India’s job market is surging ahead with renewed momentum in 2025, with applications from women for enterprise roles seeing a 92 per cent surge, a new report said on Monday.

The report based on the first quarter of this year by jobs and professional networking platform Apna, witnessed a record-breaking 1.81 crore job applications -- a 30 per cent increase from the previous year. This reflects India’s growing economic optimism and digital hiring boom across sectors.

Women’s participation in the workforce soared, with over 62 lakh applications -- a 23 per cent year-on-year jump.

This growth was most pronounced in Tier 2 and 3 cities such as Chandigarh, Indore, and Jamshedpur, driven by flexible work options, gender-inclusive hiring, and expanded opportunities in sectors like BPO, finance, and HR, the report said.

Freshers also powered India’s employment engine, contributing over 66 lakh applications -- a 46 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase. With companies increasingly recruiting from beyond metro cities, emerging talent hubs like Rajkot, Warangal, and Meerut are now part of the mainstream hiring narrative.

Autotech platform CARS24 has laid off nearly 200 employees across various functions, as part of a restructuring exercise to meet long-term goals.

The e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles said this is a “tough moment”.

“Over the past few weeks, we have had to make the difficult decision to part ways with around 200 of our teammates across various functions. Every person impacted gave this company their time, energy, and belief. That matters deeply, and we are genuinely grateful,” said Vikram Chopra, co-founder and CEO of Cars24, in a blog post.

He denied this decision as an exercise to reduce costs but “about aligning the team and structure with our long-term goals, and correcting where we’ve lost focus.”

Cars24 offers a wide range of services, including buying and selling of pre-owned cars, financing, insurance, driver-on-demand and more.

Essar Energy Transition (EET) congratulates Eni and the UK Government on achieving financial close on the core carbon transport and storage project of the HyNet Industrial Cluster (the Liverpool Bay CCS).

"We are delighted that Eni’s construction phase will now begin on the infrastructure enabling HyNet; vital to massive reductions in carbon emissions and enabling much-needed investment, protecting and growing jobs and industries across North West England and North Wales," the company said.

EET’s Hydrogen Production Plant (HPP1) project is one of the four initial projects that will provide carbon to this infrastructure for permanent storage. HPP1 is expected to be the UK’s first large-scale low-carbon hydrogen production plant with a capacity of 350MW and capturing some 600,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum -- equivalent to taking 125,000 cars off the road.

More than 70 per cent of Indians are seeking generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) tools to boost their productivity as well as communication skills, a new report said on Friday.

The report by Google and Kantar, based on a survey of over 8,000 people across 18 cities, analysed Gen AI adoption, potential, and impact among people in India. It underlined the massive headroom for Gen-AI adoption in India, and people's desire to use such tools to excel in life.

The report found that while AI excitement is high, it's still early days for adoption: 60 per cent aren't familiar with AI, and only 31 per cent have tried any Generative AI tool.

At the same time, it also showed a strong, innate desire among Indians to improve and excel, with the majority seeking to boost productivity (72 per cent), enhance creativity (77 per cent), and communicate more effectively (73 per cent) in their daily lives.

Maruti Suzuki India on Friday reported a 4.29 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs 3,711.1 crore for the fourth quarter of last fiscal (Q4 FY25), compared to Rs 3,877.8 crore in the same period in the previous fiscal.

According to its stock exchange filings, the company’s total expenses rose 8.55 per cent YoY to Rs 37,585.5 crore in the March 2025 quarter.

However, the company’s revenue from operations rose by 5.86 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 38,848.8 crore, up from Rs 36,697.5 crore a year ago.

The automaker also registered a slight growth in overall income, which stood at Rs 40,674 crore during the quarter, compared to Rs 38,235 crore in the year-ago period.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a show-cause notice to Ola Electric Mobility Limited over missing trade certificates.

In the notice dated April 24, the ministry asked Bhavish Aggarwal-run Ola Electric to provide detailed information about the number of stores and service centres it currently operates, as well as the number of trade certificates it has obtained in the past three years, including their issuance dates, as per a media report.

The company has also been asked to clarify whether it is stocking unregistered vehicles at its centres, report added.

The ministry further demanded model-wise and variant-wise data for the 7,820 electric scooters Ola Electric claimed to have delivered in February this year.

The company has been directed to respond within seven days of receiving the notice to avoid any adverse action.

Apple is reportedly planning to shift the entire assembly of iPhones sold in the United States to India by as early as next year.

This would mark a major move in Apple’s global manufacturing strategy, as the tech giant continues to reduce its dependence on China, according to a report by Financial Times.

