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1. RBI Pushes Banks to Adopt ‘.bank.in’ Domain for Safer Digital Banking

In a major cybersecurity move, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all banks to migrate to the new ‘.bank.in’ domain by October 31, 2025. The initiative aims to curb rising digital payment frauds and phishing attacks, enhancing user trust in digital banking. The migration will be managed by IDRBT, under the supervision of NIXI and the Ministry of Electronics and IT. Banks are urged to begin the transition immediately, with IDRBT guiding the technical process.

2. IMF Cuts India’s Growth Forecast Amid Global Trade Slowdown

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed India’s FY26 growth forecast to 6.2% from 6.5%, citing global trade tensions and policy uncertainty. IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said businesses are pausing investments due to the volatile environment. Despite the downgrade, India remains the fastest-growing major economy, with FY27 growth pegged at 6.3%. However, the global outlook is dim: trade growth for 2025 is seen at just 1.7%, and advanced economies like the US and Europe are expected to slow sharply.

3. Trident Launches ₹2,000 Cr Fund for Growth-Stage Startups

Trident Growth Partners, backed by Ranjan Pai’s Claypond Capital, has launched a ₹2,000 crore fund to support Series B and C startups across sectors like consumer, fintech, healthcare, and tech. The fund will invest ₹150–170 crore in 10–12 companies with scalable models. Trident’s backers include startup founders from Lenskart, Policybazaar, KreditBee, and Livspace. With a strong exit record from 14 unicorns and 8 IPOs, Trident has already made its first bet in SaaS firm Spotdraft and is lining up more deals, aiming to bridge India’s mid-market funding gap.

4. Mutual Fund Fees Rise Despite Market Slump

Investors in direct equity mutual funds are facing a double whammy — market downturns and higher expense ratios (TERs). A Mint analysis found that 62% of direct equity schemes increased TERs from Sept 2024 to March 2025, even as many saw asset growth. While Sebi caps TERs based on fund size, there’s no rule on timing of hikes, creating room for asset managers to raise fees strategically. In contrast, regular plans — which include distributor commissions — mostly kept or cut their TERs. Sebi’s earlier proposal to shift TER slabs to the AMC level is currently on hold.

5. HCLTech Leads in Growth, Warns of Weak FY26

HCL Technologies outpaced peers like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro with 4.3% revenue growth in FY25, reaching $13.84 billion. But it projects just 2–5% growth for FY26, its slowest outlook since 2020, amid macro uncertainty and tariff headwinds. CEO C. Vijayakumar cited weak discretionary spending and client delays. Net profit rose 7.65% to $2.04 billion, with margins expanding due to strong performance in its software products arm. Still, HCLTech cut over 4,000 jobs, signaling a cautious approach to hiring, unlike its peers. The company says FY26 hiring will be “quarterly and cautious,” as AI and soft demand reshape the IT workforce.

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