India’s growing middle class and its younger, travel-loving population are set to play a major role in shaping the future of global leisure travel, a new report said on Wednesday.

As more Indians explore new destinations, the country is emerging as a key contributor to what is projected to be a $15 trillion global leisure travel industry by 2040, according to data compiled by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The report highlights that annual global consumer spending on leisure travel is expected to triple from $5 trillion in 2024 to $15 trillion by 2040, making it a larger industry than pharmaceuticals and fashion.

The government has permitted cab aggregators like Ola, Uber and Rapido to charge up to twice the base fare during peak hours.

Previously, they were allowed to apply a surge or dynamic pricing of only up to 1.5 times the base fare.

The change was announced in the revised Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

These new rules aim to strike a balance between user safety, driver welfare, and business operations.

As per the new rules, cab companies can now charge a minimum of 50 per cent of the base fare during non-peak hours.

Tata Motors on Tuesday reported an 8.47 per cent decline in total sales as the carmaker sold 2,10,415 units in the April-June quarter of FY26, compared to 2,29,891 units sold during the same period previous year (Q1 FY25).

Both commercial and passenger vehicle segments saw a drop in numbers. Commercial vehicle sales stood at 85,606 units, down 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while passenger vehicle sales dropped 10 per cent to 1,24,809 units.

Domestic sales for Tata Motors in June 2025 also fell 12 per cent compared to June 2024.

However, the company saw some bright spots. International business in the commercial vehicle segment grew strongly, with a 68 per cent increase in sales.

Tata Motors Executive Director Girish Wagh said that the first quarter began slowly for the commercial vehicle industry, especially in the heavy and small commercial vehicle segments.

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest carmaker, said on Tuesday its sales gained 1.5 per cent in June from a year earlier, thanks to increased demand both at home and abroad.

Hyundai sold 358,891 vehicles last month, up from 353,566 units a year earlier, the company said in a press release.

Domestic sales rose 3.8 percent from 59,804 to 62,064 units, while overseas sales gained 1 percent to 358,891 from 353,566, reports news agency.

"Sales increased both domestically and overseas due to the expanded sales of various models," a company official said, adding, "We will continue to maintain sales momentum by launching competitive new vehicles in the future."

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric sold 20,189 electric scooters in the month of June -- a massive 45 per cent drop (year-on-year) compared to 36,859 units from the same month previous year (June 2024), the government's VAHAN data showed on Tuesday.

This decline has taken a toll on its market share, which has shrunk from 46 per cent in June 2024 to just 19 per cent now.

The situation is no better on the stock market. Ola Electric, which is nearing the one-year mark since its public listing, has seen its share price fall steeply.

On Tuesday afternoon, the stock was trading at Rs 42 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), down Rs 1.16 or 2.69 per cent.

The share also touched its 52-week low of Rs 41.82 today, far below its 52-week high of Rs 157.4.

German luxury car manufacturer Audi on Tuesday announced the sale of 2,128 units in India in the January-June period this year.

According to the automaker, ‘Audi Approved: plus’, the pre-owned car business, showed resilience with steady performance and grew by 10 per cent in the January-June period (H1 2025).

The brand currently has 26 pre-owned car facilities and will be adding more facilities this year.

“While H1 2025 presented unique market challenges, we have used this period to strengthen our foundation for sustainable growth. By prioritising a luxury-first approach and delivering exceptional customer experiences, we continue to reinforce brand loyalty,” said Balbir Singh Dhillon, Head of Audi India.

Digital India has not remained a mere government programme but has also become a people’s movement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

In a post on X, she said 'Digital India' is central to building an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', and to making India a trusted innovation partner to the world.

“From bringing internet access to remote corners of the country to making government services available online, the 'Digital India' initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led-government has truly bridged the digital divide across the nation,” the Finance Minister wrote as the ‘Digital India’ mission completed 10 successful years.

“Scan. Pay. Done. India’s UPI revolution powers nearly half of the world’s real-time digital transactions,” she further stated.

Cement volumes in India are expected to grow by 6-7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in FY2026, reaching around 480-485 million metric tonnes (MT), a new report said on Monday.

This growth is expected to be driven by continued demand from the housing and infrastructure sectors, according to ICRA's latest report.

