RuPay On-The-Go cards now accepted across Pune Metro network

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 10, 2026 | Business

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in collaboration with Maha Metro and HDFC Bank, on Monday announced the launch of RuPay On-The-Go (OTG) card acceptance across the Pune Metro network.

With the rollout, commuters can use their existing RuPay On-The-Go cards to tap and travel across all operational Pune Metro stations, enabling a seamless, contactless and interoperable digital ticketing experience.

Pune Metro, which currently offers paper tickets, mobile QR tickets and HDFC Bank One Pune NCMC RuPay cards, has now expanded its fare payment options by introducing open-loop RuPay On-The-Go acceptance. This allows any existing or new RuPay On-The-Go card to be used for metro travel.

The move is aimed at enhancing commuter convenience by offering a unified and simplified payment method across the network.

RuPay On-The-Go cards also support interoperability across multiple public transport systems, including buses and other metro networks. In addition, the cards offer offline payment capability, ensuring uninterrupted travel even in areas with limited network connectivity.

Published on February 10, 2026

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India may allow US pulses like ‘masur’ at zero duty

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 10, 2026 | Business

The government had included some lentils in the agricultural items, where concession has been allowed to the US
| Photo Credit:
Arundhati Sathe

India may allow limited quantity of lentil (masur) import at zero duty from the US against 10 per cent now, highly placed sources said. However, there is unlikely to be a similar treatment for other pulses such as yellow peas and Kabuli chana.

A factsheet released by the White House on Tuesday said: “India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all US industrial goods and a wide range of US food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains (DDGs), red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, certain pulses, soybean oil, wine and spirits and additional products.” The mention of ‘certain pulses’ was not made in the joint agreement signed between India and the US last week.

Currently, the import duty on yellow peas is 30 per cent and on Kabuli chana 40 per cent, and there is also an agricultural cess of 10 per cent on the duty.

“If duty on 10 per cent becomes zero on masur, it will not have any impact except adding a sentimental value. Besides, the US is not known for a large grower of red lentils which are preferred in India and currently imported from Canada and Australia,” said Rahul Chauhan of I-Grain India. He said there will be a possibility of import of green lentils from the US, which produces them mainly when prices of tur [pigeon peas] are high in India.

no clarity

Chauhan further said there is no clarity on market access to yellow peas and Kabuli chana, the two commodities in which the US suppliers could not compete with other countries at the current level of duties. Trade experts warn that if import duty on yellow peas is reduced to zero, there may be a possibility of re-export of it from the US after buying from Canada.

Addressing the media on February 7, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had included some lentils in the agricultural items, where concession has been allowed to the US. However, it did not specifically say which are the other pulses apart from masur. While lentil in India is known as masur, it is used as a synonym for pulses in the US. Goyal had mentioned that while the import duty on some products will immediately be zero, for some other products, it will be done over a period.

Officials data show that masur import by India had dropped over 27 per cent to 12.19 lakh tonnes (lt) worth $916 million in 2024-25 from 16.76 lt worth 1.29 billion in 2023-24. Imports from US, however, had surged nearly four times to 69,945 tonnes worth $78.43 million in 2024-25 from 17,557 tonnes worth $21.11 million in 2023-24.

Large green lentils were trading near $0.26/lb FOB, with some buyers still open to nearby movement, said I-Grain in its wekly report on February 5. Extra large green lentils continued to trade around $0.22/lb FOB, and small green lentils were quoted near $0.20/lb FOB, it said. On the other hand, red lentils showed strength, with old-crop indications around $0.25/lb delivered and new-crop lentil pricing remains unchanged, with indicative levels at $0.24/lb.

Published on February 10, 2026

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India’s Cotton Corp cuts fibre prices by up to 3% to spur sales

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 10, 2026 | Business

Amidst an easing trend in international prices, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has reduced the price for the 2025-26 crop by ₹1,400-1,700 per candy (356 kg) to boost its sales. The state-run entity has also reduced the lifting period for buyers from 60 days to 30 days.

“The correction in prices is in line with the international prices,” said Lalit Kumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, CCI. The state-run entity had started the sale of 2025-26 crop on January 19 and has sold about 4 lakh bales till now, amidst a dull response from the industry.

