Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry on Tuesday evening to discuss the roll out of reforms in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, according to sources.

The Finance Ministry will seek inputs and representations from industry leaders on the proposed rate rationalisation, the future of the compensation cess, and broad structural reforms as part of the GST 2.0 reforms.

The meeting will be attended by the Secretaries of the Ministry of Finance, and officials from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, sources said.

Global family offices are most likely to increase their exposure in their investment portfolios to India and China over the next 12 months and India has scored far better on the list, according to the '2025 Global Family Office' report by UBS.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of family offices are planning to increase their exposure to India over the next 12 months while almost a fifth (18 per cent) are planning to increase exposure to China, the report mentioned, clearing indicating the robust macro-economic indicators and strong domestic growth in India.

"Middle Eastern family offices were the most likely to increase exposure to India," the report further stated. Middle Eastern family offices, followed by those in Europe, were the most likely to increase exposure to India.

In sustained efforts to boost India’s export competitiveness in global markets, the government on Tuesday announced the restoration of benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme.

The restoration of benefits under the scheme are for exports made by Advance Authorization (AA) holders, Export-Oriented Units (EOUs), and units operating in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The benefits will be applicable for all eligible exports made from June 1 onwards, said the Commerce Minister in a statement.

The benefits under RoDTEP for these categories were previously available until February 5, 2025, and their reinstatement is expected to provide a level-playing field for exporters across sectors.

The Indian benchmark indices opened lower on Tuesday amid weak Asian cues, as selling was seen in the IT, auto, financial services and pharma sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.28 am, Sensex was trading 747.69 points or 0.91 per cent down at 81,428.76 while the Nifty declined 204.10 point or 0.82 per cent at 24,797.05.

Nifty Bank was down 366.95 points or 0.66 per cent at 55,205.05 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,062.60 after dropping 4.65 points or 0.01 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,744.40 after climbing 36.60 points or 0.21 per cent.

According to analysts, technically, the Nifty appears to have regained its momentum, decisively breaking out from its consolidation zone of 24,500-25,000.

The Indian stock market closed in the green on Monday as buying was seen across the sectors, especially in the auto and IT verticals. Benchmark indices commenced the week on a buoyant note, extending their upward trajectory for the second consecutive session.

At the end of trading, the Sensex was up 455.37 points or 0.56 per cent at 82,176.45 and the Nifty was up 148 points or 0.60 per cent at 25,001.15.

The rise was led by auto and IT stocks. Both Nifty Auto and Nifty IT index closed with a gain of one per cent each. Apart from this, buying was seen in metal, realty, media, energy, commodity and PSE indices.

Along with largecap, buying was also seen in midcap and smallcap. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was up 379.50 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 57,067.25, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was up 64.45 points, or 0.37 per cent, at 17,707.80.

Government-owned nonbank financial institutions in India will likely gain more market share in the coming year or two since they play a key role in supporting economic development as part of the country’s official policy, according to an S&P Global report released on Monday.

"Financial services is one of the four strategic sectors in India. As such, Government-Related Entities (GREs) in the sector are more likely to benefit from government support," said S& P Global Ratings credit analyst Deepali Seth-Chhabria.

“This is particularly so for those that play policy roles. In our view, government linkages provide financial flexibility, access to cheaper funding, and a mechanism for asset quality support," she added.

Low inflation for the rest of the year will result in improving real purchasing power of households and lowering input costs for corporates in India, an HSBC Research report said on Monday, adding that a less obvious, but equally important benefit, could be via fiscal finances.

The rest of the year will likely get support from lower inflation of about 2.5 per cent for the next six months.

With public granaries stocked up and monsoon rains likely to be favourable, food inflation is set to remain low. Core inflation as well will likely remain range-bound, led by weaker commodity prices, softer growth, a stronger rupee (against the US dollar), and imported disinflation from China, said the report, while updating its 100 indicators database for the country.

These indicators map various sectors, and gives a thorough and sequential picture of growth.

The incremental gain from the higher RBI dividend is expected to partly offset potential shortfalls in tax revenues and nominal GDP growth, a report said on Monday, adding that supported by a robust RBI dividend, system liquidity is likely to improve further.

This marks the third consecutive year where the actual dividend has exceeded the initial budgeted number. This implies an extra fiscal boost of 0.15 per cent of GDP.

Accordingly, “we maintain our FY26 gross FD/GDP target at 4.4 per cent, in line with the budget estimate,” according to the report by Emkay Global Financial Services.

“We expect Q1 FY26E to be in super surplus liquidity (with June tracking Rs 4-4.5 trillion), led by high RBI dividend of Rs 2.68 trillion and a sharp seasonal moderation in currency in circulation (CIC), along with RBI OMOs,” the report added.

The domestic benchmark indices opened higher on Monday as India achieving a new high in the world’s largest economy ranking boosted investors’ sentiment.

At around 9.32 am, Sensex was trading 640.3 points or 0.78 per cent up at 82,361.46 while the Nifty added 187.39 point or 0.75 per cent at 25,040.45.

Nifty Bank was up 408.25 points or 0.74 per cent at 55,806.50 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 57,114.35 after rising 426.60 points or 0.75 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 17,789.25 after climbing 145.90 points or 0.83 per cent.

According to analysts, news of India becoming the fourth largest economy in the world would be a near-term morale boost for the market.

The Centre has ratified the interest rate on employees' provident fund (PF) deposits at 8.25 per cent for FY2024-25 -- the same as the previous fiscal.

In February, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) announced to retain the interest rate on employees' provident fund deposits at 8.25 per cent for FY25. The decision was taken by the EPFO's Central Board of Trustees at a meeting in the national capital.

The Ministry of Finance has now cleared the rate of interest on employees' PF at 8.25 per cent for FY25. A notification from the Labour Ministry has also been sent to the retirement fund body this week, according to reliable sources on Saturday.

The interest rate on EPF for 2024-25 is set to be credited into the accounts of the EPFO members.