The final decision will depend on how quickly India can ramp up its supply chain and how trade talks between China and the US progress.

According to the report, US President Donald Trump has been pressuring Apple to move away from China due to ongoing trade tensions.

Trump recently confirmed that talks are ongoing with China regarding tariffs. In the meantime, Apple’s contract manufacturers in India are already stepping up production.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detained BluSmart co-founder Puneet Jaggi from a Delhi hotel, after the agency conducted raids in a case related to Gensol Engineering Ltd.

The raids were conducted at company’s offices in Delhi, Gurugram, and Ahmedabad under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The ED is investigating Gensol promoter brothers Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi after a SEBI report accused them of financial irregularities, corporate misgovernance and fund diversion.

Gensol was yet to issue a statement.

The domestic air passenger traffic for March has been estimated at 148.8 lakh, higher by 11.3 per cent on an annual basis and 5.9 per cent higher than 140.4 lakh in February 2025, a report said on Thursday.

For FY25 (April 2024-March 2025), the domestic air passenger traffic was 1,657.1 lakh, a YoY growth of 7.8 per cent and 17.1 per cent higher than the pre-Covid level of 1,415.6 lakh in FY20, according to a report by credit rating agency ICRA.

The outlook for the Indian aviation industry remains stable, driven by expectations of moderate growth in domestic air passenger traffic and a relatively stable cost environment in FY26, it added.

The country is witnessing a robust rise in white-collar hiring, with a 38 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth recorded in March, a new report said on Thursday.

The growth is being seen as a sign of the country’s growing importance in global business, especially as international companies look to reduce their dependence on China due to fresh tariff uncertainties introduced by US President Donald Trump.

Sectors like information technology (IT), manufacturing, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), and healthcare have led this hiring surge, according to a foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), report.

This could be due to companies shifting their supply chains to India and expanding their operations here.

V. Suresh, CEO of foundit, said that India is now not just a talent hub but also a critical growth engine for companies across the world.

“There is a visible shift in how global enterprises view India -- as a country ready to lead in a re-organised world economy,” he mentioned.

The demand for homes prices Rs 1 crore and above bolstered the Indian property market in the first quarter this year, preventing overall sales of 65,250 units from hard landing, a report said on Thursday.

Residential sales in Q1 2025 (January-March) experienced only a modest decline and added up to 65,246 units. This limited drop was primarily due to robust demand in the Rs 3-5 crore and Rs 1.5-3.0 crore segments, which helped counterbalance the slowdown in relatively affordable housing, according to a JLL report.

The steady growth in higher ticket size homes indicates increasing affluence among homebuyers, changing lifestyle preferences and buyers prioritising larger and premium properties.

According to the report, housing sales in India's top seven cities continued to be dominated by Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune, which collectively accounted for 66 per cent of Q1 sales.

South Korea's top central banker has said global trade tensions sparked by the United States' sweeping tariff policy are a major headwind for the country's export-driven economy, and the issue will likely accelerate its efforts to diversify supply chains.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong made the assessment during an interview with CNBC in Washington, where he is attending meetings of the Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers and central bank chiefs, as well as International Monetary Fund–World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) meetings, reports news agency.

"We are an export-oriented economy. So the trade tension, definitely, too is large headwinds. We will be affected directly by the U.S. tariffs, and also indirectly to its tariff to other countries. For example, our semiconductor production in Vietnam, car and electronics production in Mexico and our battery production in Canada will be affected," Rhee said.

"I really hope this trade tension will dissipate, because it's bad for everybody," he added.

Hyundai Motor Group said on Thursday it has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to establish a new research centre in India aimed at advancing future mobility technologies, with a focus on electrification and battery systems.

Under their partnership agreement signed Wednesday, the two sides will establish the Hyundai Center of Excellence, which will serve as a hub for joint research projects under a long-term academic-industry cooperation framework.

Hyundai Motor and Kia together plan to invest around 5 billion won ($3.5 million) over two years to pursue research in future mobility technologies at the centre, reports news agency.

The group has identified nine collaborative projects with IIT Delhi, covering areas such as battery cells and systems, battery management systems, safety, durability and diagnostic technologies.

Suraksha Diagnostic Limited's stock has seen a sharp decline over the past year as it has fallen by Rs 103 or 24.69 per cent in the last 12 months, as per the latest data available on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, it has dropped by Rs 65.85 or 17.32 per cent on NSE. The stock has also lost the same 24.69 per cent in the last six months alone.

Suraksha Diagnostic’s shares closed almost flat on Wednesday on the NSE, ending at Rs 314.25, up Rs 1.85 or 0.59 per cent.

