RBI raises repo rate to 5.50%, first hike since 2023

Good morning. Money is getting dearer at home and abroad, and the bills are starting to land in ordinary wallets.

In today's newsletter: RBI's first rate hike since 2023, a $70,000 price tag on US work training for students, and Airtel's postpaid price rise.

MARKETS AT A GLANCE

Closing levels · 7 October 2026

Sensex 72,638.70 ▼ 0.59%	Nifty 50 22,603.05 ▼ 0.76%
USD/INR 96.76 ▲ 0.40% · rupee weaker	Brent Crude $100.85 ● 0.00%

Stocks slipped and the rupee weakened after the RBI's rate hike, as foreign money kept leaving Indian markets.

MAIN STORY

RBI raises repo rate to 5.50%, its first hike since February 2023

The Reserve Bank of India raised its repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% on Wednesday, its first increase since February 2023. The repo rate is what banks pay to borrow from the RBI, so it sets the floor for loan rates.

The hike is aimed at curbing inflation. The rupee is also at a five-month low as foreign money leaves, and the RBI said it will ensure the 'undervalued' rupee finds its correct level.

Banks moved within hours: Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda and three others raised their lending rates. SBI's economists see room for a sharper 50 basis point hike in December if inflation and global conditions follow the expected path.

Governor Sanjay Malhotra also said that if the US trade deal fails, it would have 'some negative impact', though India's new trade agreements could help cushion the blow.

DEEP DIVE

US proposes a $70,000 fee for foreign students' post-study work training

The Trump administration has proposed that F-1 visa students pay $70,000 to a certified institution for Optional Practical Training (OPT), the paid work period after a US degree, and $30,000 for any further work training.

That is a jump from about $500 today, set out in a government notice posted on Wednesday. OPT is the usual bridge from an Indian student's US degree to a US job.

The Department of Homeland Security says the fee is meant to tackle fraud and protect US workers. It is still a proposal: it must go through public comment and a final rule before anyone pays it.

DEEP DIVE

Airtel raises postpaid prices by ₹50 a month, its first hike in over two years

Bharti Airtel has raised postpaid tariffs for the first time in over two years. The entry plan goes from ₹449 to ₹499 a month, and family plans rise by the same ₹50, with the three-SIM plan now ₹1,049.

To soften it, every plan now includes one free international roaming trip per SIM each year. The timing matters: it comes weeks before the expected IPO of Jio Platforms, Reliance Jio's parent, and could set the tone for rivals.

TECH

Breaking.exe

AI cloud comes to India. US AI cloud firm CoreWeave will open its first India data centres, using 240 megawatts at AdaniConneX's Taloja campus in Navi Mumbai.

Cheaper Claude model. Anthropic launched Haiku 5.5, a model for support bots, voice agents and summarising, at 75% less than its predecessor ahead of a planned IPO.

ChatGPT gets visual. OpenAI is rolling out a new ChatGPT interface to all users that mixes text answers with diagrams, charts, forms and tappable buttons.

Nvidia inside Windows. Microsoft unveiled the $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra, an AI PC built on Nvidia chips, with a revamped Windows 11.

MONEY

Finance 101

Ola Electric raises cash. Ola Electric's board approved a ₹1,000 crore rights issue at ₹27 a share, a 26% discount offered to existing shareholders, to help cut its debt.

Adani's best credit score. CARE Ratings upgraded Adani Enterprises to AA, the highest rating in its history, which should make it cheaper for the company to borrow.

Easier bond issues. SEBI raised the yearly cap on separate privately placed bond series a company can issue from 14 to 17, and dropped the merchant banker requirement for eligible small issuers.

US borrowing costs jump. US 10-year and 30-year government bond yields hit 24-year highs on inflation fears, which tends to pull foreign money away from markets like India.

THE WORLD

Pangaea Revisited

Ukraine strike. A Russian missile killed 19 people in a block of flats in northern Ukraine, five of them children, during one of Russia's heaviest overnight barrages.

Saudi airports hit. Houthi attacks on Saudi airports in Abha and Riyadh killed three people and injured 36, all foreign nationals, as Yemen's war spills further into the Gulf.

Canada softens on India. Canada's spy agency took down a report that called India the second most pervasive perpetrator of foreign interference, a sign of warming ties under PM Mark Carney.

Sri Lanka arrest. Sri Lanka's anti-graft commission arrested former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa over alleged misuse of funds at her charity.

THE REST

Also, Also, Also

Chemistry Nobel. This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to two scientists for work on how mirror-image molecules form, which matters for making safe medicines.

Punjab repoll ordered. The Supreme Court ordered fresh polls in 50 Punjab municipal wards, calling the process vitiated, to be held under a committee led by a retired judge.

Delhi collapse. A building collapse in Delhi's Seemapuri killed two children and a pregnant woman and injured eight, a month after a similar tragedy in Satya Niketan.

Record U-19 haul. Baloda took a record-breaking 14 wickets as India's under-19 side crushed Australia in Ahmedabad to win the series 2-0.

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