In FY2025, the industry recorded a volume growth of 6.3 per cent, reaching 453 million MT.

The outlook for FY2026 remains strong as both government-led infrastructure projects and private housing construction continue to create steady demand for cement.

The report also noted that cement manufacturers are planning to add new capacity of around 40-42 million MT per annum (MTPA) in FY2026, higher than the 31 MTPA added in FY2025.

Mumbai city (under BMC jurisdiction) registered 75,982 property sales in the January-June period (H1 2025), marking a 5 per cent (on-year) increase, according to a report on Monday.

Revenue from these registrations rose by 15 per cent (on-year) to Rs 6,727 crore, with both metrics recording their strongest half-yearly performance since 2013, said the report by Knight Frank India.

The month of June recorded registration of 11,521 properties, denoting a moderation of 1 per cent, while revenue from these registrations totalled Rs 1,031 crores, reflecting a 2 per cent rise versus the same month last year. Registrations were primarily residential with 80 per cent registrations in the segment.

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) on Monday said it has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing 15,000 megawatts (MW) of operational capacity, specifically reaching 15,539.9 MW.

The accomplishment marks the fastest and largest capacity addition in India to date.

The operational portfolio includes 11,005.5 MW of solar, 1,977.8 MW of wind, and 2,556.6 MW of wind-solar hybrid capacity, said India's largest renewable energy company.

“Delighted to share that Adani Green has surpassed 15,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, marking the largest and fastest green energy build-out in India's history,” said Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group.

The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of India’s plastic pipes industry is anticipated to accelerate to around 14 per cent over financial years 2024-27, to touch Rs 80,500 crore by FY27, driven by strong demand from housing, irrigation, water supply, and sanitation, according to a report released on Thursday.

Additionally, robust replacement demand will be a key growth driver, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd’s report states.

The plastic pipes industry had clocked a 10 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over FY14-24, reaching Rs 54,100 crore, driven by plumbing and irrigation, which accounted for 84 per cent of total applications. CPVC, HDPE, UPVC, and PPR pipes reported strong growth, with PVC maintaining the largest market share.

Private equity (PE) investment in India’s office real estate sector in the first half this year reflected measured optimism, driven by asset quality, prime locations and long-term tenancy visibility, according to a report on Thursday.

PE investments into Indian real estate sector stood at $1.7 billion, spread across 12 deals in the April-June period.

While overall capital deployment across real estate declined due to global macroeconomic pressures, the office segment stood out with $706 million invested across three transactions in H1 2025, marking a 22 per cent increase from $579 million in H1 2024, according to the report by Knight Frank India.

Rather than broad-based investment, this growth was fuelled by strategic allocations into high-quality, Grade-A assets in core markets.

E-waste recycling company Attero on Thursday announced a significant scale-up of its rare earth element (REE) recycling capacity to 30,000 tonnes from 300 tonnes over the next 12 to 24 months by investing Rs 100 crore.

This expansion directly supports the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), launched by the government in 2025 to reduce import dependence and promote self-reliance in critical mineral supply chains, said the world’s most advanced recycler of lithium-ion batteries in a statement.

Rare earth metals such as Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), and Dysprosium (Dy) are essential to key sectors including electric vehicles, wind energy, and consumer electronics.

With the global REE market projected to reach $10.9 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 12.6 per cent, and REE magnets expected to exceed $30.3 billion by 2033, building indigenous recycling and extraction capabilities is now a national priority.

Global investment firm Bernstein, in its latest research report titled 'Paytm: What Do You Need to Believe Now?' has reaffirmed an 'Outperform' rating on One97 Communications Ltd (Paytm), setting a target price of Rs 1,100, which implies a 27 per cent upside from current levels.

According to Bernstein, “Paytm has shown remarkable resilience, recovering from the regulatory actions of early 2024 to once again near break-even,” with the report noting that many concerns around the sustainability of its business model have now been addressed.

Bernstein outlines a base-case scenario where Paytm’s EPS is projected to grow non-linearly from Rs 1.5 in FY26E to Rs 70 by FY30E, backed by strong revenue growth and tight cost control.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) in top seven Indian cities currently have only 23 per cent of total REIT-worthy office stock (worth 520 million square feet) listed in their portfolios, showcasing tremendous scope in the future, according to a report released on Thursday.

