Mumbai: A 51-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted and threatened at gunpoint at a private company’s office in Mahalaxmi on January 17, 2023. The accused, Joy John Pascal Postel, along with five other individuals, allegedly stripped, molested, and threatened her, warning that they would make her videos and photographs viral.

The woman initially filed a complaint with the Pydhonie police station, which was later transferred to the NM Joshi Marg police station. The NM Joshi Marg police registered an FIR on November 22.

According to the FIR, the victim is a businesswoman involved in the photo-frame and gifting business and resides in Mahalaxmi. On January 17, 2023, she received a phone call from Manish Honavar, who asked her to come to the office of M/s Franco Indian Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., located in Mahalaxmi. When she reached the office, a man allegedly struck her on the shoulder and back with the butt of a revolver.

The accused, Joy John Pascal Postel, then took her into his cabin, forcibly removed her burkha at gunpoint, stripped and molested her, and verbally abused her. He also threatened to record her videos and take photographs, which he said would be made viral on social media by all the accused. 

The woman subsequently filed a complaint with the Pydhonie police station. Following this, the police initiated legal action against six individuals, including Joy John Pascal Postel.

The police have registered a case against the accused under Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354B (assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe), and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Arms Act and the Information Technology Act.

New Delhi, Dec 1: Since inflation is set to remain well below target for the foreseeable future, HSBC Global Investment Research on Monday projected that the RBI will cut rates by 25 bp during its monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting on December 5 — taking the policy repo rate to 5.25 per cent.

Growth has been strong so far, benefitting from the front loading of government spending and GST-cut led retail spending.

However, the November Flash manufacturing PMI (56.6) indicated that GST-led boost may have peaked with the overall new orders coming in soft, said the report.

“Growth is strong for now, but could soften in the March 2026 quarter as the fiscal impulse becomes contractionary and exports slow. We expect the RBI to ease policy rates in the upcoming December policy meeting,” the report mentioned.

The July-September quarter GDP growth came in at 8.2 per cent YoY, higher than 7.8 per cent in the previous quarter and higher than “our above-consensus forecast of 7.5 per cent”. While GVA growth came in at 8.1 per cent, nominal GDP grew 8.7 per cent.

The GDP momentum was clearly higher than our above-consensus forecast. There are some good reasons for the strength, said the report.

One, GST rate cuts were implemented on the September 22, but the announcement was made on August 15.

“We think that production picked up in anticipation of a rise in consumer demand. Two, our recent work indicates that lower income states are starting to rise, even growing faster than the higher income states,” the HSBC report mentioned.

This, too, could possibly explain the strength in India’s growth momentum. After all, national GDP is the sum of state Gross State Domestic Products (GSDP).

According to the report, India’s growth has held up decently despite the 50 per cent reciprocal tariff on India’s exports by the US since August.

New Delhi, Dec 1: The unified payments interface (UPI) saw 32 per cent transaction count growth (year-on-year) at 20.47 billion in the month of November — along with registering 22 per cent annual growth in transaction amount at Rs 26.32 lakh crore, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data showed on Monday.

Average daily transaction amount in November stood at Rs 87,721 crore, the NPCI data showed.

The month of November recorded 682 million average daily transaction counts, up from 668 million registered in October.

Meanwhile, monthly transactions via instant money transfer (IMPS) stood at 6.15 lakh crore in November, up 10 per cent year-on-year, as transaction count stood at 369 million. Daily transaction amount via IMPS stood at Rs 20,506 crore.

In October, UPI witnessed 25 per cent transaction count growth (year-on-year) at 20.70 billion — along with registering 16 per cent annual growth in transaction amount at Rs 27.28 lakh crore.

Notably, UPI continues to dominate the country’s digital payments landscape, with transactions surging 35 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to reach 106.36 billion in the first half of 2025, data showed.

The total value of these transactions stood at a massive Rs 143.34 lakh crore — highlighting how deeply digital payments have become a part of everyday life in India, according to Worldline’s India Digital Payments Report (1H 2025).

Person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions grew 37 per cent to 67.01 billion, driven by the “Kirana Effect,” where small and micro businesses have become the backbone of India’s digital economy. India’s QR-based payment network also saw tremendous growth, more than doubling to 678 million by June 2025 — a 111 per cent rise from January 2024.

India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has played a transformational role in enabling universal access to services, bridging urban–rural gaps and strengthening the country’s position as a global digital powerhouse.