
Markets
Why an RBI Rate Hike Hits New Borrowers Nearly Twice as Hard as Existing Ones
In the last tightening, a new borrower's rate rose 204 basis points and an existing borrower's rose 111. Old deposits lagged too, and in the 2025 cut they lagged far more than old loans.
By The Signal Editorial
October 8, 2026 · 6 min read
The Latest

Markets
The Rupee Is Far Cheaper, but India's Trade Gap Is Still Widening
The rupee is about 15 percent cheaper in real terms than in November 2024, and exports jumped 26 percent in August. The trade gap is still wider, foreign portfolio money is still leaving, and the RBI has just hiked.
October 8, 2026

Health
WHO Bars Obesity Drugs for Children Under 10 as Cheaper Versions Reach India
WHO's new guideline rules out obesity drugs and surgery for children aged 0 to 9, on thin evidence. In India, generic semaglutide at Rs 1,300 to Rs 4,200 a month has removed much of the price barrier, leaving guidance as the main one.
October 8, 2026

Business
After a Rate Hike, India's Repo Rate Is Still Below Its Own Inflation Forecast
The RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent. By the central bank's own projections, inflation still runs above that rate in the quarter now under way and the two after it.
October 7, 2026

Business
India's Data-Sharing Rail Reaches 2.8 Billion Accounts, but Customers Have Linked Only 11 Percent
The Account Aggregator rail has 2.8 billion accounts enabled for sharing, and customers have linked 310 million. RBI's new interoperability rule goes after that gap, not the plumbing.
October 7, 2026

Business
Airtel Raised Postpaid Prices After Its Record Quarter of Postpaid Gains
Airtel's Rs 50 postpaid increase is worth at most about 1 percent of its India revenue. What it tests is whether its fastest-growing customers will pay more for a bundle they may never use.
October 7, 2026

Technology
India Lost Its Cheapest Phones to the AI Memory Boom, and Almost Nothing Else
India's smartphone market fell 11.1% in Q2 2026. Strip out phones under US$100 and the rest of the market did not shrink at all. AI data centres are repricing one band of buyers, not everyone.
October 6, 2026
Business & Markets

Business
After a Rate Hike, India's Repo Rate Is Still Below Its Own Inflation Forecast
The RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent. By the central bank's own projections, inflation still runs above that rate in the quarter now under way and the two after it.
October 7, 2026

Business
India's Data-Sharing Rail Reaches 2.8 Billion Accounts, but Customers Have Linked Only 11 Percent
The Account Aggregator rail has 2.8 billion accounts enabled for sharing, and customers have linked 310 million. RBI's new interoperability rule goes after that gap, not the plumbing.
October 7, 2026

Business
Airtel Raised Postpaid Prices After Its Record Quarter of Postpaid Gains
Airtel's Rs 50 postpaid increase is worth at most about 1 percent of its India revenue. What it tests is whether its fastest-growing customers will pay more for a bundle they may never use.
October 7, 2026
Technology & Science

Technology
India Lost Its Cheapest Phones to the AI Memory Boom, and Almost Nothing Else
India's smartphone market fell 11.1% in Q2 2026. Strip out phones under US$100 and the rest of the market did not shrink at all. AI data centres are repricing one band of buyers, not everyone.
October 6, 2026

Technology
Google's Hardened Framework Cuts XSS Bugs by 250 to 1
Google's AI bug hunter confirmed over 500 exploitable security flaws across its web apps, and only 2 on the hardened framework built to stop exactly that bug. The gap says more about templates than about talent.
September 27, 2026

Technology
A Litigation Funder Bankrolled the Lawsuit That Just Cost Apple $5.7 Billion
A federal jury ordered Apple to pay $5.72 billion over two haptic patents, then discovery showed the winning plaintiff's case was bankrolled by a subsidiary of litigation funder Burford Capital.
September 27, 2026
Health, Culture & Geopolitics

Health
WHO Bars Obesity Drugs for Children Under 10 as Cheaper Versions Reach India
WHO's new guideline rules out obesity drugs and surgery for children aged 0 to 9, on thin evidence. In India, generic semaglutide at Rs 1,300 to Rs 4,200 a month has removed much of the price barrier, leaving guidance as the main one.
October 8, 2026

Health
Two Large Listed Hospital Chains Raised Bills Slower Than Parliament's Inflation Figure
A parliamentary panel wants foreign hospital capital curbed and prices capped, citing medical inflation of 10 to 13 percent. Two large listed chains report bill growth of 5 and 8 percent, and Apollo credits case mix.
October 5, 2026

Health
Serum Institute's HPV Vaccine Cleared WHO While India Vaccinates With Gardasil
WHO prequalified Cervavac on 25 September 2026, the sixth HPV vaccine to clear the gate. India's own free programme, launched in February, runs on Merck's Gardasil.
October 5, 2026