In terms of appreciation, India’s office REITs have shown strong one-year performance (as of June 16, 2025), driven by robust leasing activity and steady rental escalations.

India was a late entrant into the REIT sector. However, since REITs launched in 2019, their market capitalisation has surpassed that of some major economies with matured REIT markets., according to latest Anarock Research data.

The three listed Indian REITs -- Embassy Office Parks, Mindspace Business Parks and Brookfield India -- have a combined portfolio of just 117.2 million sq ft, which is just 23 per cent of the overall REIT-able Indian office space market, said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

The total number of e-services provided across states and UTs in the country have touched the of 21,062 mark, with the majority of these services (7,065) falling under the Local Governance and Utility Services sector, according to a report released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) on Thursday.

Another 424 new e-services have been added in April by various states and UTs, with Tripura contributing the highest number of additions across all focus sectors, the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) report states.

A total of 1,599 out of 2,016 mandatory e-services (56 for each of the 36 states/UTs) are now available online across all 36 states and union territories, achieving a saturation rate of over 79 per cent.

There were 16 states and UTs that achieved over 90 per cent saturation, while Maharashtra and Uttarakhand achieved 100 per cent saturation.

High-activity micro office markets in India are likely to witness at least 1 million square feet of average annual demand and supply, and collectively drive more than 80 per cent of the office space demand and new supply in the next few years, a report showed on Thursday.

High-activity micro markets across the top seven cities of the country have been witnessing consistently high demand and supply since 2020. Of these, four high-activity micro markets are in Bengaluru, three each in Delhi-NCR and Pune, two each in Chennai and Hyderabad, and one in Mumbai, according to Colliers data.

These micro markets are spread across secondary and peripheral business districts and will continue to drive India office market over the next few years amid city expansions, ongoing infrastructure developments and evolving work models.

Google on Tuesday announced a major initiative to make India’s digital space safer by unveiling its new ‘Safety Charter’ during the ‘Safer with Google India Summit’.

The initiative is focused on protecting users from online fraud, boosting cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and ensuring that AI is developed responsibly.

This Safety Charter is built around three key goals -- keeping internet users safe from scams and frauds, strengthening cybersecurity for governments and businesses and building responsible AI systems that protect people.

Google’s 'Digikavach' programme, a key part of the initiative, has already reached over 17.7 crore Indians with AI-powered tools and awareness campaigns against financial scams.

Google’s systems are becoming more powerful with AI -- its Search now identifies 20 times more scam websites, and scam attacks on customer service and government platforms have dropped by 80 per cent and 70 per cent, respectively.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded a 4 per cent real GDP growth in 2024, reaching 1.77 trillion dirhams (about 482 billion US dollars), fueled primarily by robust expansion in non-oil sectors, the Ministry of Economy has announced.

Non-oil activities surged by 5 per cent to 1.34 trillion dirhams, accounting for 75.5 per cent of total GDP. In contrast, the oil sector contributed 434 billion dirhams, reports news agency.

Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE's economy minister, said the latest figures highlight progress toward transitioning to a knowledge-based, sustainable economy. He attributed the performance to modern economic policies centred on innovation, technology, and business environment development.

"The UAE continues to move steadily toward the goals of the 'We the UAE 2031' vision, which aims to raise GDP to 3 trillion dirhams and reinforce the country's position as a global hub for the new economy," he added.

Meta has appointed Arun Srinivas as the Managing Director and Head for its India operations.

This comes after Sandhya Devanathan taking on an expanded role of leading both India and Southeast Asia.

“We are appointing Arun Srinivas as the Managing Director and Head for Meta in India. This follows the recent announcement of Sandhya Devanathan taking on an expanded role of leading both India and South East Asia,” the tech giant said in a statement.

As part of his new and expanded role, Srinivas will focus on bringing the organisation’s business, innovation, and revenue priorities together to serve partners and clients, while continuing to support the long-term growth of Meta’s business and commitment to India.

Kent RO Systems, a water purifier company, has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its initial public offering (IPO).

While this marks an important milestone for the company, its financials tell a mixed story with some concerns.

Kent RO’s latest financial data reveals a strong profit jump in FY24, but this comes after a sharp fall in the previous fiscal (FY23).

