Health

New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID.

August 19, 2026
Politics

RBI Pulls the Plug on FCNR(B) Swap Facility Early, and Banking Stocks Feel It.

August 19, 2026
India

Modi’s Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India’s Foreign Policy.

August 19, 2026
HEALTH
View All
New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID
Health
New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID.
August 19, 2026
Kerala on Alert as Nipah Virus Pattern Continues in 2026.
Health
Kerala on Alert as Nipah Virus Pattern Continues in 2026.
August 18, 2026
Nipah Virus Cases Reported in West Bengal, Health Authorities Ramp Up Surveillance.
Health
Nipah Virus Cases Reported in West Bengal, Health Authorities Ramp Up Surveillance.
August 13, 2026
DRC's Ebola outbreak advances treatment and vaccine trials as WHO tracks spread.
Health
DRC’s Ebola Outbreak Advances Treatment and Vaccine Trials as WHO Tracks Spread.
August 6, 2026
Top Stories
New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID
Health

New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID.

August 19, 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has a habit of surprising the market even when the underlying news is, by most measures, good. That's roughly what happened this past week when the central bank announced it would close its special FCNR(B) swap facility on August 31, a full month earlier than the originally planned September 30 deadline. The reaction on Dalal Street was swift and not exactly celebratory, with banking stocks sliding and dragging broader indices down alongside them. For anyone who hasn't been tracking the scheme closely, some quick background helps. Back on June 8, the RBI rolled out a special USD-INR forex swap facility aimed at foreign currency non-resident, or FCNR(B), deposits, along with related channels like external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs). The idea was straightforward: make it more attractive for NRIs to park long-term foreign currency deposits in Indian banks by having the central bank absorb the hedging costs, which in turn would help shore up the rupee and boost the country's forex reserves. By any reasonable measure, the scheme worked better than expected. As of August 13, FCNR(B) deposits alone had pulled in $52.3 billion, with total inflows across all three channels touching $56.85 billion. India's foreign exchange reserves climbed past $707 billion in the process. Given those numbers, the RBI's decision to close the deposit mobilisation window early doesn't look like retreat so much as a central bank deciding it has already gotten what it needed. What made the timing feel abrupt is that RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had explicitly ruled out an early closure just over a week before the announcement. At the August 5 monetary policy press conference, Malhotra said there was "no proposal under consideration" to end the scheme prematurely. Nine days later, the RBI did exactly that, moving the FCNR(B) deposit deadline to August 31 and the swap execution deadline to September 11, down from October 16. That reversal is part of why markets reacted the way they did. It wasn't just the news itself, but the whiplash of a change in stance within such a short window. Major lenders bore the brunt of the selloff. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, and Axis Bank all traded lower in the sessions following the announcement. The concern isn't really about the money already raised, since those deposits and their favorable terms remain locked in for the full three-to-five year tenor. Instead, investors appear to be worried about what happens next: banks that had been counting on a longer runway to mobilise foreign-currency deposits, or that had already made commitments to customers, may now need to scramble for shorter-term overseas funding, potentially at higher costs, before refinancing through longer-term instruments. Some lenders, including ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, have reportedly already moved to secure offshore loans to bridge the gap. It's worth noting that the RBI didn't shut everything down at once. The parallel swap facility covering ECBs and OFCBs remains open until December 31, 2026, unchanged from the original schedule. Only the FCNR(B) deposit route got the early cutoff, and the RBI's own explanation points to the scheme's success rather than any underlying weakness: the facility had simply "received a very good response," in the central bank's words, and continuing to draw in more dollars would have meant taking on additional rupee liquidity and balance-sheet liabilities that the RBI apparently decided it didn't need. Economists reading into the move see it less as a dramatic shift in monetary policy and more as a cost-benefit recalibration. With reserves already comfortably above $700 billion, the marginal value of pulling in still more foreign currency through a subsidised swap scheme starts to diminish, especially when the RBI is effectively footing the hedging bill for banks. Some analysts have framed the early closure as a sign of confidence in India's reserve buffers rather than a warning signal about rupee stability. Still, the surprise nature of the announcement, landing so soon after the governor's public reassurance, has left some market watchers wondering whether the central bank is being fully transparent about its internal deliberations, or whether the data simply moved faster than anticipated. There's also a broader backdrop worth mentioning. Global risk sentiment has remained fragile amid Middle East-driven volatility, and India's central bank operations don't happen in isolation from that turbulence. The rupee has stayed largely range-bound against the dollar in recent months, partly thanks to RBI intervention, and the FCNR(B) episode fits into a larger pattern of the central bank actively managing external liabilities and currency stability rather than leaving things purely to market forces. For NRIs who had been considering an FCNR(B) deposit under the concessional scheme, the message is simple: the window to lock in favourable swap-backed rates now closes on August 31, after which terms are expected to revert closer to the standard 3-4% range that prevailed before the scheme began. For the broader banking sector, the bigger question is how quickly lenders can adjust their foreign-currency funding strategies, and whether this week's stock market jitters prove to be a brief overreaction or the start of a more sustained rethink of how Indian banks source dollars going forward.
Politics