Multiple reports attributed several factors such as subdued financial performance, negative industry sentiment, macroeconomic pressures, or changes in management for the decline in share price.

The global capability centre (GCC) workforce in India is projected to reach 3 million by 2030 and a significant portion of these jobs will be entry-level positions for freshers, contributing to economic growth, a report said on Wednesday.

As India becomes the preferred destination for GCCs, the market is expected to be worth $110 billion by 2030. This growth will lead to the creation of approximately 1.5 lakh jobs by 2026, said the report by FirstMeridian Business Services.

“The GCC sector in India has evolved from a scalable industry to one of strategic importance. As multinational companies redefine the skills they need from Indian talent, the country has become a thriving ecosystem supported by extensive upskilling programmes, policies, and development initiatives from metro areas to tier 2 cities,” said Sunil Nehra, CEO–IT Staffing, FirstMeridian Business Services.

Swiggy Limited has received its first 'sell' rating since it was listed in November 2024, with analysts raising concerns about its falling position in both food delivery and quick commerce services.

According to a new report by Ambit Capital, Swiggy has lost the early lead it once had in these sectors and now ranks second in food delivery and third in quick commerce.

Ambit Capital began its coverage of Swiggy with a cautious view, setting a target price of Rs 310 per share. This suggests a potential drop of over 20 per cent from the company’s last traded price.

In the food delivery segment, Swiggy is now trailing behind competitor Zomato, which has a larger reach, more users, and higher order volumes, the report said.

Although the pace at which Swiggy is losing market share has slowed, Ambit expects its share to settle at around 42 per cent in the long run, it added.

Local industry leaders Hyundai Motor and Kia are expected to report increased sales but with shrinking operating profits in their first-quarter earnings results scheduled to be announced this week, a market analysis showed on Wednesday.

According to the analysis of earnings forecasts from securities firms compiled by Yonhap Infomax over the past three months, Hyundai Motor is estimated to report sales of 43.44 trillion won (US$30.4 billion) for the January-March period and an operating profit of 3.54 trillion won in its earnings report set to be released on Thursday.

While sales would mark a 6.8 percent increase, operating profit is projected to dip by 0.4 percent, reports news agency.

Its sister Kia is estimated to report 27.81 trillion won in sales and 3.23 trillion won in operating profit, which would mark a 6.1 percent on-year growth and a 5.8 percent decline, respectively, on Friday.

The real estate sector in India dominated alternate investment funds’ (AIFs) net investments, with Rs 73,903 crore in the nine months of FY25, a report showed on Monday.

AIFs are privately pooled funds that invest in non-traditional assets like private equity, hedge funds, and real estate, offering niche, high-risk, high-reward opportunities suited for experienced investors.

According to Anarock Research, the real estate sector accounted for the largest share (15 per cent) of cumulative net AIF investments, with Rs 73,903 crore invested in real estate out of an all-sectors total of Rs 5,06,196 crore in the April-December period of FY25.

Other sectors benefiting from AIF investments include IT/ITeS, Financial Services, NBFCs, Banks, Pharma, FMCG, Retail, Renewable Energy, and others.

India’s gems and jewellery industry is expected to surge from $83 billion in 2024 to $128 billion by 2029, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5 per cent, a report showed on Monday.

Gold continues to dominate the market with an 86 per cent share, but lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) are emerging as a powerful growth catalyst, said the report by 1Lattice.

The LGD segment, currently valued at $345 million (2024), is projected to grow at a CAGR of 15 per cent to reach $1.2 billion by 2033.

India now contributes 15 per cent of global LGD production, with exports growing 8 times over the past four years, reaching $1.3 billion in FY24.

POSCO Group, South Korea's leading steelmaker, said on Monday that it will invest in Hyundai Steel Co.'s steel mill project in the United States, as part of its strategy to navigate U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on steel imports.

According to a press release, POSCO Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hyundai Motor Group for its participation in Hyundai Steel's U.S. plant and to strengthen collaboration in the steel and rechargeable battery sectors.

Last month, Hyundai Steel revealed plans to invest US$5.8 billion to build an integrated electric arc furnace-based steel mill in Louisiana by 2029, with production slated to begin the same year, reports news agency.

The IT hiring sector in India is projected to grow by 7-10 per cent in the first half of 2025, generating around 4-4.5 lakh new jobs, industry experts said on Friday.

India’s IT sector ended the fourth quarter of FY25 on a stable note by reporting a revenue growth of 1-3 per cent year-on-year, which indicates a cycle of measured expansion and changing global priorities.

