US-Iran conflict: At nearly $700 billion, how India’s forex reserves are a strong armour against global crises

India’s forex reserves have become more balanced over time, with more gold and some diversification beyond the US dollar. (AI image) A country’s foreign exchange reserves act as the first line of defence against external volatility. In times of global economic turmoil such as the present Middle East conflict, forex reserves are the armour that…

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From queues to QR codes: How UPI transformed India’s digital payments, now driving 49% of global real-time transactions

India’s financial ecosystem has undergone a major transformation in recent years, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) emerging as the centrepiece of the country’s digital payments revolution. Just ten years ago, financial transactions in the country were slow and largely cash-dependent but now, they are just a touch or click away, enabling instant, seamless and…

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Piyush Goyal holds talks with Kuwait, UAE, GCC to restore trade flows, energy supplies; exporters face disruption

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday held separate discussions with his Kuwaiti and UAE counterparts, as well as with the GCC Secretary General, on containing disruptions in energy supplies and restoring trade flows at the earliest amid the ongoing West Asia crisis. India’s trade with West Asia has been disrupted severely because of…

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Asian stocks today: Markets rallied as Iran-US ceasefire talks eased tensions; Kospi jumps 1.9%, Nikkei rises 1.5%

Asian shares rallied in early trade on Friday after investors reacted positively to easing geopolitical fears and a modest recovery in global risk sentiment following developments in Middle East peace efforts.MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.5%, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.9%, leading regional advances. S&P…

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