RBI Pulls the Plug on FCNR(B) Swap Facility Early, and Banking Stocks Feel It.

August 19, 2026
Modi's Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India's Foreign Policy.
India

Modi’s Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India’s Foreign Policy.

August 19, 2026
Kerala on Alert as Nipah Virus Pattern Continues in 2026.
Health

Kerala on Alert as Nipah Virus Pattern Continues in 2026.

August 18, 2026
AI Infrastructure Race Intensifies With Multi-Billion-Dollar Deals
Tech

AI Infrastructure Race Intensifies With Multi-Billion-Dollar Deals.

August 18, 2026
India-US Trade Truce Consolidates After Months of Tension
Politics

India-US Trade Truce Consolidates After Months of Tension.

August 18, 2026
India's Test Tour of Sri Lanka Underway After a Strong Batting Show in Colombo.
Sports

India’s Test Tour of Sri Lanka Underway After a Strong Batting Show in Colombo.

August 17, 2026
Elections to Rajya Sabha, 2026: Slow and steady evolution of India’s upper house. Dont use text on the image.
Politics

Elections to Rajya Sabha, 2026: Slow and steady evolution of India’s upper house.

August 17, 2026
ndia Marks 80th Independence Day With a Big Push Toward AI, Sport, and a Growing Bio-Economy
India

India Marks 80th Independence Day With a Big Push Toward AI, Sport, and a Growing Bio-Economy

August 17, 2026
India's cricketers are back in whites this week, kicking off a two-match Test tour of Sri Lanka that begins August 15 at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. It's a short series on paper — just two Tests — but there's plenty riding on it, both in terms of World Test Championship points and as a form check ahead of a packed home season later this year against Afghanistan and West Indies. Shubman Gill continues as India's Test captain for this tour, with KL Rahul serving as his deputy. The 15-member squad named by the BCCI carries one particularly welcome bit of news for Indian fans: Ravindra Jadeja is back after recovering from the tennis elbow injury that kept him out of the team's series against Afghanistan back in June. His return adds real balance to the side, especially on surfaces like Galle's, which are known to offer turn from early in the game. The squad hasn't come together without its share of late drama, though. Jasprit Bumrah, originally named in the squad, was ruled out just before the series due to a left knee injury he picked up during India's ODI series against England, with Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi brought in as his replacement — earning what will be his first senior national call-up if selected to play. Washington Sundar also missed out on selection for the opening Test, and Sai Sudharsan's participation remains subject to medical clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence. It's the kind of squad reshuffling that's become fairly typical for Indian cricket in recent years — deep enough to absorb injuries without much visible strain, even when key names drop out late. Ahead of the series, India played a four-day practice match in Colombo starting August 7 to get some red-ball match time under their belt before the real contest begins. That kind of preparation matters more than usual on this tour, given how different Galle and Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club are as venues. Galle is one of the most distinctive Test grounds in the subcontinent — a compact ground right by the coast, overlooked by an old fort wall, with a pitch that tends to start turning noticeably from the second day onward. The SSC in Colombo, where the series wraps up from August 23-27, plays quite differently: flatter, slower, and generally more rewarding for batters willing to graft rather than take risks early. On the Sri Lankan side, Dhananjaya de Silva continues as captain, with Kamindu Mendis as his deputy. The home side has dealt with its own selection headaches, having lost a couple of key batters to injury heading into the series, though the return of wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella to the Test setup has been one of the more notable storylines from their squad announcement. Sri Lanka will be leaning heavily on home conditions and local knowledge of these pitches to try to level what has historically been a lopsided rivalry — India has generally enjoyed strong results against Sri Lanka in Test cricket over the years. That history, though, offers only limited comfort heading into this particular series. Both teams are entering a bit of a transitional phase — India without one of its premier fast bowlers in Bumrah, and Sri Lanka missing multiple frontline batters. It sets up a contest that could well be tighter than the head-to-head numbers alone would suggest, particularly with Galle's spin-friendly conditions potentially neutralizing some of the gap in overall squad strength. For India, the series carries weight beyond just the immediate result. Both Tests count toward the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle, meaning the points on offer here could matter significantly if the race for a place in the WTC final tightens up later in the cycle, as it often does. A strong showing in Sri Lanka would also continue India's recent pattern of performing well in overseas conditions, a trend the team has been keen to build on after some tougher results in years past. Beyond the cycle points, this tour also functions as something of a dress rehearsal for India's depth heading into a busy home season. With Afghanistan and West Indies both due to visit later this year, selectors will be watching closely to see how players like Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and the uncapped Nabi perform under pressure, and whether the squad's depth — long considered Indian cricket's biggest strength — holds up when tested on unfamiliar soil. Whether it's the spin-heavy test that Galle typically presents or the patience required at the SSC, this series should offer an early but meaningful signal of where both India and Sri Lanka stand as they look toward the business end of the World Test Championship cycle.
Sports

