ET NEWS

Mumbai: Healthcare and Information Technology (IT) stocks witnessed the highest foreign outflows in the second half of September as foreign investors dumped shares worth ₹4,521 crore and ₹4,036 crore, respectively, according to NSDL data. The selling came amid heightened uncertainty over Donald Trump's proposed H-1B visa restrictions - a major source of worry for the domestic IT industry - and new pharma tariff measures, weighing down sentiment in both these sectors."Export-oriented sectors like healthcare and IT saw outflows as President Trump imposed tariffs on pharma companies, which initially pertained to the branded segment, but the fear of further unbridled tariffs continues to fuel investor nervousness," said U R Bhat, co-founder & director, Alphaniti. "IT sector is under a cloud due to the revised H-1B visa norms."The healthcare sector saw selling worth ₹1,601 crore in the first half of September after outflows worth ₹1,417 crore in August.Between January and August, foreign investors withdrew shares worth ₹10,964 crore from the healthcare sector. The sell-off was sharper in IT stocks as they divested shares worth ₹61,786 crore in the sector in the same period."The recent US decision to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas has spooked investors, who have been awaiting clarity on demand recovery and policy stability before rebuilding positions," said Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivatives, SBI Securities. "While the pace of selling has moderated, the Nifty IT index still trades below key short- and long-term moving averages." 124401926Shah said the 20-day EMA (Exponential Moving Average) zone of 34,840-34,850 is expected to act as immediate resistance. The Nifty IT index closed at 35,232 on Friday.Overall, FPIs sold shares worth ₹19,647 crore across 15 sectors during the period, compared with ₹16,737 crore in the first half.Despite the cuts in the GST rates, overseas investors offloaded shares worth over ₹3,000 crore in the consumer durables and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors in the second half of September.FOREIGN INVESTOR PURCHASES Global investors bought shares worth Rs 1,733 crore in the automobile sector in the second half of the month, after purchasing Rs 1,908 crore in the first half of the month. The sector witnessed inflows worth Rs 1,803 crore in August, as the sector stands to benefit the most due to revised GST rates. Bhat said auto companies stand to benefit the most from the fall in GST levied on them, along with most auto ancillaries as they can pass the costs easily. Overseas investors purchased shares worth Rs 5,523 crore across eight sectors in the second half of September

Mumbai: The account aggregator (AA) framework and the newly launched unified lending interface (ULI) platform can play a key role in expanding credit access to the under-served, Reserve Bank of India governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Wednesday. Greater interoperability among account aggregators — or, financial services intermediaries — and availability of richer financial data will enhance network benefits for both users and lenders, Malhotra said. The ULI platform — a digital public infrastructure (DPI) like UPI to standardise and simplify lending — will further deepen financial inclusion by strengthening the credit delivery ecosystem through banks and NBFCs, he added.Malhotra was addressing at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai. “RBI is in the process of introducing standards designed to improve customer onboarding processes, enhance user interfaces, strengthen data security, and increase transparency and awareness in consent management and data sharing under the account aggregator framework,” he said. “The account aggregator framework can help unleash the potential in this area by making available data from the providers to the users.”The RBI governor said the success of the AA framework depends on integrating more financial information, particularly data crucial for assessing an individual’s financial status, as well as ensuring interoperability across account aggregators. Without interoperability, he said, it becomes difficult for financial information providers (FIPs) and financial information users (FIUs) to integrate with each one individually and derive the intended network benefits. At present, there are 17 AAs, 650 FIUs and 150 FIPs, collectively serving around 160 million accounts and handling 3.66 billion requests from FIUs.Malhotra said ULI aims to enable lenders to use data to build alternative credit models, helping expand credit access to new segments that currently lack formal credit histories. “Credit is the lifeblood of inclusive growth and despite best efforts by government and RBI and the banking system, while huge progress has been made in delivery of credit, there is still unmet demand and ULI can certainly be a bridge in meeting this need,” he said.Since its launch, the ULI platform has expanded to 120 data sources and services, onboarded 58 lenders, and facilitated the sanctioning of 3.2 million loans amounting to Rs 1.7 trillion. Malhotra said RBI will continue to build on the digital rupee, adding that interoperability between the e-rupee and UPI is driving wider adoption without compromising user convenience. He noted that programmability features in the e-rupee are unlocking new possibilities in purpose-driven direct benefit transfers, subsidies and targeted lending. Since its launch in December 2022, the retail e-rupee pilot has expanded to include 19 banks and around seven million users, enabling both person-to-person and person-to-merchant transactions. The RBI governor also urged fintech players to build for inclusion, adopt a customer-first approach, and design products and services that are simple, accessible and supported by assistive technologies. He emphasised that vulnerable groups such as senior citizens, individuals with limited digital literacy and persons with disabilities should not be left behind. He also called on the industry to innovate in credit delivery while prioritising trust and compliance.