The digital payment landscape in India has witnessed a significant transformation, with women rapidly closing the gap with their male counterparts in recent years, according to a Crisil report.

Between financial years 2014 and 2021, the percentage of women making or receiving digital payments has doubled from 14 per cent to 28 per cent, outpacing corresponding growth in men from 30 per cent to 41 per cent, the report states.

The report also highlights that the growth of digital payments among women is not limited to urban areas as rural women have also contributed to the trend.

The addressable market for digital payments among women in India is a staggering 200 million, with women’s mobile internet adoption increasing to 37 per cent in 2023 from 30 per cent in 2022.

Amid rising cyberthreats and online scams, the new Digital Jan Shakti initiative will become a crucial step towards securing India’s digital future, said Sanjay Seth, Union Minister of State for Defence.

Seth said this while inaugurating the Digital Jan Shakti initiative by CyberPeace, a leading cybersecurity non-profit organisation, in collaboration with InMobi, India’s first unicorn.

The pioneering initiative is aimed at enhancing digital safety and cybersecurity skills amongst the youth and underserved communities across India.

“The 'Digital Jan Shakti' initiative is a crucial step towards securing India’s digital future. In an era where cyber threats are evolving rapidly, I congratulate InMobi and CyberPeace for this initiative which will empower our youth and underserved communities with cybersecurity skills,” said Seth.

About 90 per cent of Indian CEOs believe that investments in existing operations and new areas through joint ventures and mergers and acquisitions are critical for growth, a report showed on Monday.

Indian CEOs are more confident than their global counterpart on cost of doing business, revenue and competitive position, according to the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey: Global Confidence Index 2025.

They are very optimistic that they can successfully reimagine their business model for the future through transformation.

The survey also found that 86 per cent CEOs recognise the pivotal role of emerging technologies, marking them as a key investment priority for the next 12 months, while 90 per cent believe successful AI adoption and workforce upskilling will define industry leaders.

Hyundai Motor said on Monday it will open a global recruitment programme this week to secure top-tier overseas talent across various fields of engineering.

The company plans to open the program for hiring overseas engineering Ph.D. holders, as well as an internship program for foreign university students studying in South Korea and a separate one for overseas bachelor's and master's degree holders on Tuesday.

The recruitment programme for overseas Ph.D. holders will be open to individuals who hold or are set to earn a doctoral degree in engineering fields by August 2026, reports news agency.

Key research areas include artificial intelligence and data, battery technology, hydrogen fuel cells, smart factory systems, robotics, advanced air mobility (AAM) and cybersecurity.

The company will conduct application screening in May, followed by an interview in June. Finalists will be invited to the company's Namyang Research & Development Center in South Korea, where they will undergo a final interview process.

The domestic startup ecosystem secured more than $150 million this week, showcasing robust growth in the current financial year (FY25).

During the final week in March, 23 Indian startups raised a total of $152 million, including five growth-stage and 17 early-stage deals. The number of funding deals that materialised during the week stood at 16.

India’s largest model portfolios platform smallcase raised $50 million in its Series D funding round with a mix of primary and secondary led by Elev8 Venture Partners, with participation from new and existing investors.

About 17 early-stage startups raised a total of $54.09 million in funding and fintech startup Abound led with a $14 million round. Segment-wise, Fintech startups were at the top spot with 6 deals.

More than 34 lakh consumers of Adani Electricity are set to be benefitted by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC)-approved tariff reductions, applicable from April 1, 2025.

With the MERC order, Adani Electricity’s 34 lakh consumers will benefit from an average 10 per cent tariff cut in FY26 and another 11.7 per cent in FY27.

An Adani Electricity spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday that the MERC order would bring sustained relief for their consumers without any increase in fixed charges.

“The Green Tariff premium has been reduced to Rs 0.25/unit, making 100 per cent renewable energy more accessible than ever. EV consumers continue to enjoy Mumbai’s lowest rate at Rs 5.48/unit under a simplified single-part tariff structure. Enhanced (time of day) ToD rebates and new usage-linked incentives add even more value,” said the spokesperson.

Around 3.16 crore consumers of the state public distribution company Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) or (Mahavitaran) will have to shell out less towards the power tariff from 2025-26 to 2029-30.

The power regulator Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) in its order released late Friday night has approved tariff reduction of 10 per cent in FY 2025-26 and cumulative reduction of 16 per cent by FY 2029-30 vis-a-vis existing tariff (including Fuel Adjustment Cost), as against Mahavitaran's claim for 0 per cent revision in FY 2025-26 and reduction of 3.6 per cent by FY 2029-30.