"While this reflects that companies are showcasing a more targeted approach to global technology investments, the demand for digital transformation still continues to thrive," said Sunil Nehra, CEO-IT Staffing, FirstMeridian Business Services.

Investments towards AI/ML, cloud computing, data engineering and automation, etc. have been steady, which signals a long-term confidence in emerging technologies. This steady demand for new age technologies has influenced hiring trends.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside the appeals filed by the BCCI and Riju Raveendran, brother of Byju Raveendran, seeking withdrawal of insolvency proceedings against Byju's and to consider the settlement between the beleaguered edtech company and the BCCI.

They had challenged the order passed by the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had on February 10, 2025 directed to place their settlement offer before the new Committee of Creditors (CoC), in which US-based Glas Trust, the trustee for lenders to which Byju's owes $1.2 billion, is a member.

The Chennai bench of the NCLAT upheld the directions passed by the NCLT. It said that the settlement proposal was filed after the formation of CoC, hence as the provisions of section 12 A of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, it requires the approval of the lender's body.

Apple’s smartphone shipments in China dropped by 9 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 to 9.8 million iPhones, down from over 10.7 million a year earlier, according to latest data from global market research firm IDC.

The company was the only major smartphone maker to report a decline in shipments during this period -- highlighting its growing struggle in the world’s largest smartphone market.

Its market share fell to 13.7 per cent, down sharply from 17.4 per cent in the previous quarter. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter of decline for the US tech giant in China.

In contrast, Chinese smartphone leader Xiaomi saw a sharp 40 per cent rise in shipments, reaching 13.3 million units.

The US has informed the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the Donald Trump administration’s decision to levy tariffs on steel and aluminium, was based on national security grounds and should not be considered as safeguard measures.

The US defence came in response to India filing a request with the WTO on April 11 for the holding of consultations with the US on the tariff hikes under the WTO's Safeguards Agreement.

India has said that despite the US's characterisation of these measures as security measures, they are, in essence, safeguard measures.

It also pointed out that the US has failed to notify the WTO Committee on Safeguards under a provision of the Agreement on Safeguards on taking a decision to apply these measures.

India is a key resource talent hub for AI professionals, which is a clear indicator of the efforts of the government and the industry to nurture an environment for adoption on AI, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge), Jayant Chaudhary, has said.

Speaking at Africa’s largest tech and startup show, ‘GITEX Africa 2025’, the minister said that India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has driven transformative changes across areas, especially through developments of digital identity (Aadhaar), digital payments (UPI), e-commerce (ONDC), and healthcare.

“And we are increasingly integrating advanced technologies – AI, cybersecurity, fintech, and digital infrastructure – into our skilling ecosystem. Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH), a digital public infrastructure for the skilling ecosystem has onboarded more than one crore users in over one and a half years. These are areas, rich with potential, for collaboration with our African partners and we can collectively grow our economies through sustained partnerships,” the minister told the gathering at the event in Morocco capital Marrakesh.

The slowdown seen in the quarterly results by India's information technology (IT) companies is not just a result of disruption due to artificial intelligence (AI) and Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs but also inefficiency in products and services of the broader software industry, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu said on Friday.

In a post on X social media platform, Vembu said: “My operating thesis: what we are seeing is not just a cyclical downturn and it is not just AI related. Even without the uncertainty induced by tariffs, there was trouble ahead. The broader software industry has been quite inefficient, both in products and services”.

He further stated that these inefficiencies have accumulated over decades of a prolonged asset bubble.

“Sadly, we adapted to a lot of those inefficiencies in India. Our jobs came to depend on them. The IT industry sucked in talent that may have gone into manufacturing or infrastructure (for example),” said Vembu.

Two more independent directors at Gensol Engineering Ltd have resigned amid mounting troubles for the company, as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Gensol promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi over alleged fund diversion and record falsification.

Harsh Singh and Kuljit Singh Popli have left the company with immediate effect, according to an exchange filing. This comes a day after another independent director, Arun Menon, tendered his resignation.

In his resignation letter, Popli said he was "pained" by the recent developments. "I was hoping for some positive developments to happen past one month, however the way things have unfolded and come to light, I am not in a position to continue as Independent Director," he wrote.

South Korean stocks rose nearly 1 percent on Thursday as investors became optimistic about the ongoing trade talks between the United States and Japan. The local currency rose to a more than four-month high against the US dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 22.98 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 2,470.41, rebounding from a 1.21 percent drop the previous day, reports news agency.

