Foreign investors have made a notable return to Indian equity markets this month, emerging as net buyers over the past two weeks, analysts said on Saturday.

In just the last seven trading sessions, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have turned decisively positive on Indian equities. This shift is largely attributed to a weakening US dollar, revisit of tariff agreements and a renewed sense of optimism surrounding India’s economic trajectory.

“Amid a challenging global backdrop, marked by sluggish growth in major economies like the United States and China, India continues to stand out higher for its economic resilience,” said Manoj Purohit, Partner and Leader, FS Tax, Tax and Regulatory Services, BDO India.

India is forecast to grow at a robust rate of over 6 per cent in FY26 and remains the only fastest-growing economy, making it a compelling destination for global investors.

India’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to the highest-level since November last year to $686.14 billion, which shows a resilient economy amid global uncertainties.

According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's forex kitty swelled by $8.31 billion for the period ended April 18, over the previous reporting week, which is the seventh consecutive advance.

The reserves had added $1.57 billion in the week ended April 11.

Forex reserves have steadily recovered after a steep fall from their peak of $700 billion at the end of September. The overall forex kitty witnessed an all-time high of $704.885 billion in September 2024.

The government on Saturday said that 625 UDAN routes have been operationalised, connecting 90 airports (including 2 water aerodromes, and 15 heliports) across India, and over 1.49 crore passengers have benefited from affordable regional air travel under UDAN.

The UDAN scheme was launched on October 21, 2016 and the first UDAN flight was operated between Shimla and Delhi on April 27, 2017.

India’s airport network has expanded from 74 airports in 2014 to 159 airports in 2024, more than doubling in a decade.

More than 4,023 crore has been disbursed as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to promote connectivity to underserved and remote regions, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

UDAN strengthened regional tourism, healthcare access, and trade, catalysing economic growth in tier-2 and 3 cities. The dream of affordable air travel for the common citizen began to take tangible form with the first UDAN flight.

In a major push for sustainable urban development and public hygiene, Ludhiana’s AAP MLAs launched extensive cleanliness campaigns across the city today. The initiative, part of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s vision for a cleaner and greener Punjab, aims to cover all major roads, wards, and parks.

Ludhiana South: MLA Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina initiated the campaign from Dholewal Chowk, focusing on road cleanliness and fogging operations. She emphasized teamwork between municipal staff and the public to maintain hygiene.

Ludhiana North: MLA Madan Lal Bagga started from Jalandhar Bypass Chowk, urging residents to report irregularities in garbage collection directly. The campaign emphasizes door-to-door waste collection and eco-friendly practices.

Ludhiana Central: MLA Ashok Parashar Pappi launched the drive at Samrala Chowk, calling for collective action to make cleanliness a daily habit. He vowed to expand awareness campaigns on waste management.

Atam Nagar: MLA Kulwant Singh Sidhu, joined by Deputy Mayor Prince Johar, spearheaded efforts from Daba Road, addressing sewer cleaning and fogging to combat vector-borne diseases.

The EPFO has further simplified the process for transfer of PF account on change of jobs by launching a revamped Form 13 software functionality that will speed up the transfer of funds to the new account, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

Henceforth, once the transfer claim gets approved at the transferor (source) office, the previous account will automatically get transferred to the present account of the member at the transferee (destination) office instantly, furthering the aim of “Ease of Living” for members of the EPFO.

Till now, the transfer of PF accumulations used to happen with the involvement of two EPF offices. One, from which the PF accumulation is transferred (source office) and the second being the EPF office to which the transfer is actually credited (destination office).

The benchmark equity indices saw intense selling pressure on Friday amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, following the barbaric terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam.

Sensex started the day on a positive note, reaching an early high of 80,131. However, the market quickly turned negative, dropping sharply to a low of 78,606, a loss of 1,525 points, as reports emerged of a ceasefire violation at the India-Pakistan border.

The index managed to recover some of the losses but still ended the day 589 points lower, closing at 79,213 -- a decline of 0.7 per cent.

Similarly, the Nifty index rose to a high of 24,365 before plunging to its intra-day low of 23,848, a drop of 517 points. The Nifty ended 207 points lower, settling at 24,039, a decrease of 0.9 per cent.

“Rising geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan continued to weigh heavily on investor sentiment, prompting a cautious start for Indian equities,” said Sundar Kewat of Ashika Institutional Equity.

Despite the sharp decline, the benchmark indices closed the week on a positive note. The Sensex gained 660 points, and the Nifty added 187 points over the course of the week.

Among the Sensex stocks, Axis Bank was the biggest loser, following the announcement of its Q4 results.

India’s equity market has shown its resilience despite global uncertainties, and is well-positioned in a world reshaped by trade and tariffs, a report said on Friday.

The BSE 500 recorded a 6.25 per cent gain in March — its best monthly performance in 15 months, indicating that much of the market excess has likely been corrected.

India’s macro fundamentals are notably resilient. GDP growth is projected at 6.5 per cent in FY25, supported by strong domestic consumption, capex, and manufacturing upcycle, according to the report by PL Asset Management, the asset management arm of PL Capital Group (Prabhudas Lilladher).

Indian stock market saw a sharp decline on Friday within hours of opening of trade, as uncertainty over geopolitical tensions continues to spook the investors.

Domestic benchmark indices opened flat to positive in morning trade but turned red during intra-day trade. Sensex and Nifty fell by more than 1 per cent as uncertainty over India-Pakistan relations affected investors' sentiment.

At around 11:55 am, Sensex was trading 1,132.1 points or 1.42 per cent down at 78,669.26 while the Nifty declined 374.40 points or 1.54 per cent at 23,872.30.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, Only Infosys, TCS, IndusInd Bank and Tech Mahindra were the top gainers. Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finance and Eternal were the top losers.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Friday highlighted that in the last 10 years, the number of CNG stations providing green fuel for vehicles in the country has surged more than 20 times, while the number of households using piped cooking gas has recorded a 5-fold increase and LPG connections more than doubled.

This reflects not only an improvement in the lifestyle of the people but also an acceleration in the journey of 'Healthy India with Clean Fuel'.

“Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the last 10 years, CNG stations have increased by 2,300 per cent, PNG connections have increased by 467 per cent, LPG connections have increased by 128 per cent,” the minister posted on X.

India’s passenger vehicle (PV) industry is set to scale a fresh high this fiscal with domestic and export volume cumulatively crossing 5 million units even as the annual growth rate slows to 2-4 per cent, a report showed on Friday.

A Crisil Ratings report said that this marks the fourth consecutive year of record sales, although momentum has significantly eased from the 25 per cent surge in fiscal 2023 after the pandemic.

According to the report, utility vehicles (UVs) will drive volume growth this fiscal, aided by new launches, easing interest rates, rising compressed natural gas (CNG) adoption and rural tailwinds.

“PV growth will moderate to 2-4 per cent this fiscal, but UVs will continue to cruise with 10 per cent growth, supported by new launches. With UVs contributing 68-70 per cent of volumes and bulk of upcoming models, the shift toward premiumisation is structural,” said Anuj Sethi, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings.