Business

The central government’s fiscal deficit stood at 17.9% of the full-year target at the end of June, according to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) on Thursday (July 31, 2025).

It was at 8.4% of Budget Estimates (BE) of 2024-25 in the first three months of the previous financial year.

In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, or gap between the government’s expenditure and revenue, was ₹2,80,732 crore in the April-June period of the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The Centre estimates the fiscal deficit during 2025-26 at 4.4% of the GDP, or ₹15.69 lakh crore.

According to the CGA, Centre’s net tax revenue was ₹5.4 lakh crore, or 19% of corresponding BE 2025-26 of total receipts, up to June 2025. In the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the net tax revenue was at 21.3% of that year’s BE.

The data on monthly accounts showed that the total expenditure during the first quarter was at ₹12.22 lakh crore, or 24.1% of BE. In the year-ago period, it was at 20.1% of BE.

City Union Bank Ltd on Thursday (July 31, 2025) reported a 16% growth in first-quarter net profit, driven by growth in net interest income and other income.

Also Read | City Union Bank Q4 PAT rises 13% to ₹288 crore

The bank’s first quarter 2025-2026 net profit increased to ₹306 crore from ₹264 crore in the same period last year.

Net interest income grew 15% to ₹625 crore in April-June 2025 quarter from ₹545 crore in the comparable period last year.

Non-interest income grew 27% to ₹244 crore in the first quarter of 2025-26 from ₹192 crore in the same period last year. This was driven by growth in treasury income which stood at ₹64 crore.

The bank’s advances grew 16% to ₹54,020 crore in the April-June quarter of 2025 from ₹46,548 crore in the same period last year, while deposits grew 20% to ₹65,734 crore from ₹ 54,857 crore.

The Current Account Savings Account (CASA) deposits grew 11% to ₹ 17,951 crore in the first quarter from ₹ 16,195 crore in the same period last year.

The net interest margin remained flat at 3.54% in the first quarter, while gross non performing asset (NPA) stood at 2.99% when compared to 3.88% in the same period last year. Net NPA was 1.20% when compared to 1.87% last year.

The Bank’s capital adequacy as on 30.06.2025 is 23.10%

The Income Tax Department on Thursday (July 31, 2025) conducted a survey operation at the premises of some broking companies as part of an alleged tax evasion probe against Jane Street, the U.S.-based proprietary trading firm accused of market manipulation, official sources said.

Sources stated the department is undertaking a “verification” exercise in the backdrop of a recent Sebi action against Jane Street.

In an interim order issued on July 3, Sebi found Jane Street (JS) guilty of manipulating indices by simultaneously placing bets in cash along with futures and options markets to secure massive gains.

As a result, Sebi barred the hedge fund from accessing the market and impounded over ₹4,843 crore in gains. The probe found that JS made a profit of ₹36,671 crore on a net basis during the probe period from January 2023 to May 2025.

However, on July 21, Sebi permitted Jane Street to resume trading after the company deposited the mandated amount of ₹4,843.57 crore into an escrow account.

The TVS Motor Company first quarter net profit grew 35% on higher revenue. The company’s net profit increased to ₹779 crore in the first quarter of 2025-26 from ₹ 577 crore in the same period last year.

TVS Motor Company revenue grew 20% to ₹10,081 crore in the April-June quarter of 2025-26 from ₹8,376 crore in the same period last year.

During the first quarter of the financial year 2025-26, the company said it registered the highest every quarterly sales.

The overall two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales, including exports, grew by 17%, registering sales of 12.77 lakh units in the April-June 2025 period as against 10.87 lakh units in the comparable period last year.

Motorcycle sales grew by 21%, registering 6.21 lakh units in the quarter ended June 2025 as against 5.14 lakh units in quarter ended June 2024.

Scooter sales for the quarter ended June 2025 grew by 19% to 4.99 lakh units as against 4.18 lakh units in the first quarter of 2024-25. Three-wheeler sales for the first quarter grew by 46% to 0.45 lakh units from 0.31 lakh units during the first quarter of 2024-25.

Electric Scooter sales for the quarter ended June 2025 grew by 35% to 0.70 lakh units as against 0.52 lakh units in the comparable period.

The Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to re-introduce the policy of lending money daily to banks at a fixed rate, despite increased clamour for it from market participants, three sources said on Thursday (July 31, 2025).

The policy, called fixed rate liquidity operations, will help banks manage their needs better, several bankers proposed to the RBI in meetings held over the last few months. Banks had asked for the quantum of infusion to be fixed on a percentage of their deposit base.

“The RBI is clearly not in favour of hand-holding banks and wants to keep any liquidity operation on a variable rate,” one source said.

The sources requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media. The RBI did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

In variable repo or reverse repo, through which RBI injects or absorbs cash, banks have to undergo a bidding process based on their funding needs.

Last week, overnight inter-bank call money rates jumped above marginal standing facility rate, which is the policy corridor ceiling, after banks parked funds with RBI under reverse repos. They then faced a shortage after tax outflows.

