Asian Paints, India's largest paint-maker by market share, beat quarterly profit estimates on Friday, helped by domestic volume growth in its ​core decorative paints segment.

Consolidated net profit rose 69 per cent to ​₹1,172 crore ($123.1 million) for the quarter ended March 31, topping the ‌LSEG-compiled analysts' average estimate of ₹1,116 crore.

Banks in the country reported fewer fraud cases in FY26 but the total amount involved rose to its highest in three years, driven by cheating in loans and advances and concentrated in state-owned lenders.

The industry reported frauds worth ₹48,021 crore in FY26, up 46.4 per cent from ₹32,803 crore in FY25, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest annual report.

State refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) ​bought 5 million barrels of ​crude oil from West Africa ‌and Middle East via a tender this week, trade sources said on Friday.

IOC purchased Angola's Kissanje and Nemba crude for delivery to its Paradip refinery, the sources said.

The ongoing geopolitical tension, which has resulted in elevated energy prices, poses a risk to growth and inflation in the short run, even as the growth outlook remains positive, the Reserve Bank of India's annual report for 2025-26 said.

Furthermore, even if the Indian banking system is expected to remain resilient, lingering geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions may pose near-term risks to corporate earnings and the performance of loan portfolios.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revived the idea of printing polymer banknotes for circulation to meet the surge in demand for currency notes in the last few years.

According to multiple sources aware of the development, the issue of introducing polymer or plastic notes was discussed in the last two board meeting of the central bank, held in Patna and Mumbai.

India forecast an El Nino-weakened monsoon in 2026 that will bring the lowest rainfall in 11 years, fuelling concerns over crops, food prices and growth in the world's fifth-largest economy, battling inflationary pressures from the Iran war.

The monsoon delivers about 70 per cent of annual rains to replenish crucial water sources in a nearly $4-trillion economy where nearly half of farmland lacks irrigation and about half the population earns its livelihood from farming.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday said he looked forward to hosting PM Narendra Modi again soon, while describing India's growing economic importance as an "extraordinary opportunity" for the Indo-Pacific region.

Addressing the parliament in Canberra, Albanese said India, which already has the largest population in the world, was set to become the third-largest economy over this decade.

Vodafone Idea has flagged preferential services for a set of users, alluding to the priority postpaid plans based on 5G slicing offered by Bharti Airtel, and has called for the creation of an equitable internet keeping consumer interest in focus.

India’s digital growth has been built on the foundation of affordability and connectivity for all.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has tied up with Mistral, as part of which India’s largest IT services company will become the first global system integrator partner for Mistral Forge, the French frontier model firm’s advanced system for enterprises to build frontier-grade AI models.

The partnership combines Mistral’s frontier AI capabilities with TCS’ deep context of enterprise customers.

Average global temperatures are forecast to reach near-record levels in the next five years, with Arctic temperatures expected to warm faster than other regions, a report by the U.N. weather agency and the UK’s Met Office said on Thursday.

The annual report, which gives regional predictions for temperatures and rain, predicts that annual global mean near-surface temperatures will range between 1.3 degrees Celsius and 1.9 degrees Celsius above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period.

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