India Set for Test Series Opener Against Sri Lanka in Galle.

August 13, 2026
Never miss a headline!

Subscribe to our newsletter for daily updates.

Get the latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.
Modi's Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India's Foreign Policy.
India

Modi’s Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India’s Foreign Policy.

August 19, 2026
ndia Marks 80th Independence Day With a Big Push Toward AI, Sport, and a Growing Bio-Economy
India

India Marks 80th Independence Day With a Big Push Toward AI, Sport, and a Growing Bio-Economy

August 17, 2026
India-US trade ties strained afresh over Russian oil purchases. Generate an image relatedd with the tittle.
India

India-US trade ties strained afresh over Russian oil purchases.

August 13, 2026
Oil Tanker Leak Off Oman Creates Massive Slick Near Protected Marine Reserve.
World

Oil Tanker Leak Off Oman Creates Massive Slick Near Protected Marine Reserve.

August 11, 2026
Business
View All
Crude oil extends decline on US–Iran de-escalation hopes
Business

Crude Oil Extends Decline as US–Iran De-Escalation Hopes Take Hold.

July 28, 2026
Tata-Steel-Among-Key-Stocks-Under-Watch-1
Business

Tata Steel Under the Microscope: Pressure From Abroad, Stability at Home.

May 19, 2026
World
View All
Oil Tanker Leak Off Oman Creates Massive Slick Near Protected Marine Reserve.
World

Oil Tanker Leak Off Oman Creates Massive Slick Near Protected Marine Reserve.

August 11, 2026
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Landmark Mecca Defence Pact.
World

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Landmark Mecca Defence Pact.

August 8, 2026
Iran War Nears Resolution as Hormuz Strait Deal Advances
World

Iran War Nears Resolution as Hormuz Strait Deal Advances.

August 7, 2026
Anticipation Builds for Yash's Toxic Ahead of Trailer Drop.
World

Anticipation Builds for Yash’s Toxic Ahead of Trailer Drop.

August 4, 2026

Join Our Community of Innovators

Share your insights and expertise on various topics with our global audience.
Contribute Your Story
Science
View All
Scientists Confirm Sharp Acceleration in Global Warming.
Science

Scientists Confirm Sharp Acceleration in Global Warming.

August 18, 2026
For decades, one of the few things climate scientists could say with real confidence was that global warming, while alarming, was at least fairly predictable ...
Colombia quake death toll tops 265, thousands missing.
Science

Colombia quake death toll tops 265, thousands missing.

