Mumbai, Jul 18: ICICI Bank on Saturday reported a 13.88 per cent jump in June quarter consolidated profit at Rs 15,440 crore, up from Rs 13,558 crore in the year-ago period on the back of faster credit growth.

In an exchange filing, the second-largest private sector lender said its standalone net profit grew 15.95 per cent to Rs 14,804 crore for the April-June quarter on a standalone basis, up 15.95 per cent from Rs 12,768 crore in the year-ago period.

The net interest income (NII) increased 12.7 per cent on-year to Rs 24,384 crore in the quarter under review, on the back of a nearly 20 per cent jump in advances and a slight widening in the net interest margin to 4.36 per cent.

Its Executive Director Sandeep Batra said the bank was able to buck a system-wide trend and report an expansion in NIMs courtesy a income tax refund and also repricing of term deposits.

Going forward, channeling-in inflows from the FCNR(B) will be “dilutive” on the NIMs front, he said, but the bank is confident of keeping it “range-bound” for FY27.

Declining to share a target on the FCNR(B) front, Batra said the bank has activated its international network and also looking for partners to ramp up and make the FCNR (B) a success.

The bank did not offer a guidance on its comfort on the maximum leverage that it is planning for, saying that it depends on a number of factors, including the call taken by its local partners as well.

In the quarter under review, the other income excluding treasury income increased by 16 per cent on-year to Rs 8,425 crore for the reporting quarter and the bank also reported a treasury gain of Rs 151 crore.

The deposit growth came at 14 per cent for the lender.

From an asset quality perspective, the gross non-performing assets ratio improved to 1.38 per cent from 1.67 per cent a year ago and 1.40 per cent at the end of March this year.

Fresh slippages came at Rs 5,500 crore, which was down from Rs 6,200 crore in the year-ago period but higher when compared to the preceding quarter.

Bank officials explained that there is seasonality every year, where the first quarter tends to have higher stress primarily because of the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) accounts.

Provisions, excluding money set aside as tax, was Rs 1,260 crore in Q1, down from Rs 1,815 crore in Q1FY26. The bank does not see any material impact of the transition to the expected credit loss-based system from April 1, 2027 and has adequate covers in place for the same, he said. The bank disclosed that it continues to carry a Rs 13,100-crore provision on its books.

From a sustenance of the loan growth perspective, the bank said it sees adequate opportunities to lend in the corporate book, where the banking system has been slow to grow due to variety of factors over the last many years, Batra said.

The bank does not have any preferences or a list of sectors it wishes to avoid either, he said, stressing that the high credit growth of nearly 20 per cent — one of the highest reported by any bank so far in Q1 — is a function of the economic activity and also policy initiative, Batra said.

New Delhi, Jul 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday dedicated 75 redeveloped railway stations across 20 states to the nation under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, as part of the government’s railway infrastructure modernisation programme.

Redeveloped at a combined cost of around `1,570 crore, the stations have been transformed into modern, passenger-friendly transit hubs with improved amenities, better accessibility, and architecture reflecting local and regional heritage while incorporating future-ready infrastructure. This marks the Prime Minister’s second nationwide inauguration of redeveloped stations under the scheme.

n May 22, 2025, he had dedicated 103 Amrit Bharat Stations across 18 states and Union Territories to the nation.

New Delhi, July 18: Ahead of the Monsoon session, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and allowed separate seating for the 20 rebel TMC lawmakers, who have joined a little-known party, NCPI.

Official sources said that with the merger of the six MPs, the strength of the Shiv Sena has gone up to 13.

The TMC rebel groups of 20 MPs will seat separately, away from the parent party, the sources said.

No final decision has been taken on the demand of the rebel TMC MPs to be recognised as part of the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), and the matter is still under consideration, they said.

The TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) had demanded the disqualification of the rebel MPs.

The rebel TMC MPs are also likely to attend Sunday’s all-party meeting.

The Lok Sabha Speaker had earlier met a TMC delegation headed by its leader Abhishek Banerjee as well as the party’s breakaway group.

A similar exercise was also carried out with regard to the Shiv Sena (UBT).

Consultations with legal and constitutional experts of Parliament were carried out and they provided their inputs to the Speaker to help him take the final decisions, sources said.