This was done with a projected revenue surplus of Rs 44,481 crore and the corresponding reduction in the overall average cost of supply.

The MERC issued its order on the Mahavitaran's multi-year tariff petition. The revised tariffs will be effective from April 1.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has reportedly sent a fresh show-cause notice to Ola Electric Mobility, seeking an explanation about mismatch in its sales numbers recorded in February.

The show-cause notice, dated March 21, seeks details about Ola scooters of various models sold and registered last month, reports.

The Bhavish Aggarwal-led electric vehicle (EV) maker has been asked to respond to whether Ola scooters sold in February are on the road without registrations; whether Ola scooters were delivered to customers without number plates; and whether Ola scooters are being sold from stores without trade certificates.

It was not clear yet if the EV maker had responded to the ministry’s letter within the seven-day deadline.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) recently issued new guidelines on numeric UPI ID solution with the aim of enhancing customer experience for UPI number-based payments. These new guidelines will be effective from April 1.

It will be mandatory for UPI member banks, UPI apps and third-party providers to follow these new guidelines.

According to the new norms, the UPI ID linked to the inactive mobile number will become inactive. That is, if the mobile number registered with the bank of a UPI user is inactive for a long time, then the UPI ID of the user will also be unlinked, and the person will not be able to use the UPI service.

In such a situation, every person using the UPI service will need to ensure that the mobile number registered with his bank is active.

India's ultra-luxury home market is soaring and in the last three years, 49 such homes -- each commanding a price tag of Rs 100 crore or more -- have been sold for Rs 7,500 years, a report showed on Saturday.

In a testament to India's burgeoning luxury real estate market, there has been an unprecedented surge in ultra-luxury residential sales and apartments now dominate the ultra-luxury segment over bungalows.

The momentum shows no signs of slowing, as the first two months of 2025 have already witnessed four ultra-luxury home sales, amassing a combined value of Rs 850 crore, according to a JLL report.

India has a huge potential for generation of renewable energy which stood at 21,09,655 megawatts (as on March 2024(, the government said on Saturday, adding that the country is experiencing a steady and healthy growth in both energy supply and consumption.

The potential of generating energy from wind power had the dominating share of 11,63,856 megawatts (around 55 per cent) which was followed by solar energy (7,48,990 megawatts) and large Hydro (1,33,410), according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

More than half of the potential for generation of renewable energy has been concentrated within the four states — Rajasthan (20.3 per cent), Maharashtra (11.8 per cent), Gujarat (10.5 per cent) and Karnataka (9.8 per cent).

After witnessing a tremendous growth in fruit exports in the last five years, the government is now exploring new markets for fruit exports.

According to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, the free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UAE and Australia have helped increase exports of fruits to the UAE and Australia by 27 per cent and six per cent, respectively.

“The free trade agreement has helped increase exports to the UAE, where there has been a 27 per cent increase in fruits export and with Australia where there has been a 6 per cent increase in export of fruits,” the minister informed the Rajya Sabha.

India’s fruit exports have surged by 47.5 per cent over the last five years.

Billionaire Elon Musk has announced his artificial intelligence company, xAI, has acquired social media platform X for an all-stock transaction of $33 billion.

The combination, which "values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt)," will "unlock the immense potential"

It will blend "xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach". X has more than 600 million active users.

Musk had in 2022, bought X -- originally Twitter -- for $44 billion.

In the last two years, the platform "has been transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world, positioning it to deliver scalable future growth".

On the other hand, xAI, founded by Musk in March 2023, has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world.

A total of 171 food processing companies have been approved for assistance under the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and incentives worth Rs 1,155.296 crore has been disbursed, out of which Rs 13.266 crore has been disbursed to MSMEs in 20 eligible cases (as of February 28), the government has informed.

The PLISFPI scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2021, with an outlay of Rs 10,900 Crore. The Scheme is being implemented over a six-year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27.

According to data reported by the scheme's beneficiaries, an investment of Rs 8,910 crore has been made across 213 locations.

As of October 31, 2024, the scheme has reportedly generated employment of over 2.89 lakh.

Major chipmaker SK hynix was the top pick for foreign investors in the first quarter of the year, data showed on Saturday.

The foreign investors scooped up a net 1.88 trillion won (US$1.28 billion) worth of SK hynix shares during the January-March period on hopes for a turnaround in the sector, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange, reports Yonhap news agency.