Also, CCI’s procurement has touched 93 lakh bales of 170 kg each till now, Gupta said. The procurement will go on till the end of this month. CCI is still carrying out procuring operations in states such as Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Output estimate unchanged

Gupta said the local arrivals are continuing and the industry will continue to buy first from the market. The daily arrivals are estimated to be between 1.25-1.5 lakh bales. “Our sales normally picks up after March only” Gupta said.

Ramanuj Das Boob, a sourcing agent in Raichur, said arrivals are good in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana, while they are tapering in Karnataka. “The market prices are lower than the CCI price, and the trade is getting their choice of cotton from the market,” Das Boob said.

Meanwhile, the Cotton Association of India (CAI), which recently revised upwards the crop estimate for 2025-26 by around 2.5 per cent or 7.5 lakh bales of 170 kg each to 317 lakh bales on higher than estimated production in Maharashtra and Telangana, has maintained the projections on Tuesday.

CAI has maintained total cotton consumption during 2025-26 till Sept end at 305 lakh bales of 170 kg each as against previous year’s 314 lakh bales. Till January end, cotton consumption is estimated at 104 lakh bales, CAI President Vinay N Kotak said in a statement.

CAI has projected a year-end surplus 122.59 lakh bales for the 2025-26 season, up 56 per cent year-on-year on record imports of 50 lakh bales during the year. Imports till Jan-end stood higher at 35 lakh bales and exports were 6 lakh bales.

Published on February 10, 2026

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Bandhan Life Insurance expects ULIPs to continue to account for 30% of APE

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 10, 2026 | Business

Satishwar B., MD & CEO, Bandhan Life Insurance
| Photo Credit:
DEBASISH BHADURI

Bandhan Life Insurance, the life insurance arm of the Bandhan Group, expects ULIPs to continue to account for around 30 per cent of its annualised premium equivalent (APE) going forward.

The private sector insurer announced a new Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP), along with a Mid Cap new fund launch on Tuesday.

“In APE terms, broadly, ULIPs come close to 30 per cent, Par (participating insurance policy) is another 30-35 per cent, and non-Par, which includes protection, is another say one-third of the overall product mix,” said Satishwar B, MD & CEO, Bandhan Life Insurance.

In terms of the number of insurance policies, close to 50 per cent of the insurer’s policies are pure protection plans.

“Pure protection plans have an average ticket size of close to ₹10,000-12,000, whereas the average ticket size of a savings product is ₹40,000-50,000. So, in terms of the number of policies, close to 50 per cent are still pure protection. But from the APE perspective, pure protection will come down to close to 5-10 per cent, and that should be true for most insurance companies,” Satishwar said.

Bandhan Life Insurance would like to maintain the contribution of ULIPs to its overall APE at around one-third going forward as well. “That is the way we would like to keep it. But it will depend upon how market movements happen, because what we have seen is, whenever the equity market goes up, normally, ULIPs’ share starts increasing, and whenever it goes down, the traditional (plans) share starts increasing,” said Maneesh Mishra, Chief Product and Marketing Officer.

The life insurer said its new ULIP product — iInvest Ultima — is designed to help customers grow their wealth while protecting their loved ones. In addition to the new fund launch, iInvest Ultima gives customers access to Bandhan Life’s other top performing 5-star and 4-star rated funds that have outperformed industry benchmarks.

The insurance company’s first mid-cap fund opens at ₹10 NAV and is available until February 18. Women customers get an exclusive 0.5 per cent additional premium allocation from Day 1 for the first five policy years, thus getting a higher investment benefit without any additional premium.

“Mid-cap actually captures the India growth story very well. We are growing and emerging leaders will come in, and mid-cap as a category, specifically, kind of tries and gets us to that one. So, insurance allows customers to participate in India’s growth story by having structured mechanisms and combines protection with purpose-driven investing,” Satishwar added.

Published on February 10, 2026

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Karnataka Bank Q3 net up 2.54% at ₹290.79 crore

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 10, 2026 | Business

Raghavendra S Bhat, Managing Director and CEO of Karnataka Bank

Karnataka Bank recorded a net profit of ₹290.79 crore during the third quarter of 2025-26, against ₹283.60 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2024-25, registering a growth of 2.54 per cent.

The board of directors, which met on Tuesday, approved the financial results for the quarter and nine-month period ended December 31, 2025.

Interest income stood at ₹792.06 crore during the third quarter of FY2025-26, against ₹792.78 crore in the corresponding period of FY2024-25. Other income increased to ₹302.30 crore in Q3 FY2025-26, from ₹292.36 crore in Q3 FY2024-25.