August 13, 2026
Colombia faces its deadliest quake in decades after a powerful 7.4 magnitude tremor hit the country’s western region on August 10, levelling whole neighbourhoods and ...
Politics
View All
The Reserve Bank of India has a habit of surprising the market even when the underlying news is, by most measures, good. That's roughly what happened this past week when the central bank announced it would close its special FCNR(B) swap facility on August 31, a full month earlier than the originally planned September 30 deadline. The reaction on Dalal Street was swift and not exactly celebratory, with banking stocks sliding and dragging broader indices down alongside them. For anyone who hasn't been tracking the scheme closely, some quick background helps. Back on June 8, the RBI rolled out a special USD-INR forex swap facility aimed at foreign currency non-resident, or FCNR(B), deposits, along with related channels like external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs). The idea was straightforward: make it more attractive for NRIs to park long-term foreign currency deposits in Indian banks by having the central bank absorb the hedging costs, which in turn would help shore up the rupee and boost the country's forex reserves. By any reasonable measure, the scheme worked better than expected. As of August 13, FCNR(B) deposits alone had pulled in $52.3 billion, with total inflows across all three channels touching $56.85 billion. India's foreign exchange reserves climbed past $707 billion in the process. Given those numbers, the RBI's decision to close the deposit mobilisation window early doesn't look like retreat so much as a central bank deciding it has already gotten what it needed. What made the timing feel abrupt is that RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had explicitly ruled out an early closure just over a week before the announcement. At the August 5 monetary policy press conference, Malhotra said there was "no proposal under consideration" to end the scheme prematurely. Nine days later, the RBI did exactly that, moving the FCNR(B) deposit deadline to August 31 and the swap execution deadline to September 11, down from October 16. That reversal is part of why markets reacted the way they did. It wasn't just the news itself, but the whiplash of a change in stance within such a short window. Major lenders bore the brunt of the selloff. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, and Axis Bank all traded lower in the sessions following the announcement. The concern isn't really about the money already raised, since those deposits and their favorable terms remain locked in for the full three-to-five year tenor. Instead, investors appear to be worried about what happens next: banks that had been counting on a longer runway to mobilise foreign-currency deposits, or that had already made commitments to customers, may now need to scramble for shorter-term overseas funding, potentially at higher costs, before refinancing through longer-term instruments. Some lenders, including ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, have reportedly already moved to secure offshore loans to bridge the gap. It's worth noting that the RBI didn't shut everything down at once. The parallel swap facility covering ECBs and OFCBs remains open until December 31, 2026, unchanged from the original schedule. Only the FCNR(B) deposit route got the early cutoff, and the RBI's own explanation points to the scheme's success rather than any underlying weakness: the facility had simply "received a very good response," in the central bank's words, and continuing to draw in more dollars would have meant taking on additional rupee liquidity and balance-sheet liabilities that the RBI apparently decided it didn't need. Economists reading into the move see it less as a dramatic shift in monetary policy and more as a cost-benefit recalibration. With reserves already comfortably above $700 billion, the marginal value of pulling in still more foreign currency through a subsidised swap scheme starts to diminish, especially when the RBI is effectively footing the hedging bill for banks. Some analysts have framed the early closure as a sign of confidence in India's reserve buffers rather than a warning signal about rupee stability. Still, the surprise nature of the announcement, landing so soon after the governor's public reassurance, has left some market watchers wondering whether the central bank is being fully transparent about its internal deliberations, or whether the data simply moved faster than anticipated. There's also a broader backdrop worth mentioning. Global risk sentiment has remained fragile amid Middle East-driven volatility, and India's central bank operations don't happen in isolation from that turbulence. The rupee has stayed largely range-bound against the dollar in recent months, partly thanks to RBI intervention, and the FCNR(B) episode fits into a larger pattern of the central bank actively managing external liabilities and currency stability rather than leaving things purely to market forces. For NRIs who had been considering an FCNR(B) deposit under the concessional scheme, the message is simple: the window to lock in favourable swap-backed rates now closes on August 31, after which terms are expected to revert closer to the standard 3-4% range that prevailed before the scheme began. For the broader banking sector, the bigger question is how quickly lenders can adjust their foreign-currency funding strategies, and whether this week's stock market jitters prove to be a brief overreaction or the start of a more sustained rethink of how Indian banks source dollars going forward.
Politics

RBI Pulls the Plug on FCNR(B) Swap Facility Early, and Banking Stocks Feel It.

August 19, 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has a habit of surprising the market even when the underlying news is, by most measures, good. That’s roughly what ...
India-US Trade Truce Consolidates After Months of Tension
Politics

India-US Trade Truce Consolidates After Months of Tension.

