India Daily Briefing

The RBI's dollar swap facility drew $136.4 billion total through August 31, with FCNR-B deposits alone accounting for a record $127 billion — a historic NRI capital surge that funds the RBI's arsenal for managing USD/INR without burning forex reserves. HDFC Securities CEO Dhiraj Relli flagged this alongside rising global bond yields and SEBI's new CAS as the three forces shaping near-term market dynamics. For retail investors, the FCNR window means less RBI panic-selling of dollars when global yields spike, giving Indian equities a partial cushion against the imported-inflation spiral that typically triggers tighter liquidity. Watch whether NRI deposit momentum continues into Q4 2026 — each fresh tranche strengthens the INR floor and gives the RBI room to stay accommodative longer than peer EMs.

MSCI's removal of Swiggy from its key indices triggers an estimated $340 million (roughly 2,800 crore) in forced selling from index-tracking funds — the overhang lands on September 7, compounding a 31% decline the food-delivery name has already posted year-to-date. For SIP investors in large-cap or mid-cap index funds, the direct impact is small, but for active fund managers sitting on positions it is a net-negative rebalance event. The deeper read: this is the market's verdict on unprofitable growth companies in a world of rising US 10-year yields — institutional allocators are not pricing in a turnaround until Swiggy demonstrates a path to EBITDA-positive. Watch whether the September 7 deletion creates a dislocation worth a contrarian lumpsum trade or further confirms distribution.

Zerodha received in-principle SEBI clearance for its merchant banking licence, pending formal registration — a strategic move that takes India's largest discount broker into IPO management, rights-issue underwriting, and capital-market advisory. The play mirrors Zerodha's original playbook: identify a fee-heavy market and compress margins through tech-first distribution. For the Indian IPO ecosystem, this matters because Zerodha's retail investor base of 15 million-plus accounts gives any deal it co-manages unmatched retail-tranche reach — a direct challenge to Kotak Securities and Axis Capital on future large-cap IPO mandates. Formal registration is still pending; the first deal announcement is the real signal.