In this week’s wrapup, we tell you the story of the Indian rupee since Independence, explore why Bank of America is pouring billions into Jio Financial Services, explain the RBI’s latest ban on revolving credit offered by NBFCs, discuss the Augmont IPO, and break down how two traders allegedly manipulated the SENSEX during the new Closing Auction Session (CAS).

The story of the Indian rupee since 1947

Every year, we have a tradition of doing a post-Independence Day special that connects India and its economy in some way or another. So, this year, we traced the story of the Indian rupee since 1947 — how we started printing our own money, how we chose the symbols on our coins and notes, how the RBI functioned as the central bank for both India and Pakistan for a while after Independence, and more. You can read the full story here.

And if you liked this story, we think you’ll enjoy our post-Independence Day specials from previous years too. Check them out here: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Why Bank of America wants a piece of India's lending boom

Bank of America (BofA) just made one of the largest bets any global bank has placed on Indian fintech.

BofA's subsidiary, NB Holdings Corporation, plans to invest nearly ₹18,300 crore in Jio Credit, eventually taking a stake of up to 49.9%.

On paper, that looks like a foreign banking giant backing a relatively young lending business. But zoom out, and the story becomes less about one NBFC and more about India itself.

Hundreds of millions of Indians are moving up the income ladder, entering the formal financial system for the first time, and starting to borrow, save, and invest like never before. Jio, with a subscriber base of more than 500 million, is trying to position itself right at the centre of that shift.

That's also why lending is only the starting point. If Jio can turn today's borrowers into tomorrow's insurance customers, investors, and wealth-management clients, the payoff extends far beyond the interest income it gets as a lender.

But building that ecosystem is the easy part. Keeping it standing means lending responsibly even as the business races to grow.

Can Jio scale its loan book without compromising underwriting, or will the same ambition that built its telecom empire become its biggest risk?

Read our full story to find out.

RBI's problem with revolving credit

Of late, NBFC stocks have taken a beating. The reason?

The RBI has proposed banning most NBFCs from offering something called revolving credit. This is essentially a line of credit that, once borrowed and repaid, can be used again without customers having to apply for a fresh loan. Think of it as a credit card, but without the card.

And the central bank believes that this could create problems because of something called evergreening — where customers take fresh loans to repay old ones. But here’s the interesting bit. Banks offer revolving credit too. Yet the RBI only wants to pull the plug on revolving credit offered by NBFCs.

So why the discrimination? We broke this down in our Wednesday newsletter here.

The Augmont IPO Explained

India has an undeniable obsession with gold. And, usually, when we think about this market, we typically picture brightly lit retail showrooms, famous jewellery brands, and eager consumers buying intricate necklaces or shiny coins.

But behind those familiar retail counters lies a complex, largely hidden supply chain. This unseen infrastructure is where Augmont operates, and it is the focus of the company's highly anticipated IPO.

Augmont's revenue has nearly tripled in two years, jumping from ₹34,921 crore in FY24 to ₹94,186 crore in FY26. For a company that’s about to go public, this is quite remarkable. However, since Augmont is not a gold retailer, but a B2B gold distributor, we need to look at the numbers slightly differently.

This is because gold distributors survive on razor-thin margins, where a small dip in pricing or efficiency can swing profits significantly. It also depends heavily on a handful of related-party transactions, including a promoter-linked entity that alone accounts for close to a third of its sales.

So how much of Augmont's growth is genuine, and how much is simply gold prices doing the heavy lifting?

Read our full story to find out.

How traders allegedly gamed CAS

The stock market’s new Closing Auction Session (CAS) was supposed to make closing prices fairer. But just two weeks after it started, market regulator SEBI has already caught two entities allegedly using it to manipulate the SENSEX and make ₹3.68 crore.

But, how did they pull it off, and more importantly, does this mean that CAS itself is flawed?

The answer isn’t quite that simple. Because the actual problem lies in how a few large orders can move the auction price when participation is low, and how traders can cancel orders after influencing the indicative price.

So in yesterday’s Markets edition, we explained what happened and what could fix it.

Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 🧠

Hey folks! As you probably already know, the Finshots Weekly Quiz has a new avatar. If you missed out on it in the last couple of months, don’t worry. Click here to check out the rules and set a reminder to participate consistently starting next month! 

But for now, it’s time to announce the top scorers of our previous weekly quiz. There were a whole bunch of you who participated, and many of you ended up with the same scores. So we’re calling you Bulls, Bears, Unicorns, Blue Chips, and Rising Stars. Here’s how the leaderboard looks right now:

If your name has been featured on the leaderboard, then congratulations! If not, don’t lose hope. If you attempted last week’s quiz, keep at it and answer all the weekly quizzes this month. You never know when the turntables! Click on this link to take this week’s quiz, which is open till 12 noon, Friday, 28th of August, 2026. The more answers you get right, the better your chances of appearing on the Finshots Weekly Quiz leaderboard. We’ll publish it every Saturday in the Weekly Wrapup. And the winner will be announced in the first week of September. 

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