Defence firm Hanhwa Aerospace and internet portal operator Naver came in next with their net buyings of 733 billion won and 434 billion won, respectively.

In contrast, they heavily sold shares worth 1.18 trillion won worth of shipbuilder Hanhwa Ocean in the first quarter, followed by top automaker Hyundai Motor with 790 billion won and leading banking group KB Financial with 548 billion won, the data showed.

In the first three months of the year, they sold a net 4.73 trillion won worth of local stocks.

सरकारी कंपनी भारत हेवी इलेक्ट्रिकल्स लिमिटेड (BHEL) ने शुक्रवार को कहा कि उसे छत्तीसगढ़ स्टेट पावर जेनरेशन कंपनी (CSPGCL) से 11,800 करोड़ रुपये का एक बड़ा ठेका मिला है।

कंपनी ने स्टॉक एक्सचेंज फाइलिंग में घोषणा की कि उसे 2x660 मेगावाट कोरबा वेस्ट सुपरक्रिटिकल थर्मल पावर प्लांट (STTP) के इंजीनियरिंग, खरीद और निर्माण (EPC) पैकेज के लिए आशय पत्र (LoI) प्राप्त हुआ है।

कंपनी ने एक्सचेंज फाइलिंग में कहा, "BHEL को छत्तीसगढ़ के कोरबा जिले में स्थित हसदेव थर्मल पावर स्टेशन में दो 660 मेगावाट के 'सुपरक्रिटिकल' थर्मल पावर प्लांट के इंजीनियरिंग, खरीद और निर्माण (EPC) पैकेज के लिए LOI प्राप्त हुआ है।"

State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on Friday said it has secured a major contract worth Rs 11,800 crore from the Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company (CSPGCL).

The company announced in a stock exchange filing that it has received a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) package of the 2x660 MW Korba West Supercritical Thermal Power Plant (STTP).

“BHEL has received the LOI for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package of two 660 megawatt 'Supercritical' thermal power plants at Hasdeo Thermal Power Station, which is located in the Korba District of Chhattisgarh,” the company said in its exchange filing.

Hyundai Motor Group on Friday outlined a roadmap to implement advanced autonomous driving technology across its vehicle lineup, aiming to apply Level 2+ features by the end of 2027.

The goal was announced during the group's Pleos 25 developer conference, held at COEX in Seoul, where Hyundai invited domestic and global software developers to showcase its latest innovations in software-defined vehicle (SDV) technology, reports news agency.

According to Song Chang-hyeon, head of the group's autonomous vehicle platform (AVP) division, Hyundai is enhancing its in-house autonomous driving systems using artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning, high-performance neural processing units (NPUs) and lightweight model architectures tailored for on-vehicle performance.

India’s express parcel market is set for exponential growth, adding 24-29 billion shipments to the logistics sector by FY2030, a report showed on Friday.

This is likely to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) growth of 19-23 per cent from FY2024’s scale of 8-9 billion shipments.

In the current fiscal (FY25), the market is estimated to reach 10-11 billion shipments, fuelled by the expanding e-commerce sector, especially non-horizontals and the rise of hyperlocal/quick commerce, according to the report by Redseer Strategy Consultants.

E-commerce (not including hyperlocal) accounted for more than 50 per cent of the express parcel market in FY2025, with approximately 4.8-5.5 billion shipments. This is expected to grow to 15-16 billion shipments by FY 2030, contributing to 55-60 per cent of the express parcel market by that time.

The report mentioned that India’s express parcel market is shifting from traditional couriers to e-commerce and hyperlocal shipments, driven by digital adoption, demographic shifts and urbanisation.

When it comes to the ratio of goods exports to GDP in the wake of US trade tariffs, India and Japan are the least exposed economies owing to domestic demand strength, a Morgan Stanley report said on Friday.

The ratio of goods exports to GDP is the most important metric; it determines the extent of trade orientation of the economies. This allows global research firms to assess which economy will face more downward pressures on growth.

“India and Japan — these economies have robust tailwinds from domestic demand strength as an offset and relatively lower ratios of goods exports to GDP,” the report mentioned.

The US has also implemented 25 per cent tariffs on auto imports. The report said that the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on auto and auto parts will affect Japan and Korea the most, as auto exports to US account for 7 per cent of their exports.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), in collaboration with IIIT-Hyderabad has launched a large-scale competition to test fingerprint-based authentication solutions in biometric algorithms, said the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

The competition invites global researchers and developers to enhance their biometric models using UIDAI's unique, field-collected dataset to improve accuracy in real-world conditions.

