US Federal Reserve Raises Rates by 25 Basis Points to 3.75-4.00%, Its First Hike Since 2023

16 September 2026National

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on 16 September 2026, lifting the federal funds target range to 3.75%-4.00% — its first increase since July 2023. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 12-0 in favour. Chair Kevin Warsh cited persistent inflation, with US consumer prices up 3.4% year-on-year in August 2026, well above the Fed's 2% long-run goal. The statement described economic activity as expanding at a solid pace on resilient household spending and strong capital investment. Updated projections showed 16 of 18 officials expecting at least one more quarter-point increase before the end of 2026.

Static GK

The Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, was established by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. | The Federal Open Market Committee has 12 voting members and decides US monetary policy | The Fed's long-run inflation objective is 2%

ShareWhatsApp Telegram

More Economy Current Affairs

Jio Platforms IPO, India's Largest Ever, Fully Subscribed Within Hours of Opening

The Jio Platforms initial public offering, India's largest-ever IPO, opened for subscription on 21 October 2026 and was fully subscribed within hours. It is an entirely fresh issue of about 27 crore equity shares with no offer for sale, priced in a band of Rs 1,065-Rs 1,119 per share with a lot size of 12 shares, raising roughly Rs 30,000 crore (about USD 3.2 billion). At the upper band, Jio Platforms is valued at about Rs 10.3 lakh crore. Demand was led by qualified institutional buyers, who bid over three times their quota on day one. The issue closed on 23 October 2026.

GK ByteJio Platforms is the digital services arm of Reliance Industries, chaired by Mukesh Ambani | Public issues in India are regulated by SEBI, set up in 1988 and given statutory status in 1992 | Before this issue, Hyundai Motor India's 2024 offering of about Rs 27,870 crore was India's largest IPO

📅 21 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

India's Eight Core Industries Grow 7.9% in September 2026 as Electricity, Coal and Refinery Output Rebound

India's eight core industries grew 7.9% year-on-year in September 2026, up from a revised 5.9% in August, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 21 October 2026. Electricity (11.4%), coal (10.7%), refinery products (10.3%), cement (9.8%) and steel (4.9%) expanded, while fertilisers (-11.7%), natural gas (-4.6%) and crude oil (-1.4%) contracted. Cumulative growth for April-September 2026 stood at 5.1%, against 2.5% in the same period a year earlier. The Index of Eight Core Industries carries a 40.27% weight in the Index of Industrial Production, so the rebound points to firmer IIP readings for September.

GK ByteThe eight core industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity | The Index of Eight Core Industries is compiled by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, with base year 2011-12 | Refinery products carry the largest weight in the index at 28.04%

📅 21 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Enters into Force on 20 October 2026 with Zero-Duty Access for Indian Exports

The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, signed on 27 April 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, came into force on 20 October 2026, with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal confirming implementation alongside New Zealand's Todd McClay. New Zealand removed duties on 100% of its 8,284 tariff lines, while India liberalises 70.03% of its lines, covering about 95% of bilateral trade value. The Department of Revenue notified revised customs duty rates under Section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The partners target nearly Rs 35,000 crore in two-way trade by 2030, building on the Strategic Partnership agreed during the Prime Minister's July 2026 visit.

GK ByteNew Zealand's capital is Wellington, its largest city is Auckland and its currency is the New Zealand dollar | New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy with King Charles III as head of state, represented by a Governor-General | India's other major trade pacts include the UAE CEPA (2022), the Australia ECTA (2022) and the India-EFTA TEPA signed in March 2024

📅 20 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

AdaniConneX-Google Visakhapatnam Data Centres to Use Air Cooling, Capping Freshwater Draw

The roughly 1 GW data-centre campuses being built at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh by AdaniConneX - the Adani Enterprises-EdgeConneX joint venture - with Google will use air cooling rather than water-based evaporative cooling. Combined freshwater draw across the three sites is planned to stay below the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, about 80% of it for landscaping, kitchens and worker facilities, with on-site recycling, dedicated industrial water connections instead of municipal supply, and a zero-discharge policy. Google calls the USD 15 billion project its largest investment in India; ground was broken on 28 April 2026 and phase one is targeted for December 2028.

GK ByteVisakhapatnam is Andhra Pradesh's largest city and hosts the headquarters of the Indian Navy's Eastern Naval Command | Evaporative cooling removes heat by evaporating water, whereas air cooling uses air as the heat-transfer medium, sharply cutting water demand | NITI Aayog's Frontier Tech Hub released a Data Centre Evaluation Framework in October 2026 whose five pillars include Water and Cooling management

📅 19 Oct 2026EconomyRead complete →

See all Banking & Economy →All Current Affairs