August 18, 2026
For much of last year, anyone tracking India’s export numbers had a knot in their stomach. American tariffs on Indian goods had climbed to nearly ...
TRENDING
View All
New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID
Health
New Study Links COVID-19 to Reactivation of Dormant Viruses, Offering Fresh Clues on Long COVID.
August 19, 2026
The Reserve Bank of India has a habit of surprising the market even when the underlying news is, by most measures, good. That's roughly what happened this past week when the central bank announced it would close its special FCNR(B) swap facility on August 31, a full month earlier than the originally planned September 30 deadline. The reaction on Dalal Street was swift and not exactly celebratory, with banking stocks sliding and dragging broader indices down alongside them. For anyone who hasn't been tracking the scheme closely, some quick background helps. Back on June 8, the RBI rolled out a special USD-INR forex swap facility aimed at foreign currency non-resident, or FCNR(B), deposits, along with related channels like external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and overseas foreign currency borrowings (OFCBs). The idea was straightforward: make it more attractive for NRIs to park long-term foreign currency deposits in Indian banks by having the central bank absorb the hedging costs, which in turn would help shore up the rupee and boost the country's forex reserves. By any reasonable measure, the scheme worked better than expected. As of August 13, FCNR(B) deposits alone had pulled in $52.3 billion, with total inflows across all three channels touching $56.85 billion. India's foreign exchange reserves climbed past $707 billion in the process. Given those numbers, the RBI's decision to close the deposit mobilisation window early doesn't look like retreat so much as a central bank deciding it has already gotten what it needed. What made the timing feel abrupt is that RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had explicitly ruled out an early closure just over a week before the announcement. At the August 5 monetary policy press conference, Malhotra said there was "no proposal under consideration" to end the scheme prematurely. Nine days later, the RBI did exactly that, moving the FCNR(B) deposit deadline to August 31 and the swap execution deadline to September 11, down from October 16. That reversal is part of why markets reacted the way they did. It wasn't just the news itself, but the whiplash of a change in stance within such a short window. Major lenders bore the brunt of the selloff. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, and Axis Bank all traded lower in the sessions following the announcement. The concern isn't really about the money already raised, since those deposits and their favorable terms remain locked in for the full three-to-five year tenor. Instead, investors appear to be worried about what happens next: banks that had been counting on a longer runway to mobilise foreign-currency deposits, or that had already made commitments to customers, may now need to scramble for shorter-term overseas funding, potentially at higher costs, before refinancing through longer-term instruments. Some lenders, including ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank, have reportedly already moved to secure offshore loans to bridge the gap. It's worth noting that the RBI didn't shut everything down at once. The parallel swap facility covering ECBs and OFCBs remains open until December 31, 2026, unchanged from the original schedule. Only the FCNR(B) deposit route got the early cutoff, and the RBI's own explanation points to the scheme's success rather than any underlying weakness: the facility had simply "received a very good response," in the central bank's words, and continuing to draw in more dollars would have meant taking on additional rupee liquidity and balance-sheet liabilities that the RBI apparently decided it didn't need. Economists reading into the move see it less as a dramatic shift in monetary policy and more as a cost-benefit recalibration. With reserves already comfortably above $700 billion, the marginal value of pulling in still more foreign currency through a subsidised swap scheme starts to diminish, especially when the RBI is effectively footing the hedging bill for banks. Some analysts have framed the early closure as a sign of confidence in India's reserve buffers rather than a warning signal about rupee stability. Still, the surprise nature of the announcement, landing so soon after the governor's public reassurance, has left some market watchers wondering whether the central bank is being fully transparent about its internal deliberations, or whether the data simply moved faster than anticipated. There's also a broader backdrop worth mentioning. Global risk sentiment has remained fragile amid Middle East-driven volatility, and India's central bank operations don't happen in isolation from that turbulence. The rupee has stayed largely range-bound against the dollar in recent months, partly thanks to RBI intervention, and the FCNR(B) episode fits into a larger pattern of the central bank actively managing external liabilities and currency stability rather than leaving things purely to market forces. For NRIs who had been considering an FCNR(B) deposit under the concessional scheme, the message is simple: the window to lock in favourable swap-backed rates now closes on August 31, after which terms are expected to revert closer to the standard 3-4% range that prevailed before the scheme began. For the broader banking sector, the bigger question is how quickly lenders can adjust their foreign-currency funding strategies, and whether this week's stock market jitters prove to be a brief overreaction or the start of a more sustained rethink of how Indian banks source dollars going forward.
Politics
RBI Pulls the Plug on FCNR(B) Swap Facility Early, and Banking Stocks Feel It.
August 19, 2026
Modi's Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India's Foreign Policy.
India
Modi’s Central Asia Swing: What the SCO Summit Really Signals for India’s Foreign Policy.
August 19, 2026
Kerala on Alert as Nipah Virus Pattern Continues in 2026.
Health
Kerala on Alert as Nipah Virus Pattern Continues in 2026.
August 18, 2026
Scroll to Top
“5 Best Forts Near Pune to Visit on Shivjayanti 2026” 7 facts about Dhanteras