Benchmark Indian equity indices ended almost flat on Monday in a volatile trading session amid mixed global cues.

The 30-share Sensex closed at 73,085.94, down by 112.16 points or 0.15 per cent. The index fluctuated between a high of 73,649.72 and a low of 72,784.54 during the intra-day session.

The Nifty finished at 22,119.30, down just 5.40 points or 0.02 per cent from its previous close. The index reached a high of 22,261 during the session and dipped to a low of around 22,004.

The markets started the session in the positive, but momentum quickly shifted to the downside, with both frontline indices losing half a per cent by noon.

However, strong buying in metals, realty, and IT stocks helped fuel a recovery in the second half of the session.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, said on Monday that it conducted search operations at four premises in Mumbai and Delhi on February 28, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 and seized incriminating materials.

According to ED, the raids were part of an ongoing investigation into a massive investment fraud involving M/s Pancard Clubs Limited (PCL) and others, in which more than 50 lakh investors were allegedly defrauded of over Rs 4,500 crore through a Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) in violation of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act, 1992, read with SEBI (CIS) Regulations, 1999.

During the searches, the ED discovered incriminating documents detailing overseas assets allegedly linked to the family members of Late Sudhir Moravekar, the former director of M/s Pancard Clubs Limited.

In the global energy landscape, India stands strong as the third largest biofuel producer, driving the shift towards cleaner and renewable energy, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Monday.

The minister highlighted in a post on X social media platform that “India has achieved 19.6 per cent ethanol blending in petrol as of January this year and is set to achieve 20 per cent very soon – five years ahead of the original 2030 schedule, reducing fuel imports and emissions.”

During the last 10 years the ethanol blending initiatives have enhanced farmer incomes as it is made from sugarcane, increased rural employment, reduced CO2 emissions equivalent to planting 1.75 crore trees and resulted in savings of Rs 85,000 crore worth of foreign exchange, according to official estimates.

Public sector oil companies, Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, have been at the forefront of this endeavour, introducing various blends of Ethanol with Petrol across the country.

The Indian benchmark indices opened higher on Monday as key economic indicators, including GDP growth and strong GST collections, were in line with the expectations. Buying was seen in the auto and IT sectors in the early trade.

At around 9.39 am, Sensex was trading 133.58 points or 0.18 per cent up at 73,331.68 while the Nifty added 46.25 points or 0.21 per cent at 22,170.95.

Nifty Bank was up 35.50 points or 0.07 per cent at 48,380.20 The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 47,947.55 after adding 32.35 points or 0.07 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 14,732.40 after gaining 32.20 points or 0.22 per cent.

According to experts, there is good news on India’s growth front.

Maha Kumbh, which was organised in Prayagraj, not only showcased the spiritual grandeur of Sanatan Dharma but also set a new benchmark in the field of crowd management. On average, 15 to 17.5 million devotees took a dip at the Sangam every day, and they returned to their destinations without any problems.

Managing such a massive number of people was a challenge, which was efficiently handled by the government and administration, presenting it as a model to the world.

Over the 45 days of this grand event, more than 660 million devotees participated. This number is nearly half of India's total population. In fact, during these 45 days, the Maha Kumbh Nagar became the third most populated area in the world, after India and China.

India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections in February grew by 9.1 per cent (year-on-year), reaching approximately Rs 1.84 lakh crore, according to official data released on Saturday.

This marks the 12th consecutive month where GST revenues have exceeded Rs 1.7 lakh crore.

The increase in collections was driven by a 10.2 per cent rise in domestic GST revenues, which stood at Rs 1.42 lakh crore, and a 5.4 per cent growth in revenues from imports, totalling Rs 41,702 crore.

The data further revealed that revenue from Central GST amounted to Rs 35,204 crore, while State GST collections stood at Rs 43,704 crore.

The Integrated GST mop-up reached Rs 90,870 crore, and the compensation cess collected was Rs 13,868 crore.

Based on the fiscal 2025 GDP growth estimate of 6.5 per cent by the government, Q4 growth has been derived at 7.6 per cent, according to a SBI Research report on Saturday.

However, “we expect there will be revision of quarterly numbers in May 2025”, the report mentioned.

Also, real GDP growth rate of 9.2 per cent for 2023-24 is the highest in the previous 12 years, except FY22 growth (9.7 per cent, which is highest since independence), said the report.

Despite geopolitical headwinds, India's growth at 6.2 per cent in Q3 FY 2024-25 reflects its resilience and the effectiveness of policies, industry bodies and experts said on Friday.

The growth is largely driven by the strong performance of agriculture and allied sectors, which saw a growth rate of 5.6 per cent in Q3.

"This rebound is expected to boost farmers' income and further enhance agricultural productivity and rural growth," PHDCCI President Hemant Jain said.

The tertiary sector has emerged as a key growth engine, showing an impressive 7.4 per cent growth in Q3 FY25. Services such as trade, hotels, transport, communication, and broadcasting services have witnessed high growth of 6.7 per cent, said Jain.

The number of farmers on board the Centre’s scheme for the formation and promotion of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) has touched the 30 lakh mark in the country, with around 40 per cent of them being women, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on Friday.

These FPOs are now conducting business worth thousands of crores in the agricultural sector, it said.

FPOs aim to increase farmers' income and provide small farmers with direct access to significant market benefits, bargaining power and improving market access.

Under this scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 29, 2020, there is a provision for handholding support for a period of five years to each new FPO that is formed, and financial assistance to the tune of Rs.18 lakh to each FPO for meeting management costs for 3 years.

Additionally, matching equity grants up to Rs. 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of Rs 15 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility up to Rs 2 crore of project loan per FPO from eligible lending institutions to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs is also extended under the scheme, the statement said.

India's GDP growth accelerated to 6.2 per cent in the third quarter (October-December) of 2024-25, up from a revised figure of 5.6 per cent in the second quarter of the financial year, on the back of stronger rural consumption following a good monsoon and increased government expenditure on infrastructure projects, data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Friday showed.

The GDP growth rate for the financial year 2024-25 is now estimated at 6.5 per cent while the economic growth rate for 2023-24 has been revised to a 12-year high of 8.2 per cent, according to the data released by the ministry.

The growth rate of Real GDP for Q2 of financial year 2024-25 has been revised upward to 5.6 per cent.

The construction sector is estimated to have posted a growth rate of 8.6 per cent, followed by the 'financial, real estate & professional services' sector at 7.2 per cent, and 'trade, hotels, transport, communication & services related to broadcasting' sector growing at 6.4 per cent during 2024-25.