Net interest margin stood at 2.92 per cent during the third quarter of 2025-26, against 3.02 per cent in the corresponding period of 2024-25.

Asset quality improved during the quarter, with gross NPAs (non-performing assets) declining to 3.32 per cent as on December 31 2025, compared to 3.33 per cent as on September 30, 2025. Net NPAs improved to 1.31 per cent, from 1.35 per cent over the same period. Gross NPAs were at 3.11 per cent and net NPAs at 1.39 per cent during Q3 of 2024-25.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 19.94 per cent, compared to 20.84 per cent as of September 2025.

In line with RBI’s revised draft guidelines, Liquidity Coverage Ratio as on December 31, 2025, stood at 186.84 per cent.

Gross advances stood at ₹77,282.85 crore during Q3 of 2025-26, against ₹77,859.75 crore in the corresponding period of 2024-25.

Gross deposits increased to ₹1.04 lakh crore in Q3 FY2025-26, from ₹1 lakh crore in the corresponding period of 2024-25. CASA (current account savings account) deposits increased to 31.53 per cent during the third quarter of FY 2025-26, from 30.29 per cent in Q3 of FY 2024-25.

Quoting Raghavendra S Bhat, Managing Director and CEO, a media statement said the bank showed an improvement in asset quality.

“We reiterate that our focus on the RAM (retail, agri and MSME) segments, and pursuing a strong base in low-cost deposits has started accruing benefits for the bank. As the bank has energized the distribution ecosystem by building rigours into the processes, the accretion of a high-quality credit portfolio is now visible. In parallel, digital transformation initiatives are gaining traction, with the development of new products and platforms to enhance customer experience and improve operational efficiency,” he said.

Various analytical tools have now been embedded into core business processes, enabling analytics-driven decision-making and supporting predictive and strategic use cases to drive efficiency and deeper insights across the bank, he said, adding, “Our mission and vision remain firmly anchored as we advance our objectives with renewed clarity and momentum.”

Published on February 10, 2026

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Vedanta Aluminium boosts billet production to 830,000 tonnes per annum

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 10, 2026 | Business

FILE PHOTO: Large aluminium billets
| Photo Credit:
Evan Buhler

Vedanta Aluminium has expanded the billet production capacity at its Jharsuguda operations in Odisha, the world’s largest aluminium plant, taking the total billet production capacity to 830,000 tonnes per year.

This will strengthen the company’s ability to supply high-quality products to customers worldwide, broaden its value-added product (VAP) portfolio, and reinforce its role in supporting India’s fast-growing extrusion and downstream sectors, a company statement said.

Vedanta Aluminum’s billets are key semifinished products used in extrusion processes to create precision engineered profiles. These profiles support critical industries including infrastructure, transportation, renewable energy, electrical systems, consumer goods, and packaging. Owing to aluminium’s high strength-to-weight ratio, recyclability and versatility, billets also play a vital role in enabling sustainable manufacturing and modern design solutions, it said

The expansion adds 250,000 tonnes per annum of new capacity to the existing 580,000 tonnes a year billet infrastructure.

Focus on value-addition

This positions Jharsuguda among the largest aluminium billet production sites globally and reinforces Vedanta Aluminium’s leadership in the Indian market, where it already supplies over half of the country’s domestic billet demand. The billet facility is equipped with advanced casting and homogenising technology from global leaders Wagstaff (USA) and Hertwich (Austria).

Additionally, a new 120,000 tonnes a year Primary Foundry Alloy (PFA) facility has been set up at the site, further expanding the company’s PFA production capabilities.

Rajiv Kumar, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, said, “This scale-up enhances our ability to serve high-growth industries and reinforces India’s position as a rising force in the global aluminium landscape. We remain focused on delivering long-term value for the nation and all our stakeholders.”

C Chandru, CEO, Vedanta Jharsuguda, said, “This is a testament to our focus on expanding value-added aluminium production with speed, technical excellence, and adherence to global standards.”

Vedanta Aluminium is the first producer in India to offer low-carbon aluminium under the Restora range. With customers in more than 60 countries, the company offers over 25 high-quality variants of billets and aims to further expand capacity across its operations in Odisha and Chhattisgarh to 1.25 million tonnes per annum, the company said in its statement.

Published on February 10, 2026

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