The NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.54% at 17,364.30 as of 0354 GMT, while the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.5% at 58,353.9. The markets were closed for a holiday on Wednesday.

Shares of SpiceJet Ltd surged about 9% on Thursday after a report said that the budget airline is expected to receive an additional 10 billion Indian rupees ($122.7 million) loan under the government's modified Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme.

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises rose 4% after India's competition regulator on Tuesday approved a merger between the company and Indian unit of Japan's Sony.

The Nifty metals index rose 1.4%, while the IT and auto indexes gained 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)