The Indian equity markets had a mixed week, with the Nifty 50 and Sensex 30 indices posting marginal gains, while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices underperformed and ended in negative territory.

Despite weak global cues and concerns over upcoming US tariffs, the market continued to witness positive sentiment from foreign investors. After persistent selling in recent months, FIIs have turned net buyers over the past few sessions, experts said on Saturday.

On March 28, the first day of the new (April) series, the market remained volatile. The Sensex ended at 77,414.92, down 191.51 points (0.25 per cent), while the Nifty closed at 23,519.35, down 72.60 points (0.31 per cent).

As part of its Act East policy, India sent more than 15 tonnes of relief material to Myanmar on Saturday, following a series of powerful earthquakes that led to widespread death and destruction on Friday, with over 600 people feared killed and the toll expected to climb further.

The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal said in a post that as part of 'Operation Brahma', India acted as a first responder to assist the people of Myanmar, who were affected by Friday’s massive earthquake.

“Our first tranche of 15 tonnes of relief material, including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, food packets, hygiene kits, generators and essential medicines has landed in Yangon,” Randhir Jaiswal posted on Saturday.

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) has announced a collaboration with Digital India Bhashini to implement a multimodal, multilingual e-Governance solution for the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).

The move is in pursuance of the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to effect qualitative improvements in Grievance Redressal systems to make them more sensitive, accessible and meaningful.

With the multilingual multimodal solution, it is envisaged that citizens will be able to file grievances on the CPGRAMS portal through 22 regional languages in an intuitive interface that will make grievance lodging much easier.

Citizens can use voice in their regional language to lodge grievances. This solution will also enhance ease of accessibility and navigation on CPGRAMS portal.

The domestic benchmark indices opened flat on Friday amid weak global cues, as selling was seen in the IT and auto sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.28 am, Sensex was trading 102.31 points or 0.13 per cent down at 77,504.12 while the Nifty declined 25.25 points or 0.11 per cent at 23,566.70.

Nifty Bank was up 209.20 points or 0.41 per cent at 51,785.05. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 52,443.65 after adding 604.25 points or 1.17 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 16,335.60 after climbing 215.75 points or 1.34 per cent.

According to market watchers, Nifty witnessed a strong buying of 213 points from lower levels before consolidating sideways, signalling sustainability in the uptrend.

To maintain the vast National Highway (NH) network, the government has approved short-term maintenance contract (STMC) works in 17,884 km length, costing Rs 2,842 crore, and performance-based maintenance contract (PBMC) works in 6,118 km length, costing Rs 6,757 crore, in the current fiscal (FY25), Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said on Thursday.

In a written statement in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister said the government has prioritised the maintenance of the existing NH network and has evolved a mechanism to ensure the maintenance and repair of all NH sections through an accountable maintenance agency.

At present, 1,310 NH projects in 31,187 km length costing Rs 8.11 lakh crore are under construction in the country.

While STMC works are generally undertaken for a contract period of 1-2 years, PBMC works are undertaken for a contract period of about 5-7 years.

The government encourages the adoption of innovative technologies or methods to enhance the durability and reduce the maintenance requirements of NHs (depending upon factors like rainfall, terrain type, soil category, etc.).

India’s billionaire count has grown to 284, with their combined wealth reaching an astounding Rs 98 lakh crore, a new report said on Thursday.

The ‘Hurun Global Rich List for 2025’ shows that the country’s wealthiest individuals have seen a 10 per cent rise in their total fortune over the past year. Mumbai alone has 90 billionaires.

India remains strong on the global stage, ranking third in the number of billionaires, behind only the United States and China. The US tops the list with 870 billionaires.

The Hurun report also highlights that 175 Indian billionaires have seen their wealth increase, while 109 either experienced a decline or no change in their fortunes.

The Indian stock markets ended on a strong note on Thursday, with both the Sensex and Nifty closing in the green.

The 30-share Sensex rose 317.93 points, or 0.41 per cent, to settle at 77,606.43. During the day, the index touched an intra-day high of 77,747.46 and a low of 77,082.51.

Similarly, the Nifty gained 105.10 points, or 0.45 per cent, to close at 23,591.95. The index recorded an intra-day high of 23,626.75 and a low of 23,412.20.

Among the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and Bajaj Finance were the top gainers, rising up to 2.85 per cent.

On the other hand, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers, with Tata Motors dropping the most by 5.38 per cent.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is working on a new penalty system that would prevent brokerage firms from being fined multiple times for the same violation.

The proposal, which has been under discussion for the past year, aims to stop different stock exchanges from imposing separate penalties for a single default.

The SEBI is in talks with stock exchanges to implement this rule, which would help reduce the financial burden on brokers, reported.

Currently, brokerage firms can face penalties from multiple exchanges for the same regulatory violation.

In a powerful demonstration of joint operational capability, the Indian Army on Thursday conducted a highly effective and important ‘Integrated Multi-Domain Exercise’.

This Tri-Service Integrated Multi-Domain Warfare Exercise was held in the Eastern Theatre, deep in the high-altitude terrain of Arunachal Pradesh.

According to the officials, the exercise, named 'Exercise Prachand Prahaar', was held from March 25 to 27. The exercise brought together the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and other elements of the Indian Armed Forces in a synergised combat drill designed to simulate future warfare.

The exercise was carried out under the aegis of the Eastern Command, showcasing the seamless integration of advanced surveillance, strike capabilities, and multi-domain operational planning.

The domestic benchmark indices opened in green on Thursday amid mixed global cues, as selling was seen in the auto sector in the early trade.

At around 9.26 am, Sensex was trading 112.96 points or 0.15 per cent up at 77,401.46 while the Nifty added 28.20 points or 0.12 per cent at 23,515.05

Nifty Bank was up 80.55 points or 0.16 per cent at 51,289.55. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 51,605.10 after declining 41.05 points or 0.08 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 15,891.85 after declining 44.90 points or 0.28 per cent.

According to market watchers, Nifty has broken the steep rising trend line. On the hourly chart, it is possibly forming a flag pattern.

"40HEMA and lower end of flag pattern are almost at the same level. 40HEMA at 23390 will be an important support level to watch out for on the way down," said Vikram Kasat, Head-Advisory, PL Capital.