Expansions, layoffs, funding, leadership moves, and policy shifts — with our take on what it means for hiring in India, today and over the next five years.
India's Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has ruled that gains earned when a company buys back unexercised but vested stock options should be treated as long-term capital gains rather than salary income. The case centred on a Flipkart employee who received ₹2.33 crore through such a transaction. This distinction significantly changes the tax liability for employees holding ESOPs in similar situations.
The Reserve Bank of India has held its benchmark repo rate at 6.5%, maintaining a neutral policy stance as it watches inflation, monsoon patterns, and global trade risks. Industry voices say the decision preserves affordability for homebuyers heading into the festive quarter. Stable borrowing costs are expected to keep housing demand on an even keel through the remainder of 2024.
GIFT City-based insurtech startup InRisk Labs has closed a $27 million Series A funding round to scale its AI-driven reinsurance platform, EarthRe. The capital infusion signals growing investor confidence in India's emerging insurtech and climate risk analytics space. Operating out of GIFT City positions the company at the heart of India's ambitions to become a global financial services hub.
Insuretech startup InRisk Labs has closed a $27 million Series A funding round. The company plans to channel this capital into building out its insurance products and services across several segments. The raise signals growing investor confidence in technology-driven insurance solutions.
Vodafone Idea has moved past its financial turbulence, entering what it calls an execution phase focused on network buildout and competitive recovery. Fresh capital from promoters and debt financing are now being channelled into infrastructure expansion. Subscriber numbers are recovering and average revenue per user is trending upward.
The Reserve Bank of India has announced plans to resume issuing licences for urban cooperative banks, a process that had been stalled for years. Alongside this, the central bank is planning a thorough overhaul of credit monitoring norms for rural cooperative banks and intends to standardise lending rate frameworks across all entities it regulates, with the stated goals of improving transparency and protecting consumers.
ASK Property Fund has joined hands with Bhumika Group to create a Rs 500 crore real estate investment platform, with an initial Rs 125 crore commitment directed at a plotted development project in Faridabad. The partnership is anchored by Faridabad's growing infrastructure and relatively affordable land prices compared to other NCR micro-markets. This signals renewed institutional confidence in Delhi-NCR's residential real estate segment.
The Reserve Bank of India has announced plans to resume issuing licences for urban cooperative banks, ending a halt that has lasted more than twenty years. The RBI has released draft guidelines to govern the restart of this process, responding to stakeholder feedback on an earlier discussion paper. The move signals a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for the cooperative banking sector.
Freshworks, the Chennai-founded and Nasdaq-listed SaaS company, returned to profitability in Q2 CY26, posting a net profit of $3.2 million alongside a 16% year-on-year revenue jump to $237.4 million. The turnaround marks a significant financial milestone for one of India's most prominent SaaS success stories. A healthier balance sheet generally gives companies more room to invest in people and product.
A growing conversation in India's tech and finance circles is focusing on the risks and realities of deploying autonomous AI agents in high-stakes banking environments. As Indian banks and fintechs begin piloting AI agents for tasks like transaction reconciliation and customer service, questions around reliability, accountability, and oversight are coming to the fore. The debate signals a broader sector-wide shift in how financial institutions will staff and skill their operations teams.
Bengaluru-based Adiabatic Technologies has closed a seed round of Rs 8.3 crore, backed by Malpani Ventures and Avinya Ventures. The startup focuses on developing advanced battery systems designed specifically for robotics and drone applications. The fresh capital will be used to scale up its technology and operations.
Quest Global, founded by Ajit Prabhu, has grown into one of the world's largest pure-play engineering research and development firms. The company's deliberate focus on building a durable, century-oriented engineering services business places it squarely at the intersection of traditional ER&D and emerging AI capabilities. With India being a central hub for global engineering services talent, this long-term institutional ambition has direct implications for the domestic ER&D workforce.