“On days like that, it helps if there is a repo window available,” the second source said.

Lenders also asked for relaxation of daily maintenance of the cash reserve ratio, which is the percentage of deposits that they need to park with the RBI.

The RBI is also reviewing the liquidity management framework. The revised framework could be released alongside the monetary policy decision on August 6, some market participants said.

The sources said that the RBI may shift to a seven-day operation as the main liquidity tool, instead of the current 14-day auctions adopted in 2020. The bank has skipped conducting the 14-day operation since the last six fortnights.

Warner Bros Discovery will lay off roughly 10% of its motion picture group employees as part of a restructuring before the company splits in two, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday (July 30, 2025).

The cuts will take place in marketing, distribution, production and other units. The source did not disclose how many people would be affected.

In a memo to staff, Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca said company leadership had started reviewing the film group’s operations in early 2025.

They concluded they needed to make changes to “transform our business as we transition from a U.S. Home Office/International model to a fully global structure,” the memo said.

Media companies are remaking themselves to better compete in the streaming TV era. Warner Bros Discovery has announced plans to separate into two publicly traded companies.

One called Warner Bros will house the film group and the HBO Max streaming service. Cable channels including CNN and TNT and the Discovery+ streaming service will become part of a company called Discovery Global.

The Warner Bros film division endured high-profile flops in 2024 including “Joker: Folie A Deux” and “Furiosa.” The studio has rebounded this year with hits including “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners” and “Superman.”

Chinese authorities summoned Nvidia representatives on Thursday to discuss “serious security issues” over some of its artificial intelligence chips, as the U.S. tech giant finds itself entangled in trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Nvidia is a world-leading producer of AI semiconductors, but the United States effectively restricts which chips it can export to China on national security grounds.

A key issue has been Chinese access to the “H20”, a less powerful version of Nvidia’s AI processing units that the company developed specifically for export to China.

The California-based firm said this month it would resume H20 sales to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports.

But the firm still faces obstacles. U.S. lawmakers have proposed plans to require Nvidia and other manufacturers of advanced AI chips to include built-in location tracking capabilities.

And Beijing’s top internet regulator said Thursday it had summoned Nvidia representatives to discuss recently discovered “serious security issues” involving the H20.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said it had asked Nvidia to “explain the security risks of vulnerabilities and backdoors in its H20 chips sold to China and submit relevant supporting materials”.

The statement posted on social media noted that, according to US experts, location tracking and remote shutdown technologies for Nvidia chips “are already matured”.

The announcement marked the latest complication for Nvidia in selling its advanced products in the key Chinese market, where it is in increasingly fierce competition with homegrown technology firms.

CEO Jensen Huang said during a closely watched visit to Beijing this month that his firm remained committed to serving local customers.

Huang said he had been assured during talks with top Chinese officials during the trip that the country was “open and stable”.

“They want to know that Nvidia continues to invest here, that we are still doing our best to serve the market here,” he said.

Nvidia this month became the first company to hit $4 trillion in market value: a new milestone in Wall Street’s bet that AI will transform the global economy.

Jost Wubbeke of the Sinolytics consultancy told AFP the move by China to summon Nvidia was “not surprising in the sense that targeting individual U.S. companies has become a common tool in the context of US-China tensions”.

“What is surprising, however, is the timing,” he noted, after the two countries agreed to further talks to extend their trade truce.

“China’s action may signal a shift toward a more assertive stance,” Wubbeke said.

Beijing is also aiming to reduce reliance on foreign tech by promoting Huawei’s domestically developed 910C chip as an alternative to the H20, he added.

“From that perspective, the US decision to allow renewed exports of the H20 to China could be seen as counterproductive, as it might tempt Chinese hyperscalers to revert to the H20, potentially undermining momentum behind the 910C and other domestic alternatives.”

New hurdles to Nvidia’s operation in China come as the country’s economy wavers, beset by a years-long property sector crisis and heightened trade headwinds under US President Donald Trump.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the country to enhance self-reliance in certain areas deemed vital for national security, including AI and semiconductors, as tensions with Washington mount.

The country’s firms have made great strides in recent years, with Huang praising their “super-fast” innovation during his visit to Beijing this month.

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports, along with an additional “penalty” targeting India’s defence and energy trade with Russia and its role in the BRICS alliance. In this LIVE analysis at 2:15 p.m., top experts examine how the Trump tariffs will impact Indian exports, India–U.S. trade negotiations, BRICS dynamics, and New Delhi’s global economic strategy.

Viewers are welcome to post their questions in the live chat, and we’ll try to take as many as possible during the discussion.

Joining us for expert insights:

Sharad Raghavan – Economics & Business Editor, The Hindu

Suhasini Haidar – Diplomatic Editor, The Hindu

Pankaj Chadha – Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council of India

Ajay Srivastava – Founder, Global Trade Research Initiative; Former DGFT