The company had posted a profit of Rs 166.5 crore for the year ended March 31, 2024, compared to Rs 97.1 crore in FY23.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together on strengthening cyber security and resilience in India’s fast-growing digital payments ecosystem, including UPI.

This partnership aims to improve the overall safety of digital transactions by focusing on training, awareness, and proactive risk management.

Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of NPCI, said that this collaboration with IDRBT is a step towards enhancing cyber resilience not just through technology, but also through people and preparedness.

“Strengthening cyber resilience is not just about technology, but also about people and preparedness,” Asbe stated.

Shares of One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, fell by up to 10 per cent on Thursday, hitting a low of Rs 864.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

However, the stock recovered some of its losses during the intra-day trade and was seen trading at Rs 906.75, still down by Rs 53.70 or 5.59 per cent on the BSE.

The sharp fall came after the Finance Ministry strongly denied reports that the government was planning to reintroduce a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI payments.

MDR is a fee that banks or payment service providers like Paytm charge merchants for processing digital payments.

Currently, the government has waived MDR charges on UPI transactions to promote digital payments.

Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday denied any disruption to its operations due to the rare earth magnet crisis, saying that they are monitoring the evolving situation.

Reports have surfaced that the production plans for the automaker’s upcoming electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), the e-Vitara, may be affected due to China’s restriction on exports of rare earth minerals. The e-Vitara is expected to be launched in India before the end of September.

“Regarding the situation on rare earth, as of now, there is no disruption in our operation due to this issue. There is a lot of uncertainty, and the situation is continuously evolving,” a Maruti Suzuki India spokesperson said on the sidelines of the announcement of Bharat NCAP safety ratings of the Dzire compact sedan and the Baleno premium hatchback.

"We are monitoring the situation and pursuing multiple solutions to ensure continuity in our operations. If and when there is any material impact to our business, we will inform all stakeholders in line with regulatory requirements," the spokesperson added.

South Korea's antitrust regulator said on Thursday that it has rejected a proposed mileage integration plan submitted by Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, citing insufficient details and consumer benefit concerns.

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said the plan, submitted earlier in the day as part of the carriers' broader merger plan, failed to meet the standards necessary to proceed with a formal review, reports news agency.

"There were shortcomings in the proposed mileage redemption plan compared to what Asiana Airlines previously offered," the FTC said. "In terms of the proposed mileage integration ratio and other explanations, we found the submission insufficient to initiate a full assessment."

The FTC requested Korean Air to immediately revise and supplement the proposal before resubmitting.

OpenAI’s popular chatbot ChatGPT suffered an outage on Tuesday, as users across the world, including in India, were facing problems with loading and accessing results to prompts.

The company said there are “elevated error rates and latency” that users have been experiencing on various AI platforms.

"We are investigating," said the company. About 88 per cent of complaints from India cited the chatbot not responding to queries, 8 per cent reported issues with the mobile app, and 3 per cent faced API-related problems.

Downdetector also posted a spike in the issues reported by users.

The hiring intent in India remains steady in the third quarter this year (July-September) globally, driven by strong growth in the private services sector and expectations of economic benefits stemming from shifts in global trade dynamics, especially in relation to China, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Employers report a Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of 42 per cent for the July-September period, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

The results, based on responses from 3,146 employers across India during April 2025, show the Indian hiring Outlook remains very animated. Amid these favourable conditions, India continues to position itself as a key player in the global employment landscape.

“As we enter the third quarter of 2025, India’s employment Outlook remains robust, with a NEO of 42 per cent -- among the highest globally. Despite a slight dip from the previous quarter, the 12-point year-on-year gain highlights sustained employer confidence and growth momentum in the labour market,” said Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India and Middle East.

As diversification of supply sources is being actively explored, aligned with policy efforts, the situation continues to evolve for the Indian automotive players in their quest to have a steady flow of rare earth magnets amid China’s export restrictions, a Crisil report showed on Tuesday.

Rare earth magnets, low in cost but critical in function, could emerge as a key supply-side risk for the India’s automotive sector if China’s export restrictions and delays in shipment clearances persist.

A disruption lasting beyond a month can impact electric vehicle (EV) launches, affect production and weigh on the sector’s growth momentum, said the Crisil Ratings report.

Recognising the risk, the government and automakers are taking action on two fronts.