The first phase of the Biometric SDK Benchmarking challenge focuses on fingerprint authentication. It calls for testing 1:1 matching algorithms for children aged 5-10 years, with updates after 5-10 years.

About 20 per cent of the workforce in semiconductor design is in India and the country’s chip demand, currently at $45-50 billion, is expected to reach $100-110 billion by 2030, the government has said.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, underscored the critical role of Nano Centres in fostering innovation and talent development to build a semiconductor-ready workforce of 85,000 professionals to achieve the goal.

Speaking at the first ‘Nano Electronics Roadshow’ at the National Science Seminar Complex, IISc Bengaluru, he emphasised that the event represents a significant initiative by the ministry and the government, symbolising convergence and fostering industry-academia collaboration, with the government playing a catalytic role in shaping India’s technological and industrial future.

The South Korean automotive industry on Friday called for measures to soften the anticipated fallout from the U.S. administration's plan to impose auto tariffs and reciprocal tariffs next week, according to officials.

Local industry representatives made the call during a meeting with First Vice Industry Minister Park Sung-taek, who visited Kia Corp.'s car manufacturing facility in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, and a major export port in Pyeongtaek, about 65 kms south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The meeting came amid mounting concerns over the impact of the planned U.S. auto tariffs on the local industry, which heavily relies on export, reports news agency.

Shares of Tata Motors Limited, the parent company of luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), fell sharply on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on cars that are not manufactured in the United States.

The stock declined 5.47 per cent or Rs 38.75 to close at Rs 669.5 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Trump’s announcement came as part of his plan to introduce reciprocal tariffs on various countries. The new car tariffs are set to take effect from April 2, which has raised concerns for automakers with significant US exposure.

The United States is a crucial market for JLR, accounting for nearly one-third of its total sales in 2024.

According to the company’s annual report, 22 per cent of JLR’s overall sales came from the US, making it a major revenue source for the brand.

Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) on Thursday announced a share purchase agreement (SPA) with REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL) for acquiring 100 per cent equity shares of Mahan Transmission Limited (MTL).

MTL will transmit 1,230 megawatts of power from Adani Power Ltd.'s upcoming 1,600 MW expansion units at Mahan in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district and feed into the state grid, according to a stock exchange filing.

"This acquisition is proposed to further AESL’s strategy for enhancing value for its shareholders through organic as well as inorganic opportunities," the filing read.

Equity shares of Mahan Transmission are being acquired at a face value of Rs 10 each.

Adani Energy Solutions’ share closed 8.3 per cent up at Rs 870 apiece on Thursday.

Amid the rise in quick commerce, trend-first commerce and hyper-value commerce, India's e-retail market is projected to reach $170-$190 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2030, a report showed on Thursday.

The report highlighted India’s emergence as the second-largest e-retail shopper base globally, with an annual shopper base of over 270 million in 2024.

India's e-retail market is projected to scale 3 times by 2030 from the current $60 billion. The retail market, which was over $1 trillion in size in 2024, continues to be a critical channel even as the online channel grows, according to the report by Bain & Company and Flipkart.

By 2030, e-retail is projected to exceed 18 per cent growth with nearly one in 10 retail dollars spent online, fuelled by increased discretionary spending as India's per capita GDP surpasses $3,500-$4,000 -- a key inflection point observed in e-retail spending globally.

The Indian information technology (IT) services sector is projected to sustain its 6-8 per cent (in rupee terms) growth in fiscal 2026, amid continuing macroeconomic headwinds and emerging uncertainties in the key markets of the US and Europe, a report said on Thursday.

The revenue growth will also be supported by currency depreciation benefits of 2 per cent, according to the Crisil Ratings report.

This will be the third consecutive fiscal of mid-single-digit growth for the Indian IT services sector. Nevertheless, operating profitability remains healthy, led by modest employee addition amid low attrition.

Nearly, two-third of these revenues are contributed by banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI; revenue share of 30 per cent), retail (15 per cent), manufacturing (10 per cent) and healthcare (10 per cent) while technology and services, communications and media form the bulk of remaining.

India has surpassed Sri Lanka to become the world’s second-largest exporter of tea with 255 million kg of tea exports in 2024, while Kenya has retained the top spot, according to data compiled by the Tea Board of India.

India’s tea exports touched a 10-year high at 255 million kg in 2024 despite the uncertainties in the global market triggered by geopolitical tensions.

The country’s exports shot up by a robust 10 per cent during the year from the corresponding figure of 231.69 million kg recorded in 2023.

