform. India's largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has rolled out annual salary hikes while introducing a revised compensation structure that directly links a portion of monthly performance pay to office attendance and deployment metrics - a move that has triggered confusion and concern among employees over its impact on take-home salaries.The hike in pay is part of the TCS's annual appraisal process and will range between 4.5 percent and 7 percent for most staffers, with top performers getting a 10­13 percent pay bump, according to several reports. But, the new salary component re-structure has introduced a new salary category, which is based on the performance of the employee being paid monthly and is linked to the working in the office. India's fuel prices climbed further on Tuesday, with petrol and diesel rates increased for the second time within a week, adding fresh pressure on household budgets and transport-intensive businesses as global crude prices remain elevated due to prolonged geopolitical tensions in West Asia. State owned oil marketing companies increased the price of petrol by up to 96 paise per litre and of diesel by as much as 94 paise in the major metro cities, after a sudden increase in prices by Rs 3 per litre, just a few days ago.Petrol is now priced at Rs 98.64 per litre in the national capital, an increase of 87 paise, while diesel has jumped 91 paise to Rs 91.58 per litre. Petrol was at Rs 107.59 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.08 per litre in Mumbai. Petrol prices at Kolkata touched Rs 109.70 per litre which was the highest increase among metros followed by Rs 109.69 per litre in Mumbai, whereas diesel price reached at Rs 96.07 per litre in the city. This was the case with petrol at Rs 104.49 and diesel at Rs 96.11 in Chennai. India for the first time this year did not made it to the global top 100 club of listed companies by market capitalisation, highlighting the continued strain on domestic stocks and further worry over India's decline in the global market capitalisation league. With valuation corrections, foreign investors pulling out and macroeconomic uncertainty across the world, the fast-growing equity powerhouse India now faces the danger of losing momentum.Three Indian firms - Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ­ were included in the list of the world's 100 most valuable listed companies at the beginning of 2025. That prestigious bracket, as far as they're concerned, is no more. India's most valued company, Reliance Industries fell sharply to near 105th place from 74th at the start of 2025 and 73rd at the beginning of 2026.
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