Stories from earlier this week and beyond.
India’s C-suite mobility in 2025 looked paradoxical: CHROs and CSOs recorded the highest churn rates but accounted for a small slice of overall transfers. Meanwhile, CEOs, CFOs and COOs—though showing lower percentage turnover—sparked most leadership changes because their roles are more numerous, driving the majority of moves across firms.
In an exclusive interview, Bayer’s global head of pharmaceuticals, Stefan Oelrich, said the company will intensify its push for tiered pricing in India. The move is linked to Bayer’s “tailormade India” portfolio and its broader investment plans in innovation, aiming to balance affordability with business sustainability.
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Atlas, an accounting tech startup, has raised $6 million in a round co-led by Accel and Stellaris. The funding will support expansion of its AI platform, growth of a partner network of accounting firms, and faster go-to-market. CEO Arpit Maheshwari says deploying AI across accounting workflows has already produced over fivefold efficiency gains in targeted areas.
An RTI response has raised alarms in Rajasthan’s job placement system, revealing that over 22 lakh unemployed youth are registered with state employment offices. Despite the large waiting list, not a single government job was filled through these offices in the past five years, pointing to a serious breakdown between job seekers and hiring pathways.
EPFO is set to engage retired officers and government employees to fill more than 4,000 vacancies across multiple departments. The first focus will be strengthening the organisation’s investment division by bringing in experienced officials from institutions such as SBI, RBI and LIC. The move is intended to help EPFO handle its expanding subscriber base and swelling corpus more effectively.
Chinese AI ambitions for global leadership are colliding with a harsh reality: a persistent semiconductor shortage. The gap highlights why Beijing is accelerating efforts toward self-sufficiency in strategic technologies, even as demand for advanced chips keeps rising. The drive is shaping industrial policy and competition, but current supply constraints remain a major limiter on AI scale and performance.
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Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong met Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran and other top executives to discuss the struggling, loss-making Air India. The talks highlight how higher operating costs—driven by airspace restrictions—and disruptions from a recent leadership change are weighing on Air India’s finances, with those impacts now reaching Singapore Airlines too.
SatLeo Labs, an IN-SPACe incubated spacetech startup, has raised $2.2 million from Unicorn Ventures to build a multi-spectral satellite constellation. Co-founded by Shravan Singh Bhati, Ranendu Ghosh, and Urmil Bakhai, the system aims to deliver high-resolution, continuous earth observation data for climate monitoring, defence, agriculture, and disaster response.
A new study warns of a widening AI confidence-capability gap among India’s engineering workforce. Many engineers believe they are ready for AI roles, yet few have strong hands-on practical skills. That mismatch is complicating hiring and could stall careers. Women engineers face extra hurdles, including work-life pressures and limited mentoring, prompting firms to favor proven capability over self-assessment.
SSC has released the first tentative allocation for the SSC CGL Examination 2025. Only candidates who cleared Tier II and submitted their preferences are considered, with allocations based on Tier II performance. The commission also introduced a sliding mechanism for better vacancy utilization. Final answer keys are out, while detailed marks are expected to be uploaded soon.
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Pakistan is seeking a diplomatic opening in the US-Iran conflict by positioning itself as a mediator, reaching out to Tehran. The effort relies on Islamabad’s relationships with the Trump administration and backing from within the region, while India is portrayed as staying on the sidelines. The move signals Pakistan’s attempt to gain influence beyond its usual sphere.
Mamata Banerjee said she saw voters in Chowrangee, Bhabanipur, Jadavpur and Tollyganj turn out with “clear intent” to defend Bengal’s identity. Posting on X, she attacked leaders she said seek to dictate politics from Delhi, alleging attempts to divide people and distort culture. She warned that Bengal has “a long memory and a stronger spine.”
IIM Calcutta has wrapped final placements for its 61st MBA batch, with 458 students receiving 542 offers from 202 recruiters. Average CTC rose 5.05% year-on-year to Rs 36 lakh, while the median landed at Rs 35 lakh. The highest domestic offer reached Rs 1.45 crore, and the top international offer was Rs 1.10 crore.
A US government report by the National Toxicology Program reviewed global studies and found a consistent association between higher fluoride levels in drinking water and lower IQ in children. The analysis flags levels above 1.5 milligrams per liter as most concerning, while noting more research is needed to confirm mechanisms and guide potential policy changes.
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Nasscom says IT firms must act swiftly and decisively in harassment cases, backing a strict, non-negotiable approach to misconduct. The statement comes as Tata Consultancy Services faces allegations of sexual harassment, religious misconduct, and coercion at its Nashik office. Employees were suspended during an investigation, while police arrested seven people and formed an SIT to dig deeper.
SEBI has partnered with DigiLocker to streamline how nominees access financial assets after a person dies. The move is designed to make it easier to retrieve mutual fund and demat account statements, cutting down unidentified and unclaimed assets. Nomination and notification will be handled through DigiLocker, leveraging data already linked via Aadhaar and PAN.
