Market Medley

  The Reserve Bank of India’s December 2025 monetary policy review marks a significant pivot towards growth support, underscoring a delicate balancing act in a complex macroeconomic landscape. With a unanimous 25 basis points cut, the repo rate now stands at 5.25%, accompanied by a retention of the neutral policy stance. This decision, driven by exceptionally benign inflation—CPI projections for FY26 have been revised down to 2.0%—reflects the RBI’s commitment to fostering economic momentum even amid robust GDP growth of 8.2% in Q2FY26 and a volatile currency.

  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently taken a progressive and pragmatic stance by increasingly permitting, on a case-by-case basis, the transfer of ownership of investment companies (including NBFCs and Core Investment Companies) to private family trusts.

  The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, has clarified several long-standing issues surrounding the pledge of dematerialized (“demat”) shares. Most importantly, it held that the invocation of a pledge under the Depositories Act and DP Regulations does not constitute an “actual sale” of shares.