Analysts on Tuesday said that this year, Apple highlighted its one of the core strength: delivering a unified and seamless experience across all its hardware and added an additional visual appeal to it — the biggest visual overhaul after iOS 7.

Apple has previewed iOS 26 at its flagship developer conference ‘WWDC 2025’ here — a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps users rely on every day. The new design provides a more expressive and delightful experience across the system while maintaining the instant familiarity of iOS.

Counterpoint Research Director, Tarun Pathak, told IANS that the updated visual design, featuring the new "liquid glass" aesthetic, is set to further enhance user engagement across Apple's device ecosystem.

Apple has expanded its Cloud-based gaming service Arcade’s catalogue of more than 200 games, all without ads or in-app purchases, with nine new games.

A new take on Mattel’s classic card game UNO is available on the service with UNO: Arcade Edition.

The game features three modes where fans can enjoy solo matches with classic UNO rules in Single Player, play with others in Quick Match, or turn up the heat in Custom Games that feature special twists like Wild Swap Hands and Color Showdown, the tech giant said in a statement.

Also released are: WHAT THE CAR? for Apple Vision Pro, a spatial adaption of the 2024 D.I.C.E. Awards’ Mobile Game of the Year; physics-based racing game LEGO Hill Climb Adventures+; wholesome interactive adventure Lost in Play+; and hit 3D arcade game Helix Jump+.

India can position itself as a global leader in livestock exports, especially in value-added segments, and the industry must be more aspirational and aim for a 20 per cent increase in exports this fiscal (FY26), senior government officials have said.

In last fiscal (FY25), the overall exports of animal products stood at $5114.19 million, registering a growth of 12.56 per cent.

This was conveyed at the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) organised a workshop on “Exports of Livestock and their Value Added Products – Future Prospects and Way Forward” in the national capital.

Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, DAHD, said this goal can be achieved with sustained investment in disease control infrastructure, quality systems, exploring diplomatic channels for enhanced market access and exports and bio-security measures.

The number of registered startups has reached 1.76 lakh in the last 11 years, with 118 unicorns (startups with $1 billion valuation and above), thus fueling youth entrepreneurship, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

In a post on social media platform X, the Finance Minister said that "youth in India are building startups and creating jobs".

This is "a glimpse of the work done for the youth in the last 11 years under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi", she posted.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said in a separate X post that in the last 11 years, seven new IITs have been opened, along with eight new IIMs and 16 new AIIMS.

Shares of IndusInd Bank rose as much as 5.3 per cent on Friday, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the problems at the private sector lender are likely to settle soon.

However, the stock later gave up some of its early gains. During mid-day trade, around 1:45 pm, IndusInd Bank shares were seen consolidating and were trading at Rs 827.85, up by Rs 24.65 or 3.07 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The bank had been facing scrutiny due to past accounting issues.

RBI Deputy Governor J Swaminathan said that things should return to normal at IndusInd Bank soon.

India has emerged as the information technology (IT) capital of the world and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has been a pioneer in utilising the vast digital public infrastructure to help millions trade via its high-tech digital platform, NSE Managing Director and CEO, Ashish Kumar Chauhan, has said.

Chauhan emphasised that the NSE pioneered technology in 1994, during the time of the IT boom. Later, during the Y2K era (the year 2000), the NSE showcased India’s technological capabilities, attracting big contracts and becoming a hub for small companies to demonstrate their expertise.

"Today, technology is our fuel, and India is the IT capital of the world. Technology has brought the biggest shift and change in the world," he said during a podcast conversation with Kailash Adhikari, MD of Sri Adhikari Brothers.

Kotak Securities on Friday slashed its share price target on Ola Electric by 40 per cent to Rs 30 from Rs 50, citing continued losses and rising competition.

Ola Electric Mobility shares nosedived 9.7 per cent to their intraday low of Rs 48.07 on the BSE during the trade after the electric two-wheeler maker reported a sharp rise in losses for the March quarter.

Kotak Securities flagged two main concerns. It expects EBIDTA losses to continue, driven by weakening brand equity and intensified competitive pressure.

Second, Kotak highlighted that Ola Electric’s future depends on scaling up volumes and executing its motorcycle plans. The firm, however, warned that the motorcycle foray faces execution and credibility challenges.