M2P Fintech has appointed Vivek Seshadri as its group chief financial officer, aiming to tighten capital discipline and strengthen internal systems ahead of a potential IPO in India. With over 15 years of experience from investment banking and investor relations, Seshadri’s role is positioned as groundwork for a future public listing.
New Zealand will ease health insurance requirements for its Peak Seasonal Visa starting April 19, 2026. The update is designed to simplify compliance for both migrants and employers by aligning insurance needs with products available in the local market. Officials expect fewer application uncertainties and faster visa processing for seasonal workers.
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Omnicom Global Solutions India is targeting a workforce of 8,000 employees this year as it integrates operations after a major merger with Interpublic. The company says India is emerging as a key hub for AI-driven marketing and plans to build a unified marketing delivery engine, while expanding martech capabilities to support global clients.
Donald Trump’s “President of Peace” claim is growing: he now says he has solved nine wars and points to a ceasefire as a potential tenth. But the tally includes an unnamed item, ongoing conflicts suggest the impact is limited, and some disputes listed were not traditional military wars—raising questions about how the numbers are counted.
OCI service fees change from April 1, 2026, with fresh applications now costing USD 275 for those applying abroad and Rs 15,000 for applications within India. Re-issuance and duplicate OCI cards also see revised charges, and payment options depend on where you apply. If you get a new passport, you must update OCI within three months or face a $25 penalty.
IIM Ahmedabad’s MBA Class of 2027 summer placements saw a rise in both recruiters and roles, with activity concentrated at Cluster 1. Accenture Strategy stood out, with its Global Network and India Market Unit collectively driving dozens of offers, alongside significant hiring from Vector Consulting Group, American Express, and EY Parthenon.
Even as the jobs market looks sluggish, India’s biggest firms are doubling down on AI hiring and internal capability building. Accenture and NTT Data are among those seeking talent versed in agentic AI, foundation models, and responsible AI frameworks. The push is driven by expectations that India’s generative AI market could reach $6.4 billion by 2030.
An ITAT Delhi order gave relief to a property seller who lost Rs 21 lakh TDS because the buyer deposited it in the wrong tax year. The Income Tax Department denied the credit, but the tribunal held that capital gains are taxed in the year of transfer and allowed the seller to claim credit using Form 71.
The RBI has fixed the premature redemption price for Sovereign Gold Bond SGB 2018-19 Series-II at Rs 15,219 per unit. The amount is calculated using the average gold price over the three preceding working days. Premature redemption will be available from April 23, 2026, after investors complete the fifth year from issuance.
Indian tech startups raised $11.7 billion in FY 2025-26, down 18% from the prior year, even as early-stage funding climbed 33%. India stayed the fourth-highest funded country globally. FinTech and Enterprise Applications attracted most investment, while IPOs and unicorn creation rose noticeably—signaling a shift in where and how capital is flowing.
Even as Salesforce expects its fastest revenue growth in three years, the software sector’s outlook remains shaky. Investors are spooked by AI disruption despite CEOs pitching proprietary data and in-house models. A broader selloff suggests promises aren’t enough; analysts want proof that AI can lift revenue and improve customer retention in upcoming earnings.
AI startup Ivory is building a “treadmill test” for the brain, using cognitive assessments to measure attention, memory, and executive function. It plans to provide benchmarked scores and actionable insights that clinicians can use to distinguish early cognitive decline from lifestyle-driven issues. Ivory has partnered with Metropolis Healthcare and is in talks with diagnostic chains, insurers, and wellness platforms like Ultrahuman.
Daniel Shapero has been appointed CEO of LinkedIn, taking over from Ryan Roslansky. Shapero joined the platform in 2008 and most recently served as COO, moving steadily up over more than a decade. The change is also tied to Microsoft’s wider reorganisation, with plans to weave AI more deeply across its products and services.
Indian companies are redesigning employee benefits to support workers through major life events, including flexible work, expanded bereavement leave, and retirement guidance. Employers such as Optum India and Deutsche Bank are leaning on empathy-driven policies to help especially younger staff balance family responsibilities, with the goal of improving retention while sustaining productivity.
A Kerala High Court decision in an inheritance dispute turned on a crucial legal distinction: a joint Will versus a joint mutual Will. Daughters who secured property rights despite their parents’ Will were upheld, while a settlement deed by the mother was also protected from unilateral cancellation. The ruling offers families clearer guidance for succession planning.
India has seen a decade of announced airline startups, yet only a handful truly took off—Fly91 being one of the few. But the market’s reality is harsher than announcements suggest: separating credible operators from hopeful entrants is difficult, and structural hurdles keep even genuine carriers from scaling smoothly.
India’s life insurance sector has crossed $1 trillion in assets under management, driven by rising savings and a fast digital shift in how people buy policies. Supportive regulation, better technology, and changing customer behavior are moving purchases online, expanding choice and tightening pricing. As protection merges with savings, life cover is becoming a mainstream financial tool.
