The week in charts: rate hikes, SIP flows, Airtel's tariffs

New Delhi, Oct. 10 -- From the Reserve Bank of India raising its key interest rate for the first time since February 2023 to record SIP inflows despite a shaky stock market, a temporary easing in the standoff over flight operations between Mumbai's two airports and airlines, Bharti Airtel raising postpaid tariffs, and India's 85-medal haul at the Asian Games-here is the week's news in numbers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, taking the repo rate to 5.5% from 5.25% earlier. This was the first hike by the central bank since February 2023. The RBI also adopted a hawkish stance, signalling that more rate increases could follow as it seeks to contain inflation risks. The move comes as several major central banks have also turned more cautious on inflation, with higher energy prices and global trade uncertainty adding to price pressures. The rate increase is expected to raise borrowing costs for consumers, including for auto and housing loans, and weigh on credit growth. Economists expect further tightening in India: Yes Bank sees hikes of 1 percentage point in this cycle, while HDFC Bank expects increases of up to 0.75 percentage point. Monthly inflows into mutual funds through systematic investment plans (SIPs) rose to an all-time high of Rs.32,297 crore in August, showing continued appetite among retail investors despite a shaky stock market. SIPs are periodic investment commitments by retail investors, typically monthly, and tend to be sticky in nature. However, the record inflows came alongside a sharp rise in the number of SIPs being discontinued or reaching the end of their tenure. Data from industry grouping Amfi showed that 5.38 million SIPs were either discontinued or reached the end of their tenure in August-the most since January 2026. On a relative scale, the ratio of SIPs stopped to SIPs started was around 81% in August, suggesting that more investors were keen to enter the market than those who sought to exit. The central government has asked Adani Airport Holdings to put on hold its plan to shift a portion of international flights from Mumbai airport to Navi Mumbai airport, temporarily easing a standoff with airlines. Adani operates both airports serving the Mumbai region. The Navi Mumbai airport began commercial operations in December 2025, after which Adani lined up the renovation of Terminal 1 at Mumbai airport. As part of the plan, it asked airlines to shift one-third of their international flights from Mumbai's Terminal 2 to Navi Mumbai. Airlines, however, said they were not consulted on the proposed move. The Navi Mumbai airport recorded 3,047 aircraft movements in August, compared with 26,017 at Mumbai airport, and has seen aircraft movements decline over the past three months. 26%: The projected year-on-year increase in market borrowings by Indian states in the October-December quarter, to Rs.3.6 trillion, according to Icra. Rs.28,000: The average price per sq ft of DLF's first senior-living project, The Aureva in Gurugram. All 172 apartments, with a total value of Rs.1,985 crore, were sold within days of the launch. 21%: The share of Indian stock brokers in commercial paper issuance in 2026, up from 4% in 2021. Brokers have raised about $33 billion, mainly to fund leveraged equity bets. $102 million: The amount spent by Google co-founder Sergey Brin to oppose California's proposed billionaire wealth tax, making him the largest contributor to the campaign against it. 7: The number of countries, including India, that have expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Summer Olympics. The other six are Germany, Hungary, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. India's second-largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has increased the prices of its postpaid plans by about 3-11%, its largest such price hike since 2024. The move comes days ahead of the expected initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms, the parent of Reliance Jio, which is India's largest telecom operator by subscribers. A raise in tariffs by Airtel could pave the way for Jio to follow suit, potentially giving it an opportunity to increase prices. Airtel last raised its headline tariffs in June 2024, after a gap of two years, following Jio. In the first quarter of 2026-27, Airtel recorded an average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs.264. The company has been raising its ARPU, but the pace of annual growth has varied, with 2025-26 recording the lowest increase over a five-year period. India finished the 2026 Asian Games with 85 medals, as a late gold rush helped it retain fourth place in the medals table behind China, Japan and South Korea. Its tally, however, was 21 medals lower than the 106 it won at the 2022 Hangzhou Asiad. India won medals in 20 of the 43 sports at this year's Games, but 76 of its 85 medals came from just 11 sports. Athletics and shooting remained its two biggest medal-winning sports, although India won fewer medals in both than it did in 2022. The performance was unchanged from 2022 in seven of the other 11 sports that contributed to this year's tally, while India won more medals in the remaining two-boxing and golf. www.howindialives.com is a database and search engine for public data. Disclaimer Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from MINT. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at contentservices@htdigital.in