The mutual fund industry has seen significant growth in assets under management (AUM) -- from Rs 5.89 lakh crore in May 2008 to Rs 53.4 lakh crore in March 2024, a report showed on Saturday.

The steady increase in the share of mutual funds in Indian household savings, from 7.6 per cent in FY21 to 8.4 per cent in FY 23, is a testament to the industry’s growing relevance and the faith that investors have reposed in it, according to the report by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), along with Crisil.

The mutual fund industry has played a pivotal role in empowering Indian households and investors to be a part of the country’s growth story, providing a platform for wealth creation and financial inclusion.

Wicketkeeper Heinrich Klassen will captain South Africa in the remainder of their 2025 Champions Trophy Group B match against England here on Saturday as Aiden Markram won’t be on the field for the rest of the game due to a right hamstring issue.

Broadcast visuals from Saturday’s ongoing game at the National Stadium in Karachi showed Markram going off the field soon after making a tremendous diving save at mid-off. An update from Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that Markram will be back on the field to lead the Proteas.

Automakers in India on Saturday reported robust SUV sales figures for the month of February, as private consumption continued to rise amid resilient economy.

Maruti Suzuki India maintained stable performance, selling 1,60,791 passenger vehicles in the domestic market.

The leading automaker’s utility vehicle segment, including models like Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny, and XL6, contributed significantly to its sales, with 65,033 units sold last month.

Mahindra & Mahindra continued its upward trend with strong sales. The company sold 50,420 SUVs in February 2025, marking a 19 per cent increase compared to the 42,401 SUVs sold in February 2024.

Including exports, Mahindra’s total SUV sales stood at 52,386 units, the company said in a statement.

The confluence of a favourable fiscal policy that supports both capex and consumption and easing monetary policy across all its levers — rates, liquidity and regulations and robust services exports – that augur well for the job market outlook are likely to aid the growth momentum for India, a Morgan Stanley report has said.

The GDP print for December quarter “reaffirms our view that growth is in recovery mode, after having bottomed out in QE Sep-24”, according to the report.

The high frequency data for January/February suggests a mixed trend with gradual signs of recovery.

While implied March quarter growth is at 7.6 per cent (as per advance estimate), “we believe growth will likely track lower than that at 6.7 per cent”.

“As such, we expect FY25 growth to be 6.3 per cent,” the report estimated.

Mahindra & Mahindra on Saturday announced that its overall auto sales for the month of February stood at 83,702 vehicles, a growth of 15 per cent, including exports.

In the ‘Utility Vehicles’ segment, Mahindra sold 50,420 SUVs in the domestic market, a growth of 19 per cent and 52,386 vehicles overall, including exports. The domestic sales for Commercial Vehicles stood at 23,826.

“In February, we clocked SUV sales of 50,420, a growth of 19 per cent and 83,702 total vehicles, a growth of 15 per cent. This strong performance is a result of a continued positive momentum for our SUV portfolio,” said Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd.

Shares of real estate company Signature Global India Limited on Friday witnessed a sharp decline by 4.14 per cent to close at Rs 1,042 after posting weak third quarter (Q3 FY25) financial results.

The company’s shares have been on a downward trend, dropping 13.64 per cent in the last month, 30.34 per cent over six months, and 22.1 per cent in the past year.

The real estate developer reported a significant rise in total expenses, which increased to Rs 835.89 crore in Q3, up 6.54 per cent from Rs 784.60 crore in Q2.

Compared to the same quarter last year (Q3 FY24), expenses have surged 179 per cent from Rs 299.70 crore.

The Indian stock market on Friday witnessed a sharp sell-off as weak global cues and trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment and both the domestic benchmark indices ended the day with heavy losses.

The Sensex plunged 1,414 points, or 1.9 per cent, to close at 73,198 after touching an intraday low of 73,141.

The index lost 2,113 points, or 2.8 per cent, over the week and dropped 4,303 points, or 5.6 per cent, in February.

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), India’s largest renewable energy company, on Friday surpassed a record 12,000 megawatts (MW) operational portfolio with the commissioning of an additional 275 MW solar capacity at the world’s largest renewable energy plant at Khavda in Gujarat.

AGEL is the first renewable energy company in India to reach this landmark. The 12,258.1 MW portfolio consists of 8,347.5 MW solar, 1,651 MW wind and 2,259.6 MW wind-solar hybrid capacity, according to an AGEL statement.

“The milestone underscores AGEL’s commitment to deliver 50,000 MW of clean, affordable and reliable power by 2030. The 12,258.1 MW operational portfolio will power more than 6.2 million homes and avoid about 22.64 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The emissions avoided are equivalent to carbon sequestrated by 1,078 million trees,” the company said.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) provides an opportunity to other countries to learn from India’s experience and get ideas on how to adopt it in their own countries, said Professor Carlos Montes, Lead Innovation Hub, University of Cambridge Business School here.

Professor Montes, who is on a tour to India for attending and speaking at the NXT event in the national capital on Saturday, was briefed about the working and achievements of UPI system which recorded an all-time high of 16.99 billion transactions in January this year with the value exceeding ₹Rs 23.48 lakh crore.

Montes was glad to see the success of the UPI payment system.

“The growth of UPI shows that the government is making sure that the technology that they develop is user friendly for citizens, and that there is a regular and constant innovation in the same which explains the high adoption rate of UPI in India,” the Cambridge Professor noted.

Only one out of three Ola Electric scooters sold in February was officially registered, according to latest data from the government's VAHAN portal.

While the company claimed to have sold 25,000 scooters during the month, only 8,390 were registered on the VAHAN website.

The discrepancy is due to ongoing contract renegotiations with Rosmerta Digital Services Private Limited and Shimnit India Private Limited, the firms responsible for vehicle registrations, as per an exchange filing on February 19.

"As a result of these ongoing negotiations, the registration numbers for the month of February 2025, as reflected on the VAHAN portal, will be temporarily impacted, while there will be no change in sales," the company said in its regulatory filing.

However, the company added that the registration process will return to normal in the coming weeks.