India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections continued their upward trend in the month of July, rising 15.4 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 2.11 lakh crore. according to government data released on Saturday (August 1). The breakdown of July’s gross GST revenue includes Rs 39,835 crore from Central GST (CGST), Rs 47,881 crore from State GST (SGST), and Rs Rs 1.
23 lakh crore from Integrated GST (IGST).
Other important news on Business: RBI changes fixed deposits rules, to be applicable from October 1
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has changed fixed deposits (FDs) rules, the revised instruction has been issued through the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Interest Rate on Deposits) Second Amendment Directions, 2026. According to the information available, the new changes will come into force from October 1, 2026.
The RBI said banks will have to offer uniform deposit interest rates across all branches for the same amounts deposited by customers on any given particular day.
"The interest rates offered on deposits, including bulk deposits, shall be uniform across all branches and for all customers and there shall be no discrimination in the matter of interest paid on the deposits, between one deposit and another deposit of similar amount, accepted on the same date, at any of its offices," the central bank said.
Crude surge would have pushed petrol price to Rs 125 per litre without ethanol blending
Amid concerns over lower mileage and potential wear on older engines due to petrol blended with 20 per cent ethanol (E20), the government on Friday said petrol would have cost much more during the West Asia crisis if ethanol hadn't been blended. According to the government, ethanol blending has not only reduced the country's dependence on oil imports, but has also played a major role in providing relief to the common man from high petrol prices.
The government said that during the Middle East crisis, when crude oil prices reached around USD 135 per barrel, petrol prices in India could have reached around Rs 125 per litre. However, due to the ethanol blending policy, crude oil availability, and oil companies' procurement strategies, petrol was available to consumers at around Rs 94.77 per litre.
"Instead, consumers paid Rs 94.77 per litre because 20 per cent of every litre was domestically produced ethanol, procured at stable, pre-agreed prices that were insulated from the global crude price spike... The result? Nearly Rs 30 per litre in savings at the pump during the peak of the crisis," the government said in a release.
