India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
Companies' rent and lease expenses have seen a significant decline relative to the money they make since the pandemic.
Prices of televisions are expected to rise by 3-4 per cent from January next year on account of the rising cost of memory chips and depreciation of the rupee, which recently crossed the 90-to-a-dollar mark for the first time.
The famed Darjeeling tea may have slip to a new production low in 2025, as changing weather patterns, a shortage of pluckers and mounting economic stress weigh on the region's gardens.
Microsoft has spent close to $4.5 bn in setting up 19 data centres.
China is building the world's highest-altitude cloud computing data centre in Tibet that will meet the data storage needs of the country and South Asian nations like Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, official media reported on Thursday.
Investment proposals for around Rs 1.88 trillion through 35 major agreements, spread across deep tech, green energy, and aerospace, were the hallmark moment of the first day of the two-day "Telangana Rising Global Summit", which started on Monday.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Friday announced setting up of its second data centre region in India in Telangana that will be operational by mid-2022, and will see the tech giant investing about Rs 20,761 crore. While AWS did not comment on the investment detail, Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao tweeted that AWS will invest Rs 20,761 crore ($2.77 billion) to set up multiple data centres in the state.
As of January 2026, the number of active job openings stood at 103,000, down 24 per cent from 136,000 in the same period last year.
The operator's liability in the case of an incident is limited to 3,000 crore for reactors with thermal power above 3,600 Megawatt; 1,500 crore for reactors with thermal power between 1,500 Mw and 3,600 Mw; 750 crore for reactors with thermal power between 750 Mw and 1,500 Mw; 300 crore for reactors with thermal power between 150 Mw and 750 Mw; and 100 crore for reactors having thermal power up to 150 Mw, fuel cycle facilities other than spent fuel reprocessing plants and transportation of nuclear materials.
The Indian government has introduced a next-generation e-passport with enhanced security features, including an embedded RFID chip, to combat forgery and impersonation. The rollout follows successful pilot testing and implementation across India and abroad.
'What we see now is a much stronger need for data sovereignty.'
A severe cold wave has gripped North India, with temperatures plummeting to near-freezing levels in several areas. The cold wave has disrupted daily life, with dense fog affecting visibility and forcing people to stay indoors.
Rural India outpaced urban centres in passenger vehicle sales in 2025, recording a growth of 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in cities.
India's largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services has been selected to set up the State Data Centre in Uttar Pradesh for the e-delivery of government services.
'Given that the population is almost evenly split, the Indian economy cannot grow without women participating in the workforce.' 'While women's participation has increased, it is still well below 40 per cent,' says Kartik Narayan, CEO of the professional networking and jobs platform, Apna.
The Forth Worth data centre will be Facebook's fifth data centre (and fourth in the US), joining facilities in Iowa, Oregon, North Carolina and Sweden.
I am inclined to believe that the Venezuela adventure is not an indication of American strength, alas, but rather of American weakness, points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Given the proportion of the global leak, it is very likely that the data of Indian citizens might be on the dataset.'
The company has set an internal target of 6-18 months to set up the data centre. The plan is part of the $1 billion ByteDance has recently committed to the Indian market over the next three years.
India's household debt climbed to 41.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of March 2025, marking a sustained rise from its five-year average of 38.3 per cent, with consumption-related loans accounting for bulk of the borrowings, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report.
India's second-largest telecom service provider Bharti Airtel will call in March 2026 the final tranche of about Rs 15,741 crore from its 2021 rights issue of Rs 21,000 crore, proceeds from which will be used towards retiring majority of non-government-related debt.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for using the term 'katta' (country-made gun) in a recent election rally in Bihar, calling it an inappropriate choice of words for a Prime Minister.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
A 500 per cent tariff would effectively shut out India's goods and services exports to the US.
US tech giant Microsoft is in the final stages of talks with the Telangana government to set up a data centre with a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore. According to sources in the state government, the company has zeroed in on a land parcel near Hyderabad for the facility. "In the information technology (IT) space, Telangana is already seeing some major investments. "Microsoft is establishing its data centre here, and it may come out with a public announcement soon," said a source.
Security agencies are investigating after a Chinese-made GPS tracking device was found attached to a seagull near a sensitive naval zone in Karwar, India. Preliminary findings suggest scientific research, but concerns remain due to the proximity of a strategic naval base.
In order to optimise branch efficiency, public sector banks (PSBs) are reworking their strategies to streamline operations and reduce cost amid changing customer behaviour. The strategies include closing or merging low traffic branches and reducing their size in smaller centres.
'His report created a lot of negative reaction in Kerala and in a way, he was crucified for writing such a report.' 'I asked him, "Don't you feel frustrated?"' 'His reply was, "Have you read Bhagavad Gita Chapter2"?' 'He particularly mentioned verse 47, where Sri Krishna tells Arjuna, "Your duty is to work without thinking of the fruits you get".' "He said, "similarly, my duty was to do what best I could do without hoping for any rewards".'
Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were underway in West Bengal, focusing on 'unmapped' voters who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll. Many people are being asked to prove their citizenship.
Driven by improved customer experience, Ola Electric is witnessing "clear outcomes" in market share from its focused service transformation programme, the company said, as it registered 9,020 units in December, lifting its month-on-month share to 9.3 per cent from 7.2 per cent in November.
Delhi recorded its coldest January morning in three years with the minimum temperature dropping to 3 degrees Celsius. Cold wave conditions are expected to persist, and air quality has deteriorated to the 'very poor' category.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah emphasizes the need for a unified anti-terrorism structure and a strong anti-terrorism grid across India to effectively counter terror attacks. He also announced a new plan to combat organized crime.
Driven by improved customer experience, Ola Electric is witnessing "clear outcomes" in market share from its focused service transformation programme, the company said, as it registered 9,020 units in December, lifting its month-on-month share to 9.3 per cent from 7.2 per cent in November.
Cities across the north east have recorded significant year-on-year growth in air traffic, pointing to a clear link between screen exposure and travel intent.
Companies are squeezing more profits from their operations relative to the capital they put to work, the highest now since 2011. Profit after tax relative to capital employed came in at 10.47 per cent in September, shows data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the 8.41 per cent seen in September last year. This is the highest since March 2010.
'We sent just 500 people from India to the US on H-1B visas. There is no dependence on H-1B visas.'
Currently, India has five publicly listed Reits: Brookfield India Real Estate Trust, Embassy Office Parks Reit, Mindspace Business Parks Reit Nexus Select Trust, and Knowledge Realty Trust.
ndian media reported last week that the country's air force had issued alerts to its personnel and their families against using Xiaomi phones on security concerns.
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