The asset quality of India’s banks has improved further with their gross non-performing assets (GNPA) declining to 2.6 per cent of total advances in September 2024 which is the lowest level in the last 12 years, according to the RBI’s latest financial stability report.

The net NPA ratio was around 0.6 per cent, according to the RBI's December 2024 issue of the Financial Stability Report (FSR).

"Buoyed by falling slippages, higher write-offs and steady credit demand, the gross nonperforming assets (GNPA) ratio of 37 scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) fell to a multi-year low of 2.6 per cent," the report stated.

The improvement in asset quality of SCBs was broad-based across sectors and bank groups, according to the report.

Even as India’s merchandise trade deficit has come under some pressure, robust services exports and healthy remittances flow should help keep the country’s current account deficit (CAD) in the safe zone during the current financial year (FY 2024-25), according to a Crisil report released on Monday.

“We expect CAD at about 1.0 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2024-25, as against 0.7 per cent last year. In addition, the impact of geopolitical issues will remain a monitorable,” the report stated.

The Crisil report highlights that India’s current account deficit (CAD) was largely unchanged at $11.2 billion (1.2 per cent GDP) in the second quarter (July-September) of fiscal year 2024-25 compared with $11.3 billion (1.3 per cent of GDP) in the corresponding year-ago quarter. Sequentially, though, the metric, which reflects a country’s external payments position, widened slightly from $10.2 billion (1.1 per cent of GDP) in the first quarter.

The Indian stock market closed in the red on Monday as a spike in volatility amid foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) outflow and global cues affected investor sentiment.

Sensex ended at 78,248.13, down by 450.94 points or 0.57 per cent and Nifty settled at 23,644.9, down by 168.50 points or 0.71 per cent.

Nifty Bank ended at 50,952.75, down by 358.55 points, or 0.70 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 57,189.75 after rising 209.95 points, or 0.37 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,639.95 after declining 115.90 points, or 0.62 per cent.

According to Rupak De of LKP Securities, "Nifty remained volatile during the session, oscillating between 23,600 and 23,900. On the daily chart, the index has slipped below its recent consolidation."

"Additionally, it continues to trade below the 200-DMA, indicating weak sentiment. The overall outlook remains negative for the short term, with potential downside risks," he noted.

In a bid to swiftly address citizen concerns, the centralised public grievance redress and monitoring system (CPGRAMS) has successfully resolved over 70 lakh grievances in the last three years (2022-2024), the government said on Monday.

From 2022 to 2024, the system enabled the resolution of 70,03,533 grievances and mapped 1,03,183 Grievance Redressal Officers (GROs) as of October 31.

CPGRAMS, developed and monitored by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), is an online platform available 24/7 that connects all ministries and departments across the country.

The public grievance system now connects 92 central ministries, departments and organisations with 36 states/UTs, offering a seamless platform supported by over 73,000 active subordinate users.

The Indian benchmark indices in 2025 are set to ride on strong economic growth and government efforts to boost infrastructure and digital innovation, experts said on Monday.

Sectors like capital goods, technology, financial services, consumption, and healthcare are expected to shine, with emerging areas such as semiconductors, electronic and manufacturing, renewable energy and electric mobility grabbing more attention, said Deepak Ramaraju, Senior Fund Manager, Shriram AMC.

Indian equities were buoyant amid a challenging and eventful year with higher volatility. The markets were volatile with multiple global events, a slowdown in the Indian economy, tighter liquidity conditions and delayed government spending.

“However, a recent cut in CRR is expected to ease the liquidity conditions followed by a pickup in government spending. These two factors are expected to improve overall consumption and pickup in industrial output,” Ramaraju mentioned.

On the back of robust government reforms and increasing private sector participation, India’s defence sector production is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 20 per cent during FY24-FY29, according to a report released on Monday.

Indian defence sector companies are set to further enhance the country’s defence capabilities, reduce import dependence, and elevate its global stature, the CareEdge Ratings report stated.

The collaboration between government and private sector entities in India’s defence sector has driven advancements in arms and ammunition, aerospace, electronics, and naval technologies.

Private sector entities, both domestic and multinational, are expected to play a pivotal role in advancing defence modernisation, leveraging their engineering and technological expertise, the report observed.

The Indian stock market opened lower on Monday as selling was seen in the auto, IT, PSU bank, financial service, FMCG, media, energy and metal sectors on Nifty in early trade.

At around 9:30 am, Sensex was trading at 78,523.25 after declining 175.82 points or 0.22 per cent, while the Nifty was trading at 23,758.20 after declining 55.20 points or 0.23 per cent.

The market trend remained negative. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), 815 stocks were trading in green, while 1,454 stocks were in red.

According to experts, "as investors leave 2024 behind and look forward to the New Year, there will be more concerns than confidence, at least in the early days of 2025."

Delhi's air quality improved to the 'moderate' category on Monday, facilitated by the record rain that lashed the city between last Friday and Saturday.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi at around 6 a.m. on Monday stood at 183.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered "good," 51-100 "satisfactory," 101-200 "moderate," 201-300 "poor," 301-400 "very poor," 401-450 "severe," and above 450 "severe plus".

Of the AQI at 38 monitoring stations in the city listed in the Sameer app, which provides hourly data on the National Air Quality Index, the AQI at 23 stood in the moderate category, while one station -- IHBAS, Dilshad Garden - was in the 'satisfactory' level with an AQI of 95.

Delhi on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 18 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature stood at 13 degrees Celsius on Sunday, six notches above the season's average for this time of the month.

Despite stock market volatility amid geo-political uncertainties, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net investors in India so far this year, as the country’s economy showed tremendous resilience, market watchers said on Saturday.

For 2024 (till December 27), FIIs sold equity for Rs 119,277 crore through the exchanges. In contrast to this selling trend, they invested Rs 120,932 crore through the primary market, said experts, citing data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).

“This means FIIs are net investors in India so far this year. The selling through exchanges is mainly due to the high valuations and investing through the primary market is mainly due to the fair valuations,” said Dr V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

The selling spree by FIIs seen in October and November declined in December.

The Indian benchmark indices closed almost flat this week owing to a lack of significant catalysts, as strong performances in heavyweight sectors such as banking and pharma helped offset declines in the IT sector.

Mid and small-cap stocks also ended on a flat note this week.

In the Friday’s trading session, share market ended with gains as buying was seen in pharma, auto, IT, financial service, FMCG, media, and private bank sectors on Nifty.

Sensex ended at 78,699.07, up by 226.59 points or 0.29 per cent and Nifty settled at 23,813.40, up by 63.20 points or 0.27 per cent.

The volatility index, India VIX, cooled by 5.68 per cent to 13.24, indicating drop in market volatility.

Experts said that a sustainable move above this level could drive the index towards 24,000–24,100.