The value of India’s exports jumped by over 15 per cent to Rs 7,111 crore in 2024 from Rs 6,161 crore in 2023 as the prices were also higher during the year.

Office leasing across the top seven markets in India remained strong in Q1 2025 at 15.9 million square feet — a 15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase, a new report showed on Thursday.

Overall new supply touched 9.9 million square feet during Q1 2025, almost at par with the same period last year. Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR together drove about half of the total leasing and two-third of the new supply during Q1.

While Delhi NCR saw its highest quarterly leasing in the last 10 quarters, Chennai too witnessed a remarkable 93 per cent YoY surge at 2.9 million square feet, driven by space take-up by technology firms, according to a Colliers report.

Despite global uncertainties, India’s exports are set to surge, said Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Santosh Kumar Sarangi, adding that exporters should tread the path pragmatically and wisely to navigate the current global trade contours.

According to him, the current geo-political scenario presents a golden opportunity for India to propel exports and increase manufacturing competitiveness.

Sarangi said at an event that in the current year, India's exports in goods and services will cross $800 billion this year, from $778 billion last year.

"While we see a temporary blip in exports (in the recent) months, in the longer run, our exporting communities have been giving us an impression that the number of order enquiries which they are receiving is fairly positive and that gives me the confidence that our exports will increase vis-a-vis our current levels," Sarangi said at the ‘Sourcex India 2025’ event.

VerSe Innovation, the parent company of Dailyhunt, has reported a significant decline in revenue for the financial year 2024 (FY24), as the company's total revenue dropped by 30.3 per cent.

This fiscal, the company clocked a revenue of Rs 1,261 crore as compared to Rs 1,809 crore in FY23.

According to its financials, the company's EBITDA also shrank by 51 per cent during the same period, decreasing from Rs 1,448 crore to Rs 710 crore.

Despite the revenue decline, VerSe Innovation highlighted cost reductions in key areas.

India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki Ltd, on Wednesday announced an investment of Rs 7,410 crore to build a third factory at Kharkhoda in Haryana, to expand production capacity to meet the rising domestic demand as well as exports.

The company's Board of Directors at a meeting held on Wednesday approved the establishment of a third plant at Kharkhoda, which will have a production capacity of 2.5 lakh vehicles per year, Maruti Suzuki said in a stock exchange filing.

The factory is expected to start production by 2029 taking the total capacity at Kharkhoda to 7.5 lakh vehicles a year.

The investment will be funded through internal accruals. The Kharkhoda plant is a greenfield project where the first factory started commercial operations in February this year to produce the compact SUV Brezza.

Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it (along with its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Ltd) has prepaid an additional Rs 5,985 crore to the Department of Telecom, thereby fully prepaying the high-cost interest liabilities of 8.65 per cent pertaining to the 2024 auctions.

Airtel's subsidiary Network i2i Ltd. has also voluntarily called and redeemed $1 billion in Perpetual Notes, the company said in a statement.

The telecom service provider said it has now prepaid Rs 25,981 crore of high-cost spectrum liabilities for the current 2025 fiscal year and has cumulatively prepaid spectrum liabilities of Rs 66,665 crore to date.

The average interest rate on the cumulative liabilities prepaid was approximately 9.74 per cent. Airtel had earlier fully prepaid liabilities that had interest rates of 10 per cent, 9.75 per cent, and 9.3 per cent.

 India, which is the second-largest mobile phone producer in the world, is all set to reach $300 billion in electronics production by 2026, driven by the ‘Make in India’ and the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, the Centre said on Wednesday.

In 2014-15, 26 per cent of mobile phones sold in India were locally made, which rose to 99.2 per cent by December 2024

In 2014, India had just two mobile manufacturing units; today, it has over 300. The mobile phone exports surged from Rs 1,566 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1.2 lakh crore in 2023-24, marking a 77-fold increase.

Bank of America (BofA) has downgraded its ratings on Zomato and Swiggy, citing concerns over slowing growth in food delivery and rising competition in quick commerce.

The brokerage has lowered Zomato's rating from 'buy' to 'neutral' and Swiggy’s from 'buy' to 'underperform'.

Along with the downgrade, BofA has also reduced the target price for both companies. Zomato's target price has been cut from Rs 300 to Rs 250, while Swiggy has seen a sharper reduction from Rs 420 to Rs 325.

Despite these changes, the analysts remain positive about the medium-term prospects of both companies.

According to BofA, the quick-commerce industry, which was earlier seen as a high-growth sector with improving profits, is now facing rising losses and intense competition.