Country's leading lender SBI on Saturday announced the launch of a USD 500 million syndicated social term loan facility, focused exclusively on women empowerment with a greenshoe option, on the eve of International Women's Day.
This syndicated transaction is a milestone for SBI and the global ESG financing landscape, for the noble cause of women empowerment, the bank said in a statement.
This financing is focused on accelerating social impact and demonstrates SBI's commitment to reduce 'the gender gap' and contributes meaningfully to United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 -- 'Achieve Gender Equality and Empower all Women and Girls'.
On the occasion, SBI Chairman C S Setty said, "On this women's day, we are happy to announce that as a responsible organisation, we are deeply committed to fostering women empowerment as a cornerstone of sustainable development."
This landmark social loan embodies the bank's dedication to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ...

This syndicated transaction is a milestone for SBI and the global ESG financing landscape, for the noble cause of women empowerment, the bank said in a statement

Press Trust of India

Union Shipping, Ports and Waterways Ministry has proposed that ports may consider requests regarding reduction, waiver or remission of charges, including change of vessel charge, and also rolled out a standard operating procedure (SoP) for them to deal with issues arising from the West Asia crisis.
As part of the SoP that followed extensive consultations with all stakeholders on Friday, each port will appoint a nodal officer at the level of head of department or deputy head of department, who will be the single point of contact for addressing the issues coming up for consideration at ports.
The nodal officer will be responsible for taking up the matter with the competent authority and ensure that the action is taken within 24-72 hours.
Also, as per the SoP, port chairpersons should have periodical meetings with stakeholders such as shipping lines, exporters, terminal operators, customs, among others to closely monitor the situation and ascertain and address legitimate concerns.
The

Indian imports of Russian crude oil fell by only 3.5 per cent in 2025 at 1.73 million bpd from 2024, Kpler data showed

As part of the SoP that followed extensive consultations with all stakeholders on Friday, each port will appoint a nodal officer at the level of head of department or deputy head of department

The government has granted certain relaxations to exporters in fulfilling their export obligations, as the trading community is facing difficulties in the movement of goods due to the ongoing West Asia crisis, according to a notification.
"In view of the prevailing geo-political developments affecting international shipping routes and global supply chains, and with a view to facilitating exporters, the export obligation (EO) period/block wise EO period in respect of specified advance authorisations and EPCG authorisations expiring between March 1, 2026 and May 31, 2026 has been automatically extended up to August 31, 2026 without payment of composition fee," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in a public notice.
Under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, domestic firms are allowed to import duty-free machines but they have to meet certain export obligations against that.
This relaxation is in addition to the existing facility already available under ..

Trade exports

Under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme, domestic firms are allowed to import duty-free machines but they have to meet certain export obligations against that

Realty firm Omaxe Ltd has sold 173 luxury homes in its new project at Faridabad, Haryana for around Rs 800 crore amid strong demand.
The Delhi-based listed real estate company also sold 120 commercial units in Faridabad for Rs 160 crore.
In a statement on Saturday, Omaxe informed that the company has sold all residential and commercial units at its two newly-launched projects 'Omaxe Residences' and 'The Grand Europe' in the city.
The company recently launched and sold 173 residential units for about  Rs 800 crore. That apart, Omaxe launched and sold 120 SCO ( shop-cum-office) units for Rs 160 crore.
These two projects, slated to be delivered in 2030, are part of its integrated mixed-use township 'World Street by Omaxe'.
"Faridabad has a high concentration of successful individuals but has long lacked an ultra-luxury residential and commercial ecosystem that mirrors global standards," Mohit Goel, Managing Director of Omaxe, said.
He said the company intends to fill this demand-sup

branded residence, housing, real estate

These two projects, slated to be delivered in 2030, are part of its integrated mixed-use township 'World Street by Omaxe'

