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India continues to remain the highest receiver of the FDI, and the Indian retail investors have created the capacity to absorb the shock due to outflow of foreign funds from the country’s stock markets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Lok Sabha.

Replying to a question asked by Congress member Shashi Tharoor in Lok Sabha, she said foreign investments have to be gauged, not just by looking at FIIs and FPIs which by very nature depend on the interest rates and they keep on "moving up and down."

"The FIIs and FPIs would come and go. But, today the Indian retail investors have proven that even if they come and go any shock that may come in is now taken care of because of the shock absorbing capacity that the Indian retailers have brought into the Indian market,” she said during Question Hour.

”We in the House should should stand up and appreciate the Indian retailer who has invested a lot of confidence in the markets today in India,” she added.

Pointing out that overseas investors has pulled out over Rs 1.14 lakh crore from the Indian market so far, Tharoor had urged the finance minister to explain the worrying trend of "steadily" declining investment by the foreign investors.

The Congress member had also sought to now from the government as to what measures were being taken to reverse the trend"The FPI and FIIs obvious obviously going to be very typical of their very nature coming and going out. But, what’s there to look at with fairness and objectivity is the inflow of the FDIs which is remaining unabated,” she said in her reply.

"India is the highest receiver of the FDI since before COVID and that continues very much significantly during COVID and subsequently also,” she said.

"It is that which indicates if the money, which is coming in, is staying invested in this country, thereby creating jobs and prospects for us, not by the FIIs and FPIs," she added.

India's largest private lender HDFC Bank will merge with housing finance firm HDFC Ltd, the companies said on Monday.

Shareholders of HDFC Ltd will receive 42 shares of the bank for 25 shares held. Existing shareholders of HDFC Ltd will own 41 per cent of HDFC Bank. Shares held by the housing finance company in the lender will be extinguished, making HDFC Bank a full-fledged public company.

HDFC Bank will be 100 per cent owned by public shareholders. Existing shareholders of HDFC Ltd will own 41 per cent of HDFC Bank. The transaction is expected to be completed in 18 months, subject to regulatory approvals.

“Post the combination, HDFC Bank’s customers will be offered mortgages as a core product in a seamless manner. HDFC Bank will also leverage the long tenor mortgage relationship to offer varied credit and deposit products enabled through better insights through-out the customer life-cycle. This will result in an enhanced value proposition and customer experience for all customers of the combined entity”, said the lender in a statement.

“This is a merger of equals”, said Deepak Parekh, Chairman HDFC Limited. “Over the last few years, various regulations for banks and NBFCs have been harmonised, thereby enabling the potential merger”, he said.

Morgan Stanley India were financial advisors to HDFC Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA) Securities were financial advisors to HDFC Limited for the proposed transaction.

Shares of HDFC Bank and HDFC jumped 9.62 per cent and 13.49 per cent to Rs 1,651.15 and Rs 2,781.55 respectively post the announcement of the amalgamation.

"The proposed transaction ticks all the right boxes in terms of completion of product offerings, product leadership in home loans as with other retail assets products, distribution strength across the country and a customer base that can be leveraged to cross-sell a complete suite of financial products,” said Sashi Jagdishan, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of HDFC Bank.

“With the leadership that we have built in housing finance and the deep understanding of the housing market across various economic cycles, this transaction helps in realizing the potential of what HDFC’s housing finance business can achieve by leveraging the distribution and customer base of HDFC Bank,” said Keki M. Mistry, vice chairman and CEO of HDFC Ltd.

Also Read:- Manufacturing PMI declines to 54.0 in March from 54.9 in February

The S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined to 54.0 in March from 54.9 in February.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity, while a sub-50 print is a sign of contraction.

IHS Markit - the  compiler of the PMI - completed its merger with S&P Global on Febraury 28, leading to the renaming of the PMI for India as well as some other countries.

While a reading greater than 50 suggests the manufacturing sector expanded further in March, a fall from February's levels was because of smaller increases in new orders and production.