February 21, 2026 01:30 am (IST)
Follow us:
Indian markets post gain on Wednesday
Mumbai, Jun 29 (IBNS): The Indian benchmark indices ended Wednesday as gainers ahead of the June Futures & Options expiry and boosted by news of satisfactory progress of the monsoon and the Union government clearing a significant pay hike for its employees and pensioners.
Sensex up 215.84 points to 26740.39 and the Nifty up 76.15 points to 8204.
Some of the top gainers on Wednesday were Hero MotoCorp, NTPC, Wipro, BHEL and GAIL while Lupin, Coal India, ITC, Bharti Airtel, and Adani Ports were among the major losers.
Auto stocks saw a rise in investor buying interest.
The big pay hike, which was being eagerly awaited by more than one crore Central Government employees and pensioners, cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday added to the positive mood.
Reports said salaries and allowances will rise by at least 23.5 per cent as per the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission benefiting about five million Government employees and 5.8 million pensioners. The revised pay scale will be effective in retrospective from January 1 this year.
The hike is expected to cost the taxpayer an additional Rs 1 lakh crore.
Reports said Rs 73,650 crore of the total payout will come from the general budget, while Rs 28,450 crore will come from the railways.
The highest pay is pegged at Rs 2, 25,000 per month for apex scale and Rs 2,50,000 per month for cabinet secretary and others at the same pay level while the minimum pay recommendation is Rs 18,000 per month.
The market is also waiting to see if the government can the pass the bill for the roll out of a nationwide goods services tax (GST) in the upcoming session of parliament to start on July 18.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
Latest Headlines
Big boost for India! PM Modi announces major India–France aviation skills hub in Kanpur
Fri, Feb 20 2026
Which International ETF Belongs in Your Portfolio?
Thu, Feb 19 2026
No more tax payment hassles! Bandhan Bank unlocks instant challan and 24×7 payment access in Assam
Thu, Feb 19 2026
Tata Group joins hands with OpenAI in massive AI push to transform India and global industries
Thu, Feb 19 2026
Affordable and aggressive! Nissan launches Gravite at Rs. 5.65 Lakh
Wed, Feb 18 2026