IRB Infrastructure on Saturday said its toll revenue in February 2026 rose 22 per cent year-on-year to Rs 746 crore.
The toll revenue in February 2025 was at Rs 614 crore, IRB said in an exchange filing.
The toll revenue includes earning of IRB InvIT Fund (Public InvIT) and IRB Infrastructure Trust (Private InvIT).
The newly added IRB Harihara Tollways (TOT 17) in Uttar Pradesh contributed its full month toll revenue of February 2026 at Rs 52.8 crore.
Of the total 24 toll assets, IRB MP Expressway in Maharashtra contributed the major share of Rs 148.2 crore to the total revenue collection in February 2026, up from Rs 140.9 crore a year ago.
Contribution of IRB Ahmedabad Vadodara Super Express Tollway rose to Rs 79.7 crore in February 2026 from Rs 63.9 crore a year ago, which is the second largest in the total toll collection.
With Rs 73.7 crore,  IRB Golconda Expressway (Hyderabad ORR) was the third largest contributor to the total revenue in February 2026, up from Rs 65.2 crore 

IRB Infrastructure Developers

Of the total 24 toll assets, IRB MP Expressway in Maharashtra contributed the major share of Rs 148.2 crore to the total revenue collection in February 2026, up from Rs 140.9 crore a year ago

The commerce ministry has assured that full benefits under the export support scheme RoDTEP will be restored from April 1 this year, providing major relief to exporters facing challenges due to the West Asian crisis, FIEO said on Saturday.
Barring agri and processed food products, the government on February 23 halved the rate of duty benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme.
"Good news for exporters. The current 50 per cent RoDTEP rates are applicable only up to 31st March 2026. The full restoration of RoDTEP rates will take effect from 1st April 2026, which should provide much-needed support to the exporting community," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President SC Ralhan said.
The assurance was given by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a meeting with FIEO.
The exporting community had expressed disappointment over the cut in the rates and had urged the commerce ministry to reconsider the decision.
The 

Trade, ports, export

Barring agri and processed food products, the government on February 23 halved the rate of duty benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme

Women form 23% of employees in listed firms but only 5% of CEOs or MDs, highlighting a steep drop in representation as one moves up the corporate hierarchy

Women worker, Women employee

Business Standard

MSDE's Directorate General of Training signs a Flexi-MoU with Bajaj Auto to train candidates in advanced automotive manufacturing under the revised Flexi-MoU Scheme

bajaj auto

However, month-on-month, there was a decline over January's high base

Electric vehicle

The West Asia is the second-largest overseas market for China-made vehicles and an increasingly important region for the Asian giant as it looks to offset weak demand at home

BYD, BYD cars

Reuters

Passenger vehicle sales growth is expected to moderate in FY27 due to a high base and preponed replacement demand, even as India's broader automotive industry continues its domestic upcycle

Automobile, passenger vehicle

Compared with last year's Budget, the Union Budget 2026-27 builds on the credit framework while moving decisively towards equity funding, market-linked liquidity, and structured compliance support

MSMEs

TNC Rajagopalan answers SME queries related to GST, export and import matters

export

Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy unveiled third round of speciality steel PLI scheme with relaxed thresholds, updated pricing benchmarks, and wider MSME participation to boost steel manufacturing

H D Kumaraswamy (Photo: X/@hd_kumaraswamy)

Base year revised, thresholds relaxed to reflect current market trends

Trade expert cites FTP Para 1.08 and CBIC circulars requiring that export consignments not be detained beyond three days, and clarifies documentation norms under the Advance Authorisation scheme

trade

Microfinance loan portfolio fell to Rs 3.14 trillion in Q3 FY26, down 7.3% sequentially, with 50 lakh borrowers losing access to formal finance even as portfolio quality showed improvement

Microfinance

NBFC-MFIs are expanding into MSME loans, LAP and affordable housing finance as political developments, regulatory changes and sector stress push lenders to diversify beyond microfinance

NBFC-MFIs diversify beyond microfinance into LAP and housing loans

Tribunal says IndusInd Bank's former deputy CEO Arun Khurana has already received documents relied upon by Sebi and cannot seek access to the entire dataset at this stage

Securities Appellate Tribunal, SAT

India's credit-deposit ratio remained at a record 82.5% for the fourth consecutive fortnight ended February 15, 2026, as credit growth continued to outpace deposit growth across the banking system

Bank deposit, banks

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