The decisions came two days ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, which will begin on July 20

Past precedents, decisions taken by the former speakers of Lok Sabha and chairmen of Rajya Sabha in similar situations were also examined before taking the “informed and legally sound” decisions, the sources said, adding Constitutional and legal aspects were looked into.

Besides the rebel groups of the TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT), the DMK also sought a separate seating arrangement, away from the Congress, after the principal opposition party broke its decades-old alliance with the Tamil Nadu party and joined hands with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s party TVK.

This demand is also likely to be accepted by the Speaker.

Altogether, 29 MPs got elected to the Lok Sabha on TMC tickets in the 2024 general election.

As many as 20 MPs broke away from the party and joined NCPI, a registered unrecognised political party headquartered in Howrah, West Bengal, and sought separate seating arrangement.

The rebel group also expressed their allegiance to the Narendra Modi government and their desire to join the ruling NDA.

One TMC MP passed away some time ago and the seat remains vacant.

In case of Shiv Sena (UBT), a total of nine MPs got elected on party tickets, of which six have joined the rival Shiv Sena, headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Both the TMC and Shiv Sena (UBT) argued before the Speaker that their rebel MPs should be disqualified as the defections fall under the anti-defection law.

The two parties argued that the anti-defection law may not be applicable only if two-thirds of the entire party walk away from its fold.

TMC general secretary and its Lok Sabha leader Abhishek Banerjee demanded before Birla that the rebels should be disqualified.

He also said the claims of the rebels that they ‘merged’ with the NCPI were not valid, and as per the law, two-thirds of the entire party must merge with another party, not just individual legislators.

Banerjee had also submitted before the Speaker 20 separate petitions against the 20 rebels seeking their disqualification.

Shiv Sena (UBT) had also met Birla and urged him to share the demands submitted to him by the six rebel MPs of the party who have now joined the Eknath Shinde-led party.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai had said that they conveyed to the Speaker that the Tenth Schedule is clear: “Any group of a legislature party cannot merge into some other party on its own, even if they have a two-thirds majority”.

On July 14, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, leaders of the rebel TMC, met the Speaker and discussed with him seating arrangements for the party’s 20 MPs in the Lower House.

They also discussed the allotment of a party office in the new Parliament building, the sources said.

New Delhi, Jul 18: Backed by a major boost in indigenous defence production, India is rapidly emerging as a credible global security partner, expanding its strategic footprint from the Indian Ocean to the Indo-Pacific, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.

In an address at an event, Singh, sending a firm message to Pakistan, said New Delhi has clearly articulated its perspective on terrorism before the entire world and added that “zero tolerance against terrorism is not merely a statement for us, but a Line of Action”.

“We will strike against terrorism not just at the doorstep but by entering the house. The whole world saw this during Operation Sindoor,” he noted.

The defence minister also highlighted India’s success in indigenous defence manufacturing.

Defence products made in India are being exported to nearly 100 countries and the total volume of the country’s defence production has reached a record level of nearly Rs 1.78 lakh crore annually, he said.

“Today, India is not just manufacturing defence equipment for itself. India is becoming a credible security partner for the world. From the Indian Ocean to the Indo-Pacific, India’s role is continuously strengthening,” he said in Hindi.

The defence minister added that the nation is well-positioned to hit a Rs 3 lakh crore defence production milestone by 2029.

“If a country depends on other countries for weapons, ammunition, navigation systems, missiles, radars and drones, then its strategic and military autonomy also becomes limited. We are working with the full intention of completely changing this,” he said.

Singh said the success of Operation Sindoor is a testament to the trust in India’s industries.

The defence minister said the “biggest step” the Modi government has taken towards strengthening India in the defence sector is to promote self-reliance in the defence industrial sector.

“Our vision for empowering India in the defence sector is the one that trusts India’s capabilities. But the perspective of previous governments was, somehow, doubtful about India’s potential and capability. They perhaps did not have as much faith in India’s capabilities as our government does,” he said.

“Operation Sindoor was, in itself, a splendid example of technological warfare. In this operation, along with advanced missile systems like Akashteer, Akash missile system, and BrahMos, numerous latest equipment were also utilised.”

Singh said it proved that India’s armed forces not only understand change but are also employing it with confidence.

“All of this is becoming possible because a new foundation has been laid over the past 12 years,” he said.

In the year 2013-14, India’s defence exports stood at just Rs 686 crore, but now it surged to over 38,000 crore in 2025-26, he said.