Stanford research warns enterprises may be paying a “swarm tax” for multi-agent AI systems whose gains disappear under equal compute. When both single and multi-agent setups get the same “thinking token” budget, single agents usually match or outperform multi-agent architectures on multi-hop reasoning. Multi-agent approaches help mainly when context is corrupted or fragmented.
The rupee edged higher on Monday, holding within a tight range near 93 per dollar as banks unwound arbitrage positions. Still, dollar demand from importers and oil companies limited gains. The bigger signal was a surge in forward premiums to multi-year highs, reflecting heavy hedging needs. Analysts expect the pair to hover around 93 this week, largely driven by oil prices.
As markets stay unpredictable, Indian companies are increasingly hiring retired senior executives back into operational leadership roles. Firms say these veterans bring decades of institutional knowledge, crisis management experience, and strategic judgment—skills that help ensure continuity and support sustainable growth during fast-changing conditions.
Indian markets slid for a third straight session as escalating Iran US tensions pushed oil higher, dragging sentiment and pushing the Sensex and Nifty lower. Foreign investors stayed net sellers, adding pressure. While broader markets managed relatively better, IT stocks fell sharply after weak Q4 earnings, underscoring how mixed performance is reshaping investor bets.
Uttar Pradesh RERA has capped processing fees builders can charge for flat transfers, aiming to shield homebuyers from hefty costs. Transfers to family members—including inheritance cases—now have a maximum fee of ₹1,000. For transfers to non-family parties, the cap is ₹25,000, bringing tighter limits to charges during property ownership changes.
Luminai has closed a $38 million Series B funding round led by Peak XV Partners, marking a significant vote of confidence in the company’s next growth phase. The round underscores ongoing investor appetite for startups and signals momentum as Luminai prepares to scale its product and operations following the new capital infusion.
As fintech expands beyond polished urban hubs, patchy internet access is undermining user confidence. Frequent time-outs, slow pockets of connectivity, and sudden drops make digital banking feel unreliable—especially for customers in tier-2 and smaller towns—creating a practical barrier to adoption despite the promise of convenience and speed.
The Supreme Court modified its earlier order on the Rajasthan Sub-Inspector recruitment exam, reducing relief from a wider group of candidates to just the original petitioner, Suraj Mal Meena. The Rajasthan Public Service Commission said accommodating a large number of beneficiaries was difficult. Despite the change, the exam dates of April 5-6 remain unchanged and the process will continue as scheduled.
India’s net foreign liabilities declined by $10.9 billion in the last quarter of 2025, according to RBI data. The shift came because Indian residents increased overseas investments more than foreigners added assets in India. As a result, India’s international assets-to-liabilities ratio improved, pointing to a stronger external financial position.
Tata Consultancy Services is under scrutiny following serious allegations at its Nashik facility, including sexual harassment and claims of workplace coercion. The case also reportedly involves pressure linked to religious conversion, raising questions about conduct and internal controls at the unit. Authorities are examining the details as the controversy continues to unfold.
The government has notified the establishment of Fund of Funds 2.0, a Rs 10,000 crore second tranche aimed at mobilising venture capital. The programme will focus on deeptech and tech-driven innovative manufacturing startups, along with early-growth stage enterprises, seeking to accelerate funding and scale for more ambitious, technology-led companies.
India is weighing GST rate rationalisation to simplify the current four-slab structure, with talks that may consolidate rates and even remove the 12% slab. Officials must, however, balance lower tax burdens on essentials with the need to protect revenue collection. The final design will depend on how much simplification is feasible without triggering shortfalls.
Host cities for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup are seeing a major surge in temporary gig work. Staffing firms expect hundreds of thousands of short-term roles, especially across hospitality and food services. Hiring has ramped up rapidly since late last year, with different cities showing distinct demand patterns for event-related staffing.
CBIC has issued a circular explaining how GST applies to payments received for tolerating an act, including amounts tied to notice period non compliance, non compete fees, utility late payment charges, and cancellation charges by sectors like railways and airlines. The clarification also addresses scenarios such as cheque dishonour, aiming to reduce disputes over whether such collections fall under GSTable transactions.
PwC India has unveiled its Vision 2030 plan to triple revenue within five years while adding 20,000 jobs. The strategy leans on major investments in technology and talent, with priorities including digital transformation and sustainability. PwC also plans to expand its hiring reach into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, focusing on sectors such as financial services and technology.
ClayCo has raised nearly Rs 35 crore in a new funding round, saying the money will go toward accelerating product development, expanding into new categories, and strengthening working capital. The company framed the raise as a push to scale faster and improve operational readiness ahead of broader market expansion.
India’s ceramics and tile hubs, worth about $6.5 billion and employing hundreds of thousands, are shutting down as energy shortages bite. Blazing kilns that power production have gone cold amid an electricity fuel crunch that sources link to disruption pressures from the Middle East war, raising fears of lost jobs and export setbacks.
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