Business

Surpassing the all-time high level achieved the previous week, India's forex reserves jumped by another USD 4 billion to USD 670.857 billion for the seven days ended July 19, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

The overall reserves had jumped by USD 9.699 billion to an all-time high of USD 666.854 billion in the week ended July 12.

For the week ended July 19, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by USD 2.578 billion to USD 588.048 billion, the data released on Friday showed. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.

Gold reserves increased by USD 1.329 billion to USD 59.992 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were up by USD 95 million to USD 18.207 billion, the apex bank said.

India's reserve position with the IMF were unchanged at USD 4.610 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.

In one of the biggest deals in the pharmaceutical sector, Mankind Pharma said it will fully acquire Bharat Serums and Vaccines from private equity investor Advent International for around Rs 13,630 crore.

This strategic move marks a significant leap for the drugmaker positioning itself as a leader in the Indian women’s health and fertility drug market alongside access to other high entry barrier products in critical care with established complex R&D tech platforms. With over five decades of leadership in biopharmaceuticals, BSV has developed recombinant and niche biologic products in-house, demonstrating its strong R&D capabilities. It boasts of a robust branded product portfolio across women's health, fertility and critical care, Mankind Pharma said in a statement.