Trade volume was moderate at 589.6 million shares worth 6.5 trillion won ($4.58 billion), with winners beating losers 638 to 225.

Institutions purchased a net 346.2 billion won worth of stocks, while foreign and retail investors sold a net 351.9 billion won and 87.4 billion won, respectively.

The board of IDFC FIRST Bank on Thursday approved raising up to Rs 7,500 crore from Warburg Pincus and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) amid global uncertainties.

The board approved a preferential issue of equity capital (CCPS) amounting to approximately Rs 4,876 crore to Currant Sea Investments, an affiliate company of global growth investor Warburg Pincus and approximately Rs 2,624 crore to Platinum Invictus Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) managed by its Private Equities Department.

The proposed issues are subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The rationale behind this fundraising is that the bank plans to scale up its optimal profitability and aims to grow the overall loan book at 20 per cent for the next few years, the bank said in an investor presentation.

LG CNS, an information technology affiliate of South Korea's LG Electronics, said on Thursday it has signed agreements to develop electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and smart city solutions in the United States.

Under a deal with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, LG CNS will install and operate EV charging stations at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT), a former military supply base now being redeveloped into a modern commercial, manufacturing hub.

As part of the Pilots at BAT programme, the company will also implement a charging and discharging control system, along with a mobile app providing real-time energy usage data for users, according to LG CNS, reports news agency.

Google on Wednesday said that it removed 247.4 million ads in India last year, while suspending 2.9 million advertiser accounts in the country.

The top policy violations were financial services, trademark, abusing the ad network, personalised ads and gambling/games, the tech giant said in its ‘2024 Ads Safety Report’.

2024 was a major year for global elections, including in India. “As part of this effort, we continued to expand our identity verification and transparency requirements for election advertisers to new countries,” said the company.

In the past year alone, Google verified more than 8,900 new election advertisers and removed 10.7 million election ads from unverified accounts globally.

These measures, which include “paid for by” disclosures and a public transparency report of all election ads, help ensure users around the world are able to identify election ads and know who paid for election ads they see.

GM Korea, the South Korean unit of General Motors, plans to increase production at its Incheon plant by about 9 per cent this year, the company's labour union said on Wednesday, easing concerns over a potential withdrawal amid growing uncertainty over the United States' tariff policies.

According to the union, the company recently said it would allocate an additional 21,000 vehicles to the plant in Bupyeong, Incheon, west of Seoul, for production this year.

The increase amounts to nearly 9 per cent of the plant's annual production capacity of 250,000 units, reports Yonhap news agency.

The move comes as speculation has grown about a possible exit of GM from South Korea in response to Washington's 25 per cent tariff on imported vehicles.

In a shocking revelation, Gensol Engineering Limited (GEL) promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi have been found to be diverting funds meant for electric vehicle (EV) procurement to buy a luxury apartment in Gurugram's upscale residential project -- The Camellias by DLF.

The findings were part of an interim order issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on April 15, which has led to a major crackdown against Gensol Engineering Limited (GEL) and its promoters.

The SEBI has barred both Jaggi brothers from holding any directorship in the company and restricted them from accessing the securities market.

According to the regulator, loans taken to buy EVs for the ride-hailing service BluSmart were routed through multiple entities and ultimately used for personal gains.

South Korean chipmakers will likely face only limited impact from the new US restrictions on exports of Nvidia’s H20 artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators to China, experts here said on Wednesday.

Nvidia said it has been notified by the US authorities that the company now requires a license to export its H20 chips to China for the indefinite future, reports news agency.

The H20 accelerators were the most advanced AI chip the company could still export to China under the existing US export ban on high-performance AI chips.

SK hynix supplies its eight-layer HBM3E, the fifth-generation high bandwidth memory (HBM), for the H20 chips. Samsung Electronics Co. does not supply HBM for this particular chip.

Experts say the new regulation is unlikely to significantly affect the South Korean semiconductor firms in the short term, as SK hynix is currently focused on its latest 12-layer HBM3E, a key component in high-performance AI chips destined for markets outside China.

India secured the second spot globally in terms of funding raised by the direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector in 2024, a new report said on Wednesday.

The country ranks just behind the United States and ahead of China, the UK, and Italy, according to a Tracxn’s report.

The report shows that the total funding in India’s D2C space stood at $757 million in the previous year.

India is home to more than 11,000 D2C companies, out of which around 800 have managed to secure funding so far.

The early-stage and seed-stage funding saw growth. Early-stage investments rose by 25 per cent to $355 million in 2024 compared to 2023, while seed-stage funding climbed 18 per cent to $141 million.